Lawrence Gulley releases new book, "Sweet Liberty: If God Be For Us, Who Can Be Against Us"

Many of you in the reading audience will remember reading in this space last week about the Oct. 16, 1973 incident in which two police officers and a police dispatcher reported seeing a UFO over Evergreen. This incident was major news at the time and was reported by news outlets across the country. In fact, Evergreen residents in California said they saw it on the news way out on the West Coast.

Not long after last week’s newspaper hit the streets, I received a call at the office from a woman who was living in Montgomery in October 1973. She said that her parents lived in an old house in Evergreen at the time, and they were in bed at the time of the UFO sighting, which happened around midnight. Her parents said that they were awoken by the sound of an old hallway phone, which wasn’t ringing. Instead, it was making a weird, pulsing noise.

The couple got up to check on the phone, but it quit making the weird noise about the time that they got to it. They had no idea that police officers across town were witnessing a UFO behind city hall. Only after they saw the news reports about the incident did it occur to them that the phone incident occurred at the same time the officers were seeing the UFO.

The woman who told me this story last Thursday asked me not to use her name, but when she read the UFO story in the paper, she felt compelled to share the unusual phone story with the paper. I’m glad she did, and it makes me wonder if anyone else out there in the reading audience remembers anything unusual about that night. If so, please call me and let me know, so we can complete the picture of events that night.

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Noted author Lawrence Gulley of Excel, over in Monroe County, visited Evergreen on Friday morning to announce the publication of his new book, “Sweet Liberty: If God Be For Us, Who Can Be Against Us.” Released on Sept. 30 by Icebox Publishing, this 202-page book is about the American Revolutionary War. I believe that Lawrence said that this is his seventh book and if “Sweet Liberty” is as good as his previous books, readers have a lot to look forward to. If you’re interested in buying a copy, Lawrence encourages you to search for it on Amazon.

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Next week’s edition of The Courant will be dated for Oct. 29, and it will be the last paper before Halloween. With that said, in next week’s paper I’ll be running our annual list of spookiest places in Conecuh County. The more that I explore Conecuh County, the more I realize that there’s a lot that I haven’t seen out there. No doubt there are also a lot of “spooky” places in the county that I’m unaware of.

If you know of a good spooky location and the spooky story behind it, let me hear from you. I’d like the opportunity to add it to the list and maybe check it out in person at some point.

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The fourth week of our local ESPN College Football Pick ‘Em contest wrapped up on Saturday night, and the aftermath of this weekend’s slate of games caused another shake up in our local standings.

After the final seconds ticked off the clock in the last game on Saturday, we found that we had a four-way tie for first place in the local standings. Those tied for first place included Austin Weaver, John Johnston, Justin Mixon and Casey Grant. Robert Bozeman was in sole possession of fifth place.

We had a three-way tie for sixth place between myself, Arthur Ingram III and Steve Stacey. Jesse Jordan and Vanessa Sales were tied for ninth place while Tristan McPhaul, Brett Loftin, Clint Hyde, Mark Cotten and Josh Dutton were all tied for 11^th place.

If you’re competing in this contest and didn’t do so hot over the weekend, don’t sweat it. We’ve got seven more weeks to go and a lot can (and will) change over the course of the next two months. Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

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The fourth weekend of the SEC football season also closed out on Saturday, and fans were treated to some upsets and a few surprises. For example, No. 2-ranked Alabama beat No. 3 Georgia by a whopping 17 points. Unranked Kentucky beat No. 14 Tennessee by 27 points, and unranked South Carolina upset No. 13 Auburn.

This week, we’ve only got three SEC games lined up for this Saturday: Alabama at Tennessee, Auburn at Ole Miss and South Carolina at LSU. For what it’s worth, here are my predictions for that slate of games.

I like Alabama over Tennessee, Auburn over Ole Miss and LSU over South Carolina. (Last week: 2-3. So far this season: 17-9)

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Also of note over the weekend, former Hillcrest High School football standout Cam Riley, who is now a freshman at Auburn, made his first official start at linebacker for the Tigers. Auburn opened its game against South Carolina with a three-linebacker look, and Cam was one of the three linebackers on the field for Auburn. Cam’s got a long college career ahead of him, and I’ve got a feeling that in four or five more years, I’ll be sitting here at The Courant typing about his first NFL start. Between now and then, we’ve got a lot of good football left in front of us as Cam continues to represent Conecuh County in fine fashion.

