Alabama History & Culture News: September 8 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!

Diving for the Clotilda Virtual Event on International Archaeology Day 2022 Archaeological Institute of America In Diving for the Clotilda: The Archaeology, History, and Legacy of the ... infamous slave ship discovered in 2019 in the Mobile River in Alabama.

Life Growing Up on a Pig Farm in the Alabama Mountains: Nasty, Brutish, and Short Literary Hub Life Growing Up on a Pig Farm in the Alabama Mountains: Nasty, Brutish, and Short ... Which Big Fall Book Should You Read?

The scariest Alabama spiders that can't actually hurt you - al.com AL.com Spitting spider. Spitting spider with eggs. Photo courtesy of W. Mike Howell and Ronald Jenkins, from their 2004 book "Spiders of ...

Gus Mitchell historic site marker | | selmasun.com Selma Sun This sign marks the site of the Gus Mitchell Store, recognized as a historic site by the Alabama Historical Commission in 2020. Image provided.

Legacy of Tuskegee Airmen honored at Red Tails Classic - WSFA WSFA Attendees of the redtail classic came out to support their teams and celebrate the history behind the name of the annual game.

Comprehensive survey of African American history makes statewide debut at Auburn ...

The Alabama Weather Blog

On Aug. 23, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University became the first venue in Alabama to present “The Kinsey African American ...

How this Alabama-based author sold a million books - al.com AL.com Cover art for Alabama author Robert Bailey's book "Rich Blood." (Courtesy Thomas & Mercer/Amazon Publishing). “Rich Blood,” published by Thomas ...

Birmingham literary program to host citywide discussions of Imani Perry's book 'South to America'

AL.com

Weeks later, the African American Studies Department at University of Alabama at Birmingham hosted Perry for a discussion of her book “May We ...

Local boxing legend, Earnie Shavers, dies at 78 - The Greenville Advocate

The Greenville Advocate

It was one of the worst years for crops in Alabama history. The man the elder Shaver bought the mule from came to their home and wanted his money ...

ADAH to debut Alabama Radio Moments Sept. 10 - The Cullman Tribune The Cullman Tribune The Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) will open its new ... partnership with the Birmingham-based Alabama Historical Radio Society ...

Fire Destroys Historic Church, Congregation Eyes Rebuild - Alabama News Network

Alabama News Network

The historic Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in the Freetown community ... Fire destroys a historic west Alabama church — however the church ...

This TikToker is shining a light on Alabama's urban legends - al.com AL.com Name an Alabama ghost story, urban legend or haunted destination, ... “There's so much history packed in that should be told, and somebody needed ...

Alabama Photos of the Day: Sewing & Such at Bryce in 1916

During the most recent Women's History Month in March I ran across an article by Liana Kathleen Glew, "Stitching Time: Women and Fiber Art in Psychiatric History." Low and behold, two illustrations she used have an Alabama connection. These two photos are from a Bryce Hospital album and were taken around 1916. 

In the 1840s American mental health crusader Dorothea Dix visited state legislatures--including Alabama's--attempting to improve the care of the mentally ill. The state responded with a law in 1852 establishing the Alabama Insane Hospital. Some 326 acres in Tuscaloosa were purchased as the site of the hospital; the facility opened in 1859 with Peter Bryce as the first superintendent. Eight years after he died in 1892 the institution officially became Bryce Hospital.

For decades the patients at Bryce, as at so many similar places around the country, were involved in work that helped sustain the hospital in the face of chronic underfunding. These programs also seemed to help many of the patients. However, by the end of World War II Bryce was so overcrowded and poorly funded that conditions reached a crisis. In 1972, a ruling in a federal court case changed psychiatric institutions around the country and many including Bryce eventually closed. The University of Alabama now owns the property and preservation and redevelopment efforts are continuing. 

The article by Glew cited above addresses the roles fiber arts played both inside asylums and in the wider culture outside. Sewing, knitting, weaving, crochet and needlecraft provided a way to keep female patients busy and contributed to the asylum budgets. She includes several examples of self-expression in these activities as well. 

A sewing room at Bryce

Source: Alabama Dept of Archives and History

Industrial art room

Source: Alabama Dept of Archives and History 

Alabama History & Culture News: August 31 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!

Local Pelham author sells over 100000 copies - Shelby County Reporter Shelby County Reporter The book was adapted into a major motion picture starring Gerard Butler ... writer and is grateful to reach his Alabama based audience and to have ... [Don Keith]

Little Professor opening second location in Pepper Place | Bham Now Bham Now One of Alabama's oldest independent bookstores is growing. #books #retail #independentbookstore #Birminghamal.

Books We Love: Recommended reading for nonfiction - NPR NPR I cover the American South for NPR, and I'm recommending Alabama journalist Ben Raines' book "The Last Slave Ship." It's the story of the Clotilda ...

Counties with the oldest homes in Alabama | State | selmasun.com Selma Sun However, the tireless efforts of architectural preservationists and local historical societies have saved many of these homes from demolition, leading ...

