Alabama History & Culture News: March 29 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. Some articles may be behind a paywall. Enjoy!

Historically Black school to remain open on Alabama coast - Times Union

Times Union

While Heart of Mary Catholic School was in danger of shutting down because of declining enrollment and precarious finances, the Archdiocese of Mobile ...

Women Breaking Barriers: T.K. Thorne, author and former Birmingham police captain - WVTM WVTM As part of WVTM 13's Project Community: Working Toward Change, we are highlighting some of Alabama's women who broke barriers by choosing to ...

125 free walking tour opportunities offered across Alabama on Saturdays in April | News

St. Clair News-Aegis

... on walking tours through historic neighborhoods on the five Saturday mornings in April, the Alabama Tourism Department announced today.

Dr. Wayne Flynt on Alabama history books - YouTube

YouTube

Retired Alabama history professor, Dr. Wayne Flynt, on the potential issues with Alabama history education.

New York man biking across US 'literally feels' Alabama's rich history: 'You get the shivers' - WVII WVII New York man biking across US 'literally feels' Alabama's rich history: 'You get the shivers'. Bob Barnes visited his 30th US state capital, ...

Women Who Shaped The Foundation And Future Of The Tuskegee VA Hospital - Veterans Affairs Veterans Affairs ... Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS) and the care they provide has set the foundation of what is now one of the most historic medical ...

Alabama native and former 'American Idol' winner Taylor Hicks speaks to WAAY 31 ahead of ... WAAY-TV The 20th season of "American Idol" is only a few days away on ABC.

Alabama native considers 'To Kill a Mockingbird' connection a calling as she embarks on ... CBS 42 “And it was incredibly fascinating — I have never had an experience quite like it, to have this voice from the cultural history of the very work ...

Three local civic organizations make history with female leaders - WBRC WBRC This is the first time in history that the Rotary Club, the Kiwanis Club, and the Rotaract Club of Birmingham are being led by women ...

'Role Model': The movie filmed in a small Alabama town - WAFF WAFF Everyone knows the Shoals area for its rich musical history. But recently, the area was used to film “Role Model,” a new movie by director David ...

These 12 markers describe Alabama legends and lore - al.com AL.com The folklore marker for the Boyington Oak is located outside Church Street Cemetery in Mobile. (Alabama Folklife Association | Pomeroy Foundation).

Joe Louis shares connection with two former Redskins through rural Alabama town Washington Times He died in 1981 at the age of 66, and he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. But it all began in the hills of rural Alabama.

Blue Springs Baptist Church celebrates 175 years The Alabama Baptist There will be a building walk-through, cemetery tour, special displays, fellowship time and a worship service with congregational singing, ...

“The Promise of the Pelican: A Novel” By: Roy Hoffman | Alabama Public Radio Alabama Public Radio Novel Explores Law and Southern Xenophobia. Roy Hoffman of Fairhope, with two volumes of essays and, now, four novels, has become one of Alabama's ...

Alabama Prize Stories--1970

As I continue the effort to downsize my book collection, I keep running across interesting tomes that I simply must examine in further detail. This title is one of those.

The book published the winners of a contest sponsored by the Huntsville branch of the American Association of University Women. Nearly 200 entries were received. Judges Elise Sanguinetti, Thomas C. Turner and Oxford Stroud chose the 29  winners, who were all Alabama natives or residents of the state for at least six months. The three judges were published authors of novels and short fiction in addition to their other activities. 

The foreword is signed by "The Publishers", meaning Strode, and expresses the hope that other contests and collections will appear in the future. Apparently none did. Based in Huntsville, Strode was a very active publisher for several decades beginning in the late 1950's. David Strode Akens [1921-2012], also head of the Historical Department at the Marshall Space Flight Center in the 1960's and 1970's, steered the company as it published books on a wide range of topics. 

The collection was edited by O.B. Emerson [1921-1990]. Although born in Tennessee, he settled in Tuscaloosa, where he taught at the University from 1946 until 1986. Much of his own scholarly writing concentrated on William Faulkner and other southern writers. 

