Daily Rainfall Observations from SW Alabama for Fri., Nov. 22, 2019

Rainfall (Past 24 Hours): 0.00 inches.

Week to Date Rainfall: 0.00 inches

Month to Date Rainfall:  1.50 inches.

Fall to Date Rainfall: 8.75 inches.

Year to Date Rainfall: 47.20 inches.

Readings taken at 0700 hours Central Standard Time (1300 GMT) daily in Monroe County, Alabama, USA, in the vicinity of Lat 31.405783N Lon -87.479861W. CoCoRaHS Station No. AL-MN-6, Station Name: Frisco City 5.0 WSW.

Memories of Conecuh County, Alabama's old Karen community have faded into the forgotten past

Railroad track in "downtown" Karen.

The more that I look at old maps, the more I realize that the countryside is dotted with old, forgotten communities that have disappeared into the fog of passing time. One such community is the old Karen community, which first appeared on maps as long ago as 1912.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Karen community, it was located on Conecuh County Road 107, just north of the Shreve community in eastern Conecuh County, not far from the Butler and Covington County lines.

Before last week, I couldn’t honestly say that I’d ever been to the Karen community, so last Thursday I hopped in my truck and took a quick field trip to Karen to see it for myself. On the way there, I wondered if there was anything left that might indicate that this was a much larger community at one time, perhaps an old store building, post office, school or train depot.

The Karen community is almost exactly 24 miles from Evergreen’s Four Points intersection and to get there, I took U.S. Highway 84 out past Herbert and over the Sepulga River at Staples Bridge to County Road 47. From there, I cut north on County Road 47 and headed up to the Beat 8 community, where I turned onto County Road 51. I then turned onto County Road 54, which took me over the railroad tracks at Shreve.

At that point, I cut north on County Road 107, which took me past Sweet Home Church and Wingard Pond to State Highway 55. Looking carefully both ways, I crossed the four-lane there and entered “downtown” Karen. According to the old maps I’d studied, the northern boundary of this community appears to have been Arnold Road, a dirt road that runs along the border between Conecuh and Butler County.

I turned around at this point, pulled over for a few minutes and realized that I was a short distance from the town of McKenzie. In fact, when you cross the Butler County line, Conecuh County Road 107 becomes Main Street in McKenzie. While standing there, I remembered that my late grandmother grew up in this area and went to school at McKenzie High School, where she’d been a cheerleader years and years ago.

My uncle, Tony Weaver, and Kenny Walden both told me that their grandparents had lived in this community. Kenny said that he’s hunted in this area many times and noted that he couldn’t remember ever hearing anyone call this community Karen. He did mention that there was an old beer joint not far from there back in the early 60s that exploded mysteriously one night due to a gas leak.

County Commissioner David Campbell also lives in this area and told me that he doesn’t remember ever hearing anyone call it Karen. His father, who recently turned 80, actually lives in a house that sits on the Conecuh-Butler county line. Campbell said his father and 92-year-old Carl Wingard might possibly remember the days when the community was called Karen.

From the Butler County line, I drove a short distance down to the railroad crossing where Wilson Farm Road crosses the railroad tracks, parked and got out for a closer look. While I’m no expert, the tracks looked to be in relatively decent shape and a lack of rust on the rails indicated to me that they may still be used from time to time. Later, someone told me that he remembered there being a platform in this area near the tracks where loggers would pile timber to be loaded on trains. Lavon Lee also told me that the railroad through the community dates back to 1900.

Looking around, I suspect that at one time this community, like so many other small communities, probably had a small store and post office. I’d also be willing to wager that the community got its name from the post office as it was common practice to name post offices after the wives and daughters of the postmaster. Examples of this type of thing are Beatrice over in Monroe County and Estelle in Wilcox County.

Before getting back into my truck, I took one last good look around and wondered if there were any ghost stories or local legends from this corner of Conecuh County. Before settlers came to this part of the world, had Indians lived in great numbers here beside its creeks and streams? Had they left behind any mounds or old village sites?

I eventually headed back to Evergreen and on the way into town, I couldn’t help but wonder what the Karen community looked like way back in the early 1900s. Perhaps some of that area’s older residents will remember what it was like and recall the true story behind how the community got its name. In the end, if anyone in the reading audience knows more about the history of the old Karen community, please let me know, so that we can keep the memory of such places alive for future generations.

