Alabama History & Culture News: October 30 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. Some articles may be behind a paywall. Enjoy!

The ghost ship of the Eliza Battle - al.com AL.com The legend of Alabama's ghost ship. ... But most agree her sinking was “one of the greatest calamities” in Alabama history, according to author ...

Fairmount Baptist Church marks 200 years of serving Red Level The Alabama Baptist Ellen Dewberry of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission presented the church with a certificate, and a photo album and scrapbook of special ...

Bethel Baptist Association celebrates bicentennial The Alabama Baptist Lonette Berg, executive director of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission, and Rick Barnhart of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions ...

81 years ago, Halloween pranks led to the death of a Birmingham firefighter - CBS 42

CBS 42

J.T. Pearson's grave at Elmwood Cemetery. The night Pearson died, a total of ... Last call for haunted houses in Alabama as Halloween approaches.

Civil Rights Pioneer Claudette Colvin Is Fighting to Clear Her Record - Smithsonian Magazine Smithsonian Magazine For years, her relatives worried that she would be arrested by the police, for any possible reason, whenever she visited Alabama. “My conviction for ...

Roy Wood Jr. on Stand-up, His Alabama Roots, and What Makes a Comedian - The Ringer The Ringer Roy Wood Jr. talks about how he got started in stand-up, how his Alabama roots have influenced him as a comedian, and the qualities that make a ...

The ghost ship of the Eliza Battle - al.com AL.com The legend of Alabama's ghost ship. ... in Alabama history, according to author Rufus Ward in his 2010 book, “The Tombigbee River Steamboats.”.

The Hawes Murders: a dark moment in Birmingham's early history - Alabama NewsCenter Alabama NewsCenter According to a 2006 recounting in Alabama Heritage magazine, ... Irene's body was moved to the city cemetery for immediate burial.

Chipola Theatre announces staged reading of 'Alabama Rain' | Local | dothaneagle.com Dothan Eagle No set, no props, no costumes. Actors interact and perform the story with script, similar to listening to an audio book. With more stories to tell ...

After 'Blood,' Allison Moorer writes about life with an autistic child - al.com AL.com Alabama native Allison Moorer takes flight with 'Crows'. The saving power of music was a theme that ran through that book. Early on in her new one ...

Haunted history awaits Old Alabama Town visitors Friday - Montgomery Advertiser Montgomery Advertiser Nothing is quite as spooky as history, and guests can get a frightful lot of it Friday during tours at the Haunting at Old Alabama Town.

Haunted Hartselle hosts Ghost Walk Thursday The Hartselle Enquirer “Hartselle is one of the most haunted historic downtowns in Alabama,” said Lesley Ann Hyde, a Cullman State Farm agent who started the paranormal ...

Centennial Hill: A neighborhood worth preserving - Montgomery Advertiser Montgomery Advertiser Destruction of “physical history” also destroys present values. ... architectural preservation is a set-aside, known as Old Alabama Town, ...

East Cullman Association celebrates 75th anniversary | The Alabama Baptist The Alabama Baptist Mary Ellen Holmes, associational historian, presented the history of East Cullman Association, and David Stancil, pastor at Enon Baptist Church in ...

Vickery speaks to historical society - The Troy Messenger

The Troy Messenger

Lou Vickery, the author of “Alabama Creek Indians,” spoke to the Pike County Historical, Genealogical and Preservation Society at the Pioneer ...

Civil rights pioneer seeks expungement of '55 arrest record - KWQC

KWQC

Months before Rosa Parks became the mother of the modern civil rights movement by refusing to move to the back of a segregated Alabama bus, ...

Ghosts Of Birmingham: The Magic City's Haunted Buildings - Patch Patch Oak Hill Cemetery: One of the oldest cemeteries in Alabama, Oak Hill is said to be haunted by numerous spirits, most notably the ghost of ...

Three Revolutionary War patriots honored with grave marking in historic Madison County cemetery The Madison Record Other leaders of patriotic groups also in attendance included Patrice Donnelly, State Regent, Alabama Society Daughters of the American Revolution; ...