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The Atlanta Braves went down in flames in Sunday night’s National League Championship Series, falling by one run to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Atlanta had a good season and got off to a great start in the NLCS, but they just couldn’t hold on against the Dodgers.

Los Angeles will face the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series, which was scheduled to begin on Tuesday. The World Series is a best-of-seven series, and if it goes to seven games, Game Seven will be played on Wed., Oct. 28. All of those games will be broadcast by FOX.

What's the most unusual place name in Wilcox County, Alabama?

Last week in this space, I wrote about an online article called “The Creepiest Places To Visit In Every State.” Not long after The Progressive Era hit the streets last week, a reader sent me another article titled “Top 10 Bizarre U.S. Town Names,” which was published on the website, Listverse.com. I was interested to see if any Alabama towns made the list, and I was somewhat disappointed to see that places like Burnt Corn, Scratch Ankle and Slapout hadn’t made the cut.

Towns with unusual names that were mentioned in the article included Swastika, New York; Accident, Maryland; Knockemstiff, Ohio; Buttzville, New Jersey; Humptulips, Washington; Boogertown, North Carolina; Nothing, Arizona; No Name, Colorado; Truth or Consequences, New Mexico; and Satan’s Kingdom, Massachusetts.

Reading about all of these unusual names got me to thinking about some of the unusual place names in Wilcox County. As it turns out, there are quite a few. Here are a few words about some of the unusual place names that I found while reviewing some old Wilcox County maps.

Annemanie: Located in the northwestern part of the county on State Highway 5, north of Pine Hill, this community was named after Anne, the daughter of A.M. Manie. A post office was established here in 1893. Sometimes, this community’s name is spelled as two words, “Anne Manie.”

Awin: When this community’s first post office was established in 1881, Jack Murray Williams was appointed to serve as its first postmaster. Among his first duties, Williams was tasked with giving the post office an official name, and he proceeded to ask people of the community what name they preferred. Exactly how Williams went about doing this is unclear, but he apparently compiled a list of several suitable names. According to “Place Names in Alabama” by Virginia O. Foscue, Williams wrote “A win” beside the name on the list that the majority of residents favored. Williams sent his list to postal officials who were to give the post office its official name, but they apparently became confused and took Williams’s “A win” comment to be the chosen name.

Burl: Located in the southeastern part of the county, not far from McWilliams, this community was also known as Watsons Crossing. The Burl post office was in operation from 1914 to 1958. Foresters in the reading audience will tell you that a “burl” is a rounded knotty growth on a tree that’s commonly seen on tree trunks and sometimes on branches.

Corkville: This old community was located in the southeastern part of the county, just west of Schuster Springs. At one time, it was once large enough to support a post office. In fact, sources say that there was a post office there between 1898 to 1903.

Eggville: Eggville was located between Oak Hill and Pine Apple on what is now State Highway 10. There’s not much at Eggville nowadays, but it’s one of the oldest communities in Wilcox County. It can be seen on county maps as far back as 1868, right after the Civil War.

Fairplay: The old Fairplay community was located on the west side of Bear Creek, northwest of Pine Apple. A post office operated there from 1831 to 1842. It was found on county maps up until around 1882.

Lower Peach Tree: According to “Place Names in Alabama,” this community was “given the same designation as that of one of the two Indian villages once in this area. Benjamin Hawkins, the Creek Indian agent, had introduced peaches to the Indians around 1800. During the Creek War of 1813-14, the soldiers finding peaches at these two abandoned Indian settlements called the southernmost one Lower Peach Tree and the other one Upper Peach Tree.”

Pine Apple: According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, this town was originally called Friendship, but was incorporated as Pine Apple in 1872. Sources say that the town was called Pine Apple because of all the pine trees and apple trees in and around the small town.

Sunny South: According to “Place Names in Alabama,” Sunny South was “named for the Sunny South, a steamboat destroyed by fire in 1867 at Portland, a dead town once located on the banks of the Alabama River in Dallas County.”

In the end, if anyone in the reading audience has any additional information about how these places got their names, please let me hear from you. Also, if you know of any other unusual place names in Wilcox County not listed above, please let me know. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that there are a few more unusual names out there.

