Alabama History & Culture News: March 31 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!

Bear Bryant houndstooth hat up for auction al.com Here's your chance to own an iconic piece of Alabama football history. Sports memorabilia site Lelands is auctioning a black-and-white houndstooth ...

Adjunct faculty member's film syndicated in Alabama News at UNG "The film had a great response," Hickman said, adding it was broadcast as part of Black History Month. "It was a big affirmation for our work. It humbled ...

Council votes to declare historic Loxley Hotel building unsafe Gulf Coast News Today LOXLEY, Alabama — Owners of the historic Loxley Hotel have 45 days to demolish the structure following a vote of the Loxley Town Council during a ...

Author Terence Ramone Gills's new book “Choice” is an engrossing novel highlighting the ... PR Web Terence Ramone Gills, a loving father and stepfather, doting grandfather, and Alabama native, has completed his new book “Choice”: a riveting story ..

Catherine Coleman Flowers is always in 'good trouble.' It's a blessing for rural America. Montgomery Advertiser Today, the White House announced the Black Belt, Alabama native will join ... a new book, “Waste: One Woman's Fight Against America's Dirty Little Secret." ... a headache for power brokers, it's been a blessing for rural Alabama.

“Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss” By: Margaret Renkl Alabama Public Radio This book is purposely, I suppose, hard to categorize. ... The “memoir” stream begins in and around Lower Alabama, by which Renkl means Dothan.

Alabama sheriff seeks vandals who dug up grave from 1882 al.com An Alabama sheriff is on the hunt for vandals who dug up the grave of a man buried in 1882. At Flint Hill Cemetery, somebody removed the hefty slab ...

A pioneering woman painter and her monstrous Alabama subject

al.com

As we celebrate Women's History Month, one particularly striking painting provides an opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of Sarah Miriam ...

Alabama's Octavia Spencer, Madalen Mills among winners of NAACP Image Awards al.com He was one of the original 13 Freedom Riders, a colleague of Martin Luther King Jr., a keynote speaker at the historic 1963 March on Washington and ...

In raunchy trailer for 'The Suicide Squad,' Alabama's Michael Rooker fits right in al.com and suddenly there was a great disturbance in the force, as if millions of comic-book-movie fans suddenly moved on from talking about the Snyder Cut ...

Book review: In 'From Preaching to Meddling,' a white priest experiences civil-rights movement in ... Chattanooga Times Free Press Walter, who currently lives in Sewanee, Tennessee, was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1932 and grew up poor among the Creole community on Mobile ...

Alabama cities resuming April walking tours after shutdown WTVY, Dothan Alabama cities resuming April walking tours after shutdown. Alabama, Decatur, Saturday Walking ...

City Taking Applications For Historic Preservation Commission Patch.com TUSCALOOSA, AL – The City of Tuscaloosa is now accepting applications for two positions on its Historic Preservation Commission, which is tasked ...

Iconic 'Coca-Cola' building concludes final chapter of service in Gadsden Gadsden Messenger While current owner Alabama Teachers Credit Union purchased the building with the intent of development and preserving such a historical piece of ...

Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum gets $12K grant Shelby County Reporter The “Alabama Club” car will bring back the unique experience of connecting ... and also a way to preserve the rich history of Alabama and our nation.

Alabama Department of Archives and History digitizes records of Scottsboro Boys whnt.com The Alabama Department of Archives and History recently discovered the intake records from Kilby Prison in the administrative records of Gov.

St. Patrick's Day tornadoes: 6th-biggest tornado event in AL history WTVY, Dothan Still, to reach #6 on any severe weather or tornado list in the state is significant considering Alabama's history. The official tornado count for the event ...

3 remarkable women who left their mark on girls' high school sports in Alabama Bham Now This month in honor of Women's History Month, I interviewed three remarkable women, Noona Kennard, Yvonne Michelle Simmons and Cat Reddick- ...

