Inspired Southerner

We tell real stories about the South.

Birmingham: A True Southern City That Has Embraced a Heartbreaking Past So It Can Thrive in the Future

By

Birmingham BenchThis fall will be exactly 10 years since I moved home to Birmingham from Washington, D.C.  I spent most of the early 2000’s living there including 9/11.   I don’t regret the decision of moving home for the most part, but I would not be telling the truth, if I didn’t say I miss living in D.C. sometimes.  The main reason for the move home was to be closer to my parents, and especially my mom who was faced with and now managing an illness.

My life in Birmingham before moving was a lot like my life now, I volunteered for several community organizations.  Operation New Birmingham was one organization that worked I with on a regular basis.  The mission of Operation New Birmingham was to promote commercial activity in Birmingham’s city center and interracial cooperation in public affairs. The organization also had a master plan for the revitalization of downtown Birmingham.  I recall sitting in a number of meetings that discussed the plan for transforming downtown.  Something that I believed was desperately needed if we were going to be a competitive Southern city.  This plan in my view was just a lot of discussion and no real action at the time.  Admittedly I was just a volunteer and not in the inner circle of those who would ultimately make this plan a reality.   I felt like many people probably felt at the time that these were just dreams that would never come true.

To my surprise since I have moved back I see Birmingham is undergoing a Renaissance.  Some of the things we discussed in our meetings at ONB are now becoming a reality.   I have always been a cheerleader of Birmingham.  Always.  Growing up here, you know that the images of the dogs and water hoses that are constantly portrayed in the national news media are not what this city is all about in today’s world.  In my opinion, we are a true Southern city with a past that is making a remarkable transformation into a city of the future. Everyone is working together for the most part to make this city a great place.

Just this last week, we saw the reopening of the Lyric Theatre, a landmark that was almost lost to decay and threatened at one time to be destroyed.  We have a number of businesses opening in the north area of downtown.  We have the beautiful Railroad Park to the south of town that with along the recent announcement of the movement forward of the 750 Mile Trail around Birmingham will make us one of the cities with the most parks and greenspace in the southeast.  Regions Field has sparked a wealth of development also in that area of downtown. The Avondale neighborhood’s economic development plan has placed the city on the map for new and hip restaurants, coffee shops and music venues that have been written up in national publications and blogs.  And then there will be opportunity for Birmingham to shine on the world stage in 2021 when we host the World Games.

From what I see we are a city that has learned to embrace our heartbreaking past so we can thrive in the future.   I’d say we are thriving in big way and I am happy to say that it is much more than I thought we ever would when I volunteered all of those years ago.

 

 

Southern Treasures in My Own Backyard: Decatur, Alabama

By

Joe Wheeler ParkI don’t make New Year’s Resolutions, but I do have goals each year that I attempt to reach.  One goal for 2016 is to be more adventurous to travel and explore different parts of the Southeast Region.  It is liberating to get a deeper understanding of the region where I spent my childhood.

A friend and I took an adventure yesterday to Decatur, Alabama, which is about 85 miles north of Birmingham and 25 miles southwest of Huntsville.  Decatur is known as the River City because it is located on Joe Wheeler Lake and the Tennessee River.  My friend had never been to Decatur, but wanted to go because it was the last day of her friend and world -renowned artist Tim Stevenson’s exhibit at the Carnegie Visual Arts Center located on Church Street. The Center has a unique history in that it was a library for about 70 years.  From the Center’s Website:  completed in September of 1904, the Carnegie Library of Decatur was one of the 2,509 libraries built by the millionaire philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. At the turn of the century, Carnegie began donating money to non-profit, educational organizations. Starting with a large library system in Pittsburgh, with a donation of $1 million, Carnegie began to fund libraries throughout the nation. The Decatur Library was housed in this facility for more than 70 years before being transformed eventually into the Visual Arts Center in 2003. Tim’s artwork was beautifully displayed throughout the Center’s main floor and included my favorites, his landscapes, along with his still life pieces.

After going through the exhibit we decided to go for lunch. While driving we were sidetracked by a stray dog walking along a busy road. We tried to catch him so that we could take him to the animal shelter.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t, he was too timid, so we had to put our super hero capes away and hope that someone else may have more success in catching him.

While on the way to lunch a boutique caught my eye. This, of course, is not a surprise because I love boutiques in small Southern towns.   Cricket by the Creek is the name of this boutique and It just so happened that today they had a sale in their upstairs room; clothes were $15 and shoes were $20!  Believe it or not, I scored a pair of Donald Pliner sport wedges for $20.  I thank God I wear a small size and I love a good bargain. The ladies who helped us were pleasant and helpful.  This boutique is definitely on my list for a return visit.

