Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Alabama History & Culture News: July 20 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. Enjoy!


Author bases book in Phil Campbell
After talking with friend Judy Hale about a town in Alabama where she grew up, Richardson-McGhee decided to set part of her book, “A Harlot's Hope ...


A Conversation With Author Of New Civil Rights Trail Book
Author Lee Sentell is among the nation's longest-serving state tourism directors, having led Alabama's agency for nearly two decades and he ...


Photos show historic moments of animals and humans flying to space
Photos show historic moments of animals and humans flying to space ... she was buried at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.


'The Wonder Years' Reboot Set in 1960s Alabama to Debut on ABC This Fall
Meanwhile, the historical context of the show gave it depth. Although Kevin didn't seem to realize the importance of the events taking place around him ...


'Sweet Home Alabama' Cast: Where Are They Now?
After winning over Jake (and moviegoers) in Sweet Home Alabama, the ... In 2018, she authored the book Whiskey in a Teacup, and the following year ...


'Dangling Between Heaven & Earth': Tuscaloosa's Violent History
Disclaimer: This story includes subject matter, language and accounts of violence that may not be suitable for all readers. VANCE, AL — Elmore Clark ...



Will Africatown State Park finally happen 36 years after the Alabama Legislature created it?
Ludgood, a commissioner since 2007, has spearheaded efforts to showcase the distinct cultural and historical significance of the neighborhood ...


Huntsville show 'Rooted in History' spotlights Alabama folk art including Jason Isbell
A new show and sale of Alabama folk art – much of it by Black artists – is bringing people to Harrison Brothers Hardware, a Huntsville fixture on the ...


Gorgas Baptist Church celebrates 100th anniversary
... on behalf of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission, and David Miller, ... after lunch, and everyone present received a booklet of church history.


Birmingham group gets funds to assist civil rights sites
“By preserving Alabama's African American historical sites, we begin to craft a more accurate historical picture,” he said. “Alabama has some of the ...


Birmingham Mineral Railroad Signs Project points the way to Magic City history
Alabama NewsCenter is presenting a continuing series marking the 150th birthday of the city of Birmingham. RELATED: Birmingham birthed from ' ...


Novelist Joshilyn Jackson to keynote 16th annual Clarksville Writers Conference
Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 10 novels, including “Gods in Alabama,” “Never Have I Ever” and “Mother ...

He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Troy. An eternal flame illuminates his grave 24 hours a day. Appropriately, it is furnished by the City of Troy ...


Clarke County Historical Society resumes monthly meetings, schedule of speakers announced
Paula Webb is a tenured librarian at the University of South Alabama. Her first book was “Mobile Under Siege: Surviving the Union Blockade.”.



Living History Crew to drill Saturday August 7 at USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park
MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) — The USS ALABAMA and USS DRUM Living History Crews will be in the park on Saturday, August 7, for their summer drill.

Head in clouds: 5-year-old Alabama boy writes first book
Head in clouds: 5-year-old Alabama boy writes first book ... Julius Alexander Marshall, of Mobile County, has published a book about weather that ...


Alabama elects first Black Republican to House in 140 years
I think they were looking for an outsider,” Paschal said in a statement. Insight by HackerOne: Download this exclusive e-book and learn how the idea of a ...


New novel shines light on incredible family story
It is fitting then that Fr Coyle's tragic death far from his native Drum in Birmingham, Alabama, 100 years ago next month at the hands of a Methodist ...
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Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Actress Bonnie Bolding from Joppa

 On this blog I've written a number of posts about actresses with Alabama connections, mostly those whose careers began before 1960. These have included Lois Wilson, Gail Patrick, Dorothy Sebastian, Boots Mallory, Lottice Howell, Cathy O'Donnell, Wanda McKay, Viola Allen, Tallulah Bankhead, Joan Crawford, Frances Bergen, and women with more recent credits such as Gail Strickland and Kim Dickens. Next up is Bonnie Bolding, who had only seven acting credits from 1956 until 1958, four of them uncredited, but whose subsequent life was even more fascinating. 