Brett Loftin moves into first place in local ESPN College Football contest

Wendell Hart

The 12^th week of our local ESPN College Football Pick ‘Em Contest wrapped up on Saturday night, and Brett Loftin found himself atop the local standings once the dust settled after Saturday’s slate of college games. Going into last Saturday, Loftin was locked in a four-way tie with three other players for third place, but he correctly picked the outcomes of all 10 games in the contest on Saturday to take sole possession of first place. He currently leads all other contestants with 88 total points.

Casey Grant, who was in first place for weeks and weeks, is now in second place with 87 total points. Clint Hyde, Drew Skipper and Mark Cotten were tied for third place with 86 total points each.

Jesse Jordan and Blake Stringer were tied for sixth place with 85 points each. Justin Chandler was in eighth place with 82 points. Austin Weaver and I were tied for ninth place with 80 points each. Arthur Ingram III was next, in 11^th place, with 79 points.

As you can see, less than 10 points separates those of us in the top 10 and with three weeks left to go, everyone’s still got a chance to win top honors. The top 10 has reshuffled itself a number of times in recent weeks, and there’s bound to be a few more changes in the weeks to come. Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: We’ve still got a lot of good football to look forward to.

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The Alabama High School Athletic Association announced on Saturday the names of 12 major contributors to prep athletics in Alabama who have been selected for induction into the 30^th class of the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame. This group, which includes an “old-timer,” will be enshrined at a banquet held at the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and Spa Convention Center on March 16, 2020.

This year’s group includes coach and administrator Samuel “Hamp” Lyon, who was chosen in the old timer category. Lyon, who died in 1974, was born in 1911 and came to Alabama from Benjamin Bosse High School in Evansville, Tenn. in 1932 when he joined the University of Alabama athletic program. Upon graduation in 1937, he went straight to Alexander City High School where he served as head football coach from 1937-1941 – leaving to serve in the U.S. Army in Europe in World War II from 1941 to 1945.

He returned to Alex City in 1946 as head football coach remained as head coach through 1957 – compiling a 107-47-10 record. His 1953 team was the first in school history to go undefeated, compiling a 9-0-1 record. He served as athletic director from 1957-1972 until he retired. The football stadium in Alexander City was named in his honor in 1970. Lyon also founded the Alex City Quarterback Club and served in the Lions Club and Shriners Club and retired as a Colonel in the Army Reserve.

When it comes to Conecuh County and the “Old Timer” category, I think that former Evergreen High School coach Wendell Hart more than deserves a place in the AHSAA Sports Hall of Fame.

Hart’s sports life in Conecuh County spanned decades. Anyone who’s read The Courant’s regular Sports Flashback feature over the years will have seen that Hart was not only a successful football, basketball and baseball coach, but he also excelled in those sports as a player. Hart touched many lives, and there are still many of Hart’s former players and teammates in the community and elsewhere who have fond memories of Hart.

Hart passed away at the age of 60 on Nov. 26, 1977, well before the first class was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991. Known as “Coach Hart” to hundreds of former students and players, he served as a head coach at Evergreen High School for 20 years. He also coached at Luverne, Elba and Lyeffion. In his heyday, he was one of the state’s most successful coaches and the coach with the most senior years of service in the state.

He was also a graduate of Evergreen High School, where he was an outstanding athlete before going on to play at Sunflower Junior College in Moorehead, Miss. and Millsap College in Jackson, Miss. In both high school and in college, Hart lettered in football, baseball and basketball. He went on to graduate from Troy State University.

After serving in World War II, he was named the head coach at Evergreen in 1946 and successfully coached football, basketball and baseball. In 1949, he coached the only undefeated football team in Evergreen High School history, going 8-0-2. His teams in 1949 and 1950, had a combined record of 17-1-2.

Later, he left Evergreen to coach at Luverne and Elba and had success at both of those schools. He eventually returned to Evergreen as a head coach and teacher, and later coached at Lyeffion. His health eventually forced him to give up coaching.

When you take into account his entire career and the impact he had on so many young people, he more than deserves inclusion in the AHSAA Sports Hall of Fame in the “Old Timer” category.

Daily Rainfall Observations from SW Alabama for Thurs., Nov. 21, 2019

Rainfall (Past 24 Hours): 0.00 inches.

Week to Date Rainfall: 0.00 inches

Month to Date Rainfall:  1.50 inches.

Fall to Date Rainfall: 8.75 inches.

