Alabama History & Culture News: November 24 edition

 

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

COLUMN: A Ballad For Bryce Hospital Patch.com My area of limited historical expertise, albeit quite narrow and defined, ... the point being UA and the state of Alabama's Herculean effort to preserve ...

Rosa Parks Museum to commemorate Rosa Parks Day, 65th anniversary of Bus Boycott Trojan News Center 1 as Rosa Parks Day in the state, making Alabama one of four states to ... “The Women of the Movement” exhibit utilizes oral history interviews, ..

Lindsey Harris is first African American to lead Alabama nurses in 107 years Alabama NewsCenter Being the first African American to lead the Alabama State Nursing Association (ASNA) in the organization's 107-year history is an honor, but ASNA ...

Rick Bragg's perfect Thanksgiving meal: 'Anything to make it unhealthy' al.com The Alabama native's new book “Where I Come From: Stories from the Deep South,” a collection of his columns for “Southern Living” and “Garden ...

'ROUND TOWN WITH GLENDA BYARS: Whistle Stop and women's lit Gadsden Times ... love in the series of novels about the town of Whistle Stop, Alabama, in the glorious book by Fannie Flagg, “Fried Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café.

Iconic Bear Bryant Fedora Hits The Auction Block Patch.com TUSCALOOSA, AL. — Those looking to own a cherished piece of Alabama football history can now bid on one of the iconic fedoras worn by legendary ...

Troy Hall of Famer Sim Byrd dies at 75 WSFA Byrd, one of the greatest players in Troy history, led Troy to the NAIA ... He is also a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the NAIA Hall of ...

Talk of Alabama | Local Author | "Adventures of Sal" Book Series | 11.18 Alabama's News Leader Talk of Alabama | Local Author | "Adventures of Sal" Book Series | 11.18. by McCall Scofield. Wednesday, November 18th 2020. AA. WBMAThumbnail ...

Local author publishes new book Columbia Star Myra Davis-Branic recently published the book Cornbread My Soul: The ... at a college in Alabama, Frye Gaillard, wrote the forward in Branic's book.

Legends & Lore signage celebrates history of Hatton and “Trickem” Moulton Advertiser Wanda Sprinkle, of Hatton, said she can remember an old forgotten saloon once stood at the site of a new Legends & Lore marker on Alabama 101 in ...

Interactive map lets public explore local historic sites News Courier "The Alabama Historical Commission is incredibly proud of the vision and ... such as a cemetery, nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, ... This continuing effort will eventually expand to all of Alabama's counties and ...

Tuscaloosa Author, Journalist Publishes Eighth Adventure Novel Patch.com Cosby was born in Alabama and sense of place, along with the looming specter of racism, are featured as prominent themes in the Will Danger series, ...

The first Black drag queen in North Alabama and other untold stories of the Queer South scalawagmagazine.org Atlanta's history stays there. This way, the community can access their own history at sites like libraries and universities. Instead of only inheriting ...

'Unjustifiable' Sheds Light On An Overlooked Alabama Police Killing

WBHM

'Unjustifiable' Sheds Light On An Overlooked Alabama Police Killing ... dives into this story that changed the course of Civil Rights history in the south.

HBO documentary will detail snake-handling Alabama preacher News Courier Whether it's haunted the hills of North Alabama may be debatable, but the story has had staying power — inspiring books and prior true crime ...

Researchers use new technology in bid to solve centuries-old Alabama mystery of Mabila Alabama NewsCenter An ongoing research project is applying cutting-edge satellite technology in a quest to finally pinpoint one of Alabama's – and North America's – most ...

Mold, Possums and Pools of Sewage: No One Should Have to Live Like This The New York Times My story starts in Lowndes County, Ala., a place that's been called Bloody Lowndes because of its violent, racist history. It's part of Alabama's Black ...

Who Was Florence Anne Flinn?

Sometimes I go off on a tangent on this blog, and this post is a perfect example. Before dawn on October 29 Hurricane Zeta came through Pelham, and we awoke to a lack of power. By noon, being hungry and such, we decided to head to the nearby Cracker Barrel for a brunch. 

We happened to be seated near the wall bearing the certificate below. Anyone who's been to a Cracker Barrel has seen the antique items that decorate their walls. I've often wondered whether these items were authentic, and indeed they are. According to the Cracker Barrel website, no reproductions are used in the stores. More than 700,000 items decorate their locations, and another 90,000 are held in a warehouse.

Well, so the certificate is genuine. I immediately wondered who Florence Anne Flinn was and what happened to her. After a bit of research on Ancestry.com I think I've found an answer. 

