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Snapshots: Team Spirit
We’ve got spirit, yes we do… We’ve got spirit and so do the readers.
Social Security is here for you
By Kylle’ McKinneySocial Security turns 84 this year. With more than eight decades of service, we’ve provided benefits to one of the most diverse populations in history. Regardless of background, we cover retirees, wounded warriors, chronically ill children, and people who have lost loved ones. Knowing that we cover so many different people, we’ve created […]
Cook Museum of Natural Science educates and entertains all ages
By Aaron Tanner The inviting entrance to Cook Museum of Natural Science. Photo courtesy Cook Museum Fifty years ago, it was a humble bug collection. Today, it’s a multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art, hands-on, fully immersive museum, with more than 62,000 square feet of space dedicated to the study of all aspects of nature. This is the Cook […]
Big boss bass or big fish tale?
By Emmett Burnett The marble monument to Leroy Brown on East Broad Street in Eufaula. Photo by Emmett Burnett In the heart of lovely Eufaula, Alabama, stands a statue like no other. About waist high, under shady trees, it is a testament to a town hero, Leroy Brown. What’s so unique about that you ask? […]
Alabama Co-ops to bring power to rural Bolivia
By Allison Law A group representing the Alabama electric cooperatives traveled to rural southwest Bolivia in April to scout the site of this fall’s electrification project. The group got to meet with the residents of Iscohoco, one of the six project sites. They have little in the way of material things. But in rural southwest […]
Mastering the art of observation
You never know what Barry Fleming might be up to — spinning mud into art, slapping a watermelon slice on a homemade biscuit, provoking and inspiring creativity in his art students, fueling his “live music problem” from backstage at Bonnaroo or scanning a Gulf Coast shoreline for marbled godwits. Fleming is a man of diverse […]
Mighty Oaks: Trees of beauty, function and diversity
By Katie Jackson To fully admire a mighty oak, you may need to look up. To fully appreciate the might of oaks, however, just look all around. You’ll see oaks and their many contributions to our lives everywhere. Oaks are native to the Northern Hemisphere (primarily Asia, North Africa, Europe and the Americas) and are […]
Not all fried chicken and sweet tea
Book looks at how Alabama’s food traditions shape our culture By Jennifer Kornegay Alabama is known for its geographic variety and biodiversity, and these differing landscapes and the life they hold (along with other factors) have created a vast cultural diversity too. Author Emily Blejwas. In the new book The Story of Alabama in Fourteen […]
Insulating for comfort and energy savings
By Pat Keegan and Brad Thiessen Q: We’re dreading winter. It feels like every year, no matter what we do, our home still feels cold and our heating bills go through the roof. We think our home may need more insulation. Any advice before winter hits? There’s a good chance you are right about the problem. Most older […]
Keeping it ‘local’
Waverly eatery serves up clean food, Southern style Story by Allison Law, photos by Brooke Echols Driving into Waverly, Ala. – population 185, give or take – is a throwback to a slower, simpler time, with its tiny post office and historic homes along the main thoroughfare that’s still a two-lane street (thankfully, U.S. 280 […]
Taking a look at the cancer trilogy
Prevalence, cause and prevention Editor’s note: First of three parts One of the most dreaded words you can hear at a vet’s office is “cancer.” Images flash in our mind about incurability, expense, the misery of chemo and radiation and ultimately the dreadful feeling of loss. For decades, there has been discussion on whether there is […]
An ovation for onions
BY JENNIFER KORNEGAY STYLING/PHOTOS BY BROOKE ECHOLS While they are sometimes overlooked, when it comes to the workhorse role they play in many recipes, onions deserve a standing ovation. In Alabama, we celebrate favorite foods like strawberries, peaches and shrimp with entire festivals. We post photos of perfectly ripe tomatoes on social media, and those […]
Kidz Outdoors
Gives children memorable experiences By John N. Felsher About 10 years ago, Rick and Carol Clark of Hueytown participated in a turkey hunt to raise money for a hospital. Rick, an avid turkey hunter, called birds for a young man with cancer. But the Clarks wanted to do more to help individual children suffering from […]
Lodge offers something for every type of sportsman
Whether looking to bag a big buck, lip a lunker or try some wing shooting, Soggy Bottom Lodge offers something for every sportsman and more. Located in Linden, the property covers about 1,234 acres of Marengo County in the rich Black Belt Region. J.R. Rivas and his wife Brittany bought the land in 2013. Two […]
Lafayette’s 1825 visit: Time for another bicentennial party?
Illustration by Dennis Auth By Hardy Jackson Pretty soon our Alabama Bicentennial wing-ding will have run its course and, apart from an approaching football season, Alabamians won’t have much to celebrate. You would think. And you would be wrong. In just a few years we can celebrate the bicentennial of the visit of the Marquis […]
Festival will celebrate Hispanic culture, Bicentennial
Fiesta, Alabama’s largest celebration of Hispanic culture and heritage, will hold its 17th annual festival Saturday, Sept. 28 in Birmingham’s Linn Park from noon to 8 p.m. Everyone is invited to join Fiesta to celebrate the rich and storied history of Alabama’s Hispanic community, as well as its 200 years of statehood, as part of […]