The Evergreen Courant's News Flashback for Jan. 19, 2021

SIX YEARS AGO
JAN. 15, 2015

Evergreen weather observer Betty Ellis reported a trace of rain on Jan. 9. She reported a high of 62 degrees on Jan. 6 and lows of 13 degrees on Jan. 7 and Jan. 8.

The Conecuh County Fire Association inducted its new slate of officers for the coming year during a meeting Tuesday of last week in Evergreen. The new officers are President Paul Matthews, Vice President Hunter House, Treasurer Larry Davis, Secretary Elayne Hodges, Chaplain Jeppie Dees, Communications Officer Thad House and Training Officer Ricky Nobles.

The Evergreen-Conecuh County Chamber of Commerce held an official ribbon-cutting ceremony at Jeremy Anderson’s new State Farm insurance office yesterday (Wednesday) morning. Pictured at the event are Chamber representative Mercedes Harper, Staff Agent Chassity Baggett, State Farm Agent Jeremy Anderson, Staff Agent Kory Stottler and Chamber representative Andrea McQueen. Anderson’s new office is located at 115 Rural Street in Evergreen.

Board works to replace Brogden: The Conecuh County Board of Education agreed earlier this week to seek the help of the Alabama Association of School Boards in finding a replacement for outgoing superintendent, Ronnie Brogden. Brogden who has served as Conecuh County’s Superintendent since 1994, announced his retirement during a board meeting on Nov. 20.

31 YEARS AGO
JAN. 18, 1990

Evergreen weather observer Harry Ellis reported no rainfall between Jan. 8 and Jan. 14. He reported a high of 74 degrees on Jan. 11 and lows of 28 on Jan. 12, Jan. 13 and Jan. 14.

Missi Sanford, Conecuh County’s Young Woman of the Year, arrived in Montgomery on Friday to meet Kim Wimmer, 1989 Alabama’s Junior Miss, and her roommate, Veronica Hawkins of Randolph County. Candidates for the 33^rd Annual Alabama’s Young Woman of the Year Program arrived Friday for a week of activities and the state finals on Jan. 19-20 at the Montgomery Civic Center. They will compete for more than $40,000 in cash tuition scholarships and more than $2.5 million in college granted awards. The 50 candidates from across Alabama will participate in preliminaries on Friday and Saturday afternoon with the state finals on Saturday night. The program is presented by Alabama’s Junior Miss, Inc.  

Franklin McGee, “America’s Funniest Undertaker,” thoroughly entertained the crowd attending the annual banquet of the Conecuh County Cattlemen and Cattlewomen at the Quality Inn Saturday night. McGee, who lives in Anniston, also used his humor in making some inspirational and motivational remarks.

Kelsey Nix earns degree from USA: University of South Alabama President, Dr. Frederick P. Whiddon, announced the following students completed degree work during the 1989 Fall Quarter. Kelsey Brannon Nix, Bachelor of Science in Education. She is a former resident of Evergreen.

56 YEARS AGO
JAN. 21, 1965

The Courant sent Conecuh’s 1965 Junior Miss, Sally Oswald, off to Birmingham a week early. Actually, Sally is in Birmingham today in the judging that will determine Alabama’s 1965 Jr. Miss, instead of being up there last Thursday.

Frank Salter is your new judge: It’s Judge Salter now. Frank T. Salter began his new duties as Conecuh County’s Judge of Probate on Tuesday morning. He succeeds Judge Lloyd T. Hart, who ended 18 years in the office Monday.
Judge Salter was administered the oath of office by his brother, State Rep. Wiley Salter, at 9:30 Monday morning in a brief ceremony in the courtroom.
The new judge was born and reared on a Conecuh County farm and was graduated from Lyeffion High School. He served overseas in the U.S. Army during World War II and was recalled to active duty and served overseas again during the Korean War.
Judge Salter attended Troy State College and earned his B.S. degree. He did graduate work at Auburn University and was awarded the Masters Degree.
He served for three years as assistant superintendent of education in Barbour County. He also taught at Lyeffion High School. Prior to his successful campaign for the judgeship, he held a position in sales and public relations with Escambia Chemical Corp. He has a farming and cattle operation in the county which he has attended to since his election.
Judge Salter made his first political bid a successful one this past spring when he won his present office.