Assuming I have the right person, the certificate Flinn was born on February 23, 1889, in Pittsburgh according to Pennsylvania Death Certificates. Florence turns up in the 1908 Sharon City Directory as a student living at 22 Lorain Street. Sharon is a town 75 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. 

By 1911 she was enrolled in the day course for secretarial work at the Margaret Morrison Carnegie School. the women's college of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. The school first accepted students in 1906 and closed in 1973. Florence graduated on June 6, 1911. 

In the 1911 and 1913 city directories Flinn is still listed at the Lorain Street address. By the 1920 U.S. census her situation becomes clear. She is working as a stenographer in a bank and living in her father's house with her five siblings, one brother and four sisters. The father, James A. Flinn (1859-1927), a native of Ireland, is widowed and working as a roller in a steel mill. The family is living at 467 Lorain Street, so house numbers must have changed at some time previously. 

The 1954 Sharon city directory lists Florence as an assistant cashier at the McDowell National Bank. We learn a final batch of details from her death certificate. Flinn died on December 13, 1964, at home in the Lorain Street house. She was a retired bank cashier who never married; cause of death was cerebral arterioslcerosis. The "informant" listed was Miss Agnes Flinn, one of Florence's younger sisters, who lived at the same address. Like her father, she was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Mercer County.

So now I think we know the answer to our question....

But wait, there's another question--who was Margaret Morrison?? 

 

Source: Find-A-Grave

Alabama History & Culture News: November 14 edition

 

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

Birmingham creative duo publishes children's book 'Orange Porange' Alabama NewsCenter Community. Alabama's Jacqueline Allen Trimble is an educator, poet, essayist and sharer. The state supplies endless material for a writer, she says.

Book review: Rick Bragg returns with a collection of his short works Chattanooga Times Free Press ... as a chronicler of the working-class South with "All Over but the Shoutin'," a memoir of his northeast Alabama family. Six more books have followed, ...

New novel 'Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters' is as Southern, and as Gothic, as they come StarNewsOnline.com You don't find many dead mules or decaying plantation mansions these days, in real life or in books. Still, Alabama native Emily Carpenter proves ...

Graphic novel version of classic science memoir aims for new audiences Mongabay.com ... as “one of the finest scientific memoirs ever written,” the book explores Wilson's childhood exploring nature in Alabama and the Florida panhandle.

LOOKING BACK AT OUR HISTORY: Zora Neale Hurston: Harlem renaissance writer newportri.com I found the book distinctive for the precision she took in expressing the ... He is called Cudjo Lewis and is living at present at Plateau, Alabama, ..

This grave shelter in Alabama is noted for unusual size, architecture al.com Alongside Alabama Highway 5 near Thomasville, a gate between two brick columns guards one of Alabama's historical cemeteries. Airmount ...

Alabama Power Foundation helps Mobile history museum preserve story of Clotilda survivors Alabama NewsCenter The museum, in partnership with the Alabama Historical Commission, will use the funds to help create, curate and construct the new Clotilda exhibit in ...

Roane State sponsors virtual showing of Playhouse production of 'Alabama Story' Oak Ridger She portrayed Emily Wheelock Reed, director of the Alabama Public Library System who defended the children's book titled “The Rabbits' Wedding.”.

Alabama city celebrates its 150-year-old Black cemetery

al.com

One hundred and thirty Black veterans of America's wars. Dr. Burgess Scruggs, the first licensed Black physician in Alabama. Daniel S. Brandon and ...

Historic Gadsden cemetery erects new headstones for veterans News Break GADSDEN, Ala. (WBRC) - Volunteers restoring a historic Black cemetery in Gadsden say they were able to restore nearly two dozen tombstones of ...

HBO documentary will detail snake-handling Scottsboro preacher's attempted murder case Gadsden Times Whether it's haunted the hills of North Alabama may be debatable, but the story has had staying power — inspired books and prior true crime ...

Trebek's death spurs memory of Alabama woman's Jeopardy! appearance al.com We sat in a circle of people who were majoring in history, English, and political science. When the categories were biology or chemistry, we knew we'd ...

PRESERVING HISTORY Jackson County Sentinel Robinson did the research and paperwork to have the cemetery added to the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register in May 2019. And this fall, he had a ...

Opinion | Jim Martin: The father of modern Republican Party in Alabama

alreporter.com

As commissioner, Martin helped create the Forever Wild land preservation program. Jim Martin has a special place in Alabama political history. See you ...

INSIDE THE STATEHOUSE: Jim Martin helped build modern Republican Party in the South - Tuscaloosa News

Full Coverage

New book shows what's left of Alabama's abandoned mines al.com There's a secret world beneath the ground in Alabama. ... a Facebook page where they share history and photos from their weekend explorations ...