Near the beginning of his lengthy introduction Emerson notes the diversity of the collection. "In this volume there are stories of academic life, stories about the Civil War, stories that involve significant relations of Negroes and whites, stories about death, a story concerning the time of Christ. In fact there seems to be no limit to the imagination of Alabama writers. This volume is a tribute to their originality and versatility. The stories vary in tone and style as much as they do in subject matter." In the remainder of his 14-page introduction Emerson discusses each story in some detail. 

I used the "Alabama Authors" database as a measure of achievement and searched for information about all the writers in this collection. I found nine of the 29 individuals. Since Lee Smith, Jesse Hill Ford and H.E. Francis developed significant literary careers, I won't cover them further. The other six are less well known, and I'll discuss them briefly here. The remaining 20 authors would require more extensive research. However, each story in the collection has a biographical note with information about the authors' lives and writings up to 1970.

State native Helen Morgan Akens [1918-2012] taught at Huntingdon, Montevallo and Athens Colleges and served as Dean of Women at Athens. She founded Strode Publishers with her husband David. The story in this collection, "Call Me Ma", is apparently her only published fiction. She also wrote two popular histories  with Virginia Pounds Brown, Alabama, Mounds to Missiles (1962) and Alabama Heritage (1968). 

Joseph Roberts, who wrote "Ever Been to Braden?" served in the U.S. military 1942-1943 and again 1951-1968. In that year he began teaching at Troy State, a post he held until 1981. In addition to writing at least two books on fish as pets, he published a novel, Web of Life in 1957 and a book of poems in 1980. I've found no indication he published any other short fiction.

Carolynne Scott was born in Birmingham in 1937. She worked at two of that city's newspapers and other publications. In 1979 her book Country Roads: A Journey Through Rustic Alabama appeared. Her collection of 15 short stories, The Green and the Burning Alike, was published in 1992. Her story in this collection, "Far Bella Figura" later appeared in the February 1982 issue of Short Story International. Auburn University has a small collection of her papers. You can read more about her at her author page on Amazon.

John Craig Stewart [1915-2003] was a Selma native. After service in World War II, he taught at the University of Alabama (1950-1964) and the University of South Alabama (1964-1983). In addition to "The Last Day" in this collection, he had previously published the story "Outlaw Dog" in the Saturday Evening Post issue of September 24, 1955. His introduction here notes more than ten published stories. He published three novels, The First Gate (1960), Muscogee Twilight (1965) and The Last to Know (1981). I've done a blog post on him here.

"The Pink Puppy" is Nell Brasher's story in the anthology. Brasher [1912-1992]  wrote a column "Page from a Diary" for the Birmingham Post-Herald 1966-1974. A collection of short stories, The Weaning and Other Stories appeared the year after her death. Some of her columns were collected in Angel Tracks in the Cabbage Patch (1972) and other books. 

Most of the published work by Marjorie Lees Linn [1930-1979] beyond the story "Please Listen, Aunt Viney" seems to have been poetry. A collection of poems, Threads from Silence, was published the year after her death. Linn had no formal schooling after eighth grade, and she married at sixteen. Her introduction here does note publication of short stories, poetry and articles in various publication. She wrote a 1964 essay about the September 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham that killed four young girls and injured 22 others. 

An acknowledgement page in the back notes that several stories in the anthology were previously published, such as Jesse Hill Ford's and John Craig Stewart's in the Atlantic Monthly and one by H.E. Francis in Transatlantic Review. See below for the entire listing. 

This inscription is to Andreas Papandreou who was apparently a graduate student under Emerson at the University of Alabama. I found his 1976 university ID card in the book.  

I was lucky enough to have an English class with Oxford Stroud at Auburn University in the early 1970's. He was quite a teacher and raconteur. 

Alabama History & Culture News: March 21 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. Some articles may be behind a paywall. Enjoy!

Artist paints mural that tells the story of East Alabama - al.com AL.com Glenn Buxton, director of the Museum of East Alabama, said he wanted the ... history of the five surrounding counties that make up East Alabama.

Roy Hoffman novel explores law and Southern xenophobia | DON NOBLE - Tuscaloosa News Tuscaloosa News Roy Hoffman of Fairhope, with two volumes of essays and, now, four novels, has become one of Alabama's best storytellers.

"Lelia Seton Wilder Edmundson, 'Cotton Queen" & Politician' presented by John Allison - YouTube YouTube Alabama Department of Archives & History ... on the board of the Alabama Historical Association and Decatur's Historic Preservation Commission.