81 YEARS AGO
JAN. 18, 1940

BLAZE AT NOON WEDNESDAY DOES ONLY SLIGHT DAMAGE: Fire which originated around the flue about noon Wednesday at the old Baptist Church did only slight damage, it was reported. The downstairs portion of the old church is being used as a workroom for a ladies WPA project, and it is thought that a defective flue caused the fire.
The Masonic Lodge is located upstairs at the church and it was in this part that most of the damage was done. The fire department responded promptly and soon had the blaze under control.

Castleberry To Have Curb Strawberry Mart: The town council at Castleberry announced this week that plans had been completed for an auction curb market for strawberries at that place for the coming season.
The plan provides that a certain area will be set apart in the business section to be known as the “Castleberry Strawberry Curb Market.” Growers will deliver berries to this center where auction sales will be staged daily. All berries will be sold to the highest bidder to be paid for in cash when the sale is made. It is believed that this will provide a ready market for the growers and secure for them the highest possible prices for their product. It will also prove a distinct service for those who buy. The project will be under the direct supervision of the Town of Castleberry.

Miss Mary Jo Lee of Demopolis, who teaches piano in the high school in Beatrice, spent the weekend with her aunt, Mrs. C.R. Taliaferro.

The Evergreen Courant's Sports Flashback for Jan. 18, 2021

Gene Stallings

SIX YEARS AGO
JAN. 15, 2015

Jags mangle Monroe by 12: Hillcrest High School’s varsity boys basketball team, ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, improved to 13-2 on the season Saturday night by beating Monroe County High School, 74-62, in Monroeville.
Four Jaguars scored in double figures with Tyrell Riley leading the way with 18 points, four rebounds and five steals.
(Other top Hillcrest players in that game included Kobe Bradley, Tyler Fountain and Keyshawn Roach. Chris Hines was Hillcrest’s head coach.)

Warriors outgun Jackson by 18: Sparta Academy’s varsity boys basketball team improved to 9-9 overall and to 2-1 in region play during the past week thanks to a 73-51 win over Jackson Academy Tuesday of last week in Jackson.
Nathan Pipkin led Sparta with 19 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two assists.
(Other top Sparta players in that game included Taylor Bledsoe, Tayler Chavers, Tyler Davis, Zane Lambert, Peyton McCraney, J.J. McKeough, Stone Riley, Dakota Stokes, Ethan Tyree and Griffin Weaver.)

Lady Jags defeat Monroe: Hillcrest High School’s girls basketball team picked up their eighth win of the season Saturday night when they posted a 17-point win over Monroe County High School, beating the Lady Tigers, 49-32, at Tiger Gym in Monroeville.
Tyesha Rudolph led Hillcrest with 14 points. NaaJah Richardson and Shanyia Grace followed with 12 points each.

31 YEARS AGO
JAN. 18, 1990

Thomas (Tommy) Ellis Bolton, a resident of Evergreen and Holtville, killed this trophy buck Dec. 29 at the Buck Creek Hunting Club near Skinnerton. The deer weighed 190 pounds and its nine-point antlers had a spread of 19 inches.

From “The Colyum” by Bob Bozeman: Give credit to Alabama Athletic Director Cecil (Hootie) Ingram for his prompt and skillful naming of a new head coach for the Crimson Tide. Hootie moved quickly, but did take time to get input from the ‘Bama family, particularly former players. He chose from a list recommended by former players and coaches the name of Coach Gene Stallings, one of Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s favorites.
Coach Stallings was one of the 27 who survived the summer camp at Junction that preceded Coach Bryant’s first season at Texas A&M. He was an outstanding player for the Aggies and when Coach Bryant came home to Alabama in 1958, he brought Stallings along as an assistant. Stallings was named head coach at Texas A&M at the youthful age of 29 primarily on Coach Bryant’s recommendation.
I like what I have seen thus far of Coach Stallings. I think he is doing and saying those things that will bring the ‘Bama family back together and unify them in support of the University. He is quickly putting together a staff, and I’m sure Tide fans applaud his naming of Mal Moore as the first member. Mal is from Dozier and was also one of Coach Bryant’s favorites. He served as offensive coordinator for Coach Bryant during the fabulous 1970s when Alabama dominated the state, the SEC and the nation in football.

