George Singleton writes of the simple pleasures of growing up during the Great Depression

George Buster Singleton

(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 “A country boy’s fond memories” was originally published in the Jan. 24, 2002 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

As long as I live, I will always continue to believe that those who didn’t live through some of the Great Depression in their youth missed some of life’s finer moments.

This is not to say that I would like our country to go through another period of hard times like this period in our history, but this time in our past was quite unique.

In talking to some of the older members of our society about this time in our history, the things that are remembered are always about hard work, lack of money, hard to come by things that were needed for the families to survive. But always, if one listens long enough, always a story or two of the good times that were had will always burst forth.

Our modern society and our so-called progress that we have made since the time of the Great Depression has produced a generation or two that don’t know one thing about the finer things in life.

Take for example, tomato gravy. Very few of our youth of today even know what tomato gravy is. No more do we know what it is like to sit down to a breakfast of hot biscuits, homemade butter, tomato gravy and good ribbon cane syrup. No more do we hear words like buttermilk pie, candy-pulling, pecan roastings or watermelon-rind preserves.

The womenfolk of today know nothing about a quilting party or a knitting get-together. Who among us knows how to set up a quilting frame? If someone should, by chance, organize a lye hominy cooking on a cool Saturday afternoon, everyone would think the organizer had gone off the deep end.

What if someone were to serve a slice of baked pumpkin pie with brown sugar sprinkled over the top with a cup of hot coffee made over an open fire in the fireplace?

Is it true that tomato gravy,
Is to be savored and eaten slow?
With buttered biscuits light and fluffy,
Only a country boy would know.

How about some of our youth of today having a candy-pulling? A group of teenagers would get together under the supervision of an older couple or two. They would cook fresh ribbon cane syrup until it became like soft candy.

Then, each would apply butter to his hands and take the soft candy-like syrup and pull and work it until it became almost white in color. Then, as the candy cooled it was twisted and cut into short pieces or sticks.

Games were played by the country youth while waiting for the candy to cool enough so that it could be eaten.

My, oh my, that sounds delicious,
Pumpkin pie so sweet and brown.
Spring-cooled milk or hot black coffee,
Would make a jack rabbit slap a hound.

Who of us today knows how to organize a party to hunt possum grapes? As the hot months of the summer began to turn a bit cooler and the autumn season began to creep across the country side, the time of hunting wild possum grapes would be at hand.

A group of 10 or 12 young people would get together on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, always escorted by a couple of parents, and go into the deep woods in search of those tasty wild grapes and sweet persimmons. The season for the beginning of the good times was fast approaching.

Always, in each party, there would be an expert tree climber. The success or failure of the afternoon lay on the shoulders of the expert climber. This young man would be the one to climb the tall trees and shake down the ripe, juicy persimmons. Or, he was the one to climb the wild grape vines and pull the wild, tasty bunches of grapes.

Most times, he would pluck the nicest bunches and drop them ever so carefully to that special young lady who smiled so beautifully from the ground below. She always got the finest bunches while the others in the party had to scramble for those thrown less carefully among the jumping and laughing group at the base of the tree.

Tell me more of all those good times,
While we rest in the deep cool shade.
Life is good and forever beautiful,
Little did we know that we had it made.

True, the things that were important during those days are only fond memories now. Gone are the Sunday afternoon horseback rides and the fun times of getting together and boiling fresh corn on the cob.

Always then would come the contest of seeing who could eat an ear of fresh boiled corn in the shortest length of time. Always, the contestants put forth great effort so as to stay in favor with a certain beautiful young lady who was dressed neatly in beautiful, homemade slacks or a pair of overalls, who smiled ever so approvingly from the sidelines.

Let’s walk again those paths of yesterday,
And live again those memories old.
For soon the shadows of coming darkness,
Will forever gather within the soul.

Due to the passing of these many good times, I think that we are poorer for it. We tend to measure our so-called success on the fantasies and the make-believe world around us. We sit with our faces and minds glued to the televisions and never really know the meaning of a good time or a good frolic.

We make heroes out of freaks and deadbeats while we push from our minds the true guidance that could put us on the path of success and happiness with our society.

Few of us today bother to journey into the deep woods or on a high hill for a moment of peace and to be along with nature. We know nothing about meditation and the joys of life while being there.

When I mention or write about being alone on a high hilltop and raising my arms to the heavens for a moment with my God, I get strange looks from some. But the time is at hand when we should turn to our yesterday’s guidelines if true peace and happiness is to come in this world.

But, as for now, I will again remember,
All the good times and dear memories flow.
Sweet, sweet life forever onward,
Only a country boy would know.

(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.)

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

35 YEARS AGO
JAN. 30, 1986

USDA, Extension offices move today to new Ag Center: The county office of the Auburn University Cooperative Extension Service and county offices of three federal agricultural agencies will be moved today (Thursday) into the new 10,112-square-foot Monroe County Agricultural Center.
Doors will officially open for business Monday at the new building, located west of Highway 21 between Patrick Henry State Junior College and Lazenby Precast. Moving will take place today and tomorrow.

MCHS rebounds to beat FC: Monroe County High School’s varsity boys basketball team rebounded from a disheartening 80-71 loss at Evergreen High Tuesday of last week to pound out a 66-38 victory at Frisco City High Friday.
(Lloyd) Patrick, playing point guard, led the Tigers (against Frisco City) with 16 points. Frisco’s crippled effort was paced by guards Edward Hunt and Clifford Poole. Hunt had 12 points, and Poole finished with 10.
(Other top MCHS players in those games included Hannibal Blackmon, Craig Johnson, Ron Knight, Michael Rankins and Tim Salter. Joe Allen was MCHS’s head coach.)

Carmichael to celebrate 100^th: Well-known Monroe County educator Patrick J. Carmichael is preparing to blow out 100 birthday candles Saturday when he is honored by family, friends and former students during a reception at Bethel Baptist Church. His son, Caswell P. Carmichael, said the reception will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. in the church fellowship hall, and several former students of the man who founded Perdue Hill Industrial School will present a special program in his honor.

