Singleton tells of 'ancient Indian village site' near Nancy Mountain

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 “Take time to observe Mother Nature’s busiest creatures” was originally published in the Jan. 18, 1996 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 9, was one of those days. Although the air was quite chilly, I couldn’t resist getting out a warm coat and firing up my iron horse and slipping away for a few hours of fun and relaxation.

As usual, I didn’t really know just where I was going until I crossed Flat Creek bridge up Highway 41. Here, I decided to visit along the river near the ferry at Haines Island. It seemed a good afternoon for a jaunt in the woods nearby, so I turned left and headed in the direction of Nancy Mountain.

As I crossed the top of my favorite hill, I slowly descended the winding narrow road that led to the river. Traveling along the road that runs parallel with the river, I decided to take a walk up along the side of the hill over to my left.

I have been up in this area many, many times during the past years. Never have I walked the hiking trails that I didn’t see something of great interest. I felt sure that, as before, I would not be disappointed.

After securing my transportation out of sight, I started around the southern end of the hill. I had planned to walk around the base of the hill, through an ancient Indian village site. Perhaps I might find something that I had overlooked during my past visits.

Just as I was about to move away from the lower edge of the huge pond, I heard a loud splash in the water near me. Thinking that it might be the huge alligator I had seen in the pond several times before, I eased myself down in a secure place where I could view the goings on without being seen.

But what I was seeing was not an alligator. Swimming along the bank was one of the largest beavers I had ever seen. Somewhat disappointed, I decided I would watch the beaver for a short while before moving on and around the bottom of the hill. Little did I know that I was about to be entertained in grand style for the next two hours.

The huge beaver came within 20 feet of where I was hiding. Here, he proceeded to try and drag a large sapling he had chewed down at an earlier time out into the pond. Time and time again, he tried without success to pull the small tree into the waters of the pond.

After each try, the large beaver would move along and closely inspect the downed sapling. Then he would try again to pull it into the water. This went on for about 20 minutes. I was so sure that he would give up that I wasn’t disappointed when he swam out into the pond and disappeared.

Two large beavers

As I was about to leave my hiding place and move up the trail, I was surprised to look out and see not one but two large beavers swimming toward the fallen sapling. As I watched in amazement, the two beavers closely examined the small tree. The large beaver closely inspected the tree, as though giving orders to the smaller one, which had tried unsuccessfully to move it earlier.

Then, both of the beavers began to chew and trim the small branches from the sapling. After they were finished, the larger beaver once again closely looked up and down the small tree. Seemingly satisfied that the small tree was ready to move, both beavers caught hold of the sapling with their teeth and tried to move it into the water.

The sapling would not move from the muddy bank. The larger beaver once again inspected the small tree. Then, moving down the small tree a distance of about five feet, he proceeded to cut the mall tree in two pieces with his teeth.

When he was about half way through the tree, the larger beaver stopped chewing the tree and moved aside. As if instructed by the larger beaver, the smaller one came over and began to finish the task the other had started.

As the small sapling fell apart in two pieces, the two beavers paused for a couple or three minutes, as though resting from cutting the tree. Then both locked on the larger piece of sapling and pulled it out into the water.

Prearranged signal

Leaving the larger piece to float in the pond, the two beavers returned to the bank and began to move the small part into the water. Then as if by some sort of prearranged signal, the larger beaver caught hold of the longer piece of sampling and began to swim out into the pond and out of sight.

Following close behind with the smaller part of the sapling, the smaller beaver also disappeared out of sight behind some underbrush growing there in the shallow waters of the pond.

Totally amazed by what I had seen, I slowly got to my feet and was about to finish my walk around the bottom of the hill. Looking at my watch, I knew that I would not have time to walk the large circular trail around the base of the hill. I had spent most of the afternoon watching the hard-working beavers, and the time had slipped by without me being aware of its passing.

Returning to where I had hidden my trail bike, I hurriedly put on my coat and started back along the road there by the river. As I began to pick up speed, I looked up there by the road about 50 yards to see one of the largest buck deer that I have ever seen standing there in the road. Quickly, I cut the engine and came to a stop. The large buck seemed in no hurry to move on, so we looked each other over for a period of about three minutes.

Buck disappeared

Knowing that I had to be on my way, I touched the starter of my motorcycle, and the engine sprang to life. The large buck turned and raced up the dirt road. Moments later, he disappeared around the curve and out into the dense woods near the boat landing.

Reaching the top of Nancy Mountain, I stopped for a moment, hoping to see if my buddy, the huge golden eagle, might be sailing in the air currents out over the vast valley below. But my friend was not to be seen.

The skies were clear and the chilly winds of the late evening sighed through the tall pines there on the mountain. Perhaps, he had been here earlier. Maybe next time he would be here riding the winds.

Looking across the narrow road and up the faint trail that leads into the deep woods, I wondered if perhaps the ghost of Aunt Nancy had started her evening walk along the faith path that leads across the hill to the old homeplace and then down the steep hill to the banks of the mighty river.

(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, was bitten at least twice by venomous snakes, 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.)

The Monroe Journal's News Flashback for Jan. 29, 2024

28 YEARS AGO
JAN. 25, 1996

A book about Truman Capote’s childhood in Monroeville is being re-released under a new title.
“Truman Capote’s Southern Years: Stories from a Monroeville Cousin” is the new title given to Marianne M. Moates’ 1989 book, “A Bridge of Childhood.”
Mrs. Moates, who lived in Monroeville from 1961-69, based her book on material provided by Capote’s first cousin and childhood friend, Jennings Faulk Carter of Monroeville.

J.F. Shields High School’s varsity boys earned a share of first place in the 2A, Area 2 race Thursday in Beatrice when the team upended Excel High School, 64-58.
Alfred Hale scored 15 points to lead Shields’ offense. (Stephen) Pharr scored 16 points (to lead Excel).(Other standout Shields players in that game included Derek Booker and Damien Payne. Standout Excel players included Shane Moore, Mark Moore, Stacey McPhaul and Chris Lint.)

The Monroe County Commission hopes to increase tourist dollars by appointing a tourism board.
The commission made the move on advice from a representative of the Ala-Tom Resource Conservation and Development Council during its regular meeting Tuesday morning.
Probate Judge Otha Lee Biggs nominated Kathy McCoy, director of the Monroe County Heritage Museums, as chairwoman of the board.

43 YEARS AGO
JAN. 22, 1981

Monroe County’s Junior Miss, DeLois Clausell, is shown with Monique Key, 1980 Alabama Junior Miss, and Charles B. Savage, president of Alabama Junior Miss, Inc. Miss Clausell is one of 49 contestants who arrived in Montgomery Saturday to compete for the 1981 state title.

Tuesday of last week, Monroe Academy outclassed the visiting South Butler Academy of Georgiana, 97-47, in Ollie.
The Vols, who topped the 20-point mark in each quarter of the contest, were paced by the 18-point shooting of Keith Jones, who also had nine assists.
(Other standout MA players in that game included Tracey McPherson, Kim Stacey, Blake Masingill, Joey Langham, Jeff Gandy, Mark Nettles, Tim Chunn, Craig Cave, Rickey Sanchez and Patrick Munday.)

Installed Thursday as officers for 1981 for the Monroe County Rescue Squad were I.W. Williamson, captain; William H. Gibson, communications; Mrs. I.W. Williamson, secretary; Marcus Dean, sergeant; Mrs. Johnnie Rae Byrd, treasurer; James McKinley, second lieutenant; Lewis Lynam Sr., sergeant; D.C. Hutcherson, advisor to the captain; M.J. Beard, first lieutenant; Buddy Enzor, first lieutenant; Wayne Downs, second lieutenant; William L. Welch, communications; and Floyd Till, communications.