56 YEARS AGO
JAN. 21, 1965

Repton High wins News grid trophy – By Jerry Bryan, Assistant Sports Editor, The Birmingham News: Repton High’s Bulldogs cashed in their best season for The Birmingham News Division 1-A football trophy in 1964.
Often walking the tight rope but falling only once, the ‘Dogs posted an unusual 5-1-3 record.
With Class A teams in The News’ first division having tough sledding generally, most of them having to make up their schedules with larger schools, Repton got home with nobody breaking down their neck. It was a rough season for the small schools along the southern border.
Repton got into a deadlock groove after the second game and ran through three no-decision contests in a row.
It started on a stormy night with Lyeffion in a scoreless tie and the next week it continued with Coffeeville in a no-score game. Then the following week with AA Red Level, the scores came but so did Red Level’s, and that one ended 12-12.
The loss was to McKenzie the next week, 13-6, with a Bulldog back swinging and heading for home from the two-yard line late in the game only to drop the leather.
It was coach Gene Madison’s first year at Repton. He moved over from Atmore Junior High for his first senior high coaching assignment. He picked up the reins at Repton following a 2-6-1 season in 1963.
(Top players at Repton that season included Nicky Thompson, Robert Lowery, Dwight Jerkins, Jimmy Bradley and Glenn Baggett.)

81 YEARS AGO
JAN. 18, 1940

REPTON: Basketball game between Uriah and Repton teams at Uriah indoor court resulted in victory for Uriah. Lillian Dunn, Billie Stallworth and Yvonne Hicks attended it chaperoned by the teachers.

CASTLEBERRY: Something to look forward to on a date in the near future: the lady teachers of Holly Grove and Castleberry schools will play a game of basketball on the indoor court in the high school building. Proceeds will go to the PTA.

Aggies Defeat Georgiana: Displaying a dazzling burst of offensive power in the second and third quarters, the Evergreen High Aggies defeated the Georgiana High quintet here Friday night by a 25-17 count. Georgiana took command of the court the first quarter, leading 4-2 when the first period ended, but the Aggies snatched the lead from them in the second period and kept it in the remainder of the game.
This was the third straight win for the Aggies this season, having already defeated Greenville, 29-18, and winning from Brewton by a 20-16 score.
Wiggins led in the scoring parade against Georgiana, sinking a total of nine points, followed by D. Moorer and Fountain with five each. Stallworth was high score man for Georgiana with six points followed by Hugghins who tallied four.

The Castleberry Panthers met defeat at the hands of a strong Lyeffion quintet Friday night in Lyeffion by a 46-16 score.

Old newspaper excerpts from The Monroe Journal newspaper of Monroe County, Alabama

Harper Lee of Monroeville.

31 YEARS AGO
JAN. 18, 1990

Coke closing FC location: Coca-Cola Bottling Co. in Frisco City will close its doors Feb. 2. The 61-year-old company bottled soft drinks until 1971 and has since served as a distribution center.
William Davis, warehouse and route supervisor and company employee for more than 38 years, said the closing is a result of Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper Bottling Co. (also known as Montgomery Bottling Co.) cutting costs and changing its delivery system.
The old building, facing Alabama Highway 21 in Frisco City’s downtown, is owned by Montgomery Coca-Cola. The company bought the building from the Long family and Bellingrath Estate in 1974.

Monroe County High School’s varsity boys won their third invitational basketball tournament of the 1989-90 season Saturday when they came from behind to upend Greenville High 68-64 in Beatrice.
MCHS coach Joe Allen, whose Tigers were ranked ninth in last week’s 5A state poll, defeated 2A McIntosh High 76-38 to open J.F. Shields High’s tournament Friday.
(Top players for MCHS in those games included Joseph Curry, Shannon Curry, Terry Fountain, Darren Gibbs, Toraino Hill, Jeffrey Holley and tourney MVP Derek Roberts.)

New store planned: A new ECON convenience store will be open by March in Uriah, replacing an old hotel there, said Butch Feaster, company president. The building, formerly owned by Mrs. Doris Turberville of Uriah, will be demolished in time to start construction in three weeks. The 1.5-acre site is along Alabama Highway 21.

