Alabama History & Culture News: December 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!

Alabama Farmers Federation celebrates a century of serving farmers Alabama Political Reporter The Alabama Farmers Federation kicked off its 100th annual meeting on Dec ... with a banquet and entertainment tracing the history of agriculture, ...

WSFA Digitizing Six Decades Of Alabama News Archives - Marketshare Market Share - TVNewsCheck Read what important historical events they've uncovered so far, ... need to preserve what amounted to 65 years of Alabama's history, Mark Bunting, ...

Did you know these hit movies were made in Alabama? | WHNT.com WHNT Check out these movies filmed right here in Alabama. ... This historical biopic chronicles the voting rights march led by Martin Luther King Jr.

Titusville Home to Odessa Woolfolk, Condoleezza Rice and Other Notables | The Birmingham Times The Birmingham Times Titusville, a neighborhood nestled between the University of Alabama (UAB) to the east and Elmwood Cemetery to the west, launched the careers of ...

Alabama's ancient coal swamps were a hot, sticky mess of giant trees and massive insects - al.com AL.com “There's actually two books about it, so Alabama is important and very well known for these trackway fossils. “It's really one of the world class ...

Archaeologists abuzz about Spanish artifacts uncovered in west Alabama - Alabama NewsCenter

Alabama NewsCenter

The use of crossbow shots isn't just Dumas being clever with language; it comes from a description in one of four historic chronicles of the ...

Street names book tells history of Auburn | News | auburnvillager.com Auburn Villager How did Auburn, Alabama, get its name, and why is it referred to as “the loveliest village?” A new book, “Auburn: A History in Street Names,” ...

Grave marker dedicated in Cave Hill Cemetery to local pro baseball player | News | wdrb.com wdrb.com ... who was hit by a pitch in Mobile, Alabama, and died in 1916. He was the first professional baseball player to die from injuries from a game.

Alabama WWII Veteran remembers Pearl Harbor - WTOK WTOK December 7 marks another anniversary of the historical event that catapulted the United States into World War II. Pleasant Grove, Alabama resident ...

This Alabama town celebrates Christmas like no other - al.com AL.com The businessmen had seen river parades in other cities, such as Chicago, and thought something like that might go over well in the historic Alabama ...

Street Names book tells history of Auburn and provides future 'camperships' to Auburn Youth ... Auburn University How did Auburn, Alabama, get its name, and why is it referred to as and#8220;theand#160;loveliest village?and#8221;and#160;A new book, and#8220 ...

African American history, Alabama history now offered at CACC - | The Atmore Advance | The Atmore Advance Students at Coastal Alabama Community College will have two new hyperlocal history courses to choose from in Spring 2022, thanks to a concerted ...

Cecil Hurt, longtime Alabama sportswriter for The Tuscaloosa News, dies | WHNT.com WHNT Hurt, a voracious reader who was often seen in the press box with a book in hand, was a regular guest on national sports shows like “The Paul Finebaum ...

Alabama College Students Write Children's Book About Inclusive Friendships | Southern Living Southern Living College Students Write Children's Book About Their Inclusive Friendship, Raise Awareness for Down Syndrome. Alabama's “Almost Twins” are inspiring ...

Oklahoma tribes fight University of Alabama over Moundville remains - The Oklahoman The Oklahoman “As Indigenous people, it connects us deeply with our homeland,” said Ian Thompson, senior director of historical preservation for the Choctaw Nation, ...

Historical marker for site of first Iron Bowl is back in place - al.com AL.com The sign in Birmingham, near the corner of Clairmont Avenue and 32nd Street South, marks the site of the first Alabama-Auburn football game.

Odetta and "The Hanging of Aaron Gibbs"

I've written on this blog about singer and Birmingham native Odetta Holmes [1930-2008], who became known by her first name only. You can read about her life and long career in that post. As Odetta she toured the world singing blues, jazz, spirituals and folk songs and was a prominent figure in the American civil rights movement of the 1960's. She was also the first performer to record an entire album of Bob Dylan covers.