59 YEARS AGO
JAN. 25, 1962

Junior Miss Pageant Changed To Feb. 3: The Monroe County Junior Miss pageant and dance scheduled for Fri., Feb. 9, has been rescheduled and will be held Sat., Feb. 3, at the Community House beginning at 7 p.m.
David Beasley, president of the Jaycees, said that officials of the Alabama Junior Miss pageant, which will be held in Birmingham Saturday morning, Feb. 10, have requested that the winner of the Monroe County contest be present in Birmingham Saturday morning, Feb. 10, for the state preliminaries.
“In order to select a winner in Monroe County and allow her time to make preparations for the trip, we felt that the pageant should be held a week earlier,” Mr. Beasley said.
Senior girls who have entered the Junior Miss contest include Joy Maxine Wiggins, Mary Elizabeth Johnson, Gayle Lee, Susan Thompson, Sherry Jeane Salter, Anna Marie Davis, Peggy Luverne Bowen, Martha Ellen Melton, Virginia Sawyer Sims, Diane Cornelia Kilpatrick and Joyce Pridgeon.

Frisco City Wins County Cage Title: The Frisco City High School varsity basketball team defeated Uriah 54-44 in the finals of the Monroe County tournament last Saturday night to win the county championship.
The Uriah B team defeated Frisco City to win the B team championship.
Earlier in the varsity class, Uriah defeated Excel 29-20, Frisco City defeated Monroeville 49-45, and Uriah defeated Beatrice to gain entrance in the finals.

84 YEARS AGO
JAN. 28, 1937

LOCKLIN FUNERAL HELD THURSDAY: Funeral services for Lawrence Wheeler Locklin, 13-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Locklin of Monroeville, were conducted from the home at 10:30 o’clock last Thursday morning by the pastors of the Monroeville Baptist and Methodist churches, Rev. W.H. Black and Rev. F.G. Hastings. Interment was made in the family plot at the Baptist cemetery. Leading the way from the home to the cemetery was the Monroe County High School Band of which L.W. was a valued member, and the only music at the cemetery was that from his fellow band members. As the body was lowered into the grave, Taps were sounded by Charles Ray Skinner.
L.W. died shortly after five o’clock Wednesday morning, Jan. 20, in a Mobile infirmary where he had been a patient for one week.

$57.71 Burned In Stump Hole: On Jan. 22, W.T. Bates, caretaker of the H.W. Dusenbury farm near Frisco City, lost his pocketbook while firing stumps. The pocket book contained $57 in bills and 71 cents in coins. Later, the owner found the metal portions of the pocket book and the 71 cents in the hole of a stump he had been burning. The 57 dollars in bills had been burned.

Atlanta Woman Is Buried At Mexia: Mrs. Hartwell Boyd, daughter of Mrs. Ida Coleman Lowery and the late R.F. Lowery, died at her home in Atlanta on Wed., Jan. 20 Funeral services were held in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon and the body sent by train to Monroe County for burial, arriving at the home of Dr. A.B. Coxwell in Monroeville early Friday morning. Interment was made in the Mexia cemetery at 10 o’clock Friday morning.

109 YEARS AGO
JAN. 25, 1912

Warren, Texas, Jan. 12 – Miss Sarah L. Black, aged 80 years, died at her home near this place Jan. 8 at three o’clock a.m. She was born at Claiborne, Monroe County, Ala., but had resided in Texas for the last 30 years. One sister survives her, Miss Maggie Black.

On Jan. 23, at the home of the bride, Miss Lizzie Irvin Riley and Mr. Edmund Lee Vasser were happily married by Rev. J.M. Gilmore, pastor of the Monroeville Baptist Church. The bride is the accomplished daughter of Mr. L.R. Riley of Drewry, Ala. and Mr. Vasser is a young man of fine business ability and enjoys the esteem of his many friends.

COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL NOTES: School opened Mon., Jan 15, promptly at 8:15 with chapel exercises conducted by Prof. DeBardelaben, both High School and Grammar School participating, at the close of which the regular daily routine was begun.
After school Monday afternoon some time was spent in learning a High School song and several yells, “just to arouse a little High School spirit,” Prof. DeBardelaben said.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were taken up with mid-term examinations, and we can all truthfully say that we are glad they are finished.

NOTICE: Notice is hereby given that after the expiration of two weeks from the date of this publication, application will be made to the Governor of Alabama for the parole of John Wall, convicted at the Fall term 1910, of the Circuit Court of Monroe County of the offense of embezzlement, and sentenced to 10 years in the penitentiary.

134 YEARS AGO
JAN. 27, 1887

Mr. James L. Sowell, who was recently appointed to the cadetship in the Military Academy at West Point, left Wednesday for Highland Falls, New York, where he will attend the preparatory school at that place until his final examination and entry into the Academy in June.

Thomas J. Cluverius was hung in Richmond, Va. on the 14^th inst. for the alleged murder of his cousin, Miss Lillian Madison. He made no confession.

Mr. J.F. Betts of Burnt Corn gave us a pleasant call last Saturday. Mr. Betts will shortly engage extensively in the drug business at Evergreen, in which enterprise we wish him much success.

Carlisle Notes: There is very little in the way of news to relate from this neck of the woods. The people here, like they are doing everywhere, are complaining of the short crops, scarcity of money, etc. Though the past year was not a prosperous one with the farmers of this section, they are no worse off than they are in other portions of the county, and the majority of them are able at least to make both ends meet.

Pineville: Mr. Lafayette Cater has purchased a Huckle berry watch.

Dr. Robert Frazier has tendered his resignation as President of the Judson Institute at Marion.

Forty thousand dollars’ worth of property was destroyed by fire at Union Springs on the 18^th inst. Only about half that amount was covered by insurance.

Was the ancient Indian village of Maubila located at present-day Pine Orchard, Alabama?

DeSoto "discovers" the Mississippi River.