The Evergreen Courant's News Flashback for Oct. 20, 2020

Jeff Sessions

EIGHT YEAR AGO
OCT. 18, 2012

Weather reporter Betty Ellis reported .05 inches of rain on Oct. 14, 2012. She reported a high temperature of 85 degrees on Oct. 13 and lows of 49 on Oct. 8 and Oct. 9.

A host of well-wishers that included dozens of representatives from the law enforcement, government and legal communities in Conecuh and Monroe counties were on hand Monday morning to mark the retirement of longtime district attorney, Tommy Chapman.

The Evergreen City Council voted to move forward with the purchase of land from Gil McKenzie located along I-65 at Exit 96 for upcoming development at their regular meeting Tuesday night. The city will pay $2.3 million for the remaining property owned by McKenzie and begin working on the infrastructure to build a new grocery store along with several other businesses that have committed to building on the site.

One of the biggest annual events in Conecuh County is scheduled to be held this coming Saturday in downtown Evergreen – the 10th Annual Evergreen Sausage Festival.

The 21st Annual South East Regional Fly-In, which brings aviation enthusiasts from around the country to Conecuh County, will be held next week at Middleton Air Field in Evergreen.

23 YEARS AGO
OCT. 16, 1997

Weather reporter Harry Ellis reported .01 inches of rain on Oct. 12, 1997. He reported a high temperature of 90 on Oct. 9 and a low of 62 on Oct. 6.

U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions was in Evergreen Tuesday for visits with local industries. Here Sessions was being given a quick lesson on how Knud Nielsen’s sweet smelling potpourri is packaged. Earlier in the day, he visited and toured the Conecuh Sausage Plant. He said Washington is quite hectic and day to day activities changed consistently on the floor of the Senate.

The 17th Annual Conecuh Heritage Day, sponsored by the Conecuh County Heritage Day Committee and the Evergreen-Conecuh County Chamber of Commerce will be held this Sat., Oct. 18, at Evergreen Municipal Park from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Castleberry got a new business a few weeks ago with the opening of Palmer’s Sports Bar and Grill located on County Road 18. On hand for the celebration were Jim Clifton, Evergreen-Conecuh County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Board; Castleberry Mayor Curtis Wolff, James A. Palmer III, James A. Palmer Jr., owner, Henry E. Palmer Jr., Willie J. Moncrease and Lula Palmer, James Jr.’s mother.

Robert Barnett was recognized recently for 40 years of employment with Pugh & Son, Inc. He began working with D.M. Pugh and his son, Moye, on May 1, 1947. The business was then known as Pugh Sash & Cabinet Shop.

38 YEARS AGO
OCT. 21, 1982

Local weather reporter Earl Windham reported .31 of an inch of rain on Oct. 12, 1982 and .73 of an inch on Oct. 13 He reported a high temperature of 90 degrees on Oct. 10 and a low of 45 on Oct. 15.

Brownville and Owassa have formed a rural community fire department. Fire Chief Edwin Brown and David Burt, Chairman of the Conecuh County Commission, recently signed a cooperative equipment lease between the Alabama Forestry Commission, the Commission and the Brownville-Owassa Fire Department. Richard Bowers of the Alabama Forestry Commission and a resident of the community witnessed the signing.

Conecuh County’s public schools could be closed by Christmas of this year, according to Superintendent of Education Walter B. Hudson Jr.
Hudson said that unless the economy makes an unusual and sharp change to the up-side, or additional money is found, the county public school system just won’t have the money to keep school doors open after the Christmas holidays.

Lizbeth McMillan (Miss Lib), retired and much loved fifth grade teacher at the Evergreen City School for about half a century, takes a real good look at the prize-winning display of the Conecuh Heritage Day open house hosted by the Evergreen Study Club at the Evergreen-Conecuh County Public Library on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 3. The winning display was prepared and offered to view by the public by Mrs. Wilber (Marie) Nall of Lenox.

53 YEARS AGO
OCT. 19, 1967

Ralph L. (Leon) Stinson Jr. of Evergreen has been named Industrial Representative for the State Planning and Industrial Development Board.

A power outage to do necessary work is scheduled in the Highway 31 South area this Sunday morning. The current will be turned off at 7 a.m. and should be back on about 9:30 a.m., according to J.W. Weaver, City Electrical Superintendent.