In addition to the music career, Odetta acted in a few films and tv shows. Her films included the 1961 Sanctuary based on the William Faulkner novel and the 1974 television film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman based on the Ernest J. Gaines novel. Recently I happened to watch her appearance on an episode of the western tv series, Have Gun Will Travel first broadcast on the CBS network on November 4, 1961.  

That show was one of a number of successful "adult westerns" that filled U.S. TV screens in the 1950's and 1960's. Starring Richard Boone as Paladin, a gun for hire based in San Francisco, the program ran for 225 episodes from November  1957 until April 1963. I came across a couple of commentators on this episode who declared it to be one of the series' best, and I agree.

As "The Hanging of Aaron Gibbs" opens, Paladin is headed home across the lonely prairie when he encounters Sarah Gibbs [Odetta] singing to her dying horse. She tells him she is headed to a mine, where her husband Aaron is about to be hanged for his supposed involvement in the death of another worker. Sarah is afraid she won't be able to talk with her husband, and Paladin--being a renowned knight of the west as he is--goes to the mine with her. She just wants to see Aaron one last time and collect his body for their son to bury. 

They encounter a crowd as hostile to them as it is to Sarah's husband. I won't tell you how the episode ends; I urge you to seek it out for yourself. I will say that Paladin works his usual negotiating magic in a very quiet, understated story that features a wonderful performance from Odetta. 

So how did the singer end up in this role? A commentator at the IMDB  "roycevenuter" covered that [although he cited no source]: 

"Peggy Rea, who played many roles over the years in this series, was also one of many acting students of Richard Boone in his Brentwood Market School for Actors. It was she who knew someone who knew Odetta, reached her in Boston, whereupon, Odetta contacted the production company and requested the part. The crew was filming in Bend, Oregon; and, prior to the hiring of Odetta, there had been considerable tension in the community until Odetta arrived; then, everyone calmed down and became quite focused."

Peggy Rea is also in this episode. Another minor cast member is Hal Needham, who began his long Hollywood career as Boone's stunt double on this series. Needham worked as an actor, stunt man and director well into the 1990's. Among his best known films as director are several with Burt Reynolds, including Smokey and the Bandit. Sarah's husband Aaron is played by Rupert Crosse, who in 1969 became the first African-American nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for The Reivers. 

The episode's script was written by Robert E. Thompson. He wrote 19 episodes for the show, but that was only a fraction of his output in Hollywood. He wrote numerous other scripts for shows such as Wagon Train, Bonanza, and Mission: Impossible as well as made-for-TV films. He also wrote the script for a theatrical film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? that won him an Academy Award nomination. Great film, by the way. 

Odetta performing at the Birmingham Municipal Auditorium
October 1965 

Alabama History & Culture News: November 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!

Where did the “First Alabama v. Auburn Game” Historical Marker go? Here's the answer - Bham Now Bham Now First Alabama-Auburn Game Historical Marker in Birmingham. Picture taken in 2016. Photo via Pat Byington for Bham Now.

Remember When: One little, two little, three little Indians - The Andalusia Star-News

The Andalusia Star-News

Recently, a 1924 elementary textbook was given to the Three Notch Museum, “History Stories of Alabama.” This book of stories compiled by Mrs. Pitt ...

Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park – McCalla, Alabama - Atlas Obscura Atlas Obscura Discover Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park in McCalla, Alabama: The remains of a foundry and old blast furnaces destroyed during the Civil ...

Hunting the largest shark ever in ancient Alabama - al.com AL.com Alabama, once mostly underwater, offers fossil hunters a unique chance to trace the evolutionary history of the largest shark ever found on earth.

"The Attempted Lynching of Jim Brown" presented by Jim Baggett - YouTube YouTube He currently serves as Vice President of the Alabama Historical ... on race and racial violence, politics, and on the social history of the South.

Restoring a piece of history at Greenville's delightful Alabama Grill - al.com

AL.com

Resa Bates used to walk by the old restaurant in downtown Greenville and stop to peek through the windows. The Alabama Grill, a Greenville ...

'Unusable' Quinlan Castle will be demolished, replaced with Southern Research biotech ... - AL.com AL.com The grimmest news in 2021 is that in 2020, Alabama had more deaths than births for the first time in recorded history. We think this building can be a ...

