may/june | noalastudios.com |
BLUEWATER CREEK FARM | IFDC: SAVING LIVES | OFFICE PETS | SHEFFIELD’S VILLAGE
noalastudios.com
MAY/JUNE $4.95
THEURBANOASIS
Member FDIC | 877-865-5050 | bibank.com
A sweet mortgage for your Alabama home.
We Offer:
30-Year Fixed-Rate
Mortgages
Very Competitve Rates
VA Loans
In-House Underwriting
for Faster Approval
HEATHER GARGISMortgage Loan Originator Phone: 256-386-5044 Cell: 256-762-5001 [email protected]
NMLS#419624
ROXANNE BENEFIELD Mortgage Loan OriginatorPhone: 256-765-3616 Cell: 256-349-0334
rbenefi [email protected]#419623
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
may/june | noalastudios.com |
may/june | noalastudios.com |
8 » May/June
features 20Homes for the Ages
Th ree very diff erent home styles spanning two centuries infl uence the way we live today.
by roy hallphotos by danny mitchell
32
64Another Day at the Offi ce
It’s business as usual for these canine-to-fi vers and their feline friends.
by roy hall photos by danny mitchell
90Wide Open Spaces
A Florence ranch is revived in glorious fashion.
by allen tomlinsonphotos by patrick hood
98Southern Gothic
Collins and Liz Davis are getting their hands dirty and ushering in a green movement.
by michelle rupe eubanksphotos by danny mitchell
108With Flying Colors
A Florence family puts their heart and soul into a historic home.
by lu ellen reddingphotos by patrick hood
Urban Oasis
For these Shoals residents, the idea of living downtown is on the upswing.
by david simsphotos by patrick hood
no’ala advisory board
Jeremy Britten
Anne Bernauer
Vicki Goldston
Leslie Keys
Tera Wages
Ashley Winkle
9 » editor’s letter « Allen Tomlinson
“Home,”said one Pinterest post that caught my eye, “is where you
treat friends like family and family like friends.” One of the reasons that we love
putting together our annual Home and Garden issue is that a home is the best ex-
pression of a person’s personality you can fi nd. Our homes—our personal spaces,
those places we spend most of our time, the spots we feel most comfortable in the
whole world—represent who we are and who we want to be. When we show you
a person’s home, we’re showing you a glimpse of their personality.
Th is is our seventh annual celebration of homes and the people who live in them,
and we promise you’ll get lots of ideas for your own. Th ere are homes on the top
fl oors of downtown places, and homes that have been reinvented and reimagined.
We’ve even included a story about pre-made homes, some ordered straight out of
the Sears & Roebuck catalog! Th ere are lots of pictures and lots of ideas in these
pages , so take some time to let it all sink in. We hope you enjoy it!
Some shopkeepers take their pets to work, which makes work feel
like home, too. We bring “Matthew Th e Wonder Dog” (pictured
at left) to the No’Ala offi ces, where he protects us from cats, UPS
delivery personnel, and uninterrupted phone conversations. Take
a look at some other shop mascots in this issue, and look for these
furry friends when you’re out shopping!
Please don’t forget, it’s time to receive nominations for next
year’s Renaissance Awards. Do you know someone who has
made a positive contribution to life here who deserves recogni-
tion? Please let us know who they are. Email your suggestions and your reasons for
nominating your person to [email protected]. You have less than a year—so
please don’t put it off !
As you read about these beautiful homes and become inspired to do some spring
cleaning and sprucing up, please remember that just about everything you could
possibly need can be found right here in the Shoals. Shop the Shoals this spring,
and please mention to the shopkeepers that you saw them in No’Ala. Enjoy the
spring—this is the best season of the year in Alabama!ar in Alabama!
114 MAY/JUNE 2015
Volume 8: Issue 3
• • •
Editor-in-Chief C. Allen Tomlinson
Chief Operating Offi cer Matthew Liles
Creative Director David Sims
Advertising Director Heidi King
Features Manager Roy Hall
Graphic Designer Rowan Finnegan
Web Designer Justin Hall
Editorial Assistant LuEllen Redding
Videographer Justin Argo
Proofreader Carole Maynard
Intern Isaac Ray Norris
• • •
Contributing Writers
Amy C. Collins, Sara Wright Covington,
Michelle Rupe Eubanks, Sarah Gaede,
Roy Hall, LuEllen Redding,
David Sims, Allen Tomlinson
• • •
Contributing Photographers
Patrick Hood, Danny Mitchell, Ian Pratt
• • •
No’Ala is published six times annually by No’Ala Studios PO Box 2530, Florence, AL 35630
Phone: (256) 766-4222 | Fax: (256) 766-4106Toll-free: (800) 779-4222 Web: noalastudios.com
Standard postage paid at Florence, AL.A one-year subscription is $19.95 for delivery in the United States.
Signed articles refl ect only the views of the authorsand do not necessarily refl ect the views of the editors.
Advertisers are solely responsible forthe content of their advertisements.
© 2008-2015 No’Ala Studios, All rights reserved.
Send all correspondence toAllen Tomlinson, Editor, at the postal address above,
or by e-mail to [email protected] may be edited for space and style.
To advertise, contact us at(256) 766-4222 or [email protected].
The editor will provide writer’s guidelines upon request.Prospective authors should not submit unsolicited
manuscripts; please query the editor fi rst.
No’Ala is printed with vegetable-based inks.Please recycle.
Connect with us on Facebook: No’Ala MagTwitter: @NoAla_Magazine and Pinterest: NoAlaStudios
everything else
12 Calendar Selected Events for May/June 2015
14 Cryin’ Out Loud “Th e Boar’s Head Over My Bed”
by sara wright covington
122 Bless Th eir Hearts “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
lu ellen redding
124 Market “Sleep Tight”
photos by patrick hood
132 Kudosby roy hall
134 Th e Vine “Sauvignon and Sancerre” by amy c. collins
136 Food for Th ought “Taming the Evil Squash Monster” by sarah gaede
138 Parting Shot by danny mitchell
10 » contents
© 1937 TVA/Wikimedia Commons
Th e Village PeopleThe rise and rebirth of the city on the bluff
By Sara Wright Covington
80Teaching Th em to Farm
How IFDC is saving the world by connecting fertilizer technology with developing nations.
by amy c. collinsphotos by patrick hood
© P
atrick
Ho
od
may/june | noalastudios.com |
LEAVE A MARK THAT WILL LAST A LIFETIME
Want to honor your University of NORTH ALABAMA grad?
There’s no better way than Lion Tracks!L i o n Tr a c k s o f f e r s U N A g r a d u a t e s , f a m i l y m e m b e r s a n d l o v e d o n e s a n
o p p o r t u n i t y t o r e m e m b e r t h i s m i l e s t o n e w i t h t h e p u r c h a s e o f a c o m m e m o r a t i v e b r i c k .
E a c h b r i c k w i l l f e a t u r e t h e n a m e o f a U N A g r a d u a t e e t c h e d i n t o t h e s t o n e , w h i c h w i l l t h e n b e a d d e d t o t h e c o u r t y a r d
a t t h e Co m m o n s B u i l d i n g !
CONTACT Haley Brinkat 256-765-5080 or [email protected]
LEAVE YOUR TRACKS ON A LIVING TRADITION!
12 » calendar
Friday, May 1 and Friday, June 5Florence First Fridays
Th e exciting monthly event gathers artists of all kinds—musicians, painters, sculptors, photographers, hand-crafted jewelry creators, and more—for a community-wide celebration. 5:00pm-8:00pm; Free; Downtown Florence; fi rstfridaysfl orence.org
Saturday, May 2UNA Derby Day
Hosted by President and Mrs. Kitts on the lawn of Coby Hall, the third annual Kentucky Derby-themed viewing party and fundraising event benefi ts the UNA Foundation, which provides fi nancial fl exibility to the university and improved educational opportunities for students. 3:00pm-6:00pm; $100; UNA Coby Hall; (256) 765-5188; una.edu/derbyday
Sunday, May 3Shoals Symphony: Season of Rebirth
Th e Shoals Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Daniel Stevens and featuring the winner of the UNA Collegiate Artist Solo Competition, performs Th e Last Spring, Op. 34, No. 2 by Grieg and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4. 2:00pm; Admission charged; Norton Auditorium, UNA; una.edu/shoals-symphony
Friday, May 8 – Saturday, May 16Florence Restaurant Week
Th is week-long initiative by Florence Main Street highlights our excellent, independent eateries as well as local charitable organizations by asking diners at each restaurant to vote for their favorite of fi ve charities, with $5,000 going to the winner. Participating restaurants and other information available at dineoutfl orence.com
Saturday, May 9Riverhill School Home and Garden Expo
Th e second annual home and garden expo benefi tting the Riverhill School showcases local vendors, inspiring ideas for your home, and a special appearance by HGTV designer Genevieve Gorder. 9:00am-3:00pm; Admission charged; 1518 Florence Blvd; riverhillexpo.com
Th ursday, May 14 – Sunday, May 17Shoals Community Th eatre presents Marrying Terry
It’s New Year’s Eve, and a massive snowstorm has paralyzed Chicago. Luckily, thirty-fi ve-year-old librarian Ms. Terry Adams has just reserved the last room at the Drake Hotel. When a medical emergency summons Dr. Terry Adams to the hotel, he has no idea what’s in store for him—or for the beautiful woman who shares the same name. No one is quite who he or she seems to be in this romantic comedy of hate-at-fi rst-sight. Th urs-Sat 7:30pm and Sun 2:00pm; Admission charged; Shoals Th eatre, 123 N Seminary St, (256) 764-1700; facebook.com/ShoalsCommunityTh eatre
Friday, May 15 – Saturday, May 16UNA Front Porch Storytelling Festival
Th e UNA Front Porch Storytelling Festival is back with a fi fth installment of laughter and memories from a variety of professional storytellers and musicians, including Walt Aldridge, Donald Davis, Delores Hydock, Reverend Robert B. Jones,
Genevieve Gorder
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Kevin Kling, and Bill Lepp. Single day ticket $10, Two-day package $15, Students Free; UNA; Various times and campus locations; (256) 765-4297; una.edu/storytelling
Saturday, May 16 – Sunday May 17Arts Alive Festival
Th e festival showcases local, regional, and national artists specializing in painting, stained glass, jewelry, sculpture, pottery, fi ber art, woodwork, photography, and much more. Admission is free, so bring the family and stroll through the park as you meet artists, fi nd one-of-a-kind treasures to add to your collection, and enjoy good food. 9:00am-5:00pm; Free; Kennedy-Douglas Center for the Arts and Wilson Park, 217 E Tuscaloosa St; alabamaartsalive.com
Monday, June 8 – Friday, June 12 (First Session) and Monday, June 15 – Friday, June 19 (Second Session)Young Masters Art School 2015
Kennedy-Douglas Center for the Arts invites parents to register their kids for this fun, innovative tour through the visual and textual arts. Basic art will be taught via watercolor, clay, weaving, paper mache, charcoal, plaster, and sand. 9:00am-11:00am (for students entering fi rst-third grades in fall 2015), Noon-2:00pm (students in grades fourth-sixth); $50 fi rst child in family, $45 for second; Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts, 217 East Tuscaloosa St; (256) 760-6379
Helen Keller FestivalTh ursday, June 25 – Sunday, June 28
Th e 37th annual Helen Keller Festival kicks off with a parade down Main Street and more than 100 events, including headliner musical artists, arts and crafts, athletic events, and a car and truck show. Other events include Keller Kids educational activities, historic tours, and trolley rides. Various times; Admission charged for some events; Spring Park, Downtown Tuscumbia; (256) 383-0783; helenkellerfestival.com
© C
ou
rtne
y L
eS
ue
ur
14 » cryin’ out loud » Sara Wright Covington
THE BOAR’S HEAD OVER MY BABY BED
I know that no amount of parental protection can ever fully defend against all of the scraped knees, broken hearts, unexpected outcomes, and just general bad days that will build the beautifully fl awed armor [my kids] need to fend for themselves.
For several months in the winter of , a taxidermic boar’s head held residence on the wall
above my baby crib. Stuff ed animals are certainly expected inside a crib, but stuff ed, formerly live ones
mounted above it are somewhat less common. To this day, there is much debate in my family over the
details of exactly how and when the dead boar came to be over my crib. One theory held that the boar’s
head hung in what was the family offi ce before my birth, and was simply never moved when the room
was converted to a nursery. Th e other—entirely false, but more interesting theory—suggests that the
boar’s head didn’t show up until after the room became a nursery, and it was hung, deliberately, by my
father. Because my dad has always been a loyal, card-carrying member of the NRA and an avid sup-
porter of home security of any sort, my family adopted their own embellished reasoning to go with a
version of the latter, more ridiculous theory: the boar’s head was hung as a simple defense mechanism
to startle, and thus thwart, would-be intruders. (In all fairness, it should be noted that my father ve-
hemently denies that the creature ever hung in our house at all, and maintains that it actually hung in
his offi ce at work. Alas, no pictures seem to exist to prove otherwise.) Whatever the reason for the
creature over my crib, the repetitive recounting of this familial yarn made enough of an im-
pression on me that the boar’s head became a metaphor in my mind for safety—a sort of
dead-animal-tangible, that might ward off danger from the world.
I’ve thought about that ridiculous boar’s head many nights when tucking my children
into their beds, and I often fi nd myself looking for my own fi gurative boar-headed
blockades to protect them. When they are young, it’s really all about their physical well-
being. We want to keep them safe and sound, healthy and thriving. As they get older
and move beyond the confi nes of their cribs, we worry about the safety of their hearts,
feelings, and beliefs, and realize that it was much easier to keep them “safe” before they
became able to do all of that moving, talking, thinking, and interacting. Cell phones and
social media off er threats that weren’t even thought of during my childhood, and I can’t
help but feel my parents had things a little simpler when keeping my sister and me safe.
When we were bored, we read books, talked on the phone, played outside, and watched
Growing Pains on TV. Now we have to worry about an entire world of outside interac-
tions that no stuff ed animal, real or fake, can hold at bay. As I talk with my friends who
have older children, I am realizing that experiencing the second-hand growing pains of our
children may be even tougher than the fi rst go-round. So I do the best I can to brace myself
for those growing pains, realizing that they will likely be much more intense than the 1980s
sitcom. My friend Keri who has children older than mine recently used the analogy to her
children that middle school is like boot camp. High school will still be a war, but they will
be tougher and more prepared when it arrives. “And let’s face it,” she says. “Middle school
just builds character.”
may/june | noalastudios.com |
I remember thinking my parents were unreasonably over-
protective in my youth. I was barely allowed to cross the
street until I was 13, and once, my dad built me a treehouse
where he actually made a rope harness for me to wear in case
I fell out of it. It is no fun playing up in a pine tree when you
are harnessed to it—not to mention the sap. I rolled my eyes
in distain when I got my driver’s license at 16 and they told
me to avoid Woodward Avenue at all costs, and I stomped
my feet in frustration when they wouldn’t allow me to leave
the country to go to Mexico with 25 other 18-year-olds for
my senior trip. I realize now what I could not see at the time:
my parents actually trusted me very much; it was other peo-
ple and dangers of the world that made them worry.