USS Alabama completes 100th patrol - US Pacific Fleet

US Pacific Fleet

Alabama joined a select group, alongside USS Alaska (SSBN 732) and USS Henry ... patrol in the history of the Ohio-class SSBN force,” said Murphy.

Learning from history in Montgomery, Alabama - Wichita, KS Wichita, KS Montgomery, Alabama is a two-and-a-half hour drive from Atlanta, Georgia. And one well worth the trip. A group of women I know from my synagogue ...

Historical marker dedicated to Black women suffragists of Huntsville unveiled - WAAY

WAAY

When their history becomes known and is integrated into our historical narrative, then the full tapestry that is Alabama history can become ...

These Tour Stops On University of Alabama's Campus Tell of Dark Racial History | The ... The Birmingham Times From the construction of the initial buildings to the destruction of the campus on April 4, 1865 when Union troops descended on Tuscaloosa, ...

Preserving the history of Birmingham Black Radio: a discussion of preservation, outreach and collaboration

RB Riter, B Friedman, K McDade, J Hirschy - Global Knowledge, Memory and …, 2021

… Purpose – The Birmingham Black Radio Museum (BBRM) is a community
museum and archives located in Birmingham, Alabama (USA) … Design/methodology/approach
– This analysis is informed by historical, case study and autoethnographic methods …

Halloween Back in the Day

I've written a piece on this blog about past Halloweens around Alabama, and in this one I'm looking at a few from my own family for which we have the photo evidence. I'm sure there are more around here somewhere, so perhaps I'll do another such post in the future. 

Most of these photos date from the early & mid-1990's....

That's a motley crew. Amos is Batman and Becca is a mini-clown. We still have those big plastic pumpkins.

Amos and Becca on another Halloween

Back in the day Dianne and Becca did some pumpkin carving; here are a few from one year. 

Always good to have some creeping cats around at Halloween. 

Aren't cats endlessly entertaining?

Now for some of Dianne's Halloween creations: a hanging decorative ball, an "All Hallow's Eve" tree of life necklace, a spooky gingerbread house and a scarecrow. She's done a lot of such craft and jewelry work; you can see some on ArtFire and Etsy.

For several years Dianne and the kids would make and decorate a spooky gingerbread house. 

One year there was a scarecrow.

Halloween Spotted in Some Alabama Places

Over the years I've taken photos of Halloween costumes and decorations at various places around Pelham and elsewhere just for fun. Hey, somebody needs to document this stuff!

Looking through them recently I decided to bring some together in a blog post. So here they are, submitted for your amusement at this very special time of year...

You can read my posting on "Halloweens Past in Alabama" here. 

Cracker Barrel in Pelham, August 2, 2021

This photo and the two below taken at Michael's in Hoover
September 27, 2020

Huntsville Hospital outpatient clinic on Bailey Cove Road
October 8, 2020

This one and the one below were taken at Michael's in Hoover at some point in the dim past....

This photo and the three below were taken at the Pelham Home Depot
21 October 2019

This photo and the one below taken at the Pelham WalMart
 23 September 2019

Probably at the Pelham WalMart, 26 October 2018

Two more from the Pelham WalMart, September 14, 2018 above
 and September 10, 2018 below

Three more from WalMart, September 10, 2017

And finally, at the Pelham Home Depot mid-September 2021. We were in this store on October 28, and the Halloween stuff had pretty much shrunk to one shelving unit. Christmas had taken over. 

In These Days of Modern Times

We seem to have had a lot of Amazon orders delivered lately [for some mysterious reason!], and many of them come with an email and a photograph of the item(s) on our porch. I present some here for the general amusement of the  readers to show the endless variety of Amazon delivery placement on this porch. The pumpkins are keeping watch. 

A tip of the hat to all the anonymous Amazon drivers and photographers out there.

To be continued, I'm sure...

October 22, 2021

October 16, 2021

October 13, 2021

October 12, 2021

That's part of a King's Home donation in the background, which was picked up shortly after this delivery. 

October 11, 2021

October 5, 2021

Sometimes there is art! 

September 28, 2021

Alabama History and Culture News: October 25 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. Some articles may be behind a paywall. Enjoy!

