From the Files of 1953:

Pioneer Lady Dies Here

Mrs. Dan Heck, age 82, one of Cullman’s pioneer citizens, died here this week, after being in ill health for the past year. Mrs. Heck, the former Rosellen Parker and her late husband celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1946. Surviving are: five children, Mrs. Luther Sterling, Mrs. John Sterling, Mrs. J.H. Edwards and Louis Sterling, all of Cullman and Athol Heck, of Lynn; eight grandchildren, Mrs. G.V. Legg  and Edigna Edwards, of Cullman, Miss Betty Rose Sterling, of Gadsden, Mrs. C.V. McElroy, of Bridgeport, Mrs. W.E. Segrest, of Shorter, Johnny Edwards, of New Orleans, Billy Heck, of California and Jerry Heck, of Lynn; one great- grandchild and three sisters, Mrs. W.P. Patterson, of Falkville, Mrs. Mary Owens, of New Orleans and Mrs. Emily Minter,  of Birmingham.

Funeral services were held on Tuesday afternoon, at Seventh Street Baptist Church, with Reverend J. Gilbert Speake officiating. Moss Service directed interment in the City Cemetery.

Guthery’s Cross Roads

Technical-Sergeant and Mrs. Luther Williams, of Selma, visited  Mrs. Williams parents, the I.A. Speegles, over the weekend.

Mrs. Howard Harbison and children, of Birmingham, attended Sunday School at Prospect on Sunday.

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Gentry, of Gadsden, spent the weekend with the M.L. Millers and Sharon.

Aunt Lizzie Harbison is ill with the flu. Mr. and Mrs. Kermit Bailey  and  Myra, of Mobile, spent the weekend with the Weaver Sinyards.

Mr. and Mrs. Dewey Still have received news that Airman Second Class and Mrs. Frank Still, of Andrews Air Base, Maryland, are the parents of a baby daughter, named Anita Gail.

Misses Eathil Bonner, of Logan, Hilda Alvis, Lelonia Speegle, Janice Guthery and Janice Wells were dinner guests of Hilda Still on Sunday, on her 12th birthday.

Serviceman, Hubert Moore, of Atlanta, Georgia, called on Myra Bailey on Sunday, at the home of her grandparents, the Weaver Sinyards.

Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Bailey, of Birmingham, spent Sunday with the Kert Baileys.

Mr. and Mrs. Cortez Speegle, Dora, Dona and Dean, of Brushy Creek, spent Sunday with the Weaver Sinyards.

Joppa News

Mr. and Mrs. Arnold King spent the weekend, in Birmingham, with her mother, Mrs. Rainwater and Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Law.

Douglas Hooten and family have moved to Birmingham. He works at T.C.I.

Ruby Nelle Nix spent Sunday night with Audrey Parmer.

Betty Hill was home for the weekend. She works in Birmingham.

Howard Corbin, from Birmingham, visited his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Corbin, last weekend.

From the Files of 1964:

Darnell Rites Held

Nevil Linford “Don” Darnell, age 28, of Route One, Falkville, died on January 21st, at Cullman Hospital and funeral services were held at Duck River on January 23rd, with Reverend George Helms directing interment.

Survivors include: his wife,  Mrs. Thelma Darnell; one son, David Darnell and his mother, Mrs. Desday Entrekin.

Milk production per cow has followed an upward trend since 1944, with an unbroken series of new record highs each year.

Copyright 2017 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Margot Tanner displays one of the numerous original works of art she has created. / W.C. Mann

CULLMAN - This week, the Cullman community will bid farewell to a woman with a remarkable story, who has created a series of other remarkable stories in her time here.  Margot Tanner has for years been active in the Cullman Historical Society, Friends of Frankweiler and Cullman First United Methodist Church.  She has been an advocate for immigrant families, and has taught English and art in the Cullman area, in addition to sharing her personal stories with thousands of area students.  On Aug. 24, Tanner will leave to relocate near her son and grandson in Mesa, Arizona.  On Saturday, I had the privilege of stopping by her home near Johnson’s Crossing for a visit, as she took a little time out of her packing to tell her story one more time.

Tanner’s story is almost too much for one person.  In a community full of people with German names who can’t read, write or speak the language, she can.  She has, in fact, served as a translator and interpreter for the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce, Cullman County Historical Society and Friends of Frankweiler; she translated documents from the German prisoner of war camp in Aliceville, one of the largest Allied POW camps of WWII.

Tanner’s English surname (courtesy of her late husband John) masks her heritage, but her accent gives it away instantly.  She was born and raised in Germany, living through the depredations and horrors of Hitler’s regime and the war, before marrying a U.S. serviceman and accompanying him to his home in rural Cullman County in the 1950s.

“I met him while he was stationed in Germany,” Tanner began, “and I worked for the U.S. Air Force in Bitburg, and I got a job there, and that’s where I met him.  And so, we came to Cullman when he retired.” 

As a military wife, Tanner lived in France, Ohio, Texas, England and Selma, Alabama.

She continued, “My husband retired in Fort Worth, Texas, and then his dad offered him 20 acres of land, then we moved in.  I never wanted to come to Cullman.”

More...much more on that, later.  There’s so much to Tanner’s story before that moment, and I had to back up and hear it.

Growing up German at the worst possible time

“In Germany, my home is Eshwege,” explained Tanner.  “My father was a police officer, and he taught bookkeeping, and we got shipped from Eshwege to Kassel, and from there we got shipped to Stuttgart.  From there, my father got shipped to Suhl in Thuringia.”

As her father was a government employee, Tanner was required to join the Hitler Youth.  Her family lived in areas removed from the front lines and some of the more notorious Nazi atrocities.  Thanks to a powerful state propaganda program, she spent most of the war years under the impression that Germany was winning the war, despite increasing shortages of food and other necessities.

Living in a war zone

“The first time I noticed the danger,” continued Tanner, “was when we lived in Vaihingen, close to Stuttgart, where I saw German tanks maneuvering down the road.  And we had these kilometer stones, and they knocked those over and left it. (Destruction of road markers and signs is a common defensive practice in preparation for invasion.)

“From Thuringia, we lived in a police academy.  Three houses belonged to families--we had apartments--and the rest of the houses were designated for troops.  They were mostly young policemen that wanted to become police officers, not army.  This had nothing to do with the army. 

“I had about a mile and a half or 2 miles to walk to school, and there were no school buses and no cars.  You barely ever saw cars on the road, except for military vehicles, because there was no gas.  And no snow plows; we had to walk through pretty deep snow.  It’s kind of like the state of Colorado. 

“I went to a higher school of learning, and, fortunately, since Hitler wanted to rule the whole world, I learned English, French and Latin.  And that, of course, came to my advantage when the war was over.”

Meeting her first American

“My first encounter was in 1945.  We lived up on a hill, and the Americans were on (the next) hill, and there was a valley.  We lived halfway up this hill.  So, the artillery was shooting back and forth, and we were scared for our lives.  We lived in the bunkers.

“One day, we didn’t hear any more shooting.  We were getting hungry in the bunkers, so I told my mother, ‘We have to go and find some food for the rest of the people.’  Of course, she cried, and this friend of mine and I crawled on our tummies down to the mess hall.  We went and got some food.  The food was still hot, since this came all of a sudden, because Hitler said we were winning the war.

“We brought the food.  Then, a few days later, we ran out of food again, so we ventured outside.  Machine gun fire was hitting (around) us, but we made it through and went down on the hill.  As we looked down into the area where the police had their trucks, we were in the grass, and we were looking down there, and there we saw these strange soldiers.  My friend and I looked up, and as we looked up, this hand came on my shoulder and pulled me up, and said, ‘Do you speak English?’  That was my first encounter with an American.

“Of course, we were scared to death.  We walked back to the bunker, and we were shaking.  We were afraid, because these American soldiers had their guns down and the bayonets in our backs, because the SS troops had come through that area before the American troops and had hung flags in every one of the buildings.  They wanted to make sure there were no German soldiers left.  We finally told the soldiers that there were women and children in the shelters, but no men.

“They got the women out, and they put us in a circle.  This I will never forget.  My mom and the women were all crying, because we don’t know what’s going to happen to us next, and the soldiers were with their guns.  I told my mother to close her eyes because, I said, ‘We may be shot.  We may never see each other again.  Just close your eyes.’  So we all closed our eyes and waited to be shot.  I hear the wind blowing through the pine trees, and I’m ready to die.

“And then, all of a sudden, I heard motor noises.  Of course, I opened my eyes; and there were American soldiers coming in jeeps, vehicles we had never seen before.  And they got out, and they went around and gave us each rations.  And I truly thought we had arrived in Heaven; we were all dead and gone.  So, that was my first encounter with Americans.

“Since I could speak English, I translated for everybody.  And the women, my mom and the rest of the ladies there, we did the laundry work and we got food in exchange.  It was a very pleasant time.

