‘Old Farmer’s Almanac’ has little to say about fried chitlins

This week’s edition of the newspaper marks the final edition of 2021, and the New Year will ring in at midnight tonight (Friday). Every year around this time, I always pick a new copy of “The Old Farmer’s Almanac.” This book has been in continuous publication since 1792, and my grandparents swore by it.

Both of my grandparents from down below Frisco City grew up in the Great Depression, and they stuck to many of the old ways they learned while growing up on small family farms. Not only did this include studying the almanac, but they also stuck to many other old-timey traditions. Many of these traditions had to do with farming and the weather.

Around the first of the year, they kept a piece of scrap paper on the kitchen window sill. They’d use this piece of paper to keep up with the weather conditions on the first 12 days of the new year. According to them, this informal record would serve as a homemade guide to what the weather would be like for the rest of the year.

For example, if it rains on Jan. 1, then the month of January will be generally wet and rainy. If Jan. 2 is especially cold, then February will be a really cold month. If it’s windy on Jan. 3, March will be a blustery month and so on and so forth.

One of my favorite New Year’s traditions that my grandmother put stock in was the practice of eating black eyed peas on Jan. 1. I like to eat black eyed peas on just about any day of the year, but when she fixed them up with some of her New Year’s cornbread, it was hard to beat. Definitely not a bad way to begin the new year.

I’ve heard of folks putting pennies in their pot of black eyed peas on New Year’s Day. Supposedly, this brings good luck. I don’t remember if my grandmother did this, but I was probably so busy eating that she could have had a half dollar in the bottom of the pot for all I knew.

All his working life, my dad was a meatcutter and for a number of years when I was in high school, we both worked together at the grocery store in Frisco City. Around this time of year, he stayed busy making sure that there was enough ham hocks and hog jowls to go around. People would use these items to flavor up their peas and collards, but again, I don’t remember my grandmother doing this. I think she put bacon or ham in her peas.

Lots of people eat chitlins around the first of the year too. I’ve only eaten them once, and I’d just rather have black eyed peas. I did have the boiled kind, and I’ve been told that fried chitlins are better. Maybe one day I’ll get the chance to broaden my horizons with a big plate of fried chitlins.

In the end, I’m sure that many families have their own unique New Year’s traditions. If so, I’d like to hear about them, especially if they bring you good luck or good fortune.

Wilcox County is home to nine trees designated as 'Champion Trees' by Alabama Forestry Commission

Within the confines of Wilcox County’s borders there are 907 square miles of land, and much of that landscape is covered by lush forests. These forestlands contain hundreds of thousands of trees, and of those trees, there are nine in Wilcox County that are truly remarkable.

Over half a century ago, way back in 1970, the Alabama Forestry Commission launched its Champion Tree program, and nine special trees in Wilcox County are currently designated as Champion Trees. A Champion Tree is the largest of its species recorded in Alabama as determined by a formula used by the forestry commission. A tree’s total size is determined by its circumference, its height and its average crown spread.

One the most remarkable trees in Wilcox County is a Durand Oak that’s on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property. This giant oak is 107 feet tall, 162 inches around and has a crown spread of 62 feet. At one time, this tree was a National Champion Tree, that is, it was the largest of its species in the entire United States.

Another truly remarkable Wilcox County tree is a Cherrybark Oak owned by W.R. Phillippi. This massive oak is the tallest documented tree in the county. It’s 156 feet tall, 240 inches around and has a spread of 131 feet.

Tommy and Jeanell Lawler own three Champion Trees, including a huge Pyramid Magnolia, a large Chalk Maple and a big Two-winged Silverbell. Their Pyramid Magnolia is 92 feet tall, 41 inches around and has a crown spread of 24 feet. Their Chalk Maple is 44 feet tall, 42 inches around and has a spread of 35 feet. Their Two-winged Silverbell is 72 feet tall, 42 inches around and has a crown spread of 27 feet.

Other Champion Trees in Wilcox County include a Green Ash owned by the Allyrae Wallace Educational Trust, a Crape Myrtle owned by Malcolm Smith, a Winged Elm owned by Kinley Bell and an Eastern Red Cedar owned by John and Lou Harmon.

The Green Ash belonging to the Educational Trust is 88 feet tall, 177 inches around and has a spread of 84 feet. Smith’s Crape Myrtle is 43 feet tall, 78 inches around and has a spread of 33 feet.

Bell’s Winged Elm is 85 feet tall, 142 inches around and has a spread of 74 feet. The Eastern Red Cedar belonging to the Harmons is 52 feet tall, is 179 inches around and has a spread of 27 feet.

I think it’s also worth pointing out that Wilcox County has more Champion Trees than any other county in Alabama with the exception of Baldwin County, Madison County and Cleburne County. Baldwin County, said to be the largest county geographically east of the Mississippi River, has 15 Champion Trees and one National Champion. Madison County also has 15 Champion Trees and one National Champion.

Cleburne County has 10 Champion Trees and an amazing seven National Champions. Etowah County, like Wilcox, also has nine Champion Trees, all of which are National Champions.

In the end, if you’re interested in learning more about the Alabama Forestry Commission’s Champion Tree Program, visit the commission’s Web site at www.forestry.alabama.gov. Anyone can nominate a tree for Champion Tree status, so if you think you know of a tree that might be in the running for this honor, fill out the online nomination form on the commission’s Web site. Once you’ve completed the form, the commission will dispatch a forester to the tree’s location, where he’ll take the tree’s official measurements.

Wilcox County, Alabama News Flashback for Dec. 29, 2021

Alabama novelist Oxford Stroud

62 YEARS AGO
DEC. 31, 1959

Funeral Services For O.C. Newsome: Graveside funeral services for O.C. Newsome, veteran timberman injuring in a logging mishap, were held in the Canton Bend cemetery at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Seventy-three-year-old Newsome died of complications resulting from a skull fracture suffered when he was struck by a falling tree.
Newsome reportedly misjudged the time it would require a man to fell a tree and was caught by the boughs when it crashed to the ground.

Cong. Boykin Speaks At Dedication Here: Congressman Frank W. Boykin will be the main speaker for the new Federal Building and Post Office here Saturday morning, Jan. 2.
Hugh C. Davis, master of ceremonies for the ceremonies, said that a number of other dignitaries and officials will be present.
Ceremonies will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The Wilcox County High School Band will play and the Color Guard of the local National Guard unit will conduct the flag-raising ceremony. Following the conclusion of ceremonies and speaking at approximately 12 noon, the building will be toured and inspected by guests and the public.

Tiger Cagers To Resume At Home: The basketball squads of Wilcox County High School will resume their schedule, interrupted by the holidays, in the school gym here. The Tigers’ first game since Dec. 17 will be against the Pine Hill cagers on the local hardwood on Fri., Jan. 8.

75 YEARS AGO
DEC. 26, 1946

COTTON GINNERS REPORT: Census report shows that 5,217 bales of cotton were ginned in Wilcox County from the crop of 1946 prior to Dec. 1, as compared with 8,621 bales for the crop of 1945. – M.C. Jones, Special Agent.

Oxford Stroud and Arthur Capell were Selma visitors Saturday.

Henry Harris of the University of Texas is spending the Christmas season at his home in Camden. Henry was a star player on the Texas football team.

HARRIS-HINES: The wedding of Mr. McArthur Hines and Miss Elise Harris was solemnized on Dec. 20, 1946 at 5:30 p.m. at the A.R.P. manse in Camden, Rev. R.C. Kennedy, officiating.
Mrs. Hines was the former Miss Elise Harris of Pine Apple, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh C. Harris. She is a teacher of mathematics in the Camden High School. She is popular and widely known in Wilcox County.
Mr. Hines is the son of Mrs. W.R. Hines of Darlington. He is a war veteran, having served in the Army several years in the Pacific Theatre. Before entering the Army, he taught vocational agriculture in South Carolina. He is at present connected with the Veterans Administration as a supervisor of the veteran’s farm program in Wilcox County. After a wedding trip the young couple will make their home at Darlington.

LOST – or Strayed – One snuff color mare mule, age about six years, weight about 700 to 800 pounds. Reward for recovery or information. Notify F.G. Hollinger, Camden, Ala.

87 YEARS AGO
DEC. 27, 1934

GINNERS REPORT FOR WILCOX COUNTY: Census report shows that there were 8,002 bales of cotton ginned in Wilcox County from the crop of 1934 prior to Dec. 13, 1934, as compared with 5,702 bales ginned to Dec. 13, 1933 crop of 1933. – Anniel Laurie Purefoy, Special Agent.

Capt. Emmett Kilpatrick is ill with flu at Uniontown.

Mr. Hugh C. Dale Jr., the fine young son of Postmaster and Mrs. Dale, is home from Columbia University, N.Y., where he is taking a course in Chemistry.

Dr. and Mrs. E.L. McIntosh have moved into their new home on Canton avenue. This lovely old place was the home of General and Mrs. R.C. Jones. General Jones was a prominent lawyer here for years and was President of the State University from 1890 to 1897.