B. Bart Henson--Memoria

 

B. Bart Henson – Memoria

by Mark Cole

Source: Huntsville Times obituary 21 March 2021

Bobby Bart Henson left this world on March 15, 2021.  A native of Nauvoo, Alabama (near Jasper) and graduate of Minor High School, Henson received an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Alabama in 1957, and his professional engineering license from the State of Alabama in 1962.  He spent most of his career with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as an Instrument Test Engineer in Huntsville, Alabama before retiring in 1990.  He is survived by his wife Bettye, daughter Rebecca (Jones), her husband Chris, and a granddaughter, Zoe.

Growing up in a poor rural family, Bart enjoyed outdoors and had a large farm in Pulaski, Tennessee that he and Bettye were very fond of.  He was not a hunter, but loved providing a sanctuary for wildlife.  They built their home in Huntsville, Alabama and lived there for over sixty years.  It’s a perfect microcosm of their lives, Bettye’s beautiful flowers and plants, and Bart’s piles of books and rocks.   

As I sit in the shadows, looking up at the stars, my mind races to Bettye and the emotions she must feel.  Bettye and Bart were inseparable, soulmates and best friends that even shared the same birthday (different years).  We pray for her strength and peace. 

I first met Bart Henson at the Alabama Archaeological Society Winter Meeting held at the Tennessee Valley Art Museum in Tuscumbia, Alabama in 2002.  I still remember when I saw him, silver beard and trademark cap, standing next to A.J. and Carolyn Wright.  The two men were dressed in sports jackets and slacks, exuding professionalism and confidence - a caliber of person in education and experience far beyond my situation.

I had read about the exploits of Cambron and Hulse, Mahan and Moebes, Futato and Knight, Henson and Wright, from copies of the Journal of Alabama Archaeology loaned by a friend.  These men and women were iconic to me, and became models of my approach to this great science, in this great State.

Henson must have noticed my eagerness and impatience through that first encounter, because during a break he took the time to introduce himself, share some stories with me and offer an autographed copy of his book, “Alabama’s Aboriginal Rock Art”.  I found him humble and kind, inquisitive yet professional, and that day he made an important impression on a young, naïve artifact collector.    

Over the next three decades, Bart and I became close friends.  We stayed in touch when Jen and I moved to Florida, and when we returned our families spent a great deal of time together.  We shared many wonderful meals with Bart and Bettye, took some adventurous field trips, and shared many enjoyable phone conversations.      

Bart will be best remembered for his work with Native American rock art in Alabama, and he has been the author or co-author of several reports, books and hundreds of presentations to local and regional groups on the subject.  Dr. Jan Simek of the University of Tennessee, a specialist in the field, considers Bart his inspiration and hero.  That’s easy to see, given that despite Bart’s unparalleled credentials he treated everyone with the utmost professionalism.    

But to limit Bart to the discipline of prehistoric art alone overlooks even more significant archaeological achievements.  Between 1962 and 1975, the Alabama Archaeological Society experienced its peak membership, but was forced to evolve from its amateur roots into a more professionally oriented Society designed to meet the growing demand of cultural resource management programs.  Had this change not occurred, the Society would have ceased to exist. 

During those seminal transition years, the Henson’s served in several leadership roles for the Society, including President, Vice President, Board Members and Treasurer.  Bart became the inaugural liaison to the Alabama Historical Commission, appointed by Governor Guy Hunt, the last avocational to hold that office, and likely the last ever to do so.

By the early 1980s, Bart and Bettye had become arguably the most important and decorated avocational archaeologists in the United States.  They received both the Award of Merit and the Distinguished Service Award from the Alabama Historical Commission, the Outstanding Member Award from the Alabama Archaeological Society, and in 2012, the Milt and Bea Harris Lifetime Achievement award, the highest honor the Society can bestow on a member.

There are a thousand other stories that I could write about from my thirty-year relationship with Bart Henson.  About DeJarnette’s escapades with axes, Carey Oakley and surface surveys in Madison County.  Ed Burwell telling Bart about three other faces carved in rocks that were used as road fill in Highway 231 north at Meridianville.  About the fluted point site at Burwell Mountain.  Trips he took with Bettye to collect during holidays while relatives waited for dinner.  Talks he had with Ed Mahan, Charles Brosemer, Jack Cambron and many others.