Major C.B. DeMarque, whose wife Alice is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Dean of Montgomery and formerly of Repton, recently took part in a highly successful mission over North Vietnam.
DeMarque and fellow F-4C Phantom II pilots inflicted heavy damage on enemy storage areas and truck convoys carrying supplies southward.

Mrs. Robert G. Kendall of Evergreen has been named chairman of the 1967 Christmas Seal Campaign in an announcement by John Jenkins, President of the Alabama Tuberculosis Association.

FT. BENNING, GA. – Army Private Edward W. Ridgeway, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Ridgeway, Rt. 2, Evergreen, fired expert with the M-14 rifle near the completion of combat training at Ft. Benning. The expert rating is the highest mark a soldier can achieve on his weapons qualification test.

68 YEARS AGO
OCT. 16, 1952

According to figures released by County Superintendent H.G. Pate, a total of 4,980 pupils had been enrolled in the white and colored schools of Conecuh at the end of the first scholastic month.

Contract for the construction of a bridge across Sepulga River near Brooklyn on Highway 83 was let by the State Highway Department Oct. 3 to the W.A. McWaters Construction Co., Montgomery. The approximate cost of the bridge is $116,000.

New city councilmen and the new mayor took their oaths of office at an organizational meeting held by the new administration of the City of Evergreen last week. The oath of office was administered by City Clerk Hunter Thornley.
Vernon B. Millsap is the city’s new mayor. Councilmen O.B. Tuggle and H.J. Kinzer were re-elected. New councilmen are Aubrey Griffin, Guy Mason and C.A. Robinson.

Evergreen Troop 40, Boy Scouts of America, has again been granted a charter by the National Boy Scout Council. The Evergreen troop is the oldest Scout Troop in the Gulf Coast Council. Fifty-eight boys are registered in the troop and Explorer Post for the coming year.
W. Paul (Mr. Mac) McMillan is registered for his 28th consecutive year as scoutmaster of the local troop. His record is unmatched in the council. At the Annual Scout Council Meeting in 1951, Mr. Mac was honored by the Gulf Coast Council for his outstanding Scouting accomplishments with the Silver Beaver Award, the highest honor that a council can present to a scouter.

The Evergreen Courant's Sports Flashback for Oct. 19, 2020

Wayne Frazier

34 YEARS AGO
OCT. 16, 1986

The Sparta Academy Warriors blanked Crenshaw Academy 21-0 in Luverne Friday night.
Tim Wilson scored all three of Sparta’s touchdowns, two on runs and one on a pass from Jeff Walker.
Wilson picked up 85 yards on 21 carries and scored twice. Lee Wild had 27 yards on nine carries; Jeff Carrier, 24 on six; Kenny Bledsoe, 16 on two; Robbie Bolton, 4 on two; and Walker, 3 on four.
Lynn Ralls topped the tackle chart with seven solo hits and one assist.
(Other players on Sparta’s team that year included Johnny Brock, Chris Turner, Glynn Ralls, Shannon Kendall, Chris Davis, Scott Adams and Jeff Brundage.)

Friday night the Repton Bulldogs tamed the Tigers of McKenzie by a score of 42-0, giving the homecoming crowd another awesome display of both defense and offense.
John Thompson scored a touchdown in the first quarter and again on a four-yard run in the second quarter. Eddie Waters threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Allen Nettles with 37 seconds left in the first half.
Carl Stanton scored three touchdowns on the night. His first came on a 48-yard run in the third quarter. He followed that with a 63-yard scoring run with 6:32 left in the game. His final touchdown came on a 94-yard run with 1:18 left in the game.
Repton kicker Spencer Day with perfect on the night, connecting on six of six extra points kicks.
(Other standout Repton players in that game included Russell Royster, Keith Baggett, Greg Rudolph, Chris Dukes, Ken Harter, David Welch, James Montgomery and Greg Mayo. Hugh Wilson was Repton’s head coach.)

49 YEARS AGO
OCT. 21, 1971

Brett Gearhart won second place in the district punt, pass and kick contest held Saturday in Atlanta. Earlier, Brett had won first place in the local contest and in the zone contest in Prattville in the 11-year-old division. The boy he lost out to in Atlanta was the national winner as a 10-year-old last year. Brett is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Gearhart. The PP&K contest is sponsored locally by Warren Ford Co., Inc. and coordinated by the Evergreen Jaycees.

