The Monroe Journal's News Flashback for March 31, 2025

19 YEARS AGO
MARCH 23, 2006

Excel has state’s ‘best-tasting’ water: People in Monroe County won’t have to look far for a glass of Alabama’s best-tasting water. According to the Alabama Rural Water Association, Alabama’s best-tasting drinking water comes out of the kitchen faucets in Excel.
Water from the Excel Water System is the best-tasting water in the state, according to a panel of taste testers, who drank samples of water from systems throughout the state during the association’s 28^th Annual Technical Training Conference March 12-15 at the Mobile Convention Center in Mobile.

Perfect game: Gorum throws no-hit, shut-out: Senior right-hander Ryan Gorum became the first high-school pitcher in Monroe County this season to toss a perfect game.
On Monday of last week, Gorum and the Blacksher defense did not allow McIntosh to have a base runner in the five-inning game.
Gorum struck out 12 of the 15 batters he faced, and his defense got the remaining three outs.
(Other top Blacksher players in that game included Stephen Akins, Brandon Blanton, Joey Blanton, Colton Bowen, Cameron Cobb, Kenneth Foxall, Heath Ikner, Rowdy Manning, Thunder McGhee, Austin Owens, Hunter Saucer and John Russell Smith.)

Our Place to show ‘Capote’ movie starting March 31: Area moviegoers will get a new look at two of Monroeville’s most famous residents, Truman Capote and Harper Lee, during an exclusive local showing of the movie, “Capote,” at Our Place Teen Center in Monroeville. “Capote,” one of the most acclaimed films of the year, will be shown to local audiences beginning Fri., March 31, at 7 p.m., Teen Center Director Scott Allen said.

44 YEARS AGO
MARCH 26, 1981

Seven apply for school post: The Monroe County Board of Education had seven applicants for the job of county schools superintendent Wednesday, and tomorrow (Friday) is the cutoff date for applications.
Applications and resumes from five persons – Bobby G. Grissette, Clayton C. Hale, J. Charles McNeil, Cornelia W. Sawyer and Terry Wilkerson – had been received by the time of Friday’s called school board meeting. Two more persons, James A. Anners and Richard O. Tatum, have since applied to board chairman Edgar Melton of Excel.
At Friday’s meeting, the board accepted the resignation of James R. Allen, who will leave the post of county schools superintendent Tuesday to become president of Patrick Henry Junior College.

Area tournament champions: The Repton Bulldogs recently won the area basketball tournament championship, finishing with an outstanding 21-8 overall record. Players and coaches are Willie McMillian, Keith Gissendaner, Greg Simpson, Bruce Rudolph, Tommy Watson, Assistant Coach Ronnie Williams, Trey Wilson, Elmore Rudolph, Joe Watkins, Daryl Nettles, Robert McMillian and head coach Hugh Wilson.

Superintendent bill introduced: State Rep. Jimmy Warren of Castleberry Tuesday introduced a local bill in the Alabama Legislature which would allow Monroe countians to decide whether or not to elect the county superintendent of education. The bill, House Bill 764, will first be submitted to the Local Legislation Committee Wednesday and probably be reported out Thursday, Warren said. The county school superintendent is currently appointed by the five members of the Board of Education, who are elected.

69 YEARS AGO
MARCH 22, 1956

Heart Attack Fatal To Monroe Native: Funeral services for Peter Vredenburgh III of Birmingham, prominent Monroe County native, were held Wednesday at 2 p.m. from the Johnson-Rideout Funeral Home in Birmingham.
Mr. Vredenburgh, 52, wealthy businessman, died in Miami Beach, Fla. Monday of a heart attack.
His wife, Dorothy, has been secretary of the Democratic National Committee for the past 12 years.
The couple arrived in Miami Beach Friday after a trip to Cuba. Mr. Vredenburgh was stricken at 1:30 a.m. Monday in his hotel room, and when taken to a local hospital was pronounced dead on arrival.