I’m accepting that parenting is a constant catch 22. It can be
exhausting to bathe, feed, dress, and just generally nurture
these small people who cannot take care of themselves and
need you constantly. And so we whine about our exhaustion,
only to be reminded by someone older and wiser to “enjoy
these days of knowing where they are all the time,” and “enjoy
them while they still look to you and know you will protect
them.” My friend Keri summed up parenting perfectly when
she suggested that sometimes the best thing a parent can do
is back away and allow children to learn to problem-solve on
their own. So as I attempt to savor the sweet innocent baby
years, I can only hope that I am giving them the tools they
will need to fi ght their own battles. I hope they will never be
afraid to march to their own drum, read books not on the
required reading list, be kind when it’s inconvenient, and do
the right thing when no one is watching. Mostly, as cliché
as it is, I just want them to be happy. Truly happy. Pursuing
whatever it is in life that gives them purpose, and passion,
and peace within their little souls.
I know that no amount of parental protection can ever fully
defend against all of the scraped knees, broken hearts, un-
expected outcomes, and just general bad days that will build
the beautifully fl awed armor they need to fend for themselves
and—as painful as it might be for me to watch—I wouldn’t
want it to. I just hope my own armor is up for the task as well.
As for that emblematic boar’s head, it was long ago tossed
out. Once again, the details are fuzzy on exactly how and
when it happened. But to this day, I have never been able to
look at any dead, mounted creature without wondering if it,
too, once hung in a nursery.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
may/june | noalastudios.com |
text by roy hall » florence photos by danny mitchelllustron photos courtesy of the ohio historical society
Th ey occupy a place of singular importance in the American
Dream and the largest single purchase most of us will ever
make. We fi ll them with our hopes and dreams. We trust
them to take care of our families and possessions. We associ-
ate them with the most important events in our lives.
Th ey are status symbols, trophy cases, safety deposit boxes,
and memory repositories.
Th ey are our homes. And over the course of the last cen-
tury, these buildings we think of as family have undergone
tremendous change. As Americans migrated from cities
to suburbs, as our defi nitions of family evolved, and as our
expectations for comfort, security, and luxury experienced
cycles of expansion and contraction, the American home has
evolved with us to accommodate the lives within.
Th e three kinds of homes below represent among the most
infl uential—and sometimes notorious—examples of home
design innovations over the course of the last century. Re-
gardless of whether or not you live in one, odds are, some
aspect of your house has been infl uenced by at least one of
these homes.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
Placing an Order for Home Delivery
Th e grandfather of American mass market retail, Sears Roe-
buck and Co., didn’t set out to be in the home-building busi-
ness. But the fi rst decade of the 20th Century found the cata-
log company’s building materials division in a bit of a slump.
Th e surplus inventory that resulted from the sales decline sat
unsold in Sears’ warehouses until 1906, when Sears manager
Frank Kushel devised an ingenious method for unloading the
backstock. In an idea born out of desperation, Kushel pro-
posed that rather than selling building supplies piecemeal as
Sears had been doing since its founding, the retail behemoth
should bundle supplies in kits and sell entire houses.
Richard Sears agreed and Sears mail-order home business
was born with the publication, in 1908, of the Book of Modern
Homes and Building Plans, a catalog of 44 residential home
plan styles ranging from the mid-$300 to almost $3,000.
Over the course of the next 32 years, Sears sold between
70,000 and 75,000 homes, the parts for which were manufac-
tured in Sears-owned plants in New Jersey and Ohio, then
shipped by rail to destinations throughout the United States
and Canada. Once offl oaded from boxcars, trucks would de-
liver precut and fi tted materials, with an average per-home
© S
ea
rs, Ro
eb
uck
an
d C
om
pa
ny
/Wik
ime
dia
Co
mm
on
s
© S
ea
rs, Ro
eb
uck
an
d C
om
pa
ny
/Wik
ime
dia
Co
mm
on
s
may/june | noalastudios.com |
weight of 25 tons, to the new homeowners, who, in the early
days, often built their Sears homes in barn-raising style, with
the help of friends and neighbors.
And the more friends and neighbors the merrier, as Sears
Modern Home kits included an average 300,000 individu-
al pieces. Ponder that terrifying statistic the next time you
stare in hopeless bemusement at two inscrutable pages of
Ikea instructions and a sealed plastic bag containing one tiny
wrench and three screws.
Sears Modern Homes grew exponentially in its fi rst decade,
shipping over 300 homes each month by the mid-1920s. In
response, the retailer initiated a fi nance program, in 1912,
making home ownership possible for an entire generation of
working class Americans for the fi rst time. Sears fi nancing
and the explosive growth it facilitated lasted until the Great
Depression. Th e economic fallout of the ‘30s—and the liq-
uidation of $11 million in defaulted debt—necessitated the
end of Sears’ fi nancing, a hit from which the Modern Homes
division never fully recovered.
Sears sold its last home in 1940, but the evidence of the re-
tailer’s Modern Homes success remains today in the tens
of thousands of still-standing cottages, ranches, and two-
stories with a tell-tale Sears look. Although the exact num-
ber of Sears homes is unknown—the company destroyed
all records from the Sears Modern Home division as part
of an internal clean-out in the early ‘40s—their infl uence is
undeniable. Th e Modern Homes division and the liberal loan
policy that led to its eventual undoing helped cement the no-
tion that homeownership was attainable for the burgeoning
American middle class. Additionally, many of the modern
conveniences taken for granted for decades were popular-
ized by Sears, including central heat, indoor plumbing, and
electrical wiring.
With a combined total of 447 styles of homes, the Sears
catalog home program was undeniably prolifi c, if not neces-
sarily innovative. But innovation was never the point. Sears
set out to mass produce a vital component of the Ameri-
can dream, to make possible to the masses what would have
been unattainable to the vast majority of previous genera-
tions: home ownership.
Florence Lumber Company, the local affi liate for Sears Modern Homes, assembled these Sears houses on Seminary Street, in Florence. Left, and facing page: Early 20th century advertisements for Sears Homes.
© S
ea
rs, Ro
eb
uck
an
d C
om
pa
ny
/Wik
ime
dia
Co
mm
on
s
| noalastudios.com | may/june | noalastudios.com | may/june
Steel Yourself: Life in a Lustron
Like Sears manager Frank Kushel before him, Chicago-based
industrialist and inventor Carl Strandlund created his Lus-
tron home in response to a specifi c need. Unlike Kushel,
who devised the Sears home in response to an over-supply
of building materials, Strandlund’s pre-fabricated, all-metal
Lustron homes were a direct response to surplus of would-
be homeowners.
Begun in 1948 with three Truman-approved Reconstruction
Finance Corporation loans totaling over $40 million, the
Lustron Corporation aimed to build houses for the 12 mil-
lion-plus veterans returning from World War II. Th e upstart
home builder also set for itself the lofty goal of producing
100 new homes every day in its nine-mile-long Ohio plant,
which, when operating at full capacity, consumed more en-
ergy than every other residence, business, and factory in Co-
lumbus combined.
Made of prefabricated enamel-coated steel panels, Lustron
homes aimed to not only relieve homeowners of the bur-
den and expense of home maintenance, but to remake the
American landscape with homes that would “defy weather,
wear, and time.”
With price tags ranging just under $10,000 (approximately
25 percent less than a comparably sized conventional home),
the Lustron Corporation off ered potential homeowners a
total of three varieties of steel abode, in two and three bed-
room models, with a maximum 1,140 square feet.
Made entirely of steel and available in four colors—surf blue,
dove gray, maize yellow, and desert tan—Lustron homes were
instantly recognizable on any suburban block. Th e interiors
were no less distinct, and for the same reason: metal kitchen
Co
urte
sy o
f the
Oh
io H
istorica
l So
ciety
may/june | noalastudios.com |
cabinets, metal ceiling tiles, metal interior pocket doors, and
metal built-ins.
For those of us not raised on battleships, that’s rather a lot
of metal. But what the Lustron home may have lacked in
warmth, it more than compensated for in speed of delivery
and construction. Lustron homes were delivered, in pieces,
by truck from a local dealership, and assembled by employees
of local Lustron dealers, typically in as few as 360 man-hours.
And true to their low maintenance mission, that was the last
of the work involved.
A grand total of 2,498 Lustron homes were manufactured,
delivered, and constructed between 1948 and 1950, when
the Lustron Corporation declared bankruptcy. Th e causes
for Lustron’s demise remain a source of controversy among
historians of modern architecture. Some say the company
fell victim to mismanagement; others blame a poor distribu-
tion strategy and ever-increasing costs for supplies. Another
hurdle, echoed below in the tiny house movement, involved
municipal zoning laws, many of which forbade certain essen-
tial Lustron design details—like steel chimneys.
But other, more nefarious conspiracies have gained traction
over the years as possible explanations for why such a well-
funded company folded in such a short time. Most notably
among them is the theory that established housing companies
sensed a potential threat from the upstart Lustron and exer-
cised their clout to ensure the ruin of the “house of the future.”
Co
urte
sy o
f the
Oh
io H
istorica
l So
ciety
Facing page, top: Pieces of the American Dream: An unassembled Lustron home en route to its new owners. Facing page, bottom, left: Every Lustron model came equipped with bedroom and living room built-in metal wall units. (Pajamas, scalloped arm chair, and happy couple, not included.) Right: Everything necessary to build a Lustron, all on one truck! Below: A happy Lustron family contemplates a main-tenance-free future from the comfort of their all-metal living room.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
may/june | noalastudios.com | may/june | noalastudios.com |
Regardless of the factors that led to its premature demise,
the ultimate promise of the Lustron home has proven true:
longevity. Most of the nearly 2,500 Lustrons built during the
company’s two short years of existence remain, remarkably
free of the wear and tear that affl ict homes half their age. Th e
Shoals area alone boasts fi ve extant Lustrons, each sold by
the area’s very own Lustron dealership, Southern Sash.
While the Lustron Corporation ultimately failed in its goal to
reinvent the housing wheel, it did foresee by a half-century
the trend toward smaller, more effi cient, less maintenance-
intensive homes brought to fruition in the 21st century’s
small house movement—as well as anticipate the zoning
hurdles encountered by the movement.
Go Big or Go Home
It’s one or the other with the small house movement—or tiny
house movement, as it’s often more accurately known. Th e
trend toward space-conscious living traces its origins to the
1997 publication of Th e Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka,
who advocated simpler living in smaller spaces. Awareness
of tiny houses reached its widest audience in the early 2000s,
with the widely publicized Tumbleweed Tiny House, a claus-
trophobia-inducing 96 square foot residence designed and
occupied by Tumbleweed Tiny House company founder and
micro-living pioneer, Jay Shafer.
But the trend toward smaller living spaces isn’t encapsulated
by a single manufacturer, or even an established size or style
of home. Rather, the broad and subjective goals of downsiz-
ing represented by the small house movement include homes
as large as 1,500 square feet all the way down to 100 square
foot micro houses, according to the Small House Society.
Equally varied are small house owners’ motivations for reduc-
ing their living spaces. For many, the attraction of living in
smaller houses represents the simple desire to live unencum-
bered by the fi nancial demands of larger mortgages, not to
mention the temptation to fi ll those homes with expensive
stuff . Empty nesters and retirees who spend much of their year
travelling enjoy a less expensive home base, while still other,
ecologically-minded homeowners fi nd the vastly reduced
carbon footprints of tiny houses attractive. As a result, the
tiny house movement has gained the most traction in parts
of the country with the highest conventional home prices,
as well as populations who are, generally speaking, more in-
clined toward eco-awareness, notably the Pacifi c Northwest.
Inroads into much of the rest of the country have proven
more problematic for the tiny house movement, including
in Alabama, where none currently exist. But that statistic in
no way indicates a lack of interest, according to Huntsville
architect and tiny house fan Brian Woodroof.
You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby House!
Oregon City, Oregon-based Tiny
Heirloom combines the fi scal and
environmental effi ciency of tiny house
living with the refi ned luxury and
high-end design usually associated
with homes twenty times their
size. Th ese movable, custom-built
micro-homes are available in multiple
confi gurations, with a base package
that includes amenities like granite
counters and wood or bamboo fl oors.
If the distance between their home and
yours seems daunting, take heart: Tiny
Heirloom home prices include a one-
time plane ticket, so you can visit your
new dwelling while it’s being built!
Interested readers can visit Tiny
Heirloom online at tinyheirloom.com.
© Photos by Ian Pratt for Tiny Heirloom
Custom-crafted lighting and hardware by Rejuvenation
Woodroof discovered his penchant
for small, unconventional living spaces
as an architecture student at Auburn,
where he lived in a converted school
bus. Woodroof ’s architecture career
has taken a more traditional path away
from buses and micro homes, but he’s
had an eye on the tiny house movement
since the early 2000s, and Jay Schafer’s
Tumbleweed experiment.
Th e appeal of tiny houses from an ar-
chitect’s perspective, Woodroof says,
is the challenge of the design: fi tting all
the necessary parts into precious little
space. Th ere are other, non-design re-
lated challenges, too, that contribute
to the dearth of tiny houses in Ala-
bama and elsewhere around the coun-
try. According to Woodroof, who has
researched the subject exhaustively,
the primary culprit for the lack of tiny
house construction in Alabama and other states isn’t lack of
interest, but rather zoning restrictions. Most communities
require minimum square footage, a prerequisite that dis-
qualifi es tiny houses right out of the gate. Beyond that, a tiny
house is a tricky entity to nail down: is it a primary residence
or a guest house?
Or is it a house at all? Th e most recent models from the
popular Tumbleweed company include wheels, a successful
attempt to gain certifi cation from the Recreational Vehicle
Association of America. Th at certifi cation comes in handy
at R.V. and mobile home parks, but rules out most residen-
tial neighborhoods.
Th ose hurdles aside, the movement toward sustainability
and effi ciency is here to stay, as environmental and fi scal
realities continue to play ever increasing roles in our home
choices. Whether the extreme example of the tiny house be-
comes commonplace, or they go the way of the Sears Mod-
ern Home or the Lustron, only time will tell.
Regardless of the changes that characterize the house of the
future, or the appearance and composition of the families
who reside in them, our homes will continue to infl uence us
for generations.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
© P
ho
tos b
y Ia
n P
ratt fo
r Tin
y H
eirlo
om
Character building: Tiny Heirloom’s base custom models include stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and painted or stained cabinets, neatly integrating necessity and authenticity.
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Four daily flights from Muscle Shoals to Nashville,
starting at $39*
FREE parking in Muscle Shoals
* Each way, for a limited time. Offer good through December 31, 2015. Includes taxes and fees.
www.flytheshoals.com www.seaportair.com
888-573-2767
30 » scene
Above: George Lindsey UNA Film Festival
Kick-Off Partymarch , · mobile, florence
Below: UNA Peru Study Abroad
Fundraising Dinnerfebruary , · odette, florence
Ethan Marten, Cynthia Burkhead, and Jane Rosemont
Carlos Alonso Ojea, Brenna Wardell, Kelly Latchaw, and David Umback
Chris Maynard, Jeff Bibbee, and Andy Thigpen
Ashley Gabaldon and Stephanie Smith
Grace Simpson, John Simpson, and Bonnie Coats
Hunter Powers Middleton and Andrew Reed
* Names for photos are provided by the organization or business featured.