Mr. Sam Lee Jones: Mr. Sam Lee Jones died suddenly in his office at Camden about noon Dec. 22. Mr. Jones was a well known citizen of Wilcox County and Central Alabama. He was 50 years of age and had spent his entire life in the Camden community.
Mr. Jones was a member of the Camden Bar and had practiced law for many years. Besides his legal interests, he operated an extensive plantation. He was widely known and widely loved by a host of friends. Genial and attractive in personality, he was always a pleasant companion, a fine friend and a generous, kind-hearted man.

100 YEARS AGO
DEC. 29, 1921

NEW BUILDING FOR CAMDEN: The Matthews Hardware Co. has broken ground for the erection of a magnificent building on their lot across from the National Bank. This building, when completed, will be the most convenient as well as the most extensive business building in Camden. Planned on modern basis, it will afford ample room for this progressive firm, and will be an added asset to the town.

The usual Christmas camp hunt is being held this week in the river swamps near Camden, by a congenial party of men from Mobile and Camden.

Camilla, the little daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A.A. Capell, was bitten last week by her pet shepherd dog. The head of the dog was sent to Montgomery where they pronounced it hydrophobia. The child is taking the serum at her home in Camden and is doing nicely.

Mr. and Mrs. L.P. Andrews are receiving congratulations on the arrival of a fine baby boy.

Dr. and Mrs. Ed McIntosh of Catherine are the proud parents of a fine boy named Ed McIntosh Jr.

The friends of Mr. L.P. Stuart sympathize with him in the loss of his son, L.P. Jr., who died after an operation in Selma, for appendicitis. He was a bright and interesting child. He was buried at the family burial ground Tuesday at Ackerville.

113 YEARS AGO
DEC. 31, 1908

Knights of Pythias No. 35 had a called meeting Monday morning for the purpose of electing officers for the ensuing year.

Mr. J.T. Lyles Killed: The people of this community were greatly shocked on Wednesday afternoon of last week when it was learned that Mr. J.T. Lyles, a well known young man, had been shot and almost instantly killed in a person encounter with Dr. I.B. Foster at the drug store of Foster & Jones.
The cause of the difficulty appears to have been the result of a misunderstanding over a business transaction. Some hot words had passed and Mr. Lyles, it is said, had gone to the drug store to demand an apology of Dr. Foster and the encounter followed in which there were three shots fired that culminated in the deplorable tragedy.
Dr. Foster gave bond for his appearance before Justice Cochran, who will hold an examining trial next Monday. The plea will be self defense.

Judge B.M. Miller, accompanied by his brother, Hon. Jno. H. Miller of Birmingham, left Monday to join a party on a deer hunt at Sand Island on the Alabama River. If his Honor, the Judge, don’t bring down a fine buck, it will not be a feast of venison when he comes home and divides up with his neighbors as he usually does.

The annual Christmas dance given by the young men of Camden on the 29^th inst. at the Masonic Hall was largely attended and was most enjoyable to the participants.

The Evergreen Courant's News Flashback for Dec. 28, 2021

Alabama Senator James B. Allen

19 YEARS AGO
DEC. 26, 2002

Weather reporter Harry Ellis reported 1.32 inches of rain on Dec. 19. He also reported a lows of 30 degrees on Dec. 20 and Dec. 21 and highs of 72 on Dec. 18 and Dec. 19.

Ryland named to new E911 board: The Conecuh County Commission held a brief meeting Monday due to the Christmas holidays and a lack of business. They did approve the first appointment to the E911 Board to get the new system started toward being a reality.
Commissioner Kilmer Bodiford made a motion to appoint Larry Ryland to the new board and the motion was unanimously approved. They then discussed the remaining appointments and what method should be used to decide on the slots.
Commissioner Hugh Barrow asked if the board had to be comprised of seven members or if they could make it nine members. County Administrator Harry Still told the commission that the board was mandated to be a seven-member board by the state and they cannot change the makeup.

At the December meeting of the Conecuh County Soil and Water Conservation District, Bill Cook was honored for 41 years of dedicated volunteer service. Mr. Cook agreed to serve as a district supervisor in February of 1961. In 1964, he was elected to serve as secretary-treasurer for the district, a position he held until he retired from the district in February of 2002. The contributions he made to protect and improve the natural resources in Conecuh County are greatly appreciated.

44 YEARS AGO
DEC. 22, 1977

Weather reporter Earl Windham reported .43 inches of rain on Dec. 14 and .88 inches on Dec. 17. He reported a low of 24 degrees on Dec. 12 and a high of 70 on Dec. 17.

U.S. Senator Jim Allen visited Conecuh County on Thursday of last week. Here the outstanding senator visits with some of his constituents: County Commission Chairman David L. Burt Jr., Senator Allen, Al Ball and Alton Johnson. The senator spent the afternoon in the County Commission office talking with county folks. Earlier at noon he addressed the Evergreen Rotary Club. His talk was based on prayer in recognition of the National Day of Prayer which was observed Thursday.

District Judge Tommy Chapman presents a silver, engraved serving tray to Leon A. Salter in recognition of his long service as Circuit Clerk. Salter retired Nov. 30. The tray was presented by “The Bar and Bench” of the Conecuh County Bar Association. Judge Chapman is president of the County Bar Association and also of the 35^th Circuit Bar Association. The presentation took place Monday morning in Circuit Judge Robert E.L. Key’s office.

Pretty Cheryl Hutcheson, a 1977 graduate of Sparta Academy in Evergreen, has been named December calendar girl at Lurleen B. Wallace State Junior College in Andalusia. Cheryl is studying medical technology and plans to transfer to Troy State when she completes her studies at LBW. Miss Hutcheson was recently accepted in Phi Theta Kapp, an honorary fraternity at LBW. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Hutcheson.

69 YEARS AGO
DEC. 25, 1952

SERVES IN JAPAN – WITH THE 24^TH INFANTRY DIVISION IN JAPAN – Cpl. Roger M. Walston, Bermuda, Ala., recently arrived in Japan and is serving with the 24^th Infantry Division.
Now receiving intensive field training, his unit is part of the security forces in Japan. Before being rotated out of the line early in 1952, the 24^th spent 19 months in Korea.
Cpl. Walston attended Evergreen High School before entering the Army in January 1951.

City To Advertise On New Water Tank: The City of Evergreen will do a little advertising of itself on the new elevated water tank. The council last week proposed to install floodlights on top of the tank and paint the city’s name on it. Then, day or night, tourists and others passing through Evergreen will know that they are in Evergreen, Alabama.
The new tank with 250,000 gallons capacity went into operation this month when the installation of the first of two new pumps was completed. Pressure is excellent now in all parts of town.

Lt. Nielsen Stationed At Camp Rucker Now: CAMP RUCKER, Ala. –  Lt. John M. Nielsen, son of Mrs. Mary R. Nielsen of Evergreen, assigned to the 47^th “Viking” Infantry Division in training here.
Nielsen received his ROTC commission at Alabama Polytechnic Institute in June 1952. He recently completed further training at Fort Benning, Ga. and now is assigned to the 175^th Field Artillery Battalion at Rucker.
Previous to his entry into military service, Lt. Nielsen was plant manager of the Knud Nielsen Co. Lt. Nielsen’s wife is the former Miss Prather Beeland of Greenville.

94 YEARS AGO
DEC. 22, 1927

The two schools of Evergreen closed Wednesday afternoon for the Christmas holidays and will resume work again Mon., Jan. 2. Those teachers who live in other towns left Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning for their homes to spend the vacation.

COMMUNITY X-MAS TREE SUNDAY EVENING 5 O’CLOCK: The committee from the Civic Club announces that the Community Christmas Tree will be given Sunday evening at five o’clock on the lot between East Front Street and the railroad, instead of Saturday as was announced last week. The change was made because it was believed to be a more appropriate time. There will be less confusion and distraction on the streets Sunday evening and too, many of those engaged in business will be enabled to attend, who could not attend on Saturday.
The ladies who are promoting this Christmas Tree will have the cooperation of the American Legion in the arrangement and it is hoped that the people of the whole community will attend. Not only are the people of Evergreen expected, but those who live in the county surrounding are invited and urged to attend. The chief feature of the program will be the singing of Christmas carols by everybody. Books containing these carols will be furnished by the committee and everyone will be asked to join in the singing. Don’t forget the hour, five o’clock Sunday evening. Be there and lend your aid in making this a beautiful and inspiring service for all.

Miss Mildred Williams left Wednesday for Montgomery, where she will join her friend, Miss Decker, in an auto trip to St. Louis, Mo.

The Evergreen Courant's Sports Flashback for Dec. 27, 2021

19 YEARS AGO
DEC. 26, 2002

Members of Jefferson Davis Community College’s Warhawk cheering squad include Escambia County High School graduate Lucretia Johnson; Sparta Academy graduate Jessica Bennett; Hillcrest High School graduate Hyacinth Turks; Jay High School graduate Brooke Sowell; and Escambia County High School graduate Nicole Carlton.