Finlayson To Replace Hanks As Coach Here: Hubert Finlayson, assistant coach at Monroe County High School for the past four years, will be advanced to head coach and athletic director at the local school for the 1956-57 term.
He will replace W. LeVaughn Hanks, who resigned effective at the end of the current school year to accept a position with University Military School, Mobile.
Mr. Finlayson was coach at Beatrice High School for three years prior to his coming to Monroeville.

Gail Brown, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Brown of Excel, has been named valedictorian of the graduating class of the Excel High School.

94 YEARS AGO
MARCH 26, 1931

Mr. Katz Building Two New Stores: Mr. M. Katz, one of our enterprising merchants, is now building two one-story brick buildings just south of his store on the square. These new buildings will face west. He informs us that one will be used by himself along with his large store, and the other will be for rent.

Great improvements are being made on and around the campus of the Excel High School under the supervision of Mr. S.T. Williamson. The Vocational Agriculture boys have worked faithfully to carry out their plans. The campus has been ploughed with a tractor and the walk and driveway leading up to the school have been completed. Grass will soon be planted and the new fence put up.

1930 COTTON CROP EXCEEDS THAT OF ’29: Tabulation of card reports by the Bureau of Census, Department of Commerce, Washington, shows that there were 30,270 bales of cotton, counting round as half bales, ginned and to be ginned in Monroe County from the crop of 1930, as compared with 22,244 bales from the crop of 1929.

WALL-STALLWORTH: Announcements are being received by friends of Mr. and Mrs. Stonewall Jackson Stallworth of the marriage on March 8 at Greenville, Ala. of their daughter, Miss Maysie Stallworth of Beatrice, and Mr. Conrad Wall of Forest Home, Ala.

The Hotel Giddens is not closed as some have understood and has not been closed since Mrs. Floyd left. It is under the management of Mrs. C.H. Blackwell until a project takes it over.

119 YEARS AGO
MARCH 22, 1906

Mr. Lonnie Sims began his duties on the Rural Free Delivery mail route with Jones Mill as distributing point, March 15, much to the satisfaction and convenience of the citizens.

Oyster Supper: The ladies of the Methodist church will serve oysters at the home of Mr. J.D. Rawls on Friday evening, April 6. Everybody invited.

The Jones Mill school closed with a well rendered program Friday night and Prof. L. B. Austin and assistant Miss Alice Deakins spared no efforts in drilling the pupils. They were well repaid for their efforts for praise was heard on all sides. The school house was crowded as the weather was charming for such an occasion. The program was short, also the pieces, some very comical, but all well spoken and entertaining.

The cool weather punctuated with frost and ice during the present week occasions much apprehension as to the safety of the fruit crop.

Hon. J.N. Miller was down from Camden last week. Col. Miller is being favorably mentioned in connection with congressional honors in the second district two years hence.

Capt. T.B. Nettles and family bade adieu to their hosts of Monroeville friends last week and departed for Portland where Capt. Nettles has embarked in the timber and lumber business.

Another rural free delivery mail route has been established in this county, designated as RFD No. 2. It runs from Snider on the Manistee & Repton Railroad and serves an extensive territory around Jones Mill. Several post offices in the neighborhood have been discontinued.

Whatever became of William Weatherford’s knife?

William Weatherford

Yesterday – March 27 – marked the 211^th anniversary of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, which took place on this date in 1814. Considered part of the War of 1812, the Battle of Horseshoe Bend involved a force of Americans, Creeks and Cherokees led by Andrew Jackson against Red Stick Creeks led by Chief Menawa.

During the battle, Jackson’s forces attacked the Red Stick stronghold of Tohopeka on the banks of the Tallapoosa River, and Jackson’s men killed more than 900 people. Jackson’s victory soon led to the end of the Creek War and the cession of 23 million acres of Creek territory to the United States.