P.S. Who can identify the photograph?

Black Alabama family had 'our own hidden figure' and didn't know it - al.com AL.com Two of the four now-grown grandchildren present said they didn't know their grandmothers' role in history until research by the Historic ...

DON NOBLE: Novel explores challenges faced by female lawyer in 1980s - Tuscaloosa News Tuscaloosa News And her recent thriller, “Fierce Kingdom,” takes place in the Birmingham Zoo. “Family Law” is set in Montgomery, Alabama, at the courthouse and in Old ...

'Overwhelming' crowd turns up for Brooklyn Baptist's 200th anniversary The Alabama Baptist Dalton Campbell of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission presented the church with a certificate, and former Conecuh Association DOM Tommy ...

From Marion to Montgomery: The Early Years of Alabama State University, 1867-1925 - YouTube YouTube The Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) will continue its 2021 Food For Thought lunchtime lecture series TODAY at 12:00 PM.

FBC Wetumpka celebrates 200 years | The Alabama Baptist The Alabama Baptist “It's a rare thing for a church to have this many years of history to celebrate, and to be able to look back and give thanks for all that the Lord has ...

Ashley M. Jones Is Named Poet Laureate in Alabama - The New York Times The New York Times Alabama's Next Poet Laureate Writes Searingly About Race. Ashley M. Jones, whose latest collection is called “Reparations Now!,” is unflinching in ...

Book recounts how Alabama death sentence was overturned - Catholic Courier Catholic Courier Donald Cameron Clark Jr.'s book Summary Judgment details how he, with the help of a Benedictine nun, got an Alabama man's death sentence ...

Creek Indians subject of Sunday talk at Pioneer Museum - The Troy Messenger The Troy Messenger Smith said all those with an interest in the Alabama Creek Indians are invited to attend the Sunday meeting of the Pike County Historical Genealogical ...

Cemetery Preservation Group receives $7500 from Alabama Humanities Alliance Selma Sun (CPG) has received a $7,500 grant from Alabama Humanities Alliance (AHA) to be used for the repairs and upkeep of Selma's three cemeteries. “This ...

Stephen King wrote the intro for new book about Alabama musician AL.com “I have a playlist for every novel I write,” King wrote on the blog. “The music serves the book.” Then in January 2014 on Twitter, where King has more ...

UAB doctor, professor Chapman to hold book benefit at Hokes Bluff Public Library Gadsden Times In addition to being able to buy a copy Saturday, Chapman's book is available online on the University of Alabama Press website and on Amazon.com. [His book is "A Strong & Steady Pulse: Stories from a Cardiologist]

Kuykendall to speak at Limestone County Historical Society The News Courier Kuykendall will share his experiences and extensive knowledge in his talk of restoration of historic homes in Athens, according to a release received ...

National Endowment for the Humanities awards more than $400000 to 2 Alabama institutions al.com In Birmingham, Sloss Furnaces will use their money to help revive classroom and other tours at the national historical landmark. “These new grants will provide ...

AT LARGE: Archaeologist may have found 'Holy Grail' of Alabama battle sites - Tuscaloosa News Tuscaloosa News “I had a friend who used satellite imagery to scan most of south Alabama looking ... Moore, who had written a book about the search for Mabila before his ...

'More to the story': Expanded Legacy Museum aims to confront racial history, promote equality TribDem.com MONTGOMERY, Alabama – In an era where the nation struggles with racial justice, ... “We need to reckon with and acknowledge that history," said Bryan ...

Haunted places and urban legends of the Tennessee Valley | WHNT.com whnt.com Built around 1850 by John Lowry, one of the oldest historic homes in Alabama holds not only original woodwork – but several ghost stories and sightings, ...

Olive Branch Baptist celebrates bicentennial Alabama Baptist Campbell and longtime member Eugenia Brown gave a historical presentation of Travis' ... executive director of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission, ...

New book shines light on Mayor George Ward and his “Birmingham Beautiful” campaign alabamawx.com The AlabamaWx Weather Blog gladly brings you an excerpt of this article through a partnership with the Alabama NewsCenter. You can see the complete post ...