“After about two months was when the Americans left and the Soviets came.  That’s another story.  We had to leave our home in 20 minutes, just leave, go, never come back.  I didn’t know where my father was.  We found out that my father was alive.  There were no telephones, no trucks, no cars, no running water, no food.  Many people starved to death.

“I went across the border illegally into West Germany.  It took me three weeks to find my father.  Then I came back.  I slept in ditches, in barns, whatever.  I made it back, and I got my mom and my siblings, and we went across the border again to bring my family over to my relatives that all lived in West Germany.  On our way back, my cousin and I--we were then 16--we were beaten and raped by Soviet soldiers; but we made it.”

Outsider in Cullman

By the time her husband left the Air Force, the kleine-stadt (small-town) girl had grown accustomed to the big city life of Fort Worth.  She was not excited about the prospect of relocating to the family farm near Holly Pond.

“I liked the town (Cullman),” Tanner explained, “but where we went out in the country, there was a different story; because people in those days--I was considered a war bride--it was in ‘55.  Of course, I had different ways.  We stayed with my in-laws.  I had never seen an outhouse.  We all had running water and electricity (in Germany).  So I encountered something from what we called ‘olden times.’ 

“I got used to it because, by then, I got used to anything.  But the people, they stayed away from me, because I was different.  It hurt me, but I realize today that anything that is different, people don’t like.  They’re afraid of it, so they leave it alone.  It still goes on today.

Coming to town

“I ran into a lady one time, when I went to the post office.  She said, ‘Oh, you look so nice.  Where did you get your hat?’  I told her I made them.  She said, ‘You have an accent.  You come home with me.  You’ve got to meet my mother.’  That’s the first impression I had of Cullman, the city: they were very friendly.  Mrs. Frances McDonald, she kind of took me in, and she made a Methodist out of me, because I was a Lutheran.  And this is where it started.

“Now, I love Cullman, but outside of Cullman I had problems with the people, because I was different.  One time I went to a cloth store.  I was standing there, and these two ladies were standing there buying material; one said to the other, ‘Have you heard that strange German woman that lives down yonder in the woods?’  ‘Yeah, she’s really strange.  She goes around with a buggy and buckets of water, and waters her plants.  I never heard of something like that.’  See, we didn’t have any money to buy a water hose.  So they went on and I asked the saleslady, ‘Do you know this crazy German woman?’  And she was embarrassed, because I was standing there and I said, ‘I am the crazy German woman!’”

From outsider to neighbor

As she became more acquainted with the community, and better known by it, Tanner began to be accepted and drawn in.  Mary Ellen Holloway recruited her into First Methodist Church, where she sang in the choir.  When Stanley Johnson found out that he had a native German in the neighborhood, he called on her to join the Friends of Frankweiler.  From there, Tanner became involved in the translation of early German documents in Cullman’s archives.  She also became active as an interpreter for German visitors to the city.

Tanner related the beginning of her relationship with the city government.

“In 1975 I had a hysterectomy, and I was lying in the hospital.  And I had a private room.  So one day, the nurse came in and said, ‘Ms. Tanner, you have some visitors, but they wanted to know if they could come in.’  I said, ‘Sure.’  She said, ‘Let me clean up the room, because they’re from the Chamber of Commerce.’

“So they came in and asked me that these German people were coming, and if I would help them with the translations--they found out I was German--and would I know where they could get German bread and rolls.  At that time, you could get them from Publix in Huntsville.  So I helped them while I was lying in the bed!  That’s how it all started.”

Tanner translated numerous German documents in Cullman’s archives; in some cases, documents even many other Germans could not read.  The traditional handwriting used by many Germans during the time of Cullman’s founding and early settlement was abolished by Hitler, on the suspicion that the style had Jewish roots.  Tanner was among the last students to learn the style before it was banned, so she proved to be a blessing to the museum and Friends of Frankweiler.

She was also called on by the Aliceville Historical Society, which preserves the records and personal correspondence of German prisoners held in that town’s POW camp during WWII.  Tanner spent months translating personal letters, along with copies of a newspaper published by the prisoners themselves.

Advocate for outsiders

Even before she encountered prejudice in Cullman County, Tanner knew what bigotry was.  She had seen how Jews were treated in her own country, and she had been treated as an outsider in her own land by the Russians.  By the time she and her husband arrived at Craig AFB in Selma, she was able to begin doing something about it. 

Tanner related, “I went and worked at Tepper’s at that time.  It’s gone, now.  I sold a black lady something.  This other lady came in, and there were two other sales clerks, and she said to me, ‘I need someone to wait on me.’  I said, ‘There’s two other sales clerks.’  She said, ‘No, I want you.’  I said, ‘I have another customer.’  She said, ‘Where?’  I said, ‘This lady right here.’  ‘I don’t see one. I want you.’  I said, ‘I’m sorry, but I have a customer.  Her money’s as good as yours.’  I lost my job.

“So I went across the street and worked for a Jewish guy, and his brother just came back from Germany.  He hated Germans!  Then the first guy (from Tepper’s) hired me back, because customers had been asking about me.  So I went back, and that black lady came and brought me a turkey and all the trimmings for Thanksgiving.  She said she could never forget that I stood up for her.

“I had a Jewish doctor, and he almost let me starve to death.  My husband was TDY (away on a temporary training assignment) that was in Selma.  My husband came in and said, ‘You look terrible,’ and I said, ‘Well, I’m so hungry.’  He said, ‘I’m going to go to the base commander.  We’ll get that doctor fired.’  I said, ‘No.  No, don’t.”  So I confronted the Jewish doctor and said, ‘You know, I was a little girl when that happened with the Jews.  I didn’t see anything until one time I saw how they were treated.  The hate has to stop, right now and right here.’  And he agreed.

“So when I came here to Cullman, in the choir I heard sometimes, ‘German people are stingy, they’re hateful, and they want everything to be right.’  I said, ‘No, that’s not true.  It takes all kinds of people, not just German people.  There are people all over this world like that.’

“One time I sorted the music, and these two people said, ‘Hmm, how come you’re sorting out the folders?  You’re just like the SS.’  I said, ‘Listen--if I were the SS, you’d be dead by now!’

“When the Hispanics came (to First Methodist Church), I tried to get people to help.  In a way, I identified with them.  They were strange; they couldn’t manage the language.  Anyway, we got the Hispanic mission started; it was very interesting.

“I happened to meet German people who came (to Cullman), and they didn’t want to mix with American students at East Elementary School, and I told them, ‘You have to mix with everybody.’

Tanner shared other stories, anecdotes and opinions.  Some were hilarious, like her account of her naturalization ceremony when she became flustered during the judge’s questioning and, in a panic, reverted to youthful muscle memory and rendered the Nazi salute during the Pledge of Allegiance (The judge was amused and overlooked her nervousness).  Some were insistent, like her view that immigrants should be required to learn the common language of their new home country.  All were well-thought out, well-communicated and meaningful.

As we finished our conversation, Tanner took me around and showed me some of the paintings and drawings she has done over the years.  She displayed her book collection and honored me by taking out the one little book she carried during her escape to West Germany, a journal, to show me samples of her and her sister’s handwriting and to translate some of its entries for me.  We looked at some of her numerous awards, and she even played “Amazing Grace” on her harmonica, an instrument she took up as a child because it was easy to carry and provided her a welcome distraction from wartime life in Germany.

The final word

Tanner stated, “I’m grateful to God that He sent me here, a place where I never wanted to go, because I found so many ways of explaining to people, going to people, talking to them.  I have been going to the middle school in Cullman since 2000 and talked about my years as a child, and how I grew up, the war, my testimony--how I became a Christian.  And I’m still asked to do that.

“People are so kind, especially around here.  They don’t want me to go.  I have a lot of people who come and visit me.  So Cullman is, to me, the most friendly town, for not ever wanting to live here, the most friendly town I ever lived in.  Everybody is ready to help.  My church--I have never experienced so much love.  When they gave me a farewell party in my church, everybody came: my Sunday School class, the museum, everybody.  I’m just amazed, such an outpouring of love. 

“I always want to call Cullman a Heaven on earth.  This is the city which is a Heaven on earth.”

Despite her decision to relocate near her family in Arizona, Tanner insisted, “Cullman will always be my home.”

Copyright 2017 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

From the Files of 1964:
 

Mrs. Clemons Father Dies Here Sunday

Robert Woods Blair, age 62, father of Mrs. L.H. Clemmons, died at the Cullman Hospital, on Sunday, after suffering a heart attack that same day.

Mr. Blair and his wife, of Leavenworth, Kansas, were guests of Doctor and Mrs. Clemmons and were planning to move here shortly.

His widow, one daughter, three grandchildren and one sister, Mrs. Earl Witcraft, are his survivors.

Funeral services were held on February 17, at Seventh Street Baptist Church, with Reverend J. Gilbert Speake officiating and Moss Service directing interment.

Pallbearers were Doctor Frank Stitt, Doctor John T. Morris, Doctor W.J. Lovett, Bill Allen, Donald Giles and Fred Hale.

Carl Norrell has been ill for the last week.