While researching ties between Monroe County residents and the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, I ran across an interesting story that was published on the front page of the May 2, 1907 edition of The Monroe Journal. Published under the headline, “RELIC OF AN EARLY CHIEF: Knife Presented to State Archives,” the article tells of how the knife carried by famous Creek Indian leader William Weatherford had been presented to the State Department of Archives & History in Montgomery. “It is the first relic of the great Alabama Indian, who played such a prominent part in pioneer history of the state to be secured by the department,” the article said.

The story went on to say that the knife was presented to the department by Will T. Sheehan, who was a staff correspondent of The Montgomery Advertiser. The knife was given to Sheehan by Sidney Weatherford while Sheehan was in Monroe County gathering information for a series of articles on the Creek Indians who were living on Little River in Baldwin and Monroe counties on land they obtained from the government in the early 1800s. Sidney Weatherford was William Weatherford’s grandson.

“The knife was part of the effects of his distinguished kinsman which was awarded Sidney Weatherford,” the article said. “From a number of relics of the war leader, he gave the knife to the newspaperman when he learned that he was writing of the achievements of the famous leader. None of these relics had ever passed out of the possession of the Weatherford family.”

I believe the Sidney Weatherford mentioned in the article to be Sidney Clay Weatherford, who was born in July 1864. Sidney, who was married to Phenie Weatherford, had at least nine children and no doubt has many descendants still living in Monroe County today. Sidney passed away in June 1933 and is buried in the Weatherford Cemetery at Mineola.

One is left to wonder what became of William Weatherford’s knife. A search for the knife’s whereabouts in the Alabama Department of Archives & History’s extensive online catalog results in “No Results Found.” The only knife that I found in their catalog was a pen knife that belonged to William T. King, a wealthy planter from Dallas County.

In the end, perhaps someone reading this column will be able to shed more light on the whereabouts of William Weatherford’s knife. It would be interesting to know where this knife is today. If anyone reading this column can provide additional details, please pass them along, and I’ll update everyone at a later date.

The Evergreen Courant's Sports Flashback for March 10, 2025

21 YEARS AGO
MARCH 11, 2004

The Evergreen Rotary Club, administrators of the Wendell Hart Scholarship Fund, announces that applications for the $2,500 scholarship are now being accepted. This scholarship is dedicated to the memory of the late Coach Wendell Hart, who deeply cared for his students and desired that all deserving young men and women be able to advance their education.
To qualify, students must meet the following:
1. Must be a graduate of a Conecuh County high school (not solely for 2004 graduates).
2. Must have a sincere desire to further their education.
3. Must have a financial need to maintain or continue higher education (two year or four year).
4. Must attach a copy of report of score on SAT or ACT or a copy of acceptance to college.
Applications are available at Hillcrest High School (see Mrs. Dean), Sparta Academy (see Mrs. Robinson), or the Law Office of Todd B. Watson.

Evergreen Little League try-outs will be held Saturday March 13 at 1 p.m. for Little League and 3 p.m. for Minor League. Please be at Little League field at Evergreen Municipal Park 30 minutes prior to tryout time.

The final Evergreen Babe Ruth sign-up will be held this Sat., March 13, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Babe Ruth Field at the Evergreen Municipal Park. Babe Ruth season will not begin until Sparta Academy’s baseball season has ended.

37 YEARS AGO
MARCH 9, 1989

SPRING BREAK BASKETBALL: The Class of 1970 of Thurgood Marshall High School will sponsor a Spring Break Basketball Game Sat., March 11, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Evergreen High School gym. Games will feature the Andalusia All Stars vs. Johnsonville All Stars and the Evergreen All Stars vs. Big Surprise. Admission is $2.

Sparta Academy, Wilcox Academy, Greenville Academy and Fort Dale Academy will take part in a Spring Jamboree Friday night at Fort Dale. The game will start at 7:00 and will consist of four nine-minute quarters. This will end Spring Training for Sparta.

Final registration for Babe Ruth League will be held this Sat., March 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Babe Ruth League field at the Evergreen Municipal Park. Registration is $15 per child and everyone must bring a birth certificate.
Tryouts will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. You must register by 1 p.m. Saturday to be eligible to play this season.
All children age 13 to 15 are eligible to participate. All parents are asked to please encourage your child to play.