56 YEARS AGO
JAN. 21, 1965

Harper Lee Invited To Inauguration: Nell Harper Lee, Monroeville, was one of 50 prominent artists and authors invited to be guests of President L.B. Johnson at the Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony.
Miss Lee, author of bestseller “To Kill A Mockingbird,” is in Monroeville and was unable to attend. She is recuperating from a serious burn suffered recently.

Monroeville To Be Host To Pine Belt Tournament: Monroe County High School will be host to the 13-team Pine Belt Conference tournament beginning next Wed., Jan. 27, and continuing through Saturday, at the Monroe Regional Coliseum.
Drawing for the tourney was held Monday night in Grove Hill.
Monroeville’s Tigers were awarded the No. 1 seed on the strength of its 9 and 1 record.
(Other teams in the tourney included Chatom, Clarke County, Coffeeville, Excel, Frisco City, Jackson, J.U. Blacksher, Leroy, Millry, Repton, Silas and Thomasville.)
In last year’s Pine Belt tourney, Uriah topped Monroeville in the finals.

Junior Miss Goes To Birmingham: Nancy Nettles of Monroeville, Monroe County’s Junior Miss representative in the statewide contest, will go to Birmingham Friday and Saturday for the state competition.
She will be accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Mickey Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy is chairman of the Monroeville Jaycees Junior Miss local pageant.
It was announced that Miss Nettles had received an additional award for winning the county event, a $25 award from the Coca Cola Bottling Co. of Frisco City.

81 YEARS AGO
JAN. 18, 1940

Beatrice Is Lashed By Cyclone Sunday: A cyclone struck near Beatrice about three o’clock Sunday morning, doing considerable property damage and killed two people. Phylis Lindsey, an aged woman, was instantly killed. Her body was found about 200 yards from her home, which was completely destroyed. Robert Cary died during the day Sunday.
At this time, there is a total of 32 injured, nine very seriously, and 15 homes destroyed.

BANQUET HONORS FOOTBALL BOYS: The Monroeville Chamber of Commerce is entertaining the 1939 football team of Monroe County High School with a banquet tonight (Thursday) at the new LaSalle Hotel. About 125 are expected to be present at the banquet.
Mr. A.V. Culpepper will act as toastmaster for the occasion. Boyd Pullen Jr., captain of the team, will make a short talk.
Included on the interesting program, planned by the program committee of the Chamber of Commerce, will be appropriate talks given by Prof. J.A. York, principal of the school; T.C. Huckabee, football coach; Mr. H.G. Greer, County Superintendent of Education, and others.

Western Auto Supply Store To Open Feb. 1: Mr. A.B. Blass, formerly of Waynesboro, Miss., will open a store in Monroeville about Feb. 1 for the sale of auto products of the Western Auto Supply Co. The building formerly occupied by the Lee Motor Co., next door to The Monroe Journal office, will be the location.
Mr. Blass and his family are welcome to Monroeville as residents. They are occupying one of the new dwellings recently completed by Mr. O.B. Finklea.

106 YEARS AGO
JAN. 21, 1915

Mr. L.M. Sawyer assumed the duties of the office of Sheriff on Monday, the 18^th. Messrs. Claude Kilpatrick and J.W. Urquhart are members of his official staff.

Left my home Jan. 17, 1915, one medium size hound, red with white breast and feet and white ring half round neck, tip of tail white, blaze in face. Liberal reward for any information as to his whereabouts. – R.C. Casey, Excel, Ala.

Bridge Letting: I will attend at the Snell Bridge on Flat Creek on Fri., Jan. 29, at 11 o’clock a.m. for the purpose of contracting for the building of a new bridge. Specifications furnished on the ground. – A. Holloman, Commissioner.

Representative Kyser has been assigned to two important house committees, those on local legislation and public roads and highways.

Prizes will be awarded to members of the Boys Corn Club by Prof. Duncan at the Farmer’s Institute at Monroeville on Feb. 16. All boys are urged to be present.

Mr. Owen Burgess, a student of the Monroe County High School, was chosen Senate Messenger by the unanimous vote of that body on the organization of the legislature.