Fairview News

Tracy Baggett was home from Detroit, Michigan, this weekend.

Janet McCain, of Birmingham, spent last weekend at home with her mother, Mrs. O.M. McCain and Joan.

Jackie Sizemore is ill with the flu.

Mr. and Mrs. F.M. Holland, Rosemary and Theresia and Mrs. W.T.  Tankersley, of Dothan, arrived on Saturday, at the bedside of their mother, Mrs. G.W. Mauldin, who is seriously ill.

Bearcats Breeze Past Golden Eagles, 81-58

The Cullman Bearcats wrapped up the game, in the first half against Athens, last Friday and then coasted to a 81-58 victory. The Bearcats built up a 44-23 halftime lead and then eased up, outscoring the losers only one point, in each of the last two periods.

Terry Chandler paced the Cullman attack with 25 points, while Tommy Carter’s 20 were tops for the losers. No fewer than ten Bearcats broke into the scoring column, Sherril Smith being the only member of the 11-man squad who failed to score.

The Cullman Bees continued their winning streak with a 51-36 victory. Doug Lovelace was top man with 22 points.

New Hope North News

Reverend James Denney brought the sermon at the church here, on Sunday.

Arthur Hale remains ill.

Walter Hill, of Birmingham, spent the weekend with J.W. Grant.

Linda and Gerald Grant, of Birmingham, spent the weekend with Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Grant.

Johnny Webb sold 20 thousand chickens last weekend.

Mrs. Carrie Alvis is ill.

Mrs. Lillie Bell, of Ebenezer community, is ill with pneumonia.

Hillard Bell, of Ebenezer, is improving after several weeks illness.

 
Etha News

Weekend guests of Mr. and Mrs. O.W. South, were Mr. and Mrs. F.K. Richter and family, of Birmingham.

Roy Bell has sold his store to Ceph Turner.

Frank Johnson, of Huntsville, spent last weekend with home folks.

Mr. and Mrs. O.W. South called on J.J. Carter, of Simcoe, who is ill.

Sunday afternoon guests of the D.H. Johnsons, were Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. O.W. South and Myra Absher.

Mrs. Annie Bennett visited Mr. and Mrs. A.B. Keller, on Sunday.

Eulas Dendy, formerly of this community, died of a heart attack, at his home, in Attalla, last Wednesday. Burial was in Pell City, on Friday. He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Sovetis Dendy

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From the Files Of 1964: Around the County

Mrs. Boyd Drake is spending a couple of months in Florida.

Mr. and Mrs. F.L. Herndon and Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Pitts and children spent Sunday, in Decatur, visiting Mr. and Mrs. Junior Herndon.

Luna W. Meadows spent the weekend visiting relatives, in Birmingham.

Barbara Clark, of Washington, D.C., is visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Earl Clark.

 
North Walter News

Mrs. Madeline Sutton, of Cullman, was the Wednesday guest of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Sutton.

Mrs. Feltus McGriff and daughter, Janice Fay, of Birmingham, were the Wednesday guests of Mr. and Mrs.  Claude Gable.

Mrs. Leon Minor and son, of Detroit, are spending a few weeks with Mrs. Thurman Loyel.

Mrs. J.H. Nuss returned home, on Saturday, after spending a week, in Birmingham and Mount Olive.

Mrs. Ollie Jacobs and children and Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Baker and children, of Logan, spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Cortez Gable and Judith Kay.

 
Bethany News

Reverend Emory Calvert preached an interesting sermon, at Bethany, on Sunday.

Aunt Lina Wood is ill.

Mrs. Ogle Campbell and children and Mr. and Mrs. Doyal Campbell and baby spent Sunday afternoon with Mr.  and Mrs. Clifton Trimble, at Trimble.

Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Lay have moved back to their home here, after working in South Carolina for two years.

Mr. and Mrs. L.W. Shedd, of South Bay, Florida, visited her mother, Mrs. Ema Harbison, last week.

Mr. and Mrs. Jack Harbison and children are visitors of the A.E. Smiths.

Mr. and Mrs. Junior Robinson and children, of Cullman, spent Sunday with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Purdue and Hilda.

Miss Margaret Smith attended the Grand Old Opry, on Saturday night, in Nashville.

Martha Jane Jackson, Charles Arnold, Florence Culpepper, Jack House, Cora Sue Duffey, Naomi Stisher, Sara Green, Nelda Heatherly, Louise Hendrix, W.L. Heaton, Marja Nell Reid, Rachel Folsom, Betty McMinn, Faye Giles,  Brenda Tiffin, Carole Brindley and Donna Kinney.

At the Cullman-Athens game, or elsewhere, on Friday night, were Janell Tucker and Jackie Crider, Emily Gibson and J.O. Markum, Edigna Edwards and Max Kelley, Nancy Moore and Pete Taylor, Jo Nonaker and Jon Suggs, Delores Burns and Bobby White, Wanda Baker and Jimmy Woods and Shirley Hamilton and Dwight Tucker.

Over at Bobbie Copeland’s, on Wednesday night, were Joyce Hart, Patsy Hendrix, Betty Whatley, Gloria Mann, Peggy Brown, Melba Mann, Willodean Brown, Ovell Cargo, Ruth Bean, David Quattlebaum, Jack Raley, Jack Osborne, Mousie Hand, Ronald Johnson, Darrell Strickland and Pete Taylor. Later on Wednesday night, they went to Patsy Hendrix’s house.

 
Teen Chatter

A “Sweetheart” banquet was held by the G.A.’s, of the First Baptist Church, on Friday night. Enjoying the games and refreshments, which carried out a Valentine motif, were Peggye Hart, Fielding Buchanan, Gayla Sutton, James Williams, Sally  Vandiver, Pat Stewart,

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From the files of 1933:

Doctor Dodson and daughter, Jane and Doctor J.C. Martin and daughters, Eunice and Grace left, on Wednesday, for a visit to the World’s Fair, in Chicago.

Maurice Norwood spent Monday afternoon, in Birmingham. Henry Wilhite and son, Verbon spent the past week, in New Orleans.

Mrs. G.W. Thom and daughter, Viola, of Hanceville, spent Sunday in Cullman.

Mr. and Mrs. Elbert Ponder,  Miss Melda Ponder and Elbert and George Ponder, Junior will leave, next Tuesday for the World’s Fair, in Chicago. Doctor and Mrs. Culpepper and Miss Verdie Kinney and Clark Griffith, of Hanceville, left on the first of June for a visit to the World’s Fair, in Chicago.

There were four baptized into Eva Baptist Church, on Sunday. Miss Esther Pritchard spent Saturday night  and Sunday with her sister, Mrs. Wynell Federer, at Oak Level.

There will be a play, at Good Hope School, on Saturday night, June 17th, at 8:00, directed by Miss Rubye Hinkle. The characters in this play are: Gilbert Day, Collis Day, Frank Livingston, Newton Hendrix, Marion Woodall, Jack Methvin, Mavis Hendrix, Thelma Day, Lena Woodall, Marie Schlichting, Beulah Day and Ozella Hinkle. The name of the play is “Poor Father.” Admission is ten cents.

Lum Hendrix and John Mangum  had the misfortune of losing a barn from a fire, at their farms, in Simcoe, this week.

A New York newspaper columnist took a vacation, not because he needed one, he said, but to give his readers a rest.

From the files of 1952:

Keith Hammond, 21-year-old son of  Mr. and Mrs. J.D. Hammond, of Route One, Falkville, died in Veterans Hospital, in Nashville, on Saturday, June 14th. He was injured on Thursday when he dived off a bank, while swimming at Stinson Falls and a rock struck his head. He is  also survived by five sisters and six brothers.

W.R. Gable brought the first cotton bloom into the Tribune, in 1951, on June 25th. H.A. Seibenhener, of Route Three, Cullman, has 27 acres profuse with blooms, as of June 16th. His cotton was planted, on April 9th and 12th.

Mr. and Mrs. Grady Moss are celebrating their wedding anniversary today, June 19th. Their grandmother, Mrs. Louise Spitnazle is celebrating her 82nd birthday.

Mr. and Mrs. O.R. Rushing, of Second Street  West,  had quite a  start about 5:00 a.m., on Sunday morning. A huge water oak limb hit the roof above  their bedroom.

Joe Morgan returned to Houston, Texas, after visiting relatives here.

Joe Hugh Yates is recuperating, after being hit by a truck, while riding a  bicycle.  He  is  the  son  of  Mr.  and Mrs. J.H. Yates. He has a broken left leg, near the hip.

The Birmingham Black Barons and the Chicago American Giants will be the big attraction, in Cullman, on Saturday night, June 21st, featuring Negro baseball players. The Rotarians are sponsoring the event at the VFW field.

Curtis Wayne Kilpatrick, age 24, drowned in Sportsman Lake, on Friday, June 13th. Surviving are his mother, Geneva Speegle, one brother, Kenneth Kilpatrick and one sister, Mildred Peinhardt.

