Alabama History & Culture News: August 17 edition

Here's the latest batch of links to just-published Alabama history and culture articles. Most of these articles are from newspapers, with others from magazines and TV and radio station websites. Enjoy!

The Birmingham Belles celebrate the Old South in hoop skirts. Some former Belles say it's time to ... Washington Post When each 17-year- Belle is presented at the Arlington  House, gliding down the steps of the Greek Revival-style mansion, an announcer ... oldHistoric

Sculpting Alabama's history: Documentary details Tuscaloosa artist's creative process Tuscaloosa News From prehistoric monsters to the moon,  comprises far more than football and flawed politics. Following the series of 16 bronze high-relief ... Alabama

The story behind the sculptures: Works depict key moments in Alabama's history Tuscaloosa News The 16 bronze high-relief sculptures in Montgomery's  Bicentennial Park, designed by Tuscaloosa artist Caleb O' Connor and cast at the ... AlabamaFlag as irrelevant

Miles College to honor Autherine Lucy Foster, the first Black University of Alabama student

al.com

“We recognize and embrace the significant contribution she has made in America's history, and we believe she embodies the true spirit of a Milean.

Josh Lucas on reuniting with Sweet Home  director almost 20 years laterAlabama Belfast Telegraph Lucas has now reunited with Tennant on the film The Secret: Dare To Dream, based on the 2006 self-help  The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, about a ... book

DON NOBLE: Gaines' debut 'Stay Hungry' worth another read

Tuscaloosa News

Don Noble's newest book is “Alabama Noir,” a collection of original stories by Winston Groom, Ace Atkins, Carolyn Haines, Brad Watson, and 11 other ...

History of Birmingham

UAB Campus Calendar

Join us as History instructor Pam King presents the history of Birmingham, from the city's founding through the civil rights era and up to recent history.

Celebrating 100 years of women's suffrage Dothan Eagle This centennial anniversary is a significant milestone in our nation's . ... Additionally, a group called the  Women's Suffrage Centennial ... AWSCC is set to host several events honoring the many  women who ... historyAlabamaAlabama

Watch the trailer for 'The Devil All the Time,' filmed in Alabama

al.com

If you've read the book, you'll recognize some of the major characters and themes -- such as violence, vengeance, religion, sexuality and guilt ...

The story of Miss Electra, Alabama's golden goddess al.com In his , “ Power Company,” James L. Noles Jr. wrote that praise for the skyscraper came from around the world. “In 1925, a London ... bookAlabama

Rosa Parks, Condoleezza Rice, Coretta Scott King among 10 influential women from Alabama USA TODAY Women in  such as Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King were the ... What started as the final straw in a long  of segregation in Alaska ... Alabamahistory

Artist Trés Taylor brings community mural project to Selma this weekend Selma Times-Journal “ Black Belt is rich with , small businesses, artists, eateries, and natural beauty,” Taylor said. “The route of murals invites folks to come ... Alabama'shistory

Film tells the story of monuments for Alabama's Bicentennial Park Times Daily MONTGOMERY — To celebrate its 200th anniversary of statehood, the State of  created the  Bicentennial Park in the heart of  ... AlabamaAlabamahistoric

Look for  native in HBO's 'Lovecraft Country'Alabama al.com Look for  native in HBO's 'Lovecraft Country' ... So when I was reading Matt (Ruff's) , I understood the Lovecraft references, but didn't feel ... Alabamabook

Meet Alabama's First Female Hall of Fame Inductee

StyleBlueprint

Leah Rawls Atkins built a noteworthy career as a teacher and historian. She taught American and Alabama history at the University of Alabama ...
{Alabama Sports Hall of Fame]

Two Actors From Huntsville's Lee High School

I guess most high schools in the U.S. can produce a list of well-known alumni. My own high school, Lee of Huntsville, is no exception. As you would expect, many are athletes but two are film and television actors of some success. And that brings us to our blog post today...

Kim Dickens graduated in 1983, a few years after I did in 1970. Her father Justin finished there before me, in 1964 and her mother Pam in 1966. She did no acting at Lee, opting for several sports and the National Honor Society. Dickens made her stage debut while attending Vanderbilt University, and after graduation she headed to New York City. By 1995 she appeared in her first film, the crime comedy Palookaville. 