WSFA donates decades of film, video and photos to Alabama archives department

WSFA

WSFA 12 News and the Alabama Department of Archives and History are proud to announce a partnership that will help preserve and make accessible to ...

UNG : Professor Writes Book On Reconstruction In Alabama | Oconee, GA Patch Patch UNG : Professor Writes Book On Reconstruction In Alabama - Oconee, GA - Dr. Warren Rogers, a University of North Georgia (UNG) professor of ...

Alabama's Little River Canyon shows how ancient forces shaped the state - al.com AL.com Map by Jim Lacefield from the book "Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks". “With no plant roots to hold the soil in place and no vegetation to anchor it ...

Muscogee Creek Nation Calling on Gov. Ivey to Retrieve Ancestor Remains - Alabama News

Alabama News Network

“If they dug up your cemetery or your families cemetery to build something there, how would you feel?” said David Hill, Principal Chief Muscogee ...

Museum to tell story of slave ship Clotilda set to open in April or May 2022 - AL.com AL.com ... a $3.5 million Welcome Center across from the Old Plateau Cemetery. ... the spotlight is on Mobile, which means the spotlight is on Alabama.

UAB Tears Down the Kracke Building

Well, it wasn't Tim Riley's bar, but the Kracke Building on the UAB campus at 1922 7th Avenue South across from the dental school had quite a history just the same. The structure opened in 1929 as the dormitory for nursing students at the Hillman Hospital next door and operated as such until 1963. In July 1965 the building reopened as the Roy R. Kracke Clinical Services Building, named in honor of Dr. Roy Kracke, the first Dean of the Medical College of Alabama. Various clinics and offices were located there over the years. I think Kracke was the third oldest building on campus, behind only Old and New Hillman. 

I worked in this building for a decade. In 1983 I was hired as librarian by the medical school's Anesthesiology Department. At that time the library and the department's administrative and many faculty offices were located on the fifth floor of Kracke. In 1993 those offices and the library were relocated to the ninth floor of Jefferson Tower, which opened in 1939 as Jefferson Hospital. There I remained until retirement in December 2015.

So what are UAB's plans for this space? The Lyons-Harrison Research Building next to both Kracke and Jefferson Tower will be transformed into the Altec Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building. You can see renderings of that future structure here. 

You can read one of my blog posts about past demolitions at UAB here. 

More comments are below some of the photos. 

A contemporary photo of the Kracke Building with the Pittman Center for Advanced Medical Studies [CAMS] building in the foreground and Jefferson Tower in the background. CAMS has also been demolished; it was the original home of the medical history collection donated in 1958 by Lawrence Reynolds, M.D.  

Dr. James A. Pittman [1927-2014] was Dean of the Medical School from 1973 until 1992, a period of tremendous growth for UAB and its biomedical sector. I had some interesting conversations with him over the years about medical and UAB history. 

Photo by Hanno Van Der Bul 9 March 2021

Source: Birmingham Business Journal

Kracke Clinical Services Building in the 1960's 

Source: UAB Archives via UAB Reporter

Roy Kracke, M.D. in 1945

Kracke was appointed Dean of the Medical College of Alabama in that year, when classes began in September in Birmingham. Previously a two-year school had operated in Tuscaloosa since 1920, after many years in mobile after its founding 1859. The state expanded the curriculum so that students did not have to leave Alabama to finish their M.D. Birmingham was chosen as the new site for its large pool of patients. 

Source: BhamWiki

Nursing students in the dormitory

Source for photo above & below: UAB Archives via UAB Reporter

These photos show the interior of the Kracke Building when it opened in July 1965 and give floor-by-floor descriptions.

I arrived late to the party, so the Kracke Building was mostly a pile of rubble when I was there on November 1. Demolition began October 9. 

In this photo you can see the Lyons-Harrison Building logo on the lower left. This structure began as the Health Sciences Research Building with a phased opening in October 1959 and fully occupied in May 1960. In November 1966 it was renamed after Dr. Champ Lyons, Chair of the Department of Surgery from 1950 until 1965, and another prominent physician, Tinsley Harrison. Among his many other achievements, Harrison wrote the standard Principles of Internal Medicine, first published in 1950 and now in its 20th edition. 