Monroeville firemen this week answered a call to a house fire and one to a trailer, which was eventually destroyed by flames, while Frisco City firemen answered two house fire calls.

58 YEARS AGO
JAN. 27, 1966

Monroe County voters, by almost a three to one margin, defeated the referendum seeking to legalize the sale of alcoholic beverages in the county in Tuesday’s election.
Unofficial returns showed 3,652 voters sought to keep the county “dry,” or from having the sale of alcoholic beverages legalized, while 1,476 voted to change the law here.
The 5,128 persons who voted in Tuesday’s election were more than voted in the May primaries in 1964 and one of the highest vote counts ever recorded in Monroe County, despite inclement weather which prevailed all day Tuesday.

The Pine Belt Conference basketball tournament, hosted this year by the J.U. Blacksher High Bulldogs, got under way last night with three games being played.
The tournament will continue through Saturday night when the championship game will be played.
(Teams in the tourney included Blacksher, Chatom, Coffeeville, Excel, Frisco City, Grove Hill, Jackson, Leroy, Millry, Monroeville, Repton, Silas and Thomasville.)

Mrs. T.M. McMillan has resigned as librarian at the Monroe County Library, it has been announced by the Monroe County Library Board. Mrs. McMillan’s resignation will be effective March 15, 1966. Members of the library board announced that Mrs. M.L. Bergman has been appointed librarian (in McMillan’s place).

73 YEARS AGO
JAN. 25, 1951

The Rev. A.C. Lee and Mrs. Lee have as their guests this week, Mrs. Spencer of Greensboro.

Frisco City, after playing one of its best games of the season in walloping Uriah 55-43 last Friday night, did an abrupt about face against T.R. Miller Tuesday night and fell before the Brewton quintet, 74-30. The Uriah game was played at Frisco, the Miller game in Brewton.
(Standout Frisco City players that season included B.B. Barnes, Jerry Gulsby, Keith King, Charles Pugh and LaRue Rumbley. Evins McGhee led Blacksher with 14 points against FCHS.)

Mississippi Youths Leave Home; Travel to Frisco City Via ‘Scooter’ Bike: Two Biloxi, Miss. teenage boys were returned to their parents Tuesday of this week after being picked up by county highway patrolmen near Frisco City early this week.
The two youths, Paul Lewis, 14 years old, and Billy Moran, 13, left their homes in Biloxi Friday night, without telling their parents where they were going.
They traveled the greater part of the distance from Mississippi to Frisco City on a small motor “scooter” bike.
County officers said the youths decided to leave home on Friday night. They hitchhiked to Ocean Springs, Miss., where they picked up the “scooter” and road on into Mobile Friday night.
Saturday night, they came on up to the home of Bennie Whatley of Frisco City Route, an uncle of the Lewis youth. They were picked up there by patrolmen.

88 YEARS AGO
JAN. 23, 1936

Mr. and Mrs. A.C. Lee and daughter, Nelle Harper, spent Saturday in Mobile.

Aaron Finklea is being held in the county jail here on murder charges in connection with the death of Fred McCants on Sunday afternoon. The two men are alleged to have become involved in a disagreement over a small amount of money, when the Finklea man struck the other over the head with such force as to produce almost instant death.

Paving On Square Is Started Tuesday: The pouring of the concrete on the Monroeville square paving project was started on Tuesday afternoon. Although the gaps to be filled were prepared for the concrete several weeks ago, work had been held up because of the weather and also the lack of some of the necessary materials. Unless the work is again interrupted by the weather, the project should be completed within a short time now.

Foundation Laid For Eastern Star Hall: Work was begun on Tuesday of this week on the foundation for the new Eastern Star Hall to be erected in the southern part of town. It is hoped to have the hall ready for use within 60 days.

The cash receipts on which the rating of a post office is based were $8,858.52 at the Monroeville Post Office during the year ending Dec. 30, 1935, according to Miss Emma E. Yarbrough, postmistress. These receipts exceed by several hundreds of dollars those recorded for the year ending Dec. 30, 1934, when a total of $8,397.99 was received in the local office.

Historic Monroeville, Alabama home burned 84 years ago in January 1940

'Sook' Faulk and young Truman Capote.

This week marks 84 years since the Faulk family residence on South Alabama Avenue burned to the ground. This residence, where Truman Capote lived between 1927 and 1933, was located on South Alabama Avenue, just north of Mel’s Dairy Dream in downtown Monroeville. Capote, who would have been 15 years old at the time of the fire, also spent several summer vacations in the house.

The fire occurred on the night of Jan. 19, 1940 and was big news at the time. Under the headline, “Faulk Residence Destroyed By Fire Last Friday Night,” a story about the incident prominently appeared on the front page of the Jan. 25, 1940 edition of The Monroe Journal.

According to that story, “the home of Misses Jennie and Nannie Faulk, just south of town, was completely destroyed by fire last Friday night. Practically all the furniture and household effects were burned.”

The Journal reported that the fire began around 10 p.m. and was thought to have started in the kitchen.

“But it is not definite because the occupants of the house had retired when the blaze started,” The Journal reported. “Passersby discovered the fire in the house and aroused the family.”

The Monroeville Fire Department was “promptly summoned and every effort was made to extinguish the blaze. On account of the temperature, ranging from 11 to 15 degrees, and a stiff north wind, it was impossible to save the building, but firemen and people of the town turned their attention to saving adjoining property.”

Jennie and Nannie Faulk were sisters, and they operated a successful millinery shop on the downtown square. Millinery shops are now largely a thing of the past, but in their heyday, they were women’s stores that mostly sold women’s hats and other accessories. Sources say that a second house was built on the site of the burned house and that it was demolished in 1988.

Interestingly, the Faulk house fire occurred during one of the coldest winters on record. In the Feb. 1, 1940 edition of the paper, it was reported that “Monroeville is just thawing from the hardest freeze in 41 years. Through Monday, freezing temperatures had been recorded for 11 days, the mercury dropping as low as eight.

“Old timers remembered the freeze of February 1899 when all the blue birds in this country were killed, all fig trees and many other fruit trees were killed, but the freeze lasted for only a couple of days.

“For the past two weeks, people have spent most of the time here in Monroeville repairing or trying to melt the ice in water pipes and bath tubs with running water were a novelty. Few families were able to get water on their premises for cooking. Many of them gathered up buckets and any other vessels that would hold water and went to the springs, the only hole of water not covered with ice.”

In the end, if you stroll down the sidewalk to the site of the old Faulk house, you’ll find an Alabama Historical Association marker that mentions the 1940 house fire. It also notes that Nannie “Sook” Faulk was the inspiration for characters in Capote’s “The Grass Harp,” “The Thanksgiving Visitor” and “A Christmas Memory.” It also tells readers that Monroeville remained important to Capote throughout his life and that he returned to the area many times in the years before his death in 1984 to visit relatives.

Camden's Betty Anderson speaks at historic quilt exhibit in Monroeville

Anderson at Monroeville Quilt Exhibit.

Last Thursday afternoon I had the pleasure of being in the audience to hear an outstanding presentation made by Camden’s Betty Anderson at a quilt show hosted by the Monroe County Museum in Monroeville. Anderson’s presentation was made before a sizeable audience in the Old Monroe County Courthouse’s courtroom, which was the model for the famous courtroom in the 1962 motion picture version of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Anderson should be no stranger to Wilcox County readers. Anderson, who grew up in Wilcox County, is widely known for operating Camden’s Shoe Shoppe & Quilt Museum, which is located on the corner of Planters and Union Streets in Camden. Anderson’s museum is in the old Camden Shoe Shoppe location, a successful business that was owned and operated by her father, Joe Anderson.