Haynes Motors will hold a formal opening, on Saturday, June 21st, on U.S. 31, as a Studebaker dealer.

Eight Sims, age eight, son of Mr. and Mrs. H.E. Sims, is being treated at a Birmingham hospital, due to a hip injury at school. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. S.H. Hildreth.

An all-day singing will be held at Ebenezer Baptist Church, on  Sunday, June 22nd.

J.B. Blalock has returned from Myerstown, Pennsylvania, where he attended a clinic on poultry.

Lavonia Allen and Ross Sticher were married, on Sunday, at the Cullman First Baptist Church.

Sunday afternoon or night dates included: Shirley Hamilton and Dwight Tucker, Nell Ann Durham and Max Kelley, Wanda Milligan and Nookie Tucker and June Smith and Bill Taylor.

Martha Jo Sinyard, Mayra Jean Wilcutt and Wilmer Murray, of Guthery’s Crossroads, visited Mr. and Mrs. Amuel Johnson and children and Edd Johnson, on Thursday night.

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From the Files of 1901:

Miss Catherine Gurley is visiting her brother at Blossberg.

Doctor Nick Schlaff, of Hanceville, was here on Tuesday.

F.M. Hamilton returned on Thursday from a trip to Arkansas.

Miss Emma Potts, of Clanton, is  visiting here.

There will be an excursion from Birmingham to Cullman, on Wednesday, June 5th.

Miss Fannie Dyer, of Sonara, Kentucky, is visiting Miss Allie Bogue, of this city.

The courthouse is being renovated and painted, which adds much to its appearance.

Mrs. Lena Moses and Phillip, of Memphis, are visiting her nephew, J.T. Schneider.

O.S. Roden, George Markland and Carl Hartung were in Montgomery during the first of the week.

Thad Quattlebaum, Carl Goff, Frank Brown and Carl Johnson went to North Birmingham, on Monday to work.

There will be an all-day singing, at the West Cullman Baptist Church on the second   Sunday in June, conducted by W.W. Mann and F.P. Morris.

W.T. Vandiver, recently of Stiefelmeyers, is now traveling for a wholesale dry goods house, of Louisville, Kentucky.

From the Files of 1902:

There will be an all-day singing, at Bethlehem West, the first Sunday in July, conducted by P.M. Allison, Warren Hamner, Walter Peavy and Will Vickery, with Miss Cora Allison as organist.

Lonnie York has gone to Jasper, Tennessee, to bring his father’s stolen horse home, which has been located  at that place.

J.W. Boike lost his gin and mill by fire  a few days ago.

J.R. Griffin will open a general merchandise store in the Rheulander Building, on July 1st.

Miss Bertha Burkart, of Hanceville, is spending some  time with her  aunt,  Mrs. C.A. Stiefelmeyer.

Pres Tennyson has 20 acres of wheat two miles northeast of Vinemont.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Alvis, of Malahy, were in the city, on Tuesday.

From the Files of 1919:

Cullman County has been lent a two-ton army truck to be used in hauling chert for the pike roads of the county.

Piano recitals will be presented at Sacred Heart Academy by Miss Margaret Deppe, on June 10th and by Miss Hilda von Hagel, on June 11th.

The Cullman Courthouse is getting a repaired roof and a new coat of paint. For the first time since the courthouse was erected there is no leak in the roof.

Little Edward Kinney broke his arm on Saturday, while playing at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Kinney.

Clay Smith has returned from a  business trip to Kansas City, Saint Louis, Missouri and Texas.

Mr. and Mrs. Marion Robertson have returned from a trip to Maryland.

Mrs. Lee Gregory, of Arab, is the guest of her sister, Mrs. C. Stewart.

Luther Sterling has accepted a position with Allison Drugstore.

Edward, the little son of Mr. and Mrs. Dwight Fuller, broke his arm on Wednesday.

From the Files of 1952:

Sherrill Phillips visited his parents, Ben and Pearlie Phillips, at Brushy Pond, last weekend.

Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Mayfield and Joe, of Hanceville, spent the weekend, in Kentucky.

Six large rubber tired wagons for sale. Will hold two bales of seed cotton. W.L. (Lidy) Walker, at Berlin.

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From the Files o 1919:

A son was born to Mr. and Mrs. George Beyer this week.

Mrs. Perry Grimes has returned to her Route Three, Cullman, home after a visit to her grandmother, Mrs. Eliz Stewart, in Carroll County, Georgia. Mrs. Stewart, who is the mother of Alex Stewart, of Cullman, is nearing 100 years old.

J.A. Calvert returned this week from Douglas, Arizona, after five years of service in the Army.

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hauk, of Saginaw, Michigan, are guests of their mother, Mrs. Pauline Hauk. Richard has recently returned from France.

Miss Lennie Denson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L.G. Denson and Jack Moore, of Hartselle, were married here this week.

Major Harwell G. Davis is a candidate for congress to succeed the late John L. Burnett.

From the Files of 1959:

Etha Community News

H.S. McKinney returned home from Cullman Hospital on Saturday, after an appendectomy.

Kelley South, of Birmingham, was the weekend guest of relatives and attended the Sacred Harp singing at Gum Pond.

Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Nails and daughters, Delores and Peggy, spent last Saturday night with Mr. and Mrs. Junior Poole, near Snead, in Blount County.

Conrad Moore was the weekend guest  of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. W.L. Moore.

Mrs. Mildred Hanvey spent last week with Mrs. Barbara Bell and children.

Mr. and Mrs. Roy Bell  have  named their son, Michael Thomas. He was born in Cullman Hospital.

Ronnie Hanvey was the Sunday guest  of Roy Johnston.

Guthrey’s Cross Roads

Mrs. Nervie Speegle is home from the Cullman Hospital and doing nicely.

Mrs. Joey Sinyard, of Birmingham, has been convalescing from recent surgery at the  home  of  her  parents,  Mr.  and Mrs. M.L. Woodard and with the Calvern Sinyards. She returned home on Sunday.

Mr. and Mrs. C.J. McMurry and Connie, of Montgomery, spent Saturday night with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Weaver Sinyard and spent Sunday with his mother, Mrs. G.A. Morris.

Mrs. Herman Davis, of Jasper and Mrs. Ray Davis, of Harmony, visited Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bryant on Saturday.

Mr. and Mrs. David Couch have returned to their home in Detroit, Michigan, after visiting  her parents, Mr. and Mrs. E.P. Rushing and  other relatives.

Tidbits

Mrs. Edna Sanford, of Texas and Mrs. Hassie Spain and Mr. and Mrs. R.G. Hinkle, of Adamsville, were guests of relatives at Good Hope one day last week.

Guests of the J.O. Jacksons this weekend will be Mr. and Mrs. William D. Jackson and family.

New Harmony News

Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Noles, Nettie, Geraldine and Barbara and Mr. and Mrs. N.W. Robertson, of Austelle, Georgia, spent last Saturday and Sunday with relatives and attended the decoration.

Gurley Benefield is building a new chicken house.

Mr. and Mrs. Mershal Rhodes visited relatives, in Gadsden, on Sunday and attended the decoration there.

Mr. and Mrs. John Filmore have moved from here to Joppa.

Mr. and Mrs. J.T. Noles are ill.

Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Maze will attend the graduation program at  Fairview School on Friday night.

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From the Files of 1959:

Purdy Rites

Funeral services were held on May 19th at  Fairview  West  for Harrison P. Purdy, age 83, of Route One, Hanceville, who died at his residence on May 17th.

Reverend Harvey Edwards conducted the services and Moss Service directed interment.

Survivors are his wife, Mrs. Georgia Purdy; two sons, Gerdis and John Purdy; two daughters, Mrs. Lula Quick and Mrs. Elnora Hendrix; one brother and three sisters.

Speegle Rites

Doctor Luther Monroe Speegle died on May 26th at his Route One, Bremen home and funeral services were held at Valley Springs, on May 28th.

Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Naomi White Speegle; three daughters, Mrs. Juanita Richardson, Mrs. Tsianina Jackson and Mrs. Norma Redmond Hall; five grandchildren; two brothers and two sisters.

Alvis Visits

Clara Ann Alvis is home for two weeks from Washington, D.C., where she is working for the F.B.I. Her sister, who is graduating from West Point High, will return to Washington with her to also work there. They are daughters of  Mr. and Mrs. Homer Alvis, of Logan.

Here And There

In  Roanoke  this  week  has  been  Mrs. J.C. Martin to visit the Leon Phillips (Eunice Martin). She went for the  Monday graduation of her oldest granddaughter, Linda Phillips, from high school. Linda plans to enter the  University of Alabama, which is her parents alma mater, this fall.

Guests of the Arthur Karters last weekend were Mr. and Mrs. A.P.  Chesser, Mrs. Jack Kaetz, Junior and  sons, Michael and Pat, all of Bessemer.

Doctor and Mrs. Marvin Smith and Janice, of Springfield, Tennessee, spent the weekend with Mrs. Jesse H. Smith.

