Alabama Yesterdays: Random wanderings through Alabama history
One of the things we do when travelling is seek out local bookstores. Over the years I've written a number of pieces on this blog about such establishments in Alabama, past and present, or their ephemera such as bookmarks. Here's a list of ones I've done so far.
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!
| Revolutionary War Soldier Remembered with Official Marker on Grave by Old Autauga ... The church is long gone but the graves of many of the early settlers of ... receives marker at Pea Ridge Cemetery in Autauga County Alabama ... |
| University of Alabama breaks ground on Bryce Main, Randall Welcome Center The University of Alabama's Randall Welcome Center will be in the renovated historic Bryce Main building. (contributed). |
| Muscogee (Creek) Nation returns to Alabama in historic homecoming ceremony | News Muscogee (Creek) Nation returns to Alabama in historic homecoming ... want and deserve to know the history of their community,” said Hill. |
Legacy Flight Academy: Continuing the Celebration of Black Aviation History - FLYING Magazine The event, held at the historic Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, featured another original Tuskegee Airman: Brigadier General Charles McGee. |
| USS Alabama getting new deck after more than 8 decades | Stars and Stripes It was moved to the Alabama coast, and Battleship Memorial Park opened in ... History. USS Alabama getting new deck after more than 8 decades |
| Hank Aaron to Jim Tabor: Alabama's 100-homer hitters - al.com When the Mobile native hit the milestone home run, four of the top 19 home run hitters in history had Alabama baseball roots. |
| Fossil of prehistoric lobster likened to beef jerky after discovery in Alabama creek - Ledger-Enquirer Adiel Klompmaker/Alabama Museum of Natural History photo. The remains of a 70-million-year-old carnivorous lobster have been found in Alabama, ... |
| Across rural Alabama, downtowns are making an energetic comeback Atmore has added a stage and green space to a parking lot, and the stage incorporates a box car in a nod to the city's railroad history. |
I've done several posts on this blog related to the history of libraries in the state. You can find a listing of many here. At one time I did some work on a chronology of Alabama library development. So naturally on one of my recent wanderings through Alabama Mosaic this photograph from early in the 20th century caught my eye.
Between 1900 and 1919 money from industrialist Andrew Carnegie built 19 libraries in Alabama. This effort was a small part of the more than 2500 he funded from 1883 and 1929. Most were located in Europe and the U.S., but others were constructed in Australia and other places.
This small public library in Livingston in west Alabama was not a Carnegie project, but one of many others nationwide that opened during that "Carnegie period". In her 2006 article "Bricks, books, and metaphor: the place of first libraries in Alabama communities", Annabel Stephens included information about this library:
The ladies of the Primrose Club were lucky to have use of this former office. building. Initial public libraries in other communities in the state were opened in places ranging from hotels to houses to an old pump house. See Stephens article for more details.
The other photo shows the Livingston public library today. The facility is named for Ruby Pickens Tartt [1880-1974] one of Alabama's greatest folklorists and a Livingston native.
I wonder what happened to the original building?
Source: Ruby Pickens Tartt Public Library, Livingston
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!
| Loss of namesake bar and grill hits tiny Alabama community | National News | statesville.com FAUNSDALE, Ala. (AP) — With fewer than 100 residents and only a handful of buildings, this west Alabama community doesn't have much aside from an ... |
| Explore the Life & History of the Alabama Gulf Coast During the Civil War During the late summer of 1864, Union forces clashed with the Confederates in what became known as one of the most historic confrontations of the ... |
| Huntsville seeks to move graves from historic burial sites, make room for new manufacturing facility Reeves said every time a burial site is moved, a part of history is lost. ... and University of Alabama experts will be brought in to help with ... |
| 'I made history': Meet the First African-American female Eagle Scout in Alabama | WKRG In tonight's What's Working, a huge honor for a Murphy High School senior. Jakayla Armstrong of Troop 283 at Liberty Missionary Baptist Church has ... |
'Ladies of the Jury' tells the story of significant event in Alabama history 'Ladies of the Jury' tells the story of significant event in Alabama history. By Michael Tomberlin Alabama NewsCenter. March 31, 2022. 'Ladies of the ... |
| Questlove wears Gee's Bend design during Oscar win for 'Summer of Soul' - al.com The black, mid-length jacket was made as part of an ongoing collaboration between the quilters and artists from the historic Alabama community in ... |
| Maud McLure Kelly, Alabama's first female lawyer, continues to inspire She also served as editor of the Alabama Historical Quarterly and drafted legislation that gave the ADAH authority over the state's public records. |
| Remembering Alabama author Kathryn Tucker Windham “We always teased her about missing her big national coming out party on David Letterman.” During Women's History Month, Alabama remembers Kathryn ... |
| Birmingham's "Miss Nina" was a tireless pioneer - Alabama NewsCenter That year was a historic one for Birmingham, with major civil rights demonstrations in addition to a voter-approved change from a city commission ... |
"Deep South Dynasty: The Bankheads of Alabama" presented by Kari Frederickson - YouTube Join us TODAY, Tuesday, March 29 at 12:00 pm CT for an in-person and online book talk! University of Alabama professor of history Kari ... |
| Explore North Alabama with free historic walking tours in April | News | waaytv.com Tourism groups and historians across Alabama are offering free walking tours to ... Decatur City Cemetery Tour will be April 16 at the cemetery. |
The full title of this 1930 U.S. Government publication reads Pilgrimage for the Mothers and Widows of Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines of the American Forces Now Interred in the Cemeteries of Europe as provided by the Act of Congress of March 2, 1929. That law of Congress provided funds for widows and mothers to visit the graves of their loved ones in Europe who died in World War I. The "Letter of Transmittal" by Acting Secretary of War Patrick J. Hurley as shown below explains the effort conducted to find these widows and mothers. The book is 339 pages and includes an index of states and counties, and then listings for each state organized by county where the women lived.
This copy was sent by the office of U.S. Senator from Alabama Hugo L. Black to a library, which at some point discarded this duplicate copy. An embossed stamp on the title page identifies that library as the one at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University. The book is House Document 140 of the 71st Congress, 2nd session. The document is online via the Hathi Trust.
The vast majority of women listed seem to be mothers, which might indicate how many deceased soldiers and sailors were unmarried. I wonder how many women actually made the trip to Europe.
To quote from the "Letter of Transmittal":
"In making this investigation an effort was made to locate all of the mothers and widows who are entitled to the benefits of the act and to ascertain their wishes....On November 15, 1929, the investigation showed the following results:
(1) Total number of mothers and widows entitled to make the pilgrimages, 11,440
(2) Number of such mothers and widows who desire to make the pilgrimages, 6,730
(3) Number of such mothers and widows who desire to make the pilgrimages during the calendar year 1930, 5,323
(4) Probable cost of the pilgrimages to be made, $5,653,200"
The entire listing for Alabama can be seen below.
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!
Women Breaking Barriers: T.K. Thorne, author and former Birmingham police captain - 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 ... |
| New York man biking across US 'literally feels' Alabama's rich history: 'You get the shivers' - 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 ... 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 ... 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 ... “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 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 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 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 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 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 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 ... |