The back of Jefferson Tower, originally Jefferson Hospital which opened in 1939, is visible in this photo.

Here we can see Jefferson Tower and on the right what is now the New Hillman Building, the front of which is seen below with the statue of William Davis, M.D., an important figure in Alabama and Birmingham medical history.

Alabama History & Culture News: November 15 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!

Historical Smiths Station church celebrates 190th anniversary - WSFA WSFA The church opened its doors in 1801 and, according to the church's historical documents, it was one of the leading Methodist churches in the ...

84 million years ago, a massive meteorite strikes ancient Alabama - al.com AL.com This illustration, from Jim Lacefield's book "Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks," shows a cross-section of the Wetumpka Impact Crater site.

Alabama's rich culture, history told on Mural Trail throughout state Alabama NewsCenter “There are so many unique murals around the state that show off Alabama's history, culture and arts,” Johnson-Beers said. “Alabama is home to some ...

Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum – Leeds, Alabama - Atlas Obscura Atlas Obscura Discover Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Leeds, Alabama: This 880-acre ... Every last book in this bookstore is signed by the author.

Mud Creek Association celebrates 150 years | The Alabama Baptist The Alabama Baptist Bill Kitchens, Mud Creek Baptist Association historian, wrote and presented the association's history. Scott Dawson preached at the worship ...

Cherokee County Historical Preservation Society Holds Plaque Unveiling/Dedication for ... WEIS Radio On Thursday, the Historical Preservation Society of Cherokee County hosted the unveiling of the Alabama Historical Commission plaque for Estes

Blind Horse Pow Wow celebrates Alabama's Native American heritage

Alabama Public Radio

Alabama's rich Native American history takes center stage at an event in east Alabama. The Blind Horse Pow Wow is a celebration featuring a drum ...

Stunning White Cliffs of Alabama hint at the forces that shaped the Black Belt - al.com AL.com “The tiny shells and plates of the chalk-forming plankton rained down upon the sea floor for many millions of years,” Lacefield writes in his book.

Joseph Goodman's 'We Want Bama' tells story of Alabama's unforgettable 2020 season - al.com AL.com AL.com columnist's first book published this week. ... but Alabama's 2020 football season was the second draft of what wound up being Joseph ...

Happy Home Baptist marks 100 years in Henagar community The Alabama Baptist Wendell Dutton presented a certificate to the church on behalf of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission. “It was a great day,” said church ...

Structure for Africatown museum that will tell story of slave ship Clotilda, arrives Friday - al.com AL.com “It's monumental for Africatown and coastal Alabama,” said David Clark, ... “Welcome Center” that will located near the Old Plateau Cemetery.

Legacy of Harold A. Franklin, Auburn University's first African American student, preserved at ... Auburn University ... earning a master's degree in international studies from the University of Denver and teaching history at Alabama State University, ...

Lineville's Pleasant Grove Baptist marks 150 years The Alabama Baptist Calvin Milford of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission and Bruce Willis, director of missions for Carey Baptist Association, ...

First All-Black Crew of Pilots Make History With Flight to Tuskegee Black Enterprise Captains Kyle Green and Johnny Frye made history by becoming the first all-Black crew to land a C-21 aircraft in Alabama's Sharp Field, formerly known ...

Art exhibition to feature works of current, formerly incarcerated individuals Alabama Political Reporter ... Alabama Department of Corrections, Alabama Department of Archives and History, Ingram State Technical College, and the Bureau.

'American Pickers' to film in Alabama, looking for locations - Valley Times-News Valley Times-News “American Pickers,” a History Channel hit television series, plans to film episodes throughout Alabama in February 2022, according to a press ...

'Walking Tour of Historic Madison' mobile app teachers users abou | rocketcitynow.com RocketCityNow.com MADISON, Alabama — Multiple city of Madison orginizations are teaming up to bring residents a new way to learn about the city's history: the ...

One-woman stage play will benefit Monroe Museum Endowment | Clarke County Democrat Clarke County Democrat The Alabama Historical Association's Fall Pilgrimage was held at Historic Blakeley State Park in Baldwin County Saturday. Members toured the.