Year to Date Rainfall: 47.20 inches.

Readings taken at 0700 hours Central Standard Time (1300 GMT) daily in Monroe County, Alabama, USA, in the vicinity of Lat 31.405783N Lon -87.479861W. CoCoRaHS Station No. AL-MN-6, Station Name: Frisco City 5.0 WSW.

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

Alexandre Dumas

31 YEARS AGO

NOV. 17, 1988

Frisco City to place time capsule, to be opened in bicentennial year: A time capsule, containing assorted memorabilia mostly about Frisco City’s centennial celebration, will be encased next month at the town’s Jones Park.

A spot in Jones Park, which displays the Frisco City caboose, has been designated to encase the capsule. A brief ceremony is tentatively set for Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. The capsule will be encased and covered by a plaque noting it should not be opened until October 2088.

Perfect season: Excel High School’s junior varsity football team recorded a 5-0 record this season. The Panthers defeated J.U. Blacksher 36-6 and 32-0, pounded Frisco City 34-0 and 16-0, and dumped Sweet Water 28-0. (Members of the team were Brian Luker, Trey Harris, Steve Goodman, Scott Baker, Brady Wright, Shawn Manning, Chad Addison, Shannon Kelly, Ray Pharr, Lamar Andrews, Jason Bell, Steven Ledkins, Mike Cole, Chris Casey, Larue Spears and Gene McMillian. Coaches were Jack Booth and Bubba Nall.)

Cutting ribbon: A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Tuesday for a new motel at the intersection of Highway 84 and 21 at Ollie. Present for the grand opening of the Western Motel were Frisco City Mayor Billy McCrory; motel manager Roger Leva; Monroeville Mayor Pro Tem Jim Davis, who represented Monroeville Mayor B.C. Hornady; and Mr. and Mrs. I.J. Leva, motel owners. Leva, who also owns a motel in Columbia, Miss., announced his son, Roger, will manage the local motel.

56 YEARS AGO

NOV. 21, 1963

David M. Nettles Is Appointed Probate Judge By Gov. Wallace: David Miller Nettles, Monroeville attorney, has been appointed by Gov. George C. Wallace as probate judge of Monroe County to fill the unexpired term of Judge E.T. Millsap, who died a few weeks ago. The appointment was made public Tuesday.

Mr. Nettles will take over the office immediately and will serve until the new term begins in January 1965. A judge will be elected in the 1964 primaries to begin a regular six-year term in 1965.

Judge Nettles, age 33, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. George Lee Nettles of Monroeville. He is a graduate of Monroe County High School. He studied pre-law at Auburn and obtained his law degree from the University of Alabama.

SENIORS AND STILL CHAMPS – Most of the Monroe County High School seniors pictured above have high school memories that probably few football players will have. The MCHS Tigers have won the Pine Belt Championship and the Monroe County championship every year they were in senior high school. The team has won both titles for the past four years. Pictured with their coaches are Billy Sellers, Richard Otterberg, Tim Jones, Paul Griffin, Robin Sanderson, Don Cox, Larry Godwin, Louie Hayles, Lloyd Sturtevant, Eugene Wilson, Ray Owens and James R. Allen, head coach, and Ronald Dees, assistant coach.

NAMED SENATOR: Kay Ellen Ivey, Camden, the granddaughter of Mrs. Earl Nettles of Tunnel Springs, has been named freshman senator at Auburn. Miss Ivey is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nettles Ivey, former residents of Monroe County.

81 YEARS AGO

NOV. 17, 1938

While hunting one day last week, Mr. John Alexander of Uriah, killed a pure white squirrel. White squirrels have been reported in the county, but this is the first one killed by a hunter in many years.

Monroeville Defeats Beatrice, 39 to 0: The Monroeville High School football eleven added another team to their string of victims last Friday night when they defeated Beatrice High in a one-sided contest on the local field. The final score was 39 to 0.

Both teams showed good coaching and played fine, clean football, but Monroeville was too powerful for the visitors.

This was the seventh consecutive victory for Monroeville, having defeated all the High School teams in the county and three other teams out of the county.

The games played to date, together with the scores, are as follows: Monroeville 13, Pine Apple 0; Monroeville 48, Uriah 0; Monroeville 37, Excel 0; Monroeville 7, Jackson 6; Monroeville 6, Frisco City 0; Monroeville 33, Camden 13; Monroeville 39, Beatrice 0. Total points scored: Monroeville 183; Opponents, 19.

