Birmingham’s Max Heldman

By Mary Virginia Pounds Brown and Linda McNair Cohen

Although he was not a native of Alabama, Max Heldman arrived in Birmingham as a young child, and the city received a great deal of attention in his visual art. Heldman’s oeuvre, in fact, proceeds as a visual love letter of sorts, documenting both significant events and everyday life in the city he called home. Virginia Pounds Brown—who collaborated with Heldman to produce a collection of his work—and Linda McNair Cohen recount Heldman’s life and explore some of his most significant Birmingham images.

Camels in Cahawba

By Linda Derry

Historic Cahawba remains most known for its archaeological riches and its role as one of Alabama’s capital cities. However, its history also reflects a curious intersection of exotic animals and the slave trade. Thanks to emerging research, this article uncovers the brief but provocative history of camels in Cahawba, noting the somewhat dubious circumstances of their import and the colorful characters that accompanied their arrival.

The Last Bombing: The Story of Nina Miglionico

By Samuel A. Rumore Jr.

The city of Birmingham experienced many bombs and other violent events during the civil rights movement, even earning the unsavory nickname “Bombingham” for its tumultuous state. One of the lesser-known bombings occurred at the home of city councilwoman Nina Miglionico, whose outspoken nature had garnered attention. Miglionico’s father disarmed the bomb before it exploded, but the event helped bring additional attention to the city and its pockets of violent resistance to civil rights activism.

Southern Architecture and Preservation

Main Street Alabama

By Mary M. Helmer

Although preservation of historic structures remains a crucial need throughout the state, often willing individuals and communities struggle to find adequate resources to protect historic properties. This quarter’s Southern Architecture & Preservation column offers information about an important organization designed to help communities consider the economic aspects of preservation. The Main Street Alabama Program offers towns throughout the state the opportunity and resources needed to help protect their heritage, ensuring the survival of significant landmarks across Alabama.

Alabama Women

“The WAC is a Soldier Too”: Alabama and the Women’s Army Corps

By Stephanie Chaifoux

During the 1940s efforts to establish a female wing of the American Army led to the creation of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), a group dedicated to the same ideals as the Army and founded on the same principles of discipline and patriotism. In conjunction with this, a WAC post was formed at Fort McClellan, near Anniston, Alabama, allowing WACs housing, training, and a space in which to pursue their profession surrounded by other women similarly serving their country. Stephanie Chalifoux researches the history of the WACs and the Fort McClellan post, offering an insightful look at an often-overlooked community.

Revealing Hidden Collections

Genealogical Resources Available at the University of Alabama

By Mary Bess Kirksey Paluzzi

Thanks to a recent proliferation of interest in ancestry and origins, many lesser-known holdings of universities and libraries are being recognized for their genealogical content. In this installment of “Revealing Hidden Collections,” Mary Bess Paluzzi, Associate Dean for Special Collections, alerts readers to the wide range of resources offered by libraries at the University of Alabama. Readers interested in researching their own family history will welcome the various tools available through library systems.

Portraits & Landscapes

Tung Trees in Alabama

By Whitney Adrienne Snow

Although no longer prevalent thanks to hurricanes and other weather events, tung trees once constituted a significant portion of Alabama’s agricultural landscape. Prized for the valuable oil derived from their seeds, tung trees were originally imported from China and flourished most notably in Alabama under the attention of C.R. Baldwin and his wife, Gae. After C.R.’s death, Gae continued raising the crops, pursuing her husband’s legacy, and making quite a name for herself in the growing, but ultimately short-lived, industry.

Recollections

Hillwood: Life in a Sawmill Camp

By Cassandra Mahaffey Nelson
Based on John Davidson’s Memoirs

Between 1931 and 1947, the small community of Hillwood, Alabama, a town linked to the Ralph Lumber Company and its sawmill, developed to support the members of the sawmill population. Although the effects of the Great Depression pervaded, residents felt a deep sense of community and connection, remembering a pleasant way of life.