What a wonderful weekend the J.J. Vandiver family is  expecting.  Arriving on Friday will be Sally, from Blue Mountain College in Mississippi and the Harry Lindstroms (Betty Vandiver), including their little son, who have been on a Navy hitch and haven’t been home since last July. Harry will enter New Orleans Seminary. However, he will first go back to his old engineering job in Winston Salem, North Carolina  and take a few night school liberal arts courses before entering the seminary.

One of the four Judson College students to be tapped for Alpha Psi Omega, the national honorary dramatic fraternity, recently was Rebecca Quattlebaum. All have both acted and directed plays at Judson. Rebecca is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. W.M. Quattlebaum, of Cullman and recently had a leading role  in the comedy, “Good House Keeping.”

Expected soon to visit Doctor and Mrs. E.B. Barnes is Mrs. Kathlene Provano, of Greensboro, North Carolina. She is Mrs. Barne’s mother. She has been chosen to appear, in the not too distant future, on “What’s My Line.” Won’t it be delightful to see someone we know?

Did You Hear?

Mrs. Margaret Lucas and Mary Charles will leave on Saturday, May 30th, for a trip to the west. They will stop at Santé Fe, New Mexico, the old pueblo town of Taos, other ancient Indian sites, the Grand Canyon and Tucson, Arizona, where they will visit the Phil Hartung family. From there they will visit Nogales, Mexico and other interesting places, near  Tucson. After a two week visit to Tucson, they  will bring the Hartung family back in the station wagon and will visit with friends in El Paso and the McCalips at Ingram, Texas. They will also go through  Carlsbad Caverns. The Hartungs will later visit Kim’s brother, in Boston, before returning to Tucson.

Very interesting to me is the engagement (announced this week) of Maxine Calvert and James M. Thompson. He is the brother of my dearest college friend, Grace Thompson, now Mrs. George Sims, of Talladega.

Doctor and Mrs. M.C. Keyes returned on Tuesday, after several weeks spent in Georgia. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Keyes brought them back and will visit here with the Keyes and other relatives.

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From the Files of 1951:

Hanceville Happenings

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Camp, of Calera, were the weekend guests of Mr. and Mrs. Alex Bland.

A son, Barry David, was born on May 15th, to Mr. and Mrs. A.H. Millbourne, in Arlington, Virginia. Mrs. Millbourne is the former Jean Gantt.

Mrs. Carolyn Kessler and Mrs. K.C. Ruckas, of Birmingham, visited Mr. and Mrs. Earl Chandler, on Sunday afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Basenberg, Albert, Junior and Lynda, of Crawford, Mississippi, spent the weekend with Mr. and   Mrs.   Mart   Basenberg   and   other relatives.

Mr. and Mrs. E.J. Ashwander, of Birmingham and Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Wallace, of Cullman, were the Sunday guests of Mr. and Mrs. G.S. Combs.

Miss Flossie Grantham and Mr. and Mrs. John Fortenberry, of Birmingham, spent Sunday with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Grantham.

From the Files of 1959:

The guest of Mrs. J.M. Oldacre this week has been Mrs. L.M. Rothwell, of Washington, D.C., whom Mrs. Oldacre met in Birmingham on Wednesday and brought to Cullman. Mrs. Rothwell stopped enroute to Fort Worth, Texas to visit relatives.

Mrs. Oldacre, Mrs. L.L. Otwell and Elizabeth were in Florence on Sunday to visit the Jesse Albert Kellers (Byrd Oldacre Keller’s son) in their lovely new home.

The very day before she and her husband, Lieutenant H.C. Moore were to leave by plane for a new assignment in North Africa, June Carr Moore was stricken with appendicitis and had to undergo an appendectomy. She is doing nicely and they now plan to leave next week.

Arriving home from Washington, D.C., where she has a government job, on Saturday morning was Carlene Arnold, for a three week vacation. She came by plane, which had to circle the airport 30 minutes before it could land because of dense fog.

Mr. and Mrs. H.W. Tillery and Mr. and Mrs. Grant Grissom and Kerry spent the weekend in Southgate, Kentucky as  guests of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Robertson and Mr. and Mrs. Arlin Tillery.

Doctor Frank A. Rose, president of the University of Alabama will confer 1270 degrees at commencement exercises next Sunday. Ten of the graduates are from Cullman County.

Graduation exercises of the 128th academic year are set for 5:30 p.m., in Denny Stadium.

Edward Delos Churchill, Boston, chief of surgical services at Massachusetts General Hospital, will give the commencement address.

Cullman County graduates are Ralph D. Blalock, B.S.; Clark C. Branch, Junior, B.S.; Clarence William Brunner, B.S.; Rosa Tillery Jones, B.S.; Barbara Louise Johnson, nursing diploma; Jack Knight, M.A.; Aubrey Ray Nesmith, B.S.; Ruth Carol Reichwein, B.S.; Omer Eugene Thomas, Junior, B.S. and Bettie Jean Edwards, nursing diploma.

Morris Rites

Mrs. Ida Dora Morris, age 70, died on May 19th at Cullman Hospital and funeral services were held at Angwin Service Chapel on May 21st. Interment was in Valhalla Cemetery, near Bessemer, with the Reverend John D. Perkins and David Higginbotham officiating and Moss Service directing interment.

Survivors include: two sons, Doctor John T. Morris and Arthur H. Morris;  four daughters, Mrs. Broughton Marlin, Mrs. B.G. Tinney, Mrs. F.F. Burgschneider and Mrs. James W. McConkey.

Pallbearers were Doctor J.C. Chambliss, Doctor L.D. Clemmons, William Huggins, Louis Robbins, Ivan Capps and Charles Capps.

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Dr. Bill Peinhardt at the Dingler Cabin in the farm’s east pasture / W.C. Mann

We’re really blessed, because we’ll have as many as 200 volunteers involved Saturday.  It’s not just us; we’ve had a lot of good support from the good people of Cullman.”

Dr. Bill Peinhardt

 

CULLMAN - It’s October, and pretty much all of Cullman knows what that means.  Yes, the temperatures are finally starting to drop, and yes, it’s time to start carving up pumpkins.  But in Cullman, it also means that Peinhardt Farm Day is almost here again!

For more than 20 years, the Peinhardt family and numerous volunteers have opened the old homestead farm to the public for a day of education, entertainment and general fun for all people and all the senses.

This year’s event will include all the old standards:

• Museum collection
• Historic buildings and artifacts collected from around the region
• Live farm animals
• Picking in the garden.  According to children’s coordinator Sabrina Peinhardt Hudson, this year’s crop includes potatoes and other foods
• Tractor parades in the morning and afternoon
• Wildlife presentation
• Woodcrafts in the east pasture, including 500 free birdhouses for kids to build on the spot
• Hands-on activities for kids with traditional farm and frontier tools
• Honey bees and honey
• Blacksmith shop
• Broom making
• Wood carving
• Chair caning
• Quilting
• Open fire cooking
• Weaving and cloth dyeing
• Pumpkin painting
• Grist mill
• Sorghum syrup making, using cane harvested from Peinhardt’s own field
• Live music, featuring Chuck Carpenter, Buddy Campbell, Mountain Melodies and the Morgan County Dulcimer Club

According to Sabrina Peinhardt Hudson, new attractions this year include a display of antique firearms, attended to by Cullman’s Willy Hendrix. Hendrix will be disassembling the weapons to show how they worked. Also, Farm Day T-shirts will be available to the public this year.

Dr. Bill Peinhardt is always excited to see the day come around, despite the extra stress of putting on such a big event.  As one of four Peinhardt siblings, he also spoke happily of the next generation of his family coming into the business. 

When asked what keeps him doing this, he replied, “Part of it is because the next generation has stepped up.  My brother’s three daughters- Jennifer, Tamarin and Sabrina- have taken over a lot of the responsibility.  My daughters, Rachel and Laney, both contribute.  So there’s five of the next generation that are stepping forward.  And then the next generation: several of the grandchildren are helping, now.”

Peinhardt is proud of how the event has grown over its 20-plus years, and feels that its current scope offers something for everyone. 

Walking out to the 1840s-era Dingler family cabin, he shared, “We’ve got 40 acres here that we open up for Farm Day, and it’s hard to see all of it.  The part I get involved with mostly is this east pasture, and it’s got both history and children’s activities, everything from splitting logs and crosscut sawing that kids can do, to demonstrating old woodworking techniques.  The Cullman Woodworkers’ Guild brings 500 birdhouses out that they let the kids finish putting together, so they built them a birdhouse.  And there’s open-fire cooking down there.  Just in this pasture, there’s a lot going on.”

All of the farm’s buildings will be open Saturday, along with the school house at the gate.  Just outside the gate, the North Alabama Agriplex will also be home to displays and activities, along with live entertainment.

Such an event does not happen with just one family, no matter how dedicated it might be.  A small army of volunteers will help the Peinhardts put on Farm Day.

According to Peinhardt, “We’re really blessed, because we’ll have as many as 200 volunteers involved Saturday.  It’s not just us; we’ve had a lot of good support from the good people of Cullman.”

