Alabama History & Culture News: October 1 edition

For a number of years I've been posting links to just-published Alabama history and culture articles in the "alabamahistory" group at Yahoo!Groups. Most of the articles are from newspapers, with others from magazines and TV and radio websites. You can subscribe to the emails there if you wish; I send out two or three a week along with relevant meeting announcements and so forth. 

Here's the latest batch: 

Historians seek marker at former Carver School

Gadsden Times

“This school is an important part of the city's history and should be ... “It is believed to be the first African American school in Alabama named in honor ...

On this day in Alabama history: First classes held at Brewton community college Alabama NewsCenter The Alabama State Board of Education (BOE) chose Brewton as the site for a junior college. A committee of Escambia County citizens recommended ...

Bicentennial book delves into Tuscaloosa's origin, growth Tuscaloosa News Even history professors, such as Kari Frederickson, found the University of Alabama Press book revelatory. Moving from Wisconsin in 1999 to teach at ...

SOUTHERN MAN: Humorist and storyteller Sean Dietrich has a particular love for Alabama

Anniston Star

This summer saw the release of his first book from a name-brand publisher, “Stars of Alabama,” from Thomas Nelson Publishers. It's a novel about a ...

On this day in Alabama history: The latest USS Mobile brought into service Alabama NewsCenter A half-century ago today, the fourth ship bearing the name of the port city of Mobile was christened for service in the US Navy. A cargo ship, the USS ...

Tuskegee Civil Rights Trail is dedicated San Diego Jewish World TUSKEGEE, Alabama — Friday, September 20, 2019, in the Tuskegee City Municipal Center, the 13-marker Tuskegee Civil Rights and Hi

GMA celebrates Bicentennial exhibit's arrival Gadsden Messenger The museum is welcoming the Alabama Bicentennial traveling exhibit titled ... Commission and the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

On this day in Alabama history: BJCC held its first event

Alabama NewsCenter

Though he did not leave on a jet plane, John Denver made history as the first headliner for the newly-constructed Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center ...

Voices of Alabama illuminates civil rights history sites with storytelling Curbed Greensboro, Alabama, isn't on the typical tourist itinerary. Located an hour from Selma and a few hours from Birmingham, it's a rural community in an ...

Meet the newest members of UNA's Athletic Hall of Fame Times Daily Cody was a four-year member of North Alabama's women's basketball ... fourth leading scorer in UNA women's basketball history with 1,294 points, ...

Vines Funeral Home reveals national historic marker

Valley Times-News

LaFAYETTE — Vines Funeral Home in LaFayette was etched into history Thursday afternoon by the Alabama Historical Commission. The funeral ...

The history of Toomer's Drugs and that famous Corner

AL.com

He was serving as a state senator in 1872 when the Alabama Legislature was trying to decide where to establish a land-grant college. Toomer made ...

On this day in Alabama history: Pink, AL changes its name to Kinston

Alabama NewsCenter

Alabama lost a little of its color in 1912, as Wiregrass town of Pink changed its name. Kinston, Ala. Was originally known as Cross Trails, as it was ...

"The Real Tarzan" author to sign books at Barnes & Noble Northwest Georgia News Some of White's many achievements — as detailed in the book — are All State high school football player, member of the University of Alabama ...

Air University Press unveil new bookstore in AU Library Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base 20, 2019, on Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. ... two AU Press authors and gave attendees the opportunity to grab signed copies of their books.

On this day in Alabama history: Author and journalist Ellen Tarry born

Alabama NewsCenter

Ellen Tarry – one of Alabama's connections to the Harlem Renaissance – was born on this day in ... That book, written immediately after the Brown v.

Alabama Bicentennial Commission releases cookbook alreporter.com Standridge said the book is about more than just recipes it also includes stories about Alabama and all of the things that we have gone through ...

Your vote could help Monroeville courthouse win share of $2 million AL.com Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday afternoon announced that the Monroe County Courthouse in Monroeville has been named as one of 20 historic ...

Alabama Legacy Moment: Nell Jackson Alabama NewsCenter Alabama Public Television is producing a series of videos titled “Alabama Legacy Moments” that offer a quick history of the people, places and stories ...

Alabama inches closer to ownership of the Clotilda

AL.com

The Alabama Historical Commission is one step closer to securing ownership of the Clotilda for the state, four months after the lost slave ship was ...

New project highlights civil rights sites in Alabama Minneapolis Star Tribune An online, oral history presentation called "Voices of Alabama" features photos of historic sites and interviews with some of the people who worked ... New project highlights civil rights sites in Alabama - Washington Post Full Coverage

On this day in Alabama history: Gayle Planetarium in Montgomery opens for the public

Alabama NewsCenter

Montgomery's Gayle Planetarium opened its doors (and imaginations) on this day in 1968. At the height of the race to the moon, the facility catered to ...