Devin Brewer
Colton McCormick
Chef Ramon Jacobsen, Greg Thompson, and Chuck Chiriaco
Joey James and Nicole HugaboomAmy Collins
David Mack Brewerand Juliana Burton Ann Marks, Sara Voorhies, Jan Schofi eld,
and Nancy Sanford
Photos by Michael Pretes
Scott Infanger, Chef Ramon Jacobsen, and Michael Pretes
© Photos by Shannon Wells
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Dr. Ajit Naidu and the staff at Cardiovascular Institute of the Shoals welcome
Dr. Cole is an interventional cardiologist and was the Chief of Staff at ECM Hospital in 2013-2014. He has practiced in the Shoals area since 2006, and has performed more than 20,000 cardiac catherization proce-dures. He is with us now, so please join us in welcoming him!
2415 Helton Drive, Florence AL 35630www.cardioshoals.com
Call (256) 766-2310 for an appointment.
Dr. Brian Cole, FACC, FSCAI
| noalastudios.com | may/june
They live above beauty salons and clothing boutiques,
jewelry stores and law offi ces; they’ve traded gardens and
lawns for restaurants and bars. Th e convenience of having
everything at their fi ngertips is luring former suburbanites
downtown as more and more upstairs spaces are converted
to living areas. Just in the past year, downtown traffi c in Flor-
ence has increased dramatically, and a once-sleepy Sheffi eld
is poised to add more urban living space to complement its
commercial renaissance.
In the next several pages, we take a look at fi ve urban living
areas in the Shoals—from tiny one-bedroom apartments to
sprawling lofts. Inside these spaces, you’d swear you were in
a much larger city. Step outside them, and you’d never know
they were there.
text by david sims » photos by patrick hood
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
Audwin and Sandi McGee’s Tuscumbia loft will never be fi nished, but therein lies its charm. It’s a living, breathing work of art, and its owners—like the fi ne artists they are—take a step back every now and then, waiting for just the right time to make a change. Th e enterprising couple has an internal wish list a mile long, and listening to them go through it is both exhausting and inspiring.
Audwin McGee bought the building in 1999, around the time he was help-ing Harvey Robbins renovate a variety of downtown Tuscumbia properties. Th e cavernous structure had origi-nally been used as a bookstore, then a hardware store, and fi nally a dry goods store before it became what it is today: an amazing receptacle for art, personal mementoes, and a variety of repur-posed and found objects. Th e McGees and their red pit bull, Spanky, have carved out a cozy home for themselves in their West 6th Street location, all of which they occupy—including the en-tire top fl oor—with the exception of Mimi’s gift shop on the street level.
Th e great room occupies the entire 6th street side and includes a space for Audwin to paint and eventually an of-
ORGANIZED CHAOS
THE URBAN OASIS
may/june | noalastudios.com | may/june | noalastudios.com |
Facing page: The large building also houses Mimi’s gift shop. Above:
Spanky welcomes visitors to play a tune on the grand piano. A painting
by Audwin hangs in the background, and a boom mic stand puts a crystal
chandelier right where it’s needed.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
THE URBAN OASIS
Facing page: A view of the fl oor-to-ceiling bookcases adjacent to
Audwin’s studio space. Just beyond you can see a glimpse of the second
bedroom with its Moroccan-inspired doorway. Above: Audwin’s studio
space provides a focal point for the main living area, and the windows
provide plenty of light.
may/june | noalastudios.com |
fi ce area for Sandi, who owns and op-erates Geronimo Gymnastics. Th ere’s plenty of space for a grand piano, free-standing fi replace, and a handcrafted dining table that seats a dozen. Th ere are plans to design and build a chande-lier, and install an antiqued, mirrored wall behind a bar, which, as you might have guessed, they intend to design and build themselves.
Adjacent to the dining area is a small sitting area where the couple says they spend much of their time when they’re home, which they admit is rare. Just to the south of the sitting area is a galley kitchen that would make most chefs weep with envy, complete with a copper-clad bar and island, soon to be reinvented in marble—but not un-til the prefect slab is found. Finally, in the rear (or maybe it’s the entrance?) is what Audwin and Sandi call their “porch.” Th ey admit it’s the most un-fi nished part of their home, but a Hol-lywood set designer could not have
| noalastudios.com | may/june
THE URBAN OASIS
Facing page, top: The kitchen with its massive commercial range. The
photo is of Sandi’s uncle, a professional magician who worked in Las Ve-
gas. Right: The large scale painting is by Audwin. This page: A view of the
living area and its fl oor-to-ceiling windows, which were added to bring in
more light.
may/june | noalastudios.com |
styled it any better. Decorated with second-hand furniture and unique ob-jects, its southern wall is a large, glass retractable garage-style door that con-verts the room (and the apartment) into what can only be described as an urban treehouse. Audwin says one of his favorite things is opening the door in the back and all of the windows in front and painting until dusk. “I love to look out and see the birds gathering on the buildings across the street,” he says. Sandi adds, “Sometimes we have birds just fl y through the loft, which Spanky does not enjoy as much as we do.”
Eventually, the couple plans to create a new surround for the fi replace, add more living space on the half-fl oor be-low them, and build decks off the porch and on the roof. “When you’re on the roof, looking north, all you see are the tops of trees and church steeples,” Audwin says. “It doesn’t even look like Tuscumbia. It’s like you’re in a diff erent world.” Come to think of it, that’s the perfect description for this place the McGees call home.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
may/june | noalastudios.com |
• • • PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCALLY OWNED INDEPENDENT RETAILERS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND NONPROFITS! • • •
| noalastudios.com | may/june
THE URBAN OASIS
may/june | noalastudios.com |
ORDER ONCOURT
You can’t tell by looking at the outside,
but the law offi ce of civil rights attorney
Hank Sherrod on South Court Street
contains more than just the typical wall
full of mahogany clad bookshelves. In-
side, there’s over 4,000 square feet of
living and offi ce space, cleverly blended
by Sherrod and girlfriend Robyn Aus-
born, who is also his legal assistant. Th e
couple began converting offi ce space
into living space in the sprawling build-
ing in 2014 and have just put the fi n-
ishing touches on a new kitchen/great
room space, the fi rst of several more
planned renovations which will include
two new bedrooms a nd, if Robyn has
her way, a roof-top green space com-
plete with a grill and dining areas.
Th e new family living space comprises
the heart of the building and has al-
ready become a favorite hangout for
the active couple and their three chil-
dren. Th e room refl ects the tastes of
both Sherrod and Ausborn and fea-
tures a variety of local artists, including
a beautiful console/bar by woodworker
Robin Wade and a couple of mixed me-
dia pieces by Sherrod’s mother, Alice.
Above: Hank Sherrod and Robyn Ausborn relax in their kitchen with their
dog Atticus. Right: The South Court Street entrance.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
Construction: Eddie Vaden and David
Folkerts; Cabinetry: Signature Cabinets;
Countertops: Frye and Associates; Light
Fixtures: Progressive Lighting; Door
Hardware: Brass Hardware & Accessories;
Art: (facing page) Alice Sherrod; Bar/
Console: (above, right) Robin Wade
Furniture; Pillows: The French Basket
Facing page: Robin Wade designed
the rustic walnut console table, which
provides space for breakfast and coff ee.
Above, and left: The main living areas
off er a colorful place to spend a Saturday
watching the game or an evening playing
video games.
THE URBAN OASIS
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Th e couple’s love of contrasting contemporary fi nishes with
warm, rustic details is evident in every nook and cranny of
the family space. In the kitchen area, clean, white cabinetry
outfi tted with sleek hardware contrasts with a beautifully
veined black soapstone. In the living space, bold and mod-
ern upholstered pieces balance the handcrafted console and
dining table. Th e fl oors, which appear to be hardwood, are
actually ceramic tile that stands up to the couple’s kids and a
menagerie of animals, including their dog Atticus.
Th e downtown location perfectly suits the couple’s active
lifestyle, including Sherrod and Ausborn’s love of running. “I
just love being downtown. Everything is so convenient,” says
Ausborn. “It’s the perfect spot.”
| noalastudios.com | may/june
JEWEL BOX
THE URBAN OASIS
When Olin Meff ord retired and closed
Meff ord Jewelers, the future of one of
downtown Florence’s most iconic cor-
ners was uncertain. But not after Allen
and Cecily Wall and Bill and Suzanne
Musgrove stepped in. Th e two couples
reimagined the building as a mixture of
retail and residential, helping Russell
Meff ord reopen his own jewelry store,
creating offi ce space on the ground
fl oor and two luxury apartments on
the top fl oor.
“We were living in a house three times
the size of this apartment, but there
were rooms upstairs we never went to,”
says David Sims. “We’ve always wanted
to try downtown living, and this was
the perfect opportunity to give it a try.”
Helping the owners with design deci-
sions, the current residents (with the
help of designer Susan Trousdale) were
able to choose their colors, fi xtures,
and fi nishes, and the result is a cozy
space fi lled with art and light—right in
the middle of everything.
At less than 900 square feet, life in the
“Jewel Box” is effi cient—by design. Th e
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Facing page: The entrance off East Tennessee Street. Above: The main
living space includes a variety of Mid-Century Modern originals and
reproductions and a massive antique rug. Art by local and regional
artists—like the bust by painter Michael Banks—cover the walls.
| noalastudios.com | may/june | noalastudios.com | may/june
sofa folds out into a queen-size bed, for occasional visits from
one of the children, and a wall of wardrobes in the bedroom
adds storage space and light, with their mirrored doors. “We
have everything we need and everything we love,” says Sims,
“and everything else, for now, is in storage.”
Even the large kitchen area, with its recycled marble coun-
tertops from Alabama A&M University, contains hidden
storage, “although this close to all of our wonderful down-
town restaurants, we’re not cooking at home very much,”
says Sims. “We think all of downtown Florence is an exten-
sion of our living room, and this is the best spot for us to be
right now.”
THE URBAN OASIS
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Facing page, bottom left: The entrance to
Apartment A is at the end of a long hallway,
which, thanks to the landlords, houses an
overfl ow of the owners’ art. A fl oating metal
shelf functions as an entry table but without
the footprint. Right: The bathroom is clean
and bright with high-end fi nishes and storage
everywhere. Below: The master bedroom
includes a handmade gray-stained cherry bed,
a Robin Wade bench, and an original painting
by Florence painter Nancy O’Neal.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
THE URBAN OASIS
may/june | noalastudios.com |
DRESSEDUP
Leslie Keys jokes that she has the short-
est commute of anyone she knows,
and she’s still sometimes late. Even so,
the owner of Tuscumbia’s Audie Mes-
cal and Leo Martin (named after her
grandparents) is always spot-on when
it comes to matters of style and taste.
And her apartment above her stores is
no exception.
Keys has leased the building for over 12
years for her businesses, but has been
living in its apartment for only four.
Before Robbins Property Development
bought and restored the property in
2002, it was owned by a member of the
Trowbridge family, who operated an
ice cream and sandwich shop there for
a time.
Like most downtown dwellings in the
Shoals, the space is fi lled with large
windows, which fi ll the space with
light. Keys has only recently painted
the entire space a warm, deep gray,
which absorbs the light, creating a neu-
tral backdrop for her expansive collec-
tion of family photos and outsider and
local art, including paintings by her
friends Audwin and Sandi McGee, and
Tara Bullington. Audwin also created
the custom metal bed, which features
Facing page: the entrance is fi lled with treasured family photos and art by
favorite friends, including an old Helen Keller Festival poster, illustrated
by Sandi McGee. The hallway is lined with an expansive wall of cabinetry
which is both a dramatic design feature and a useful addition to this
compact space. Above: Keys relaxes with Bolt, her apricot standard
poodle. Right: a view of her woman’s store, Audie Mescal—the apartment
windows are seen above.
ALL DRESSED UP
| noalastudios.com | may/june
Facing page: the compact kitchen is warm
and functional and includes plenty of
room for entertaining family and friends.
The apartment includes lots of special
pieces of outsider and primitive art and
family treasures, including the rotary dial
phone from Key’s grandmother. Above:
the master bed, created by Audwin
McGee, commands your attention in the
master bedroom. Left: the unpainted
brick fi replace adds more warmth to the
living area. The painting above the hearth
is by Tara Bullington.
THE URBAN OASIS
may/june | noalastudios.com |
whimsical touches like an imbedded antique makeup com-
pact that creates a secret hiding place.
Th e apartment is perfect for Leslie and her animals, includ-
ing her standard poodle Bolt, who also acts as Keys’ offi cial
store greeter. Keys loves the fact that she can step out onto
the street and take one of her long runs, or walk next door
for a milkshake at the Palace Ice Cream, a coff ee at ColdWa-
ter Books, or a dinner with friends at PoBoys Cajun Grill.
She even has the perfect spot to watch the Wild West Stam-
pede Parade in May.
Keys is still thinking about small changes to make on the
apartment, but since her profession keeps her always re-
merchandising and rearranging her shops below, perhaps
she’ll keep her apartment as the calm refuge it’s always been.
| noalastudios.com | may/june | noalastudios.com | may/june
• • • PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCALLY OWNED INDEPENDENT RETAILERS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND NONPROFITS! • • •
may/june | noalastudios.com |
• • • PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCALLY OWNED INDEPENDENT RETAILERS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND NONPROFITS! • • •
Your BizHub Watchdog
(256) 464-0010
If you’re interested in controlling costs withoffice equipment solutions for almost anybusiness challenge, call me. We’re the specialists, because we’re the watchdogs.—J.T. Ray
450 Production Avenue, Madison, AL 35758
88.7 FM Muscle Shoals • 100.7 FM Huntsvillewww.apr.org
News, classicalmusic and more
| noalastudios.com | may/june
WHITE HOT
Dwight Cox has a fl air for the dramatic.
It’s what keeps him in demand as one
of the Shoals’ most popular hairstylists,
and it’s what inspires the design deci-
sions for his new downtown Florence
building. Purchased in 2013, the North
Court Street location has had many
lives, including as an antique shop and
as the Brass Lantern Lounge. “Ironical-
ly, Alcoholics Anonymous met upstairs
during the time it was a bar,” Cox says.
Cox’s salon occupies the ground level
of the space, so for him, it’s a quick walk
up the stairs to escape the stress of a
long day on his feet. And what an es-
cape it is. Th e space is not only breath-
taking for its sheer size (4,000 square
feet), but because it is almost solely
blanketed in shades of white, with the
occasional pops of red and black.
“My favorite part of living here is walk-
ing through the loft at night, when all
the lights are out,” says Cox. “It’s like
living in a cloud.”
Cox created rooms when needed, but
the majority of the space is one large
THE URBAN OASIS
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Facing page: Cox’s shop sits below his new loft. Above: The west end
of the living area with its white baby grand piano. The sunny master
bedroom sits just beyond the rustic sliding door.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
Facing page: The formal dining area is anchored by a contemporary glass
table and white leather chairs. A Mid-Century Modern chandelier makes
the space pop. Above: The main living area is designed for conversation
and movie watching.
THE URBAN OASIS
may/june | noalastudios.com |
area anchored with white painted
concrete fl oors and punctuated with
islands of white carpets and color-
ful cowhides. Even Cox’s bedroom
can open up to the larger living space,
thanks to a rolling door made of re-
claimed wood gathered from a old barn
in Greenhill. Th e door may be the only
rustic element in the very contempo-
rary space.