44 YEARS AGO
DEC. 22, 1977

Jackets end 1977 unbeaten: The Lyeffion Yellow Jackets finished 1977 with 11 wins against no defeats. The Jackets picked up a big regular-season game over the Evergreen Aggies 55-52 on Dec. 13. They also were winners in the Castleberry Invitational Tournament with wins over Georgiana 52-48 and Repton 59-53.
In the game against Evergreen, Lyeffion rallied in the fourth quarter to overcome a 45-38 deficit at the end of the third quarter. Eric Finklea led scoring with 14 points followed by Adrian Woods with 13, Ricky Hall with 12, Willie Hunter with 11, Harold Kyser with three and James Riley with two.
Adrian Woods led scoring with 23 points to lead Lyeffion past Georgiana in the first round of the tournament. Eric Finklea followed with 11, Willie Hunter with seven, Harold Kyser with five Rickey Hall with four, and Rickey Johnson with two.
In the final round against Repton, Jackets scoring was led by Adrian Woods with 20 points, followed by Harold Kyser with 15, Willie Hunter with 10, Eric Finklea with six, Ricky Hall and James Riley, both with four.

Warrior boys finish third in Greenville: The Sparta Academy Warriors won the consolation game from host Greenville Academy 51-46 to take third place in the Greenville Christmas Tournament last week. Gray Stevens was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Steve Dubose with 12 points and 18 rebounds and Bobby Padgett with 11 points and 16 rebounds topped the Warriors against Greenville. Stevens also tossed in 11 points; Johnny Ralls, six; Terry Peacock, five; Tony Raines, four; and Cook Morrison, two.
The win left Sparta with a record of 7-2 at the holidays’ break.
Monroe Academy’s Vols edged Sparta 53-52 in the opening round of the meet. The Warriors only other loss this season was to defending state champion, Wilcox Academy.
Peacock meshed 17 points to lead Sparta against Monroe, according to Sports Information Director Byron Warren Jr. Ralls with 11 points and Padgett with 10, plus 13 rebounds, were the only other Warriors in double figures. Stevens had six points; Raines, four; Dubose and John Hall, two each.

Sparta wins consolation in tourney: The Sparta Academy girls dropped their opening round game to Wilcox, but came back to defeat Greenville Academy 44-13 in the consolation game and win third place in the Greenville Christmas Tourney last week at Greenville Academy, according to Sparta Sports Information Director Byron Warren Jr.
Wilcox won the opening game by 31-20 over Sparta’s girls. Sharon Johnson led Sparta with seven points; Mary Claire Robinson had five; and Missy Thacker, three.
The Warrior girls had two players in double figures as they completely outclassed the Tornado girls in the consolation game. Michelle Joyner had 12 points and Angie Driver 10 with Mary Claire Robinson chipping in six.

69 YEARS AGO
DEC. 25, 1952

Letters Awarded 19 Aggies At Annual QB Banquet Thursday: Nineteen members of the 1952 Evergreen Aggie football team were awarded letters at the annual Quarterback Club Banquet last Thursday night.
President Brown Boykin was master of ceremonies at the banquet which was one of the best ever staged by the club. A wonderful speech by guest speaker James (Bubber) Nisbett, Alabama assistant coach, highlighted the program staged in the Evergreen High Cafeteria. Coach Nisbett, an All-SEC fullback at Alabama in the 30s, was introduced by Bob Kendall.
Sportswriter Bob Bozeman of The Courant introduced Sam Hanks, all-state tackle at Evergreen High School in 1948 and letter winner at Auburn for the past three years. Hanks, starting right tackle at Auburn this year, is a senior and was recognized by the Quarterbacks for his fine record at Auburn.
Bozeman also reviewed the 1952 season, paying tribute to Coach Wendell Hart and Assistant Ralph Law for their splendid work not only as coaches but also as builders of character.
Quarterback Billy Lewis was honored by his selection for the annual D.T. Stuart Football Sportsmanship Award. G.L. (Dock) Wilkinson explained briefly the purpose behind the giving of this award each year and the donor, D.T. Stuart, presented the handsome trophy to Lewis.
(Football letters were presented to Pace Bozeman, Shirley Frazier, Billy Lewis, Bill Robinson, Joe Stowers, Cullen Edson, Sammy Robison, James Ansley, Clayton Cobb, Sam Cope, Paul Hanks, Bud Ward, Lamar Sheffield, Ward Alexander, Jimmy Frazier, Wayne Douglas, Richard Taylor, Wayne Bell and Ronnie Edson.)

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

USS Sproston

19 YEARS AGO
DEC. 26, 2002

Andrews named director: One of Monroeville’s finest is the first African American to be named interim director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety (ADPS) in Montgomery.
Lt. Col. Charles Andrews, 47, was promoted from assistant director last week by Gov. Don Siegelman. Andrews held that position for three years and is a 22-year veteran of the Alabama State Troopers. He is replacing Col. Jim Alexander, who retired last week.
“I do sincerely appreciate the opportunity Gov. Siegelman has given me,” said Andrews, a former academic and athletic standout at Monroe County High School in Monroeville.

J.F. Shields High School’s boys improved to 8-5 overall and 3-0 in area play Friday night, defeating area rival and defending 1A state champion Pleasant Home High School 61-55 in Andalusia.
Shields’ Wesley Jones, a 6-5 junior center, posted a double double to lead the Panthers, collecting 34 points, 15 rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist.
(Other top Shields players in that game included Delarrian Broadhead, Shane Castophoney, Jeffery Finklea, Cortez Johnson, Donte Lefall, Brandon Nettles, Josh Simpson, Antwan Smith and Cody Stallworth. Jerome Sanders was Shields’ head coach.)

Air Force Airman Brandaun T. Love has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. He is the son of Daffin Love and Tyrone McCorvey, both of Frisco City. Love is a 2002 graduate of Frisco City High School.

44 YEARS AGO
DEC. 22, 1977

Horsley gets death penalty in slaying of teenage girl: A judge Friday affirmed the death penalty for a North Carolina prison escapee convicted last month of robbing and killing a North Carolina teenage girl in Monroe County.
Edward Horsley, 20, of Charlotte, N.C. was sentenced to execution March 16, pending automatic appeal of his case before the state Court of Criminal Appeals.
Horsley was convicted last month of robbing and killing Naomi Rolon, 16, of Hudson, N.C., whose nude and mangled body was found near Franklin in March.

Frisco wins Yule tournament: The Frisco City High School Whippet varsity basketball team successfully defended its county 1A Christmas tournament title last week, defeating both Excel and Blacksher.
Frisco City’s varsity swept the tournament, defeating Excel, 67-54, Saturday night. Blacksher’s varsity fell to Frisco City in the second game Friday night, 58-52.
(Top Frisco City players included James Bailey, Dennis Curry, Jerome Dudley and Julius Lambert. Top Blacksher players were Harry Akins, Kevin Barnes, Calvin English, John Smith, Alvin Wiggins, Melvin Wiggins and Michael Woods. Top Excel players included Keith Bender, Roy Black, Joe Galimore, Mark Ledkins, Michael Mixon, Curtis Parker and Allen Robinson.)

Hospital to break ground: Construction of Monroe County Hospital additions and renovations should begin within 30 days, according to hospital administrator Harold Pittman. Contract-signing and ground-breaking ceremonies have been scheduled for today (Thursday) at 2 p.m. at the hospital. The signing will take place first, in the dining room.

69 YEARS AGO
DEC. 25, 1952

John F. Gailliard Dies At Residence: John Frye Gaillard, 98, retired farmer and prominent Perdue Hill resident, died at his home in Perdue Hill Thursday following a short illness.
Mr. Gailliard, a member of the Episcopal Church and a Mason, served for a number of years as chairman of the Monroe County Democratic Executive Committee and two terms on the county board of revenue. He retired from farming activities about 30 years ago.

WMFC To Broadcast Orange Bowl Game: Radio station WMFC of Monroeville will carry the Orange Bowl football game between Alabama and Syracuse University, it was announced Tuesday by George Shurden, station manager. The game will be played next Thursday, Jan. 1.
Permission to broadcast the game has been received from CBS Radio, which will air the game nationally, and Gillette Safety Razor Co., which sponsors the broadcast.
The Platter Chatter program, regularly scheduled every Thursday afternoon from 2:30 to 4 o’clock, will follow the football broadcast.

Frisco City Sailor Has Destroyer Duty: Pearl Harbor, T.H. (FHTNC) – Serving here aboard the destroyer escort USS Sproston is James L. Mosley, seaman, U.S. Navy, son of Mr. and Mrs. George T. Mosley of Route 2, Frisco City.
The Sproston recently completed a six-month tour of combat duty in the far East, seeing duty on both coasts of Korea and with the Formosa patrol. Japan, the Philippines, Formosa and Hong Kong, saw the “577” steam into their harbors.

94 YEARS AGO
DEC. 22, 1927

This is the last issue of The Journal before the holiday season. We take this occasion to wish for each and every reader the compliments of the season. We trust that the season may pass without untoward events to mar its pleasure.