Anderson’s museum displays a wide variety of items including her father’s shoe repair equipment, historic furniture and clothing, as well as an assortment of antique quilts. Anderson brought a number of these quilts to Monroeville last Thursday and explained their origins and materials to the audience. Some of these quilts were made by Anderson’s mother and grandmother, Marie Coleman Anderson and Minder Coleman, respectively.

I was especially interested in Anderson’s discussion of how some 19^th Century quilts were designed to include secret codes. Quilts with these designs were often displayed outside homes, usually on porches, to relay secret messages to escaped slaves who were moving along the Underground Railroad. For example, quilts that included what was known as the “log cabin” design let escaped slaves know that the house was a safe house while quilts with the “bowtie” design told slaves that they needed to travel in disguise.

For individuals wanting to learn more about the historic quilts of Wilcox County, Anderson directed listeners to several books on the subject. She noted that the Black Belt Treasures store in Camden sells many of these books as well as a host of other books on local topics. Anderson also jokingly noted that if you can’t find her at her museum, she will probably be at Black Belt Treasures or somewhere in between in downtown Camden.

I was also especially interested to learn that Anderson makes old-timey lye soap and old-fashioned dolls, both of which can be seen at Black Belt Treasures. Anderson said that Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, another Wilcox County native, placed one of these dolls in a time capsule in Montgomery. Anderson said that it’s comforting to know that when the capsule is opened half a century from now, that her handmade doll will still be inside.

In the end, if anyone in the reading audience has an interest in quilts, I highly encourage you to visit the Monroe County Museum to see their historic quilt exhibit. The exhibit opened on Tuesday of last week and will run through Feb. 16. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday’s from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed on Sundays.

Singleton tells of ancient Indian burial ground near Old Salem church

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 “Indian holy ground destroyed” was originally published in the Jan. 8, 1998 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

I first heard of this ancient Indian burial ground shortly after I arrived in Monroe County. Not long after I arrived in the area I was fortunate to meet two fine men who had lived here most of their lives. These men were Raymond Fountain and Tom Snyder. Learning that I was interested in early Indian history, they sought me out and we began to wander around over the area, looking and searching the locations that they knew about. These two men, who later became two of my best friends, seemed to already know where all of the important locations were.

This ancient burial ground of the early Indians was pointed out to me one day as we traveled along the old almost abandoned road that goes by Old Salem church and down across the deep bottom bordering Limestone Creek. “Thiis is the burial known as the Holy Ground,” stated Raymond Fountain. “These burials probably go back almost a thousand years or more. And, this area is supposed to be haunted, so the story goes,” stated Mr. Fountain.

Many times after I was first shown the burial site, I would make my way over to the place called the Holy Grounds. Most times I would go by and pick up my friend Tom Snyder and carry him with me. Uncle Tom lived only a short distance from the burials and he knew in detail the history of the ancient burial grounds.

The Holy Ground covered an area of about five or six acres, there in the bottom near the creek. The burial was covered with quite a number of tall palmetto plants. Atop each grave had been planted one of these plants according to Uncle Tom, so that the spirit of the departed who was buried there could come and go at will through this plant. The legends of the ancient Indians referred to the tall palmetto plants as the plant of the spirits. If this plant wasn’t planted atop the grave, the spirit of the departed could not return to visit their families or walk the area of the hunting grounds where they had wandered prior to their deaths.

Both my friends related stories to me about the Holy Grounds being guarded by those from the spirit world. I asked my friends if they would accompany me one night over to the burials and perhaps we could see some of the happenings that took place there. My friend, Mr. Fountain, stated that he hadn’t lost anything there, so he saw no reason to visit it at night. Uncle Tom stated that he was “getting too darn old to be frightened out of his wits and run into a tree and hurt himself.” But both agreed to come with me any time during daylight hours.

During the years since high school, I have done a great deal of research on the ancient Indians of the South. In the places known as Holy Grounds only the leaders of the tribes and the medicine men, who were known as the Wind Walkers, were allowed to be buried in these sacred places. I had heard the stories about the palmetto plants before coming to this area, but I was delighted to know that my friends knew about it also.

Legend has it that the leaders and medicine men could return again to their tribes after their deaths and advise those in charge about the spirit life that lay ahead and to guide those in charge about situations that were yet to come, that those living didn’t know about. The tough palmetto plant acted as a channel or a path for the spirit of the departed to come and go from the grave at will.

Many times, when my dear wife had to be away overnight because of her job, I would mount my trail bike and make my way down the back past the Old Salem church and into the large bottom near Limestone Creek. I would hide my transportation in the heavy underbrush and walk out in the ancient burial ground and sit down and wait for darkness to creep across the lonely bottom there near the creek.

I don’t profess to be a brave man. Those who knew what I was doing, perhaps thought that I might be a bit stupid for doing such a foolish thing. During the visits to Holy Ground, I have had the living daylights frightened out of me. After some visits I would return home and not be able to close my eyes for the rest of the night. All I could do was to lay awake and think of what I had witnessed earlier. The frightened sounds that I couldn’t identify there among the ancient burials were very disturbing. But, then again, I would go over on a given night and never see or hear anything. My two friends would later relate to me that they too had witnessed some of the unusual happenings that I had told them about.

But, the ancient burials known as the Holy Ground now ceases to exist. A few days aback, for nothing better to do, I mounted my transportation and decided to visit the area. Much to my surprise, the complete area had been destroyed by a logging crew. Nothing remains there now but piles of broken timbers and trash. The large palmetto plants that once marked the burials had been broken and torn down and dragged up into several piles. No timber was left standing there among the ancient burials. Deep holes had been cut in the ground and now rain water that fills the large holes almost covers the area. Deep tracks of heavy logging equipment now crisscross the burial grounds. And, the spirits of those who once slept here are doomed to wander forever, never to return to their final resting places which exists no more.

I am aware that we can’t preserve everything, but I think that we should respect those who have passed from this life and waits for the final day in the times of the unknown.

(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, was bitten at least twice by venomous snakes, 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.)

The Evergreen Courant's News Flashback for Jan. 23, 2024

King Edward VIII

33 YEARS AGO
JAN. 22, 1981

Local weather reporter Earl Windham reported no rain between Jan. 12-18, 1981. He reported a high temperature of 65 degrees on Jan. 16 and a low of 11 degrees on Jan. 13.

Yes, Evergreen and Conecuh County were well represented at the inaugural of the United States 40th president. President Ronald Reagan’s ‘Presidential Inaugural Committee, 2nd and T Streets, S.W., Washington, D.C.’ ordered for the Inaugural Ball greenery from Conecuh County primarily Southern Smilax. Here you see Frank Merrill preparing ‘the largest shipment of ‘smilax’ I’ve ever handled, and I’ve been gathering and shipping it for over 28 years.’ Frank is a loyal and knowing, gatherer of smilax and other green ‘stuff’ for Salter’s Evergreen Supply, owned and operated by Mrs. J.V. (Elizabeth) Salter.

Bud Evers of Evergreen was one of six young speakers who delighted rural electric co-op leaders attending the Alabama Rural Electric Association (AREA) annual meeting in Montgomery Jan. 8. Bud is Alabama’s delegate to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Youth Board.

William James Barlow, 67, of Rt. 2, Castleberry died on Sat., Jan. 17. He was a member of a prominent, pioneer family and the father of Castleberry Mayor W.J. (Sonny) Barlow.

48 YEARS AGO
JAN. 27, 1966

Conecuh County’s Mrs. Mabel Amos made it official Saturday when she qualified to campaign for Secretary of State shortly after the State Democratic Executive Committee met in Birmingham. A native of Brooklyn, Mrs. Amos has served under eight governors since leaving the teaching profession to work in the governor’s office. She served as recording secretary in the governor’s office for over 20 years and was termed this past year ‘an assistant governor’ by Gov. George Wallace. Mrs. Amos is the first Conecuh Countian in many years to seek a state office subject to statewide vote. Mrs. Amos makes her home at Brooklyn, where her ancestors were pioneer settlers and she has been a mainstay in church and community activities.

