Issue 139, Winter 2021
On the cover: As a college student, Gail Patrick had planned to study law. Instead, she went to Hollywood and became a movie star. [Paramount Publicity Still]
Features
Air Force One: The Alabama Connection
By Billy J. Singleton
During the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, two Alabamians held a critical role as pilot of Air Force One. Col. James Swindal faithfully served Pres. Kennedy’s administration, culminating in the tragic flight that returned the president’s body to Washington, DC, from Dallas, Texas. Maj. James Cross developed a similarly close relationship to Johnson, becoming a valued member of the president’s staff with unprecedented access. Both men excelled as pilots, but their responsibilities transcended the official duties and reflected the significant import of their work and their commitments to the men they served.
The Many Faces of Alabama’s Gail Patrick
By Joanna Jacobs
Though her name may not be as prominent as some of her costars, Gail Patrick held an influential role in Hollywood, developing well-known shows and shaping industry norms. From her early years in Birmingham, Patrick (known in her pre-Hollywood life as Margaret Fitzpatrick) distinguished herself. She entered the national stage through the Paramount Studios search for a “Panther Woman,” a publicity event tied to the promotion of one of the studio’s films. This search catapulted Patrick into Hollywood, where she held roles in significant films and eventually a producer on the show Perry Mason, where she was credited with helping create the show’s great success.
James G. Birney of Huntsville
By Alvin Rosenbaum
Though Alabama’s state government staunchly aligned with the Confederacy during the Civil War, not all the state’s residents supported this stance. James Birney, one such resident, was embodied contradictions; he owned enslaved persons, yet advocated for abolition. Birney held prominent appointments and elected positions in Alabama, where he became vocal about national politics. Birney, who eventually relocated to Ohio, continued his political engagement throughout his life, even running for President of the United States as a member of the Liberty Party.
Eyewitness: Ethel Payne Reports from Alabama
By Scotty E. Kirkland
A young reporter from a Chicago newspaper, Ethel Payne’s time in Alabama left a lasting legacy. The Chicago Defender, one of the most prominent African American publications, sent Payne to Alabama cover some of the nation’s most significant stories—the Montgomery Bus Boycott and efforts to integrate the University of Alabama. Payne’s writing shed important light on civil rights struggles, but her career spanned a wide range of significant contributions, including work in politics, that she pursued with dedication and tenacity, always steadfastly working to illuminate and improve the circumstances she observed.
Department Abstracts
Portraits and Landscapes
Antique Doll Heads at Bellingrath Home
By Karen B. Kurtz
Though primarily known for its lush gardens, within the Bellingrath Home resides a collection of sixty-six antique doll heads. Collected by Bessie Bellingrath, these doll heads reveal information about an earlier age.
Behind the Image
Stamps and a King’s Photo Turn Into a Period Interior
By Frances Osborn Robb
Creative minds often see possibility, fashioning unusual artifacts from everyday objects. The focus of this quarter’s “Behind the Image” column emerges from this tradition, in which a thoughtful collage artist in Gadsden, Alabama, used stamps of England’s King George to create an interior scene on a custom 1930s postcard.
From the Archives
An Alabama Gold Star Mother’s Pilgrimage to France
By Scotty E. Kirkland
Numerous young Americans perished on European battlefields in World War I, creating all too many Gold Star families. Today, the French countryside remains dotted with numerous American military cemeteries; during the war, however, the pain of a family’s loss was deepened by not being able to bury their young servicemen. After the war’s conclusion, the U.S. government waged a massive effort to send mothers of fallen military personnel to France to see their sons’ final resting places. The Alabama Department of Archives and History holds valuable artifacts from the pilgrimage of Louella Walters, one Gold Star mother from Alabama. Archivist Scotty Kirkland explores these items, uncovering a poignant and moving experience shared by all too many of America’s mothers.
Adventures in Genealogy
Pandemic Peril for Archives and Special Collections
By Steve Murray
The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked immeasurable havoc on many aspects of life, including, of course, causing massive loss of life itself. One lesser-known consequence of the pandemic is the reduced funding and resource allocation to archives and special collections facilities nationwide. Alabama facilities have not been spared from such hardship, which jeopardizes the viability and preservation of significant historical and genealogical records. Concerned citizens can contribute to advocacy and preservation of such important collections using the steps outlined in this article.
Reading the Southern Past
The Historic American Building Survey in Alabama
Thanks to the Historic American Building Survey (HABS), we have records of many historic structures from significant periods in the nation’s history. This quarter’s installment of “Reading the Southern Past” traces texts that connect to these records, including Alabama Architecture: Looking At Building and Place, with text by Alice Meriwether Bowsher and photographs by M. Lewis Kennedy Jr. (University of Alabama Press, 2001) and two texts by Robert Gamble: Alabama Catalog: Historic American Building Survey, A Guide to the Early Architecture of the State (University of Alabama Press, 1987) and Historic Architecture in Alabama: A Guide to Styles and Types, 1810–1930 (University of Alabama Press, 1990)
