Youth Hockey in Birmingham, 1975-2001

In his middle and high school years our son Amos played youth hockey in the Birmingham area. Three different organizations have supported this activity: the Birmingham Youth Hockey Association [1975-1989], the Birmingham Youth Hockey League [1993-2001] and the Pelham Youth Hockey League [2001-current]. Amos played primarily in the BYHL and then the Pelham league. Teams of all ages were involved, playing at the Oxmoor Ice Lodge [later the Alpine Ice Arena] in Homewood and the ice rink at the Pelham Civic Complex. Amos' teams practiced and played at both places until the Homewood location closed in 2000. The teams often traveled to play other youth hockey programs. 

During his BYHL years I created a WWW site to document and promote the league. The Internet Archive's Wayback database captured that site. Pages included "BYHL in the News" and such. 

Some of the adults involved in the BYHL were also associated with the original Birmingham youth league. One of them, Steve Cagle, wrote a nice account of the BYHA for the web site in May 2000.

"The BYHA was formed in 1975 by Mr. Morehouse of Harbert Construction. The first president was Buddy Emerkie. In 1978 the BYHA had a home and home series with a team from Toronto. The Birmingham teams did quite well. There is a book called "The Road To Toronto" which contains articles and pictures from this series. I will look for my copy and let you take a look at it. I hope I still have it.

At the BYHA's heyday there were 16 house teams and 4 travel teams. The travel team players also played in the house league. The house teams played games during the week and practiced on the weekends while the travel teams played. There was a separate practice for the travel teams. The travel team players turned in their jerseys after the season. If I am not mistaken, the squirt travel team went to the Silver Stick finals in 1978. My brother was the goalie for that team. I will have to ask him to make sure.

Lance Harless and I are the only former BYHA players still involved with the youth league. Bobby Garove, who has a son in the mites, Lance and I played on the same team one season. There have been three former BYHA players play college hockey. The board back then served 2 year terms and had to wait at least one season to be nominated again. The membership voted for the board members unlike how it is done today.

The BYHA had a concession stand at the BJCC. Each parent that worked got money off their child's dues. The Birmingham Bulls, WHA team, held a summer hockey camp at Alpine called "The Heart of Dixie Hockey School" I went to it twice. The BYHA had a trophy in honor of my late father. He was a board member and team manager for several years. This trophy went to the parent who did the most for the BYHA in a season. The trophy was called the Don McCullar Memorial Trophy. When the league folded in 1989, it was given to my mom.

I remember that we didn't have many kids. We had to play scrimmages and play teams from other cities when we could. I took 11 players that consisted of peewees and bantams to Lexington, Kentucky. We practiced four times and bought our own jerseys. I still have one, and I have the team picture. When we got there, the Kentucky people decided we were only going to play one game. I was furious that we had driven that far just for one game! WE won the game 9-2.
It was hard to keep the league going without a pro team in town, so the league folded.

I got this info from my memories and from my mom who served as a board member."

The Birmingham Bulls have played in the area through several incarnations since 1976. Since 2017 they have been based in Pelham in the Southern Professional Hockey League. 

I don't remember ever seeing "The Road to Toronto" book Mr. Cagle mentions. 

Below are some images and a few more comments. If you have more information about this topic, let us know in the comment section! 

 

These photos show Amos on the right with one of his coaches and his son. Oh, and that's Amos' sister Becca in the top one.

This image and the two below appeared on BYHL t-shirts. 

The Birmingham High School Hockey League existed  for a brief period, and Amos played in the first season. I don't remember anything else about this organization. 

Old Alabama Stuff : A Battle House Hotel Menu from 1857

The Battle House Hotel in Mobile has a long and storied history. The facility originally opened in 1852, but that structure burned in 1905. Three years later the current Battle House opened on the same spot, one of the first steel frame structures built in Alabama. The name today is the Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel and Spa. 

Thus the menu below, from the collection of the New York Public Library and dated March 4, 1857, was used almost five years after James Battle and two half-nephews opened the original hotel on November 13, 1852. The location already had a history as Andrew Jackson's military headquarters during the War of 1812. Two other hotels built on the site had burned.

So just what victuals were being offered that day on the "Bill of Fare" at the Battle House? Well, down the left side we see listings of wines, sherries and champagnes. Among the wines is "Commander Nicholson's Sercial, black seal, bottle racked 1842". Sercial is the driest of wines from the Madeira Islands. Along the right side are more wines, brandies, port, burgundy, claret, and porter and ale. Presumably whiskies were available for the gentlemen who adjourned to a smoking room after the meal. 