The Evergreen Aggies suffered a 36-0 drubbing at the hands of the Luverne Tigers here in Brooks Stadium on Friday night.
The absence of starting quarterback Harold Rogers and tackle Ronnie Robinson due to injuries and the awesome running attack (by Luverne) combined to shutout the Aggies.
(Other Evergreen players that season included Wavie Ausby, Frank McMillan and Willie Paige.)

Mrs. Tommy Hartley doesn’t seem to be particularly enjoying the close of holding this big rattlesnake. The snake was five feet long and had six rattles and a button. Guy Hartley disposed of the rattler. His daughter-in-law claimed the snake for her Sparta Academy biology class to dissect.

64 YEARS AGO
OCT. 18, 1956

The Tigers from Greenville tallied three times in the first half and were held to six points in the last half as they took a grueling game from the Evergreen Aggies 25-6.
The lone Aggie score came in the last quarter, climaxing a 90-yard drive. The Aggies got the ball on the kickoff after a Greenie score and returned it to the 10. On the first play, Robert Ellington burst through the line for seven yards and then Robbie Boykin and Billy Grace each added two for the first down. In the next series, it seemed the drive was halted after two drives at the line netted one yard, but Grace drifted back and passed beautifully to Mickey Joyner for eight yards, and on a fourth down with only inches to go, Grace pushed forward for the first down.
The drive seemed stalled again at the Evergreen 48 and Wayne Frazier dropped back to kick. Instead of kicking, he ran, hard and fast, around right end for 30 yards to the Greenville 22 for the Aggies’ longest run of the night. Grace then passed to Joyner for the touchdown, from 22 yards out. The try for the point was blocked.

79 YEARS AGO
OCT. 16, 1941

The 1941-42 hunting season was ushered in Wednesday of this week when the ban was lifted on squirrels from Oct. 15 to Jan. 1, both dates inclusive. Those who went to the woods Wednesday report that there were plenty of nimrods on hand and a few squirrels. Bag limit on this specie of game is 10 per day.
The season on doves opens Dec. 1 and closes Jan. 11, bag limit 12. On quail the season opens Dec. 1 and closes Feb. 20, bag limit 12. Season on deer for this area opens Nov. 20 and closes Jan. 1, bag limit one pronged antler buck per day, three a season.
Turkeys, gobblers only, one a day, five a season, split season, Nov. 20 to Jan. 1; March 20 to April 15. Opossum and raccoon, no bag limit, Oct. 1 to Jan. 31; Rabbit, no bag limit, Oct. 1 to Feb. 20; Ducks, 10 a day in aggregate of all species including one wood duck, Nov. 2 to Dec. 31.
There are numerous other regulations which possibly have little importance to hunters of this area and aren’t published herewith, however, it would be well for those who are interested to investigate if they have any doubt as to any particular point.

94 YEARS AGO
OCT. 21, 1926

The Evergreen Aggies went down to defeat last Friday afternoon when the fast Brewton outfit came up and trounced them to the tune of 19 to 0.
The local boys went outplayed in particularly every department of the game. Although the visitors were light, they were fast and consistent players. They were able to gain much ground via the air and by means of deceiving passes and end runs.
The defeat of the Aggies was no doubt due largely to the fact that two of the best players weren’t able to play. Captain Northcutt and Dreaden were both on the sideline due to injuries received in practice.
Local fans are hoping for better luck next Friday when the Atmore team comes up and plays the Aggies on the local field. It is believed that both Northcutt and Dreaden will be in position to assume their respective positions when Coach Henderson says go.
All lovers of the game are reminded to be on hand next Friday afternoon at Gantt’s Field. It is freely predicted that there will be a better story to tell than was possible last Friday.

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

19 YEARS AGO
OCT. 18, 2001

Firefighter awards: Four Monroeville firefighters and a local civic club received awards during the Monroeville Fire & Rescue Department’s annual awards banquet held last Thursday night at the Monroeville Community House. (Award recipients included T.J. Mann, Rookie of the Year; Ben Rawls, Firefighter of the Year; Eddie James, Leadership Award; Lee Pettis, W.D. Pickens Award for Best All-Around Firefighter; and Robert Sims, representing the Monroeville Kiwanis Club. The Kiwanis Club received the department’s Citizen of the Year Award.)