The next and last game of the season will be played on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving when Monroeville plays Brewton High.

Faulk-Ingram: Miss Jennie Faulk announces the marriage of her niece, Miss Lucille Faulk, to Mr. James Gilbert Ingram of Tuscaloosa on Fri., Nov. 4, in Tuscaloosa.

Mr. J.W. Barganier of Frisco City brought a stalk of cane to The Journal office Tuesday morning. The stalk had four well-developed joints and above these joints grew two perfect stalks.

106 YEARS AGO

NOV. 20, 1913

Mrs. A.C. Lee and little daughter returned Monday from a visit with relatives at Finchburg.

Mr. S.M. Roberts, who was recently appointed postmaster at Monroeville, has entered upon the discharge of his official duties. The formal transfer was made on Tuesday.

Jeptha Langham Shot by James Mixon: Jeptha Langham was shot and fatally injured by his son-in-law, James Mixon, near Midway, this county, last Saturday night. Particulars have not been learned further than that the trouble occurred at Mixon’s home. Langham was taken to a hospital in Selma where he died Sunday night. Langham was the same man who was held in jail here a few weeks ago on the serious charge of having administered poison to his wife, but who was discharged on the certificate of the state chemist who failed to discover any traces of poison in the contents of the stomach submitted to analysis.

Mixon came to town Monday and voluntarily surrendered to the sheriff and is now in jail awaiting the action of the grand jury.

HIGH SCHOOL NOTES: The Brewton Collegiate Institute basketball team played the Monroe County High School Friday afternoon. The result was a score of 18 to 0 in favor of Monroeville. The visitors were a fine set of young athletes, but our boys were too much for them. Prof. Harris wore the smile that wouldn’t come off when the game was over.

131 YEARS AGO

NOV. 16, 1888

Monroeville Lodge No. 153 – Regular communication, Saturday before third Sunday in each month. – F.M. Jones, Secretary.

The County Farmers Alliance organized Monday. A large number of delegates were present, 12 out of the 14 Primary Alliances in the county being represented, and the following officers elected and installed: President, W.J. Mason; Vice President, G.W. Salter; Secretary, Q. Salter; Treasurer, D.C. Mims; Chaplain, A. Holloman; Lecturer, G.W. Burns; Assistant Lecturer, - Chapman; Sergeant-at-Arms, - Higdon; Doorkeeper, J.T. Salter; Assistant Doorkeeper, W.T. Ryland; Executive Committee, W.B. Kemp, N.J. Stallworth, W.M. Hestle.

The Journal introduces a new feature of interest this week in the way of a serial story, which it hopes will be appreciated by its readers. The story (“The Fisherman of Naples” by Alexandre Dumas) is fully illustrated, intensely interesting and will run for several months.

MAIL SCHEDULE: Evergreen to Claiborne, daily, arrives at Monroeville from Claiborne, 8 a.m., arrives from Evergreen, 3 p.m.;

Monroeville to Repton, leaves Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 3:30 p.m., arrives 10 p.m.

Pineapple to Monroeville, arrives Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 8 p.m., leaves Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 6 a.m.

Monroeville to Bells Landing, leaves Monday and Friday at 6 a.m., arrives Tuesday and Saturday, 3 p.m. – F.A. Seymour, postmaster.

The weather has been very disagreeable for several days. It has been neither warm nor cold, wet or dry.

Singleton tells of unusual Asian fruit that grew in Eliska and Monroeville

Akebia fruit.

(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 “Vine from the Orient thrives in Monroe soil” was originally published in the May 18, 1972 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

The Akebia (Ake’bia) grows wild in the Far Eastern countries of China, Korea and Japan. The name Akebia, in Japanese, means running vine that bears fruit. This vine grows well in the Far East because of the climate, and mostly the soil conditions. Strangely enough, it will also grow in parts of Monroe County. One of these places is around the Goren Scott home at Eliska. Also, this rare vine is adapted to the soil of Monroeville.

Miss Frederica McClellan was the daughter of Dr. George McClellan, a resident of Philadelphia, Pa. Miss McClellan met and later married Thomas C. English. They moved to Alabama and Eliska sometime before the Civil War. Prior to their wedding, one of Miss McClellan’s relatives made a trip to the China mainland and brought back a cutting of the Akebia vine. When the English family moved to Alabama, they had in their possession a piece of the original vine that came from China.