Services held for former mayor Robert F. Croom: Robert Farnham Croom, 78, a former mayor of Evergreen died Jan. 21 in Gaithersburg, Maryland following a lengthy illness.
A member of a pioneer Conecuh County family, Mr. Croom was long prominent in business, civic, religious and political affairs of this area. He served as mayor of Evergreen and also as chairman of the Conecuh County Board of Education.

Frank Burt was named Conecuh County’s Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year by the Evergreen Jaycees at their meeting Tuesday night.

63 YEARS AGO
JAN. 25, 1951

Mr. and Mrs. Tal Stuart spent Sunday and Monday in New Orleans and attended the showing of the 1951 Chrysler.

A new substation costing a little over $22,000 has recently been installed here by Alabama Electric Cooperative. The substation is pictured above and is located on Cemetery Avenue at the Jordan Street corner. The station was erected by AEC, which furnishes the city-owned electrical system its current at wholesale, to meet increased demands by the city system.

Mid Many Tears And Fond Farewells Battery ‘C’ Leaves For Ft. Jackson: They remembered all over again just how heartbreaking it is to say goodbye to loved ones off to the wars. And so with tears and fond farewells they said goodbye, bon voyage to the men of Conecuh County’s Battery ‘C,’ 117th Field Artillery Battalion as they left by train Tuesday afternoon for Fort Jackson, S.C.
The move to Ft. Jackson came exactly one week from the day, Jan. 16, the local National Guard unit became part of Uncle Sam’s Army. ‘C’ was mobilized at the Evergreen Armory on the 16th, only a little over 10 years after it had been mobilized in November 1940 into federal service for World War II.
The leaving of this large number of local men brought the war even closer to home. And though this war isn’t as big, yet, as the last one, saying goodbye proved just as sad and tear-jerking a job as before.

78 YEARS AGO
JAN. 23, 1936

Bids On Overpass Are Sought By State Highway Department: Advertising calling for bids for the construction of an overhead bridge here, as a link in U.S. Highway 31, are carried in this issue of The Courant.
A total of $147,000 has been programmed for the construction of the Evergreen Overpass, which will route Highway 31 over the main line of the Louisville and Nashville railroad, eliminating the grade crossing at the north end of the city.
According to plans, the northern tip of the structure will merge with Perryman Street at a point directly in front of the D.H. McCreary residence, while the southern tip will emerge into West Front Street at the intersection of Rural Street.
A 15-foot driveway will be maintained through the present West Front Street extension, running along the boundary of the properties now fronting on the present street, probably dead-ending at the Gulf Filling Station at the present grade crossing.
A time limit of 190 working days has been set for the erection of the overpass.

King Edward VIII New Ruler of England: London, Jan. 21 – His face bearing the marks of grief for his dead father, Edward Albert, prince of Wales, was formally proclaimed King Edward VIII today by the Privy Council.
The age-old ceremony was held just 16 hours after King George V had died in a painless coma at Sandringham House at 11:55 p.m.

93 YEARS AGO
JAN. 26, 1921

Capt. Chas. R. Taliaferro has been chosen chairman for Conecuh County for the European Relief Council to secure Conecuh’s quota of money for the relief of starving and undernourished children in Central and Eastern Europe, of which there are now 3-1/2 million.

The Courant has reliable information that a party of Andalusia capitalists will erect a water power plant either in Conecuh or Sepulga river to develop electric current for lights and power.
The River Falls Water Power Co. has already been organized by C.A. Oneal and E.L. More and associates, which means that it is now a reasonable certainty.

Militiamen To Be Tried In Marion County: Jasper, Ala., Jan. 21 – Judge Sowell today granted a change of venue to Hamilton, Marion County, in the cases of nine members of Co. M, Alabama National Guard, indicted on charges of murder in connection with the lynching of William Baird, a miner, and fixed Mon., Jan. 31, as the date for the trials to begin.

LOST, somewhere’s on streets of Evergreen, or on road leading by Mineral Springs to Miller plantation, one automobile tire, size 34x4 on steel rim.

The Monroe Journal's News Flashback for Jan. 22, 2024

14 YEARS AGO
JAN. 28, 2010

Gearhart represents Monroe County: Monroe County was recently represented in the Alabama Junior Miss program by Lindsey Gearhart, who delighted the audience with her talent – a violin rendition of “An Italian Street Song” and “Tarantella.”
Gearhart was one of 52 young women from across the state whom Suzanne Nicholas, Monroe County Junior Miss program chair, calls the “cream of the crop.”
The Monroe County Junior Miss program is sponsored by the local Bell Lettres Club, of which Kathy Stuckey is the chair.

MA’s Volunteers stun No. 8 Knights: Monroe Academy pulled off an upset in AISA, Class 3A varsity boys basketball Friday night, knocking off eighth-ranked Tuscaloosa Academy, 45-39, in Tuscaloosa.
Tanner Smith scored 16 points to lead a trio of Vols who scored in double figures. He also had a team-high 11 rebounds.
(Other top MA players in that game included Craig Bryan, Gabe Dees, Dustin Ellison, Mark Hutcherson, Grant Norris, Graham Smith, Logan Smith and Willis Webb. Brett Loftin was MA’s head coach.)

Noble named Cattleman of the Year: The Monroe County Cattlemen’s Association named Dr. Hal Noble “Cattleman of the Year” at its yearly banquet Thursday night of last week at the Monroeville Community House.
Noble, who is a veterinarian and owner of Tri-County Veterinarian Service, opened the Frisco City Livestock Market in June of last year. The livestock market had been closed for about three months before Dr. Noble re-opened it.

39 YEARS AGO
JAN. 24, 1985

Excel buys fire truck: The town of Excel, whose ailing fire truck has hindered firefighting in recent months, is buying another truck from the town of Brent, Fla.
In a special meeting last Thursday night, the Town Council approved the $14,000 purchase.
Henley Hoven, water superintendent and captain in the Fire Department, and Councilman Jack Boothe announced that they had traveled to Brent to look at the truck and considered it to be adequate.
Fire Chief Tim Casey said the Brent department had agreed to train Excel firefighters on the operation of the pump.

J.U. Blacksher opened its successful week when it won 66-57 at Sweet Water Tuesday of last week.
Sophomore Willie Wallace was Blacksher’s top scorer with 20 points and Blacksher’s top rebounder with nine. He converted eight of 16 field-goal attempts and four of five free throws to collect his points.
(Other top Blacksher players in that game included Ronnie Davis, Rodney Dean, Eddie Shoemo and Vincent Wallace. Gary Lambert was Blacksher’s head coach.)

Jr. Miss receives scholarships: Monroe County’s Junior Miss Linda Pierson won two scholarships and a cash prize during the competition for the state Junior Miss title held Friday and Saturday at the Montgomery Civic Center.
Miss Pierson, a Monroe Academy senior, won a $900, two-year scholarship to Patrick Henry State Junior College. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jerre O. Pierson of Monroeville was also one of three contestants chosen to receive a scholarship to Samford University.

89 YEARS AGO
JAN. 24, 1935

DEATH OF PROMINENT BEATRICE CITIZEN: In the death of Mr. Neal Andress, who was found dead in bed Monday morning, Beatrice has lost one of its most prominent and highly esteemed citizens. He had spent the 73 years of his life in that community. Funeral services were conducted and interment was made in the Beatrice cemetery Wednesday afternoon.