Volunteers rout Morgan 35-14 to remain unbeaten: Monroe Academy put 28 points on the scoreboard in the first half and coasted to a 35-14 victory over Morgan Academy Friday at MA.
Senior halfback Karl James (K.J.) Lazenby and junior fullback Tyler Dawson led Friday’s charge as both backs rushed for over 100 yards. Lazenby finished with 134 yards on just nine carries. Dawson had 108 yards on 12 totes.
(Other top Monroe players in that game included Trey Dobson, Brian Kilpatrick, Decatur Lazenby, Joah Norris, Charles Ramsey, Cameron Stacey and Jeff Wasden.)

Weatherman visits area schools: Alan Seals, WKRG-TV5 meteorologist, recently spoke to Excel School’s elementary students and Monroeville Elementary School’s students. Seals spent about an hour at each school, explaining how weather forecasts are formulated. He also told the students how much education it takes to become a meteorologist.

44 YEARS AGO
OCT. 21, 1976

A patrolman from the Atmore police department has been hired as police chief of Frisco City.
The new police chief is Arthur G. Gunn, and the new patrolman is Ralph M. Tatum, a former member of the Frisco City auxiliary force.
Tatum was sworn in Oct. 9; Gunn was sworn in Monday. Jim Bayles was acting police chief until Gunn’s hiring.
Frisco City’s former three-man police force was dismissed when the present town council took office Oct. 4. The reason for the dismissals was not made public.

The J.F. Shields Panthers won a big area game and their second home game of the season Friday night, downing Wilcox County High, 38-22.
Step Burgess, the Panthers’ hard-running fullback, rushed for two TD’s in the first half and gained 209 yards during the night for an outstanding performance. Judge Nelson, Thomas Dale and Dwight Wright also made TDs.
The Shields defense was led by Willie Black with nine tackles and three assists.
(Other top Shields players in that game included Tyrone McFadden, Larry Nettles, Oscar Stallworth and Clifford Williams.)

Journal’s editorial page tops nationally: The Monroe Journal has placed first among newspapers over 4,000 circulation in the “Best Editorial Page” category of the National Newspaper Association’s 1976 National Better Newspaper Contest.
Awards, based on issues published during calendar year 1975, were announced in connection with the association’s annual convention last week in Lake Geneva, Wisc.

69 YEARS AGO
OCT. 18, 1951

Frisco Soldier Given Purple Heart Award: Pfc. Wiley G. Sawyer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Everett Sawyer of Frisco City, was recently awarded the Purple Heart medal by the U.S. War Department for wounds received in action in Korea.
He has had Korean combat duty for four months as a member of Co. C of the 35^th Infantry Regiment.
Having been wounded in the arm and foot, Pfc. Sawyer is now recuperating in an Army hospital in Pusan, Korea.

Excel Eleven Downs Baker High 20-0: The Excel High Panthers found little opposition in downing the Baker High team in Mobile last Friday night.
Left half Ray Scruggs and right half Charles Stacey starred for Excel in the 55-yard drive which ended in a TD for the Panthers in the second period by gaining most of the territory covered. Scruggs finally scored from the five-yard stripe.
Scruggs was winner for the Excel squad again in the last period when he ran 25 yards on an off-tackle play, while Stacey again shared the spotlight as he rammed his freedom over tackle during the same quarter for the Panthers’ final TD.

Monroeville Residents Receive Scout Offices: Four Monroeville residents were recently elected to serve as officers of the Gulf Coast Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
A.A. Nettles has been named to the executive board while Max Bradley, M.I. Hanks and R.A. Wible will serve as council members at large, all of whom have been active in state Scout work for some time.
Announcement of these appointments was made earlier this week by Bob Radford, executive for the Gulf Coast Scout Council.

94 YEARS AGO
OCT. 20, 1926

HOMICIDE AT MEGARGEL: Jesse Steadman Jr. shot and killed Ben Hawkins at the home of Steadman about noon on Tuesday. From the best that can be learned concerning the circumstances leading to the tragedy, it appears that there had been feeling between the parties for some time over matters of a domestic character. Hawkins having been warned both by Steadman and mutual friends to stay away from the Steadman home. Returning home about noon Tuesday, Steadman found Hawkins in his house in a compromising position with his wife, whereupon Steadman fired two shots into the body of the trespasser, killing him almost instantly. Steadman surrendered to the Sheriff but was promptly released on bond to await the action of the grand jury.