52 YEARS AGO
MARCH 14, 1974

Sparta Academy football players Tubby McInvale and Walt Lee Ward will participate in the North-South All-Star Game sponsored by the Alabama Private School Association. Headmaster Richard Brown will be assistant coach of the South team. The game will be held Fri., March 15, at the Troy State University Stadium and will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $2 for adults and $1 for students. The Sparta Quarterback Club has the tickets and all proceeds from the sale will go to the club. Persons wanting to buy tickets may contact Bill Johnson or Mae Gladwell before noon at the school.

Aggies end play at State tourney: The Evergreen Aggies ended their season by losing in a 72-61 game to Russellville in the first round of the State Class 3A Tournament held at the Coliseum at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Cleveland Fields and David Thomas combined for 39 points, but their efforts were not enough to stop the Tigers who caught the Aggies on one of their off games.
The Aggies have the potential of being state champ contenders for the third straight year next year with 6-5 center Ronald Fantroy and 5-8 guard Chuck Jones returning to the lineup. Both boys are sophomores this year. Gene Stallworth, Alphonza Holder and Percy Jones all juniors, should make the Aggies awesome again.

The Conecuh County High School Quarterback Club will have a barbecue and fried chicken supper on Saturday night, March 1, from 5:00-9:00 in the school cafeteria.
A gospel singing will follow in the school auditorium. The singing will begin at 7 p.m. and will feature the Gospel Melodies of Brewton, the Morris Family of Lenox and the McDonald Trio of Range. Politicians will be introduced to the public.
All proceeds will go to the football team.

Boy Scout Troop No. 68 of Belleville took part in the Masonic Drill on Sunday at the Belleville Baptist Church, Dr. Sidney Tucker, pastor. Pictured from left are Ralph Taylor, William Wallace, Glenn Dailey, Gerald Dukes, Herbert Dukes, Warren Davison, Gilbert Grace, Robert Grace and Assistant Scoutmaster William Stallworth.

81 YEARS AGO
MARCH 9, 1944

State Has Openings For Game Wardens: Residents of Conecuh County who are interested in a position with the State as Game Warden should file application before March 31, 1944. Application forms may be obtained by writing the State Personnel Department, Montgomery, Ala.
Though applicants may not be interested in employment before the opening of the hunting season this fall, application should be made now. Eligible lists will be established and appointments made as the need occurs.

BOY SCOUT NEWS: We held our regular meeting last Tuesday night at 7:30. After having several relay races, we opened the meeting by discussing the 11th and 12 Scout Laws – Clean and Reverent.
Our paper drive is getting underway now with everybody responding wonderfully. We are sure of having a carload (about 16 tons) ready for shipment by the first of April.
A Court of Review will be held next Tuesday night at our regular meeting. Each scout is urged to pass tests this week so that they can be brought before the Board of Review. Our annual banquet, which was postponed at its regular time during Boy Scout Week, will take place sometime in April.

‘Broken-hearted stranger’ died 187 years ago in Claiborne, Alabama

I was looking through some local history notes earlier this week and saw where today – Feb. 27 – marks 187 years since the death of the “broken-hearted stranger” at Claiborne.

The first I ever heard of this unfortunate young man was in George Buster Singleton’s 1995 book, “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers.” Between the covers of this book, Singleton devoted an entire chapter to “The Tomb of the Brokenhearted Stranger.” Singleton noted that the man’s proper name was William Coombs, a young man from Portland, Maine who was search of “his one love, who came with her family south into the wilderness.”

Coombs is said to have stopped to rest in Claiborne, where he contracted yellow fever. While laying on his deathbed, Coombs wrote what would be his final epitaph:

Alone and in sorrow
Dark hours roll by;
Forsaken and friendless
Why should I not die?