DEATH OF F.L. RUTHERFORD: Mr. Frank L. Rutherford, an esteemed citizen and prominent businessman, died at his house at Franklin on Thursday afternoon, Dec. 15, after an illness of several months, aged 61 years. The funeral was held Friday, conducted by Rev. C.H. Seibert of Monroeville, assisted by Rev. J.W. Marshall of Mobile; interment in the cemetery at River Ridge Presbyterian church.

Judge M.M. Fountain is desirous of information as to the war record of Green Stringer, who served in the Confederate army and whose death occurred in 1866 as a result of wounds received in battle.

Mr. Trim Davis, the popular traveling man of Mobile, was a visitor to the city Wednesday. Mr. Davis stated that he expected to return to Monroeville with his family early in the new year.

STRAYED – From my place three miles from Jones Mill on Dec. 17, one dark blue horse mule: weight about 1,000 pounds. If found, please notify Sam D. Sawyer, Jones Mill, Ala.

Watch for an announcement of the American Legion banquet. Be sure to get a ticket. There will be an interesting speaker, good music and plenty to eat.

119 YEARS AGO
DEC. 25, 1902

Dr. R.A. Smith was down from Nadawah this week. Dr. Smith will leave for New York early in January to take a special course.

Dr. D.R. Nettles of Tunnel Springs was here Tuesday. Dr. Nettles is now physician for the Bay City Lumber Co.

Dr. John C. O’Gwynn of Jones Mill was in to see us Tuesday. Dr. O’Gwynn expects to remove to Century, Fla. soon, where he will probably be employed as physician for the Sullivan Lumber Co.

Miss Lucile Bizzelle, who has been in New York for several months pursuing her studies in elocution, is at home for the holiday season.

Mr. Thomas W. Daugette, a former resident and well known in Monroe, where he had many friends, died at his home at Jacksonville, Ala. on Dec. 13, 1902. Mr. Daugette had been in ill health for several years. He leaves a wife, one daughter, Mrs. I.K. Agee of Perdue Hill, and two sons, Prof. C.W. Daugette of Jacksonville, and P.P. Daugette, Esq., of Birmingham.

Miss Hortense Deer left a few days ago to accept a music school at Opp.

AXLE: Prof. N.J. Kearley is teaching a large school here.

WEATHERFORD: Notwithstanding the unfavorable weather, there was a large congregation at the Weatherford Spring last Sabbath to witness the baptizing and afterwards attend service.

George Singleton shares childhood memories of cane syrup-making days

Old-timey mule-powered cane mill.

(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 syrup cooking are sweet” was originally published in the Nov. 23, 1995 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

Return with me to the misty shadows of yesterday. And let us journey through a time when all was well within the world we called ours – a time when happiness rode the winds of the evening and laughter was heard around the family fireside gatherings.

As the chilly winds of the winter season slowly creep across the countryside, many memories come to mind. One of my favorite memories is the time for the community syrup-making. The memories of hard work in the cotton fields were laid to rest and the joys of syrup-making were foremost in the minds of the country farming community.

After the sugar cane had been stripped and hauled from the field, it was time to begin to grind the long stalks of ribbon cane through the mill, pressing the sugar sweet juice from the stalks. This juice would be cooked in a large pan about the size of a large bed mattress. The pan rested on a rock foundation about three feet high. Under the pan was a roaring fire that would cook the juice until all moisture within it had been boiled out. Then the hot liquid syrup would be stored in one-gallon cans or in large barrels until the time came when it would appear on the family breakfast table.

The grinding of the cane would start as the daylight hours appeared in the eastern sky. Round and round the mule would go as it pulled the long pole that was attached to the syrup mill. As the huge flat rollers turned in the mill, the long stalks of sugar cane were fed into the rollers, and the sugar-sweet cane juice trickled in a large barrel under the mill. Down the hill a short ways was the cooking pan. The roaring fire under the pan had been started long before sunrise.

When the large barrel up at the mill had been filled, a corncob stopper was removed from the pipe that ran down hill from the juice barrel. The large pan was filled with the sugar sweet juice, and the syrup cooking would get under way.

Uncle Tony, an old black man my family looked after and cared for a number of years, was the absolute authority on the making of syrup. No one dared tell Uncle Tony how to cook the cane juice or give any advice pertaining to the operation of syrup-making. Around the cane mill, the old man’s word was the law.

As the boiling juice steamed in the large pan, the old man walked around the pan, stirring the bubbling liquid with a large-type wooden paddle. Now and then, he would remove from his shirt pocket a large spoon and dip from the pan a small portion to taste. This would go on until such a time the old man was satisfied that the boiling syrup was ready to be taken up.

Corncob stopper

Then, a corncob stopper would be pulled from the drain pipe in the corner of the pan, and the boiling hot liquid would fill the waiting syrup buckets. When the large pan was empty, fresh juice from the cane mill would be released, and the cooking would start all over again.

When the first cooking was complete, a small boy would race back to the house and quickly return with a tin plate and a fork and a sizable chunk of fresh butter. He would also have two large biscuits that would be placed in the tin plate.

Uncle Tony would see to it that the biscuits were opened and covered with the delicious hot syrup. As the large piece of butter slowly disappeared in the hot syrup, a hungry boy would do some serious eating on the hot biscuits and delicious freshly made syrup.

Most always, a half of biscuit was left in the tin plate and the small boy’s dear friend would finish it just to make sure his first syrup cooking of the season was up to his expectations.

From the time the fire was first started under the pan in the early hours of dawn, a large one-gallon coffee pot was placed on a bed of red-hot coals. The aroma of the brewing coffee caused those helping around the cane mill to make several trips by the fire to check on the coffee.

Hot coffee

Hanging in a bush nearby were several tin cups in which the hot coffee was poured. Before the day would end, several gallons of hot coffee had been consumed by those working in the syrup-making. And this small boy would slip by the syrup pan to have his dear old friend Uncle Tony pour him a taste of the strong black liquid in one of the tin cups.

As the annual syrup-making began to wind down, plans were already in the making for the final cooking. Usually, the last batch of juice to be cooked would take place in the early morning hours before preparations began to close and secure the mill until the next season.

When Uncle Tony announced that the last pan of hot syrup was ready, activity around the mill picked up. Down from the house would come a large pan of fresh hot biscuits along with another pan full of freshly fried lean meat. Forks, spoons and several tin plates were brought down the hill to the mill.

After the blessing was said, each filed by and had their biscuits covered with the boiling hot syrup. A large block of butter that was located nearby was the last stopping point in the breakfast line. An extra bucket of hot coffee had been added so that no one had to wait for coffee. A time of eating and fellowship was the order of the morning as everyone ate their fill of the fresh hot syrup and fried meat and hot biscuits.

Certain quietness

As the morning meal came to a close, a certain quietness seemed to settle around the syrup mill. It had been a time of hard work, yet much fun and togetherness had been the order of the syrup-making time. And, in looking back, I feel sure that some of the elderly present probably wondered if this would be their last syrup-making season.

The sounds of many footprints mark the shadowy pathways of yesterday. The memories that dwell from somewhere in time will forever linger in the minds of those who walked these paths and now choose to remember.

(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.)

Was 'Railroad Bill' spotted by children outside of Monroeville, Alabama in August 1895?

Railroad Bill's grave in Pensacola, Fla.

My son James and I drove down to Pensacola on Friday afternoon for a little last-minute Christmas shopping. On the way down, we passed through Atmore and got to talking about “Railroad Bill,” the infamous outlaw who was gunned down in Atmore in March 1896.

For those of you unfamiliar with “Railroad Bill,” whose real name was Morris Slater, his story begins on March 6, 1895 when Louisville & Nashville Railroad detectives attempted to restrain him when they found him sleeping on a water tank along the tracks. Bill fired shots at detectives and hijacked a train car before jumping from a boxcar and disappearing into the woods. A manhunt ensued and a posse of about 20 men tracked Bill to Bay Minette, where a gunfight resulted in the death of Baldwin County deputy sheriff James Stewart. Bill, who some say was a shapeshifter, escaped.

On July 3, 1895, Escambia County Sheriff E.S. McMillan formed another posse to capture Railroad Bill and later the following night at Bluff Springs an immense gun battle ensued. McMillan was shot in the chest and died while Bill escaped once again. Railroad Bill’s story came to an end on March 7, 1896 when he was shot to death by Constable J.L. McGowin near the Tidmore & Ward Store on Ashley Street in Atmore.

On Friday, after James and I got through with our running around, we took a short little side trip over to St. John’s Cemetery, which is off North G Street in Pensacola. This large cemetery contains over 13,000 graves, and when we arrived, I thought we were going to have a hard time finding Railroad Bill’s grave. However, thanks to information posted at the main gate, and James’ sharp eyes, we found Bill’s grave within about 10 minutes.

According to a historical marker at his grave, Bill was originally buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave in the St. John’s Cemetery. His burial site was largely forgotten for many years until Larry L. Massey, the author of “The Life and Crimes of Railroad Bill,” designed and purchased a headstone for Bill. (By the way, if you’re interested in reading more about Railroad Bill, I highly recommend that you read Massey’s book, which was published in 2015.)

