Alabama Yesterdays: Random wanderings through Alabama history
Posts have become so numerous on this blog over the years that I've created some items that are lists of related articles. These include "Medical History In Birmingham", "Film Actresses from Alabama Before 1960", "Alabama Library History" and "Holidays Past in Alabama." Here's a list that pulls together my posts about Alabama cemeteries or posts that have significant cemetery content.
Visit to Confederate Memorial Park & Horseshoe Bend
On December 26 this past year Dianne, our son Amos and myself were headed from Pelham to Huntsville. I had read about the chance of snow flurries in north Alabama, but didn't pay much attention to that forecast. Yet by the time we turned off I-65 onto Alabama 36 at the Hartselle exit, a snow event was taking shape.
We still had some daylight when traffic began to crawl pretty close to our goal, US 231. We needed to go north across the Tennessee River, and then we would near mom's house. However, as we crawled along, we eventually determined from Google Maps, Twitter and occupants of cars going west that the river bridge was closed. Meanwhile, trucks managed to get through the traffic to drop salt on the road.
One gentlemen going west advised my son, who was driving, that "They're all morons [back there]; they won't get moving." That wisdom has quickly become a family phrase to go along with "Traffic flowing freely" that we picked up from the AI voice in our rental vehicle on a 1998 visit to England.
We eventually made our way to the Wavaho gas station at the corner of 36 and 231; I've written about that landmark here. After a much needed restroom break, we slowly crossed the salted river bridge and safely made it to mom's house. The whole event only took ninety minutes or so, but seemed much longer.
More comments accompany some of the photographs below. I can only say, be sure to have bread and milk in your car if you encounter any snow on Alabama 36!
I've written several blog posts on other Alabama 36 topics. These include the abandoned 36 Grocery, the towns of Cotaco and Valhermoso Springs and the Lacey's Spring Cemetery.
On a recent trip to see mom in Huntsville my brother Richard pointed out this small cemetery to me; it's located on Bartee Road, a very short street that connects US 231 and Alabama 36 where those two intersect. See the maps below to understand what I mean.
I've written before about the Wavaho Company and its gas station at that intersection. I've also written a couple of posts about other landmarks in Lacey's Spring here and here. An extensive history of the town and it's historical marker is available here.
That history involves the three Lacy brothers, John, Hopkins and Theophilus, who were born in Virginia and ended up in north Alabama in the early 1820s after periods in North Carolina and Tennessee. The town was named after them; an "e" was added to its name later through a postal department error. All three and other family members are buried in this location. John Lacy is supposed to have served in the North Carolina militia during the Revolutionary War.
The cemetery is very close to the town's United Methodist Church which faces Alabama 36. As seen in one of the photos below, the location is named Lacey's Springs Cemetery, but it's also known as Bartee Cemetery. William T. Bartee was Postmaster at Lacey's Spring from 1887 until 1904; he was also a representative to the state legislature 1892-93. He is buried here, along with his second wife and daughter. They are not included in this inventory, but the Lacy brothers and many others appear.
On another recent trip I quickly took the photographs below. Perhaps soon I can stop again and get out of the car to wander. Google Maps also reveals locations for several other cemeteries in the area.
When I travel to visit mom in Huntsville, I take I-65 north to the Hartselle exit at Alabama 36 and take that state road over to US 231 at Lacey's Spring, then north into southeast Huntsville where she lives. For several months now the first half of that trip on 36 has been closed to through traffic due to bridge work. The detour takes me another exit north on I-65 to Priceville. After a few trips through there I finally noticed Priceville Discount Books. I stopped to take a look early one Sunday afternoon, and I'm glad I did.
Working that day was the original owner, whose name I failed to get. He told me he had opened the store in 1987 and just sold it this past June. He was continuing to work part time to help out the new owners, Aria and Dylan Troncoso. The store occupies much of the Twin Cedar Plaza retail strip on Alabama 67 South not far from the Interstate exit. The photographs below will give you a small idea of the vast inventory inside the store. I'll have to stop by a few more times to make my way through the many sections and shelves. The classics section alone is huge. The store has an active Facebook page, which has been up since January 2014.
Via email, Dylan Troncoso provided me this information about the store:
"The original owner of the store is James Owen. His mother opened a tanning salon in 1987 and James began selling some of his personal books in her store in 1988. His dad helped him by building shelves in an unused part of the tanning salon. The tanning salon/bookstore moved into the current building mid 1990. Eventually the books took over, and James' mom transitioned out of the tanning business and helped him run the bookstore. There are still two tanning beds buried under a surplus of books.
"My wife Aria and I purchased the store from James and took over mid June of 2021. James has remained active in the transition. He is always helpful and works for us around 3 days per week. He just can't step away, and we wouldn't have it any other way! Our current plan is to keep up the legacy of Priceville Discount Books. We hear just about weekly from customers that can remember shopping there from the beginning. Many adult customers have been buying their books there for the entirety of their lives. We hope to clean up and organize as time allows. We plan to clear up some space in the smaller half of the store to accommodate some tables and chairs for our customers as well as our own kids to use for their homeschooling."
I've written a number of pieces about Alabama bookstores, including Booklegger in Huntsville, Gibson's in Owens Crossroads, and Deb's [now Camelot] in Cullman. I've also covered a few now closed, such as Books, Etc in Pelham, the Paris Bookstall in Birmingham, and two much older ones in Auburn. Finally, I've done two posts on bookstore bookmarks here and here. I have a good bit of material on past bookstores in the state and hope to further tap it in the near future.
Priceville Discount Books is well worth a stop if you're in the area, or even if it takes a special trip!
