For over a century, the Alabama Department of Archives and History has collected artifacts that tell the story of the people of Alabama. Sometimes, single items tell multiple and multifaceted stories. Ada Chitwood Jones’s sock-top quilt, made in 1934 in the Fort Payne area, is a wonderful example of how a common object can help us explore a combination of Alabamians’ collective history, creativity, and sense of community.
 It's just a pine plantation now, on the two-lane to Unions Springs. No ruined hangars, no dirt runway, not even a rusting marker noting the history that took place here more than sixty years ago. Back then it was called Kennedy Field, or to those who knew it, just "the airfield." It was where many of the original Tuskegee Airmen first learned to fly, before there was a Moton Field. It was also the place where a few African-American women trained along with them. The men went on to a certain level of fame, the subject of books, a recent documentary, even a TV movie. But the women, possibly the first African-American women licensed to fly in the Deep South, have remained in relative obscurity.
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From the VaultRead complete classic articles and departments featured in Alabama Heritage magazine in the past 35 years of publishing. You'll find in-depth features along with quirky and fun departments that cover the people, places, and events that make our state great! Archives
May 2023
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