Mr. R.B. Williams is having a new brick building erected on the lot adjoining the Sanitary Market. It is understood that the building will be occupied by Mr. Clyde Marshall as a garage and auto repair shop.

A canvass will be made of each home and the business district on next Friday afternoon, Oct. 22, to solicit contributions and books for the City Library.

MAMMOTH POTATOES: Some of the largest sweet potatoes ever grown in the county are on exhibition in The Journal office. Judge Fountain brought in a “whopper” of the Porto Rico variety 12 inches long and 18 in circumference, which tipped the scale at eight pounds, while Mr. F.L. Rutherford of Franklin left with us specimens of the Jersey variety of almost equal size and weight. The potato crop of the county generally is reported unusually fine and good prices are obtained in the local market.

119 YEARS AGO
OCT. 17, 1901

The following attorneys are in attendance on the circuit court this week who were not present last week: C.J. Torrey, Mobile; N. Stallworth, Evergreen; J.F. Stallings, Greenville; J.N. Miller and Gen. R.C. Jones, Camden.

Manistee: R.F. Lowrey and Messrs. Agee and Florey are contemplating putting in a stock of merchandise near this place.
Dr. George H. Harper of this place was called away last week to visit his family at Franklin, where his wife and children are sick with scarlet fever.

The Journal received a pleasant call from Mr. M.V. Middleton of Buena Vista Tuesday afternoon. For 20 years or more, Mr. Middleton has handled The Journal as postmaster in his town, but this is the first time it has been our pleasure to meet him. Mr. Middleton will resume his mercantile business in a few days, as will be seen by reference to his card in this issue. The Journal wishes him prosperity and success.

JORDAN M. CRAWFORD: Died on the morning of Oct. 3, 1901, at his residence near McNeil, Ala., Jordan M. Crawford. The deceased was born at Burnt Corn, Monroe County, Ala. on May 9, 1838. He united with the Missionary Baptist Church at Bethany, near the above named place, at an early age. He enjoyed the distinction of being a Mason, though at the time of his demise was not a member of any lodge. With a conscious pride of patriotic duty, he served in the Confederate army.

Singleton disturbed by increasing amount of trash and garbage seen in nature

(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 “Trash mars woodlands in county” was originally published in the Feb. 8, 1973 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

For many months now I have become more and more disturbed at the increasing amount of trash and garbage that is being dumped and discarded along the back roads of Monroe County. Since my early childhood I have retreated to the cool clean woods, when the burdens of our society began to press too heavy on my shoulders. Deep in the arms of Nature I can rest and think: there my wounds will heal; and soon I’m refreshed ready to go to face the problems of life again.

I think that it is intended for man to return to the healing arms of Nature, just as a small child returns to the arms of its mother when it is hurt or saddened. I’m sure that this is the reason the early Indians called the deep pine forests of this area, “The Healing Place.” They believed that the earth was the mother to all things. This is true, though primitive as is may seem. That is why our lives and well being depend so much upon the land around us.

The early inhabitants were aware of the necessity of keeping the land clean. They knew that they were breaking the laws of Nature when they threw trash and filth to the found winds. They knew better than we know now that man could push himself literally off the face of the earth.

In the spring of 1759 a young Indian chief stood on the banks of the Alabama River and addressed his people. He prophesied of the things to come and warned them of the threat that would spread across the land. Here are some of his words.

“Young men and warriors! Do not disregard the Master of Life. The sky is blue, the sun is without spots, the weather is fair, the ground is white, everything is quiet on the face of the earth and the blood of man ought not to be spilt on it. We must beg the Great Spirit to preserve it pure and spotless among the peoples that surround us.

The Great Spirit once blessed us with a magnificent river, abounding in fish, with delicious and cool fountains gushing out from the foot of the hills, with rich lands that produced without cultivation, and with vast forests, abounding with game of every description. But the whole scene is changing. The country is no longer half so beautiful. The waters of our beautiful river begin to discolor. The forests are being cut down. Deer bound not over the plains. The great bear has ceased to find its way through the deep swamps. The cunning panther does not spring upon its prey. Wolves have ceased to howl upon the hills. Birds cannot be seen in the branches of the trees. Graceful warriors guide no more their well-shaped canoes across the crystal clear waters of our river. Our beautiful maidens loiter not upon the plain nor pick the wild delicious berries.”