I was looking through some old newspapers the other day and ran across an interesting item related to Indian mounds in the Oct. 14, 1948 edition of The Evergreen Courant. That news item read as follows:

“Twelves miles north of Demopolis on the Forkland road is located the remains of Mauvilla, the scene of DeSoto’s bloody battle with the Indians in 1540. One of the largest Indian mounds in the nation remains amid the growing forest at the almost lost site of Mauvilla. The National Geographic Magazine states in a story on Alabama that Mauvilla ‘was a walled city, built only of wood and mud, yet big enough to shelter 80,000 people – with portholes and towers and double palisades.’ But during DeSoto’s battle with the Indians, their capital city was blasted to the ground and several thousand of the Red Braves were slaughtered, and DeSoto himself limped away wounded, after losing several hundred of his own cavaliers.”

As many students of Alabama history will know, the exact location of Mauvilla, which is also popularly known as “Maubila,” is probably Alabama’s most enduring historical mysteries. Theories abound as to where it was exactly located, with some saying it was in Clarke County, Monroe County, Wilcox County, Dallas County, Hale County, Tuscaloosa County and various other places. The truth is that no one knows for sure, and there are some who say it may have been located in Conecuh County.

For decades, the late George “Buster” Singleton wrote a weekly newspaper column for The Monroe Journal newspaper in Monroeville. Singleton was widely known for his ghost stories and spooky adventures, but he also had a big interest in amateur archeology and Indian lore. Over the years, he became a local history expert and had attained much knowledge about ancient Indian sites in our area. 

More than a few times, Singleton wrote that he believed that a thorough investigation of northwestern Conecuh County would prove that Maubila was located in what is now the Pine Orchard area. Those of you familiar with Pine Orchard will know that it is located on County Road 5, on the Conecuh-Monroe County line.

“If one studies and researches the route that DeSoto and his army took through what is now Monroe, Wilcox and Conecuh counties, it will prove beyond a shadow of doubt that the famed Indian village was in what is now the corner of Conecuh and Monroe counties, where the counties join,” Singleton wrote in a 2003 article.

Singleton’s theories are interesting, especially when you consider the “Mystery Stones” that were found at Pine Orchard in the early 1970s. These 12 stones were found out in the middle of the woods and were of varying sizes. Archeologists and researchers have examined them over the years and have been unable to determine their purpose.

I personally believe that Maubila was probably located at Moundville in Hale County or at the site of Old Cahaba in Dallas County. I’m no expert, but these seem to be the best candidates in my book. Of course, it’s still up for debate.

In the end, I’d like to hear from any readers in the audience with information about old Indian mounds or village sites in Conecuh County. Also, I’m always up for a field trip, so if anyone in the reading audience would like to show me any local mounds or village sites, give me a call. No doubt many readers would be interested in hearing about it.

Old Chestnut community contains one of the most unique graves in all of Monroe County, Alabama

Grave of Jacob 'Jake' Rikard at Chestnut.

Monroe County’s old Chestnut community is located on State Highway 265, between Beatrice and the Wilcox County line. According to “Place Names in Alabama” by Virginia O. Foscue, this community takes its name from a large chestnut tree that once provided shade at the crossroads where this settlement sprang up in the early 1800s. Few people live in Chestnut today, but this community was once so heavily populated that it had its own post office from 1886 to 1967.

I found myself traveling through Chestnut the other day and took a few minutes to visit the old Chestnut Cemetery, which contains one of the most unique graves in all of Monroe County. Just eyeballing it, I’d say this sizeable cemetery contains about 250 graves, many of which are well over a century old. The oldest marked grave that I was able to find was the grave of young Sara J. Liddell, who was either three or four years old when she died in 1815.

Not far from her grave, you will also find the final resting place of Jacob “Jake” Rikard, who has one of the most distinctive graves in the entire county. Rikard, the longtime proprietor of the well-known Rikard’s Mill in the 1800s, has a headstone that’s carved in the shape of a large millstone. The inscription on his headstone reads, “Blacksmith, Locksmith, Millwright, built and operated Rikard’s Mill on Flat Creek, 1845-1880.”

Rikard’s Mill, which is now part of the Monroe County Heritage Museums, is located a short distance through the woods from Jake Rikard’s final resting place. One cold October night years ago, I spent an entire night with several colleagues inside Rikard’s Mill, hunting for evidence of the ghosts said to haunt the restored mill. It was on that night that I first heard the eerie tale of a ghostly woman who can sometimes be seen floating down Flat Creek in her own coffin.

But that is a story for another day.

After a good look around the cemetery, I drove the short distance down to the Saint Matthew Baptist Church. According to this church’s cornerstone, Saint Matthew Baptist Church was organized in 1875 by the Rev. Isom Bennett. The church was rebuilt in 1970 by the Rev. W.E. Brown.

As I stood there in the churchyard, I was reminded of tales that I have heard about a lone Rebel soldier who was buried in the yard of an old homeplace not far from this church. The soldier is said to have been T.J. Sadler, who served in the 13^th Alabama Infantry during the War Between the States. While I have never laid eyes on his grave, I’ve been told that it is near one of the largest oak trees to be found in Monroe County.

Eventually, I climbed back in my truck and pointed it back towards Monroeville. As I drove along, I could not help but think about all that I had seen and heard regarding Chestnut’s place in local history. No doubt there is much more to be learned about this once-thriving community.

In the end, let me hear from you if you know anything more about the early history of Chestnut. I’m especially interested in any old ghost stories, local legends or tall tales from this part of the county. Also, let me hear from you if you know of any old Indian village or mound sites in this area, so that this information doesn’t get lost to history like so much that has already slipped away like so much water down Flat Creek.

Catherine Academy was a force to be reckoned with in high school football

Former Catherine Academy head coach Robby James.

Last week in this space, I wrote about a recent trip that I made to the Catherine community, and that column generated a lot of interesting feedback from readers. Most of this feedback had to do with Catherine Academy’s storied football program, which at one time was one of the most dominant programs in the Alabama Independent School Association. Through my affiliation with the Alabama High School Football Historical Society, I have always had a special interest in Catherine Academy football, and I enjoyed hearing from some of the school’s former supporters.

