Friday, January 31, 2020

Got the US 231 South of Montgomery Blues (2)

Dianne and I recently made one of our trips to visit daughter Becca and her family who live just south of Jacksonville, Florida. As we also do on our trips to St. George Island near Apalachicola, we take US 231 out of Montgomery and head for Dothan. This route takes us through Troy, Brundidge and Ozark and the rural landscapes in between. I have family connections in Brundidge, and I've written here about a trip to that town. This blog post and the one that preceded it take a different approach.  

Until the Interstates were built, US 231 was a major artery into Florida from points north. After all it runs from US 41 in St. John, Indiana, to US 98 in Panama City. In those rural areas between Montgomery and Dothan are frequent examples old and more recent of homes and especially businesses now empty. Of course, there are some very nice farms, cattle ranches, homes and landscapes along this stretch also.

The photos below were taken between Dothan and Montgomery from the car as we headed northbound. The first post has photos from the southbound portion of the trip.. I've put comments below some of the photos. 

As Dianne and I make our various road trips hither and yon through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and Georgia, one thing always stands out everywhere. Whether in cities or rural areas, all sorts of empty ruins beckon from the past as they slowly crumble or disappear into the vegetation. A drive up and down U.S. 231 between Montgomery and Dothan has many examples. 

Of course, these scenes can be found all across America, as my son Amos and I saw a few years ago as we traveled by U-Haul through eastern Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma then south to Birmingham. 

Glenn Wills' Forgotten Alabama books explore the topic in depth for our state. Abandoned Southeast and Abandoned America go further abroad.





"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." Just don't meet your maker prematurely trying to read this billboard as you speed down the road. 




The Candlelight Motel in Ozark is a classic of the motor lodges from days of yore. There are several still operating along this stretch of U.S. 231. Another one can be seen further below.










That top sign to the left says "Cash Advance/Title Pawn", which may no longer be applicable.



The sign behind the buses says "Ozark City Schools/Educational Support Center", home of the yellow buses.






The Hi-Way Rest Motel in Ozark









Unfortunately, these peanut trailers were empty!



Above the door on this building is "Hughes Family Market"; I assume it's the same business in Ariton on the Facebook page here.



This concrete bridge was constructed in 1921 as a memorial to men from Dale County who died in World War I. Barely visible on the left is an historical marker; you can read the text here.







For many years a fifteen-foot tall rooster made of chrome automobile bumpers--mostly from VWs according to one source--stood on the lawn in front of this Art Wurks studio in Brundidge. I remember passing it numerous times. The studio and home next to it were occupied by artist Larry Goodwin. He opened Art Wurks in 1960 and built the rooster in 1962. In 2016 he had to move to a nursing home and close his studio. His brother and fellow artist Ronald moved the rooster to his own studio on Main Street in Brundidge where it can still be seen. Kelly Kazek has written articles about the brothers available here and here.







Photo by Don Williamson taken ca. 1999











Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Got the US 231 South of Montgomery Blues (1)

Dianne and I recently made one of our trips to visit daughter Becca and her family who live just south of Jacksonville, Florida. As we also do on our trips to St. George Island near Apalachicola, we take US 231 out of Montgomery and head for Dothan. This route takes us through Troy, Brundidge, and Ozark and the rural landscapes in between. I have family connections in Brundidge, and I've written here about a trip to that town. This blog post and one that follows take a different approach.  

Until the Interstates were built, US 231 was a major artery into Florida from points north. After all it runs from US 41 in St. John, Indiana, to US 98 in Panama City. In those rural areas between Montgomery and Dothan are frequent examples old and more recent of homes and especially businesses now empty. Of course, there are some very nice farms, cattle ranches, homes and landscapes along this stretch also.

The photos below were taken mostly between Montgomery and Troy from the car as we headed southbound. Another post will have photos from the return trip northbound. I've put comments below some of the photos. 

Based on our soundtrack, many of these pictures were taken between Bob Dylan's "A Satisfied Mind" and his "Shelter From the Storm" on one of the Sirius XM channels. I leave readers to work out the significance of that. 













I wonder how many Coca Cola signs adorn abandoned businesses across America. 



This Athey Road is located in Mathews in Montgomery County. The community is unincorporated and named after George Mathews, a Revolutionary War hero and Georgia governor. The post office closed in 2011. 



One of a series of signs advertising a store coming up on the route. You still see this sort of thing along routes like U.S. 231 that were heavily traveled in the past; the Interstates are devoid of such colorful campaigns. Perhaps the most famous of the type were the legendary little poems for Burma-Shave.










This place seems to be attracting customers. 







These are the sad remnants of Pioneer Village near Troy, not the Pioneer Museum of Alabama which is a bit further south and still thriving. I assume it's the business listed by Bizapedia: "Pioneer Village, LLC is an Alabama Domestic Limited-Liability Company filed on August 19, 2005. The company's filing status is listed as Exists and its File Number is 467-846The Registered Agent on file for this company is Johnson, James Ralph and is located at 26001 Us Hwy 231, Troy, AL 36081."

I don't think the business operated long but have no further details. Perhaps it did not survive the 2009 economic downturn. 












Is it just me, or does it seem hypocritical to brag about the beauty of your campus on a gigantic roadside billboard that spoils the view of the sky??




Kentucky Fried Chicken on the hill!



One of many small churches you see along the highway.




We passed Continental Cinemas heading into Troy.




History to the right, the present up ahead....












Yes, you pass some kudzu on this route. 





Troy, oh boy!








A lot of history in Ozark, Ariton and Enterprise. For instance, Ariton is the birthplace of blues singer Big Mama Thornton, who in 1952 became the first to record Leiber & Stoller's legendary song "Hound Dog"





Ah, the open road...where are Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady when you need them?