The turf will lie lightly
Above this lone spot
Where the brokenhearted stranger
Lies alone and forgot.

Singleton may have garnered some of this information from an article published in the July 5, 1920 edition of The Montgomery Advertiser. That newspaper featured an article titled “Reminiscences, Then and Now, of the Quaint Little City of Claiborne; Once a Cosmopolitan City of State,” written by David Holt.

Based on clues in Holt’s article, he had apparently walked through the old Claiborne cemetery that contained Coombs’ grave.

“Inscriptions show that the majority of those that sleep upon that picturesque bank, high above the yellow waters of the Alabama – that is, those who were provided with monuments were from Virginia and the Carolinas, though nearly all of the New England and Eastern states are represented there,” Holt wrote. “New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts have colonies among the dead and one very lonely man from Maine is resting there. His name was William Coombs, he came from Portland and he died in 1838.”

Holt noted that who ever caused Coombs’ grave to be engraved was only slightly acquainted with Coombs because the space where his age should have been was blank: Aged – Years.

“Good intentions are recorded in that blank space,” Holt wrote. “Somebody evidently intended to fill out what the stranger’s age was, and cause it to be recorded later, but somehow never did get to it.”

What’s interesting is that Singleton and Holt’s transcription of the headstone are slightly different. Holt gives it as saying:

Alone and in sorrow dark days roll by.
Forsaken and friendless, why should I not die?
The turf will lie lightly above the lone spot
Where the heart-broken stranger is laid and forgot.

It has been years since I last visited the graveyard where Coombs is buried. On one such visit, I actively looked for his headstone, but I could not find it. Using an old survey of the graveyard, I had a good idea of where the grave was located, but I found no sign of the headstone during my search. It has either been destroyed, removed or perhaps it fell over and became buried over time.

Does the ghost lady of Locke Hill still wander the Red Hills community?

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 “The ghost lady of Locke Hill still wanders the area,” was originally published in the Oct. 26, 2000 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

As Halloween approaches Tuesday, all thoughts turn to stories about the spirits of the past and the ghosts of the area who wander aimlessly around the old abandoned house places and cemeteries that dot the landscape.

I have investigated several stories of the supernatural throughout our area that have been told to me by three good friends (now deceased) who were born and reared here.

When I first arrived in Monroeville, I was most fortunate to become friends with these people. They were all well-versed in the county’s history, and after finding out that I was truly interested in the ghostly happenings around the area, they related many stories I investigated in the later years I have been here.

Let us go back in time when the hill country east of the Franklin area was a thriving farm community. This place was, and still is, known as the Red Hills community.

Nothing remains there today that can be seen but a few old abandoned house places and the Red Hills cemetery. If one looks closely, one may find an old crumbled rock chimney or a few rotted timbers where once an old farm home stood. Red Hills once boasted a school, two churches and a post office. I have been told that a small store was also located there.

East of the Red Hills cemetery is a very high hill known as Locke Hill. Several old home places dot the landscape around and atop this high and scenic hilltop.

Off the old and little-used dirt road, there was once a family who lived and farmed the fields beside the old road. It is said that the lady of the house and mother of the family was a tall and slender woman.

Most always, so the story goes, this lady wore a long sack-type dress. On her head she wore a bonnet common during this time in our South’s history.

From under her bonnet one could see her long snow-white hair hanging down her back. Since the well where the family got their water supply was located about 80 yards from the house, it is said this lady could be seen at all times of the day going to and from the well, carrying a large water bucket.

In the early morning hours and during the hours of the late evening, she would be seen going to or coming from the well with the large bucket in hand.

This went on for a number of years until many families of the area began to move to other locations and vanish from the high country around Locke Hill.

It wasn’t long until only a family or two remained in the area to work a few of the hilly fields of which most now lay abandoned.

The story relates that the only son of this tall lady chose to join the cause of the Confederacy and went off to war. It wasn’t too long after that the father of the family fell ill with fever and died. All that remained on the small farm was the tall lady and her small baby girl.