Alabama History: Re-examined WSFA MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - In a bold move, the Alabama Department of Archives and History admitted that early on when it was first established, ...

Restoring headstones to remember Black veterans at historic cemetery Gadsden Times The cemetery was listed on the Alabama Historic Register in 2013, and the City of Gadsden maintains the road to it. A historic marker placed in 2013 ...

Restoring headstones to remember Black veterans at historic cemetery Gadsden Times The cemetery was listed on the Alabama Historic Register in 2013, and the City of Gadsden maintains the road to it. A historic marker placed in 2013 ...

New book aims to inspire wonder for Alabama's rich and diverse wildlife News Courier A new book from Hello Earth Press highlights Alabama's unique natural wonders for readers ages 9 to 12 and beyond. The debut book release is the ...

Alabama-related 'Jeopardy!' clues from over the years

al.com

“Rose Parks changed history in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat to a white person on a bus in this city.” Correct response: What is ...

John Vachon Photographs Gadsden in 1940

I seldom revisit older posts on this blog, but I'm doing that here. In December 2014 I posted "Christmas Shopping in Gadsden in December 1940". In that piece I wrote, 

"These nine photographs were taken by John Vachon in Gadsden, Alabama, apparently on a Saturday in December 1940. Vachon was one of a number of photographers who traveled America from 1935 until 1945 documenting conditions and activities during the Depression and WWII for the U.S. Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information. He worked for the OWI in 1942 and 1943. Almost 8300 of his photographs can be seen here. Vachon was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1914 and died in 1975."

Those nine photos and some further comments are below. In this post I add two more of Vachon's Gadsden photographs that have nothing to do with Christmas but were taken at the same time. I included in the previous post  some background on my connection with Gadsden and discussion of details in some of the photos. I repeat that information below and expand on those details.  

I've also done a post on Vachon's photo shoot with Marilyn Monroe in Canada as a lame attempt to connect MM with Alabama. A not-so-lame attempt--Marilyn Monroe and Truman Capote--is coming soon. 

FURTHER READING 

John Vachon’s America: Photographs and Letters from the Depression to World War II. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 2003

John Vachon [1914-1975]

Source: Wikipedia

In the upper left you can see a bit of the Christmas decorations hanging everywhere along Broad Street, Gadsden's main street at the time and the location of Vachon's photographs. 

As you can see below as well, he seems to have taken many of these shots from the second story of some building. 

On the right a temporary "Grant's Toy Land" sign hangs above the store's permanent one. Grant's was a variety store chain that operated in the United States from 1906 to 1976.

That sign on the left says Lane Drugs. In the photo below with the Texaco sign, you can see Lane's storefront and this sign from another angle. Oddly, I did not find a Lane Drugs in the February 1940 Gadsden telephone directory. 

Behind the Lane sign is the Guarantee Shoe store sign seen again below. In the background on the right are the Texaco sign as well as signs for Hagedorn's, Hoffmans Jewelers [listed in the June 1933 city phone book], Belk-Hudson, Economy Auto Stores, Sterch, and Coca Cola. 

Even in a much larger version of this photo there are a number of signs on both sides of the street I can't make out. 

The Etowah County courthouse is prominent in two photographs; the other one is below.

Are these gentlemen carrying just-purchased Christmas presents?

A Texaco sign is visible here. The ad below is the only one for a Texaco station I could find in the February 1940 Gadsden telephone directory.

Across the street is the storefront and sign for Lane Drugs. Across the street from that business, diagonal from the Texaco sign, is the Grant store on the corner. 

Chestnut Street runs parallel to Broad and is one block over, so I presume this station is the Texaco one being advertised on the sign above. 

Here we can see signs for Guarantee Shoe Company, Allen Finance Plan Loans,  and the Raines and Raines law firm. The shoe store was listed at this same 412 Broad Street address in the June 1933 phone book. In that year, W.G. Raines practiced law solo with a courthouse address; perhaps by 1940 a son had joined him at this office. 

On the right can be seen the signs for Hoffman Jewelers and Belk-Hudson. 

The time appears to have been high noon when this photo was taken. 

Alabama History & Culture News: November 7 edition

 

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

The Alabama miners strike of 1920—striking a blow at racism Socialist Worker His book, Race, Class and Power and in the Alabama Coalfields 1908-1921, shows how the colour line could break down on the picket line.

Alabama author Fannie Flagg catches up with beloved 'Fried Green Tomatoes' characters in new ... whnt.com (WIAT) – Years ago, Fannie Flagg said goodbye to “Whistle Stop,” the fictional Alabama town best known as the setting for her 1987 novel, “Fried ...