I could tell you about Bart’s hiring by Werner Von Braun, his proudest achievements in testing astronaut biometrics, the time the monkey escaped in the NASA lab, and much more.

But none of that would be sufficient to communicate the respect I had for the man.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ellis Whitt came to visit Jen and I from North Carolina.  While Ellis was here, we were able to have Bart and Bettye over to enjoy the fellowship of a home cooked meal in the midst of a trying year.  The next day, Bart, Ellis and I met Charles Moore at Heaven’s Half Acre (HHA) for a field trip and a chance to recollect.  COVID-19 had ramped up and a planned study of the sites had been delayed, but after almost a year in quarantine, everyone was ready to stretch their legs a little.  Looking back, I’m glad we went – I was with my heroes.

Alabama has lost an iconic historian and researcher, and I have lost a friend.  I will always wish for one more chance to pull on my boots, get in my truck, and take Bart out for one more spin.  Maybe one day, I’ll see him again.

For now, I’m left staring at those empty, muddy boots, memories flashing through my mind, a series of smiles, laughs and tears.  That’s the complexity of becoming friends with an icon, no matter what, no matter how hard I try, I know his boots I will never fill.

Figure 1 - Left to Right, Charles Moore, Ellis Whitt and Bart Henson at Heaven's Half Acre in October 2020

NOTE from A.J. Wright

Mr. Cole has graciously allowed me to post this remembrance of Bart Henson,  which will also appear in a future issue of the Alabama Archaeological Society's newsletter, Stones and Bones. The illustrations and comments below are my additions.

This book by Bart Henson and John Martz was published by the Alabama Historical Commission in 1979. 

I met Bart and Bettye Henson in the 1960's via my dad Amos J. Wright, Jr.'s participation in the Alabama Archaeological Society. I still have the American Heritage Dictionary the Henson's gave me when I graduated from high school in 1970. 

In my 2017 post "Dad and Alabama Archaeology" I included a memorial to dad that appeared in the Stones and Bones. I made the following comments about Bart Henson's portion and the story behind the article they wrote together:

"Mr. Henson tells the story of the Great Lamar County Aboriginal Sandstone Quarry Hunt led by my maternal grandfather, the Rev. John M. Shores. I remember that day well; granddaddy--an avid hunter and woodsman-- thought he could take us right to the location of the rocks with the strange markings. We spent a long time that day wandering around while he tried to recall landmarks near that spot."

Alabama History & Culture News: March 23 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!

Alumni association honors five inductees to the Hall of Pride Tallassee Tribune He and his wife Clara Lee Tillery (1907-1998) are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery. He graduated from Dadeville High School, Dadeville, AL in 1924, ...

BOOK REVIEW: Author shows Alabama's triumphs and failures The Decatur Daily “The Five Capitals of Alabama: The Story of Alabama's Capital Cities from St. Stephens to Montgomery," by Tom Bailey, (New South Books: ...

Book review: 'His Truth is Marching On' offers a vivid portrait of John Lewis Roanoke Times Lewis was the son and grandson of Alabama sharecroppers. As a child, he had farm chores; one of those was to take care of the chickens. His early ..

Alabama's hidden history: How highway could fuel tourism Cullman Times Online Alabama's brief flirtation with the promises of Reconstruction ended. The horrifying history received national attention last month in an Atlantic

DON NOBLE: Pulitzer Prize–winning Alabama journalist writes family memoir Tuscaloosa News In this exploration of family and history, Archibald goes on a quest, after his father's death, to understand his dad's life as a minister, especially as it ...

Byron Williams: Give Montgomery, Ala., its rightful place among historic cities Greensboro News & Record In 1963, in practically the identical location, Alabama Gov. George Wallace during his inauguration declared: “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, ...

“Stitching Together Tuscaloosa's History” – University of Alabama Museums University of Alabama Museums Curated by University of Alabama student volunteer Allison Mansour, the Stitching Together Tuscaloosa's History exhibition utilizes the 2019 ...