TAKEN UP – One bay horse, medium size, blaze face, three white feet, white spot on left side. Owner can have same by paying for this ad and feed. – P.W. Waters, Burnt Corn, Ala.

Messrs. Watt Graham of Burnt Corn and R.L. Lewis of Peterman were here Saturday attending the Methodist quarterly conference.

131 YEARS AGO
JAN. 17, 1890

This winter has been easy on the poor, but hard on weather prophets.

Winter has been long delayed, but when it did come, it came with full force.

The cold wave that struck us Tuesday was a God-send to those having hogs to kill.

Col. B.L. Hibbard of Birmingham spent a few days in Monroeville this week on a visit to Judge Leslie.

The County Alliance met in Monroeville Monday. Twenty-four out of the 26 subordinate alliances in the county were represented which speaks well for the interest felt in the organization. The meeting was pleasant.

A man was buried alive while cleaning out a well at Enon last week.

ROAD CARTS! YOUNG GENTLEMEN – If you want a nice looking and well-constructed ROAD CART cheap, go to Roberts, Locklin & Co. They have them for $17 each.

The supreme court has rendered a decision in the celebrated Hawes case, appealed from the Jefferson criminal court. Hawes, it will be remembered, murdered his wife and little children in Birmingham about a year ago, was tried, convicted and sentenced to be hanged last July. The case was appealed on special plea for change of venue. The supreme court affirms the judgement of the criminal court and the date of the original sentence having expired, fixed Feb. 28 as the date of the execution.

George Singleton shares memories of old-timey community wood cutting

Loggers with old crosscut saw.

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “Memories of a country wood cutting” was originally published in the Dec. 17, 1998 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

As the chilly days of winter gathers on the horizon many memories come to mind about growing up in a rural farm community. As the last of the crops were brought out of the fields, there were other things that had to be looked at also. One of these was the gathering and cutting of fire wood for the coming winter months. During this time when living in the country, one didn’t just go over and turn up the thermostat and within a few minutes the whole house was comfortable and warm. Getting the house warm was an ongoing affair, the fires had to be built in the large stone fireplace and periodically fresh wood had to be added to the glowing coals to keep the temperature up, there in the room where the fireplace was located. If there should be a second fireplace in the house, keeping a fire in it was much less important than the large one located in the big room.

Cutting and splitting the wood for the coming cold weather was most times a community affair. The men and boys of the farm community would get together and “swap time” with the wood cutting. Six or eight men and boys could cut a considerable amount of firewood in a day’s time if they put their mind to it. And, it was good community relationship to have a country wood cutting, and was also quite helpful for the elderly in the area and the less fortunate.

The wood cutting period would last about 10 or 12 days there in the local farm community. The trees that were to be cut for wood had been selected some time before. These were selected because of their straightness and belief that they would split easy. Oak and pine were the choice for most of the wood, although some hickory would be cut that would be used in making fires for special occasions, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas night when a glowing fire would be needed there in the fireplace for a long period of time.

The day for cutting wood would start quite early in the morning. Axes and cross cut saws would be brought to the location in the early hours. Before any cutting was done, my father, who was one of the best saw and axe sharpeners in the country would inspect all the tools for the wood cutting. After he decided that the cross cut saws were sharp enough, the work would begin.

Always, once the tree has been cut down, contests of various sorts would take place. There were those who were better than others with an axe. These would do the splitting while the others would do the cutting with the cross cut saw. Always, there would be a contest as to who could last the longest on the handle of the cross cut. And, as each took their turn and they were relieved on the saw, the glowing bed of coals nearby would always be the next stop for that tin cup of strong hot coffee that sizzled in the large tin coffee pot nestled on the glowing hot coals. And always, from out of nowhere would appear a couple of flat tin pans of thin baked crackling bread. It seemed that my darling mother had baked the delicious crackling bread the night before the wood cutting. All that had to be done was to place the pan on the hot bed of coals for just a few minutes and the delicious crackling bread was ready to be tasted.