But tragedy was yet to strike again within a short time of the death of her husband. Word had it that the baby also fell ill with a dreaded fever and died a short time later.

The small farm began to fall into decay. The crops in the fields fell prey to wild animals and vandals since there was no one to harvest them. The house and family barn began to lean and sway due to the lack of repairs on them.

Tall weeds grew up in and around the small yard of the old place. Only a small path led from the back of the kitchen out to the old well, located out at the edge of the grownup field.

Those who passed along the narrow dirt road continued to see the tall white-haired lady, dressed in her long sack dress, with a large bucket in hand going to and from the well, traveling the narrow pathway through the tall weeds and grass of the grownup field.

Those who saw the tall lady wondered just how she survived there on the abandoned and unkept farm. No more did smoke twirl from the old rock chimney on the chilly mornings and late hours of the winter evenings. No one was ever seen around the decaying log house except when the tall lady went to the well at the edge of the nearby field.

No one ever knew the whereabouts of the son who chose to join the cause of the Confederacy. As far as anyone knows, he never returned to the small farm located on the high ground, known as Locke Hill.

Did he fall in battle or did he choose to settle elsewhere when the bloody war was over? What happened to this young man remains a mystery to this day.

No one knows either just what happened to the tall lady with the snow-white hair. Some said that she just vanished. Others said that she continued to stay in the old fallen-down house there in the grown up field, leaving the old house only for her daily trip to the well at the old field’s edge.

There are those today who hunt wild game in the area who say that the ghost of the tall lady with the snow-white hair has been seen walking along a narrow pathway, out to the old abandoned well site.

Walking with a large bucket in hand, she walks up to the well and proceeds to draw water from the old caved in and abandoned well. There are others who say that they have seen a tall slender lady dressed in a long sack dress kneeling beside the tomb of an unknown Rebel soldier back up in the thick woods aways, quite some distance across the grownup fields from the ruins of the abandoned log cabin.

I have been to the grave of this unknown Rebel soldier many times. Each time I visit, I feel that I am not alone. A strange feeling comes over me. I feel that I am being watched.

What is the mystery of this unknown Rebel and the ghost of this woman? Did the only son of the tall white-haired lady return from the war wounded or sick, only to die and be buried by her atop the hill there in the woods?

Does the spirit of this mother return at times to her only son’s grave for a time of meditation and togetherness? Does she still walk the faint path to the old abandoned well with her bucket for her daily supply of water? Perhaps one day we will know the answer.

As for now, we can only speculate as the ghost lady continues to walk the path that leads into the deep and dark shadows 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.)

 

Rabies in February questioned by characters in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

With February on my mind the other day, I was reminded that one of the most famous scenes in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” happen in February 1935. It was on a Saturday in February in fictional Maycomb that Atticus Finch shot and killed a rabid dog in the street in front of Boo Radley’s house.

The scene in Chapter 10 of the novel begins with Scout and her brother, Jem, out with their air rifles, looking for a rabbit or squirrel to shoot. They were about 500 yards from the Radley House when Jem sees a dog in the distance. The dog was walking “erratically, as if his right legs were shorter than his left legs,” reminding Scout of a car that’s stuck in a sand bed.

The children recognize the dog as Tim Johnson, the “pet of Maycomb.” Tim, a liver-colored bird dog, belonged to Harry Johnson, who lived on the southern edge of Maycomb. For a living, Harry Johnson drove a bus back and forth to Mobile each day.

Jem runs to tell Calpurnia, who then gets the local telephone operator, Miss Eula May, to call everyone on the street to warn them about the dog. Cal then runs onto the Radley porch to warn Boo and his father, Nathan, of the approaching dog. Not long after that, Atticus and Sheriff Heck Tate arrive in a black Ford.

At this point in his life, Atticus is nearly 50 years old, and he lives with the “tribal curse of the Finches,” that is, he’s nearly blind in his left eye. When he wants to see something well, he turns his head and looks from his right eye. When Tate hands Atticus the rifle to kill the dog, Atticus informs the sheriff that he hasn’t shot a gun in 30 years.