Stay overnight in historic Selma Bridge Tender's House

al.com

Selma is one of Alabama's most historic cities, featuring beautiful old homes, churches and buildings, as well as the iconic Edmund Pettus Bridge.

TROY Libraries' traveling military postcard exhibit debuts at Air University Trojan News Center The previous exhibits focused on scenes from Alabama's historic streets, ... screen banners, each portraying a distinctive aspect of military history.

'We have history that hasn't been uncovered' | Slave Wrecks Project shows global industry of slavery WUSA9.com Dunnavant has done work in Africatown, Alabama, a city that was formed by African Americans after the emancipation of enslaved people. Many of those ..

Alabama cookbook author says COVID-19 changed restaurants forever Alabama NewsCenter Once the book was completed and then its publication delayed, Cobbs reached back out to the restaurants to check in on them. That's when she had ...

The History of Enslavement on the University of Alabama's Campus and the Memorial Landscape Events - The University of Alabama Rachel Stephens, Associate Professor of Art History, will present her ... to the history and archives of slavery on the University of Alabama campus.

Rachel Hawkins's new novel sets Jane Eyre in Alabama al.com “I'm the new kid on the block on my 12th book.” The Alabama author has written young adult fiction (YA) full-time for the past 10 years. Her ...

Author Leamon Boddie's new book “Driver First: My Perspective” is a thoughtful work offering his ... PR Web Leamon Boddie, a senior citizen and lifelong Alabama resident who took up the game of golf in his early thirties, has completed his new book “Driver ...

'100 Boyfriends' Tells Lewd and Lonely Stories of Desire and Heartbreak The New York Times But along comes Brontez Purnell with his new — novel, is it? Linked ... The book's narrators are often, like Purnell, Gen X, born in Alabama and now in ...

Boman releases book about overcoming Clanton Advertiser The book is about prayer, spiritual warfare and overcoming difficult obstacles. “Spiritual ... Boman is a 2009 graduate of The University of Alabama.

Preservation Society gearing up for 'safe' Pilgrimage Selma Times-Journal “At 200 years old, Selma is home to the largest historic district in Alabama, where a special blend of southern hospitality, Spanish moss, heirloom ...

Alabama Photo of the Day: Turpentining

Turpentine is a fluid made from the sap of certain trees, especially pines. Uses  have included as a solvent for paint thinning and production of varnishes. Turpentine has been largely replaced by cheaper products made from petroleum. 

Between about 1840 and 1930 turpentining was big business in mostly south Alabama with it's plentiful supply of longleaf pines. You can read more about the industry and the process in the Encyclopedia of Alabama article by Catherine Kim Gyllerstrom. She also wrote her Auburn University dissertation on the topic, "2000 Trees a Day: Work and Life in the American Naval Stores Industry, 1877-1940". Pitch or resin used in caulking wooden ships was produced from the same trees.

The industry's long history in the state included the use of labor by slaves, convicts leased to private companies, and immigrants lured from northern cities into debt peonage/involuntary servitude in Alabama with promises of lucrative work. You can imagine the conditions in which these men worked in the isolated pine forests of not only southern Alabama but also northwest Florida and southern Georgia. . 

An article by Breck Pappas in the Mobile Bay Magazine March 23, 2017, described a particularly horrific incident: "A 1901 story from the New York Times describes the burning of a Baldwin County turpentine camp as “the most horrible catastrophe in the history of Alabama.” It’s reported that 60 people perished in the fire, which started in the middle of the night while workers slept. The tragedy’s lone survivor was said to have rowed naked across Mobile Bay the next day to recount his story."

"The crude gum is collected from the tree cup, placed in carrying buckets later transferred to barrels to go to 'still'". This photo was taken in the 1930's or 1940's. 

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History

Alabama History & Culture News: March 17 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!

"Shaking the Gates of Hell" By: John Archibald Alabama Public Radio Pulitzer Prize–Winning Alabama Journalist Writes Family Memoir ... In this exploration of family and history, Archibald goes on a quest, after his father's ...