An avid and discerning shopper, Cox
was ingenious in his ability to furnish
the space on a budget, often purchas-
ing new and used pieces online. “Every-
thing came from Ebay,” he jokes. Th e
loft’s shelving was designed by Cox and
built by Kevin Wilson. Amish crafts-
men in Etheridge, Tennessee, built the
kitchen cabinets, which were fi nished
with hardware from—you guessed it—
Ebay.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
If the kitchen is usually the heart of a
home, Cox’s kitchen is the center of
attention. Galley in design, it spans al-
most the entire south end of the loft,
and its white quartz waterfall-style
countertop provides the perfect spot
for morning coff ee or an evening of
preparing the perfect meal. Flanking
the kitchen are two dining spaces, one
for casual entertaining and one for din-
ners with special friends. Th e living
area includes a pristine white sectional
and black leather lounge chair, and the
back screened porch provides a more
casual, but ample, space for overfl ow.
Facing page: Dwight Cox with his children,
daughter Fletcher and son Foster. Right: The
master bedroom. Below: The casual dining
room off the kitchen, with a glimpse of the
porch just beyond.
THE URBAN OASIS
may/june | noalastudios.com |
* Names for photos are provided by the organization or business featured.
62 » scene
Jack Johnson and Shawna Moore
Brittney Walker, Jenny Mitchell, and Julie Hamm
Jack Johnson, Frank Niedergeses, and Doris Faires
Frank Niedergeses
Ribbon Cutting
St. Florian Branch
St. Florian Mayor Donald Strait
Jim Bishop and Jack Johnson
Frank Niedergeses, Jack Johnson, and Mike Doyle
Lee Medley and Jean McIntyre
Mayor Donald Straitand John Kalama
Steve WigginsMary Marshall VanSantand Mike Doyle
Bank Interior
© Photos by Danny Mitchell
First Southern Bank Ribbon Cutting, St. Florian Branchapril , · st. florian
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
BoOApparently Boo had been on his own for quite some time before my daughter Barksdale noticed the “wild dog” living in our woods. The poor little guy was nothing but skin and bones. We tried coaxing him out with food, but at the fi rst sight of us, he would run for cover. But we were patient and eventually succeeded in luring Boo into our home—and our hearts!
Patty KlosParker Bingham
may/june | noalastudios.com | may/june | noalastudios.com |
photos by danny mitchell » text by roy hall
| noalastudios.com | may/june
BoLtBolt, my two-year-old labradoodle, loves people, especially kids. And everybody in Tuscumbia knows and loves Bolt, too—including my employees. They share their lunch with him, and on occasion—if he’s been a good boy—Kitty brings him a hotdog from The Palace. There have even been times when a customer will drop in and say, “I can’t shop today, but I wanted to bring Bolt a treat!”
Leslie KeysAudie Mescal & Leo Martin
may/june | noalastudios.com |
VErAWe rescued Vera, a calico, from the Florence Animal Shelter about a year and a half ago, when Vera was only one. Since then, Vera has been a full-time greeter at The French Basket, where she loves everyone—but favors the little ones with sticky fi ngers. Vera is truly the diva at The French Basket. She provides us with a sense of home and a little bit of sassiness.
Paige ThorntonThe French Basket
| noalastudios.com | may/june
KARmAKarma is a six-year-old sable German Shepherd. I have been working with rescues for 15-plus years, and I adopted Karma from a shelter in Georgia when she was fi ve months old. Karma takes her job as Wine Seller greeter very seriously—she knows she’s working—and is amazingly well-behaved when she’s here. Having her around contributes to our cozy and friendly atmosphere, and it lets people know we’re a dog-friendly environment.
Jennifer Highfi eld The Wine Seller
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
RADArWe met Radar, a nine-year-old French bulldog, when he belonged to a friend and client. When our friend’s business schedule changed and Radar needed a new home, we were thrilled to adopt him. Radar has been a member of the family for about six weeks now. So far, Radar has only barked at one person: the UPS guy. But now they’re fast friends. Having Radar around has changed the atmosphere of our offi ce. Once our clients see his sweet little smushed-up face, they’re all smiles.
Marty and Lucretia HintonState Farm Insurance
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
COCOSince opening in 2011, we’ve always had a “shop dog.” Miss Red, a toy poodle, served in that position until 2013, along with Rudy, a Bernese mountain dog. The newest member of the Unraveled family is Coco, an 11-month-old toy poodle. Coco joined the staff after this past Christmas, so she’s just now developing a following. Everyone keeps telling her she has some “big paws” to fi ll.
Anna CarbineUnraveled
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
LolAMike Campbell’s eight-year-old Pomeranian Pekingese, Lola, is a rescue; she’s been coming to work with Mike since ICS Roofi ng opened in 2010. Lola has her own sofa, and Mike is off ended if you refer her to her as a “dog.” Hint: if you want to stay on Lola’s good side, never wear a ball cap.
Mike CampbellICS Roofi ng
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june | noalastudios.com | may/june
NIKoEight-year-old Belgian Malinois, Niko, belongs to Tommy Campbell. Tommy inherited Niko from his son Grant. Niko defi nitely has his favorites and less-favorites among our work team, but we won’t reveal any names.
Tommy CampbellICS Roofi ng
may/june | noalastudios.com |
OlIVEr Sherry Campbell’s Oliver is an eight-year-old wire haired dachshund rescue. Oliver has been coming to work with Sherry since 2012.
Sherry CampbellICS Roofi ng
| noalastudios.com | may/june
may/june | noalastudios.com |
• • • PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCALLY OWNED INDEPENDENT RETAILERS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND NONPROFITS! • • •
T E AC H I N G T H E M TO FA R MH OW I F D C I S SAV I N G T H E WO R L D
text by amy c. collins » photos by patrick hoodadditional photos courtesy of ifdc
| noalastudios.com | may/june
It’s no longer the case as to whether or not fertilizers are relevant. They are relevant. Now the issue is not only to produce more food, but to produce nutritious food. Dr. Amit H. Roy
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
Facing page: IFDC pilot plant begins operations in 1978. Clockwise from top left: A tomato fi eld in Bangladesh; a local market in Albania; sunfl owers in Tanzania; visiting a modern greenhouse in Albania; a local Mali marketplace
Photos courtesy of IFDC
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Peace Prize, Kissinger addressed the United Nations with a
call to all nations to “embark on a new scientifi c revolution
to increase agricultural productivity in all lands. No fi eld
of human endeavor is so dependent upon an open world
for its advancement; no fi eld is so in need of international
cooperation.” Th e following year IFDC was incorporated as a
nonprofi t organization completely independent of TVA and
the U.S. government.
Th e work of teaching the world to farm had begun.
FORTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
Dr. Amit H. Roy, president and CEO of IFDC, joined the
organization in 1978 as a chemical engineer and special
projects engineer. Last year, IFDC celebrated 40 years in
business, and Dr. Roy has been there for nearly all of it.
“When IFDC was established,” he said, “it was established
for the very specifi c purpose of developing fertilizers for
tropical and subtropical countries. Th at’s where the demand
for fertilizer and food was increasing at a very rapid pace
because of the population increase.”
From the start, IFDC scientists and
engineers had to focus on creating
fertilizers that would fi t the varying
needs of hungry nations. What worked
in temperate North Alabama was not
going to work for the rice fi elds in Asia.
But it wasn’t long before development
and delivery were only elements of
solving the problem and not the whole
focus.
“It’s no longer the case as to whether
or not fertilizers are relevant,” Dr. Roy
said. “Th ey are relevant. Now the issue
is not only to produce more food, but
to produce nutritious food. Nutrition has become very
important now in the global context. So as far as IFDC is
concerned, the evolution has been from focus on fertilizer
alone to looking at the whole agriculture sector. Fertilizer
is a key component because that’s our strength, so we’re
looking at how to deliver at the cheapest cost to the farmers
in the countries, how to help them manage better so they
can produce more from the same amount, and then try to
On the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) property in
Muscle Shoals, there’s an unaffi liated entity headquartered
in an unassuming building that is deceptively large and
maze-like once you’re inside. We pass this building on the
way to the hiking trails and the Wilson Dam overlooks. It’s
the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC),
a nonprofi t organization that has been quietly feeding the
world for the past 40 years. It is perhaps one of Th e Shoals’
best kept secrets, though it deserves to be high on the list of
landmarks on which we hang our pride.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Like all great stories, the history of IFDC has many acts and
characters. Th e completion of the Wilson Dam in 1924 and
establishment of TVA in 1933 brought signifi cant prosperity
to the Shoals, literally lifting the area out of poverty through
jobs and mass electrifi cation. IFDC was a later outgrowth of
TVA, originally called the National Fertilizer Development
Center (NFDC); it was a U.S. government-run research
facility focused on improving crop yields while addressing
soil depletion and other related issues here at home. Th e
NFDC played an integral part in educating farmers on how
to prevent soil erosion and, of course,
introduced them to cheap fertilizers
that changed everyone’s game. Shoals
farmers were particularly aff ected
as their output was double what the
average American farm produced at
that time. By the mid-1960s the United
States was producing more food than
we needed, thanks to new agricultural
technologies and cheap, plentiful
fertilizer, all developed in Muscle Shoals.
We’d helped feed post-war Europe in
the previous decades and the need was
shifting toward developing nations in
Asia and Africa. Th e U.S. Agency for
International Development was looking for better ways to
feed these nations than simply shipping America’s excess
grain to them.
In the early and mid 1970s, the world suff ered multiple
simultaneous crises: rising food costs and energy prices,
widespread infl ation, rumors of war in the Middle East,
and threats from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries to cut off our oil supply. It looked bad for us; it
was worse for those whose food supply suddenly began to
disappear. Th en U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
stepped in. In 1973, the same year that he received the Nobel
© Courtesy of IFDC
| noalastudios.com | may/june
to poor farmers who could not produce
enough food to feed their country.
“On the fi rst go round I remember that
we announced that we were going to
have the auctioning of fertilizers and
there were 50 people who showed up
on a Sunday afternoon, and when they
heard that they would have to pay
money to buy at the auction, half of
them disappeared. And then we had
to teach them how to bid at auction.
We had to teach the banks how to
loan money because that was a foreign
concept,” Dr. Roy recounted.
“It was a very important transition for
IFDC,” he said, “from fertilizer research
to developing of the markets. Th e
whole economy then was built on that
example. Today, Albania is now vying
to get into the European Union and
the economy has fl ourished. Many of
the people who worked and trained
in our project now have become
entrepreneurs, and quite successful
entrepreneurs in Albania. So that itself,
you can see how agriculture triggered
the development of the economy.”
Another signifi cant project Dr. Roy
mentioned was the groundwork IFDC
has done in Africa, specifi cally the
establishment of the African Fertilizer
Summit in 2006, the fi rst ever of
its kind. Fifty-four countries were
represented by roughly 1,000 attendees,
all in agreement that fertilizer was a
key strategic commodity. Before that
time, Africa was not a focus because
they were not trading partners. “But
we stuck to it,” Dr. Roy said. “We said, agriculture has to be
the foundation of the development of Africa, and we did the
initial work on improving the soils, improving the fertilizer
market, and thereafter and today, Africa is the last frontier.
Th e population in Africa is going to double; it’s going to reach
two billion by 2050. Th e largest increase of food will be in
Africa, 170 to 180 percent increase over the next 30 years.”
At the same time, awareness of the potential negatives of
chemical fertilizer began to arise. Fertilizer was seen on the
get them to connect to the market to sell their surplus to
improve their livelihood.”
Spending just a short time with Dr. Roy suggests he could
fi ll an entire book with personal accounts of the many
successful IFDC projects he’s seen. He recounted a few of
the most prominent. In the early 1990s Albania opened its
borders after 40 years of a closed communist regime and
IFDC was among the fi rst on the scene, introducing fertilizer
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Facing page: Dr. Amit H. Roy, IFDC president and CEO.Right: Present day operations at IFDC in Muscle Shoals.
Photos by Patrick Hood
| noalastudios.com | may/june
world stage as a substantial contributor to rising pollution.
But as the world population continued to grow, so did the
need for food. “Without fertilizer,” Dr. Roy said, “no matter
what you do, things are not going to happen because the
plants need food to grow. You can do all the research to
come up with new varieties of seed, but it’s not going to work
without something to feed it.” IFDC engineers began working
on new technologies that would focus on more effi cient
fertilizer use, decreasing pollution risk, and ultimately saving
farmers money. One of the developments that came out of
that focus is the Urea Deep Placement (UDP) program.
Th e UDP practice eff ectively targets the plant where it most
needs nutrients—at the roots. Run-off is limited and yields
are boosted. In Bangladesh, rice farmers are now using 35
percent less urea and harvesting a 20 percent yield increase
with the new technology.
Bangladesh has also seen improved economics and nutrition
through IFDC’s eff orts, largely by shifting focus toward
women. Studies prove that when women have control of
household fi nances, the children are better fed and clothed,
and their eduction becomes a priority. In Africa, where
70 percent of the farmers are women, IFDC has begun
providing them with the skills and raw materials they need.
Because these countries, and many of the countries IFDC
works in, are deeply male-dominated societies, their projects
are eff ecting cultural changes that empower women and
ultimately raise living standards.
TELLING THE STORIES
Part of IFDC’s challenge today, and perhaps one of the
reasons the organization seems to escape notice in our
own community, is to communicate that what’s going on
in Bangladesh is relevant to our prosperous lives in the U.S.
Th e world population has nearly doubled since IFDC was
established in 1974 and projections suggest an increase
from 7.2 billion to 9.6 billion by 2050. We’re talking less
land for agriculture as urbanization spreads, less water,
fewer resources. While Americans spend typically less than
10 percent of their income on food, citizens of developing
nations spend close to 50. IFDC’s communications team is
doing their part one story at a time.
Chief Communications Offi cer Sharon Singh emphasized
the presence and relevance of sharing stories from the
ground and telling the whole story. “Th e work that IFDC
does,” she said, “impacts a variety of industries and a variety
of lives. People think it’s insular when it’s not. Fertilizer use
and agriculture is a big part of climate change, a big part of
economy and foreign aff airs.
“Th e reality is, if we don’t have fertilizer, we’re not going
to feed the world. We know that there are issues, but we
are developing technologies that will help mitigate climate
change, environmental issues, run-off . We want to be part
of the mainstream conversation and this is the reason why.”
Th e IFDC website (www.ifdc.org) contains a wealth of
information on a broad range of related issues. Over the
last year, they’ve seen their social media presence grow,
particularly through Twitter and Instagram, but also through
a blog where many of these ground stories are told. Recent
blog posts highlight three women in Bangladesh, Ghana,
and Mali and tell the stories of how their lives have changed,
their children’s lives have changed, and their villages have
changed because of their involvement in IFDC projects.
Singh pointed out that these changes directly eff ect the next
generation—the world over. “We need global development,”
she said. “We need to understand that if we’re going to have
9.6 billion people, these changes that you’re continuing to
see, that’s going to have a greater impact on your life as you
grow older.”