Birthplace of late Congressman John Lewis now historic marker - WSFA WSFA A historic marker at the birthplace of late congressman John Lewis was unveiled in front of friends and family during a private ceremony.

Remember When: Early settlers of Covington County – Part 2 - The Andalusia Star-News The Andalusia Star-News Early settlers who rest in Magnolia Cemetery are, left, Malachi Riley born ... stories are featured in an 1893 Memorial Record of Alabama volume.

China Grove historical marker dedicated - The Troy Messenger The Troy Messenger ... of the Alabama Historical Commission's historical marker for China Grove-Pike ... He and his other descendants are buried in this cemetery.

OPEN NOW: The Haunted Book Shop reopens at new location in Downtown Mobile The Bama Buzz It was open in Mobile for 50 years, but like all good things, the store came to an end in 1991. Advertisement. Alabama Launchpad. New beginnings.

Can't Miss Alabama: Fill up the weekend at Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival, Birmingham ... Alabama NewsCenter 27 to Birmingham's Historic 4th Avenue District downtown. The festival will bring together varied artists, vendors, food and entertainment.

Live at The Pillars: Mansion for sale in Lowndesboro - Montgomery Advertiser Montgomery Advertiser Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Alabama Historic Register, it was also included in the 1934 Historic American Building ...

Black Belt Heritage Act could boost historic sites, outdoor recreation, tourism | News Alexander City Outlook The Alabama Black Belt Heritage Area Act is on the way to becoming law. If passed, it will be a major boost to historic sites and outdoor ...

First-ever Civil Rights Trail Market opens at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport Bham Now “We have a rich history here. ... Lee Sentell, director of Alabama Tourism Department and author of the Official US Civil Rights Trail Book.

Alabama's Natural Bridge Park is a marvel

Alabama NewsCenter

While little is known about its origins, Denton said it is another unique piece of Alabama's history on display at the park.

Little Green Men? The history behind Fyffe's UFO Days celebration - WHNT.com WHNT.com Whatever you call UFOs, a small town in Northeast Alabama has a history of spotting them in the night sky – and it's inspired a full day of family ...

Sailing South American Skies by James Saxon Childers

Back in April I posted a piece on one of Hudson Strode's travel books, Now in Mexico. Strode taught English at the University of Alabama for many years before his death in 1976; many of the state's fiction writers passed through his classes. In addition to his travel books, Strode published a three volume biography of Jefferson Davis. 

In some ways James Saxon Childers [1899-1965] was similar to Strode. Childers was born in Birmingham and taught English at Birmingham-Southern College from 1925-1942. He also wrote some travel studies, such as the one I'm looking at in this post. While at Birmingham-Southern he published reviews and columns in local newspapers and several significant novels, including Hilltop in the Rain [1928], set at a small southern college. The significance of The Bookshop Mystery [1930] is noted at the end of this post. His 1936 work A Novel about a White Man and a Black Man in the Deep South was a daring portrait of endemic racism in the southern U.S. The 1942 spy novel Enemy Outpost was based on Childers' own military experiences. 

I have comments about this 1936 travel book below some of the images. As with the Strode book on Mexico, I haven't read this one and plan to let it go in the downsizing of my book collection.

You can find Childers 1933 Birmingham News-Age-Herald article on Parker High School here. One from the following year on the legendary Birmingham elephant Miss Fancy is here.

Photograph of Childers from the Encyclopedia of Alabama 

Childers in his study at Birmingham-Southern College in the late 1930's

Source: BhamWiki

My copy of the book is the 1936 first edition, but does not have the dust jacket, which you can see here. 

Like my copy of Strode's book, this one is signed by the author. I have been unable to identify "Vincent Townsend". Journeys through Childers' papers at the Birmingham Public Library or the University of North Carolina might solve the mystery. That message from Childers is rather cryptic. 

By the time this book appeared in 1936, Childers had quite a track record of publications.

Yes, we have the "Great White Visitor coming out of the jungle photograph" as the frontispiece. Childers is not only wearing a white suit and hat and a tie, but has the coat buttoned. Did people really travel like that or was the outfit donned for the photo?

I'm such a book nerd I researched the printers, Quinn and Boden of Rahway, New Jersey. The company was apparently a large one; a 1922 book about it can be read here. 

More cryptic dedications

Childers devotes a chapter to a strike by Mexican prostitutes and another to the "hellish sport" of bull fighting. 

More chapters are devoted to Rio, the "most beautiful city on earth", a thousand mile odyssey up the Amazon, and tropical fish. His final chapter, excerpts below, discusses American ignorance about the other America. 

One day while fishing on a lake in Alabama, Childers up and decided to fly around the whole of South America and see much of it. His reason? He knew "virtually nothing about the people of South America today, [and] I decided that I would go find out about them."

As he ends the book, Childers notes some things he would do differently if he took the trip again. 

The author notes that Americans need to overcome their lack of knowledge and their misinformation about the nations of South America. On a golf course in Uruguay, a famous surgeon gives him sage advice that we in the United States still haven't taken. 