For the past 25 years Dickens has stayed busy both on film and television. To quote Wikipedia, "She had several supporting roles in films, such as Hollow Man (2000), House of Sand and Fog (2003), The Blind Side (2009), Gone Girl (2014), and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016). On television, Dickens had regular roles in the drama series Deadwood (2004–2006; 2019), Treme (2010–2013), and House of Cards (2015–2017). She starred as Madison Clark on the AMC horror drama series Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2018)."

That list barely touches Dickens' regular work on television. She has appeared in multiple episodes of many other series, including Briarpatch (2019-20), Sons of Anarchy (2013-14), Friday Night Lights (2009), Lost (2006-9), 12 Miles of Bad Road (2008), Numb3rs (2006), Out of Order (2003), and Big Apple (2001). 

One of my favorites among her movies is Zero Effect, released in 1998. Dickens is the female lead in the film that also stars Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller. It's a pastiche loosely based on Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story "A Scandal in Bohemia." Bill Pullman plays the title character, Daryl Zero, the "world's most private detective" and it's greatest; Ben Stiller is his assistant. Dickens is Gloria Sullivan, who's behind the blackmail of Zero's new client and is, I suppose, the Irene Adler of the case. Daryl and Gloria meet, and he falls for her; things then get crazy. The film is layered with lots of acerbic humor, especially as Zero and his assistant bicker throughout. 

You can find her on Twitter.

Kim Dickens in 2018 about the time of her exit from Fear the Walking Dead.

Source: UPI

Ned Vaughn started acting early; he appeared in a community theater production of the musical Oliver! at the age of ten. He continued acting in high school and then at Birmingham-Southern College. After graduation he headed to New York with $600 hoping to begin a professional acting career. He worked as a hotel doorman while taking acting classes and heading to auditions.

The Internet Movie Database has 83 film and television acting credits listed for Vaughn. The first appearance is a 1984 science fiction film What Waits Below, also known as Secrets of the Phantom Caverns. Timothy Bottoms and Lisa Blount were two of the leads; Vaughn is credited as "American soldier." Interestingly enough, some filming was done at Cathedral Caverns in north Alabama. 

Since then Vaughn has appeared in a number of films and TV shows. The movies include The Hunt for Red October (1990), Apollo 13 (1995) and The Best of Enemies (2019). He has made multiples appearances in such TV programs as China Beach (14 episodes, 1989-91), Murder One (12 episodes, 1995-6), JAG (1996, 2001, 2004), 24 (4 episodes, 2005), Cane (8 episodes, 2007) and The Event (3 episodes, 2011). His single-episode guest roles include Star Trek: The Next Generation, Criminal Minds, Boston Legal, NCIS, Desperate Housewives, Mad Men, Bones, The Mentalist, Grey's Anatomy, Castle, and Hawaii Five-0. 

According to his Wikipedia entry, Vaughn and his wife Adelaide and their five children live in Augusta, Georgia. He has a Facebook page. 

Many Lee High School of Huntsville graduates have succeeded on their chosen paths, and these two are no exceptions.   

Ned Vaughn

Source: IMDb

Alabama History & Culture News: August 9 edition

Here's the latest batch of links to just-published Alabama history and culture articles. Most of these articles are from newspapers, with others from magazines and TV and radio station websites. Enjoy!

DON NOBLE: 'Alabama's Rivers' full of knowledge on state's water systems

Tuscaloosa News

“Alabama Rivers” is one of the many books published in cooperation with the Alabama Bicentennial Commission. This volume is beautifully and ...

Historical landmark returns to Pioneer Park KSNB Local 4 Robinson Iron in Alabama contacted the Historical Society and told them they have the exact caste iron fountain mold from 1907. The original fountain ...

Dallas Co. Election Results Lead to Several Historic Firsts Alabama News Network From the West Alabama newsroom–. Dallas County is the site of the state's first capital — as well as the site of historic civil rights events — that ...

Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Collinsville, celebrated its 150th anniversary on July 12    Alabama Baptist Deacon David Clayton shared about the history of the church. ... and presented a plaque on behalf of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission.