Podcasts are on the horizon as well, and all are encouraged
to join the conversation. “It’s a dialogue, it’s a discussion,”
Singh said. Th e IFDC audience is broad and continues to
expand as more people of all ages recognize the importance
of feeding the world.
IFDC is always interested in talking to interested parties
and invites the community to get involved. Internships are
available and project support welcome, especially public-
private partnerships. Tours of the labs and greenhouses on
the Muscle Shoals campus can be arranged.
Dr. Roy added, “Th e hallmark of IFDC, although fertilizer
is the focus, is that we look at problems and we try to fi nd
a solution to the problems that are facing agriculture, and
in that context, we recognize that we might not have all the
answers, so we have to work with other partners to be able to
come to an understanding and get an answer.
“We are very proud to be an institution here in the Shoals
area. We have people who come and work here, the banking
center is all here, all our funding comes through the local
banks. We are very proud to be here.”
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Clockwise from top: Crop cut on a Urea Deep Placement (UDP) plot in Bangladesh; another UDP trial plot in Rwanda; harvesting a rice crop in Bangladesh; hulling rice in Rwanda; sorting seeds in Mozambique
Photos courtesy of IFDC
* Names for photos are provided by the organization or business featured.
88 » scene
Earline McClanahan and Terry Hart
Porter and Tara Payton with William David Rinks
Jack and Kathy Staples, and Kelley Spencer (with her three daughters, Evelyn, Margaret, and Mary Davis)
J.C. (Mac) McClanahan
Kellie Bowling, Ronnie Bowling, Ronald Gene Bowl-ing, Earline McClanahan, and Linda Smithson
Kathy Staples, Earline McClanahan, and Debbie Rinks
Bill Alfonzo and Shirley Rinks
Treena SidebottomsJohn Waters and Shannon Wells
Andrea Holt, Katrina Hudson,and Melissa Bains
Porter Payton and Susanna Payton
Stanley and Karen GoldsteinMaxine Foster and Pat BurneyFran McGee Ken Etienne, Sandy Dickinson,
and Helen Etienne
© Photos by Shannon Wells
Julie Ridel, Tracie Richter, JoHelene Patrick, Crystal McGruder, and Shannon Hurd
Above: Earline McClanahan’s
90th Birthday Party Celebrationfebruary , · turtle point yacht and country club
Below: CASA Wine Tasting Fundraiserfebruary , · sweet basil café, florence
may/june | noalastudios.com |
ProtectWhat Matters Most
with Digital Video Security
TEC Home SurveillanceIt’s the security you want at the price you need
Access your live video or recordingsfrom your smartphone
Regular monthly service rates required for 36-month Support Agreement. When applying Smartphone apps, carrier data rates may apply and you should contact your carrier for information about your cellular data plan rates. Prices are subject to
change. Regulatory fees, taxes, and surcharges apply. TEC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
19” Flat Panel Monitor 4 Outdoor Bullet Cameras(Standard Resolution Day/Night)
Wiring, InstallationDVR with 500GB of Storage
800.832.2515 MS License# 15012173MS License# 15019373
AL License# 15-1260AL License# 15-1261
| noalastudios.com | may/june
A FLORENCE RANCH’SWIDE OPEN SPACES
text by allen tomlinson » photos by patrick hood
Above, left: Th e main living space, with
the small sitting area visible in the dis-
tance. Nita transformed the entire feel of
the house with one simple, yet daunting
task—painting both the walls and ceil-
ings a creamy shade. Th e result is a “lift”
in attitude for the 60’s ranch, and the
benefi t is a renewed urge to entertain.
Th e house is very capable of accommo-
dating a large crowd of friends and fam-
ily. Right: A view of the double doors,
which open onto a generous, covered
porch—a favorite spot for the Th ornells’
two beloved spaniels, Leo and Luke.
John Th ornell, UNA’s provost (and most recently its interim president), came
to town before his wife Nita, and shopped for houses by taking pictures and
sending them to his wife. When he saw the house on Palisade Drive, it was
like walking into the 1960s, but Nita saw tremendous potential. What fol-
lowed was a two-year (or more) project that resulted in a house that’s perfect for
entertaining—and for living.
Built by a quiet and reclusive couple, the Eisenbergs, the original house was a long
shotgun-style ranch. When the original Mrs. Eisenberg passed away, Mr. Eisen-
berg asked his secretary to marry him. According to legend, she replied, “you can’t
aff ord me.” His response—“try me”—resulted in her request for a bigger house.
Th e couple added an almost identical footprint to the back of the existing house,
doubling the size, but creating an unusual fl oorplan. Th e original owners were
fairly reclusive, had no children, and pampered their dog (who reportedly wore a
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Left: Th e sitting area adjacent to the
home’s entrance is a favorite spot for
a morning coff ee and Th e New York
Times, which Nita reads religiously
every morning. Above: A view of the
main living space with a view of the
large, copper hooded fi replace, which in
winter months commands the center of
attention.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
may/june | noalastudios.com |
diamond collar and had her own checkbook). Th at was the fi rst life for this house;
its second life, after the Th ornells acquired it, is the total opposite. Today, this
house is designed for entertaining, whether that’s for university functions or just
dinners with close friends.
Th e layout challenges made this project even more fun for the Th ornells. Nita and
John tore out the sliding glass doors that separated the front of the house from the
rear, creating a huge space for entertaining. Anchored by a large fi replace at one
end and French doors to a patio at the other, the area contains two large dining
areas and an open kitchen, with a bar and a huge storage room/pantry to the side.
Th e house has large bedrooms and remodeled, spacious bathrooms—just right
when the grandchildren are home—and the color scheme throughout is perfect
for displaying the Th ornells’ large and varied collection of art. It doesn’t matter
where you cast your eye, there is something beautiful to look at from every angle.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
Above: Nita has a great knack for
combining textures, colors and diff er-
ent styles of art in the sprawling home.
She is adamant that one should buy art
because you love it. Some of the art is
by art professors and students, collected
throughout their academic tours of duty.
Above, right: Leo and Luke relax on the
back patio. Right: Th e master bedroom
is calm and serene, fi lled with soft, but
powerful, modern art and accessories.
Nita repurposed and reused much of what she found in the original house. Th e
kitchen cabinets are metal, original to the house, but now repainted. Th e ceiling in
the entry is also original, and wood paneled walls have also been painted to update
them. Furnishings and lighting are carefully selected to create a mood that invites
the visitor to come in, linger, and relax.
From the outside, the house has been repainted, but the casual observer has no
idea of the changes that have taken place inside. Th is mid-century ranch house has
been transformed into a free-fl owing, welcoming place, just right for entertaining
a large crowd or for days when the couple pour a cup of coff ee and read the Th e
New York Times.
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
Call For EntriesNo’Ala Renaissance
Awards
Now accepting nominations for Shoals area individualswho have made remarkable contributions in the following areas:
Arts & CultureBusiness & Leadership
EducationService & Spirituality
Science
Submit your detailed nomination via email by December 1, 2015to: [email protected]
Award winners will be featured in the March/April, 2016, issue of No’Ala.
Who Inspires You?
The Renaissance Award was created by No’Ala Studios and is presented to five Shoals area individuals, couples, or groups every two years.
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
“
It’s our home, yes, but it’s also a working farm.
We see the possibilities of what the farm is and what it can be,
and we want to share it with others.
”LIZ DAVIS
| noalastudios.com | may/june
text by michelle rupe eubanks » photos by danny mitchell
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
On Farm Days, there’s a constant stream of activity at Bluewater Creek Farms.
Carloads of families kick up a steady trail of dust on the red dirt road off Coun-
ty Road 69 in Lauderdale leading to the barn. Vegetables are heaped in colorful
piles on tables; fresh farm eggs and, if you’re lucky, a selection of organic, grass-
fed meats are available as well. Proprietors Liz and Collins Davis will invite you
to stick around and take a tour so that you can learn about the food you’ll take
home—maybe even snag a recipe or two for the dozen eggs that taste like a dream.
Liz says they make the best frittatas and omelets, and she’s right. Somehow, they
just taste eggier.
Be sure to peek in on the piglets, too. Several of the heirloom breeds are hairy and
docile, and it’s a delight to watch them feast on a slop of cucumbers, tomatoes, and
peppers glazed in a sauce of fresh mud.
“We love those weekends,” Liz said. “We love sharing the farm with others and
helping visitors understand the process of bringing their food to the plate. It’s as
much a reward to us as it is to those who stop by for the event.”
Fast-forward a few months, when summer has all but turned into autumn, and life
at Bluewater Creek Farms will shift, almost seamlessly, before your eyes.
Fields that had been lush and green will be harvested for hay. Livestock will be
winnowed, thanks to a seasonal second slaughter, in order to make way for the
next generation of turkeys, pigs, chicks, and cattle. Vegetation will also take an
autumnal turn.
Th e beds of cucumber that had, just a few weeks ago, fi lled half a dozen of the
raised beds inside the converted horse training ring have all but dried up, while the
bean and pepper plants are bursting to harvest, ripe for the pickings and, perhaps,
the pickling. It’s time for the second planting, this time of winter vegetables—the
beets, turnip greens, radishes, and onion.
One vegetable in particular, the Stan’s Walking Onion variety, has evolved a bit
of self-preservation into its genetic code. It is, as its name implies, something of a
walkabout with a bud that forms to allow a tiny onion to grow just large enough
to tip over and replant itself. Th is one little plant is sustainability in action, and
it captures the essence of Liz and Collins Davis’ mission with the farm they call
home, with their daughter, Abby, along with Aida and Jimmy, the farm’s working
dog and cat, respectively.
“It’s our home, yes, but it’s also a working farm,” said Liz. “We see the possibilities
of what the farm is and what it can be, and we want to share it with others.”
Th e Davises are part of a green movement, a rebirth among Millennials who want
to move back to rural America, set up shop, and sell organic vegetables from a
farm stand. Unlike many of their counterparts, however, the couple brings knowl-
edge and expertise to bear when it comes to their roles at Bluewater Creek, where
each day can bring a new challenge.
Southern Gothic
Previous page: Family portrait—Liz, Abby, and Collins Davis call Bluewater Creek Farmshome. Facing page: The Davises have cre-ated a unique farm environment at Bluewa-ter Creek.
may/june | noalastudios.com |
“
Farming really is everything. Throughout the course of a day,
I get to be a veterinarian, plumber, engineer, electrician,
and laborer. In a way, we are going back to doing things
the way they were done in years past, but we use
what we’ve learned in order to run the operation.
”Collins DAVIS
Southern Gothic
Facing page: Dr. Douglas Woodford and his wife, Donna, help run the farm. Liz, a certifi ed nutritional therapy practitioner, works with her father at the Full Life Women’s Wellness Center and Women’s Care in Florence.
Bee hives live in harmony alongside their heirloom chickens, and composting means harvesting the freshest organic vegetables. Take Liz’s advice on your visit to Bluewater Creek and grab a dozen eggs; they bring a new level of delicious to frittatas and omelets.
“Farming really is everything,” said Collins Davis, an Auburn
University graduate, who spent time in urban and rural farm
settings in Georgia and California. “Th roughout the course
of a day, I get to be a veterinarian, plumber, engineer, electri-
cian, and laborer. In a way, we are going back to doing things
the way they were done in years past, but we use what we’ve
learned in order to run the operation.”
Th e part of history that’s often forgotten is that the South,
especially this area of Alabama, has deep agrarian roots. Un-
til the 1980 census, Colbert and Lauderdale counties, along
with the Shoals, which is comprised of Florence, Muscle
Shoals, Sheffi eld, and Tuscumbia, were considered rural,
with the majority of their populations living or working on
farms. As a result, Shoals residents knew and understood the
genesis of the food on their plates at any given meal.
Th e eggs at breakfast had been plucked from the henhouse
just that morning, for instance, while the cornmeal for the
corn bread was ground from the farm two roads over.
As residents moved into more urban areas and as modern
times called for a more modern way of life, the Southerners’
relationship to his food has changed dramatically.
And that’s not always been for the best, especially when fresh
is compromised to make way for convenience.
Collins and Liz hope to point the way back to that agrarian
history through farming, while also recalling just how en-
trenched the Shoals’ history is with this green revolution.
“Folks may not remember that the green revolution started
here,” said Collins, co-founder of Bluewater Creek Farm with
wife, Liz, of the sustainability
movement. “And by ‘here,’ I
mean in the Shoals with the
Tennessee Valley Authority
with ammonia nitrate min-
ing and production. When
it was decommissioned af-
ter World War II, the ques-
tion became, ‘What do we do
with the plant?’ So, with all
of the nitrogen, potassium,
and phosphorous, the muni-
tions plant became a fertil-
izer plant.”
Modern farming methods
off er some distinct luxu-
ries—electricity, clean run-
ning water, machinery to do
the heavy lifting. But noth-
ing can stop the young calf
from coming on a bitterly
cold night during a late-winter ice storm; no piece of equip-
ment is going to move the cows from one area of pasture to
another; nothing other than human eyes can see when the
piglets aren’t thriving, or the turkeys are preening, or watch
the chicks in order to ward off the four-legged marauders.
“You know, there are days when things aren’t so good,” Col-
lins said. “We have lost calves, and we lost several bales of
hay in a huge fi re. I feel like we fought fi re for weeks that fall
because you had to be always vigilant.”
Th e tightly bound bales are perfect for hiding the smolder
of a fl ame, allowing it to fester before fully igniting and con-
suming the dry grass in a blaze.
And each season brings its highs and lows, so the Davises
have learned to adapt the old with the new in order to fi nd
the fi t that suits them best.
“We’re part of the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working
Group, which is a sort of networking opportunity for us, but
it’s a hallmark of modern farming as it replaces that relation-
ship farmers of generations past might have had with their
neighbors, but it also helps you feel less along,” Collins said.
Liz and Collins work with Liz’s parents, Dr. Doug Woodford
and Donna, on many of the big farm projects, which is a
boon to all four. When the need for an occasional off day or
long weekend arises, the Woodfords will step in to allow for
the time away from the farm.
“Because farms are a 24/7 operation,” said Collins, “our ani-
mals need tending each day; they need food and water and
may/june | noalastudios.com | may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
care. Th e plants and even the compost can require lots of care that requires over-
sight and vigilance.”
While Collin’s agricultural education is pivotal in maintaining the livestock and
gardens, Liz uses her training as an RN and a Nutritional Th erapy Practitioner to
develop programs that take place there. When not on the farm, she works with her
father at the Full Life Wellness Center and Women’s Care in Florence.
“So much of what we’re doing is to educate others about the benefi ts of eating
organic food,” Liz said. “We’re now in the SNAP program, so we can take those
vouchers so that families of all income levels can have access to good food that’s
good for them.”
Th e SNAP program, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is today’s
equivalent of the Food Stamp program, which allows families that meet certain
economic criteria to be eligible to receive food at discounted prices. Th e program
has long been criticized for its lack of vouchers for fresh, sustainable foods.
Becoming part of the SNAP program was a goal for the Davises as it would help
them continue their educational mission.
“Knowing this is available to everyone was important to us,” Liz said. “And, when
children come to visit the farm with their school groups, parents who come back
or are with them won’t be discouraged about trying new things. Children are curi-
ous about their food, and that’s the time to encourage those tastes.”
