Social Security: Facts you should know about enrolling in Medicare Parts A & B

Understanding Medicare isn’t as difficult as you might think. It’s a benefit most working Americans can count on. Here are some facts you might not know about the program. Can I still get Medicare at 65? Yes, you’re still eligible for Medicare starting at 65, no matter what year you were born. If you or […]

Pet Health: Vaccinations critically important for companion pets

“Vaccines are among the most successful and cost-effective health investments in history.” — Seth Berkley, CEO of the Vaccine Alliance Many times when I go to work, there are one or two tiny puppies in the isolation room suffering from severe diarrhea and vomiting, looking miserable from the parvo virus. Some do not make it […]

Church is legacy of Greek community and its namesake

By Emmett Burnett Malbis Memorial Church is often discovered accidentally while driving somewhere else. Commanding Alabama Highway 181 in Daphne is a Greek cathedral-like fortress, flanked with brick stone towers, braced in Corinthian columns, centered under a domed roof. Somewhere else is now here. “Here,” is the centerpiece of the Malbis Plantation, cornerstone of Baldwin […]

Hospitals key to quality rural health care

While rural hospitals face numerous financial challenges, hope is not lost. Many areas in Alabama are finding partnerships and tax revenue to maintain their level of health care By M.J. Ellington When people in rural Randolph County faced the prospect of life without a nearby hospital or else raising taxes, voters in Roanoke, Wedowee and […]

Medal of Honor winner saved by a tiger

By Miriam Davis “The tiger saved us,” says Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins (U.S. Army, Retired) matter-of-factly. “The North Vietnamese soldiers were more afraid of it than they were of us.” Adkins, 84, is speaking of the aftermath of the Battle of A Shau when, in 1966, he and other survivors evaded the enemy after […]

Ivey signs Alabama Broadband Accessibility Act

High-speed internet is no longer just a luxury for our rural areas. It is a necessity to help rural residents conduct business, to expand education opportunities, to create avenues for remote health care and to spur economic development. During this legislative session, the Alabama Rural Electric Association (AREA), which publishes Alabama Living magazine, and its […]

Electric cooperatives hear updates at 2018 Annual Meeting

Gov. Kay Ivey was the opening speaker for the 71st Annual Meeting of the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives in April. Ivey spoke to delegates from Alabama’s 22 electric cooperatives about the progress her administration has made since she was sworn into office […]

A healing place

By Lindsay Miles Penny It all began while folding laundry. Storybook Farm Director Dena Little was completing household chores while thumbing through Practical Horseman when she came across a story about a horse therapy farm in Virginia. Little, who grew up caring for and competing on horses, had taken a hiatus from farm life as […]

Already a fishing legend at 23

In 2015, 23-year-old Jordan Lee of Grant became the youngest competitor on the top-tier Bass Angler Sportsman Society Elite Series. So far, he’s only fished four Bassmaster Classics, the world championship of professional fishing, but has already won two of them. In 2017, he became one of the youngest champions at 25 when he won […]

Stacy’s is the place for fresh cooked fare

Demopolis eatery draws locals as well as visitors Story and Photo by Emmett Burnett In a park across the street from Stacy’s Café, a stone marker notes the 1919 chicken auction that funded construction of nearby Rooster Bridge. Coincidentally, today’s special at Stacy’s is fried chicken. It, too, is monumental. The entire menu is. Occupying the […]

Finding Inspiration: Spring garden tour opportunities

By Katie Jackson The merry, merry month of May is filled with opportunities to up our gardening game, including finding inspiration from fellow gardeners through public and private garden tours. The thing about gardens is that they are everywhere, from little garden oases in many towns and cities to a plethora of fine public gardens […]

Play it cool: Tips to help you stay comfortable this summer

By Pat Keegan and Brad Thiessen Q: My energy bill was pretty high last summer. Do you have any tips for how to keep comfortable this year without breaking the bank? A: Absolutely! There are several ways to make your home more comfortable this summer. Some of the solutions are low-cost, while others require a bigger investment. […]

Toothy terrors!

Water wolverines provide outstanding sport By John N. Felsher Often called jackfish, southern pike, duckbill, and other names – including a few unfit to print – chain pickerel hit extremely hard and fight with speed and ferocity, but most Alabama anglers consider them a major nuisance. Sometimes erroneously called pike, chain pickerel resemble northern pike, […]

Hurricane season

“Squalls out on the gulf stream Big storm’s comin’ soon” Jimmy Buffett “Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season” Some start as tropical waves off the coast of Africa. Others just spring up from a depression down in the Caribbean. They grow and grow and move until something makes them stop – usually land. This is […]

Alabama Bookshelf

In this periodic feature, we highlight books that are either about Alabama people or events or written by Alabama authors. Summaries are not reviews or endorsements. We also occasionally highlight book-related events. Email submissions to bookshelf@alabamaliving.coop. Due to the volume of submissions, we are unable to feature all the books we receive. Alabama’s Frontiers and […]

Kids can cook!

BY JENNIFER KORNEGAY  | FOOD/PHOTOGRAPHY BY BROOKE ECHOLS Ask any chefs and avid home cooks you know when they first got interested in cooking, and there’s a good chance more than a few will tell you it was at a young age. Maybe it started as hanging around to sneak a spoonful of pie filling […]