Have you visited these Alabama musical attractions? Alabama NewsCenter Alabama has a rich musical history that has given way to a vibrant musical legacy. We've brought you stories of Alabama Music Makers carrying on ...

Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives in Athens announces new facility whnt.com Museum volunteer Jerry Crabtree said with such rich history embedded in the museum it's a landmark for the community.

Our Picks for the 2020 Portland Book Festival Portland Monthly Genevieve Hudson's Boys of Alabama—“a magical, deeply felt novel” per Kirkus—somehow skipped my radar on its May release, but I've since been ...

Moulton restaurant holds Historic Register dedication Moulton Advertiser Moulton restaurant holds Historic Register dedication ... celebration on Halloween after the restaurant was listed on Alabama's Historic Register.

State officials recognize historical preservation efforts of the Elba Chamber of Commerce WDHN - DothanFirst.com Elba, Ala. (WDHN)—In Elba on Wednesday, a statewide delegation of the chamber of commerce and main street officials came together

Review: “The Witches” is a poor adaptation of beloved book Ithaca College The Ithacan This year's “The Witches” is a new adaptation of the 1983 novel of the same name. The story takes place in 1960s Alabama and follows a young boy ...

'Alabama Story' sparking conversations at CCP Crossville Chronicle Emily Wheelock Reed, director of the Alabama Public Library Service Division, put the book into circulation. State Sen. E.W. Higgins wanted the book ...

Mobile trail gives visitors glimpse of city's multicultural beginnings Alabama NewsCenter While conducting a tour of Mobile's historic Africatown, Karlos Finley said his ... Dora Franklin Finley African-American Heritage Trail from Alabama ...

St. Bartley Primitive Baptist Church celebrates 200 years! WAFF Alabama history. American history. [ READ MORE: State's oldest black church, baptisms, beginnings remembered during bicentennial ].

Dothan native serves up a tasty thriller [Charles McNair] Dothan Eagle I held a Nikon; Charles gripped a copy of his first novel, the Pulitzer ... Even so, every one of my novels is set in Alabama … and I think the ones I write ...

Anne Hathaway Takes On Role Anjelica Huston Made Famous In Remake Of 'The Witches' Spectrum News NY1 In this version, grandma is from Alabama. In the book, she is from Norway. Spencer says she hopes their version of “The Witches” is a family affair for ...

Local spots steeped in haunted legends The Alexander City Outlook Every graveyard, church and lonely bend in one of Alabama's highways is ... The cemetery sits back from the road, surrounded by a chain-link fence, ...

Dick Cooper's photo exhibit at Alabama Music Hall of Fame dives into Shoals music history whnt.com — Through the end of the year, patrons visiting the Alabama Music Hall of Fame will have the opportunity to dive into even more music history. The ...

The Haunted History of OldTown The Southeast Sun The tale of Grancer Harrison may be the most well known ghost story in Alabama but OldTown carries even more history. About one mile down an old ...

Pea River Historical and Genealogy Society has museum opened back up for tours WTVY, Dothan “What we do as to collecting and preserving and making available the history of the southeast Alabama doesn't just include Coffee County so our ...

LAMP graduate launches historic magazine at UA WSFA (WSFA) - A Montgomery student is making history at the University of Alabama. Tionna Taite, LAMP graduate and Alabama sophomore is the creator ...

Fannie Flagg takes us back to Whistle Stop in 'Fried Green Tomatoes' sequel al.com The 283-page novel takes readers back to the people and places Flagg ... In the past, she's made it a point to begin her book tours in Alabama -- “It's ...

Preserving a legacy at this roadside Alabama BBQ joint al.com All of the employees at Hughes' restaurant are women, and they all do a little bit of everything, she says.(Photo by Art Meripol, from the book "Alabama ..

Kathryn Tucker Windham's ghost stories through the eyes of her daughter Dilcy Windham Hilley Bham Now As one of Alabama's greatest storytellers, I saw her often at library events or book fairs before she died in 2011 at the age of 93. Even though we never ...

Alabama's Fannie Flagg Returns to Whistle Stop in New Novel alabamawx.com Alabama's Fannie Flagg Returns to Whistle Stop in New Novel. October 26, 2020 @ 6:00 pm • By Alabama News Center. Click HERE to see the full ...

Mobile's Magnolia Cemetery is a 'magical landscape'

al.com

... of the first citizens to be buried in Magnolia Cemetery: Judge Henry Hitchcock, one of Alabama's first millionaires, who died of yellow fever in 1837.