The entrance to Troy University's Dothan campus 




I'll end this post where I began, with a shot of some pretty landscape.







Saturday, January 25, 2020

Alabama History & Culture News: January 25 edition






Here's the latest batch of links to just-published Alabama history and culture articles. Most of these articles are from newspapers, with others from magazines and TV and radio station websites. Enjoy!

“The Lynch Quilts Project” on exhibition at UAB from Feb. 3-March 15
“The Lynch Quilts Project,” which examines the history and ramifications of racial ... will be on exhibition at the University of Alabama at Birmingham from Feb. ... Quilting is the ideal choice to explore this history because of the great ...

Helena preservation group wants new members
HELENA — Calling all history buffs, especially those familiar with Helena. ... which are among the earliest structures of their kind in Alabama (coke is a hard, ... said one goal is to build walking trails connecting different historic sites.

'The Lynch Quilts Project' On Exhibition At UAB
"The Lynch Quilts Project" examines the history and ramifications of racial violence in the United ... From the University of Alabama at Birmingham:.


County Road 12: Old Alabama Town- a Neeley family tradition
Collier Neeley grew up around Old Alabama Town in downtown ... When it comes to Old Alabama Town History, Mary Ann Neeley was the source.

It Came from the Archives: Henry County's 'unusually complete' history
By the 1990s, those plans included microfilming bound county records across the U.S. In 1998, the Alabama Department of Archives and History ...

First wild Eastern indigo snake found in Alabama in 60 years
(WIAT) — The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural ... and the Auburn Museum of Natural History made the discovery last week.
Demopolis Public Library hosting first meeting of new book club
The Demopolis Public Library will host the first After Hours Book Club ... Set in the small town of Wicklow, Alabama, “Midnight at the Blackbird Café” ...


BOOK REVIEW: 'Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick' by Zora Neale Hurston, edited with an ...
Born circa 1891 in Alabama, Zora Neale Hurston learned early to make her own way: she was just a teenager when her mother died, and when her ...

Patti Callahan Henry named recipient of the 2020 Harper Lee Award for Alabama's Distinguished ...
Henry is the New York Times bestselling author of fifteen novels, including the critically-acclaimed historical novel, “Becoming Mrs. Lewis – The ...

'Alabama in Fourteen Foods' author to speak to Clarke Historical Society
Emily Blejwas will be the speaker for the January meeting of the Clarke County Historical Society. Blejwas will be speaking on her book, “The Story of ...

US Air Force Names New Jet Fighter Trainer in Honor of Tuskegee Airmen
These were African-American crews, maintainers, and air traffic controllers who trained at the Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama beginning in 1940.


Roscoe Nance, Legendary Sportswriter, Alabama Native, Laid to Rest
Before that he made history — and covered history — as Mississippi's first African American sportswriter at a mainstream newspaper, The ...

Hitting the trail: Local artwork featured in the Alabama Mural Trail
“With Cullman's murals, it tells the history of the community,” said Susan Eller of the Cullman Economic Development Agency. “Many of the buildings in ...


Can Gee's Bend—the Tiny Alabama Community Behind America's Most Dazzling Quilts—Become ...
... and become broadly recognized as an important part of American art history. But back in Gee's Bend—the tiny Alabama hamlet formally known as ...
Wallace State professor uncovers lost Civil War history
The United States Colored Troops, which has a connection to Athens, are featured as the cover story in the latest edition of Alabama Heritage ...

Crusading Birmingham editor Emory O. Jackson focus of MLK Memorial Lecture
Emory Overton Jackson was a man “born for battle” and a “roll-up-your-sleeves kind of journalist” during a crucial period in history, said author ...


Writer, Valley native to speak at library
His father, James Glover Patterson (1933-2003), served in the nationalized Alabama National Guard during three significant historical events: the ...

Exhibit honors 'Women of Limestone'
University of North Alabama public history student Josh Grigsby and UNA graduates Julia McGee and Lacie Rowe researched and gathered images ...

Alabama lynching memorial expands to cover the stories of 2000 more people
MONTGOMERY, AL – APRIL 26: Markers display the names and locations of ... For Peace And Justice on April 26, 2018 in Montgomery, Alabama. ... the physical environment is intended to foster reflection on America's history of ...

Timothy Duncan Alabama Poet Emotional Poems Collection Launched
Timothy Duncan Alabama Poet Emotional Poems Collection Launched ... The newly launched book features a range of poems design to cut to the ...

New book surveys Auburn architecture
“For a long time, people would say 'Where are you from?, and I mean 60 years, I'd still be saying Ozark, Alabama,” Sparrow said. “I'm never going to ...

New welcome center opens for Alabama lynching memorial, museum
The organization said they are also proud to present new content about America's history “that is essential for understanding our past and improving ...

Gadsden Public Library to convert Alabama City branch into genealogy library
Gadsden Public Library to convert Alabama City branch into genealogy ... the historic Nichols Library operated by the Northeast Alabama Historical ...

Mountain Brook author wins 2020 Harper Lee Award
Fittingly, the Alabama Writer's Forum's annual top prize for a distinguished ... She's been prolific since moving to Alabama, producing six books here, ...

Alabama Music Hall of Fame celebrates 30th anniversary in 2020
The Alabama Music Hall of Fame (AMHOF) has been cataloging and putting on display the many pieces of Alabama's musical history for 30 years.


Wallace State professor uncovers lost Civil War history
Leading up to Black History Month, the just-released Winter 2020 issue of Alabama Heritage Magazine has as its cover story “'Fighting for Freedom': ...