Alabama Heritage Fall 2003, Issue 70

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Fall 2003, Issue 70

Article Abstracts and Supplements

Before the war, Bert Bank intended to pursue a legal career after graduating from college. But the Air Force had other plans, and soon he found himself living through one of WWII's greatest horrors—the Bataan Death March. (Courtesy Bert Bank)

When Men Must Die:
An Alabama POW at Bataan
By John D. Lukacs

When General Douglas MacArthur was ordered out of the Philippines during the early days of World War Two, the remaining American and Filipino troops were forced to surrender to the Japanese. What followed became known as the Bataan Death March. During the sixty-five-mile forced march, Lieutenant Bertram Bank of Alabama witnessed the beatings and executions of his comrades. Bank survived, only to be imprisoned for years in Japanese POW camps in the Philippines. The American and Filipino POWs thought they had been abandoned. But when hope was almost gone, a daring rescue brought these "ghost soldiers" back from the dead.

Also see Alabama Heritage issue 59 or 57.

Above: Selma, Below: Marion.

Heart of a Small Town
By Robin McDonald

Alabama Heritage readers have been delighted for years with the brilliant photography and design of our magazine's creative director, Robin McDonald. This holiday season marks the debut of Robin's much-anticipated new book, Heart of a Small Town (University of Alabama Press, 2003). In the Fall issue, Robin presents a photographic "sneak peek" of the fascinating little towns that dot the Alabama landscape. Some are growing, some declining, but all have a story to tell.

An early supporter of the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Lola Hendricks worked as the recording secretary of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Her daughter, Audrey, above, was one of the youngest children arrested during the May 1963 protests. (Courtesy Hendricks Family)

A Dangerous Business: Children on the Front Lines
By Michael Sznajderman

Audrey Hendricks walked out of Birmingham's Center Street Elementary School and into history. Although only nine years old, she was going to be a part of a vital element in the Civil Rights organizers' plan to challenge the racial injustices in America's most segregated city. The Civil Rights Movement had lost steam and media attention. Organizers Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King Jr. needed a way to gain attention and sympathy, so they organized the movement's first youth march. When the schoolchildren began their march on May 2, 1963, Police Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor quickly arrested the demonstrators, filling up the city's jail and juvenile hall. As the stunned nation and a troubled President Kennedy looked on, the children marched again. With nowhere to hold the protestors, Connor tried to disperse them by ordering Birmingham's firefighters and police officers to use fire hoses and canine units. Public outrage soon brought an end to segregation in the city.

Also see Alabama Heritage issue 66 or 33.

With proper management the Jared Gross home in Old Eastaboga could become part of a regional tourism initiative. (Courtesy Alabama Historical Commission)

Places in Peril 2003
By Keri Coumanis

The Alabama Preservation Alliance and the Alabama Historical Commission have once again listed Alabama's most significant historic "Places in Peril." This year, AHC Endangered Properties Coordinator Keri Coumanis focuses on historical sites that are in danger of being lost due to economic pressures. Lack of funding, too much economic growth, and urban redevelopment all threaten to uproot places of historical value. With local interest, however, these historical sites can be preserved for future generations. From the vandalism of rural cemeteries, to the deterioration of Bryce Hospital, to the lack of protection for the Civil War battlefield at Day's Gap in Cullman County, Coumanis illuminates a critical need.

Also see Alabama Heritage issue 66 or 62.

DEPARTMENTS

Art in the South
Appalachian Primitive Dolls
By Alison Burke

Primitive cloth dolls, sewn by hand for many generations and still handmade today, have become a traditional part of Appalachian culture. (Courtesy Allison Burke / Photographs by Penny Baugh.)

Southern Folkways
Gibeon Sullivan's Cooling Board
By Breck Stapleton

The most unusual feature of the Sullivan home is the "cooling board" on the front porch, used to display the bodies of departed loved ones while they were prepared for burial. (Photograph by Aaron Welborn.)

Alabama Treasures
The 1863 Battle House Register
By Aaron Welborn

Recollections
Birmingham's Black YWCA
By Ashley Grantham and Gillian Goodrich

At the urging of the national YWCA, a segregated "colored" branch was established in Birmingham at 500 Eighth Avenue North. Because of Jim Crow laws, a fully integrated organization would be impossible for some time. (Courtesy Ashley Grantham and Gillian Goodrich/Photograph by YWCA of Birmingham.)

Nature Journal
Fairy Shrimps (and Vernal Pools)
By L. J. Davenport

These two fairy shrimps swim in typical upside-down fashion. The female shrimp on top prominently displays her egg case and eggs. Actual length one-and-a-half inches. (Digital image by W. Mike Howell.)

Index
Issues 61-70

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This page created 08/11/03