During the time that he was on the loose, sightings of Bill were reported all over the Southeast. In August 1895, The Monroe Journal reported that a “ripple of excitement was created in (Monroeville) by the rumor that the desperado Railroad Bill had been seen a mile or two south of this place. Two children of Mr. Chas. Busey were returning home from the performance of some errand, when they came upon a man lying under the shade of a tree near the pathway leading through a dense wood, with his rifle beside him. On seeing the children, he bounded to his feet and took precipitate flight, leaving a piece of his clothing on the ground.

“The children hurried home and reported to their father what they had seen, who from their description of his arms and personal appearance, suspected that it might be the notorious outlaw. He came at once to town and gave the alarm. An armed posse was quickly raised and set out on the hunt. After thoroughly scouring the woods without discovering any trace of Railroad, the posse returned to town.”

In the end, it will likely never be known if Railroad Bill ever passed through Monroeville, but it was certainly possible. With that said, if you ever get the itch to visit his grave, it’s not hard to find if you happen to have a few extra minutes while visiting Pensacola. His grave is nothing fancy, but it is an interesting reminder of the bygone days of one of Alabama’s most infamous outlaws.

Old letter from State Historian reveals much about early Wilcox County, Alabama history

Marie Bankhead Owen

One of my favorite things to do is to look through old editions of The Wilcox Progressive Era. I never fail to run across something interesting, especially where local history is concerned. Last week, I was looking through some old 1923 newspapers and found an item that I know many local history buffs will find interesting.

In the Dec. 20, 1923 edition of The Progressive Era, editor S.C. Godbold reprinted a letter that had been sent to Camden resident J. Clark Jones by Alabama State Historian Marie Bankhead Owen. That letter read as follows:

“Replying to that section of your letter with reference to the Indian towns in Wilcox County, there is much aboriginal history connected with the locality.

“It is indicated by the Padilla narrative that the town of Nanipacna, a Choctaw word meaning ‘hilltop,’ was situated on the east side of the Alabama River in the upper part of the county. It has been suggested that it was on Boykin’s Bridge and on the south side of Pine Barren Creek. Tristan de Luna visited this town in 1560. A town of the Mobilians is located on the DeCrenay map of 1733 at or near to this place.

“In addition to that are two other place names shown on this map, one of which signifies ‘white bluff’ on the river a few miles south of Pine Barren Creek. This was Sakihata. Another, Talle Guile, more correctly spelled ‘Talihiel,’ meaning ‘standing rocks,’ was a short distance above Bridgeport. The present Gullette’s or Black’s Bluff was Bach’illi, signifying ‘dead bluff.’ These places were apparently of early historic times.

“During the French Indian occupation, we have no settlers in the county. During American times, there were two Creek Indian towns. Your Upper and Lower Peach Tree got their names from the fact that the early settlers found in these abandoned Indian villages peach trees growing. Upper Peach Tree, now called Clifton, retained this name until 1835.

“Burial mounds are to be found at Webb’s Landing, Burford’s Landing and near Mathew’s Landing.

“The county was in the Creek Indian domain and became an American possession by the Treaty of Fort Jackson, Aug. 10, 1814. Artificial head flattening, strictly a Choctaw custom, was practiced. Dr. Clarence B. Moore, working for the Philadelphia Academy of Science, noted urn burials on the Alabama River.

“Your county during early settlement and during the War of 1812, was connected with the war of that time in several ways. The county was infested with roving bands of Indians who were much given to violence. Precautions were taken by the citizens even as late as 1817. Fort Claiborne, the present Claiborne, was the rendezvous for that locality at that time.”

In the end, I thought it worthwhile to reprint this letter again. Owen, the letter’s author, served as the director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History for 35 years, so the letter above comes from an expert in the state’s early history. No doubt readers today will find the information above as interesting as newspaper readers did nearly 100 years ago.

Wilcox County, Alabama News Flashback for Dec. 22, 2021

Corinne King Wright 

60 YEARS AGO
DEC. 28, 1961

The Camden Fire Department was called Friday afternoon to the scene of a fire in an unoccupied house on Clifton Street. The fire was extinguished but flared up again that night when the firefighters were called out again. Considerable damage was done to the frame dwelling owned by W.C. Sanders, though it was not burned completely.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Gaston, Broad Street, Camden, was completely destroyed by fire Thursday morning. The fire was discovered just after midnight and firefighters worked from 1 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. trying to keep other close-by buildings from catching fire during a high wind.
An old landmark in Camden, the building housed a beauty shop in a wing. The Gastons had lived in the house for the past 11 years and prior to that, it was the home of Governor Miller. The Governor moved into the house when he was married in 1893 and lived there until his death.
The Gastons and their three sons, ages 10, five and one year old, barely escaped from the burning building. Cause of the fire had not been determined Thursday morning.

Solomon Brothers entertained the employees of the Camden Shirt Factory with a Christmas dinner on Friday before closing the factory for a 10-day holiday. The Camden Café served the 140 employees buffet style with tables set up in the factory for the Christmas meal. The management also gave each of the employees a blouse or a shirt which was made at the factory. After the turkey dinner was eaten, while Christmas music filled the factory, the workers were dismissed to return to work on Jan. 2.

74 YEARS AGO
DEC. 25, 1947

Tom Melton Jr. Named Patrol Sergeant: T.P. Melton Jr., formerly of Pine Apple, now of Evergreen, was named to the rank of sergeant under the new military rank plan of the highway patrol, according to an announcement last week by the office of the State Public Safety Director.
Sergeant Melton has been stationed in Evergreen in recent months, and will remain there under the new set-up. The Evergreen office is one of four division patrol offices in the state.

Camden High Basketball Begins: Pine Apple 18, Camden 14: Camden led for the first two quarters, but went wild the last half. The game was played outside in freezing weather and both teams had difficulty handling the ball, which accounted for the low score and the poor ball-handling.
(Players for Camden included Sonny Roark, Dave Bonner and James Dunnam.)

Among those who plan to see the Sugar Bowl game, Alabama versus Texas, in New Orleans are Judge J.M. McLeod, J.M. Moore, Demp Harris, Wirt Moore and Gene Watts.

NOTICE – No hunting allowed on lands owned by King Pharr Canning Operations, Inc. in Wilcox and Marengo Counties near Catherine, Alabama. – Julian McPhillips, Selma, Ala.

Pine Apple Hi basketball boys have unanimously voted the following girls as cheerleaders: Mary Inez Davis, Nell Winters, Virginia Dell Lambkin, Olivia Stone and Margaret Ann Knight.

86 YEARS AGO
DEC. 26, 1935

Capt. Emmett Kilpatrick, who has the chair of Romance Languages at University of South Carolina, will only spend a day of his holidays here.

The relatives and friends of Mrs. Corinne King Wright of San Gabriel, Calif. will be glad to hear she is restored to health and has resumed her portrait painting. In addition, she is writing plays and novels. Her religious play, “Saul of Tarsus,” has been very successful. Mrs. Wright made quite an extended visit her during 1928-1929 copying the portrait of her kinsman, Senator Wm. R. King. She also visited in Dallas County and Montgomery. At the latter place, she painted a beautiful portrait of Mrs. Will W. Hill, wife of Judge Hill. Mrs. Hill was a former Wilcoxan, being Miss Corrie Melton of Pine Apple.

Miss Carolyn Jones, who is a member of the high school faculty at Felix, is at home for the holidays.

Prof. and Mrs. Wm. Bryant of Athens, Ohio will spend the holidays with his sister, Mrs. C.D. Thompson.

Miss Mary Underwood of Salt Lake City, Utah attended the marriage of Miss Lucile Underwood and Mr. Lucian McLeod here on Dec. 21.

Prof. and Mrs. E.W. Mellown and children, Elgin Jr. and David, are spending the yuletide with homefolks at York, Ala.

99 YEARS AGO
DEC. 28, 1922

Oil Well to be Drilled: Mr. J.L. Bugg, a prominent Monroeville attorney, and Mr. Willis, a geologist from California, were in Camden this week buying leases. Mr. Bugg has a contract with a company in Oklahoma to drill several wells in the eastern part of Wilcox County and the north end of Monroe. These wells will be drilled on the strength of a survey made by the state and several private surveys. Work will probably begin in the next 90 days on the first well and no stock will be sold.

Prospects Bright: The high school team began practice this week for the basketball season. Prospects are bright for a winning team with four of the regulars of last year’s team returning, including the two Connors at forwards, Sam Jones at center, and Leo Hall at guard. About 20 other candidates will try for the other position. The team has an able coach in Professor Salter.

Miss Gladys McLeod, a popular Camden girl and teacher in the Monroeville High School, is back home for the holidays.

CAPELL-POWELL: Dr. and Mrs. Clifton W. Powell of Letohatchie announce the engagement of their daughter, Mary Lucile, to John Simpson Capell of Camden, Ala., the wedding to take place sometime in January.