Auburn's Anders Book Store closes after half a century - al.com AL.com It will be demolished to make way for the 177-room Graduate Hotel, the first location by the chain in Alabama, according to the Opelika-Auburn ...

Zhang is co-editor of book on advances in heart bioengineering - News | UAB University of Alabama at Birmingham This progress is highlighted in a book co-edited by University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher Jianyi “Jay” Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., ...

Confederate Memorial Park to host Civil War Living History & Skirmish - The Cullman Tribune The Cullman Tribune Confederate Memorial Park, a historic property of the Alabama Historical ... A cemetery ceremony and an afternoon skirmish between Union and ...

Cartledge Blackwell III to speak at Historic Selma Tour of homes The Selma Times‑Journal “It tells a story of an incredibly beautiful part of Alabama. Addressing the technologies, art, politics, and people that created and now sustain ...

Alabama Power's first female engineer blazed a trail nearly a century ago - Alabama NewsCenter Alabama NewsCenter Women at Alabama Power since its earliest days have been making history as pioneers in their field. Among those early trailblazers was Maria Rogan ...

Gaineswood Heritage Days offers glimpse of past to 4th and 5th grade students in the Black ... THE WEST ALABAMA WATCHMAN As an enhancement to their study of Alabama history, approximately 300 fourth and fifth grade students representing schools in the Black Belt will ...

80 years ago, Alabama's most famous horse was born - CBS 42 CBS 42 Fred W. Hooper paid $10200 for Hoop Jr., his first thoroughbred horse. In many ways, it was the most expensive horse he'd ever have.

Unearthing the last slave ship: A tale of suffering – and reckoning - CSMonitor.com Christian Science Monitor The gripping and affecting book tells several stories, and Raines ... is also a charter captain intimately familiar with Alabama's waterways, ...

A spirited writer and a story with wings: A Q&A with novelist Roy Hoffman - al.com AL.com Along the way he has collected a Lillian Smith Book Award as well as a Clarence E. Cason Award in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Alabama ...

This Day in History: Blizzard of '93 | WHNT.com WHNT A strong low-pressure system developed along the Gulf Coast before pushing northward into Alabama. Although this was a fast moving system, it […]

UA professors to historicize pandemic in “A Deeper Sickness” - The Crimson White The Crimson White - The University of Alabama Two University of Alabama history professors, Margaret Peacock and Erik Peterson, released their book “A Deeper Sickness: Journal of America in ...

Breaking new ground: Lou Bertha Johnson in Jim Crow Alabama - City of Huntsville Blog

City of Huntsville Blog

Editor's note: This blog was written by Historic Huntsville Foundation Executive Director Donna Castellano in celebration of Women's History Month ...

Historical marker placed in Montgomery County cemetery - WSFA WSFA The site is Montgomery County's 25th cemetery listed in the Alabama's Historic Cemetery Register.(Source: Montgomery County Commission).

Reissue of Birmingham lawyer's 1964 book is timely| DON NOBLE - Tuscaloosa News

Tuscaloosa News

He had a thriving practice in Birmingham, a home in Mountain Brook and, almost certainly, a future in Alabama politics. Before the church bombing, he ...

Good Morning America highlights Alabama as part of its 'Rise & Shine' series - ABC 33/40 ABC 33/40 Alabama Booksmith is the only place in the world that exclusively sells signed copies. They also have the first signed Barbara Streisand book out of ...

The Seven U.S. Navy Ships Named USS Alabama

As noted and linked below, I've written blog posts on both USS Alabama battleships. In this one I decided to cover all the ships of that name in the U.S. Navy over the years. 

One of these days I need to do a post on all the ships named after Alabama cities. I have written one on the "USS Birmingham and Early Flight".  

• USS Alabama (1819), a 74-gun ship of the line, laid down in 1819 to honor the new state, but never completed as such. Eventually she was launched in 1864 as the store ship USS New Hampshire. After the war she became a receiving ship for new sailors awaiting assignment and later a training vessel. In 1904 she was renamed Granite State to free her second name for a new battleship. She caught fire and sank at her pier on the Hudson River in May 1924. 

