No, I don't either. Let's investigate.
Friday, November 12, 2021
Alabama Photos of the Day: Remember the Historama?
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Alabama History & Culture News: November 10 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!
Dive into Capri Theatre's history this weekend during Montgomery Film Festival Along with Carples two short films, three others have ties to Alabama. * Obed Lamy's “Once Forgotten” is linked to Montgomery. It's a documentary that ... |
'Sweet spirit' as Dutton Baptist Church celebrates centennial Chris Guinn, director of missions for Sand Mountain Baptist Association, brought greetings, and Wendell Dutton of the Alabama Baptist Historical ... |
Pioneer Museum of Alabama celebrates 50 years - The Troy Messenger “Here, the history of Alabama pioneers is kept alive for all ages,” Smith said. “The extremely large number of artifacts and outbuildings is ... |
Amelia Boynton Robinson gets statue bust by Alabama Department of Archives History A Selma Civil Rights Icon received a bust by the Alabama Department of Archives History on Monday in Montgomery. Amelia Boynton Robinson is one of ... |
Photographic Exhibit in Selma Aims to Identify Bloody Sunday Foot Soldiers - Alabama News Keith Hebert is the Draughon professor of Southern History at Auburn. “We started this effort in mid-August of 2021 and so far we've identified about ... |
Alabama honors 2 women who fought for voting rights with statues at Archives & History - al.com Pattie Ruffner Jacobs, (1875-1935) was Alabama's leading suffrage activist, founding the Alabama Equal Suffrage Association and serving as its ... |
DON NOBLE: Charles McNair's new novel Is a transgressive thriller - Tuscaloosa News Charles McNair, Dothan native and University of Alabama graduate, has two previous novels: “Land O'Goshen,” 1994, a novel set in a dystopic future ... |
Orange Baptist has 'good day' celebrating 125th anniversary Other guest speakers were Loyd Griffus and Jerry Hester, the church's only former pastors who are still living. The church's original altar table was ... |
Alabama Department of Archives and History to unveil statues of voting rights icons - Selma Sun The Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) in Montgomery will unveil statues of voting rights icons, Amelia Boynton Robinson and Pattie ... |
'He really set the standard:' Hall of Fame Alabama sports writer Charles Hollis dies - al.com Funeral services will take place Thursday at 11 a.m. at Cullman Funeral Home Chapel with internment in Bethlehem East Cemetery in Hanceville. |
Selma historic organizations receive grants from Alabama Historical Commission - Selma Sun Several organizations in Selma have received funds from the Alabama Historical Commission's 2022 Historic Sites Grants Program. |
Teen hitchhiker killed in 1961 Alabama crash identified after 60 years: 'It's really a shocker' - al.com On March 27, 1961, the boy was picked up on Alabama Highway 25, ... He was eventually buried in the Centreville Memorial Cemetery on Mill Street ... |
Opinion | It's time for UA to recognize its queer past Creating a Gay Student Union on The University of Alabama's campus was not as ... Learning about this history would allow LGBTQ students to draw ... |
Rare book given to Owens museum after long quest to find it | Raleigh News & Observer “I love history and with my appreciation for Jesse Owens and what he ... He was an exceptional athlete and a wonderful part of Alabama history and ... |
Thursday, November 4, 2021
A Visit to Priceville Discount Books
When I travel to visit mom in Huntsville, I take I-65 north to the Hartselle exit at Alabama 36 and take that state road over to US 231 at Lacey's Spring, then north into southeast Huntsville where she lives. For several months now the first half of that trip on 36 has been closed to through traffic due to bridge work. The detour takes me another exit north on I-65 to Priceville. After a few trips through there I finally noticed Priceville Discount Books. I stopped to take a look early one Sunday afternoon, and I'm glad I did.
Working that day was the original owner, whose name I failed to get. He told me he had opened the store in 1987 and just sold it this past June. He was continuing to work part time to help out the new owners, Aria and Dylan Troncoso. The store occupies much of the Twin Cedar Plaza retail strip on Alabama 67 South not far from the Interstate exit. The photographs below will give you a small idea of the vast inventory inside the store. I'll have to stop by a few more times to make my way through the many sections and shelves. The classics section alone is huge. The store has an active Facebook page, which has been up since January 2014.
Via email, Dylan Troncoso provided me this information about the store:
"The original owner of the store is James Owen. His mother opened a tanning salon in 1987 and James began selling some of his personal books in her store in 1988. His dad helped him by building shelves in an unused part of the tanning salon. The tanning salon/bookstore moved into the current building mid 1990. Eventually the books took over, and James' mom transitioned out of the tanning business and helped him run the bookstore. There are still two tanning beds buried under a surplus of books.