The Cooke entertainers gave daily shows last week at the Camden theatre.

112 YEARS AGO
DEC. 23, 1909

The new pastor for the Camden Methodist Church is Rev. Mr. Boyd, who has been pastor past two years of the Methodist church at Clayton. They part with him with deep regret for reliable information received we commend him to our people as an able preacher, a consecrated Christian and a most loveable gentleman. We all welcome him with much pleasure to his work in Camden.

Dr. J.H. Jones raffled two beautiful bridles sent him for sale by Mr. Joe Lambert, formerly of this county, but now living in Methow, Washington. These bridles were made by a life term convict. It took him all his spare time for eight years to make them. They were silver-mounted, hand-hammered and by far the prettiest things like a bridle ever brought to Camden. One of them was won by C.F. Primm. The convict wished to sell them in order to raise money to try to get a pardon. He was an Alaskan miner. His partner stole their gold and run away with it. He found him and in a fit of anger killed him with a club. He failed to recover the gold.

Gastonburg: I don’t know whether our little town has been described in your paper. The place was first called “Birmile” because it was half way between Birmingham and Mobile. We have about 150 inhabitants, two nice churches – Methodist and Presbyterian – a fine school building and Masonic Hall, sever nice stores, some nice residences and the prettiest flower yards in the county, and a lot of pretty girls. The young folks have the Christian endeavor every Sunday afternoon and once each month meet at some member’s home and have a nice entertainment. Then they have the Tennis court during the summer months.

Eli McMorn and the Strange Case of Kill Devil Hill – Part 21

In the dream, I was sprawled on the rocky, jagged surface atop Kill Devil Hill. The smell of dead pine straw and ancient lichen filled my nostrils. A large coyote had my right shoulder clamped between his slavering jaws.

Digging in with his large forelegs, the crazed coyote shook his hoary head side to side with great violence. I smelled the rabies in the foam around the beast’s lips and sensed sickness in its veiny, red eyes. From a distance, somewhere out of sight, a young woman’s panicked words reached my ears.

“McMorn! Get up! Wake up!”

I swam up out of sleep as the phantom notion of the coyote fell away with the rest of the macabre nightmare. An instant later, my right hand closed over the grip of my trusty Beretta as I drew it free of its holster. My eyes snapped open but had yet to focus before someone slapped my gun hand.

A panic worse than the dream fear dumped a hot shot of adrenaline into my veins. I came wide awake.

“McMorn! It’s me!” a woman’s voice said. It was the folklore student, Abbie Armitage. “Kat’s gone.” she continued. “All her stuff is gone.”

I jumped to me feet. By the dim, unsteady light of the dying campfire, I saw that Kat Corwin’s small nylon tent was no longer on the hilltop. How long had I been asleep? Had I slept so deeply that she’d packed up and slipped away without my notice?

I took a deep breath. Gather information. Form a plan. Think. What to do next?

I fixed Abbie in my gaze. “What happened?” I asked.

“We fell asleep by the fire,” she said. “Kat must have slipped out of her tent, packed all of her stuff and slipped down the trail, headed back to Claiborne.”

“In the dark?” I wondered out loud. “She seemed too afraid to strike off alone like that.”

Abbie drew her coat in tight around her thin shoulders. “I know.”

Abbie cupped her thin, elfin hands around her mouth to amplify her voice. “Kaaaaaat!” she shouted into the indifferent night. Her voice echoed with a forlorn flatness. A small cloud of misty vapor issued from her mouth and into the cold night air each time she shouted the name of her missing friend.

I moved to the empty spot where Corwin’s tent had been, knelt and examined it closely under the beam of my headlamp. Oddly, I saw no trace that she’d ever been there. She hadn’t even hammered her tent pegs into the rocky hilltop.

Abbie called out again and again, stopping between shouts to listen. “It’s hard to believe she just left,” Abbie said. “Daylight’s only a few hours away.”

“Hush,” I whispered, cocking my head to one side. Faintly, from the east, I heard what sounded like a female voice.

“You hear that?” I said under my breath.

Abbie nodded. “It’s her.”

A moment later and louder, we heard another female voice, but we couldn’t make out the words. The inarticulate sound was long and drawn out and sounded like someone in distress. Again, the nagging feeling that something wasn’t right ran its cold, bony finger down the crest of my spine.

I racked the slide on my handgun and took Abbie’s arm. “I think it’s her. Let’s go.”

Abbie called out to her friend once more as we moved towards the spot on the monolithic hilltop where the trail started its narrow way down the side of the secluded hill. Another long female sound, again unintelligible, came from the east. We skittered to a stop at the top of the trail, just behind the thick line of salt we’d poured earlier around the entire campsite.

“Hold up,” I said.

Overhead, the full moon was big and bright, but down below, the forest beneath the hilltop was shrouded in a shifting mass of white ground fog. The twisting trail down the side of the hill disappeared into the fog about 10 feet from the top. A whiff of noxious brimstone filled the air.

“What’s that?” Abbie said, pointing at a small, dark object just off the side of the trail.

“Stay right here,” I said as I stepped over the salt boundary and made my way down the trail. Before I reached the obscured object, I realized what it was. I picked it up, stepped quickly back to the top of the trail and handed it to Abbie.

It was Corwin’s Claiborne Cannons baseball cap. Abbie took it from me and turned it over in her trembling hands. “What’s this stuff?” she said, rubbing the thumb and fingers of her right hand together. In the light of my headlamp, a milky-white, viscous substance dripped from the bill of the cap.

I took the cap from her, tossed it on top of the campfire and watched it go up in a whoosh of green flame. I got some of the goop on my fingers too and brought my fingers to my nose. The distinct smell of ozone flooded my nostrils, confirming my suspicions.

“What is it?” Abbie asked.

I wiped my fingers on the side of my khaki cargo pants. “Ectoplasm.” The word dropped like a stone between us.

(All rights reserved. This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.)

The Evergreen Courant's News Flashback for Dec. 21, 2021

19 YEARS AGO
DEC. 19, 2002

Weather reporter Harry Ellis reported .62 inches of rain in Evergreen on Dec. 10 and .50 inches on Dec. 12. He reported high temperatures of 59 degrees on Dec. 13 and Dec. 15 and lows of 28 on Dec. 14 and Dec. 15.

First Baptist Church of South Main Street took first place honors in the Groups and Organizations division at the annual Evergreen Christmas parade last Saturday with their float, “A True Christmas Story.” First place in the Business category went to Evergreen Medical Center’s “Frosty Winter Wonderland.” The annual parade was a tremendous success this year with 45 entries participating. The crowd for the parade this year was one of the largest in recent years.

Evergreen Medical Center gave a dinner last Thursday evening celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the hospital being owned by Gilliard Health Services, which is owned by Bill McKenzie. Gil McKenzie, who took over GHS when his father retired recently, and EMC Administrator Jim Peace presented Mary and Bill McKenzie with keepsakes of the event, which was held at the historic depot.

The Conecuh County Commission announced Tues., Dec. 17, that the opening of bids for the new courthouse has been postponed. The original opening was scheduled to be done on Thurs., Dec. 19, at 2 p.m. It has been rescheduled for Thurs., Jan. 9, at 2 p.m. with all bidders being notified of the change.

35 YEARS AGO
DEC. 18, 1986

Robert Lee (Bob) Salter, 66, died Sun., Dec. 14, at his home in Houston, Texas. A native of Evergreen and graduate of Evergreen High School, he followed heavy construction work most of his life. He retired as general manager of Construction Equipment International three months ago.
Mr. Salter was a member of a prominent, pioneer family. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II. He was a member of Greening Lodge No. 53, F.&A.M. of Evergreen and a Scottish Rite Shriner, Hadi Temple, Houston.
Masonic rites were held from Rideout Chapel, Birmingham, on Tuesday with burial in Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham.

Conecuh School System is about to launch into a tremendous new building project. This undertaking will be for the purpose of constructing a new central high school for the county’s students.
Last Thursday night, Dec. 4, 1986, the school board awarded the contract to the firm of Barganier-McKee & Sims for architectural services. The firm was selected after a school board committee searched through some 50 architectural submittals and finally invited three firms in for interviews and presentations. The other two firms were Narrows, Brown, Parsons & Associates and Carl Herbert Lancester, Architect.
The new structure will offer educational and athletic facilities for 800 students, grades 9-12. Square footage is estimated at 65,000-square feet. Cost of the project, complete with furnishings, will probably run between $3.5 and $4 million.

53 YEARS AGO
DEC. 19, 1968

Judge Cary Murphy, 77, died on Wed., Dec. 11, after a long illness at a local hospital.
He owned and operated a restaurant for many years and also built and operated a motel for a number of years.
The Judson C. Murphy Recreation Center (now The Murphy Club) was named for his only son, Lt. Judson Murphy, who was lost in action while serving with the Army Air Corps in World War II. Mr. Murphy donated the land for this center.