County Held In Grip Of Cold Wave: Citizens of Monroe County felt the extreme in temperature on Monday of this week when the thermometer which had hovered around the high sixties during the morning tumbled below the freezing point during the night.
The average temperature reported in Monroeville on Tuesday morning was 26 degrees, although a few persons said that thermometers exposed to the north wind dropped even lower.
The streets of Monroeville presented an almost deserted appearance on Tuesday morning. Few vehicles were to be seen about the square and people generally avoided getting out in the sleet, rain and snow which fell at intervals.

Office Of Farm Bureau Is Moved: The office of the county agent and the Monroe County Farm Bureau which was formerly located on the second floor of the court house has been moved. The new location of the offices is one of the Katz buildings immediately south of the present M. Katz store. The crowded conditions existing in the county court house necessitated moving the office to other quarters, it having been located heretofore in the grand jury room.

114 YEARS AGO
JAN. 27, 1910

Dr. W.T. Bayles, County Health Officer, reports six new cases of small pox in the Peterman neighborhood. Several cases have developed in the vicinity of Burnt Corn, and a few cases in other sections of the county. The situation at Monroeville remains unchanged. There have been no new cases within the past week and those under treatment are convalescing.

Dr. W.H. Sanders, State Health Officer, came down from Montgomery Saturday to investigate the contagious disease which has been prevailing in this and other communities of the county. Dr. Sanders unhesitatingly pronounced the disease small box and directed that stringent regulations be enforced for the suppression of the disease.

L.J. Bugg and M.R. Sowell attended Justice Court at Goodway Monday.

J.U. Blacksher of Maros was a business visitor to Monroeville Tuesday.

Riley Kelly was up from Excel Wednesday participating in the deliberations of the county executive committee.

J.R. Mims was up from McGill Tuesday. Mr. Mims reports strong demand for mules this season. He has sold several carloads.

C.C. Huxford, the naval stores manufacturer of Hadley, was at the county capital Wednesday on business, making the trip in his handsome new automobile.

Dr. W.B. Crumpton of Montgomery, Secretary of the State Mission Board, preached at the Monroeville Baptist Church last Sunday morning and at Drewry in the afternoon.

139 YEARS AGO
JAN. 26, 1885

A Foul Murder: Gosport, Ala. – Dear Sir: Our community was thrown into quite an excitement yesterday by the discovery of the body of unknown white man who had evidently been cruelly murdered and mutilated by cutting off both ears and the entire scalp, leaving a little hair around the edges of the back part of the head. Was killed Sunday night or Monday morning, beside a camp fire along the road, then dragged about 30 paces into the woods, thrown behind a log and hastily covered with leaves and pine straw. He was about five feet, 11 inches in height, brown hair, sandy chin whiskers and mustache, latter thin; aged about 35 or 40 years.

A gentleman from Canada who has been prospecting in the northern portion of our county, with a view to a home in our delightful climate, expresses himself as being very much pleased. Let us give all such a cordial welcome.

Judge W.C. Sowell is having cleared a large new ground on the south side of town and when it is completed will contain about 25 acres.

Postmaster Seymour a few days ago received a fine hat as a present from a friend in Springfield, Mass.

DIED – On Sunday night, the 18^th inst., Mrs. Elizabeth, wife of James McNeal, near Flat Creek.

Also, at Repton, on Saturday night, the 17^th inst., Miss Martha E. Jay, daughter of J. Jay.

Married – At the residence of the bride’s father, by Rev. A.H. Moore, on the evening of the 21^st inst., Mr. E.T. Fore to Miss Carrie H. Metts.

Singleton tells of his ancestor's death at the Battle of Shiloh

General Nathan Bedford Forrest

(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 “An 1862 Christmas story is retold” was originally published in the Dec. 21, 1995 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

This story didn’t begin with just the celebration of Christmas 1862. It began during the bloody fighting of the Battle of Shiloh during our dreadful Civil War. There on the banks of the mighty Tennessee River, this Christmas story would begin the 6^th of April and end on the 24^th of December 1862 in the lower part of Clarke County, Alabama.

My paternal great-grandfather was a member of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s cavalry during this terrible and bloody conflict there on the high banks of the Tennessee River. General Forrest and his men were not fighting in the manner as were most of the Confederates there at Shiloh. Forrest’s cavalry were involved in hit-and-run tactics, trying to cause confusion and disorganization among the forces of the Union Army. They were trying to use the element of surprise in their favor, as they moved from one location to another there on the huge battlefield.

Wounded

During this deadly conflict, General Forrest would be wounded in the shoulder. Finding himself cut off from the rest of his cavalry troops, General Forrest would ride by a Union soldier who was running for cover. Reaching down from his saddle, Forrest would pull the Union soldier up behind him on his horse and race through enemy lines, trying to reach his cavalry units. The Union soldier would be shot in the back by his fellow soldiers and fall from General Forrest’s horse. He had been killed by the very bullet that passed all the way through his body and also wounded the general.

Somewhere during these bloody hit-and-run tactics, my paternal great-grandfather would be killed. The actual account of how he died in this bloody conflict would be a mystery for his widowed wife and four children for the rest of their lives.

Many stories reached my great-grandmother about the terrible fighting there on the banks of the mighty Tennessee River. But never did she know the actual date that her husband had fallen in battle, or any of the circumstances pertaining to his death. She knew nothing of where he might have been buried or if he had ever been buried after the terrible battle. The only thing that she knew for certain was that she was now alone and had a family of four to raise and care for there on the small family farm in lower Clarke County.

Rumors and stories

As the spring of 1862 gave way to the hot summer months, rumors and stories would continue to reach the small farm and the grieving family. Word would reach the farm that my great-grandfather had not been killed in battle, but had only been seriously wounded.

Not being able to leave her children and not having any way to travel and search for her husband, my great-grandmother could only wait and hope. As the cool winds of the early fall settled across the countryside, word would come again that the first rumors were true; her husband had died in battle, there in the bitter fighting at Shiloh.

By the early part of December 1862, the rumors no longer appeared from out of nowhere. The news of Shiloh had faded; only the news of later battles was to be heard around the evening firesides of the farming community. The cold winds of winter swept across the small farm as Christmas loomed on the horizon. Times were hard there for this widow and her family. There small harvest had been gathered, and wood for the fireplace was slowly and laboriously being stacked in the chimney corner for the cold, lonely months that lay ahead.

The stories passed down through my family stated that the 24^th of December 1862 was a very cold and cloudy day. The breakfast meal had been finished there in the small kitchen that sat behind the house, connected only to the main building by a small walkway, or dog trot as it was referred to at that time by the country folks.

The livestock in the barn had already been fed and the morning milking had been completed. A roaring fire blazed in the fireplace there in the kitchen. A grieving widow and her children sat around the fire, knowing that this Christmas would be one of the saddest without the presence of her husband, the children’s father. Even now, much mystery yet lingered about the exact facts of the death of this head of family.

As the family sat there in silence, each in their own thoughts, from out in the yard the barking of the family dog was heard. Walking out on the small kitchen porch, my great-grandmother was startled to see a dirty, shaggy and bearded man, dressed in a ragged and dirty Confederate uniform, sitting on a thin and travel-weary horse.

The Rebel soldier looked tired and sickly as he raised his head and looked toward the kitchen. My great-grandmother asked if there was anything she could do for him. He asked if she was the wife of William Singleton, a Confederate soldier who had fallen in the battle of Shiloh. She told him that she was.

Turing to the side of his horse, he began to unfasten the cavalry sword from his worn and weather-beaten saddle. Then, he removed from a pack behind the saddle a small object.

“This is your husband’s cavalry sword and his straight razor. I was with him when he died. I promised him that I would see to it that these items reached his wife and family. These were the only personal belongings that he had of any value. His cavalry horse was killed also in the battle. These items are all that remains.”