According to AHSFHS records, Catherine fielded its first team in 1969 with its first official game apparently being played against Lowndes Academy’s “B team” in early September 1969 in Hayneville. Catherine Academy, under head coach Jimmy Nettles, won that game 24-6. Newspaper accounts of that historic game say that Catherine quarterback Travis Martin scored two rushing touchdowns and passed to Leo Allen for a third. Peter McGilberry scored Catherine’s fourth touchdown on a long 83-yard run, and Donald Lee Thompson was recognized for being Catherine’s top defensive player in that game.

Fast-forward to 1976, when first-year head coach Lee Jones led the Colts to their first-ever playoff appearance. Catherine went 4-7 during the regular season that year and faced McIntosh Christian in the opening round of the playoffs. McIntosh Christian won that game, 27-0, in McIntosh, but the Colts had gotten their first taste of post-season play.

In 1983, Catherine won the first of its four all-time state football titles, and the 1983 team was no doubt one of the best in school history. The 1983 team went 11-1 overall with its only loss coming in the regular season against Grove Hill Academy, 21-14. Seven weeks later, Catherine defeated Dixie Academy in the Class A state title game, 20-18.

In 1985, Catherine ran the table, posting a perfect 12-0 record on its way to the Class A title. The state championship game that season wasn’t even close. Under head coach Robby James, the Colts blasted Dixie Academy, 49-6.

In 1991, again under head coach Robby James, the Colts posted a perfect 13-0 record and won the Class A state title. The state title game that season was also a runaway affair. Catherine dominated Sparta Academy of Evergreen in that game, 41-0. (My late father, who served as a high school football referee for 25 years, and I actually went to this game because my cousin Richard Weaver was a standout running back and defensive back on Sparta’s team that season.)

Catherine won its final state title in 1992, again under head coach Robby James. Catherine went 13-0 that season, defeating Crenshaw Christian, 6-0, in the state finals. That game also wrapped up the longest winning streak in school history, an amazing 26-game winning streak that began on Sept. 5, 1991. Catherine lost its season-opener in 1993, ending their long streak of victories.

Catherine Academy had many fine coaches during its heyday, and Robby James was arguably the best. In 14 seasons, from 1980 to 1993, he went 113-52-1 with an 18-7 record in the playoffs. On average, his tough-nosed teams held their opponents to less than two touchdowns per game.

In the end, it should be noted that the AHSFHS is still seeking information on Catherine Academy’s football history. When you get a chance, please visit the society’s website at www.ahsfhs.org and search for Catherine Academy under “Find a Team.” If you can fill in any of the blanks that you see there, please let me know, and I will forward the information to AHSFS President David Parker of Foley, who will happily update the society’s records and website.

The Evergreen Courant's News Flashback for Jan. 26, 2021

Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace

EIGHT YEARS AGO
JAN. 24, 2013

Evergreen weather observer Betty Ellis reported 0.06 inches of rain on Jan. 14, 1.04 inches on Jan. 15, 0.31 inches on Jan. 16 and 0.01 inches on Jan. 17. She reported a high of 73 degrees on Jan. 15 and a low of 29 on Jan. 18.

A sizeable crowd of parade-goers flocked to downtown Evergreen on Monday afternoon for the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade. The Sampey AME Zion Church float was one of over 60 entries in this year’s parade.

Ernestine Raines celebrated her 104^th birthday Wednesday of last week at Evergreen Nursing Home. Raines received a key to the City of Evergreen from Mayor Pete Wolff, and was treated to a birthday celebration by Evergreen Medical Center Hospice. A sizeable crowd attended the birthday party, including the staff and residents at Evergreen Nursing Home.

No one was injured in this accident Tuesday at 3:09 p.m. at the CSX Railroad Crossing at the intersection of West Front Street and Belleville Avenue in downtown Evergreen. The accident involved a train, consisting of two engines and 35 railcars, and a 2007 Ford F150 pickup truck, belonging to the Conecuh County Commission. The truck, which was pulling a trailer loaded with welding equipment, was driven by Kevin Dwayne Henderson, 27, of Evergreen. Evergreen police officers Adam Hawsey and Shawn Sullivan investigated the accident.

33 YEARS AGO
JAN. 28, 1988

Evergreen weather observer Earl Windham reported 0.79 inches of rain on Jan. 19 and 0.85 inches on Jan. 24. He reported a high of 72 on Jan. 20 and a low of 25 on Jan. 23.

Mrs. Hugh (Dot) Mason was one of those instrumental in getting this historical marker placed at the site of the Old Flag Tree, a landmark of the 19^th Century near Old Town, (turn left at Old Town Baptist Church). The site is on the old original Stallworth property on the original Sparta Road from Travis Bridge to Old Sparta. The Flag Tree was at the site of an Indian battleground and was distinctive as all of the branches on one side had been torn away causing the tree to look like a flag from a distance. It was last known standing in 1912. About ¼-mile down the road stands the old home of the late William Thomas and Pearl Stallworth Mason and the home of the late Ralph, Author, Carl and Hugh Mason. The property is presently owned by the McMillan Co. of Brewton, and Ed Leigh McMillan II gave permission to place this marker.

Alabama Attorney General Don Siegelman will be the featured speaker at the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce’s annual Promotion-Membership Banquet on Monday night, Feb. 8, at 6:30 o’clock at the Evergreen Inn.
Siegelman, 41, is a native of Mobile and graduate of Murphy High School. He received his BA degree from the University of Alabama in 1968, graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C. in 1972, earning his law degree and studied international law at Oxford University, Oxford, England, 1972-73.