Auburn University and UAB historian, religion scholar David Edwin Harrell dies al.com Retired Auburn University history professor David Edwin Harrell, who wrote ... He was chairman of the history department at UAB from 1985-87. ... the University of Georgia from 1967-70, University of Alabama in Birmingham, the ...

Huntsville Parks & Recreation: Historic African American Cemetery Earns National Recognition ... Patch.com Huntsville Parks & Recreation: Historic African American Cemetery Earns National ... Glenwood Cemetery, the City's oldest surviving Black burial ground. ... Heights, a historically Black neighborhood near Alabama A&M University.

What's new on the Alabama Bookshelf Alabama NewsCenter In this periodic feature, we highlight books either about Alabama people or events, or written by Alabama authors. Summaries are not reviews or ...

Tallapoosa County School | Encyclopedia of Alabama Encyclopedia of Alabama From a photo album collected by the Alabama Superintendent of Education, ca. 1913. Courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History.

See the newest inductees into the Alabama High School Hall of Fame al.com Grammer has an overall record of 633-158-50 (as of last spring), making him the all-time winningest soccer coach in AHSAA history. He won Class 6A ...

What is the significance of Alabama history in 2021?

al.com

Oakwood Cemetery and its annex spans 120 acres. It started in 1819, the same year Alabama became a state. It is the home of over 200,000 burial sites.

In 'Shaking the Gates of Hell,' a preacher's son examines his church's culture of silence on civil rights

Washington Post

Archibald dismisses this assessment in his questioning and questing book “Shaking the Gates of Hell,” a fascinating blend of family memoir and moral ...

Film by UAB alumna on Birmingham's Greek-owned restaurants gets Southern Foodways Alliance ... Alabama NewsCenter “I am so excited to highlight Birmingham's hidden history of Greek ... and is chair of the Alabama Humanities Alliance Young Professionals Board.

AG Gaston Motel, a piece of Birmingham civil rights history, being restored WRBL A.G. Gaston Motel, a piece of Birmingham civil rights history, being restored. Alabama. by: Drew Taylor. Posted: Mar 12, 2021 / 05:33 PM EST ...

Alabama woman designed the first operational windshield wiper Alabama NewsCenter She is buried in Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery. According to a 2018 report in Business Wire, the “aftermarket” for replacement wiper blades in ...

An Alabama archive recovers a cookbook and the stories of a Black community Yahoo Lifestyle As part of its Black History Month observance last month, the Limestone County Digital Archives in Alabama began digitizing and sharing recipes from ...

Shoals music history inspires Washington, DC man to start nonprofit to fight homelessness with live ... whnt.com “I did the tour; I went to FAME, I went to Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Alabama Music Hall of Fame, then kind of just inspiration struck out of just being ...

“Ways of Seeing” connects Alabama + worldwide artists—why we're drawn to it Bham Now Among delving into the history of Linn Park and its monuments, the panel will also discuss the historical account in summer 2020 when Jermaine ...

New book celebrates TROY's relationship with Nall Trojan News Center “Nall at TROY: An Internationally Regarded Alabama Artist Comes Home” highlights the Troy native's decades of artwork, much of which is located in the ...

Alabama's 120-year history with gambling is complicated WIAT - CBS42.com On Tuesday, Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh brought a bill to the floor that would tackle the issues of gambling, lottery and gaming in Alabama.

West Florida: The Forgotten 14th Colony WUWF In his new book “Fourteenth Colony – The Forgotten Story of the Gulf South during ... "There was more than one effort to acquire it by Alabama.

Alabama author Patti Callahan explores 'Titanic of the South' in 'Surviving Savannah' Alabama NewsCenter “Years and years ago, he told me about it and gave me an article about it,” says Callahan, the author of 15 best-selling novels (some as Patti Callahan, ...

Book review: 'Shaking the Gates' reckons with a father's failings Atlanta Journal Constitution That same day, eight prominent white Alabama Christian clergymen published “A Call for Unity,” an open letter that took issue with civil rights ...