The Akebia grows very rapidly. It has unusual but lovely blooms. The bloom comes early in the spring, and after the bloom comes the small sausage-shaped fruit. This fruit is about two and a half inches long and can be eaten.

Orientals prepare this fruit much the same way that we prepare small sausage for frying. They split the Akebia fruit in half and then fry lightly. The fruit is cooked just long enough so as to brown the split side. When cooked, it is very tasty when served along with other vegetables, I am told.

The climate does not have much effect on the Akebia. It is a hardy vine that grows quite large. The soil is the deciding factor as to whether the Akebia will or will not grow. In our part of the country, the Akebia vine stays green year-round. In the colder climates of the Far East the vine will die down with the cold weather, only to sprout again when warm weather returns.

Mrs. Goren Scott states that the original vine, which grows at their Eliska home, has been pruned away many times, only to sprout up again and bloom as beautiful as ever.

This strange and beautiful vine has traveled many thousands of miles from its native soil in the Far East. Like many other species of both plant and mammal, it has grown roots deep in the soft warm soil of Monroe County, as if telling the world that it is here to stay.

[The column above was accompanied by a photo by Singleton that bore the following caption: Akebia vine grown in Monroe County. Although the plant originated in the Orient, it appears to grow well here.]

(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 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.)

Relic hunters excavated many Indian sites in Wilcox County in the 1890s

Clarence Bloomfield Moore

A couple of weeks ago in this space I wrote about ancient Indian mounds that have been documented over the years in Wilcox County, and much of what is known about these sites is due to the work of Philadelphia archeologist, Clarence Bloomfield Moore.

Moore, who was born in Philadelphia in 1852, was a wealthy, Harvard-educated man, who loved archeology and relic-hunting. During the 1880s, he began nearly 30 years of traveling the southeastern United States, where he located, excavated and wrote about hundreds of ancient Indian sites. Most of his travels were along rivers in his steamboat, The Gopher, which served as the mobile headquarters for his veteran team of diggers.

In early 1899, Moore, who would have been in his late 40s by this time, and The Gopher found themselves in Wilcox County, and in his report to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, he noted that “no systematic investigation” of archeological sites along the Alabama River had been made prior to his arrival. During this time, Moore and his team investigated Indian mounds in Wilcox, Monroe, Clarke and Dallas counties, in addition to other points up and down the Alabama River.

In Wilcox County, they investigated mounds near Burford’s Landing, Webb’s Landing and Matthews Landing and found a wide variety of Indian artifacts and remains. Moore and his diggers routinely found skulls, teeth, shells and arrowheads as well as other not-so-common items, including stone knives.

Moore's steamboat 'The Gopher,' pictured in foreground.

In one instance, they found a “beautifully wrought” celt, that is, a prehistoric implement with a beveled cutting edge that was used as a weapon and tool. The one found by Moore’s team was about 10 inches long and was thought to have been made out of greenstone. One is left to wonder if this stone knife is on display today in some museum out there in the world or perhaps in storage somewhere like the Smithsonian Institute.

Moore’s team also found small gorgets made of shells that Indians wore to cover their throats. In another location, they found a broken piece of earthenware pottery carved to look like the head of a duck, and Moore theorized that this had been part of the handle of some type of earthenware vessel. Again, one is left to wonder what became of these unique artifacts.

Probably the most gruesome find unearthed by Moore in Wilcox County were at mounds near Matthews Landing, where they found numerous burial sites. In one case, they found a burial urn that contained the skulls and skeletons of several infants. Moore noted that in all his travels he had not seen a “plural burial” of this type.

Eventually, Moore moved on to points elsewhere along the Alabama River, but he left behind a trail of disturbed Indian sites. Many of the artifacts that Moore collected ended up in museums in Philadelphia and around the world. If you’re interested in reading more about his explorations in Wilcox County, I recommend that you read “The Southern and Central Alabama Expeditions of Clarence Bloomfield Moore,” a 2001 book which was edited by Dr. Craig T. Sheldon Jr.

In the end, I’d be interested in hearing from anyone in the reading audience with more information about old Indian village sites and mounds in present-day Wilcox County. No doubt many of these sites still exist today, and it would be fun to see them in person. I think it’s important to document these locations for future generations, and it would be a shame for them to become lost in the fogs of time like so much of our history.