Exhibit honoring North Alabama women opens in Lawrence County this week Moulton Advertiser Mullican said another major contributor, The Moulton Advertiser's Loretta Gillespie, provided much of the background and historical information for ...

'Knock! Knock! Knock! On Wood': Stax Records star Eddie Floyd recounts his soulful journey in new ... The Commercial Appeal The book is a colorful and compelling chronicle of Floyd's 60-plus years in show ... “In Alabama, I used to listen to Hank Williams and Nat King Cole.

Shirley Ann Grau, a 'quiet force' in Southern literature, dies at 91 Washington Post Set against a backdrop of segregationist politics, the book chronicled three generations of the Howland family, whose social status in rural Alabama is ...

Here's why the geographic center of Alabama moved from one county to another al.com At some point in history, a plaque was attached to the top step of Main Hall, the university's main dormitory. Writing on the plaque says, “The small star ...

Historic walking tours for Oct. canceled themadisonrecord.com The free walking tours are part of a statewide initiative by the Alabama Tourism Department to foster the exploration of Alabama's history and culture.

Alabama Historical Commission Moves Forward with Plan to Study Artifacts from Last Known Slave ... Alabama News Network The Alabama Historical Commission released a request Tuesday seeking a contractor to provide divers who can assess and document the remains of ...

Alabama proceeds with plan to remove artifacts from Clotilda Taiwan News FILE - In this May 30, 2019, file photo, traffic passes a mural of the slave ship Clotilda along Africatown Blvd. in Mobile, Ala. The last slave ship .

Alabama-built ship recovers astronauts after first crewed SpaceX mission

Yellowhammer News

“I am so proud of the fact that Master Boat Builders in Coden, AL is playing a key role in history, with the recovery of the Space X mission today.

John Oliver slams 'white supremacist history of America' taught in schools Boston.com “Those passages were in the standard Alabama history textbook into the '70s,” Oliver said. “So people who read them and may have been shaped by ...

Alabama's historic Coffin Shop was once casket showroom al.com Those driving along Alabama Highway 39 in Gainesville likely don't know they are passing what was an important building in the community 140 ...

A Quick Visit to Arab

East and south of Huntsville you can find several small Alabama towns with "exotic" names: Arab, Egypt, Joppa and to the east of Scottsboro there's even a Hollywood. On a trip last year winding through that part of the state my younger brother Richard and I visited Owens Cross Roads, Scottsboro and ended up going through Arab. 

I've written about West Station Antiques and Gibson's Books in Owen's Cross Roads and Scottsboro in two posts here and here. In this posting I'm discussing Arab. Perhaps one day we'll visit Egypt and Hollywood. 

So why is the town named Arab? Stephen Tuttle Thompson settled in the area around 1840. By the late 1850's a community known as Thompson's Village had developed around his farm. In 1882 Thompson applied to the U.S. government for a post office; one of the possible names he submitted was "Arad", the middle name of his son. The story goes that a postal official interpreted that as "Arab". And here we are. 

This truly was a quick visit, so I'm not doing justice to the town here with just a few photos and a bit of history. One thing we missed was the Historic Village near the city park. This complex of ten buildings recreates life in the area from the 1880's until the 1940's using authentic furnishings and decor. You can read about the origin and development here. A Veterans' Memorial is located at the entrance of that city park. 

The population of the town was just over 8000 in the 2010 U.S. Census. Yet despite its small size Arab can claim several notable people. Liles Burke is a native and a U.S. judge for the northern district of Alabama. Vernon Derrick was a musician who lived most of his life in Arab; he died in 2008. He played mandolin and fiddle with the Stanley Brothers, Jimmy Martin's bluegrass band and Hank Williams, Jr.'s Bama Band. Jill King is a country music singer born in Arab; she released her first album in 2003. Another country music singer, Wayne Mills, was also an Arab native who was murdered in Nashville in 2013. He had released five studio and two live albums. Baseball pitcher Jack Lively was born in Joppa, but settled in Arab after his athletic career ended. 