Most times, if all was going well, the wood cutting would be discontinued for the lunch hour. Most everyone would hasten home for the noon meal except my father, who would quickly file the saw and sharpen the axes for the afternoon sawing and wood splitting. His lunch would be sent down from the house in a homemade basket. Most times, this small boy would choose to stay with his father and share the wonderful meal that my darling mother had prepared for the two of us. Always, there would be three or four delicious tea cakes or apple tarts to finish the meal on. And, usually another pan of the wonderful crackling bread would accompany the lunch basket sent from the house.

After lunch, the serious work would really get under way. All knew that as much as could be done had to be finished before sundown. Usually, two or three large oaks would be sawed up and split before the day was finished. Freshly cut oak wood would be piled neatly around the area where the large oak trees had once stood. All that was needed now was for the fresh cut fire wood to be hauled to the house; this could be done almost any time.

As the wood cutting began to wind down, wood was added to the fire nearby. Fresh coffee had began to brew and someone had come from the house with a basket full of freshly made tea cakes along with several pieces of peanut candy. The tin cups were passed around and each selected whatever goodies they wanted with their coffee. Each would select a piece of wood to sit on and they would gather around the fire for an hour or so of tale telling and catching up on the latest news.

As the sun slowly began to settle behind the timber line, plans had already been made as to where the next wood cutting would be and the day on which it would take place. Any left overs of the crackling bread or the tea cakes was offered to any that could eat them. Finally, the fire was put out and the wood cutting was over. Goodbyes were said and a tired group of men and boys went their separate ways for an evening by the fireplace and some time with the family. And, a tired and worn out young boy followed behind eating what was left of the tea cakes and peanut candy and looking forward to another day of cutting wood and swapping work.

Where many were
But few remain
Of old familiar things,
But seeing them
To mind again
The lost and absent brings.

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born to Vincent William Singleton and Frances Cornelia Faile Singleton, during a late-night thunderstorm, on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water High School in 1946, served as a U.S. Marine paratrooper in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived for a time among Apache Indians, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from June 28, 1964 to Dec. 14, 1987. He was promoted from the enlisted ranks to warrant officer in May 1972. For years, Singleton’s columns, titled “Monroe County history – Did you know?” and “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. It’s believed that his first column appeared in the March 25, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal. He also helped organize the Monroe County Museum and Historical Society and was also a past president of that organization. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)

Questions abound about the old, abandoned town jail in Castleberry

Old town jail in Castleberry, Alabama

The old town jail in Castleberry is one of the most unique – and unusual – buildings in all of Conecuh County.

Over the years, a number of people have told me about the old Castleberry jail. As best that I can remember, the first person to tell me about it was the late J.B. Jackson, who served for many years as the town’s mayor and police chief. In the years to follow, several other people told me about this abandoned (and possibly haunted) building, but for whatever reason, I never took the time to see it for myself.

Most recently, as we walked to our vehicles after an Evergreen city council meeting, Mike Lanier of Castleberry suggested that I do a story on the old jail. He said it was an unusual and unique old building that would make for a good story. Not long after that, I reached out to Castleberry Police Chief J.C. Salter, who told me where to find this off-the-beaten-path structure.

Chief Salter not only gave me permission to visit the jail, which is located on a small piece of property still owned by the town, but he also supplied me with an overhead satellite map that marked the jail’s exact location. For those of you unfamiliar with this old jail, it’s a two-story building located in a partially wooded area off Evergreen Street, on the east side of the railroad tracks in Castleberry. I’ve been to Castleberry many times, but had never laid eyes on this old jail until last Thursday.

Around one o’clock last Thursday, I found myself on Evergreen Street and pulled over into an out-of-the-way spot near a line of mailboxes. From my parking spot, I could see the top of the old jail, standing tall behind a mobile home a short distance away. As chance would have it, another car pulled up behind me and dropped off a gentleman who lives in the area. 

He eyed me suspiciously at first, but when I told him what I was up to, he happily led me back to the old jail. We navigated our way through a gaggle of excited yard dogs and eventually found ourselves standing in front of the old jail. My good-natured guide said goodbye, saying he had to tend to a broken lawnmower, leaving me to explore the old jail on my own.