The story goes that my great-grandmother broke down and wept. Finally, she regained her self-control and asked the tired and sickly Rebel if he would come in and warm by the fireplace in the kitchen. He stated that he was too sick to dismount his horse, but he would drink a cup of coffee if she would fetch it out to him.

Quickly, she brought the strong, hot coffee out to him. Leaning wearily in the saddle, he quickly drank the hot liquid. Again, my great-grandmother begged the feeble Rebel to come in the house and let her doctor and take care of him until he was able to travel again. He refused.

Handing the empty cup back to my great-grandmother, he raised his hand in a feeble salute and turned his tired and travel-weary horse out into the narrow road. Within minutes, he had disappeared from sight. No one in the area ever knew from which direction the ragged Rebel had come; nor did anyone know the direction in which he departed. He was thought to have ridden in a westwardly direction. He was never seen again.

Years later, my great-grandmother would depart this life and never know the name or the circumstances pertaining to this mysterious Confederate soldier. The cavalry sword and the straight razor were given to me as a child. All that knew and remembered my great-grandfather would always comment that I looked a lot like him, even in my youngest years.

(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, was bitten at least twice by venomous snakes, 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.)

Did 1934 snow events in Monroeville influence 'To Kill a Mockingbird'?

Monroeville native Harper Lee.

It’s no secret that we’ve experienced some unusually cold weather this week, and the weatherman says we should expect more to come. As I rode to work Monday morning, I thought about previous cold snaps, some of which included snow.

Thinking so reminded me of the section in “To Kill a Mockingbird” in which the fictional town of Maycomb experiences two weeks of the coldest weather since 1885. A close reading of the book tells us that this two-week cold snap occurred in late 1934, sometime between Tom Robinson’s arrest on Nov. 21 and Christmas.

Fans of the book will remember that the cold-weather episode is described in Chapter 8. The book tells us that the light snowfall in Maycomb was so rare that school was closed, and the Finch children tried to build a snowman. Late that night, Miss Maudie’s house catches fire across the street, and the children watch as neighbors and firefighters work to save her furniture and fight the fire.

It’s also during this incident that Boo Radley makes a rare appearance. In the confusion of the housefire, Boo walks up behind Scout Finch in the dark and drapes a blanket over her shoulders to keep her warm. Only later do the children realize that they’d been so close to their mysterious neighbor.

I couldn’t help but wonder if “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee based this fictional cold spell on a real weather event from her childhood. She would have been eight years old in late 1934, which is how old Scout was at the end of the novel.

Looking back through old 1934 editions of The Monroe Journal, I found that it snowed not once, but twice, in Monroe County in 1934. However, those snows came in early 1934, not near the end of the year. The first snow fell on Feb. 10 and the second snowfall was on March 19.

In a front-page story in the Feb. 15, 1934 edition of The Journal, under the headline “Severe Weather Is Felt In County,” it was reported that during “the latter part of last week, Monroe County experienced some of the coldest weather of the present winter season. A hard rain which lasted practically all day Sunday broke the below-freezing temperature which prevailed Saturday. During the day Saturday, a heavy sleet fell in nearly all sections of the county. In some areas a light snow was seen during that afternoon. Reports from other portions of the state were to the effect that heavy snow fell as near as 90 miles north of here.”

A few weeks later, in the March 22, 1934 edition of the newspaper, under the headline “Light Snow Falls Here On Monday,” it was reported that the “sudden drop in the temperature following the rain Sunday night brought a light snow to Monroeville on Monday morning. The snow fell lightly at intervals during the morning but was never hard enough to collect in any quantity. This is the second time during the present season that snow has been seen in the county.”

In the end, one is left to wonder if these two 1934 snow events made such an impression on young Harper Lee that memories of them were the inspiration for the events she described in Chapter 8 of her famous novel.

The Evergreen Courant's News Flashback for Jan. 16, 2024

NINE 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.

34 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.

59 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.

84 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 Monroe Journal's News Flashback for Jan. 15, 2024

Cynthia Tucker

13 YEARS AGO
JAN. 20, 2011

Chapman sworn in: District Judge Dawn Hare swore in District Attorney Tommy Chapman Tuesday morning at a ceremony in Evergreen. On hand for the swearing in were his wife, Patsy, and son, Scott. Chapman ran for re-election unopposed last November.

Watson named top player: Monroe Academy senior Buchanan Watson is the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Defensive Lineman of the Year for schools that compete in the Alabama Independent School Association (AISA).
Watson, a 6-2, 200-pound offensive center and defensive tackle, received the award Wednesday of last week in Birmingham during the ASWA’s annual awards banquet.
Also recognized as ASWA all-stars were MA senior running back Sam Vermilyea, sophomore place-kicker Craig Bryan and junior cornerback Gabe Dees.

Garrett wins ‘Be Your Best Self’ scholarship: Kendall Garrett, a senior from J.U. Blacksher, represented Monroe County this past weekend in Montgomery at Alabama’s Distinguished Young Woman of the Year Program, formally known as Junior Miss.
Garrett received a $200 scholarship for her “Be Your Best Self” essay. She is the daughter of Eugene and Kelly Garrett from Uriah.

New members welcomed: The Monroeville Junior Woman’s Club welcomed eight new members during their first meeting of the year on Jan. 11. New members are Brittany Mattox, Amanda Brantley, Melissa Wasden, Samantha Ramsey, Dalana Brooks, Katie Waters, Jessica Kilgore and Angela Lambeth.

38 YEARS AGO
JAN. 16, 1986

Doe with antlers: William A. “Bill” Miller Jr. of Monroeville thought this 157-pound deer was a buck when he shot it with a 30-06 rifle about 4 p.m. Jan. 8 in Wilcox County near Oak Hill. It had small antlers – a button on the right side and a spike on the left – and it “behaved like a buck,” Miller said. But it turned out to be a doe. Female deer don’t usually have antlers. Miller said one of the first people to whom he showed the unusual doe was Conservation Officer Randy Acton. Acton said it was the first antlered doe he had seen personally, though “I’ve heard of them and seen pictures.” It is legal to kill a doe that has antlers visible above the hairline, Acton said.

2 Monroeville banks merge: The First National Bank of Monroeville was merged Monday in The Monroe County Bank, culminating a close affiliation that dated back almost half a century. The First National Bank no longer exists, but The Monroe County Bank is now larger, has three locations and will be able to serve customers better, said John B. Barnett Jr., who was board chairman and chief executive officer of both banks and holds the same positions with the merged bank.

Ms. Tucker named associate editor: Monroeville native Cynthia Tucker has been named associate editor of The Atlanta Constitution. She has been editorial associate and columnist for The Atlanta Journal since 1982. The daughter of Mrs. John A. Tucker of Monroeville and the late Mr. Tucker, she joined the news staff of The Atlanta Journal in 1976 after graduating from Auburn University.

63 YEARS AGO
JAN. 19, 1961

Thieves Take $471 At Beatrice School: After breaking through four doors, a burglar or burglars came away from Beatrice High School, Beatrice, $471 richer, following a Monday night entry.
The culprits removed the total in cash from a safe in a record room and the principal’s desk, but threw $250 in checks in a trash can.
Marvin Gwin, school principal, said the intruders apparently gained entrance into the building through the back door of the auditorium.

Monroe County’s champion basketball team is from J.U. Blacksher High School, Uriah. Winners of last year’s crown in the county and Pine Belt Conference, the Bulldogs defeated Monroeville, 42-38, in the finals in Frisco City Saturday night. (Members of the team were James Jay, Doug Norris, Jerry Thomas, Burl Woods, Ronnie Ikner, Franklin Sager, Gerald Johnson, William Turk and Dickie Solomon.)

