Issue 130, Fall 2018
On the cover: Allegory of the Muses (1913), by Harry Hawkins, graces the proscenium arch of the restored Lyric Theatre. [Robin McDonald]
Features
Places in Peril at Twenty-Five
By Michael W. Panhorst
For a quarter-century, Alabama Heritage, the Alabama Historical Commission (AHC), and the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation (ATHP) have collaborated to produce the annual Places in Peril list, which highlights the state’s most endangered historic properties. This year, Michael Panhorst evaluates the program’s history, reporting on its success stories, commemorating places that were not saved, and identifying structures still in need of preservation and intervention.
Alabamians on the Point in the Argonne Forest
By Nimrod T. Frazer
After years of conflict, World War I (WWI)’s conclusion was far from inevitable. In fall 1918, Allied troops launched a significant offensive, the Meuse-Argonne, in Eastern France, hoping to force German troops back into their own lands. One particularly important area in the Meuse-Argonne centered around the Côte de Châtillon, also known as Hill 260. Hill 206 comprised part of the Hindenburg Line, an intricate German defensive system of several lines of trenches, barbed wire, and mechanisms to protect German soldiers and equipment moving to the front. Several different American divisions tried to take the formidable Côte de Châtillon, and after the 35th Division and the 1st Division failed to take the hill, the 42nd Rainbow Division began its attempt, ultimately succeeding in this important mission that helped usher in the war’s conclusion.
“It Came Like a Cyclone”
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic in Alabama
By James L. Baggett
The year 1918 saw a number of destructive events worldwide, including an influenza pandemic that claimed the lives of many people in different countries, including the United States. In Alabama the disease struck all facets of the population, and as medical professionals grew ill, everyday citizens stepped up to care for their family members, neighbors, and even complete strangers. Schools and churches closed throughout the state as Alabamians prioritized limiting the disease’s spread and helping nurse the infirm back to health.
“It’s Part of Me By Now”
The Civil Rights Life of John L. LeFlore
By Scotty E. Kirkland
For half a century, Mobile’s John LeFlore advocated for civil rights progress, tirelessly laboring for advancement even as he suffered threats and a bomb exploded at his home. LeFlore’s work dovetailed at times with the work of the NAACP, though the urgency he brought to his efforts sometimes put him at odds with that organization and its leaders. Throughout his lifetime—and particularly through his leadership of the Non-Partisan Voter’s League—LeFlore enacted significant change, particularly in Mobile’s elections. Archivist Scotty Kirkland chronicles LeFlore’s life and its profound impact on his community and the state.
Department Abstracts
Alabama Makers
Restoring the Need for Speed at Barber Motorsports Museum
By Catie Stewart
Over the decades, George Barber’s teenage love for racecars grew into a full-fledged destination, the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. Among the newest items in the museum’s collection is a Lotus 11, and its conservation story reflects the museum’s care and dedication to each item it preserves. Complete with an extensive collection and a racing track for getting vehicles out on the road, the museum complex offers something for every automobile fan.
The Alabama Territory
Quarter by Quarter: Fall 1818
By Mike Bunn
In this quarter’s installment of “The Alabama Territory,” historian Mike Bunn describes Alabama’s 1818 territorial seal. This seal, reserved for official territory business, depicted the state’s all-important river system, which served as a transportation system for both people and goods. Despite such official trappings, however, not every development went smoothly in the Alabama Territory. As the year wound down, territorial officials struggled to agree on where to locate the capital, and emerging political factions competed to advance their own interests.
Alabama Governors
Andrew B. Moore (157-1861)
By Samuel L. Webb
Alabama’s sixteenth governor, Andrew B. Moore, a schoolteacher and attorney, arrived in the state from his native South Carolina in his mid-twenties. Moore’s first term focused on issues close to him, including mental health. However, during his second term Moore oversaw the state’s secession from the union, for which he was briefly imprisoned after the Civil War.
Behind the Image
Kinship Connections
By Frances Osborn Robb
As part of their curatorial responsibilities, museum staff members devote extensive care to verifying items in their collection. This quarter, Frances Robb explores how curators at Huntsville’s Burritt on the Mountain worked to authenticate a new addition to the museum: a daguerreotype depicting the great-great-grandmother and grandfather of Dr. William Henry Burritt, whose former residence houses the museum.
From the Archives
Textiles in Early Alabama
By Diane Barnard
As explorers and new inhabitants began moving into the land that would become the state of Alabama, many aspects of life there changed, including the available textiles. Many items in the Alabama Department of Archives and History—including newspapers, advertisements, bills of sale, inventories, letters, and actual items of clothing—reflect the state’s changing preferences, revealing fashion preferences and the resources available during different eras of Alabama’s rich history.
Adventures in Genealogy
How to Keep Photos and Paper Records Safe—On the Cheap
By Martin T. Olliff
As genealogy resources make it possible for everyone to explore family histories, the importance of proper storage for personal records and mementoes remains paramount. Archivist Martin Olliff reviews the best practices to follow to help keep your family’s photographs, records, and other documents safe and protected for generations to come.
Reading the Southern Past
Reconstruction in Alabama
Though historians often revisit and reappraise their predecessors’ understanding to various events, Reconstruction remains perhaps one of the most contested eras in American history. This quarter’s “Reading the Southern Past” reviews several recent books that return to that era: Reconstruction in Alabama: From Civil War to Redemption in the Cotton South (Louisiana State University Press, 2017) by Michael W. Fitzgerald and Searching for Freedom after the Civil War: Klansman, Carpetbagger, Scalawag, and Freeman (University of Alabama Press, 2015) by G. Ward Hubbs.