According to her BhamWiki entry, she was born February 22, 1933, in Joppa, a small town in Morgan County. I've written about Joppa in a previous post. In his later years my uncle John Shores, mom's older brother, had a goat farm there, and I remember visiting a couple of times. 

Her parents were Aron T. [Oran? Orin?] and Gertha Earwood Bolding. In 1920 they were living in Ryan's Cross Roads in Morgan County according to that year's U.S. Census. He was 20 year's old, a farmer and could read and write. The same census says Gertha was 17 and also able to read and write. 

The Find-A-Grave site tells us more about Gertha. She was born in Hulaco in Morgan County on April 14, 1902 and died December 25, 1973; she is buried in Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery. The site has an Earwood family photo in which Gertha can be seen. Find-A-Grave also says she married preacher Orin Thomas Bolding in June 1946; he was born in Joppa. His World War I draft registration card has the spelling of his first name as "Oran", and lists Gertha as his wife. 

I don't think I'm going to try and sort out this mess; I'll leave it to a family genealogist. See the map below to locate Ryan Crossroads, Hulaco and Joppa in Morgan County. 

Bonnie attended what is now Samford University, where she was a cheerleader, drum majorette and drama student. She was first runner-up in the Miss Alabama contest on her fourth try, which may have led her to Hollywood. She received a scholarship to the Pasadena Playhouse, but didn't remain in the business long. By 1969 she had been through two marriages--both to oil tycoons--and then become a stockbroker in New York City. She met  and married John Swearingen, CEO of the company that is now BP America. Her third oil man was the charm.

For three decades she was a major figure in American high society, making frequent appearances in newspapers and various magazines as the couple mingled with the likes of Prince Charles and Pierre Cardin, Bob Hope and Kirk Douglas, and Presidents--or former ones--Johnson, Nixon and Ford. They also engaged in major philanthropic efforts. Samford University received almost $3.5 million, much of it in support of the arts; and a campus building was named after her. 

Bonnie Bolding Swearingen died in Birmingham on August 2, 2020. Husband John had died in 2007. She is also buried in Elmwood Cemetery. Read more about her in the Chicago Sun-Times obituary. You can read a piece on the couple's generosity to Samford here. You can see some of the items at her estate sale held in early December 2020 here.

A very long piece from 2015 about the "John and Bonnie Show" is here. 



Bolding in the "Incident at Indian Springs" episode of the Cheyenne TV series first broadcast 24 September 1957



Source: BhamNow



Bonnie and John Swearingen

Source: Samford University 



On this map we see Ryan Crossroads, Hulaco, and Joppa [not to mention Egypt and Arab!] in Morgan County.

Source: Google Maps







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Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Alabama History & Culture News: July 13 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. Enjoy!




Historic Elba Chamber of Commerce building destroyed by fire
ELBA, Ala. (WSFA) - An overnight blaze has destroyed the Stinson House in Elba, a historic building that survived floods and a relocation effort over ...

Local band's recent music video gives last look at inside of Outlaw Mansion
MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) -- A historic mansion went up in flames late Thursday night in north Mobile County. The home -- known as the "Outlaw Mansion" ...


Carrollton Baptist Church celebrates 175th anniversary
David Nelson of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission presented a certificate to the church, as did Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama ..


Pan Creek Missionary Baptist Church, Baileyton, celebrates 75th anniversary
Gerald Glenn with the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission presented the church with a certificate, and plaques were on display commemorating


History of the Outlaw House: Historical home catches fire
This article was posted online by WPMI 15 NBC | Mobile. Spot On Alabama collects excepts of news articles from this source and add these in the ' ...


Winfield Main Street renovates 'eyesore' into The Patio
A recent release from the program detailed the history. ... and Historic Places and has obtained a grant from the Alabama Historical Commission.



Auburn mourns death of women's athletics pioneer Jane B. Moore
First coming to Auburn in 1969 after earning her doctorate in physical education from the University of Alabama, Moore made history in 1975 when ...