When offered the final word, Peinhardt stated, “I’ll just brag on my Peinhardt father and grandfather for coming here and starting farming in this area.  My dad went to Auburn for two or three years and in 1933 he came back here and started scientific knowledgeable farming, up-to-date for 1933.  He tried to always keep up with the latest trends in farming, was active in soil conservation in 1930s; that’s when all the hillsides were washing away because they were plowing up and down the hills.  He was involved with terrace rows, cover crops and all that kind of thing that changed farming in the 1930s.  So I’ll brag on him, and all he had to do with agriculture in Cullman County.”

Peinhardt Farm Day will take place Saturday, Oct. 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  The farm is located at 1711 Talley Ho St. in Cullman. Admission is $7 for ages 13 and up, $5 ages 5-12, and free for children 4 and younger.  For more information about Peinhardt Farm and its programs, visit www.peinhardtfarm.com or www.facebook.com/Peinhardt-Living-History-Farm-143889342328949/.

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Drew Green, left, delivers an “Alabama 200” sign to the Little School House in Garden City.

CULLMAN - As part of the Alabama 200 Bicentennial celebration, Cullman’s Bicentennial Committee is offering sandwich board signs for placement at historic sites and certain public places around the county.  The signs will not only mark significant locations, but will also point interested visitors to other places, as well.

Cullman Bicentennial Committee Chairman Drew Green explained, “The first year 2017's theme is ‘Celebrating Our Places.’  We have a local Bicentennial Committee for Cullman County, made up of citizens from throughout Cullman County.  We meet periodically to offer suggestions, and provide support for different organizations and their plans for celebrating the Bicentennial.  For example, we have provided small local grants to the Cullman County Library and the Cullman County Master Gardeners for Bicentennial-themed projects they have, or are working on.”

Green continued, “One suggestion the local committee had for 2017 when we are celebrating historic places was to put a sign with brochures at sites around the county that local citizens thought were historically significant.  For example, we have a sign at the museum and if you stopped here you could get a brochure, and it would tell you the other places around the county.  The brochures have the address so you could put that in your GPS, and then head for the site and look for a matching sign there.

“The idea behind this is to celebrate Cullman's history, bring members of the community together, and highlight our history to people visiting from other areas.  I also plan to put pictures of the sites and more detailed information on the (Cullman County) Museum Facebook page, so people who couldn't visit the sites or people far away could take a ‘virtual’ tour.”

Signs are being offered all over Cullman County, and have already been delivered to such places as the Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, Hanceville Drug Co. in Hanceville, Little School House in Garden City and Mann’s Garden Shop in Hanceville.

For more information on the Alabama 200 Bicentennial celebration, visit www.alabama200.org.  For more information on local events, or to request a sign for your favorite local historic treasure, visit the County Museum’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cullmancomuseum.

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CULLMAN - In spite of a full slate of area competition from events like the Mud Creek Arts and Crafts Festival, Pilot Club Rummage Sale, Sportsman Lake Yard Sale and the Alabama Gourd Festival, this weekend’s Peinhardt Farm Day was declared a success.

Jennifer Tucker, a granddaughter of Carl Peinhardt and member of the next generation of the Peinhardt family that is taking the reins of the event, spoke to The Tribune Saturday afternoon.

Said Tucker, “I haven’t gotten a number yet, but I think it’s going to be one of our biggest turnouts, because of the weather.  The weather’s been beautiful today; we couldn’t ask for a prettier day.  Large crowds have been constantly coming in, so I think we’re going to have one of our biggest days yet.”

Farm Day enjoyed even more volunteer support than originally anticipated, with approximately 250 coming out to help the family put on the event.  There were woodworking, spinning and weaving, quilting, grinding, blacksmithing, cooking and syrup-making demonstrations.  Visitors got to observe and, in some cases, interact with, various types of poultry and livestock.  Experts shared about beekeeping, native plants and common wild animals.  Supervised kids’ activities included crosscut sawing, log splitting, shingle splitting, a petting zoo, numerous games and the cow train…and more.

Tucker applauded all the helpers. “Without our volunteers, we couldn’t do this.  It takes so many to pull this off, especially this day.  Our school days, we have about 30 volunteers a day, but today we have upwards of about 250 to come out and help us, from young to old.”

What does Tucker want people to take away from Peinhardt Farm Day?

“A new appreciation for the way things used to be,” she said.  “It’s a great day for people to experience the way it used to be.  We just, basically, like to use this day to take people back in time, and experience things they never get to experience and don’t know a lot about.  There’s no other farm like it around: it’s actually a living history that still does demonstrations and hands-on, so it’s just a time for families to come out and learn the way it was back in the 1930s, and actually get to experience the way it was, and hands-on activities and crafts, and things like that, that we like to bring back to the public.  You don’t experience this anywhere else.”

Click here to see a full photo gallery.

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From the files of 1951:
 

Hanceville Happenings

Morlar Bradford is improving, at his home, following a recent operation.
Mrs. Doris Vaughn and children, of Kemosah, Wisconsin, are spending this week with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Duren.
Weekend guests of Mr. and Mrs. W.O. Mann were Mr. and Mrs. Harry Walker, Pat and Peggy and Misses Margaret Mann, Ina Joe Hardin and Mary Kathryn Chambliss, of Birmingham.
Lester White visited Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt Longshore, in Florence, last weekend.
Mrs. Maude Jackson and Mrs. Bruce Meyers and daughter, Lynda Helen, of Birmingham, visited Mr. and Mrs. Jack Morgan, on Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. Aussie Grant, of Akron, Ohio, are the guests this week of Mrs. Tommy Whatley.
Ollis Moore will undergo an operation at the Red Mountain Sanitorium, in Birmingham, on Wednesday.
Misses Maymie and Margaret Lovelace, of Birmingham, were the guests last weekend of their sister, Miss Ruth Lovelace.
Mrs. Mary Plunkett is ill in Cullman Hospital.
Mrs. W.D. Reid returned home on Friday, after spending two weeks in Cullman Hospital.
Mrs. Alma Ryan has returned home, after spending two weeks visiting relatives in Birmingham.
Mr. and Mrs. Billy McAnnally, of Auburn, Mr. and Mrs. Burl Graham, of Birmingham and Mr. and Mrs. Billy Ray Brown, of Walter, visited Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Mann, on Sunday.

Duke Rites

Funeral services were held at Simcoe on May 22nd, for Joe J. Duke, age 69, who died at his Route Nine, Cullman residence on Sunday. Moss Service directed interment.
Surviving are his widow; six sons; six daughters; thirty-six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; four sisters and two brothers.

North Walter News

Mr. and Mrs. Troy Blackmon, of Detroit and Mr. and Mrs. Victor Blackmon and children, of Birmingham, were the weekend guests of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Echols.
Mr. and Mrs. James Roberson, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Harris and son, Wendell, are here from Detroit.
Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Gable and daughter, of Panama City, Florida, spent Sunday here.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Stewart, Bobby and Joyce Ann, Mr. and Mrs. Percy Howard and Uless Stewart were the Sunday night supper guests of Mr. and Mrs. Earnesteen Gable.
 

Enon And Hamby’s Chapel

Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Wood and children have returned from Washington. Mr. Woods has received a discharge from the Navy.
John Smith received his diploma, at Eva High School, on Monday night.
Mr. and Mrs. Lus Gregory and Mr. and Mrs. Fonzie Gregory attended the decoration at Flint, on Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. Travis White, of Birmingham, entertained with a homecoming party of their many friends at their country home on Saturday night.
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy Kinney attended the commencement exercises at Cullman on Sunday night.
Mr. and Mrs. Marlou Wilkinson have named their young daughter, Deborah Jane.

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Alabama 200” signs are popping up all over: at Good Hope Baptist Church, with church members, Good Hope Mayor Jerry Bartlett, Rep. Corey Harbison, R- Good Hope, Good Hope City Councilwoman Susan Eller, and representatives of the church / Drew Green

GOOD HOPE - On Oct. 25, the Cullman County “Alabama 200” Bicentennial Committee delivered two marker signs to the city of Good Hope.  They were placed at the 175-year-old Good Hope Baptist Church and at Good Hope Elementary School.  Good Hope’s first school was founded shortly after the church, and met in the church building, before moving next door in 1892.

The Bicentennial Committee has placed 12 signs, so far, at sites including the Crooked Creek battlefield, Hanceville Drug Company, Garden City’s little school, the site of Baileyton’s Alliance Store.  In Cullman, you can find the signs at the County Museum, Old Depot and Ave Maria Grotto.  On each sign is a small rack of brochures that will direct you to other historic sites around the county.

For more information on the Bicentennial celebration, or to get a sign for a historic site (They don’t have to be 200 years old!), contact Bicentennial Committee Chairman Drew Green at the Cullman County Museum.

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From the Files of 1951:

Who Visited Whom?