The menu lists a variety of meat dishes, including ham, tongue, and "Calf's head brain sauce". Yummy. Side dishes include baked oyster, boiled hominy, another calf's head, sirloin, beef currie [sic], turkey wings, breaded pork, and musette of mutton. Seafood included baked oysters and tripe al lyonnaise. There's several roasted meats, duck, puddings and pastries and barley soup. One important side dish was macaroni au gratin. And how about that baked sago pudding?

Room service was available at an extra charge. Lunch was served for just the ladies from 11 to 12 in the dining room. Children taking a seat at the table were charged full price. Dinner for children and nurses took place from 1 to 1:30.

F.H. Chamberlain and Company are listed as proprietors of the Battle House. Chamberlain, a Baldwin County landowner, had built the Grand Hotel in Point Clear in 1847. 

Below I've included a giant image of the menu to make it more readable and a photo of the hotel from the 1940s. 

Source:

Rare Book Division, The New York Public Library. "DAILY MENU [held by] BATTLE HOUSE [at] "MOBILE,AL." (HOTEL)" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1857.

Part of the Buttolph Collection of Menus

Battle House in the 1940s

Source: Alabama Dept of Archives and History

There's a Ticket Stub for That: Concerts

For a long time I've been collecting ticket stubs mostly from events that Dianne, the kids and I have attended over the years. These memorabilia include stubs from movies, concerts, sporting events, whatever. I now have two cigar boxes [remember those?] full of these things, so let's investigate a few of the contents.

In this post I'm doing the concert tickets; blog posts on sports, movies and a miscellaneous selection of others will follow at some point. I hope.... 

I don't have ticket stubs for some concerts. For instance, I saw The Who at Memorial Coliseum in Tuscaloosa on November 22, 1971, but I can't prove it. Also, I seem to remember a couple of concerts at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre not documented here, including a Steppenwolf/Three Dog Night double bill. Neither do I have any stubs for the several times we've seen and enjoyed Roman Street, Eric Essex, and probably others. Daughter Becca and I saw The Manhattan Transfer at UAB's Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, but alas no stubs for that one, either. Great concert, by the way. 

Most of these performances took place in Alabama; a selection of others is at the end. 

Allman Brothers

Dianne and I were living in Tuscaloosa at this time, working toward masters degrees in library science. This ticket is unused, and I've never seen the Allman Brothers. I don't remember how I acquired this one. 

Bob Dylan

 Bob Dylan had one of Rick Carter's bands opening, if I remember correctly. This concert was on April 20, 1991; here's the setlist. 

Alabama Symphony Orchestra

The Alabama Symphony Orchestra can trace its roots to a volunteer ensemble in Birmingham in 1921. The current name was adopted in 1979; financial difficulties forced bankruptcy in the early 1990s. The Orchestra has operated in the black since a 1997 reorganization. 

Paul Simon

Simon was probably still touring in support of his album Rhythm of the Saints which had been released in October 1990. Dianne and I both attended, and I would pick this event as one of the best concerts I've ever seen. Well, one of the many "best" I guess....

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

The LAGQ formed in 1980, so the group had been around for many years by the time son Amos and I saw them at the UAB performing arts center. Amos had played guitar in a metal band with friends in high school, but he--and I--enjoyed this concert of mostly classical music. We sat in Row C, which was practically underneath the group, and their musicianship was incredible. 

To top it off, they did an unexpected sort of encore. It started with a standard classical guitar interpretation of Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major" and by the time it ended the piece had been transformed into country, bluegrass, rock, and jazz renditions. Needless to say we in the audience expressed our appreciation.

Emmy Lou Harris

Harris has been a force in American music for more than four decades. She was born in the Magic City, but her family moved after she completed the first grade. Of course, she sang "Boulder to Birmingham" in this concert and made a few local comments as well.

Ravi & Anouska Shankar

I first encountered the work of Ravi Shankar in the early 1970s, probably as a result of his influence on the Beatles. Dianne and I both looked forward to this concert, and we were not disappointed. His daughter Anoushka played sitar the first half of the concert, and she was spectacular. 

Then, after the intermission, Anouska came out beside her seemingly frail 86 year-old father as he walked slowly to a stool at center stage. Once seated, Ravi began his magical playing. Father and daughter also played together on several pieces. A very special evening...

Taj Mahal

Blues musician Taj Mahal [born Henry Fredericks] has been playing and recording since 1964. In addition to his own unique interpretation of the blues, he incorporations world music and musicians into his work. This concert was a good example of all that. 

