The clues to recreating the lives of Dust Cave's first inhabitants are buried in stratified layers of dirt, which students at the Field School meticulously scour. (Photo courtesy Office of Archaeological Research, University of Alabama)

In 1988, a group of archaeologists were sent to investigate a small, unimpressive cave nestled in northern Alabama, which had the potential for archaeological deposits. Initial tests of the soil appeared to yield nothing—until the archaeologists heard the distinct sound of flint hitting the trowel. Our understanding of the earliest inhabitants of Alabama and America has not been the same since. With Baker Lawley, Boyce Driskell explains the archaeological importance of Dust Cave in the Summer 2002 issue of Alabama Heritage. The deposits in the cave have had a dramatic effect on our understanding of the people of the Pleistocene and early Holocene eras, Driskell explains. In addition, the site serves to train future archaeologists through the Dust Cave Field School, a program that runs each summer. The lessons and technology of the dig are explained, as well as the new theories generated by the research at Dust Cave. For an inside look at both the work of archaeology and the lives of some of Alabama's earliest inhabitants, this article is a must.

Virginia Richards, Orene Putnam, Nancy Batson, and Sue Clarkson at the University of Alabama's Civilian Pilot Training program in 1939. (Crew's private collection, via Sarah Rickman)

Working outdoors in below-zero temperatures, being exposed to frostbite at high altitudes, and making emergency mechanical repairs is definitely above and beyond the call of duty—even for a pilot. But that is exactly what Nancy Batson and her female comrades of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) repeatedly accomplished. During World War II, Birmingham native Nancy Batson was one of the first recruits to the WAFS, a civilian unit, active from 1942-1944, that utilized the skills of women pilots. Later known as the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), this prestigious female flying force earned a reputation for excellence and significantly advanced the United States' war effort by serving their country in flight. In the Summer 2002 issue of Alabama Heritage, Sarah Byrn Rickman details the often harrowing, but truly heroic, experiences of Nancy Batson in her career in the WASPs.

"Three Cheers and a Tiger for the Lomax Rifles!"
By Roger Cunningham

They marched in, executed commands, performed platoon movements and even fired blank cartridges before coming to parade rest in front of the judges. And when it was over, the Lomax Rifles of Mobile, Alabama, had won the National Drill and Encampment Competition of 1887, in the most talked-about militia drill competition the country had ever seen. Militia companies were popular in the twenty-five years following the Civil War as a way of demonstrating regional patriotism, and in the Summer 2002 issue of Alabama Heritage, Roger Cunningham writes about the history of these competitions, including the notorious 1887 National Drill. That year, black militia units were allowed to compete for the first time, causing a nationwide stir in newspaper coverage of the event when several white militia units refused to compete with the black units. The main focus was the drill competition itself, however, in which the Lomax Rifles did compete—and won first place over their bitter rival, the Toledo Cadets. Hailed as heroes upon their return to Alabama and the South, the Lomax Rifles and their win at the National Drill of 1887 became part of a great story within the history of militia drill competitions.

This quintessential image of the mule in the American South belies the animal's varied and ancient history in virtually every civilized society. (Courtesy Birmingham News)

From the ancient Assyrians to the Roman Empire and to America's first mule breeder, George Washington, the mule has been a vital aspect of virtually every civilized society. Judge John B. Scott (1906-1978), in an article written in December 1967 and recently discovered at the state archives, writes a touching epitaph to the mule, which Alabama Heritage proudly publishes in the Summer 2002 issue. "The mule is a happy blending of the ass and the horse, and possesses the finer qualities of each," writes Judge Scott, explaining the parentage and personality of the mule, while also tracing its use throughout history. A tribute to the mule ends the article, as the mule's importance in society waned. "I am glad," Scott writes, "to be able to appreciate, to some degree, the part that the mule has played so well in the history of man." This homage to the much-maligned, taken-for-granted animal illuminates a deep appreciation for the hardworking mule.