A Trip Down Memory Lane

In July 2024 our daughter Becca, her husband Josh, son Ezra and stepson Zach came to Pelham for a visit. One thing she wanted to do was take her kids to some places she remembered fondly from growing up in the area. So off we went!

For more nostalgia about Pelham, see my post "Pelham As We Knew It in 1985". 

More comments below. 

When Becca and son Amos were kids, we spent some time in the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover over the years. I would often meet Dianne and the kids there after work, and we would have a meal, ride the carousel and visit some favorite stores like the Nature Company and Disney. Once upon a time there was also a bookstore, Bookland, which operated from 1986 until 2007 and was one of four operated in the Birmingham area by Books-A-Million. Ezra and Zach seemed to enjoy their visit. 

Of course we had to eat at one of our longtime favorite Pelham restaurants, Cozumel Grill. 

We spent much of a day at the McWane Science Center exploring all the exhibits on all the floors. "Ocean Journey" in the basement with live sea creatures was especially neat. The fossil creatures were, too. 

Of course, the boys had to milk a "cow". 

We all had fun at the Lego wall. 

Naturally, Becca wanted Josh and the kids to see where she went to elementary school, which is now a retail space known as Campus 124. I've written about the history of Valley and its redevelopment in posts here in 2020, here in 2021 and here in 2015. Over the years, in addition to visits to the Beer Hog, we've enjoyed eating at the Half Shell Oyster House. 

Valhalla is a restaurant, coffee shop and gaming venue located at Campus 124. Becca, Josh, the boys and I spent a couple of Saturday hours there and had a lot of fun. You pay a fee and then pick any board games you want from their extensive selection. We managed to play two or three before we left. We arrived around 11am, and the place was not very busy; by the time we left it was packed. 

We did a walk through the new Park 124 just behind her former elementary school, where the playground used to be as she remembered. 

The park even has a babbling brook.

On the way home the gang went through Auburn and stopped at her alma mater so Josh, Ezra and Zach could see the campus. Our family has a tradition there; her parents met at the school. My parents also met at Auburn some years earlier. 

Drinking Beer in Elementary School

How's that for a clickbait title?

I've written a couple of blog posts in the past about Valley Elementary School in Pelham, which both our kids Amos and Becca attended back in the 1990's. The first one posted in 2015 looked at a postcard and some other memorabilia related to Valley. The second posting in February 2020 included many photos and a bit of history. The school opened in 1964 and closed as a main school when the new Pelham Oaks Elementary opened in 2015. Long a part of Shelby County Schools, the facility was used in its final years by Pelham City Schools. 

The school system sold the campus to a developer planning to duplicate the sort of retail and entertainment complex already completed in an elementary school in Huntsville. That second post includes photos taken in August and December 2019 showing before and after views as the facility transitioned from one use to another. 

Below are some photos taken in early May when Dianne, Becca and I visited the daughter's alma mater one beautiful Saturday afternoon. Not much is open yet except the Beer Hog, which was very busy. A hair salon, The Guy's Place, is also operating; you can guess which one we gravitated toward. This Campus 124 development is expected to include other retail, office and residential spaces. 

Some further comments about the visit are below. Most of the photos were taken by daughter Becca Leon. Our son Amos is anxiously awaiting his opportunity to visit. 

The facade of the building has changed, but is still recognizable to those of us who knew it as a school for so many years. Yes, that's Dianne and I making our way inside. 

A chili cookoff was in progress, but we had to resist checking it out. We were saving our appetite for a visit to one of our favorite local eating places, 

Cozumel Grill and Mexican Restaurant.  

The place was hopping that Saturday afternoon. The Beer Hog is located in what used to be the school library. As a retired librarian and craft beer lover, I can appreciate the transition. 

That corner door past the drinking fountain is for the women's restroom. Becca said she and several friends would gather there, turn off the lights and call for Bloody Mary in the mirrors. Good thing they didn't try to summon Candyman. 

We ended up trying three flights with 12 different Alabama craft beers. Dianne seems happy with the selections. 

Valley Elementary School in Pelham 1964-2015

In 2015 Pelham City Schools ended use of Valley Elementary on U.S. 31 as a main school when a new replacement Pelham Oaks opened. Valley itself had opened in 1964 and thus had a long history. Both our children, son Amos and daughter Becca, attended in the 1990's. This website noted Valley had 729 K-2 students, which may have been the stats for the final year. When our kids attended the school had K-5 students. 

The building continued to be used by the city school system for various purposes until sold to a developer in August 2019. The plan for Valley is to create something similar to the company's Campus 805 entertainment project at a former school in Huntsville. As you can see below, some demolition began at the site in early December 2019. You can read a newspaper article updating progress at the site here and even more recent ones here and here.  

I took many of the photos below in August 2019. Also included are photos of some damage from the March 1994 tornado and various miscellaneous items. Comments are below some of the photos. 

I've written two previous blog posts with relevant material. One describes a postcard of Valley, probably from the 1970's based on the address on the card, "Route 2, Box 310" rather than the later "310 Opportunity Drive". Another post included Valley in a discussion of the history of schools in Pelham. 

A Facebook page for Valley Elementary lives on.... 

Here's that postcard of Valley Elementary. 

Blank signs seem strange after all those years....

After Pelham created its own school system, the elementary and middle schools Valley and Riverchase were branded with the high school mascot.

Demolition at Valley began in December 2019.

The photo above shows the school's playground in August 2019. Several photos below show damage from the March 27, 1994 tornado to the same area in back of the school.

Yes, that's Amos and Becca....

Daughter Becca and her second grade teacher at Valley, Marcia Baggett
ca. 1995

This 2018 book includes a number of photos of students at the city's first elementary school, Pelham Elementary. That school opened in the 1930's, then moved to a new building occupied until 1964 when Valley opened. The  second Pelham Elementary building was demolished in 1973 to make way for the current Pelham City Hall.  

The building on the left on the cover is Rutherford High School, destroyed by a tornado on April 12, 1909.