Art Garfunkel

We saw Paul Simon in 1991, and then Art Garfunkel in 2008. Dianne and I grew up in the 1960s when songs like "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", "The Boxer", "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Scarborough Fair" were everywhere. I'm glad we got to see them both perform, even if not together. Garfunkel's album Some Enchanted Evening had been released in 2007. 

The Chieftains 

We actually saw The Chieftains twice at the Alys Stephens Center, but I don't seem to have the stub for the other one. As Wikipedia notes, "The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous with traditional Irish music. They are regarded as having helped popularize Irish music around the world." 

The concerts we saw were a rousing delight. Co-founder Moloney died in 2021, and

the band's future is uncertain. They did regroup in 

April 2023 to perform when President Joe Biden visited his ancestral Irish home. 

Celtic Woman 

We've also seen Celtic Woman twice; the first time was with daughter Becca at the Alabama Theatre. The group formed in 2004 and has toured steadily since then, with many personnel changes along the way. Luckily fiddler Mairead Nesbitt performed with the group both times; she put on quite a show by herself. And of course the song harmonies by the vocalists were wonderful. 

Leo Kottke

What can I say? Kottke is simply a wizard on the 12-string guitar and one of the all-time great American guitarists, 6- or 12-string. Born in 1945, he began performing in the mid-1960s and released his first album in 1969. He has toured and recorded both solo and with others over the years. Sometimes he sings, but most of his work is instrumental. In concert he tells a lot of stories. 

We saw him twice, once at Zydeco in 2001 and earlier on Sunday afternoon, June 20, 1993, at City Stages in Birmingham. He appeared solo both times. If you ever get the chance to see him live, don't miss it. He also has plenty of recorded music to choose from. If you've never heard him play, YouTube can help.

And believe it or not, there is a connection between Kottke and the English band Procol Harum ["Whiter Shade of Pale", etc.]. 

I have the stubs for several concerts I attended in Atlanta in 1974. What a year!

Jefferson Starship 

Jefferson Starship is one of those rock bands with a very convoluted history; Wikipedia sorts it out for us. The group, featuring former Jefferson Airplane members Grace Slick and Paul Kantner and a number of other musicians, began touring under that name in March 1974. Thus I saw them early in their existence at the Omni in Atlanta, an indoor coliseum opened in 1972 and demolished in 1997.

Weather Report 

This jazz fusion group was active from 1970 until 1986 and recorded some great music. Some friends and I saw them at the Great Southeast Music Hall, a superb venue that was actually a bar, restaurant and concert hall. Capacity was 525; the audience sat on cushions on the floor. Beer came in 32oz metal buckets that cost $2.75

Founded in 1970 by keyboardist Joe Zawinul, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and others, Weather Report blended various musical styles and used a large number of musicians during its existence. One of the band's best known works is the instrumental "Birdland", written by Zawinul as a tribute to the New York City nightclub of that name. The Manhattan Transfer has a great version of that song with lyrics. 

Something I especially remember about this performance is one of the band's percussionists playing as he strolled through the audience.

Grateful Dead & Maria Muldaur

Well, I was never a Deadhead, but I sure do like the music, and I'm glad I got to see them live. On this particular night they played a number of favorites, including "U.S. Blues", "Scarlet Begonias" and the immortal "Truckin'". You can see the entire set list and listen to the concert at the Internet Archive. 

Oh, and I enjoyed folk and blues singer Maria Muldaur as well. Her career began in 1963, but she had released her first solo album the year before I saw her. That work included her popular song "Midnight at the Oasis", a showcase for her beautiful voice. I'm glad to see she is still active. 

Bob Dylan & The Band 

Dylan had just released the Planet Waves album, and this tour with The Band had forty shows in North America in January and February 1974. As with the other shows I saw at the Omni, the place was packed. This one was Dylan's first tour in seven years. The Before the Flood live album released on June 20, 1974 documents the tour, although most tracks were recorded at the Los Angeles show. 

I started listening to both Dylan and The Band in the 1960's, so this show was special. They played another concert in Atlanta the next night. You can see the set list of performances I saw here.

The Empty Project: Alabama (1)

"I can't live without empty chairs."
-Karl Kraus

For some time now I've been photographing scenes without people inside the "built environment", as they say. Make of these photos what you will.

What is emptiness, anyway??