New Cullman County history book uses Wallace State collection for research Cullman Times Online Cullman County people also appear in the collection's broader holdings on Alabama (and other states), Civil War soldiers, family history files, Native ..

John Mitchell fought segregation at Alabama and made football history The Undefeated He hasn't exactly fallen through the cracks of college football history, but that's because the Alabama football family and all its descendants know ...

On this day in Alabama history: Restaurant legend John Proferis passes away Alabama NewsCenter The first name in Birmingham restaurants is “John,” as in John's Restaurant. John Proferis, who died on this day in 1972, made that place a fixture on ...

Musical work spotlights Princess Noccalula Gadsden Times The work begins with the dawning of the sun over the primeval Northeast Alabama wilderness. Noccalula awakens to the familiar sound of birdsong, ...

On this day in Alabama history: Clarke Stallworth makes front page history Alabama NewsCenter On this day in 2005, veteran reporter and columnist Clarke Stallworth completed a feat that may never be duplicated – having both the first and the last ...

Alabama History & Culture News: September 22 edition

For a number of years I've been posting links to just-published Alabama history and culture articles in the "alabamahistory" group at Yahoo!Groups. Most of the articles are from newspapers, with others from magazines and TV and radio websites. You can subscribe to the emails there if you wish; I send out two or three a week along with relevant meeting announcements and so forth. 

Here's the latest batch: 

MOMENT IN HISTORY: Alabama State Capitol

Tuscaloosa News

Alabama State Capitol. The Alabama State Capitol was located in Tuscaloosa from 1826 until 1847. The stone foundation of the capitol building was ...

On this day in Alabama history: NY Jets take down the Boston Patriots at Legion Field

Alabama NewsCenter

It was the first major professional, regular-season football game played in Alabama. But hopes by local leaders that it might lead to something more ...

Cricket Theatre hosts bicentennial event Times-Journal The Collinsville Historical Association is sponsoring an Alabama Bicentennial Event on Sept. 23 at The Cricket Theatre on Main Street in historic ...

Waterloo prepares for thousands of bikers with annual Trail of Tears whnt.com They are remembering the place in north Alabama where Native Americans were ... The procession has been 25-miles long at times during its history.

On this day in Alabama history: Alberta City annexed into Tuscaloosa Alabama NewsCenter It was the early 1900s when folks began settling in a heavily wooded area east of Tuscaloosa and the Huntsville Road (now University Boulevard) and ...

Birmingham author speaks to lunchtime crowd at library Selma Times-Journal ... Arts Executive Director Elliott Knight, who will be on hand Oct. 3 to talk about the Alabama Creates “200 Years of Arts and Artists” coffee-table book.

Downtown Birmingham shop is part book store, part museum

Alabama NewsCenter

“This is a book store?” the new customer asks in surprise. “I was just looking at the doodads,” she's referring to all the collectible and cherished items ...

Sand Mountain Corn Maze celebrates Alabama's 200th anniversary

Gadsden Times

Although the logo won't be visible from inside the maze, Alabama's history still will play a crucial part. Throughout the maze, 10 checkpoints will be set ...

On this day in Alabama history: Alabama Legislature ratified the 19th Amendment Alabama NewsCenter The fight for the right for women to vote officially ended in 1920 when Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment to the U.S. ...

Documentary delves into history of 'The Strip' at UA Tuscaloosa News Documentary delves into history of 'The Strip' at UA .... about the shifting face and history of the commercial strip adjacent to the University of Alabama, ...

Making history: Collier Neeley following in his grandmother Mary Ann Neeley's footsteps Montgomery Advertiser And this week, he took over as interim executive director of the Landmarks Foundation, the nonprofit preservation group based in Old Alabama Town.

Documentary delves into history of 'The Strip' at UA    Tuscaloosa News

Five historic Alabama civil rights churches get National Parks grants AL.com Five churches that played important roles in the civil rights movement have received major grants from the National Parks Service totaling about $3.4 ...

On this day in Alabama history: Author William March was born

Alabama NewsCenter

William Edward Campbell was one of 11 children. His father was the orphaned son of a Confederate soldier who worked as an itinerant laborer.

Rep. Terri Sewell Announces Nearly $3.4 Million to Preserve African American Civil Rights Sites Terri Sewell “I have always believed that the extraordinary history of Alabama's 7th ... history of African Americans' struggle for civil rights in the state of Alabama ...

Several Pelham library events planned for October

Shelby County Reporter

Books will be available for purchase. ... takes you on a ghostly tour of the county through stories from her book, Haunted Shelby County, Alabama.

Wiregrass Archives co-sponsoring historian's Dothan speech Trojan News Center (press release) Bailey's program, based on his book titled “They Too Call Alabama Home: African American Profiles, 1800-1999,” is part of the Draughon Seminars in ...