The ground floor of this old jail consists of three cells that open to the outside while the top floor is one large open room with only one entrance. The building is obviously pretty old, and Mike Lanier, who owns Evergreen Concrete, says the building is made of “cast in place” concrete, which indicates that it was likely built before World War II. Jim Cox, who owns The Clarke County Democrat, said that there are a few buildings in Grove Hill constructed in this fashion, and they date back to around 1910.

Local history expert Sherry Johnston also supplied me with some information about the old jail. According to her research, there was a private school in Castleberry before the Civil War. This school was located “a little below and south of the Castleberry jail.” Is this antebellum jail the same jail that still stands in Castleberry today or was it an earlier jail that predates the existing structure?

Several people have told me that this old jail is haunted, and I found the second floor of the building to be particularly spooky. There’s a big hole in the floor, and the ceiling and walls are covered in cobwebs and dried-out vines. I personally don’t know if this building is truly haunted, but I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that some visitors have had an unusual experience or two within the walls of this old jail.

Before leaving, I had a nice chat with the young couple who live right in front of the jail. I explained to them what I was doing, and they told me to take as much time as I needed. Chief Salter had given them a heads up the day before that I would be stopping by to look at the old jail.

In the end, as I eased back towards Evergreen, many questions about the old jail came to mind. When was it constructed? When did the town stop using it to house inmates? Is it really haunted? If anyone in the reading audience has any additional information about the old jail, please let me know.

Hunter Salter bags 'monster buck' on Jan. 8 in Conecuh County, Alabama

Hunter Salter with monster buck nicknamed 'Crazy Horns'

Hunter Salter lived up to his namesake on Friday morning when the 27-year-old hunter from Uriah ended a three-year obsession when he killed a monster buck nicknamed “Crazy Horns.”

Salter killed the large buck Friday around 9 a.m. while hunting alone in a swamp bottom between Nichburg and Belleville in Conecuh County. The 17-point buck had a 19-inch spread with 11 antlers on one side and six on the other. The deer had two drop tines with one measuring 10 inches long and the other measuring nine inches.

Salter and an area taxidermist estimate that the deer, which weighed about 170 pounds, was between eight and 10 years old. Salter said the aged deer had few teeth and was very lean.

Salter, a lifelong hunter who works at Georgia-Pacific at Claiborne, said that his pursuit of this large deer began about three years ago and had become an obsession. Game cameras where he hunts first captured a picture of the deer in 2017, and then several photos of the deer were taken in 2018. In 2019, game cameras where Salter hunts took nearly 2,000 photos of the giant deer.

“I thought about this buck all the time,” Salter said. “I’d even dream about him sometimes. We started calling him ‘Crazy Horns.’ Every off day I had off during hunting season, I’d hit the woods trying to get this one deer. For two years, I didn’t pull the trigger on another deer. I wanted this one.”

On Wednesday of last week, Salter scouted the swamp bottom and saw scrapes and hooked trees. On Friday, he picked out a spot that would give him a good angle on the deer’s approach and sat down in front of a large hardwood tree on a hillside looking down into the bottom. Not long afterwards, he heard two bucks fighting nearby and about five minutes later, a small buck entered the bottom. “Crazy Horns” followed close behind about a minute later.

“The wind was at my back, and he actually entered the bottom from behind me,” Salter said.

Once the buck got about 20 yards in front of Salter, he fired once at the deer, dropping it on the spot with one shot from his Savage 6.5mm Creedmoor rifle. He noted that the rifle was topped with an Athlon Talos scope. The temperature was around 38 degrees and the wind was blowing around 10 miles per hour, he said.

After killing the deer, Salter just sat there for a few minutes, catching his breath as he came to realize that his three-year quest to killed the giant deer had come to an end. He then hiked the half a mile back to his truck and called relatives to let them know he’d bagged the big buck. His grandfather Butch Salter, father Johnny Salter and family friend Demetrius Thomas arrived a short time later to help him drag the deer out of the woods.

Salter, who plans to have the deer mounted, also noted that his wife, Mary Kathrine, had been very supportive of his efforts to killed “Crazy Horns.”

“When I got home, I told her, ‘Well, it’s over. We can do whatever you want to do, go on a vacation, whatever you want.”

Salter said that he jokingly told her that he planned to have the deer stuffed in a full body mount.