58 YEARS AGO
JAN. 24, 1963

Conecuh County’s beautiful float added to the festivities at the inauguration of Gov. George C. Wallace in Montgomery last week. Built by a professional, the float cost $600 and was one of the prettiest in the mammoth parade. Adding to the beauty of the float were these five beauties who braved the cold to represent Conecuh. Up front, arm lifted in greeting, is Linda Gay Garner of Castleberry, Conecuh’s Queen Joy. Under the Brooklyn sign is Louise Dozier, Evergreen, Patricia Hart, Lyeffion, Patt Watts. Representing Repton is Betty Dees who can be partially see behind Linda Gray. Guy Mason was in charge of arrangements for the Conecuh entry.

Full Docket Set For County Court: The regular monthly term of County Court will be held Monday with Judge of Probate Lloyd G. Hart presiding. There is an unusually heavy docket with 182 cases listed, according to Circuit Clerk Ralph Crysell.
Crysell said that actually some 10 cases are set for trial Monday with County Solicitor H.J. Kinzer prosecuting for the county. Crysell explained the heavy docket is due to illness in Judge Hart’s family and the holidays.

Airman Third Class John E. Davis of Repton is being reassigned to Tyndall AFB, Fla., following his graduation from the U.S. Air Force technical training course for supply inventory specialists here. The airman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Sam S. Davis of Rt. 1, Repton, is a graduate of Repton High School.

83 YEARS AGO
JAN. 27, 1938

Loyce (Skin) Hyde Takes Over Grocery Business: Announcement is being made in this issue in an advertisement on another page that A.L. (Skin) Hyde has taken over the grocery department at the Arctic Market, which is owned and operated by L.S. Rabun. Mr. Hyde states that he has purchased the grocery stock of Mr. Rabun’s and henceforth will have charge of this department. Mr. Hyde was born and reared in Evergreen and has spent all of his life here except for a few years when he lived in Selma, where he was manager of a branch of a well known chain store system.

POST OFFICE GROUNDS HAVE BEEN PLANTED: The grounds at the new post office building were planted last week under a contract awarded by the post office department to Birmingham Nursery Co. The lawns were sodded in Bermuda grass and the borders were set in hedge. A number of shrubs were placed about the building and several shade trees were planted. With the coming of spring, the improvement should make the posts office grounds one of the city’s beauty spots.

Rat Killing Campaign To Be Waged Here: The County Health Department announced this week that plans had been completed to put on a rat extermination campaign in Evergreen. The city has made an appropriation to defray the cost of bait, poison and traps and the work will be done by relief workers. Besides the great property damage done by rats, health authorities have learned that they are carriers of Brill’s disease or typhus fever.

The Evergreen Courant's Sports Flashback for Jan. 25, 2021

Sparta Academy's April Palmer.

EIGHT YEARS AGO
JAN. 24, 2014

Lady Warriors 2-0 in area play: Sparta Academy’s sixth-ranked varsity girls basketball team improved to 14-4 on the season and to 2-0 in area play last week after big wins over Jackson Academy and Wilcox Academy.
The Lady Warriors blasted area rival Jackson Academy, 52-32, Tuesday of last week in Jackson and downed Wilcox Academy, 70-50, Friday night in Evergreen.
April Palmer led Sparta (against Jackson) with 16 points, two rebounds, five steals and four assists. Palmer led the Lady Warriors (over Wilcox) with 23 points, three rebounds, seven steals and two assists.
(Other top players on Sparta’s team that season included Kayla Baggett, Jessica Coleman, Emily Deason, Alex Etheridge, Drew Ann Lambert, Ashley Riley, Rachel Riley, Emily Rodgers. Lisa Smith and Reagan Wild.)

Sparta Warriors down Jackson: Sparta Academy’s varsity boys basketball team improved to 2-0 in area play Tuesday of last week with a 21-point win over area rival Jackson Academy in Jackson.
Allen Stuart led Sparta with 14 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists. Jacob Hendrix followed with 13 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Michael Brown finished the game with 11 points, a team-high 10 rebounds and a block.
(Other top players at Sparta that season included Taylor Chavers, Drew Hardin, Jackson Gorum, Chance House, Austin Johnson, Nathan Pipkin and Michael Raines.)

33 YEARS AGO
JAN. 28, 1988

EHS FOOTBALL BANQUET: Evergreen High School Football Banquet will be held Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Evergreen Inn. Cost will be $5 per person. This does not apply to football players and cheerleaders.

Billy Hamilton got these (three) racks in a most unusual manner. He was in a tree stand using one of the new deer grunts when the 12-pointer and the 10-pointer both came up. Being a good sportsman, Billy knew he could kill only one of the two big deer. While he was trying to decide which one to kill, the deer fought and killed each other while Billy grunted. The deer bearing the eight-point rack came up while Billy was in a tree stand bowhunting and again using the new grunt. The buck got so frustrated because he couldn’t find what he thought was another deer grunting that he butted himself to death on the tree. And that’s the truth, according to Billy Hamilton.

Cougars sweep Sparta teams: The Sparta Academy Cougar basketball teams swept four games from Sparta Academy in games played here Jan. 22, according to Sparta Sports Information Director Byron Warren Jr.
The Cougar varsity boys outshot Sparta, 60-48. Toby Baggett with 15 points and Brad Watts with 11 led the Warriors. Jeff Carrier had eight points; Robbie Bolton, seven; Craig Blackburn, four; Jamie Atkins, two; and Chris Davis, one.
Escambia’s Lady Cougars edged the Lady Warriors 42-40 in spite of a 20-point effort by Kim Searcy. Shawn Hammonds had 14 points; Julie Johnson, four; and Abbie Till, two, for Sparta.

58 YEARS AGO
JAN. 24, 1963

Castleberry Cops 15^th Straight Win: The unbeaten Conecuh County High School Blue Devils captured their 15^th straight win of the season Tuesday night, turning back T.R. Miller High’s Tigers, 54-39, in Brewton. The Castleberry team, coached by Wayne Pope, has not been pressed all season.
The Blue Devils have two tournament titles included in their victory strings. In December they walked away with the Conecuh County Invitational Tournament and last week won the Conecuh County Tournament.
Larry Janes bagged 19 points and Henry Foster 16 to pace the win over Miller. Others scoring were Kast, nine; Finley, seven; and Sims, three. Barrow led Miller with 14 points.