On Oct. 19, 1918, Purnell Salter of Burnt Corn came to Evergreen to buy a tag for his automobile. On Oct. 19, 1968, 50 years later to the day, he was back in town getting another tag. He’s bought one here each year since, according to Judge of Probate Frank T. Salter.
He still has his receipt for his 1918 tag. Issued by Judge of Probate S.P. Dunn, it shows that Purnell Salter paid $7.50 license tax on a Ford automobile and the license plate issued him bears number 17820.

The City of Evergreen offices have moved into the handsome new City Hall. Mayor Henry Sessions said that while some furnishings are not yet installed, the new building is serviceable. He said that the City Council plans to hold a dedicatory service and open house in January or February.
The city’s electrical, water and streets and sanitation departments are in the process of moving into their new quarters in the basement of the new City Hall.
Conecuh-Monroe Counties Gas District is expected to move into its new quarters in the new City Hall by the end of the month, according to Manager E.L. Smith.

66 YEARS AGO
DEC. 15, 1955

SELECTED SOLDIER OF THE MONTH: Army PFC Clayton C. Hale of Repton, Ala. receives congratulations from Lt. Col. Clyde Kennington, Battalion Commander of the Army Medical Service of the Army Medical Service School, after being selected Soldier of the Month for the enlisted student section at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. A dental laboratory technician at the school’s Medical Center, Private First Class Hale was selected for his soldierly appearance, knowledge of duties and military courtesy. He entered the Army in January 1955 and is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Willie L. Hale of Rt. 1, Repton.

Robert Boone, administrator at the Conecuh County Hospital, was elected president of the Evergreen Junior Chamber of Commerce Monday night. He will serve a six-month term of office until the first of July 1956 and succeeds Bill Gaines.

Wayne Hutcheson, manager of the Cotton Tractor Co., Ford tractor and implement dealer of Evergreen, returned Sunday from a four-day visit to Havana, Cuba via Delta Air Lines.
This all-expense-paid trip was given to 42 Ford tractor and implement dealers in Alabama and Georgia by Southeast Ford Tractor Co. of Decatur, Ga. as a reward for excellent performance in a nationwide sales contest sponsored jointly by the Tractor and Implement Division of Ford Motor Co. and Southeast Ford Tractor Co. during August and September of this year.

Bermuda Community, representing Conecuh County in the State Community Improvement Contest, was visited by state judging team on Thurs., Dec. 8.

72 YEARS AGO
DEC. 15, 1949

SPECIAL MASONIC MEETING: There will be a special meeting of Greening Lodge A.F&M. tomorrow (Friday) night at 7:00 in the Masonic Hall. Work will be done on the F.C. degree. All Masons are urged to attend.

County Votes In Favor of Hospital Tax By Overwhelming Margin Tuesday: Conecuh County voters stated clearly and emphatically that they wanted a hospital when they went to the polls Tuesday. An incomplete and unofficial report from 29 of the 35 boxes in the county reveals a county of 940 in favor, 150 against the special four-mil property levy for the purpose of building and operating a hospital.
Voters in the city of Evergreen piled up a tremendous vote in favor of the local tax bill. Only 11 voters marked against the bill while 399 were in favor in the two town boxes.
A number of rural boxes voted 100 percent for the bill, proving that the sentiment was county-wide. The boxes in Repton and Castleberry went against the bill, but not by as big margins as was feared by the supporters of the bill.

O.E.S. WILL MEET MONDAY: Conecuh Chapter No. 217 O.E.S. will hold its regular meeting Monday night, Dec. 19, at 7:00 in the Lodge Hall. A Christmas party will make up the program. Each person is to bring a gift, the cost of which is not to exceed 50 cents.

James J. Lee Jr., who has been stationed at Fort Dix, N.J., has been honorably discharged from the Army and is at home for the present.

The Evergreen Courant's Sports Flashback for Dec. 20, 2021

14 YEARS AGO
DEC. 20, 2007

Sparta Academy varsity boys basketball team captured third place in Monroe Academy Christmas Tournament by beating Escambia Academy, 70-39, in Monroeville.
In the win over Escambia, Chris Cinereski, a six-foot-four senior, led Sparta with 17 points.
(Other players on Sparta’s team that year included Mason Black, J.R. Williams, D.J. Buckhault, Drayton Rodgers, Brannon Jordan, Justin Webb, Myles Wiggins, Matt Johnson, Nicholas Hardin, Michael Cook and Michael Morris.)

Hillcrest High School’s varsity boys whipped perennial 1A powerhouse J.F. Shields, 51-40, in Evergreen.

Hillcrest High School’s Lady Jags beat previously undefeated J.F. Shields, 44-34, on Tuesday of last week in Evergreen. Catorica Floyd led Hillcrest with 12 points. (Other players on Hillcrest’s team included Kemara Bawlson and Kawanis Thomas.)

Sparta Academy’s girls basketball team improved its record to 11-2 overall Saturday by whipping Escambia Academy, 60-44, in the Monroe Academy Christmas Tournament in Monroeville.
BreAnna Pate, a five-foot-three junior, scored 20 points to lead the Lady Warriors, who entered the tournament ranked No. 4 in the AISA.
(Other players on Sparta’s girls team included Susan Ann Cook, Erica Palmer, Christin Booker, Camarena Godwin, Morgan Harden, Ashton Raines, Savannah Brown and Mallory Kendrick.)

29 YEARS AGO
DEC. 17, 1992

Four Sparta Academy Warriors scored in double figures last Monday night as the Warriors triumphed over Greenville Academy 65-69.
Senior Bryant Robinson and junior Britt Ward led the scoring with 19 and 18 points respectively. Senior Terry Conway and junior McPherson Cook also scored in the double figure range, each with 10 points. Also scoring during the contest were Chip Gibson with six points and Casey Grant with two.
According to Sparta Academy Sports Information Director Byron Warren Jr., Sparta was in control for the majority of the game, jumping out to a 22-6 first quarter lead. The Warriors will try to keep their winning streak alive during the Monroe Academy Christmas Tournament tonight (Thursday) and Friday.

It’s no secret that bracket racers are a diverse crowd. Drop in on an E.T. racing event and you’ll see everything from rear-engined Econo Dragsters and late-model Camaros and Mustangs to early model muscle cars such as Novas, Barracudas and Chevelles. But an authentic ’50 Chevy C/Gasser? When was the last time anybody saw one of those?
Competitors and fans at the Division 2 eighth-mile Firestone TNN E.T. Racing Tournament Finals in Atlanta saw a prime specimen from drag racing’s early days in Aubrey Padgett’s Big Iron C/Gas ’50 Chevy; its appearance has remained unchanged for nearly four decades.
Padgett, of Evergreen, Ala., has raced the car since 1959. He and former partner Dennis Bailey campaigned it as a class-legal C/Gasser until 1965, when they put the car in mothballs. Padgett and son, Allen, 28, brought out the car a couple of years ago and now compete regularly in Atmore Dragway’s Pro class and at various nostalgia events across the South.

38 YEARS AGO
DEC. 15, 1983

Players were presented with individual awards Saturday night at the Evergreen Quarterback Club’s annual football banquet honoring the Evergreen High Aggies held in the school cafeteria. Winning awards were James Roche, outstanding defensive back; DeWayne Booker, outstanding defensive lineman; Mark Bell, the Wendell Hart Memorial Trophy; Henry Savage, outstanding defensive back; and Nathaniel Grace, outstanding offensive lineman.

Coach Tom Goode, offensive line coach of Alabama’s Crimson Tide who resigned the first of this week to become offensive coordinator for Mississippi State’s Bulldogs (his alma mater), was the featured speaker at the Evergreen Quarterback Club’s Banquet Saturday night.

Sparta Academy’s girls basketball team won the Greenville Academy Christmas Tournament in Greenville last week. The Lady Warriors also won the Fort Dale-South Butler Tip-Off Tournament earlier in Greenville and now sport a season record of eight wins and one loss. Team members are Shawn Hammonds, Susan Ward, Kim Searcy, Jeannie Vonderau and Julie Johnson; and Carol Kendrick, Jan Coker, Leah Carrier, Tammy Booker, Tina Bybee, Angela Sellers, Tracy Holmes and Coach Robert Cumbee.

Tina Bybee, Jan Coker, Tammy Booker and Leah Carrier of the Sparta Academy girls basketball team were named to the All-Tournament Team at the Fort Dale-South Butler Tip-Off Tournament in Greenville.

48 YEARS AGO

DEC. 20, 1973

Gerry Watson is named all-stater: Gerry Watson, outstanding linebacker for the Repton High School Bulldogs, was recently named on The Birmingham News’ All-State Football Team as a member of the second team, Class 2A.
Gerry, a senior, had an amazing record this season. He was in on 182 tackles in 10 games including 131 individual stops and 51 assists, averaging 13.1 individual and 5.1 assists per game. In addition, he blocked eight punts and caused five fumbles, two of which he recovered himself.
Gerry, son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Watson of Bermuda, is a good student and one of the most popular students at Repton High.