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Swan and family and Mr. and Mrs. A.Q. Vaughn and family were guests of Mr. and Mrs. I.A. Vaughn, in Addison, on Sunday.

Mr. and Mrs. Guy Sewell and daughter, of Texas City, Texas, visited Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Caudell and other friends and relatives this weekend.

Valley Grove News

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Tucker,  of Sumiton and girls, of Rocky Branch, spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Byrl Lynn and Wayne.

Mr. and Mrs. Quinton Kelso and children, of Decatur, spent Friday night with Mr. and Mrs. Alex Miller.

Mrs. Willie Knight and boys spent the weekend with Mr. and Mrs. Milton  Allred, of Brushy Pond.

Mr. and Mrs. J.U. Keeton and  Mary, Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Fontaine and  children, of Lawley, Mrs. Dorothy Foster and baby, of Brent, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Davenport  and  family,  of  Beech Grove,

W.D. Knight, of Brushy Pond and Reverend Walter Coleman, of Blossburg, spent  Sunday  with  Reverend   and  Mrs. D.H. Davenport.

Concord News

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Brown, of Birmingham, spent Saturday night here with Mr. and Mrs. Jim Latham.

Mr. and Mrs. John Tillman and Mr. and Mrs. Mandel Wright were the visitors of Mr. and Mrs. John Wright, on Sunday.

Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Minton and Margean, of Birmingham, spent the weekend with friends and relatives.

W.H. Pike returned home on Saturday, after spending several days with Mr. and Mrs. R.L. Boyd, in Ashland.

Pentecost News

Mr. and Mrs. Mickey Freeman, of Birmingham, spent the weekend with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. T.J. Whitworth.

Mrs. Codell Allen and Mrs. Etoy Bryant and babies visited Mr. and Mrs. Devere Holloway, on Sunday.

Mr. and Mrs. Bitts Oliver and family, of Anniston, spent Saturday night with Mr. and Mrs. Clifton Screws.

Mr. and Mrs. Colman Swann and Mr. and Mrs. Darrell Oliver visited the ladies parents, Mr. and Mrs. Pick Sharp, on Sunday.

Mount Herman News

Mrs. Talmadge Harper spent Thursday with Mrs. Ellenburgh.

Mrs. Eda Harper and daughter and Mrs. Alton Narrel, from Eddy, spent Friday with Clara Solley.

Mrs. N.G. Hyatt and Janet spent Saturday in Cullman.

Charline Eason has had a serious case  of the mumps, but is some better.

Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Head spent Saturday night with his sister, Mrs. Euell Screws.

Mr. and Mrs. N.G. Hyatt went to Rice Schoolhouse, near Arab, to the homecoming singing, on Sunday.

Sunday visitors of Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Hemrick were Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Hemrick and family, Mrs. Odis Lenderman, Mr. and Mrs. Ulden  Reynolds  and  family  and  Mr.  and Mrs.N.G. Hyatt.

Berlin News

Mr. and Mrs. Warren Wallace and three children, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Yarbrough and children, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Aderhold and little daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Buell Eidson, all of Birmingham, Mr. and Mrs. Woodrow Carter and two sons, Mr. and Mrs. Eula Eidson, of Cullman and  Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bates, of Decatur, all visited the E.L. Jones, recently.

Mrs. Marvin Clark is able to walk a little, by holding to her bed.

Mrs. Venur Clark has returned to Cullman. She had been staying at the Marion Clarks’ to nurse Mrs. Clark.

W.E. Goggins, who works in Birmingham, was home last weekend.

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Reenactors in Wetumpka, on Saturday, Nov. 4 at the Alabama Historical Commission’s celebration of the 300th anniversary of the establishment of Ft. Toulouse by the French in 1717.  Photo courtesy Dolan Trout

WETUMPKA - Since March of this year, Alabama has been recognizing its establishment as a U.S. territory in 1817, while preparing to celebrate the bicentennial of its statehood in 2019.  What many folks don’t realize is that, for almost 20 years, certain places in the state have been celebrating TRI-centennials--that’s 300 years!

In 1999, Dauphin Island kicked things off by celebrating the 300th anniversary of the arrival of the French explorer Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville at the island in 1699, on his way into Mobile Bay.  Other significant early tricentennial dates:

1702 - The city of Mobile was founded at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff on the Mobile River in the Tensaw Delta.

1711 - After an outbreak of disease, the city of Mobile was moved to its present location on Mobile Bay.

This past weekend, probably the last of the really-early tricentennial events took place in Wetumpka, north of Montgomery, as the Alabama Historical Commission celebrated the establishment of Ft. Toulouse by the French in 1717. 

From the commission: “Fort Toulouse, a historic property of the Alabama Historical Commission, began its service as a frontier outpost for the French in 1717. The motivation for its establishment was the Yamasee War of 1715-1716, a conflict between local Indian tribes and South Carolina colonists that forced all British traders out of present-day Alabama. The fort, named for Adm. Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of Toulouse, was initially constructed to extend the political, economic, and military reach of the French, who were based in Mobile.

“Fort Toulouse acted as a commercial, religious, and diplomatic center for the French from 1717 until 1763. The fort also provided a permanent locale where French merchants could trade their goods with the Creeks for deerskins, thus strengthening the relationship between the two trading partners. Fort Toulouse is one of the most important historical and archaeological sites in Alabama.

“The Fort Toulouse site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960, and the Alabama Historical Commission gained possession of it in 1971. Since then, teams of professional archaeologists have excavated the site and uncovered nearly the entire foundation of the third Fort Toulouse designed and rebuilt in 1751. Now known as Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson Park, the site hosts various events on most weekends from the spring to mid fall, with living history demonstrations that recreate French, Native American, and colonial American life on the frontier.”

The anniversary recognition took place during Frontier Days, an annual four-day living history event held the first week of each November at Ft. Toulouse/Jackson State Park.  Visitors enjoyed exhibits and demonstrations of Alabama history from the early 1700s to 1820, including: native Creek, French, British, and early U.S. reenactors; reconstructions of Ft. Toulouse, Creek War era Ft. Jackson, and Common Creek homes; period craft, art, and cooking demonstrations; cannon and firearm demonstrations; and period music and other entertainment

The event was open for school tours from Wednesday through Friday, with more than 160 mostly costumed volunteers helping out.  According to Al Bohler, a longtime park volunteer and portrayer of David “Davy” Crockett (who actually visited the area in 1813-14 as a member of the Tennessee Militia during the Creek War), more than 11,000 students visited the park during the school days.

The park is host to monthly living history days portraying French soldiers and settlers, members of the Creek tribe, and Tennessee militia of the Creek War and War of 1812, and also holds a French and Indian War encampment in the spring.  For more information, visit https://fttoulousejackson.org.

The tricentennial events do not include several sites that show a rich native history that long predates European settlement of Alabama.  For glimpses of the state’s native heritage within three hours’ drive of Cullman, consider visiting:

•     Moundville Archaeological Park, Moundville (south of Tuscaloosa), https://moundville.ua.edu.
•     Oakville Indian Mounds, Danville, www.oakvilleindianmounds.com.
•     Russell Cave National Monument, Bridgeport, www.nps.gov/ruca/index.htm.
•      DeSoto Caverns, Childersburg, www.desotocavernspark.com.  This is mainly a recreational facility, but its programming does include local native history.

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The Reverend Kiki Terry and members of the Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church are pictured with their Alabama 200 Bicentennial sign. / Photo courtesy Drew Green

COLONY - On Sunday, Drew Green of the Cullman County Bicentennial Committee delivered “Alabama 200” marker signs to two sites of interest in the town of Colony.  Mayor Donnis Leeth and Councilman Curtis Johnson were on hand for presentations at Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church and the Colony Community Center, formerly the site of Colony School.

Pleasant Grove UMC was organized in 1858.  The congregation received its sign as part of its annual homecoming service, for which all former members were invited to return.

Colony School was built to serve local students in 1927, and was closed in 1965 when school integration laws sent all of Colony’s students to Hanceville.

“Alabama 200” sandwich board marker signs indicate locations of historic interest during the state’s nearly three-year Bicentennial celebration.  Brochures in racks attached to the signs will lead local history buffs to other marked places around the county.  For more information, visit www.cullmancountymuseum.com or www.facebook.com/cullmancomuseum.

Find out more about Alabama 200, the state’s Bicentennial celebration, at www.alabama200.org

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From the Files of 1902:

W.C. Boub spent Monday in Trimble.

Issac Cofer has received the contract to build the McMinn Bridge, near Trimble.

J.M. Black, of Walter, was in town on Thursday.

“Uncle” Joshua Oaks, of Simcoe, was  in town on Wednesday.

James Harbison and David Strickland were here from Bremen on Thursday.

Mr. and Mrs. E.E. King, of Oreander, were here shopping a few days ago.

L.D. Box of Box’s School House was in the city on Wednesday.

Fieldon “Bud” Blalock, of Fullers Valley, was in the city on Wednesday.

Miss Annie Brooks, who has been telegraph operator at Boyles for some time, now has charge of the day office here.