Blue Devils Retire Rotating Trophy: When the Conecuh County High School Blue Devils won the Conecuh County Tournament in Repton Saturday night, they also won permanent possession of the rotating trophy awarded each year to the champion.
Boykin Jewelry, Evergreen, presents the trophy with the stipulation that three consecutive wins by a team retires the trophy. So, the Blue Devils captured their third straight championship and retired the handsome prize to their trophy case.

The champion Blue Devils of Conecuh County High dominated the all-tournament team chosen at the end of the county meet held in Repton Friday and Saturday. Topping the vote-getters was center Henry Roster. Donnie Kast and Larry Janes were also named to the dream team. Evergreen filled the other two places with Jimmy Raines and Ronnie Jackson being named.

83 YEARS AGO
JAN. 27, 1938

Evergreen High School: The game with Opp Friday night was a close one. Our boys found themselves up against Opp’s town team with three former Kinston champions to hold down. The Evergreen boys were thought to have played their very best game, although the victory went to the opposing team by a score of 31-19.

Repton School News: Castleberry defeated the Repton boys in the basketball game Friday night by a score of 14 to 13. The boys are looking forward to the game Wednesday night when they will play Lyeffion High School at Lyeffion.

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

33 YEARS AGO
JAN. 28, 1988

Courthouse plans to be revealed: Final plans for the renovation and restoration of one of Monroe County’s oldest landmarks will be revealed on Old Courthouse Restoration Day, Sun., Feb. 7, at 2 p.m. in the courtroom of that building.
According to restoration committee member Mary Tucker, several political leaders, including U.S. Rep. Sonny Callahan and U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, will be on hand and more than 200 members of the media throughout the state and region have been invited.
Plans will feature a small theater and a theatrical production team that will stage various works. Special attention will be given to a stage production of Monroeville native Nelle Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Excel plays better to record victories: Fewer turnovers and better shot selection were the keys to the Excel High School varsity boys basketball team’s recent victories of 65-58 over Sweet Water and 59-57 over Ernest Ward in Excel, according to Excel’s coach Brad Moore Tuesday.
Miller Helton scored 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead Excel’s offense (against Sweet Water). Helton threw in 16 points and (Tony) Hollinger tossed in 12 points Friday to help the Panthers defeat Ernest Ward.
(Other top Excel players in those games included Ron Millender and Brian Thomas.)

Monroe County Junior Miss Holly Ross was among the Top 10 finalists in the Alabama Junior Miss pageant Saturday night. She won a $1,000 cash scholarship for the high finish. Miss Ross is the 18-year-old daughter of John and Sue Ross of Excel.

57 YEARS AGO
JAN. 24, 1963

Adonna McCrory Is Jr. Miss: Adonna Anne McCrory won the title of Junior Miss in Monroe County Friday night when an overflow crowd attended the pageant at the Community House.
She was crowned by Martha Melton, last year’s Junior Miss in Monroe County.
Miss McCrory will go to Birmingham for eliminations in the state Junior Miss contest on Feb. 18.

City to Purchase New Fire Truck: The City of Monroeville announced plans to buy a new fire truck following a regular meeting of the City Council Tuesday night.
Mayor W.H. Hines stated Wednesday morning that the chassis will be purchased from a local dealer, with the fire fighting equipment being bought from and installed by a concern specializing in such equipment.
Estimated cost of the completely new unit is from $10,000 to $12,000.

CHAMBER BEGINS NEW YEAR: William Bowden was installed as president of the Monroeville Chamber of Commerce Monday night during the annual ladies’ night and installation banquet. W. Cooper Green, Alabama Power Co. executive, was guest speaker for the occasion. Raymond Owens is outgoing president of the group.

Pvt. Womack Assigned To Fort Jackson, S.C. – Private Elmer W. Womack Jr., son of Elmer W. Womack Sr., Box 82, Frisco City, has been assigned to Co. A, 15^th Specialist Battalion, 4^th Training Regiment at Fort Jackson, S.C. for advanced specialist training in the intermediate speed radio operator’s course.

83 YEARS AGO
JAN. 27, 1938

Workmen Busy On Paving Project: Crews of workmen are making good headway on two paving projects in the city limits this week. Curb and gutters are being poured on Mount Pleasant Street and on the street leading to Frisco City.
This work is pushed so the coat of black top can be applied as soon as the warm days come in the spring.

FORMER RESIDENT DIES IN MOBILE: Mr. Cyril Louisell, who resided in this county some 30 years ago and operated a lumber business at Manistee, died at his home in Mobile last Friday night.
After leaving this county, he was identified with the timber and lumber business in Mobile. He was a native of Fond du Lac, Wisc.

Play Presented At Goodway School: A play will be presented at the Goodway School Auditorium Friday night, Jan. 28, at 7:30. Don’t miss the lively comedy, “Goodway Gossip Circle.”

Colder Weather Ends Warm Spell: The spring-like weather which has prevailed in this section for the past two weeks was brought to a close the first of the week by high winds and below freezing temperatures Wednesday morning. The wind did little damage here except to litter the streets with dead limbs, leaves and other rubbish.

President’s Birthday Ball Jan. 31: The President’s Birthday Ball will be held at the Legion Club House in Monroeville on Monday night, Jan. 31. Tickets are now on sale, and all those who purchase tickets will be contributing to the fund to fight infantile paralysis.

108 YEARS AGO
JAN. 30, 1913

Dr. T. McKenzie, the spectacle man of Century, Fla., has been in Monroeville for the last 10 days on professional business.

The Manistee & Repton Railroad has issued instructions that on and after Jan. 15, they will discontinue handling freight or passengers between Lufkin and Manistee, Ala. They will begin at once to take up this track. – J.A. KAUFFMAN, General Manager.

Capt. Thomas A. Nettles of Tunnel Springs was here Tuesday circulating among his numerous friends.