Th e couple’s daughter, Abby, agrees. Often, Liz said, she’ll pick her way through
the ripe vegetables, pluck off an item, and dig in.
“How else will she learn?” Collins said. “Th is is a pepper, and this is how it tastes.
Or, this is a squash, and here’s what it’s like.”
Of course, with the hundreds of acres, livestock and gardens
consume only so much of the land. Th e farm has been the
site of a mid-spring wedding, and a quaint tiny house pro-
vides the perfect quarters for a bridal party. School children
often stop by as part of tours, and there are the farm days and
programs that bring even more folks to Bluewater Creek.
Like sharing the cycle of vegetable and livestock, using the
farm as an event venue is part of the farm’s overall educa-
tional mission and value, Liz and Collins said.
Despite the ups and downs that come with the role of own-
ing a working farm, the thought of tackling another career or
moving away from Bluewater Creek isn’t an option.
“We’ll be here forever, and I hope to pass it on,” Collins said.
“I just can’t imagine doing anything else, and there’s no way I
could sit in an offi ce all day.”
Looking around the farm, he said that were Bluewater Creek
not available to them, he and Liz would fi nd a way to farm.
“It’s our passion,” Collins said. “It’s our 401(k).”
Want to get involved with Bluewater Creek Farms?
Liz and Collins Davis have teamed with Ashley Haselton to start Soul+Food, a series that pairs cooking, nutrition, and traditional food along with yoga classes for individuals seeking a healthier way of life. Here’s the upcoming schedule:
May: Smoothies and Juicing
June: Lacto-Fermentation, including traditional methods of fermentation and the benefi ts of probi-otic bacteria
July: Grilling and grass-fed beef cooking, with spe-cial guest, Zach Chanin
August: Organ meats, including how to cook them and the benefi ts of consumption
Participants will receive recipes from the demon-strations and have the option of touring the farm
Southern Gothic
may/june | noalastudios.com |
The couple breed a variety of heirloom livestock, including cows, which are slaughtered twice yearly.
106 » scene
Celebrating 75 Years with Nenonfebruary , · pickett place, florence
Martha Taylor Johnson, Katherine Stone, and Katie Clement Jeanne Reid, Joan Lane, and Janice Pride
Lee Pieroni, Melinda Crawford, Emily Fish, Nicki Conlon, and Ann McClure
Laura Mahan, Lynn Bevis, Brantley Holt, and Susan Riedel
Mary Leigh Gillespie, Kerry Sharp, Susan Koonce, and Cheri Self
Kerry Sharp, Pam Minetree, Ann Martin Vitti, Karen Suzette, and Gail Ozbirn
* Names for photos are provided by the organization or business featured.
Brenda Hudson, Cynthia Briand, and Noel Prerritt
Ann Bennett, Dorothy McAff ee Norris,and Joyce Cromwell
Nancy Bennett, Linda Van Sant, Ann Martin Vitti, Jeanette Smith, Mary Sue Landers, and Jane Pride
Edith Miller, Jodi McDaniel, Kathryn Keith, Lynne Methvin, Susan Riedel, Carolyn Tate, and Jane Crommelin
Front: Miriam Hall, Carolyn Kelley, and Dot Brewer; Back: Betty Champion, Anne Huff man, and Mary Sue Landers
Pat Willingham, Rachel Pitts, and Susan Mullins
may/june | noalastudios.com |
text by lu ellen redding » photos by patrick hood
WITH FLYING COLORS
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Th ere are people, perfectly nice, re-
spectable people, who purchase a
house and reside in it. And then there
are people who create a home. Robin
and Russ Coussons are fi rmly planted
in the latter group. Now living in their
third total house rehab, they are truly
people who have vision, see potential,
and step out to take the risk. Th eir
Dutch Colonial with the red-tiled roof,
on the corner of Prospect and Haw-
thorne in Florence, has been trans-
formed over the last 18 months and
is now a showpiece for the Coussons’
imagination and design.
Everyone knows someone who fl ips
houses for a living; buying low, reno-
vating to appeal to the masses, and
then selling high. Robin and Russ are
certainly capable of taking on that kind
of project and making a living doing it.
However, their days are fi lled with run-
ning a local restaurant, a thriving real
estate business, several convenience
Above: A major clean-ing restored the home’s original limestone fi replace to its original glory. Transom win-dows were added to in-terior doorways to help the fl ow of light and to create a greater sense of height and space.
Left: Th e powder room highlights what Robin refers to as “the biggest splurge of the house.” Th e fi rst time she saw this wallpaper, she says she knew she had to use it somewhere.
Facing page: Th e origi-nal plat of the house, built in 1925 by the Shank family, shows the house facing Katie Bell Street, the street now called Hawthorne. Legend has it that a local builder of the day had three daughters, Katie Bell, Lelia, and Mattielou. Florence residents will recog-nize the names of the nearby streets, Lelia and Mattielou, but one can only speculate as to why Katie Bell’s street was renamed.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
stores, and a hardware store, and man-
aging the lives of their four busy chil-
dren. Th e homes they have renovated
are not business propositions, but
works of art they have created because
they love the process. Working along-
side their hired construction help, and
serving as their own architects, inte-
rior designers, and even landscapers,
Russ and Robin have been intimately
involved in every aspect of this reno-
vation.
According to this shrewd couple, in
comparison to other houses they’ve
done, the Hawthorne home has been
the simplest project they’ve ever taken
on. Th ere were no additions outside
the original footprint. In fact, the only
exterior changes were the shorter,
wider kitchen window to fi t above a re-
located sink, a fresh coat of paint, and
roof repairs to the signature red con-
crete tile. Even inside, Robin says this
was the easiest renovation they have
Above: Th e apples were painted by local artist Carolyn Clem-mons. Robin says she fell in love with the painting the fi rst time she saw it. She kept visiting it and trying to determine a place for it. Once the brick chimney was exposed during construction, she knew that was the perfect spot. Custom cabinetry was built by Signature Cabinets of Florence, and the granite surfaces are by Th e Granite Gallery.
Left: Th e walls of the upstairs den are fi lled with invita-tions Robin created for various birthday parties, Christmas parties, and other family events. Again, the theme of using everyday objects as art creates the unique feel of the home.
may/june | noalastudios.com |
ever tackled. As she begins the list of
what they’ve done to make this a mod-
ern home, one immediately realizes
that her defi nition of “simple” is not
the normal one. Th ousands of pounds
of coal from the basement, in addition
to 120,000 pounds of plaster and de-
bris were hauled away. A portion of the
second-story fl oor had to be jacked up
nearly six inches and braced with steel
framing. Th e plaster was replaced with
drywall, the kitchen has been com-
pletely revamped, the bathrooms and
plumbing are new, heat and air systems
were entirely updated, and all this was
before they could even begin to think
about refi nishing 5,700 square feet of
fl ooring and then painting every nook
and cranny. Sounds “simple,” doesn’t it?
Robin speaks of always noticing the
Hawthorne house, even as far back as
the early 1990s when she was a col-
lege student. A friend lived in a nearby
apartment, and Robin reminisces, “I
always remember looking and wonder-
ing about this house and its closed cur-
Left: Th e master bed-room, like every other room in the house, has a smooth, painted blue ceiling. Robin has always used blue in the ceilings of the other houses she’s lived in. However, up until this house, the blue has been faint and un-derstated. Robin said, “Th is time, I wanted the blue to be noticed. I wanted to be bold.”
Below: Th e third fl oor Dad’s Den is Russ’ favorite room of the house. When they bought the house, the three huge rooms of the third fl oor were covered in original 1920s cloth-type wall-paper. It hung in tatters at that point, nearly 90 years after its instal-lation. Th e Coussons removed it and painted the wooden walls underneath a warm brown in this room. Russ says this is the perfect early morning or game time retreat.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
tains and wondering what was behind
them. Th e fi rst time we came to look
at this house, we stayed for four hours.
Once I got the key, I never gave it back.”
So, is this the forever house for the
Coussons family? Th at question re-
ceived an unequivocal, unison, “Nah.
Probably not.” Both Robin and Russ ad-
mit that there is nothing that they don’t
love about the Hawthorne house, but
their desire to fi nd a challenge and cre-
ate a masterpiece is not yet squelched.
Th e Hawthorne house has been com-
plete for just over a year, and already
they speak of other houses in town that
they have their eye on. Russ alludes to
a recent interview he read where the
subject advised that if a person is en-
vious of someone else, the diff erence
between the two people is that one
has settled and the other has not. Th e
Coussons aren’t the settling type, in any
sense of the word.
Above: Th e down-stairs walls are mostly variations of green with some pink ex-ceptions. “I love color. I love bright and cheery. In my other houses, every room was a diff erent bright color. Here, I felt like I wanted the palate to be more soothing, less busy. Th e green seemed to fi t per-fectly,” Robin says.
Another of Robin’s unique collections adorns a wall of the kitchen. Old family recipe cards framed and hung with the family’s silver spoons give a nod to the rich history of food and hospitality that surrounds the fam-ily and makes them the people we know today.
Right: Th is view from the foyer, straight up the three fl oors, causes Robin to quip, “You get your exercise in this house!”
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
Th e Rise and Rebirth of the City on the Bluff
text by sara wright covington » photos by patrick hoodadditional photos courtesy of the sheffield public library
may/june | noalastudios.com |
If you are headed to Sheffi eld by Montgomery Boulevard, past what is now
Helen Keller Hospital, and just over the railroad tracks, you may have noticed a
few changes to downtown Sheffi eld in recent months. Th ere are regal new lamp-
posts lining the streets. New stores, restaurants, and apartments seem to be pop-
ping up everywhere, and it’s likely you will see people walking around and waving
to one another as they take in these new sites and sounds of Sheffi eld. If you are
new to the Shoals area, this likely won’t seem like anything out of the ordinary.
But for natives, especially anyone who has been around since the 60s, this
new blooming and bustle in downtown Sheffi eld is very much a site for sore
eyes. Once considered the heart of the Shoals, Sheffi eld is a city that didn’t
just occur by accident or the gradual development of land. It was a place
that arose for a specifi c duty and was proudly built by men and women who
came and settled the area for the purpose of prosperity and patriotic duty.
Th rough the decades and as the world changed and North Alabama grew,
the city has certainly fallen from its former glory of the town where it was
once impossible to fi nd a parking space on a Saturday. But the spirit and
heart of the city is still very much alive, and for those men and women who
grew up here, it is a breath of fresh air to see their city awakening after being
asleep for a very long time.
RICH HISTORY
Th e city of Sheffi eld, named for Sheffi eld, England, was from its very incep-
tion a boom town with big plans. North Alabama has always been known
for its rich coal and iron ore deposits, and when General Andrew Jackson
and his troops came to the area in 1817 and camped on the river bluff , it was
determined that there was no better place to establish a town than this fruit-
ful spot right on the water. First established as York Bluff , Jackson himself
bought much of the land, which he attempted to farm for a few years before
eventually selling the property. In 1883, Captain Alfred H. Moses, a banker
from a fi rm in Montgomery, became interested in the land investment op-
portunities this part of Alabama off ered because of a proposed new railroad
that would run from Kentucky to the southeast by way of Florence. By the
end of 1883, Moses and his fi rm, as well as fellow investors and brothers Co-
lonial Walter S. Gordon and C.E. Gordon, had agreed to joint ownership of
the land that would be the projected new city. Th is sector of land included
the town of York Bluff . A three-day auction was held in May of 1884 where
500 lots were sold for $350,000, and in February of 1885, the city of Sheffi eld
was offi cially incorporated.
Sheffi eld’s earliest settlers were mostly educated men who came from success-
ful backgrounds and were knowledgeable about how to succeed in business and
© L
ibra
ry o
f Co
ng
ress/W
ikim
ed
ia C
om
mo
ns
© L
ibra
ry o
f Co
ng
ress/W
ikim
ed
ia C
om
mo
ns
Facing page: One of Sheffi eld’s fi ve original blast fur-naces that worked in conjunction with the iron and steel industries of Birmingham.
Photo courtesy of
Sheffi eld Public Library
| noalastudios.com | may/june
industry. Th ey also put thoughtful consideration into the
town’s development and worked to build churches, schools,
and social activities. Th roughout the late 1800s and early
1900s, much industry was established, including fi ve blast
furnaces that worked in conjunction with the steel and iron
industries of Birmingham. Although depression would cause
many of these industries to disappear, WWI would once
again stimulate the economy, and in 1917 President Wood-
row Wilson chose Sheffi eld as the location site for a nitrate
plant. Government representatives were sent to oversee the
operations of Nitrate Plant 1, and the infl ux of jobs meant
much housing was needed. Necessary land was acquired in
the form of 750 lots, which would contain temporary and
permanent housing. A section of 85 permanent homes for
government offi cers was laid out in the shape of the Liberty
Bell, and would become known as Village 1. Nitrate Plant
number 1 was considered an experimental plant, and was
eventually put on stand-by when the war ended. But a sec-
ond plant, Nitrate Plant number 2, had begun operation in
1917 and was now successfully producing nitrate to meet
the immediate need of the government. By 1918, employ-
ment of Nitrate Plant number 2 had reached over 19,000.
But after WWI ended, Plant 2 was eventually put on hold
as well. Th e construction of Wilson Dam had begun in 1918
to supply electricity to the two nitrate plants but was also
halted in 1921 when Congress failed to appropriate funds for
its completion. Th is resulted in vast job loss until Congress
appropriated the necessary funds to begin its completion in
1922. Richard Sheridan, Sheffi eld historian who has lived in
this area since 1960, recalls what the war’s end meant for
An aerial view of the Village’s Liberty Bell layout Photo courtesy of Sheffi eld Public Library
may/june | noalastudios.com |
this area. “Th ey went ahead and fi nished Wilson Dam, but
there was a big controversy about what to do with these two
nitrate plants,” he says. “Congress debated on it for years.
Henry Ford came here twice and off ered to buy the dam and
the plants, but his off er was never accepted by Congress.”
War and Peace
By 1932, several years of false hopes and waiting for growth
to once again take off in the Shoals had passed. When Frank-
lin Roosevelt was elected as president, he assured the people
of the Shoals that the government would adopt the Shoals
properties and make them prosper once again. “When Roo-
sevelt ran for offi ce in 1932,” says Richard Sheridan, “he came
out in favor of government control. He came here twice be-
fore he was inaugurated. He spoke and said he would put
Muscle Shoals back on the map. He got in a motorcade and
went out to see Plant 2 and went over to Florence and made
a speech on Court Street. He left, and came back a year and
a half later to see what had been done to Plant 2. All this
stimulated national interest in the Muscle Shoals area.” With
the passage of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act in 1932,
plans once again were set into motion to make the Shoals
vibrant again. Over the next couple of years, vast economic
improvement was set in motion with the construction of
Wheeler and Wilson Dams, and also the reintroduced use of
Nitrate Plant 2. TVA also took over all of the housing in the
former nitrate plant villages, where workers from the nitrate
plants had previously lived.