School For Firemen Slated For County: A fireman school for members of all Monroe County fire departments will be sponsored here under auspices of the Monroe County Board of Education.
The school is slated in cooperation with the State Trade and Industrial Education Department.
Classes will be taught by Capt. Murphy, instructor of the State Department, Tuscaloosa.
The five-day school begins Mon., Jan. 23, to continue through Fri., Jan. 27. Classes will be conducted daily from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Monroeville City Hall.

88 YEARS AGO
JAN. 16, 1936

County Streams Stocked With Bream: Game Warden C.V. Hines superintended the distribution of a large quantity of bream in streams and lakes in Monroe County on Monday. These bream were brought here from the hatchery at Marion. Sixteen hundred were placed in Limestone about three miles north of Monroeville. Twelve hundred were placed in creeks and lakes near Finchburg and 600 were deposited in lakes near the hunting club below Claiborne.

Excel Football Boys Are Given Banquet: The Excel High School FHA, under the supervision of Miss Katherine Bilbro, honored the football team with a banquet which was greatly enjoyed.
The following boys earned letters for service rendered in the past season: Captain Burnie Coleman, Tommie Grantham, Millard Cole, L.C. Wright, Grady Greene, Luke Reed, Hunter Skipper, Robert Bouler, Robert Murphy, Edwin Johnson, Bill Williamson, Louie Jenkins, Brent Sessions, Teal Grantham, Rupert McCall, John Skipper, Francis Mason and Manager Artice Skipper.
The season was considered fair as Excel won three games, lost four and tied two.

Monroe County Man Cited On U.S. Liquor Charge: Duncan Snider, residing near Fountain, was arraigned in Evergreen before U.S. Commissioner R.F. Irwin and held to the federal grand jury under $500 bond on a liquor charge. Snider was arrested by Sheriff J.P. Farish after 10 gallons of liquor were allegedly found buried in the garage at his home. The man was taken to Evergreen for arraignment before the United States Commissioner by John C. Barlow of Mobile, federal alcoholic investigator, who destroyed the liquor.

113 YEARS AGO
JAN. 19, 1911

An epidemic of smallpox is reported in the vicinity of Maros, in the southern part of this county. More than 50 cases of a mild type have developed. What are considered ample precautions have been taken by the health authorities to confine the disease to the infected neighborhood.

Mr. Clinton C. Brantley was shot and fatally injured in attempting to arrest a desperate man at McWilliams on the line of Monroe and Wilcox counties last Monday morning. The man, Henry Sanders, alias Henry Lewis, was wanted in Wilcox County for murder and other crimes, and a heavy reward was offered for his arrest. Young Brantley located Sanders and with his brother attempted to arrest him. Sanders drew a pistol and shot Brantley through the right breast and made his escape. The wounded man was taken to Selma for surgical aid but died a few hours after his arrival.

Judge W.G. McCorvey returned Tuesday from Montgomery where he spent several days during the organization of the legislature and witnessing the inauguration of Governor O’Neal.

Thomas McKenzie, the well known graduate optician, who has been in Monroeville for several weeks, will spend next week in Beatrice.

Mr. J.I. Bizzelle has been reappointed Jury Commissioner for Monroe County for the long term, he having drawn the short term upon his appointment two years ago.

Mr. John T. Bradford of Portland was a visitor to the capital city of Monroe last week. He stated that the injuries sustained by Mr. George Tuthill, upon whom an attempt at assassination was made about 10 days ago, were not as serious as reported. Several arrests have been made of men suspected of being implicated in the crime.

Does soldier's ghost haunt the Robinson Creek Bridge near Tunnel Springs, Alabama?

Robinson Creek Bridge.

An interesting Facebook memory popped up in my feed on Monday, reminding me of a trip that I took six years ago to a supposedly haunted bridge near Tunnel Springs.

Before I get into that I should say a few words about George Buster Singleton. Growing up, I was an avid reader of Singleton’s weekly newspaper column in The Monroe Journal. Singleton was a self-styled “ghost hunter,” and he often wrote about ghosts and other local legends in his columns, which appeared in the newspaper for more than 30 years.

One ghostly location that Singleton wrote about from time to time was the old wooden bridge across Robinson Creek, not far from Old Scotland Presbyterian Church, northwest of Tunnel Springs. This bridge is located on a dirt road known as the John Shannon Road, which runs north off the Old Scotland Church Road. In his newspaper column, Singleton would often recount stories about how this bridge was supposedly haunted by the ghost of a wounded Confederate soldier.

The story goes that during the Civil War this wounded and sick Rebel soldier camped at the bridge for four or five months. He kept himself alive by eating wild berries and catching fish out of the creek. Travelers along this road would see this soldier early in the mornings and late in the evenings, walking down the narrow road near the bridge, that is, until one day he disappeared, never to be seen again.

Years later, long after the war ended, witnesses reported seeing the soldier’s ghost, dressed in a torn and dirty uniform, walking west toward the bridge that he used as a campsite. Some say that they’ve seen his ghost walking across the bridge, and he’s never seen walking eastward, always towards the west. Others have reported standing on the bridge and smelling the odor of cooking food.

On a January Sunday afternoon six years ago, my wife and son and I climbed in the truck and ventured up to Old Scotland. I’d never been to the bridge in person before, and my wife had never seen the historic Old Scotland Church. All of this was new to my then nine-year-old son, who is always up for any type of adventurous road trip.

We got to the bridge around two o’clock, parked off the side of the road and took a long look around. Robinson Creek is about 20 yards wide at the point where it passes under the bridge, and it is easy to imagine someone camping on the wide sandy banks near the bridge. As far as I could tell, no one had been there for a while except for the raccoon that had left his small tracks on the creek bank.

On the way home, we stopped for a few minutes to get an up-close look at the Old Scotland Presbyterian Church, which was built in 1823. Singleton often wrote about this church in his columns and told stories of people who reportedly heard bagpipes playing when no one else was around. We also took a few minutes to explore the old cemetery beside the church, which contains some of the oldest marked graves in our part of the country.

In the end, we didn’t spot any ghosts or hear any bagpipes during that trip but we did have a wild hog run out in the road in front of us on the road leading up to the church. Perhaps one day, I’ll venture back up to the old bridge and have another look around. Maybe I’ll go late in the evening or early in the morning. In either case, I won’t make the trip alone.

Wilcox County author, Mary Fenollosa, passed away 70 years ago

Mary McNeill Fenollosa

Today – Jan. 11 – marks 70 years since the death of one of the most famous writers to ever call Wilcox County home – Mary McNeill Fenollosa.

Fenollosa passed away at the age of 88 on Jan. 11, 1954 at Montrose, and she was buried in Mobile’s Magnolia Cemetery. She was buried near the graves of her parents, and her headstone bears the simple inscription of “Author, Poet, Beloved Mother.”

Fenollosa was born Mary Elizabeth McNeill in March 1865 to Confederate officer William Stoddard McNeill and Laura Sibley McNeill. Sources say that Mary was born on a Wilcox County plantation that belonged to her grandparents, Origen and Elizabeth Sibley, after her mother took refuge in Wilcox County when Yankee soldiers burned their family home in Baldwin County during the War Between the States.

After the war, Fenollosa went on to write a number of books and more than a few of them were set in her home state of Alabama and published under the penname Sidney McCall. Some of her most famous books include “Truth Dexter” (1901), “The Breath of the Gods” (1905), “The Dragon Painter” (1906), “Red Horse Hill” (1909), “The Strange Woman” (1914), “Ariadne of Allan Water” (1914), “The Stirrup Latch” (1915), “Sunshine Beggars” (1918) and “Christopher Laird” (1919). “Red Horse Hill,” “The Breath of the Gods” and “The Dragon Painter” – were also made into movies.