“As a joke, I told her that I planned to have the whole deer body-mounted, so I could take it around and show everybody,” he said with a laugh. “She wasn’t very high on that idea.”

Salter does plan to reach out to the Alabama Whitetail Records Museum in Thomaston to see how his deer stacks up against some of the biggest deer ever killed in Alabama. At press time, Salter’s deer had not been officially scored.

 

January 1921 news highlights from The Wilcox Progressive Era newspaper in Camden, Alabama

Camden's St. Mary's Episcopal Church.

I was looking through some old newspapers made available by the Department of Archives and History in Montgomery the other day and got the chance to review some century-old copies of The Progressive Era. It’s always fun to look back and reflect on how much has changed – and how much remains the same. The Progressive Era published four issues during the month of January 1921, and those papers included a number of interesting news items that took place 100 years ago this month.

In the Jan. 6, 1921 edition of the newspaper, publishers S.C. Godbold and O.C. Weaver let readers know that the “New Year was joyously ushered in last Friday night. When the clock struck twelve, watchers at St. Mary’s Episcopal church sang out the old and rang in the New Year. Pealing forth in melody were the bells of the County High School, St. Mary’s Episcopal and the Presbyterian and Methodist church bells. The whistles of the numerous saw mills joined the chimes. Rockets and fireworks were discharged and lighted the heavens. Pistols and guns were fired, and the automobiles and people’s yells enlivened the night.”

It was also reported that week that a “very interesting game of basketball was played Friday afternoon at the High School between Women’s College and Montevallo. The game was composed of the girls of each school which are at home. Women’s College scored four to Montevallo’s 0. The game was witnessed by a large and enthusiastic crowd.

“The game was fiercely contested from start to finish. The teamwork of the Women’s College team enabled them to keep the ball in the opponent’s territory, but the aggressive defense of the Montevallo girls, held the visitors down to one field goal, the other two being the result of fouls.”

Players for the Women’s College were Marlow Bonner, Mary Alma Stanford, Marcella Moore, Helen Burford, Olivia McArthur and Louise Matthews. Players for Montevallo were Mary Fore Stuart, Lena Miller, Elise Bonner, Ella Spurlin, Minnie Rentz and Minnie Holman.

Big front-page news in the Jan. 13, 1921 edition of the paper had to do with Mr. Van Metcalfe who “recently returned from Mobile, where he purchased a motor launch to be used at Hollys Ferry. This addition will make the river crossing much more satisfactory. He expects to have it in operation within the next two or three weeks.”

Also that week, under the headline “Indian Relics,” it was reported that a “rather remarkable collection of Indian relics is on exhibition in the show window of the Burnham Furniture Co. on Court Street. The collection was made and is owned by E.M. Graves of Montgomery, a member of the Anthropological Society of Alabama. The specimens in many instances are very pretty and unusual in character. There are around 1,500 objects in the exhibit, all collected since 1917.”

In the Jan. 20, 1921 edition of the newspaper, readers learned that a “mad dog was killed in Camden Saturday morning, after considerable excitement. No one was bitten.”

Also that week, it was reported that a “number of Masons from Camden attended the funeral of Mr. W.M. Fitzgerald, who was buried at Allenton Sunday.”

It was reported in the Jan. 27, 1921 edition of the paper that Jim Hart “while hunting last week, was unfortunate by the barrel of his gun bursting and shooting part of two fingers off.”

Elsewhere in that week’s edition, readers learned that a man “was found dead near Oak Hill, with a ‘white lightning’ bottle by his side. It is thought that he made a fire and being drunk was burned to death.”

Another oddity in that week’s paper involved “Dale Neville, a twin brother of Bonner Neville who broke his arm last week, broke his arm a few days since. Each of the boys broke the right arm.”

Readers were also informed that the “hogs and cows on the streets of Camden are becoming a public nuisance. A number of citizens are appealing to the town council to have the stock law enforced.”

As you can tell from the above, January 1921 was a lively time in Wilcox County, and there is little doubt that January 2021 will prove to be much the same. If you ever get the urge to look through old Wilcox County newspapers for yourself, I encourage you to make the trip to the state archives in Montgomery. The staff there will be more than happy to point you in the right direction and get you started.