How frightening it is to think of the time when there will be no more green woods to wander in. When along each path one will find only the trash and garbage of our civilization, instead of the wild and beautiful trees and flowers that once were so plentiful. Instead of the fresh sweet smell of the woods in bloom, one will only encounter the stale sour odor of decaying garbage.

How pitiful it will be when the sounds of nature will have been stilled and all that will remain will be the growls of the scavengers and the buzz of the flies as they battle for the remains and scraps that litter our land. When as far as the eye can see will be nothing more than piles of junk.

This may sound far-fetched to the readers of this article, but I say in truth, that this is nearer than we realize. Few places can be found anymore where the trash from our “Good Life” can’t be seen to scar and disfigure the land before us.

Must we be buried in our own filth or will we awaken in time to stop the deadly menace that is slowly creeping across our land? This answer must come from you and I – only time will tell.

[This “Photostory” also included six photos taken by Singleton that carried the following captions: The Parker’s Eddy Road along Limestone Creek, once a scenic nature trail, is now strewn with trash and garbage (Photo 1). Another nature spot off a county road near Monroeville also has been littered with trash (Photo 2). Trash and debris have marred the beauty of this Monroe County scenic road (Photo 3). This illegal dumping site lies about 20 feet off the Old Salem Road in Mexia (Photo 4). The side of this woodlands road seems to have become a regular dumping spot for thoughtless litterbugs (Photo 5). Discarded furniture and other debris make for the ghastly appearance of this scenic road near Limestone Creek (Photo 6).]

(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.)

Eli McMorn and the Strange Case of Kill Devil Hill – Part 11

I could sense that our interview was near its end. Lawson’s drawn face was pale, and lines of fatigue showed around his eerie eyes and thin mouth. Retelling his strange tale had called up many loathsome memories, and it had affected him.

“What happened after you saw the shadow outside your hospital room window?” I asked.

“A young nurse came to see what was wrong,” he said. “I remember she had a winged Cupid tattooed on her left wrist, almost covered up by her watch. It made me think of the boy that shot me with the arrow.”

Lawson startled me when he lifted the bottom of his faded uniform shirt. He pointed to a small scar an inch below his right nipple. “They told me the emergency room doctor removed the arrow with a pair of wire snips and medical pliers. The arrow missed my lung by a hair.”

“Did you tell the nurse what you saw outside?”

“Yes and she told me to calm down, that I was in intensive care and had been given a lot of pain medicine. She also said that my room was on the third floor, so I couldn’t have seen anyone outside.”

This explanation made sense. In his drug-addled state, Lawson probably imagined the whole macabre thing or maybe he’d just had an odd nightmare. Maybe he was lying. Or maybe he was truly insane.

“Turns out, I’d only been in the hospital for a few hours,” he continued. “This was the night of the same day that I’d been shot.”

Another lonely peel of thunder boomed outside as the wretched weather worsened. A wave of dark rain slashed against the dirty window. I dreaded my ride back into Claiborne. Rush hour traffic on the city’s outdated streets in bad weather was often exciting, but never fun.

“Investigators with the Sheriff’s Department showed up the next morning,” he went on. “My friends had been reported missing by then, and their parents were upset. I told the deputies just what I told you, and they left. My memory of all that is hazy. Like the nurse said, I was on a lot of pain medicine.”

According to the Sheriff’s yellowed incident report on the table between us, deputies went to Kill Devil Hill with a few grim guides from the rescue squad and found five dead bodies. Brooks was stone dead atop the mysterious hill just like Lawson described. Blood was everywhere.

Jimmy Creason was found about 100 yards away with major injuries to his head and chest. Medical examiner said later that his injuries were consistent with a car crash. He also had compound fractures to both legs. Rescue squad men found him because of all the buzzards.

All three of the girls - Kara Creason, Cathy Merriweather and Meghan Caldwell – were more or less found together. Their twisted, partially-clothed remains were found within 19 yards of each other. Kara and Meghan were both missing their eyeballs, and Merriweather was missing her tongue.

“I woke up some time later at the hospital, and the Sheriff and two of his deputies were standing there at my bed,” Lawson continued. “The Sheriff was a big man. The first thing I saw was the gun on his hip, and the second thing was in his other hand. It was a small, plastic evidence bag that contained Jimmy Creason’s bloody class ring. I knew right then that I was in trouble.”

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