As World War II began, Sheffi eld joined the rest of the coun-
try in a season of preparedness for the war eff ort. Sheffi eld’s
economy both during and after the war would prove to be
its most productive time in history. From 1940 to 1960, the
city prospered as industry continued to grow with plants like
Union Aluminum Company and Reynolds Metals opening
to sustain the growing consumer demands of the area and
the post-war baby boom. But for the men and women who
lived and worked in Sheffi eld during this thriving time, the
experience was just as rich as the economy. Betty Dyar, 85,
remembers the wonderment of growing up and going to
school in Sheffi eld’s Villages. “It was just wonderful to grow
up and live in this town because it was so vibrant and alive
and well,” she says. “For my generation, many of us didn’t
even have a phone in the house. We had radio and the mov-
ies, but people watching was entertainment back then. My
family would park in front of the dime store and just people
watch. Th en there was school. And that was my life.” Al-
though Dyar moved away for many years, she returned to
the place she calls home several years ago and she now vol-
© 1
91
8 L
ibra
ry o
f Co
ng
ress/W
ikim
ed
ia C
om
mo
ns
Construction of the Wilson Dam and Hydroelectric Plant, 1918
| noalastudios.com | may/june | noalastudios.com | may/june
The view of Sheffi eld’s industrial skyline. Facing page: Sheffi eld na-tive Jess Phillips’s grandfather pictured here on his horse. Phillips’ grandfather was the head of security for Village 1. Photos courtesy of Sheffi eld Public Library
“It was just wonderful to grow up and live in this town because it was so vibrant and alive and well. For my
generation, many of us didn’t even have a phone in the house. We had radio and the movies, but people watching
was entertainment back then. My family would park in front of the dime store and just people watch. Th en there
was school. And that was my life.” —Betty Dyar, Sheffi eld Village Resident
may/june | noalastudios.com |
unteers at the Sheffi eld Public Library, where she helps run
the Alfred H. Moses history room. “My mantra has always
been ‘Yes, you can go home. But you have to have the right
mind set.”’ Dyar is still active in the Sheffi eld community and
has maintained many of the friendships from 70 years ago.
“I have lunch every month with a group of women who all
graduated from Sheffi eld in the 1940s. Th ere are 12 of us and
we are all still driving. We talk about the Village and how
wonderful it was and the fact that the decade of the ‘40s still
have reunions.”
Jess Phillips is another Sheffi eld native who now lives in Texas
but stays very close to his Sheffi eld family roots, which trace
back a very long way. “My grandfather had been in the Span-
ish American War and he came to work for Nitrate Plant 1,”
says Phillips. “Up until 1933 it was vacant out there in Village
1. After the war department abandoned Nitrate Plant 1 after
WWI, my grandparents were the only ones living out there.
My grandfather was chief of security and he was in charge
of patrolling the whole place and all the houses.” Phillips re-
members that his grandfather was a very large man and he
rode his horse all over Sheffi eld. “He was a great big guy and
everybody was scared to death of him! Th e horse was also
huge, so they were both pretty imposing.”
What Phillips remembers most fondly, besides the friend-
ships he made, is the quality education that he and his peers
received while attending one of TVA’s experimental schools
in the Village. Th e school was sponsored by Mrs. Roosevelt
and he remembers many of his school activities being fi lmed
to view student progress. “I lived in Village 2, but we were
| noalastudios.com | may/june
all bussed to Village 1,” he remembers.
“Th ere was also Village 3 at Wilson
Dam and we all went to the school at
Village 1. It really was an idyllic situa-
tion. Th e school was a Montessori-type
school. We sat on the fl oor mostly, but
we had desks for math and writing.
But we all had projects throughout the
year that we chose.” One of those proj-
ects the students at this experimental
school all worked on was the school
garden, where they learned to grow
their own food to be served at lunch
time. Bettye Stanford Staggers was
a fellow classmate of Phillips and re-
members fondly working on the school
garden, taking daily school naps, learning about classical music, and even learning
to do the waltz. “I started in the fi rst grade at the TVA school and I lived right
across the street from it,” she says. “It was a time that we don’t just have anymore.
My daddy was a policeman. Th ere was a fi re station at the top of the hill and if you
wanted to talk on the phone, you called the fi re station and it rang to the village
where everybody could listen!”
As the baby-boomer generation grew up in the ‘50s and ‘60s, Sheffi eld remained a
tranquil, safe place where residents of those red-roofed stucco houses in the Vil-
lage could grow, learn, and play. David Langford has been in the Shoals area for
© 1
93
7 T
VA
/Wik
ime
dia
Co
mm
on
s
Above, top: The playground and school house of Village 1 TVA school; Village 1 TVA school students working in a garden.
“When we grew up the village, the surrounding woods was our playground. During the summer months we had
the run of the neighborhood and were ok as long as we stayed in the village. Th ere were no concerns about our
safety when we were in the village. Th ere was nothing bad happening.” —David Langford, Sheffi eld Village Resident
may/june | noalastudios.com |
over 50 years, where he lived in the Village and then went on
to raise two sons there as well. He remembers the very best
parts of what it was like to grow up in Sheffi eld. “When we
grew up the Village, the surrounding woods was our play-
ground,” he says. “During the summer months we had the
run of the neighborhood and were OK as long as we stayed
in the village. Halloween during those years was a time to re-
member. We left the house at dusk and were usually out trick
or treating until no one’s porch light was still on. Th ere were
no concerns about our safety when we were in the Village.
Th ere was nothing bad happening in the Village.”
As the city of Sheffi eld moved into a new era, the economy
would shift once again. “Th ings changed very rapidly in the
‘60s and ‘70s,” remembers Richard Sheridan. “Town Plaza
shopping center opened and Southgate mall opened right
after that. And the same thing was happening in Florence.
People wanted to shop at the big newer stores. Our theater
closed and the one in Tuscumbia did too as people got televi-
sions and weren’t as interested in going to the movies. An-
other important factor was the changing of the highways.
Highways 72 and 43 originally passed through downtown
Sheffi eld, and they were rerouted through Muscle Shoals.”
After many years of quiet downtown streets and vacant
buildings, recent interest in the downtown area has again
sparked hope and pride into the people of Sheffi eld. Mayor
Ian Sanford is especially proud of his city as he has been in
this area his entire life.
“Th e Village will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2018, and
we are putting a committee together to celebrate that in a
big way,” says Sanford. “Th at’s the most historical part of our
city.” Many of Sheffi eld’s historic buildings are being reno-
vated and there will eventually be 23 to 25 new apartments
downtown. “We appreciate not only our new businesses,
but our existing businesses who stayed and weathered the
storm.” Sanford says getting more people living in the down-
town area will hopefully entice more retail and create even
more opportunities for expansion. Designated bicycle lanes
are now in place and there are plans to pave all of the major
roads. “Th is has all brought about a new sense of pride to
the city. Th e focus has been on downtown because it is the
hub and the heart of the city.” Th at renewed sense of pride
is very evident as warmer weather is drawing people outside
and to the downtown area to enjoy their blossoming city.
And although Sheffi eld’s revitalization is just beginning, for
those who have roots to the city and know its rich history, it
has always been the center of the Shoals—through th e good
times and the bad. “To me, Sheffi eld is the quintessential
small town,” says Sanford. “I wouldn’t trade anything for my
growing up here.”
122 » bless their hearts » LuEllen Redding
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
Now in 36 places, there have certainly been some less than stellar neighbors. They can’t all be good. But the bad ones do teach you how to appreciate the good ones.
Do you know your neighbors? Neighbors…you know, the people that live in the houses next to you
or behind you or across the street. I know mine. Some people don’t. I think that is weird. I can remem-
ber the neighbors that lived around me in the house we moved out of the summer I turned nine. I have
always had the need to know about the people who occupy the space near me. Pure nosiness? Well, I’d
much prefer to call it something more elegant like “concern for those around me” or “a need for com-
munity.” Whatever.
Forty years ago, I lived in a little fl at house in a little fl at neighborhood in a little fl at town. Th ere was
a ditch that ran between my house and Stephanie Puckett’s and it held an endless supply of tadpoles
and mud. I bet some days we crossed that ditch 500 times. Her daddy owned the local fi ve and dime.
I thought that was very cool. A couple houses down was the family that owned a local jewelry store.
Th ey had one girl that was younger and played with my little sister and they also had teenagers. Really
awesome teenagers. Teenagers with raspy voices and wild curly hair and motorcycles and places to be
at all times of the day and night. Th e lady on the other side of them used to babysit me from time to
time and she called me “LuEller,” not to be confused with Jimbo Taylor who lived behind us and called
me “NewEller.” I guess “LuEllen” was a serious challenge to his speech impediment. Kathy and her older
sister were in the house on the other side of us. Kathy was two years older than me and provided much
insight on the ways of the world for soon-to-be third graders. Th e high school baseball coach and his
beautiful wife lived a few houses down and had babies, a constant source of entertainment. My best
friend, Mandy, lived around the corner. We spent hours playing Barbies and listening to John Denver. I
hope she does not remember me cutting off her pigtail. It was just the one.
Once, in my 20s, I lived in a neighborhood chock-full of families and children. As I planted fl owers and
raked leaves in the idyllic setting, I was constantly entertained with the whoops of their chasing and the
bouncing of their balls and the hum of their bicycles. Once I even looked out to see one of the littlest
boys, ummm, having a private, excretory moment behind a tree. Not a standing moment, but a squat-
ting moment, if you get my drift. And what he considered to be “behind” his tree was actually in “front”
of my kitchen window. I can’t remember ever laughing so hard. Ten years later, when it was my own boy,
it wasn’t quite so funny.
Fast forward a few years, my husband and I were newly married. Our fi rst home was an adorable little
duplex on a downtown street. A small, thin-walled, duplex. And did I say that we were newly married?
I learned a lot about those neighbors. And they learned a lot about us. Bless them, they are still our
friends. I still cringe when I think about those days.
In the house where we live now, I have an old neighbor. Well, I did. He has recently moved away to live
with his daughter. I guess it is a good transition for me. He is 94 years old. And he needs to be with his
family, as I am sure they need to be with him. It is probably good for all of us. I worried that any other
kind of transition would be too sudden for me. I miss him,
but I think of him happy and with his days fi lled with grand-
children. But I do imagine he misses his leaf blower and his
roses. He is the kind of neighbor that spends six hours blow-
ing the leaves in his yard and then does my driveway “just
because.” His hedges now have those little shoots coming out
the tops like they need to be trimmed. Th at would never hap-
pen if he were home. He knows properly maintained hedges
should be attended to weekly. He has lived in his house for 68
years. Sixty-eight years. Now I am 44 years old and recently
did some calculating to determine that I have lived in 36 dif-
ferent places. Th irty-six, so far. My neighbor and I don’t have
a lot in common. We don’t see eye-to-eye on lots of things.
He is an elder in the nearby staunch Church of Christ. I am
sure my Episcopal stickers give him the heebie-jeebies. He
sweeps his Astroturf-covered front porch every day at 3:45
p.m. My front porch often looks like an episode of Hoarders
is about to be fi lmed. I have never seen him un-ironed or
un-tucked or un-combed. I often have scantily clad children
roaming the front yard. But really, we do have one thing in
common. He and I, we are good neighbors. We have a need to
know about each other, our pasts and our day-to-day. Before
we bought the house, when we were in the looking phase, I
asked questions about him. In a small town, everyone has
mutual acquaintances and I checked him out. I knew all
kinds of things about him, before I even laid eyes on him. But
that fi rst time I did introduce myself, out in the yard, stand-
ing two feet deep in my own leaves, he said, “Oh, I know who
you are. And I’ve asked around. I hear you are good people.”
He was as worried about me as I was about him. I knew that
very moment that we would be friends. And we are.
Now in 36 places, there have certainly been some less than
stellar neighbors. Th ey can’t all be good. But the bad ones do
teach you how to appreciate the good ones. I am sure that
some folks consider neighbors to be the people who just hap-
pen to live in the house next to them. Not me. I think God
put us in each others’ paths for a reason. Now that reason
might be trivial or it might be big. It might be to teach me
tolerance or to guilt me into cleaning up a bit or to force my
kids to pick up our own dog poop. Or it might be so that we
can become lifelong friends. I don’t know.
My neighbor’s house will probably come up for sale soon. Do
you want to be my neighbor?
may/june | noalastudios.com |
124 » market » Photos by Patrick Hood
SLEEPTIGHT
Sealy Stowbridge Firm mattress courtesy of Mattress Country (256) 760-9991
Relax Pillow ($68)Harper Clothing Company (256) 760-7115
Melie Bianco Purse ($86)Audie Mescal (256) 314-6684
Darzzi Akar Th row ($98)Necklace ($62) Susan Whitfi eld for Firenze Earrings ($38) Firenze Gifts and Interiors (256) 760-1963
Peepers Specs ($19)Jon Heart Executive Folder ($145) Printers and Stationers, Inc.(256) 764-8061
Juliska Field of Flowers Bowl ($35)Juliska Field of Flowers Plate ($24.50)Th e French Basket (256) 764-1237
Gold and White Th row Pillow ($125) Sweet Pineapple (256) 964-7563
Quilt and Fabric courtesy of Th read (256) 383-2223
may/june | noalastudios.com |
P I L L A R A N D P E A C O C K . C O M
126 » market1112222666666 »» mmmaaaarrrkkkkkeeeettttt126 » market » Photos by Patrick Hood
Straw Hat ($29.99) Corkys Summit Wedges ($53) Th e Village Shoppe (256) 383-1133
Level 99 Shorts ($88) Elise Gold Rush Bracelet ($18) Audie Mescal (256) 314-6684
Sunglasses ($169) Alabama Outdoors (256) 885-3561
Simon Sebbag Designs Necklace ($225)Simon Sebbag Designs Bracelet ($125)Side Lines(256) 767-0925
Dylan Pillow ($49.50) Deco Palm Pillow ($39) Blue Th row ($88) Firenze Gifts and Interiors (256) 760-1963
Toss Utility Tote ($168) Eileen Fisher Black Sleeveless Tunic ($290) Elliott Lauren Off -White Pants ($138) Marigail Mathis (256) 764-9444
Sealy Stowbridge Firm mattress courtesy of Mattress Country (256) 760-9991
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
128 » market » Photos by Patrick Hood
Handprint Robe ($64) Firenze Gifts and Interiors (256) 760-1963
Sew Serendipity by Kay Whitt ($27.99) Th e Colette Sewing Handbook by Sarai Mitnick ($29.99) Fat Quarters (prices vary) Th read(256) 383-2223
Medium Wooden Tray ($29.99) Surprise Store (256) 766-6810
Home Made by Yvette Van Boven ($40) Orange Greek Key Pillow ($49) Juliska Country Estate Saucer ($25)Juliska Country Estate Cup ($38)Acorn Th ong Spa Slippers ($38) Th e French Basket (256) 764-1237
Small Table/Stool ($32) Th e Greenery (256) 518-9836
Rug (price on request) Willowbrook Shoppe (256) 270-7181
Faux Design Stationery ($15) Papaya Art Golden Bird Notes ($14) Cross Pen ($85) Printers and Stationers, Inc.(256) 764-8061
Quilt courtesy of Th read (256) 383-2223
Sealy Stowbridge Firm mattress courtesy of Mattress Country (256) 760-9991
may/june | noalastudios.com |
| noalastudios.com | may/june
130 » market » Photos by Patrick Hood
Florence Pillow ($78)Harper Clothing Company (256) 760-7115
Blue Velvet Pillow ($75)Th e French Basket (256) 764-1237
Alabama Barbecue: Delicious Road Trips by Annette Th ompson ($20) Florence Lauderdale Tourism(256) 740-4141BAM! (256) 768-7953
Southern Tide T-Shirt ($38)Printers and Stationers, Inc.(256) 764-8061
Coastal Cotton Hook Pick Belt ($68) Joe’s Jeans ($174) Leo Martin (256) 381-1006
Cap ($19.95) Th e North Face Backpack ($125) Alabama Outdoors (256) 764-1809
Buff alo Jackson Trading Co. Leather Flip-Flops ($65) Maui Jim Sunglasses ($219)Coats Clothing Company (256) 760-0033
White Quilt ($370) Sweet Pineapple
Studio 773 Brown Th row ($138) Th e French Basket (256) 764-1237
Blue Pants Brewery IPA ($1.50)Th e Wine Seller (256) 766-1568
Sealy Stowbridge Firm mattress courtesy of Mattress Country (256) 760-9991
may/june | noalastudios.com |
SPONSOR:
Crowning Glory
Rachel Wammack of Mus-
cle Shoals was crowned
Miss UNA 2015 at the Miss
UNA “Winter Wonder-
land” Scholarship Pageant
January 24. Th e Muscle
Shoals native and English
and professional writing
major will represent UNA
at the Miss Alabama pag-
eant later this year.