Lawmakers vow to preserve historic tribal cemetery in path of border wall plans 8News Fifty to 150 graves are located at the historic Eli Jackson Cemetery, which is in such a remote .... children, fled from Alabama to the banks of the Rio Grande because they were being persecuted under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

Remains of Bessemer man killed during Pearl Harbor attack returning to Alabama

WIAT - CBS42.com

BESSEMER, Ala. (WIAT) — Decades after being killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the remains of a Bessemer man have finally been ...

School of Optometry celebrates 50 years of improving vision UAB News The only optometry program in the state of Alabama, UABSO's rich history and commitment to serving the state's patients have helped cement the ...

'My Alabama' Opelika Auburn News Alabama continues to celebrate its bicentennial year, and one of the more common manners of marking the occasion is the publication of several ...

3 Selma historical sites to receive more than $1.8M Selma Times-Journal “I have always believed that the extraordinary history of Alabama Seventh District can drive economic revitalizations and promote its heritage tourism ...

Alabama's bright side of history AL.com The cast of Alabama Speaks at the Huntsville library Monday, Sept. 16. Actors portrayed: Tallulah Bankhead (Emily Watson); Congressman Carl Elliot ...

On this day in Alabama history: NASA unveiled space shuttle Enterprise Alabama NewsCenter It was named after the Starship Enterprise, from the famed TV show “Star Trek.” Indeed, much of the cast of the show and its creator, Gene Rodenberry, ...

Johnny Mack Brown & "A Lady of Chance" (5)

This post is the fifth and final part of a look at A Lady of Chance, the 1928 silent film starring Johnny Mack Brown and Norma Shearer. Part one is here, part two is here, part three is here and part four is here.

My comments on the film are at the end of this post. 

Once the police arrive and take Gwen and Brad into custody, Dolly confesses everything and begs forgiveness. 

Steve doesn't want to give her up, but Dolly says he needs a "nice girl."

The police are ready to break up the love birds and take "Angel Face" to jail. 

Dolly and Steve share a final kiss. 

Some time later Dolly is brought into a meeting room in the prison. 

Dolly is suddenly hopeful. Not only will she be freed, but Steve still loves her. 

So this tale of the big city con woman and the Alabama small businessman ends happily!

Brown in his football days at UA

Source: Encyclopedia of Alabama

A comic book series featuring Brown appeared in nine issues from October 1950 until September 1952.

Source: ComicBookPlus

I really enjoyed watching A Lady of Chance; the film showed up on Turner Classic Movies a few months ago. I've seen a number of silent films over the years, so watching this one was nothing unusual. Shearer and Brown were both excellent in their roles, although Shearer was obviously the more experienced actor. Brown's inexperience worked fine for the earnest, humble character he played. I haven't seen many of Shearer's films, but she is a delight to watch in this one. The film has both humor and genuine emotion and despite its flaws an interesting story. 

Watching silent films and other older movies set in the period they were made allows us to enter another world--the past. Although fictionalized, the films are time capsules of the minutia of daily life at the time--cars and other transportation, clothing, furniture, the way people related to each other. We get to peer inside businesses and dentist offices, operating rooms, and people's homes. The experience brings plenty of visual delights and exciting stories if we leave behind our modern film expectations of rapid action, lots of special effects, and color. Silent films had all those things, but not in the quantity of today's movies.

Historical dramas from these early periods of commercial film can also be fascinating to watch. We can see another era's views of historical figures and events made for a popular audience. That's something we could only get from fiction and poetry before the movies came along.

A good place to start on the silents is the Movies Silently blog. And TCM is a constant source of riches on both silent and "classic" movies and even the shorts that filled out programs at early movie houses. 

The End

Johnny Mack Brown & "A Lady of Chance" (4)

This post is part four of a look at A Lady of Chance the 1928 silent film starring Johnny Mack Brown and Norma Shearer. Part one is here, part two is here and part three is here.

Dolly's old pals Gwen and Brad have managed to track her down and are surprised to find her living where and the way she is. They have presented themselves to the Crandalls as Dolly's cousins and are invited to stay. 

Dolly tells them she's fallen for a man of no wealth, but they don't take her seriously. Dolly gives them the $10,000 in hopes they will leave.

Steve gets a telegram offering him $100,000 for the rights to his cement formula. He shares this good news with everyone, and suddenly Brad has a business investment back in New York he wants to talk about. 

Everyone here is pretty happy except poor, poor Dolly.

She pours out her heart to Gwen, trying to convince her that she and Steve are really in love. 

Dolly produces a gun to emphasize her feelings to Gwen.

Unfortunately Brad and Gwen are seeing a big payoff and insist they proceed to New York so Steve can sign the "investment" contract. They threaten to reveal Dolly's past if she doesn't go along.

Steve and Dolly are briefly happy as they settle into their hotel suite in the Big Apple. 

Brad and Steve go over the contract by which he plans to separate Steve and his money. 

Dolly has had enough. She can't bear to watch Steve get taken and calls the police. 

Then she proceeds to blow the whole scam wide open. 

I think we can safely say Steve is surprised. 

To Be Continued