UAB Highlands, August 11, 2023

Bessemer Civic Center, July 8, 2023

UAB Callahan Eye Hospital fourth floor corridor
June 29, 2023

UAB Whitaker Clinic, 3rd floor Dermatology

7:30 am October 2020

My mother's living room in Huntsville just after delivery of some flowers

October 2020

Alabama River at Selma on a 1907 Postcard

Now we come to a post on one of my favorite topics, old postcards. I've written one piece on a number from my own collection, "Some Old Alabama Postcards (1)". I really must move on to part two one of these days. I've also incorporated postcards into a number of entries on this blog, such as the one on "Carnegie Libraries in Alabama."

I've found many interesting cards, such as the one below, at the Alabama Mosaic collection of digital resources from various libraries in the state. You can browse through more than 8200 here. 

So what's up with this postcard? First, it was issued by the Rotograph Company, founded in New York City in 1904. The company closed in 1911, but not before it had printed cards with numerous images from around the U.S. 

This card has a view of the Alabama River passing through Selma, with a bridge in the foreground constructed in 1885 by the Milwaukee Bridge and Iron Works. Another postcard below shows the draw bridge open for river traffic. This structure was replaced by the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1940.

The address side of the card tells us it was sent to Miss Zola Campbell of Darlington, Indiana. Via Ancestry.com and Find-A-Grave I located a Zola Campbell who died in 1960 aged 78 and is buried in Darlington. Various entries for her in the U.S. census track her through the years in Indiana; she never married. In 1950 she was living with another single woman two years younger on Main Street in Darlington and working as a library assistant. The 1940 census gives the same information, except she is a "Senior Library Clerk."

The postmark is unreadable, but the sender has conveniently written a date, August 21, 1907, on the front of the card along with his message. The one-cent Ben Franklin stamp used here was first issued in 1902. 

So what is our correspondent's message on this postcard? He [presumably] informs Zola that "Haven't seen or heard of any of our party so far" and puts those words in parentheses. Also set off that way is "Used to swim here" either under or near the bridge. Does that mean he grew up in Selma? Visited relatives there? 

Finally, at the bottom of this side of the card is "Now wont [sic] you be good? Been fishing up the State and am headed for Texas. Had great time. Write me. With love [what may be] Mom and Dad. If that last part is correct, the card may have been written by her father, Thomas M. Campbell, who was also born in Indiana. Perhaps the "our" is himself and his wife, Zola's mother.

Except for the swimming and fishing notations, much of this message is cryptic to us. What "party" is he expecting to see or hear from? Why does he ask Zola about being good? By 1907 she was 26 years old. What is the background of the note "Used to swim here"? 

Zola Campbell's obituary can be seen below. Since she lived in a small town and died in 1960, and had a sister that survived her, I wonder if anyone in Darlington today could offer some clues. 

I presume the "B5-PC 4.50 1907" notation in pencil was added by a dealer in such ephemera.

Ah, the mysteries of postcard messages more than a hundred years old....

Source: Troy University Digital Collections

Source: Indianapolis News 23 August 2023. The 1920 U.S. Census gives her occupation as milliner. 

Source: Alabama Dept of Archives and History

Some Family Photos Winter 1954

I've done a few posts on this blog exploring old family photographs. One included some photos taken at the Chandler Street house years after my toddler pictures below. I've also written one about a family vacation at the beach in 1956 and a group of family photos from the 1960s. 

Now we come to some examples from the winter of 1954. I turned two that March 3. Most of these photos were taken at my paternal grandparents' house at 1313 Chandler Street in Gadsden. We lived in Huntsville but visited Rosa Mae and Amos Wright numerous times over the years. 

My family is blessed--or cursed--with hundreds of photographs old and new. I'm sure I'll be exploring more subjects in the future. 

Happy, happy, joy, joy!

I was always looking at rocks or sticks. 

I don't seem quite as happy here as in the first photograph.

Here I am with dad, Amos J. Wright, Jr. He probably took most of these photos, but presumably my grandfather took this one.

I presume that photographer's shadow is dad's. Someone else standing to the right? 

Look, dad, a shadow!

Prepare to get wet, dad!

My grandmother Rosa Mae Wright died in January 1997, shortly before her 97th birthday. My grandfather Amos J. Wright, Sr., had died in 1975. These color photos were taken the day in 1997 when my brother Richard and I came to get the final items out of the house. 

Here's the back yard where we all spent so much time over the years.

Richard is standing in the driveway close to where I was standing--or sitting--in some of those photos above 43 years earlier. 

Here I am as a young sprout between my paternal grandparents, Amos Jasper Wright, Sr., and Rosa Mae Wright. I'm not sure where this photo was taken but I'm looking pretty young here; I was born in March 1952. You can see my grandparents in 1918 in this post about my grandfather's World War I training in Auburn.