Despite her successful career as a writer and her ties to Wilcox County, Fenollosa received little attention from the Camden newspaper. In a search through back issues of The Progressive Era, the only clear reference to her that I could find appeared in the July 20, 1905 edition of the newspaper. That edition reprinted a short item from the “New Orleans Sunday States,” which read as follows:

“The Breath of the Gods” is the greatest book edited this year. It is signed Sidney McCall, but it is well know that the authoress is Mrs. Fenollosa, formerly Miss Mary McNeill of Mobile, a well known Southern writer. Her first book was called “Truth Dexter,” a book of Southern life. It recorded a brilliant success. “The Breath of the Gods” is the breath of genius intoned in a word picture of Oriental coloring, thought and patriotism.

Fenollosa’s third husband was Prof. Ernest F. Fenollosa, who was a recognized authority on Oriental art and also a noted author. Mary’s books and poems often featured Oriental themes and were also heavily influenced by her wide travels in Europe and Japan. She and her husband were such fixtures in Japan that when he died in 1905, he was “signally honored” by the Japanese government, sources say.

In the end, I’d like to hear from anyone in the reading audience with more information about Fenollosa’s family ties to Wilcox County. It would also be interesting to know where the Sibley plantation was located in Wilcox County and if the old family home still stands today. I would not be surprised to learn that Fenollosa still has a number of distant relatives living within the confines of present-day Wilcox County.

The Evergreen Courant's News Flashback for Jan. 2, 2024

The Nettie Quill.

23 YEARS AGO
JAN. 4, 2001

Local weather observer Harry Ellis reported 1.05 inches of rain in Evergreen on Dec. 27 and 1.10 inches on Dec. 28. He reported a high of 60 degrees on Dec. 16 and a low of 17 on Dec. 31. Total rainfall in December was 5.24 inches, and Ellis recorded 40.91 inches during the year 2000.

Funeral services held for Rev. A.L. Shehan: Rev. A.L. Shehan, 92, of Evergreen died Sat., Dec. 23, 2000 at his residence.
Rev. Shehan was saved at an early age and spent seven years preparing for the ministry. He was a minister for 72 years and 52 of those years he served in Evergreen. For 41 years, he had a radio ministry on the local, national and international levels, and it was the longest running radio ministry in the world.
Funeral services were held Tues., Dec. 26, 2000 at 2 p.m. from the Chapel of Cope Funeral Home with Rev. Harold Tyus, Rev. Jackie Davis and Rev. C.L. Dyess officiating. Burial was in Union Cemetery in Frisco City.

Evergreen-Conecuh Chamber of Commerce President Alesia Stuart announced that the Board of Directors elected new officers for the year 2001 at its meeting in December. John Raines was elected president; Brent Salter, vice-president; and Terry Jackson, treasurer.
The newly elected officers and directors will be installed at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting and Banquet to be held Thurs., Jan. 25, at the Hillcrest High School Cafetorium.

48 YEARS AGO
JAN. 1, 1976

Local weather observer Earl Windham reported 1.6 inches of rain on Dec. 25. He reported a high of 65 degrees on Dec. 28 and a low of 23 on Dec. 22.

Rites held for Mr. Pate, former Supt. of Education: Harvey Godwin Pate, 69, of Evergreen died on Tues., Dec. 23, in a Greenville hospital. Mr. Pate served a total of five terms as Conecuh County Superintendent of Education. He did not seek re-election, but retired when he completed his fifth term of office in 1973.
Mr. Pate was first elected superintendent in 1944 and then was re-elected in 1948 and 1952. He was associated with education in various capacities until he again sought the office in 1964 and won election and was re-elected in 1968.
A native of Paul, he received his early education in the school of this county. He earned his BS degree from Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University, and did graduate studies at Auburn and Columbia University, New York City.
Prior to being elected to his first term as superintendent, Mr. Pate served as principal of Annex School for six years and Conecuh County High School for three years and taught at Evergreen High School for two years. In all, he was associated with the county school system for nearly 40 years.

A fire in the rear of Harper’s Furniture Co. on West Front Street did little damage Monday night, thanks to its discovery by city police and prompt and efficient work by the Evergreen Fire Department.

73 YEARS AGO
JAN. 4, 1951

Harper’s Furniture Co. will hold its grand opening next Friday morning, Jan. 12, at nine o’clock, according to an announcement made this week by Coy L. Harper, owner of the new home furnishing establishment. The store succeeds Travis Furniture Co. and will be at the same location in the Moorer Building.
It is also announced this week that J.O. (Joe) Brooks will be with this new firm as manager and outside contact man.

Battery ‘C’ Guardsmen Getting Ready For Active Federal Duty: Men of Battery “C,” 117^th Field Artillery Battalion, 31^st (Dixie) Division, Conecuh County unit of the Alabama National Guard, are now getting ready to go on active federal duty Jan. 16. The 31^st Division has been called back into national service and is to be sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The local battery expects to move out sometime between Jan. 16 and Jan. 26.
Battery “C” guardsmen are now drilling on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights at the armory in Evergreen readying themselves for fulltime service. Battery strength as of Mon., Jan. 1, was 79 officers and enlisted men.
The battery is commanded by Capt. John C. Holman, who was executive officer when “C” was mobilized just prior to World War II.
The battery is well supplied with experienced and capable officers and non-coms. All of the officers are World War II vets as well as most of the top-ranking NCO’s. In all, there are 21 World War II veterans on the battery roster.

98 YEARS AGO
JAN. 6, 1926

Attorney General Harwell G. Davis was a visitor at The Courant office Tuesday. Mr. Davis stated that he was enroute to Castleberry to attend a K. of P. meeting.

The fire siren called the Evergreen firemen to the residence of Mr. A.A. Williams on Bruner Avenue on New Year morning. Within a short while after the fire was extinguished at his residence, fire was discovered in the cotton office of Mr. Williams over the Binion Grocery & Feed Co. on West Front Street. Mr. Williams was out of town at the time.

MIXON: Rev. U.G. Hicks, our new pastor, preached his first sermon at Asbury Sunday and those who heard him said he preached a fine sermon.

Captain John Quill, 87, of Mobile, died recently in Boston. Captain Quill for many years owned a number of river boats running out of Mobile. The two best known are the John Quill and the Nettie Quill.

Daniel Cook Sr. of Camden has announced his candidacy for the state senate from the 22^nd district.

The death of Mr. W.D. Bailey on last Saturday afternoon about two o’clock at the Simmons House brought sadness to the hearts of many citizens of Evergreen.
Deceased had been confined to the fresh air camp at Montgomery for some time and had been discharged just a short while before Christmas and it was the pleasure of his family and friends to have him with them during the holidays.

123 YEARS AGO

JAN. 2, 1901

CHINA: China is the name of a new post office recently established here with J.E. Witherington, postmaster.

The People’s Bank of Conecuh County is now open and ready for business with C.P. Deming as president, W.B. Ivey as vice president and Arthur Cunningham as cashier. Heretofore, Conecuh County has had but one bank, which has been known as the Bank of Evergreen, and this institution has changed hands.

The residence of J.T. Amos was destroyed by fire last Sunday night. The fire originated in the kitchen and was discovered at seven o’clock by Mr. Amos, who gave the alarm. In a short space of time, a large crowd had gathered to fight the mad flames, but it had gained such headway that it was soon evident that the house could not be saved, and the people set about to save the furniture and adjoining buildings.

During the holidays, little Waddy McCreary was painfully wounded by the discharge of a 22-calibre flobert rifle. The ball took effect in his foot, producing a very painful wound. The physicians were unable to remove the ball.

Sheriff W.W. Pridgen returned Sunday from Hot Springs, where he has been for several weeks past for the benefit of his health.

The Arends Hotel at Brewton was destroyed by fire on Christmas night. A guest of the house lost $400 in gold. It is announced that the building will be replaced with a large, two-story brick structure with modern conveniences.