Mr. P.W. McKinley of Cortelyou, Washington County, was in Monroe last week looking after property interests. Mr. McKinley lives in a section where boll weevils have committed depredations for two years and says he can speak from experience that fighting the pest is no child’s play.

Mr. George A. Muldaur, southern fiscal agent of the Gulf, Florida & Alabama Railway, has been in Monroeville several days and will remain until Saturday in the interest of the new railroad. Mr. Muldaur is a most genial gentleman whom it is a pleasure to know. Beyond this, he is invested with authority which makes it desirable for Monroeville people to conciliate his friendship.

The Journal is pained to learn of the death of Mr. James T. Burson at his home in Atmore on Monday afternoon, Jan. 27, after an illness of some days, aged 61 years. Mr. Burson was well known and esteemed throughout Monroe, having resided in the northern portion of the county for many years and serving most efficiently as county commissioner for two terms.

133 YEARS AGO
JAN. 25, 1888

Our local column is short this week, which is due to sickness in the editor’s family.

We call the attention of our readers to the announcement of Mr. John I. Watson for the office of Tax Collector. Mr. Watson is a good and capable man and would discharge the duties of the office with credit to himself and satisfaction to the people.

The Pollard Standard Gauge and The Brewton Banner have been consolidated and The Standard Gauge is now issued from Brewton in an enlarged and otherwise improved form.

I announce myself a candidate for the office of Tax Collector of Monroe County subject to the action of the democratic and conservative party.

We were in error in stating in our last issue that Mrs. Sturgeon had been visiting friends at Scotland. Such was our information and we only “told it as t’was told to me.”

Mr. W.H. Davison of Kempville was in town this week.

Farmers look to interest and go to Roberts, Locklin & Co. for plows, plow stocks, back bands, traces, harness, plow lines, shovels, spades, pitch forks, iron wedges. They have in fact everything needed for the spring farm work at the lowest prices.

CARPENTER – John T. Salter – CARPENTER – Monroeville, Ala. – Work by day or contract. Charges reasonable and satisfaction given.

Singleton tells of visit to grave of unknown soldier in Monroe County

George Buster Singleton

(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 “Yuletide walk inexplicably leads to grave” was originally published in the Dec. 26, 1991 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1991 was a beautiful day. The east wind carried with it a touch of chill, but this is to be expected during this time of year when old man winter has appeared on the scene.

The ground was covered with a heavy blanket of fallen leaves and pine straw from the surrounding trees as I made my way down the faint trail in the northeast part of our county.

I had to look closely for the narrow pathway that I knew would eventually lead me to the final resting place of the unknown Confederate soldier.

I know that Christmas time should be a time for joyous togetherness and lots of good times, but for the past few days, the thoughts of returning to this forgotten place had been foremost in my thoughts.

Don’t ask me why I knew that I must return here and stand for a moment in silence beside this Confederate tomb. But I knew that I must come, if only for a moment, and now that I had, I knew that I had made the right decision.

As always on my past visits here, the Confederate marker leaned at a crazy angle as though someone had tried without success to push it over. And, as always, I straightened the marker and packed the dirt around it with my shoe heel so that once again the marker stood almost up straight as I had left it on my last visit.

The blanket of brown leaves and pine straw over the grave gave it a feeling of softness as though some unknown hand had placed them there for a purpose. And the east wind in the pine and sweet gum trees whispered a soft lullaby as the quietness around seemed to say that the sleep of this unknown warrior would not be disturbed.

Off to my left, a group of crows sat silently in the top of a huge oak tree as though they were there for the purpose of keeping vigil over the unknown soldier who slept there.

And high above, almost out of sight, a huge hawk circled, watching as if on sentry duty for those in the treetop. It seemed so strange that the crows would keep silent when the huge hawk continued to circle overhead, but all was quiet.

As I stood and listened and felt the total silence around me, I thought again why I had come this way, only a few days before Christmas. Why had it seemed so important for me to come here? Was it around Christmas time when this unknown rebel soldier departed this life along this deserted trail? Was a spirit from the almost forgotten past trying to contact the world of the living and let it be known what happened before many years ago? I knew that I did not know the answer; I could only guess.

As I stood and absorbed the silence around me, the quietness was broken by the sound of footsteps. I turned, expecting to see a hunter or someone who had lost their way.

As I turned, my eyes fell upon a large deer. The large deer was walking very slowly, as one might try to tiptoe across the fallen leaves, trying not to disturb the sleep of the rebel. The large deer made no effort to hurry away as one might think it would do when it spotted me standing there beside the Confederate marker. Slowly it continued to walk very slowly into the deep underbrush where it disappeared from sight. The silence settled around the area again as though nothing had happened.

As I stood there beside the faded marker, I found myself wishing I had brought some Christmas flowers or something with color that might hint of the Yuletide spirit. Then, I decided I was glad that I had not, that perhaps placing something of this nature at the marker would only draw attention, where otherwise the marker would be passed by unnoticed. Strange, that a feeling of jealousness would come over me at this time – not wanting to share this place with others, perhaps fearing that some harm might come this way.

Looking around, I spotted a faded wild fern that had suffered from the cold bite of Jack Frost during the past chilly mornings. I reached down and placed the wild fern against the faded Confederate marker. It wasn’t much, but somehow the spirit of the unknown soldier buried there would know that I remembered.

I became aware of the unrest of the crows in the large oak tree nearby. I watched as each crow pitched from its tree limb, as though trying to maintain the stillness that abounded there. As each in turn glided across the open space above the faded marker, they disappeared without a sound into the deep woods beyond. As I looked skyward, I saw that the large hawk that had been sailing high overhead had faded too from the evening skies.

I realized that the time was at hand, that I, too, must depart this place. The evening sun had dropped almost unnoticed from the graying skies, and the shadows of the twilight hours had slowly begun to creep to the edge of the small clearing and the Confederate marker.