New book explores murder of Irish priest by KKK in 1920s Alabama
While the book is a historical fiction novel, Killian said that she researched "extensively" over several years. "This is fiction after all, and for a while, I over- ...


The Alabama Filmmakers Co-op, a group of independent filmmakers from ... focused on Bostic's work with Gadsden's historic Sixth Street Cemetery.

Alabama Historical Commission announces 2022 grant program
The Alabama Historical Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, has opened its 2022 Grant Program with funds appropriated by the ...

Birmingham's history captured in postcards from a century ago
A horse race at the Alabama State Fair in October 1906, a view of the old Terminal Station in downtown Birmingham, picketers at a now-defunct mine ...


Buffalo Soldiers holding national convention in Mobile
“Our club represents history, not only African American history, but American history. We honor those African Americans who served in the 9th and ...


Abandoned historic Outlaw mansion goes up in flames
There's breaking news this morning out of the Saraland area, as an historic mansion goes up in flames overnight. Video posted on Facebook by ...


Brianna Jarvis Makes History As First Black Female Drum Major At Auburn University
Jarvis was a music education major at Reeltown High School in Alabama. That was where she first became interested in attending AU, seeing the ...


Effort begins to remove racist language, recompile Alabama Constitution
At today's meeting, Lathram gave some of the history of the document, which was Alabama's sixth state constitution, the first coming at the time of ...

We contacted the Alabama Cemetery Preservation Alliance to find out how to properly clean the graves and take care of them," Davenport said.


Nearly 80 years after perishing at Pearl Harbor, the remains of an Alabama sailor are returning home to be buried. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting ...






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Friday, July 9, 2021

Audie Murphy in Alabama

Audie Murphy [1925-1971] was one of the most decorated U.S. soldiers in World War II. He single-handedly held off a company of German soldiers for an hour, then led a successful counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition. For his heroism he received every combat award possible from the U.S. Army, as well as awards from France and Belgium.

After the war he wrote his autobiography, went to Hollywood and became a movie star during a 21-year acting career, and later a successful businessman. He spoke out publicly about his own symptoms of what was then called "battle fatigue" or "shell shock". He also made appearances such as war monument dedications, which brought him to Alabama. He died in a small plane crash in Virginia and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. 

Murphy came to Montgomery in late July 1968 to speak at the dedication of the Alabama War Memorial, a project of the American Legion. Included were marble monuments, a garden and a building. The newspaper articles below give more details about the event. A few years ago an audio recording of his remarks was discovered. Also below is the text of a resolution from the Alabama House passed after Murphy's death. 

You can read here about efforts to revitalize the neglected Memorial almost fifty years later. As noted below, Murphy made at least two other appearances in Alabama. 

His best known film is probably the 1955 To Hell and Back, based on his 1949 autobiography. Most of his other movies were westerns; I've seen many and enjoyed them. His acting range was pretty limited, but his personal appeal fit the movies he made very well. 




Source: Wikipedia




Alabama War Memorial, Montgomery




Montgomery Advertiser 17 July 1968

Source: Newspapers.com



I clipped most of this article from the Montgomery Advertiser 18 July 1968. The newspaper had other coverage I've not included in this post.

Source: Newspapers.com 



FREEDOM FLIES IN YOUR HEART LIKE AN EAGLE
Dusty old helmet, rusty old gun,
They sit in the corner and wait.
Two souvenirs of the Second World War
That have witnessed the time and the hate.

Mute witness to a time of much trouble
Where kill or be killed was the law.
Were these implements used with high honor?
What was the glory they saw?

Many times I've wanted to ask them...
And now that we're here, all alone,
Relics all three of that long ago war. . .
Where has freedom gone?

Freedom flies in your heart like an eagle.
Let it soar with the winds high above
Among the Spirits of soldiers now sleeping.
Guard with care and with love.

I salute my old friends in the corner.
I agree with all they have said . . .
And if the moment of truth comes tomorrow,
I'll be free, or by God, I'll be dead!