66 YEARS AGO
DEC. 15, 1955

Ronnie Edson, Aggie Halfback, Signs U of A Athletic Scholarship: Ronnie Edson, stellar Evergreen High School halfback, signed a grant in aid scholarship to the University of Alabama on Wed., Dec. 7. Edson was awarded the D.T. Stuart trophy for the most valuable player on the 1955 team at the recent Annual Quarterback Club Banquet. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Edson, of Evergreen, Rt. C.
A number of high school seniors were taken on a hunting trip Sunday in Conecuh County at Tommy McMillan’s hunting camp near Brooklyn, and the group hunted until the deadline for signing grant in aid scholarships was passed. At 12:05 a.m., nine seniors, including Edson, signed to go to the University of Alabama. These seniors were from high schools in Evergreen, Foley, Georgiana, Talladega, Murphy, Bayou la Batre, Selma and a high school in Georgia. They were signed by Coach Joe Thomas, backfield coach for the Crimson Tide.

Edson lettered four years at Evergreen in football and scored 85 points during the 1955 season from his left halfback post. Proving his versatility, he also ran from the fullback spot, and right half.

He plans to work this summer, up to the time he has to report for fall practice in August. While at the University, Ronnie says he will probably major in physical education. When asked why he chose the University, he said. “I’ve always wanted to go there, and I am very glad to have the opportunity to play for Alabama.”

Coach Wendell Hart’s Evergreen Aggies traveled to Repton Friday night for their first game of the year, and downed the Bulldogs, 67-42, as Randy White and Robert King paced the Aggie hoopsters with 20 and 17 points respectively.
Mickey Joyner, playing his first game, got nine points. Eddie Kelly, the former Bulldog playing against his erstwhile mates, racked up 10 points; Wayne Frazier got eight; Harry Pugh, two; and Timmy Boykin, got one to round out the Aggie scoring.
Ray Blackwell led the Bulldogs with 15 points followed closely by Terry Nall with 11. Tom Salter scored eight; William Ashcraft, five; and G. Owens scored three points.

The Repton Bulldogs have played two games to date and have dropped them both.

Three seniors are on the starting line-up this year: Ray Blackwell, center; Gerald Owens, right forward; and Thomas Salter, left guard. Terry Nall, left forward, and William Ashcraft, right guard, are juniors. First team substitutes are Jerry Nall, Earl Watson and Glenn Nall, seniors; and Palmer Watson and Selwyn Roberson.

The team has good potential, according to Coach Mack Primm.

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

23 YEARS AGO
DEC. 17, 1998

Firefighters leave parade to respond to call: The Monroeville Fire and Rescue Department cut short its parade route Saturday. It was called to a fire.
The Christmas parade was in full swing, with firetrucks’ sirens wailing around the downtown square when they came in.
Fire trucks left the parade and responded to a residential fire at Gerald Melton’s house at 5 Short Drive. The kitchen fire caused smoke damage.

Panthers get sweet victory: Excel collected its second victory in varsity boys basketball Friday when the Panthers dealt Sweet Water a 52-49 loss in Sweet Water.
Matt Moore converted a three-point field goal with 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter that would’ve given the Panthers a 52-49 lead, but the goal didn’t count.
“I asked for a time out right about the time he let the ball go, and the official gave it to me,” said Excel head coach Brad Moore.
After the time out, Excel threw the ball in bounds, ran the clock down to five seconds before Keith McKinley sank the game-winning three-pointer.
(Other players on Excel’s team included Bobby Brown, Greg Crosby, Jake Kelly, Jonathan McMillan and Wesley Qualls.)

Officer hired to round up doggies: The Monroeville City Council hopes it ended complaints about stray animals by hiring an animal control officer at its regular meeting Tuesday night.
Patricia Woodfin will go to work sometime after the holidays and will begin her duties gradually. Council member John Rice, who is on the city’s personnel committee, said Woodfin will coordinate her work through the police department.

48 YEARS AGO
DEC. 20, 1973

Kiwanis taps Heard and Neuschwander: The Monroeville Kiwanis Club last Thursday named George Heard as Monroeville Man of the Year and Donald Neuschwander as Monroe County Farmer of the Year for 1973.
Heard, who moved here in 1965 from Brunswick, Ga., was described by Man of the Year committee chairman George Thomas Jones as one of numerous people who have moved to Monroeville and “immediately put their shoulder to the wheel… and gone to work to make Monroeville a better town.”
Heard, 53, is director of industrial relations for Vanity Fair Mills.
Neuschwander, cited by the Farmer of the Year committee chairman Albert Nettles for the dairy operations on his 460-acre Hidden Acres Farm at Vocation, also is not a native of the county.

The Frisco City Whippets won the Frisco City Christmas Tournament last week, winning three straight games. Members of the team are Lewis Lambert, Melvin Lawson, Calvin Banks, Pat Banks, Ronnie Maye, Roy Maye, Jasper Lambert, Wayne McGinnis, Randy Coleman, John Martin, Albert Lambert, Maurice McGinnis and Coach Curtis Harris.
Taking home the second-place trophy in the Frisco City Christmas Tournament were the J.U. Blacksher Bulldogs, who lost only to Frisco City, the tournament winner. Members of the team accepting the award were Jerry Ferrel, Mason Stabler, Ronald English, Melvin Shoemoe, Ben Rhodes, Charlie English, Mitchell Norris and Al Lambert.

73 YEARS AGO
DEC. 16, 1948

Monroe County Bank Will Be Remodeled: The staid old Monroe County Bank Building is in for a facelifting.
Officials of the bank announced Wednesday that a remodeling program will get underway some time in the early spring of 1949, resulting in a near-complete renovation of the structure.
John B. Barnett Jr., cashier, said the remodeling work will include removal of the present tin-shed type of awning circling the building, installation of completely new fixtures in the bank and construction of a modern fireproof and burglar-proof vault.

MCHS Cagers Trip Repton Five 54-18: Monroe County High School rolled over Repton, 54-18, in its second basketball game of the current season, played on the Repton court Tuesday afternoon.
Brent Metts, forward, paced the MCHS shooters in the feature event, racking up 19 points. Burt, forward, led the Repton team with eight points.

Local Soldier’s Body To Be Returned Home: Relatives of William Joseph “Billy” Fountain have been notified by the War Department that his body has arrived in San Francisco and will be brought to Monroeville at a later date for burial. Mr. Fountain was killed in a plane crash in China during World War II.

Santa Claus is coming to town! The old gentleman will arrive here by plane about 10:30 next Thursday morning (Dec. 23) and will travel by fire truck from the Monroeville airport to the Court House lawn in the center of the Monroeville business area, where he will begin his conferences with the various children in this area.

98 YEARS AGO
DEC. 20, 1923

NO PAPER NEXT WEEK: No paper will be issued from The Journal office during Christmas week. Printers, like other mortals, require a little relaxation occasionally, and the holiday season affords an appropriate time for such indulgence since everyone’s mind is occupied with individual enjoyment.

Mr. J.C. Whitcomb, editor of The Evergreen Record, paid The Journal office a fraternal call while in Monroeville Wednesday.

The dwelling of Mrs. Seymour, which has been recently remodeled, is nearing completion and will be one of the neatest and most attractive in the city.

Among the postmasters recently commissioned by the department are William Giddens at Jones Mill and Zada Jackson at Vredenburgh, both in this county.

Miss Lois Young, a returned missionary from China, gave a very interesting address in the High School chapel Monday morning relative to her work in China. Miss Young has been a teacher for several years in a mission school at Hauchfee, China, supported by the Southern Presbyterian church, and is spending a brief furlough with relatives in Alabama.

UNION CHRISTMAS SERVICE: All congregations of the town will unite in special Christmas service at the Baptist church at 11 o’clock next Sunday morning. Rev. J.L. White, pastor of the Methodist church, will deliver the sermon on the occasion and a special musical program will be rendered by the joint choirs.

127 YEARS AGO
DEC. 20, 1894

Mr. James McNeil Jr. died very suddenly on the 12^th inst., while rafting logs on Flat Creek. While engaged at work with some other men, Mr. McNeil was suddenly stricken down and died in a few minutes. He leaves a wife and five small children.

Mr. Peter G. Simensen, a native of Norway, and son-in-law of Mr. W.S. Wiggins Jr. of Repton, died in Mobile on the 12^th inst., and was buried at Monroeville on Saturday.

We are requested to announce that there will be a Christmas Tree at the Court House on Monday evening, Dec. 24. Everybody invited to participate.

The brick work of the courthouse annex is about completed, and the carpenters are busy on their part of the job.

The Monroeville Academy will close for the holidays with entertaining exercises at the Academy on Friday evening, Dec. 21. The program for the entertainment has been carefully prepared, and its execution will afford an evening of rare enjoyment. The public is cordially invited to attend. The curtain will rise at 6 p.m.

A great many fine porkers have been slaughtered in every neighborhood during the cold snap. More attention is being given every year to the raising of hogs in Monroe. The farmers are becoming convinced that this can be successfully and profitably done.

To each and all of its readers, The Journal wishes a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.