As I turned for one last look, I was glad that I had come. Walking back up the trail, I felt better. A crow called from the distance, then another, and another. Looking back toward the faded Confederate marker, the shadows of the coming darkness had settled around it as if a giant protective blanket had been spread over it for the coming night.

(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.)

Witnesses report odd 'blue teardrop' UFO in Albertville, Alabama

It’s the third Thursday of the month, so this week I’m giving you an update on UFO reports in Alabama from the previous month, courtesy of the Mutual UFO Network. A search for UFO reports in Alabama between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31 on MUFON’s website, www.mufon.com, resulted in only one report from within our state during that time.

That incident occurred on Sat., Dec. 12, around 2:30 a.m., in Albertville, which is in Marshall County, in the northeastern corner of the state. The witness in this case had just set up a telescope to observe the 20-year “Great Conjunction” between Jupiter and Saturn. While looking through the scope, the man saw what looked like a star that was “flashing and pulsating.”

The man told his wife that he didn’t think it was a star, and the more they watched it, the more the man became convinced that it wasn’t a star.

“It started getting cold, so we started packing the telescope up, and that’s when I saw a bright flash of white light,” the man said. “It was like someone turning on a flashlight at me from the sky. As we watched it, it started to pulsate faster and started to rise up.”

Once the object reached a certain height, it appeared to change shapes. It then moved across the horizon and faded out. The man said that when he shined his flashlight at the object, it appeared to reflect the light, but the man couldn’t make out its shape or see any details.

The man noted that in the nights leading up to this sighting, he and his wife had seen “several odd flashes of light.” While watching an earlier meteor shower, they saw an object that looked like a “blue teardrop” descend from the sky. He said it didn’t look like it was falling, but looked like something that had been dropped.

The man also noted that he and his wife live next door to his wife’s grandmother. The same night that he saw the “blue teardrop,” he also saw a green light over the grandmother’s home.

With that said, I was looking at my trusty Old Farmer’s Almanac the other day and noted that we’ll have a full moon on this coming Thursday night, Jan. 28. The full moon in January is sometimes called the Wolf Moon or Cold Moon. Years ago, the Indians called the January full moon the Wolf Moon because it was during this time of year that they could best hear the hungry wolves howling at night, especially on the night of the full moon.

The light from the full moon makes it hard to see stars, planets and other objects in the night sky. In my opinion, this time of year is generally bad for sky-watching because it’s so cold outside at night. If you can stand the cold, you might be able to see something the rest of us won’t see because we’ll be bundled up inside the house.

Before closing out this week, I just want to put it out there again that I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has witnessed a UFO, especially in Conecuh County. I think a lot of other people would be interested in hearing your story too, and I’m willing to accept your report anonymously. You can contact me by e-mail at courantnewsdesk@gmail.com.

There is much to be seen in the old railroad town of Catherine, Alabama

Old store and post office at Catherine, Alabama.

Catherine is a railroad community located along State Highway 5 in northwest Wilcox County, just east of the county’s border with Marengo County. According to “Place Names in Alabama” by Virginia O. Foscue, the community was named for the wife of a Southern Railroad official. The Catherine post office, which is still in operation today, was first established in 1888.

I found myself passing through Catherine the other day and decided to take a few minutes to explore this old railroad town. My first stop was the Catherine Cemetery, located off Richards Drive, not far from the post office. It was cold and windy, but that didn’t stop me from getting out of my warm truck for a look around this old cemetery.

Those of you who have been to this cemetery before will know that it contains about 120 graves. As I walked among the headstones there, the oldest grave that I saw belonged to James A. Kimbrough. According to his broken headstone, he was born in Wilcox County in 1837 and passed away at the age of 63 in 1900.

Eventually, I climbed back into the warm cab of my truck and drove over to the post office, which is located in a modern, brick building that fronts on State Highway 5. In the parking lot, I talked with a friendly UPS deliveryman and then poked my head inside the post office for a quick word with the nice lady tending the counter. As I walked back to my truck, I could not help but wonder what Catherine’s first post office must have looked like.

From there, I traveled down State Highway 5 and made a brief stop at the Salem Baptist Church, which also has an adjoining cemetery. This church features two front doors, an old church design which harkens back to a Shaker custom in which men used one door and women used the other. According to the building’s cornerstone, this church was established in 1950 when the Rev. J.H. Stuard was pastor.

Leaving this church behind, I crossed over the railroad tracks and made my way down County Road 38, where you’ll find the Catherine Presbyterian Church and the Catherine Baptist Church. These churches are unique in that they are located next door to one another, less than 100 yards apart, with just a small yard between the two. These churches were also both founded around the same time, each in the year 1890.

Both churches also have a belfry, and you can actually see the old iron bell atop the Presbyterian church. The Baptist church belfry is enclosed, protecting its bell from the weather. One notable feature of the Baptist church is the bell-pull rope that hangs down from a small hole in the front porch ceiling, and one can only wonder as to how many hands over the years have pulled on this rope to call worshipers to this stately, country church.

On my way out of town, I stopped to look at an old store building located near the railroad tracks at the intersection of County Road 38 and State Highway 5. An old, faded Coca-Cola sign hangs on one side of the building, and this sign features a mostly-forgotten cartoon character known as the “Sprite Boy.” This character appeared in Coca-Cola advertisements between 1942 and 1958, which indicates that the old sign at Catherine is at least 63 years old.

I’ve also been told that this old store once served as Catherine’s post office. This makes sense because the store is located a short walk from the railroad tracks, where no doubt trains once picked up and delivered mail for the town’s residents. In fact, the wood box where residents once dropped off their out-going mail is still located on the store’s front porch.

Eventually, I headed home, and as Catherine disappeared in my rearview mirror, I could not help but think about Catherine’s place in Wilcox County history. If anyone in the reading audience knows more about the history of this community (especially the full name of the woman it’s named after), its churches and the old store mentioned above, please let me know. I’m especially interested in any old ghost stories, local legends and Indian lore associated with Catherine, so if you know of anything along those lines, please let me hear from you.

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.)