. . . Audie Murphy, 1968
This is the last known existing poem of Audie Murphy. It was written as part of a speech Murphy gave at the dedication of the Alabama War Memorial at Montgomery, Alabama on July 20, 1968. The poem was later recorded to music in an arrangement written by Scott Turner. It has also found its place on engraved memorials. Without question, it is probably the best known Audie Murphy poem. (Simpson, pp.374-376).

Source: Poems of Audie Murphy




Montgomery Advertiser 20 July 1968

Source: Newspapers.com



This long interview with Murphy was conducted on Saturday, July 20, before his appearance at the dedication banquet that night and published the next day in the Montgomery Advertiser. 

Source: Newspapers.com 





Murphy returned to Alabama over a year later to meet with Gov. Albert Brewer in hopes of getting a state contract for his machinery company. This article appeared in the Montgomery Advertiser 25 September 1969. Note the author, Wayne Greenhaw, who went on to publish a variety of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, etc., before his death in 2011. 



ALABAMA JOINT HOUSE RESOLUTION 35: June 24, 1971
 
Alabama House Joint Resolution 35 Memorializes Audie Murphy and Claims Him as Her Own


WHEREAS, On May 31, 1971, Audie Murphy met an untimely death in an aircraft accident; and

WHEREAS, It is ironic that his death occurred on Memorial Day, a day when America honors its fallen combat heroes; and

WHEREAS, Audie Murphy, the most decorated serviceman in the history of the military of the United States of America was a patriot in the true sense of the word, believing in and living the ideal that freedom and democracy are worth dying for; and


WHEREAS, On other visits to Alabama, Audie Murphy expressed his affection for the State of Alabama saying "On my one-time visit, I fell in love with this State, and its people have shown me great southern hospitality."; andWHEREAS, On July 20, 1968, Audie Murphy delivered the dedicatory address at dedication ceremonies of the Alabama War Memorial and Hall of Honor honoring Alabama fallens sons, and at that time, in referring to this memorial, said: "May it be an inspiration for other states to follow . . . that one day there will be fifty war memorials"; and

WHEREAS, Audie Murphy had consented to participate in the Spirit of America Fourth of July celebration in Decatur, Alabama, to help revitalize the spirit of patriotism in Alabamians, and although his body is enshrined in Arlington, we know his spirit will be with us; and

WHEREAS, Audie Murphy's bravery, courage, devotion to and love of country and concern for his fellowman have been and will continue to be an example for all Americans to follow both in time of war and in time of peace; and

WHEREAS, The Legislature of Alabama wishes to express it profound sadness and sense of loss upon the death of Audie Murphy;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA BOTH HOUSES THEREOF CONCURRING, That the death of Audie Murphy has sadden the hearts of Alabamians, and that America has lost one of her true patriots.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED RESOLVED, That the Legislature requests that a place of honor be reserved for Audie Murphy in the Hall of Honor at American Legion Headquarters in Montgomery, with a copy of this resolution to be displayed there to show the world Alabama claims him as her own.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED RESOLVED, That the Legislature hereby requests that certain of his personal articles be collected by the Alabama Department of Archives and History there to be kept until duly dedicated to the State of Alabama.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to his widow and two children who reside at 1201 Toluca Road, North Hollywood, California; the President of the United States; and to both Houses of the Congress of the United States.

Approved June 24, 1971
Time: 11:45 A.M.




Murphy played himself in the 1955 film based on his life, To Hell and Back 

Source: Audie Murphy Movies



His autobiography was published in 1949. 



This film was released in 1959. 





A still from Showdown [1963]





Murphy came to Birmingham in 1954 for some reason; here he is at the old Tutwiler Hotel which was demolished in 1974. The photo was taken by Eldred Perry of the Birmingham News. I've yet to determine the purpose of this visit, although perhaps it was related to a release that year of one of his films, Destry. 

Source: Alabama Dept of Archives & History 




Source: Poems of Audie Murphy






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