After this other detour we ended up at Big Bob Gibson BBQ for lunch.  I am ashamed to say I have never been to the restaurant and was grateful that my friend indulged me.   The restaurant was built from Big Bob Gibson’s pit barbecue where he cooked in his backyard. The restaurant has lasted 75 years and four generations.  His barbecue has won many awards and has  been featured in several magazines including, Southern Living, Garden and Gun Magazine and was also featured on the Food Network.   I had the BBQ pork plate, which is listed as a 10- time World Champion for pulled pork plate, with mac and cheese and green beans.  My friend had the same except with baked beans.  Everything was homemade and fresh.  I especially liked the world famous white sauce. Of course, we couldn’t leave without splitting a delicious homemade pecan pie. Oh my, you definitely don’t go hungry at Big Bob Gibson’s so be sure to bring along your appetite.

Joe Wheeler Refuge On the way out of town we stopped at the Joe Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge because it was the Whooping Crane Festival.  My friend and I braved the chilly temps to catch a glimpse of these beautiful birds and take a short stroll through the wooded area. Once again the beauty of nature was amazing.

I am guilty of this like most of us, sometimes we never really know or appreciate the wealth of beauty and history in our own backyard. It was an interesting day of exploration of the River City.  Yesterday was the start of my 2016 goal to  be more adventurous   It was a great day!  What could be better than seeing great art, getting super deals and eating awesome food.

 

Guest Post: Alabama by Way of New York

By

Birmingham skylineDorothy B. Little

Born in New York, raised in Chicago and spent several years of my adult life in Cleveland categorizes me as a Yankee. The loss of my husband and my mother made me realize that I wanted to be near my children. This was a dilemma since one son lives in San Diego, the other son lives in Richmond, Virginia and my daughter lives in Birmingham.   Well, my daughter won the lottery and got her mother as the prize. So I packed up my house and headed down south.

It was an excellent choice. Not only was I able to spend time with my daughter and her family, but I also fell into the warmth and congeniality of the South. I remember walking into a department store in the mall one day and heard someone say “good morning”. I looked around to see who had greeted me and was shocked when I realized it was a salesperson and that was the only the start. People smiled, made eye contact, and greeted me wherever I went. These small gestures made for such a pleasant transition to my new home, Birmingham, Alabama.

Of course, the various landscapes took my breath away. The beauty surrounded me. It was nothing like the plains states from which I came. Hills, valleys, blue skies, flowering trees and shrubs presented a picture which instilled a peaceful calm within me. Although the rather windy roads and lack of street signs definitely sent me on some rather interesting and unplanned side trips.

Birmingham is such a great place. It is centrally located to other parts of the state. Only a five- hour drive and I am at the Gulf Coast. Many people do not realize that Alabama offers a varied topography. The state has rivers and mountains in the North and the beaches in the South and Wiregrass areas to the east. Once at the gulf a calmness again came over me as I walked on the white sand and waded in the clear blue water. I watched beautiful sunsets and ate some really great seafood. The shore keeps calling me back and I have answered and returned several times. Of course, I plan several more visits to the water.

Since I have been here, I also have discovered “the Shoals” and absolutely fell in love with the area. There are so many hidden treasures such as Tom Hendrix’s wall that sits just off of the Natchez Trace Parkway. His story of his great grandmother and her plight moved me in such a way that it touched me to my very core. When she was 16 years old she and her sister were rounded up to walk the Trail of Tears from northern Alabama to the reservations in Oklahoma. Once there she escaped by herself to return to the “singing river”. The Wall represents her journey to the reservation and her journey home. Mr. Hendrix keeps her story alive through this stone wall. His work of love has been placed on the National Historic Register.

And then, of course there is the music. It is alive and well in the Shoals, Muscle Shoals in particular. It gives another example as to why the Tennessee River is called the “Singing River”. Being a bit of a music junkie, I had to tour a couple of the old recording studios, 3614 Jackson Highway (Muscle Shoals Sound) and Fame studios. It’s hard to believe so many singers and songwriters came to or are from this area. Aretha got her start there and so many stars recorded in these studios, like the Stones, Wilson Pickett and Cher just to name a few.

I have only been in Alabama for 6 years and am constantly learning more about this wonderful State in the South. It is really a best -kept secret.

War Eagle, err Roll Tide……… go Bears!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We tell real stories about the south. ~Kara Kennedy, Publisher