Issue 121, Summer 2016
On the cover: The Astronomer by Johannes Vermeer, one of the masterpieces of Western art rescued from a Nazi saltmine by Alabamian Robert Posey, one of the Monuments Men. [Wikimedia Commons]
Features
[Wikimedia Commons]
Alabama’s Monuments Man: Robert K. Posey and the Quest for the Ghent Altarpiece
By Paul A. Harris
As World War II (WWII) progressed, a small group of American military personnel was assigned an unusual task: to protect and secure Europe’s works of art from Nazi theft or destruction. One of the key figures in that group was Alabama native Robert K. Posey, whose skill and training—and a bit of luck—helped save a number of significant paintings, sculptures, and other artistic treasures from the Nazis. The original “Monuments Men” on which the recent Hollywood movie was based, these men, led by Posey, secured such treasures as the Ghent Altarpiece, Michelangelo’s Bruges Madonna, and Vermeer’s The Astronomer.
“Equality in the Union, or Independence Out of It”: The Eufaula Regency and the Secessionist Movement in Alabama
By Mike Bunn
Although mostly known today to the common visitor as a charming small town, Eufaula holds an important place in American history. Thanks to a significant group of individuals known as the Eufaula Regency, the city served as a secessionist stronghold in the years leading up to the Civil War. Men associated with the regency served across the state in government offices, including that of governor; they also moved into positions across the south as states considered—and acted on—secession. Throughout the events leading up to and encompassing the Civil War, the Eufaula Regency’s influence shaped the South and even the nation.
Suzanne Pickett: An Alabama Coal Miner’s Daughter
By Faye Gibbons
As a young girl in Alabama, Sue Mosley Pickett showed early talent for writing, leading her father to tell her siblings that she was not cut out for intense physical work. Pickett’s writing served her and her family well throughout the Great Depression, when she and her husband traveled the country in search of a prosperity that did not seem to exist. Pickett contributed by writing, first as a newspaper columnist, then later as a memoirist chronicling the family’s experiences and the plight of those around them. Pickett’s memoir, The Path Was Steep: A Memoir of Appalachian Coal Camps During the Great Depression, offers a poignant and forthright depiction of the era and its people, who strove to overcome the numerous difficulties of their circumstances.
Freedom on Trial: NAACP v. Alabama
By Scotty E. Kirkland
As the civil rights movement progressed, people threatened by the idea of enfranchising African Americans sought to block the movement’s progress in any way possible, even looking for loopholes or creative arguments to advance their case. One advocate for the status quo was attorney general John Patterson, who argued that the NAACP operated in Alabama illegally, since it was based in New York and had not registered in Alabama as an out-of-state organization. Between Patterson’s first argument in 1956, and the eventual reinstatement of the NAACP in Alabama, eight years passed—and several other organizations rose to carry the movement’s work in the interim.
Departments
Alabama Makers
Farmers Rooted in Fresh Food Revival
By Mary Johnson
A new focus among consumers on clean eating and local products has benefitted many of Alabama’s farmers. As people take more interest in their food’s origins and treatment, they often seek out smaller, local sources for their food. Alabama’s farmers—including Josh and Beth Hornsby, Larry LouAllen, Backyard Orchards, and Oakview Farms—have benefited from this trend. However, perhaps no one has benefitted more than Alabamians, whose diets and lives are enriched by the local produce of farmers throughout the state.
Alabama Governors
Clement Comer Clay, 1835-1837
By Samuel L. Webb
Clement Comer Clay witnessed and shaped many of the significant events in Alabama during the first half of the nineteenth century. He served in all of Alabama’s government branches, working as a legislator and judge prior to his election as governor. After his gubernatorial term, he served in the US Senate. Staunchly confederate in his leanings, Clay died from complications of being imprisoned by the Union Army, even his death a reflection of the issues of his time.
From the Archives
“A Paper for the People”: The Jim Peppler Southern Courier Photograph Collection
By Meredith McDonough
A new acquisition at the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH), the Jim Peppler Southern Courier Photograph Collection offers an insightful view of the civil rights movement through photographs taken at its front lines. The Southern Courier, which published from 1965–1968, included a civil rights emphasis in its mission, which vowed to “help erase the injustices of segregation and prejudice.” Peppler, who joined the newspaper staff as a young photographer, saved his negatives for years, until he found an archive that would help make the images accessible not only to the public but especially to the individuals pictured within them. Luckily, the collection’s new home at the ADAH makes that possible, enriching the entire state with the images, and reminding citizens of the history they encapsulate.
Adventures in Genealogy
African American Genealogy and its Intangible Roots
By Jenny Enslen Stubbs
Although genealogy research is often quite challenging, researching African American genealogy poses particular obstacles due to the inconsistent records kept prior to emancipation. Frazine Taylor, herself an archivist, developed several best practices for African American family histories while researching her own family tree. With patience, dedication, and a bit of good fortune, other researchers may meet as much success as Taylor.
The Nature Journal
Stalking the Wild Amphianthus
One of Alabama’s rarest plants, Gratiola amphiantha, appears in only eight locations across the state, but its flowers consistently brighten the pools it inhabits. Larry Davenport illuminates the life and life cycle of this infrequently spotted plant and details his search for the amphianthus according to the principle of island biogeography advanced by Robert MacArthur and Alabama native E.O. Wilson.
Reading the Southern Past
Outlaws and Desperadoes
Although public fascination for renegades and outlaws often runs high, biographers face a particular challenge in writing about such figures. Often the mythology and the factual information blend, creating difficult layers of information to piece through. Stephen Goldfarb considers this challenge in his review of two biographies of Alabama outlaws, Stephen Renfroe and Railroad Bill. This quarter’s column considers Larry L. Massey’s The Life and Crimes of Railroad Bill: Legendary African American Desperado (University Press of Florida, 2015) and Alabama’s Outlaw Sheriff, Stephen S. Renfroe ((originally published in 1972 and reprinted in 2005 by University of Alabama Press with a new introduction by Paul M. Pruitt Jr.) by William Warren Rogers Sr. and Ruth Pruitt. Both biographies unpack the legendary characters and their effects on their state.