One of the most famous people associated with Arab is Fred Nall Hollis, who was born in Troy but graduated from high school in Arab after his family moved there. "Nall" as he is known professionally has since become an internationally renowned artist. He studied in France and under Salvador Dali and works in many media, including mosaics, sculpture, drawing, porcelain and carpets. He has traveled and lived widely, but in 2005 returned to Alabama where he built a studio in Fairhope.

More comments are below.

Businesses along a portion of Main Street [Alabama 69]

This photo and one below are the view as we drove into town on Main Street.

Tuttle Thompson Park is located downtown.

Looking back toward downtown from the pocket park

Our Uncle John and Aunt Myrna Shores, mom's older brother and his wife, are buried in Brookwood Cemetery and Memorial Gardens.

Uncle John and Aunt Myrna in the mid-to-late 1990's 

Arabian Motel in Arab, 1940

From the Wade Hall Collection at Troy University Libraries
via Alabama Dept of Archives and History 

Hotel Thompson in Arab, 1940

From the Wade Hall Collection at Troy University Libraries
via Alabama Dept of Archives and History 

Dickson's Truck in Arab, 1940

From the Wade Hall Collection at Troy University Libraries
via Alabama Dept of Archives and History 

Arab is one of several Alabama towns included  in James W. Loewen's Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism [2018]. Historically the term "sundown town" indicated a place to be vacated by blacks before dark. Today's broader definition indicates a neighborhood, town or county with planned discrimination against blacks, Jews and/or others. You can read more about Loewen's Alabama towns here. 

 

Alabama History and Culture News: August 2 edition

Here's the latest batch of links to just-published Alabama history and culture articles. Most of these articles are from newspapers, with others from magazines and TV and radio station websites. Enjoy!

Women of History: Oakville Indian Mounds to host exhibit celebrating the pioneering women of ... Times Daily ... education, history, food, politics and the arts. Connected to north Alabama in some way, each woman contributed to the advancement of the area.

A tradition lives on at Alabama's oldest restaurant Charlotte Observer BESSEMER, Ala. In 1989, Jimmy Koikos, the longtime co-owner of Bessemer's historic Bright Star restaurant, began an annual tradition that has become ... A tradition lives on at Alabama's oldest restaurant - Beaumont Enterprise

Tom Ward's book on the history of The Grove due out in September 247Sports The Grove is the crown jewel of the campus and has captivated people from all over the country, including Alabama native and author Tom Ward, ...

Troupe performs distanced reading of Groves alumnus' civil rights tale The Oakland Press Barebones scheduled free performances of “Alabama Story,” written by ... controversial children's picture book that inspired his play "Alabama Story.

Scientists search for rare mussel on Alabama's upper Tallapoosa River Randolph Leader "This continues the history of cooperation with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service," ...

Atmore native releases new book on Creek Indians

Atmore Advance

Lou offers timeless material that helps the reader truly navigate the historical, genealogical and biographical base of the Alabama Creek Indians.”.

Miles College Football coach Reginald Ruffin Inducted into University North Alabama's Hall of Fame HBCU Gameday Courtesy of University of North Alabama Athletics ... second player in UNA football history to be a three-time All-American, along with former teammate ...

Inside the famous shark's mouth at Souvenir City in Gulf Shores al.com The business has an interesting history that started when Josie Weaver Weir ... by the giant conch shell on the eastern-facing side along Alabama 59.

First Black to attend Auburn gets master's degree more than 50 years later Alabama NewsCenter “They told me to write a history of Alabama State. I had graduated from there, but I was not really interested in writing about it. “But I did all the research ...

Auburn legend Ronnie Brown to enter Alabama Sports Hall of Fame

247Sports

There haven't been many backfields in college football history that measured up to Auburn's in 2004. Tigers quarterback Jason Campbell had not one ...

She was 13 when a beaten John Lewis arrived at her Alabama family's home, seeking refuge Savannah Morning News He helped dedicate a historical marker in front of the home in 2006 and spoke about how courageous the family was to open the door. It was the first ...

At 88, he is a historical rarity — the living son of a slave Washington Post He's been chased on a dark road by white supremacists in Alabama as a foot soldier in the fight for civil rights. Smith was there when a young ...