Childers' only mystery novel, published in 1930, has never been reprinted and sells on the rare book market for prices ranging from $200+ to $900+. The work is an early example of the bibliomystery, a genre which involves libraries, bookstores, archives, their employees and/or the rare book market, etc. 

Alabama History & Culture News: August 24 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!

“The South's Forgotten Fire-Eater: David Hubbard & North Alabama's Long Road to Disunion” By Alabama Public Radio Along the way he draws our attention to Alabama figures we might have overlooked. His book “The Million Dollar Man Who Helped Kill a President” ...

Earthquake Rattles Northern Alabama on Sunday Afternoon - Weatherboy Weatherboy This map shows epicenters of historical Alabama earthquakes since 1886 and surface and basement faults. Image: Geological Survey of Alabama.

Old Autauga Historical Society Brings History to Autauga County Courthouse

Elmore-Autauga News

... formation of Alabama in 1819.” The Old Autauga Historical Society officially formed January 1, 2020 and they currently have about 300 members.

The Rosenbaum House Is the Only Frank Lloyd Wright-Designed Building in Alabama Southern Living Florence, Alabama, is home to many historic structures, but one in particular has become a destination for those interested in architectural ...

Comeback Town: Birmingham may have lost historic Terminal Station, but... - al.com AL.com But where are the historically rich buildings they replaced? ... We saved our Alabama and Lyric Theatres—unreplaceable gems.

Alabama singer-songwriter Rock Killough bringing new book to Fairhope - al.com AL.com Alabama native Killough is singer-songwriter whose writing and co-writing credits include songs recorded by a long list of stars: The Oak Ridge Boys ( ...

Laura Hunter's new novel is based on awful eugenics scandal | DON NOBLE Tuscaloosa News It opens in a sweltering, dry July of 1968 in the fictional hamlet of Hyssop, Alabama, not far from Eufaula. The teller of this tale is Margaret ..

Hundreds of renowned naturalist E.O. Wilson's books donated to Alabama nature research center CBS 42 Finch, founder of the Paint Rock Forest Research Center in north Alabama's Trenton area, had known the acclaimed Harvard naturalist and biologist ...

Alabama researchers discover 'gigantic' 83 million-year-old turtle species - al.com AL.com The turtle was officially named this week from fossils found in the collection at the Alabama Museum of Natural History.

Ryan Baptist in Joppa celebrates 100 years The Alabama Baptist Joe Teal (left) of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission presents a ... years of church history to add to the history of the first 75 years.

How you can help restore the Red Mountain Cut Geologic Walkway - Bham Now Bham Now In early April, the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) and a public/private ... History of the Red Mountain Cut Geologic Walkway.

Revolutionary War veteran of Madison County to be honored Saturday

The Madison Record

The small cemetery is easily accessible and located just north of Bob Wade ... Patriot Powell was a first generation settler in north Alabama who ...

New director of Sloss Furnaces named - Alabama Political Reporter Alabama Political Reporter It operated from 1882-1970, making it the longest continually running blast furnace in Birmingham's history. Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark ...

Mooresville Post Office: Oldest Post Office In Alabama - Only In Your State Only In Your State There are many historic buildings located throughout Alabama. In fact, some of them are even among the oldest buildings in the U.S. One of these ...

Alabama event to exhibit rare Spider Martin photos at Beth El Civil Rights Experience Alabama NewsCenter “We're building this project to provide a thorough, historical perspective on our local Jewish community's actions and attitudes within the larger ...

Meet William King, the only Alabamian ever elected as vice president | WHNT.com WHNT.com (Photo: Alabama Department of Archives and History). (Photo: Alabama Department of Archives and History) Read Less. by: Zach Hester.

An Alabama boy is taking on the Nazis in new WWII-era Savannah Theatre show, 'We'll Meet Again' Savannah Morning News The World War II-era play follows an Opelika, Alabama, resident who ... set to make its world premiere on Friday at The Historic Savannah Theatre.

Indian who led attack on local fort topic for historical society meeting - Thomasville Times Thomasville Times He is also well-known for both his You Tube channel and app called “Two-Egg TV” which explores the history of Alabama and the Florida panhandle.

Opinion | Legendary Alabamians: Howell Heflin - Alabama Political Reporter Alabama Political Reporter The longer I continue to write about Alabama politics, ... In this article:Alabama history, Featured, Howell Heflin, Judge, Legendary Alabamians.

Community Hero Steve Murray: Keeper of the Alabama's true history - Montgomery Advertiser Montgomery Advertiser Alabama Department of Archives and History director Steve Murray is telling the complete story of the state's history, not just the Confederate ...

New user-friendly website highlights Alabama Department of Archives and History resources - WTVY

WTVY

The “Alabama History Hub” is a one-stop resource for K-12 educators in the classroom. The new website includes robust databases for conducting ...

How you can help restore a historic, fire-damaged Alabama house - al.com AL.com A fire earlier this month at an Alabama landmark did extensive damage but it wasn't fatal. The St. Clair Historical Society is accepting donations ...