An Offi cer and a Gentleman
Florence resident Ben
Alexander has joined Bank
Independent’s Russellville
main sales offi ce as Sales
Offi cer. Alexander is very
involved in the commu-
nity as a member of the
Leadership Shoals Class
of 2014-2015, a volunteer
Upward Soccer Coach,
co-chairman of the Annual
Jack Karnes Memorial Golf
Tournament, and a member of the United Way Allocations
Committee.
Picture Th is
Courtney LeSueur’s Arts
Alive 2015 poster design
has been selected to rep-
resent the annual festival.
Signed, limited edition
prints of Courtney’s poster
will be available for pur-
chase during Arts Alive at
Wilson Park, May 16 and
17, and thereafter at the
Kennedy-Douglass Center
for the Arts.
kudos132 » If you want to share some good news about a friend, neighbor,
or colleague—or even toot your own horn—send your kudos to
by roy hall
A-Million Congratulations
Th e Horatio Alger Asso-
ciation, one of the nation’s
largest privately funded,
need-based scholarship
programs, will induct
Charles Anderson, chair-
man emeritus of Anderson
Companies, as a lifetime
member during its annual
induction ceremony, April
9-11, 2015.
Named for renowned au-
thor Horatio Alger Jr., who
wrote about the merits of
honesty, courage, and perseverance, Horatio Alger Associa-
tion was established in 1947 to uphold these tenets. Th e
Association has provided more than $100 million in under-
graduate, graduate, and specialized scholarships since 1984.
Oh, the Humanities
Nancy Sanford, execu-
tive director of Florence-
Lauderdale Public Library,
has been elected to chair
the board of the Alabama
Humanities Foundation,
the state affi liate of the
National Endowment for
Humanities. Th e NEH
encourages and promotes
appreciation of literature,
history, law, philosophy,
and the arts.
FLPL’s executive director
since 2004, Sanford has served the community through her
work with a variety of organizations, including Tennessee
Valley Art Association, United Way of the Shoals, Sheffi eld
Education Foundation, UNA Alumni Association, the Inter-
Faith Council of the Shoals, the Colbert County Red Cross,
and the Music Preservation Society.
Rachel Wammack
Charles Anderson
Nancy Sanford
Ben Alexander
Courtney LeSueur
Co
urte
sy o
f the
Ho
ratio
Alg
er A
ssocia
tion
may/june | noalastudios.com |
101 E. Hollywood AvenueMuscle [email protected]
Teresa Rogers256-389-8970
1232
60
It starts by getting to know you.Because the more I know about you the better I can help protect what’s important in your world. And be there for you when you have a question or a concern. That’s how I help people live the good life right here in The Shoals.
Subject to terms, conditions and availability. Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Co., Northbrook Indemnity Co. © 2013 Allstate Insurance Co.
134 » the vine » Amy C. Collins
It’s the season for sauvignon blanc. As soon as the weather started
to warm in mid-March, for that short week of what is arguably our spring,
I noticed an infl ux of sauvignon blancs in sales reps’ bags, on wine store
shelves, and restaurant lists. Th e high acid, typically lean and aromatic
whites are ideal quaff ers in this weather, when the fi rst 70 degree days feel
hot after a long, cold winter.
Sauvignon blanc is grown all over the world—California, New Zealand
where the grape produces racy bold fruit bombs with cutting acidity,
Italy, Israel, Australia, Chile, Spain, Slovenia, and elsewhere in France,
specifi cally Bordeaux where the gravel-grown variety is often blended
with sémillon to soften it. But nowhere is it as elegant and refi ned as
the cool hillsides of Sancerre, where the fl int and chalky soils produce
delicate wines with gorgeous fruit and enticing acidity.
Th e sauvignon blanc grape is, in itself, interesting. It is a parent to the
cabernet sauvignon along with cabernet franc, likely a fi eld crossing
in Bordeaux two centuries ago. Th e grape has inherent herbaceous
qualities sometimes expressed in aromas of gooseberry bushes and
cat pee. I’ve never been around a gooseberry bush, but I also rarely
fi nd the cat urine to be a primary note, thankfully. It is a versatile
grape that depends heavily on how and where it was raised, a
perfect subject for the nature versus nurture argument. Some sav
blancs even spend a little time in new oak barrels, which impart fat,
toast, spice, and vanilla. Others threaten to take the enamel off your
teeth with acidity that cuts like diamonds. What sets Sancerre apart
from other sauvignon producers is, without question, the place.
Th e village of Sancerre is in northern France in the Loire Valley, though
it’s from neighboring villages Chavignol and Bué where most of the best
wines of the region are produced. Th e whites are made from 100 percent
sauvignon blanc and the reds and pinks from pinot noir, though It’s the
white wines for which the region is most noted.
Eric Asmiov wrote, for the New York Times in his April 14, 2009 column, one of
the most lovely descriptions of Sancerre wines I’ve ever read. “Th e soft sibilance,
the internal alliteration, the smooth completion, whether you give it the clipped French
pronunciation or simply ease off the word American-style—it’s a beautiful sound, suggestive
of beautiful wines.”
Indeed, the very best evoke a dream-like state of nirvana. Edmond Vatan, who retired after the 2007
vintage and whose daughter Anne now makes the wines, is one of the most sought after Sancerre
SAUVIGNON AND SANCERRE
Nowhere is [the sauvignon blanc grape] as elegant and refi ned as the cool hillsides of Sancerre, where the fl int and chalky soils produce delicate wines with gorgeous fruit and enticing acidity.
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Follow Amy at pigandvine.com for morestories and wine suggestions.
producers and the most diffi cult to fi nd. Current vintages
average $120 a bottle. If you have the opportunity and wallet,
treat yourself to a bottle.
More readily available, though also on the high end, are
those of Pascal Cotat, who inherited his father’s vines and
winemaking skills in the early 1990s. A bottle of Pascal’s Les
Monts Damnés, one of the steepest and highly respected
slopes in Sancerre, with chalky and Kimmeridgian clay
soils—similar and quite close to Chablis on the map—will
run around $60 on the shelf. You might not fi nd one readily
available, but they are in Alabama, so ask your favorite wine
store to oblige you. Same goes for Domaine Vacheron, which
is certifi ed biodynamic with zero synthetics in the vineyard
or the winery. Vacheron retails for just under $40 a bottle.
In February I discovered one of my favorite yet, Alain
Gueneau “Les Griottes,” which I selected for the March
Vine Club, a subscription-based wine club in conjunction
with Carriage on Court in downtown Florence. Planted in
the “griottes,” stony limestone soils, these vines are over 25
years old and produce grapes more expressive of fruit than
vegetable. Th e wine also spends some time on its lees, which
adds body and fl avor.
It’s bright and crisp with citrus and white peach aromas,
followed by lively acidity on the palate, lovely minerality
refl ecting the distinct soil types in the region and a long,
satisfying fi nish. Th is is what sav blanc should be: delicate,
elegant, and delicious. Domaine Gueneau retails for around
$25 a bottle.
Frank Millet, at $23 a bottle, is a solid second to the Gueneau,
with fi erce herbal notes, fl int, mineral, and distinct acidity.
White peach and almost-ripe stone fruits follow on the
palate with a long, lustrous fi nish.
Bailly-Reverdy makes excellent food-friendly Sancerre
of every color. Th e white and rosé retail for about $26 a
bottle and the red for a few dollars more. Th e domaine has
been making Sancerre in Chavignol for generations and
implements organic practices in the vineyards. Th e wines
are consistently of good quality and great examples of the
region’s best eff orts.
Enjoy the wines with food, as aperitifs, by the pool, by the
lake or on the front porch. Th e very best producers will age
for 10 years or so, though they are all ready to impress now.
Cheers to warm weather!
®
www.genesishcc.com
The road to recoverynow has a fast lane.
EQUAL HOUSING O P P O R T U N I T Y
E E O / A A
Cottage of Shoals Tuscumbia, AL | 256-383-4541
Keller Landing Tuscumbia, AL | 256-383-1535
Cypress Cove Center Muscle Shoals, AL | 256-381-4330
Glenwood Center Florence, AL | 256-766-8963
Hilltop at Glenwood I and II Senior Living Facility
Florence, AL | 256-767-2510
We know you’re eager to get back home
to the daily activities and routines you
enjoy. Our ShortStay services focus on your
speedy recovery. They will identify and
meet your unique needs to get you back
home as quickly as possible.
My maternal great-aunt, Hattie Eliza Daly, was a tobacco farmer in Kinston, North Carolina.
She was also an artist who painted china, oils, and watercolors. Aunt Hattie believed she was skilled at
both these pursuits because of the transference of knowledge, a theory she learned in her college stud-
ies. According to this theory, the same skill that inspired her to select the perfect colors for a painting
enabled her to discern the exact color of a perfectly cured tobacco leaf. All the farmers in town begged
her, “Miss Hattie, please teach us how to cure tobacco like you do!” Or so she said.
My mother minored in botany, and loved growing and arranging fl owers. I know the names of fl owers
and trees only because she called them out whenever we were together: Aucuba japonica! Abelia! Sas-
safras! Four-o’clocks! Tulip poplar! Beech! (My husband is not impressed when I do this to him.) My
middle sister was a certifi ed organic farmer before it was even a thing, and still gardens for rich people
in the Shenandoah Valley. None of this horticultural knowledge was transferred to me.
My one and only attempt at real gardening, in the actual ground rather than in pots, was a couple of
summers ago when a bunch of us women friends had the opportunity to do a community garden. We
were all gung-ho in May, under the expert tutelage of Meagan, our very pregnant overseer. It was actu-
ally fun to plant seeds and pull weeds and hang out together. But then it got hot, and Meagan had her
baby, and things fell apart. It was a hotter, dryer summer than usual, and we were supposed to take
turns watering, weeding, and repelling bugs naturally. I tried to do my part. I really did. But I hate to
sweat, I don’t like bugs, and I am a mosquito magnet, so there was a lot of whining involved. Yes, it
was satisfying to eat our own freshly picked lettuce, radishes, carrots, beets, and of
course, massive amounts of zucchini and yellow squash. We got a few green beans,
and some tomatoes. Th en the plant-eating bugs proliferated, and we all went back
to the farmers’ market on Chisholm Road, where, in the bug-free cool
of early morning, we could just buy whatever and as much as we
needed, and help the local economy in the process.
I do know this much about gardening: you can never have too many
tomatoes. If you can’t use them all, someone else—me, for example—
will be happy to take them. On the other hand, almost everyone plants
way too much squash. Young squash are tender, tasty, and a manageable size. A
zucchini the size of a torpedo is not. You can nip this problem in the
bud—literally. Th ere are lots of good recipes online for stuff ed squash
blossoms, and every yummy ricotta or goat cheese-fi lled treat is one
less terror-inducing monster squash to be abandoned on your friend’s
porch in the dark of night.
Should you overplant, you can make zucchini bread, muffi ns, and
quiche. You can put grated zucchini in spaghetti sauce. Or you can go
rogue and make a zucchini chocolate cake. I promise this is
one of the yummiest cakes ever, and it’s fool proof as long
as you prepare the Bundt pan adequately. Steve Carpen-
TAMING THE EVIL SQUASH MONSTER
136 » food for thought » Sarah Gaede
There are lots of good recipes online for stuff ed squash blossoms, and every yummy ricotta or goat cheese-fi lled treat is one less terror-inducing monster squash to be abandoned on your friend’s porch in the dark of night.
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Chocolate Zucchini Cakewith Shiny Chocolate Glaze
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose fl our, plus more for dusting pan if needed• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (I like Hershey’s Special Dark)• 1 teaspoon baking soda• 1/4 teaspoon salt• 1 teaspoon cinnamon• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar• 2 large eggs, at room temperature• 1/2 cup canola oil• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract• 1/2 cup brewed, cooled espresso or strong coff ee• 2 cups peeled, grated zucchini (2 medium)• 1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray the heck out of a Bundt pan with PAM Happy Baking Spray or Baker’s Joy, or spray with regular PAM and fl our carefully so as not to miss any spots; shake out excess fl our.
Whisk together fl our, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of stand mixer. Beat on low to combine, then on medium speed until fl uff y and sugar is well-incorporated. Scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs one at a time, then the oil and vanilla extract; beat on medium speed until well-blended and smooth. With the mixer on low, scraping after each addition, alternate adding the following ingredients: 1 cup fl ourmixture, then 1/4 cup coff ee; 1 cup fl our, 1/4 cup coff ee; then the remaining fl our. Beat on medium until smooth. Add the zucchini and chocolate chips and beat on lowest speed until just incorporated. Scrape batter into pan; smooth surface. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out on a cooling rack. Wait until cake is completely cool before glazing. Or you can just dust it with confectioner’s sugar if you are a minimalist.
Chocolate Glaze
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder• 1/4 cup whipping cream• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt the butter in a small heavy saucepan over low heat. Add cocoa powder and cream and stir just until mixture thickens. Do not boil. Remove pan from heat and stir in confectioner’s sugar and vanilla until smooth. Immediately spoon glaze over the cooled cake.
ter of Jack-o-Lantern Farms loves it so much I made him one
for Christmas. Th e Chocolate Glaze is just gilding the lily,
but why not? Th ere may be such a thing as too much zuc-
chini, but there is no such thing as too much chocolate.
| noalastudios.com | may/june
138 » parting shot » Danny Mitchell
REMEMBERING THE ST. LOUIS WINTER BLUES
may/june | noalastudios.com |
Money for a Home.
Money from a Home.
Five convenient locations to service you. Visit www.fi rstsouthern.com
MEMBER FDIC
| noalastudios.com | may/june
Your hometown pharmacy and home health center since 1853.
www.mrdrugs.com Three convenient locations to serve you:
869 Florence Blvd., Florence • 202 W. Avalon Avenue, Muscle Shoals • 2602 Hough Road, Florence
Top Related