Source: Wikipedia 

• USS Alabama (1838), a sidewheel steamer built in Baltimore and transferred to the Navy in 1849  served as a troop transport during the Mexican–American War. She carried personnel involved in the capture of Veracruz, but was found unsuitable for continued naval service. Apparently no image or records of naval service exist. She was sold at a public auction in New Orleans in 1849 and foundered in the Bahamas in 1852. 

• USS Alabama (1850) was a sidewheel steamer merchant vessel commissioned in September 1861 during the American Civil War. The U.S. Army had begun using her as a troop transport in the spring and summer of that year. She saw extensive service along the Georgia and Florida coasts in the occupation of coastal areas and participated in the capture of blockade runners. Later in the war she worked along the North Carolina coastline. She was decommissioned in Philadelphia in June 1865 and soon sold back into civilian service. She was destroyed by fire in 1878. 

The steamer burning on December 24, 1871--a date different from the 1878 one in the Wikipedia entry. The source of this illustration and the 1871 date is the collections of the Royal Museums Greenwich 

Source: Wikipedia

I did find a notice that appeared in at least three U.S. newspapers that may be the 1878 burning:

Source: Daily Press & Dakotaian [Yankton, Dakota Territory] 12 March 1878. The other newspapers were from St. Paul, Minnesota, and Chicago, Illinois. 

• USS Alabama (BB-8), a pre-dreadnought battleship commissioned in 1900 and scrapped in 1924. I've written a blog post about her here. Here fate is much different than the later USS Alabama battleship described below. 

USS Alabama on maneuvers off New York City in October 1912

Source: Wikipedia

Portion of the USS Alabama being scrapped at a shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland in June 1928. 

"Alabama had been sunk in bombing tests in September 1921 and had to be raised for scrapping. Note the cofferdam used to seal her hull amidships, and the dished-in side plating caused by near-miss bomb explosions." 

Source: U.S. Naval History & Heritage Command

• USS Alabama (SP-1052) was a 69-foot motor boat built in Boston in 1906 and inspected by the Navy in the summer of 1917 for possible World War I use. She was assigned the designation SP-1052, but probably never saw active service. Her fate is unknown. 

Source: Wikipedia

• USS Alabama (BB-60), a South Dakota-class battleship commissioned in 1942, converted to a museum ship in 1964 and now docked in Mobile, Alabama. You can find detailed information at the Battleship Memorial Park website, the Wikipedia entry and at the Encyclopedia of Alabama. I've written a blog post on the campaign to save the ship and bring it to Mobile. 

• USS Alabama (SSBN-731), an Ohio-class submarine, is currently in service. The ship was launched on May 19, 1984, and commissioned May 25, 1985. Homeport is the Naval Submarine Base at Bangor, Maine. USS Alabama made a visit to Mobile on one of its early voyages in 1985 or 1986. The vessel is featured in Time Under Fire, a Bermuda Triangle science fiction thriller. Completion of its landmark 100th patrol in 2021 is described here. 

Source: Wikipedia

There is at least one fictitious USS Alabama battleship. In their 1941 film In the Navy the comedy team of Bud Abbott & Lou Costello are up to their usual hijinks aboard just such a vessel. The film was released on May 30, 1941; the second USS Alabama battleship was commissioned on August 16, 1942. 

The film also stars Dick Powell, who was still in the "romantic crooner" stage of his career. Strangely enough, he plays a famous singer who joins the Navy and tries to hide his identity. Shemp Howard, an actor and comedian best known as one of the Three Stooges, has a small role. In addition to Powell's, songs are provided by the Andrews Sisters. The film was a box office success. 

Some filming was done at naval bases in San Diego and San Pedro, California. I've yet to determine why the name USS Alabama was chosen. Perhaps construction of the new battleship had been in the news or naval consultants suggested it. 

A fictitious USS Alabama ballistic missile submarine appears in the 1995 film Crimson Tide. As Wikipedia notes, the real USS Alabama makes an appearance:

"Because of the Navy's refusal to cooperate with the filming, the production company was unable to secure footage of a submarine submerging. After checking to make sure there was no law against filming naval vessels, the producers waited at the submarine base at Pearl Harbor until a submarine put to sea. After a submarine (coincidentally, the real USS Alabama) left port, they pursued it in a boat and helicopter, filming as they went. They continued to do so until she submerged, giving them the footage they needed to incorporate into the film.^[10]"