"My wife Aria and I purchased the store from James and took over mid June of 2021. James has remained active in the transition. He is always helpful and works for us around 3 days per week. He just can't step away, and we wouldn't have it any other way! Our current plan is to keep up the legacy of Priceville Discount Books. We hear just about weekly from customers that can remember shopping there from the beginning. Many adult customers have been buying their books there for the entirety of their lives. We hope to clean up and organize as time allows. We plan to clear up some space in the smaller half of the store to accommodate some tables and chairs for our customers as well as our own kids to use for their homeschooling."
I've written a number of pieces about Alabama bookstores, including Booklegger in Huntsville, Gibson's in Owens Crossroads, and Deb's [now Camelot] in Cullman. I've also covered a few now closed, such as Books, Etc in Pelham, the Paris Bookstall in Birmingham, and two much older ones in Auburn. Finally, I've done two posts on bookstore bookmarks here and here. I have a good bit of material on past bookstores in the state and hope to further tap it in the near future.
Priceville Discount Books is well worth a stop if you're in the area, or even if it takes a special trip!
Saturday, October 30, 2021
Alabama History & Culture News: October 30 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 ghost ship of the Eliza Battle - al.com The legend of Alabama's ghost ship. ... But most agree her sinking was “one of the greatest calamities” in Alabama history, according to author ... |
Fairmount Baptist Church marks 200 years of serving Red Level Ellen Dewberry of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission presented the church with a certificate, and a photo album and scrapbook of special ... |
Bethel Baptist Association celebrates bicentennial Lonette Berg, executive director of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission, and Rick Barnhart of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions ... |
Civil Rights Pioneer Claudette Colvin Is Fighting to Clear Her Record - Smithsonian Magazine For years, her relatives worried that she would be arrested by the police, for any possible reason, whenever she visited Alabama. “My conviction for ... |
Roy Wood Jr. on Stand-up, His Alabama Roots, and What Makes a Comedian - The Ringer Roy Wood Jr. talks about how he got started in stand-up, how his Alabama roots have influenced him as a comedian, and the qualities that make a ... |
The ghost ship of the Eliza Battle - al.com The legend of Alabama's ghost ship. ... in Alabama history, according to author Rufus Ward in his 2010 book, “The Tombigbee River Steamboats.”. |
The Hawes Murders: a dark moment in Birmingham's early history - Alabama NewsCenter According to a 2006 recounting in Alabama Heritage magazine, ... Irene's body was moved to the city cemetery for immediate burial. |
Chipola Theatre announces staged reading of 'Alabama Rain' | Local | dothaneagle.com No set, no props, no costumes. Actors interact and perform the story with script, similar to listening to an audio book. With more stories to tell ... |
After 'Blood,' Allison Moorer writes about life with an autistic child - al.com Alabama native Allison Moorer takes flight with 'Crows'. The saving power of music was a theme that ran through that book. Early on in her new one ... |
Haunted history awaits Old Alabama Town visitors Friday - Montgomery Advertiser Nothing is quite as spooky as history, and guests can get a frightful lot of it Friday during tours at the Haunting at Old Alabama Town. |
Haunted Hartselle hosts Ghost Walk Thursday “Hartselle is one of the most haunted historic downtowns in Alabama,” said Lesley Ann Hyde, a Cullman State Farm agent who started the paranormal ... |
Centennial Hill: A neighborhood worth preserving - Montgomery Advertiser Destruction of “physical history” also destroys present values. ... architectural preservation is a set-aside, known as Old Alabama Town, ... |
East Cullman Association celebrates 75th anniversary | The Alabama Baptist Mary Ellen Holmes, associational historian, presented the history of East Cullman Association, and David Stancil, pastor at Enon Baptist Church in ... |
Ghosts Of Birmingham: The Magic City's Haunted Buildings - Patch Oak Hill Cemetery: One of the oldest cemeteries in Alabama, Oak Hill is said to be haunted by numerous spirits, most notably the ghost of ... |
Three Revolutionary War patriots honored with grave marking in historic Madison County cemetery Other leaders of patriotic groups also in attendance included Patrice Donnelly, State Regent, Alabama Society Daughters of the American Revolution; ... |
Learning from history in Montgomery, Alabama - Wichita, KS Montgomery, Alabama is a two-and-a-half hour drive from Atlanta, Georgia. And one well worth the trip. A group of women I know from my synagogue ... |
These Tour Stops On University of Alabama's Campus Tell of Dark Racial History | The ... From the construction of the initial buildings to the destruction of the campus on April 4, 1865 when Union troops descended on Tuscaloosa, ... |
Preserving the history of Birmingham Black Radio: a discussion of preservation, outreach and collaboration
museum and archives located in Birmingham, Alabama (USA) … Design/methodology/approach
– This analysis is informed by historical, case study and autoethnographic methods …