Miss Sallie Bowden, of Jones Chapel, who attended the Polytechnic College last winter, is visiting friends here this week.

Doctor M.S. Ingraham visited Oneonta, professionally, the first of the week.

Mr. and Mrs. John Lieppert are the parents of a twelve pound girl.

The Honorable J.L. Burnett will speak at several places in the count next week.

For Sale – a fine young saddle horse. Apply - Arthur Glasscock, Simcoe. Adv.

A new depot is being built  in Hanceville.

Miss Mabel Collins left Tuesday for Tuscaloosa to attend the Methodist Female College.

A series of services were held during the week at East Baptist Church by Reverend W.R. Ivey, of Oxford.

From the Files of 1932:

Doctor R.B. Dodson, Doctor E.D. McAdory, Doctor J.G. Daves and  Doctor J.C. Martin spent Tuesday in Huntsville.

J.A. Dunlap, cashier of Leeth National Bank took the oath of office of Mayor of Cullman, last Monday evening.

J.D. Kirk died at his home at Simcoe, last Thursday.

A midnight fire alarm on Saturday was an awning on the second floor of the Buchmann Building.

Married this week were Miss Mae Drake and Marvin Barronton.

Miss Fronia Self and P.G. Moore, Junior, were married this week.

Marriage licenses were issued on October 1st  to Mrs. Thelma  Callahan and C.E. Drake.

Mr. and Mrs. R.C. Calloway announce the birth of a son.

Philip Graf is attending college in New York City.

Mrs. J.H. Edwards is spending several weeks with friends in Atlanta.

Mrs. G.W. Johnson, Mrs. D. Robertson and Miss Theolene Robertson spent Wednesday in Birmingham.

Born to Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Law was a son on September 30. They have named him Gerald Adrian.

Mrs. Alec Warren was hostess to the Hanceville Culture Club on Wednesday afternoon.

Mrs. Carl Jones is ill at City Hospital.

From the Files of 1952:

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church won the attendance banner at the East Cullman Training Union Mass Meeting at Center Grove Baptist Church on Monday night.

Reverend Eddie King from Ashland, North Carolina has been called as the new pastor at Good Hope Baptist Church.

Max L. Buettner bought the Otwell Jewelry stock and M.C. Keyes bought the optical equipment. L.L. Otwell has retired after 45 years on First Avenue East.

Wilma Jean Stisher, of Welti, visited Mr. and Mrs. Herman Holloway in Cullman on Sunday.

Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Phillips, Hilda Faye and Jerry have moved to the Enon/Hamby Chapel community.

Walter’s 4-H Club officers are Bob Baker, president; Wade Stewart, vice- president; Jim Fant, secretary; Bud Harper, reporter and Tommy Sutton, song leader.

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From the Files of 1959:

Miss James Dies

Funeral services were held on November 11th at the Moss Service Chapel for Miss Alice James, 79, of Cullman, who died in Tuscaloosa on October 30th.

Reverend J.B. Lane conducted the services and Moss Service directed interment in City Cemetery.

Pallbearers were Frank James, Preston James, Morris James, Grady Smith, Ralph Oaks and Martin H. Holcomb.

Surviving are one brother, W.E. James, of Cullman; two sisters, Mrs. S.C. Sloan and Mrs. Hattie Mae Ballenger, both of Birmingham and eleven nieces and nephews.

Miss James taught school in Cullman and Blount County.

Crumbley Rites Held

Mrs. Tansy Crumbley, 37, died on October 29th at Cullman Hospital and funeral services were held at Roswell, in Blount County, on October 31st with the Reverend George Helms officiating and Moss Service directing interment.

Survivors include: her husband, W.J. Crumbley; two sons, James R. and Dannie R.; one daughter, Brenda Joyce; her parents, Mr. and Mrs. E.F. Powell; four sisters and three brothers.

Texas Rancher, 92, Wins Bride In City

A 92-year-old rancher from Lomita, Texas, is honeymooning with his 75-year-old Santa Barbara bride.

George Ashwander and the former Mrs. Alice Helene Simpson, of 2679 Puesta del Sol Road, were married at 3:30 p.m., yesterday in the First Methodist Church by the pastor, the Reverend Frank Matthews. Their only attendant was a friend of the bride, Kathryn Martin, also of Puesta del Sol Road.

Friends said that Mrs. Simpson is a former Army nurse and has served in hospitals around the world. For seven years she operated a hotel in the Philippines.

The above is a clipping from a Santa Barbara, California, newspaper sent by the bridegroom to his brother, John Ashwander, of Hanceville.

The bridegroom was reared at Hanceville and resided there a great deal of his adult life.

A local Hanceville resident quipped, “The Ashwanders are from Switzerland and are the best time keepers in the world. Old George will probably outlive his young bride.”

Burns Fatal To Woman

Mrs. J.E. Pruitt, 57, died around midnight on Monday, the victim of burns from her ankles to her head.

The accident, which caused her death, occurred at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, while she and her 90-year-old husband were attempting to improvise a gasoline lantern, after they had exhausted their supply of kerosene.

The Pruitts lived in a remote corner of Cullman County, a considerable distance from their nearest neighbors. Only a path leads from the Pruitts house to the nearest road.

Coroner J. Grady Moss said that Mr. Pruitt told him that he tried to ease the pain of his wife’s burns for five hours, after the accident until she died. He applied some homemade salve to her body.

Funeral services for Mrs. Pruitt were held at Bell Springs on November 4th with Moss Service directing interment.

Surviving are her husband and four sisters.

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From the Files of 1959:

Hanceville Club Meets

The Hanceville 4-H Club met on Monday, October 26th, in the club room at Hanceville School. Everette Chandler, assistant county agent, met with the group. Officers for the club year 1959 were elected. They are: president, Maurice Blalock; vice-president, Doyle West; secretary, Ronald Pender; song leaders, David McAnnally and Mickey Stanley and reporter, Dwight Blalock.

Aged Man Dies

Funeral services were held on November 3rd at Bell Springs for James Mathes McReath, 95, of Falkville, who died at his home on November 1st.

Reverend Peppers conducted the services and Moss Service directed interment in the adjoining cemetery.

Pallbearers were grandsons.

Survivors are his wife, Ola McReath; three daughters, Mrs. Allie Sullins, Mrs. Oneal Downs, of Falkville and Mrs. Virgil Roberts, of Birmingham; three sons, Don and Fred, of Falkville and Loyd, of Vinemont; one brother, J.W. McReath; twenty grandchildren; thirty- eight great-grandchildren and five great- great-grandchildren.

Cullman FHA Meets

The Cullman FHA Chapter met recently with Carol Noneaker presiding. Members and officers repeated the opening ritual.

The officers explained the FHA emblem, flower, motto, colors and symbols for degree of achievement. It was decided that one of the projects to be carried out is, “Friends At Home.” The club will participate in this project by sending money and clothing to deaf and blind girls enrolled at the Alabama Institute.

Members of the Cullman FHA Chapter are: Elvia Brewer, Sandra Burnham, Faye Campbell, Betty Sue Creel, Betty Crossno, Rebecca Slunn, Patricia Entrekin, Janice Fuller, Eloise Gay, Rose Gillon, Jady Glasscock, Kathy Gossett, Glenda Graham, Brenda Hames, Mildred Hicks, Sandra Hill, Ann Hite, Helen Hite, Edith Hestson, Betty Kilgo, Evelyn Leigeber, Betty Lewis, Patricia Marty, Geree Mitchell, Rachel Nix, Panice Price, Ann Persall, Margaret Pruitt, Polly Reaid, Judy Rodgers, Wanda Scott, Janice Taylor, Carolyn Williams, Margaret Yates and Glenda England.

Garden City News

Reverend and Mrs. A.B. Harris and Marhamae, of Trenton, Tennessee, visited friends here on Tuesday. Reverend Harris also attended the East Cullman Baptist Association at Hanceville.

Mr. and Mrs. J.G. Nelson, of Birmingham, were Tuesday guests of Mr. and Mrs. F.W. Shaver, Senior.

Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Shaver spent Sunday with their daughter, Mrs. Aubrey Willis and family, in Birmingham.

Mr. and Mrs. B.D. McKenzie were Sunday guests of Mr. and Mrs. W.M. Cost, in Hartselle.

Lesley Hudson and Edgar Earl Edwards were home from the University of Alabama for the weekend with their parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Dickie Garner and Tim, of Birmingham, spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Chappell.

Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Lesley and Mr. and Mrs. Harold Hunter and baby, of Sylacauga, were Saturday guests of Mrs. Cora Lesley and Mrs. Eula B. Kinser.

Mr. and Mrs. Ted Hallmark, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Hallmark and son, of Birmingham, were recent guests of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Fanning.

Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Tinpenney and children, of Birmingham, visited Mr. and Mrs. Gorden Latham, on Sunday.

Mr. and Mrs. Karry Hanks and Mr. and Mrs. Hilburn Black were visitors in Pulaski, Tennessee, on Sunday.

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