Atticus takes the rifle anyway and when Tim Johnson stops in front of the gate to the Radley House, Atticus shoots him above his left eye, putting the dog out of its misery. It’s here that Jem and Scout learn that Atticus was once known as the “deadest shot in Maycomb County.” Neighbors Maudie Atkinson and Stephanie Crawford tell the children that Atticus was at one time known by the nicknames of “One Shot Finch” and “Ol’ One-Shot.”

During all of this, several characters mention the once commonly held belief that dogs couldn’t get rabies during a cold weather month like February. Scout says that she thought dogs got rabies in August. Cal also has to tell Eula May, the phone operator, that she knows “it’s February… but I know a mad dog when I see one.” Miss Stephanie also remarks, “Uh, uh, uh, who’da thought of a mad dog in February?”

On a side note, those who know a lot about firearms tell me that the rifle used by Atticus Finch in the 1962 motion picture version of “To Kill a Mockingbird” was a full-length American Krag-Jorgensen Model 1898 rifle in a 30-40 caliber with a cut down stock. It would be interesting to know where the rifle used in the movie is today. Perhaps it would make for an interesting item to display in the Monroe County Museum.

McWilliams was taken prisoner three times during War Between the States

Richard Ervin McWilliams

I was looking through some old newspapers the other day and ran across an interesting item about a Wilcox County veteran who was taken prisoner three different times during the War Between the States.

In the Feb. 12, 1903 edition of The Wilcox Progressive Era, it was announced that the Alabama Charter Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy planned to meet at the home of Chapter President Sallie Jones on Feb. 19. During their meeting, they planned to discuss the “Prison Life of Southern Soldiers.” Richard Ervin McWilliams Sr. was to be the guest speaker with plans to talk about “his experience of 14 months in Northern prisons.”

McWilliams passed away in August 1921, and he is buried in the Camden Cemetery. His obituary was published in the Sept. 1, 1921 edition of The Progressive Era and provides many details about his military service.

“The ranks of the old Confederate veterans are rapidly thinning,” his obituary began. “In the passing of Hon. R.E. McWilliams, Wilcox loses one of her most gallant veterans whose career through the Civil War furnishes interesting reading.”

According to the newspaper, McWilliams enlisted in Co. B, a Wilcox County troop, in early 1862 “as a boy of 16.”

“He was soon in the midst of the conflict, being stationed at Island No. 10, which was captured early in the war by the Northern troops. The loss of this point was the first serious blow struck at the south. Mr. McWilliams was among the prisoners and was carried to Camp Butler, near Springfield, Illinois.”

The newspaper goes on to say that McWilliams was eventually released during a prisoner exchange at Vicksburg, Mississippi. From there, he was stationed at Port Hudson, Louisiana, which was soon besieged by Union forces. This fort was an important link between the eastern and western halves of the Confederacy, and when it fell to the Union, the vital Mississippi River fell completely under Northern control.

McWilliams became a POW again at Port Hudson, but he was soon paroled. From there, he went home to Wilcox County for a short while, but like many parolees, he made his way back to the front lines, where he joined the forces of Confederate generals John Bell Hood and Joseph E. Johnston.

He survived the bloody meatgrinder known as the Battle of Franklin in Tennessee, but again fell into enemy hands as a POW. He was sent back to Camp Butler, where he remained until the end of the war. His obituary notes that he was slightly wounded only once during the war.

“Nothing gave Mr. McWilliams more pleasure than to recount the thrilling scenes and events of his soldier days,” the newspaper said. “His old comrades all honored him and he in turn was always interested in their welfare.”

In the end, it sounds like McWilliams had a remarkable wartime experience and that he was also extremely lucky. Few soldiers can say they were made a POW three times during a single conflict and live to tell the tale. If anyone in the reading audience has any additional information they would like to share about McWilliams, please let me hear from you.