Issue 68, Spring 2003

The image appears to be a cover of a magazine or brochure titled “ALABAMA HERITAGE.” Here are the key elements: Title: “ALABAMA HERITAGE” is displayed prominently at the top in bold white letters. Photograph: A framed black and white photograph features two individuals in military uniforms. The style suggests an earlier era. Medals: Two military medals are positioned below the photograph. One resembles a Purple Heart, recognizable by its purple and gold colors. Insignia/Patch: To the left of the medals, there’s an insignia or patch with yellow and black stripes. The overall theme seems to honor military heritage, possibly focusing on individuals from Alabama who served. The text “ALABAMA HERITAGE” is also present on the cover.

Issue 68, Spring 2003

On the cover: Ia Drang survivor, Jim Lawrence, treasures this photo with best friend Don Cornett above all other Vietnam mementos. [Photograph by Robin McDonald]

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Features

Foreground: A large stockpile of logs and lumber is scattered across an open area. Some pieces are organized in stacks. A wooden walkway or dock extends through the lumber area. Background: Several industrial buildings with varying architectural designs are visible. These buildings feature arched windows and gabled roofs. The skyline is dominated by tall smokestacks emitting smoke against a clear sky. Atmosphere: The scene captures the essence of heavy industrialization, with manufacturing and resource processing facilities in operation. Notable Absences: There are no visible people or moving machinery, giving the scene a static appearance.
This breathtaking view from the west includes the furnaces in the background, the casting sheds projecting forward, and its the foreground iron ingots everywhere, stacked like cordwood, awaiting their turn to be loaded onto railroad cars, shipped, and probably made into cast-iron pipe. [Historic American Buildings Survey, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress]

The Making and Unmaking of The Woodward Iron Company

By Michael W. Fazio

Today, from the interstate in Birmingham you can still see remains of the Woodward Iron Company, which was founded in 1881 and didn’t cease production until 1973. Michael Fazio tells the story of the Woodward family who created the company that would be called the “most vertically integrated ironmaking system on Earth.” The Woodward Iron Company was founded by Stimpson Harvey Woodward, an ironmaker from Massachusetts, and its dynasty was born in 1882 when the first mine was opened on Red Mountain. A virtual boomtown followed: miles of railroad track, four locomotives, fifty railroad cars, sixty-three single coke ovens, eighty double coke ovens, and housing for over a thousand employees, all of which later became the town of Woodward.

Michael Fazio describes the rise of the Woodward Iron Company throughout the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth, a rise that contributed to a national iron industry that overtook England as the world’s leading producer of the metal. The iron boom couldn’t last forever, though, and as the company moved into the early 1900s, iron prices dropped, and everyone in the industry suffered. This included the Woodwards, who lost millions of dollars before the Great Depression. The story of the Woodward Iron Company is as much about the Woodward family and their struggles as it is about the rise and fall of the iron industry in Alabama.

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The image is a black and white photograph featuring two individuals in military uniforms. The individual on the left is wearing a name tag on their right chest and has no visible insignia or badges. The individual on the right has a pair of binoculars hanging around their neck and appears to have a badge or patch on their left arm, although details are not clear. Both individuals have short haircuts that are typical for military personnel. There is a structure in the background with indistinct features, possibly part of a military facility or ship due to its metallic appearance and rivets.
Jim Lawrence and Don Cornett
[Jim Lawrence]

The Lost Battalion of the Ia Drang

By Philip D. Beidler

Mel Gibson was praised for his performance as U.S. Army Lieutenant General Harold Moore in last year’s blockbuster We Were Soldiers, based on Hal Moore’s book We Were Soldiers Once…and Young. In it, Moore describes the first vicious, but victorious, days of fighting in the Ia Drang valley of Vietnam. Philip Beidler’s article picks up where the movie left off, telling the story of a tragic, terrifying ambush–a story that would never be fit for the silver screen. At the center of the horror of the battle was a twenty-four-year-old lieutenant from Troy, Alabama, named Jim Lawrence.

Phil Beidler tells Jim’s first-person account of what it was like to be in the middle of an enemy ambush. Jim Lawrence survived being shot point blank in the head and left for dead. He was rescued, and after he recovered from this injury, he went back to Vietnam to finish out his term in the army. Lawrence’s story is one of personal victory set in the larger context of the victory of an outnumbered group of young soldiers who refused defeat in their first experience with combat.

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Great and Illustrious Work: The 1930 Olmsted Plan for the Alabama Capitol

By Mary Walton Upchurch

In the 1930s Alabama’s capitol underwent a transformation. As Governor Bibb Graves completed his final term in office, he could watch with satisfaction the changes he had brought to the state capitol. Once just a building, Alabama’s capitol was becoming a stately urban center. Governor Bibb had sought out the Olmsted Brothers—whose famous father had designed Central Park in New York City and the “Emerald Necklace” of parks in Boston—to design a plan for the new capitol. Mary Walton Upchurch walks through various aspects of the Olmsted Plan and points out its unique and creative design for the capitol. Although the Olmsted Plan wasn’t used in its entirety, the influence of this famous landscape architecture firm can be seen in several of the buildings and in the beautiful grounds that surround Capitol Hill.

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The image appears to be an aerial black and white photograph of a structured urban area. In the center, there’s a prominent circular area with what seems to be a monument or statue. Surrounding this central feature are several large buildings with classical architectural designs, including one with a dome and another resembling an ancient Greek or Roman temple with columns. The layout suggests this might be an institutional or governmental complex. Beyond this central arrangement, the rest of the image shows densely packed residential areas with numerous trees interspersed throughout, indicating that this might be an older, established neighborhood. There are no visible signs of modern skyscrapers or industrial zones, which could suggest that the photo was taken in the mid-20th century or earlier.
Alabama’s capitol complex, c. 1947. [Alabama Department of Archives and History]

Departments

The image appears to be a black and white photograph depicting three characters in costumes on a stage. On the left, there’s a character dressed in a costume that resembles an anthropomorphic dog, bending forward slightly as if interacting with the central object. In the middle, there’s an object that appears to be a large, ornate carriage or vehicle with details resembling that of a vintage car; it has what looks like wheels and intricate designs on its body. Inside this carriage-like object, there are two more characters who are less discernible due to their position and the reflective surface of the carriage’s enclosure. On the right side of the image stands another character dressed in an outfit with polka dots and wearing a mask with large ears, possibly representing another anthropomorphic animal or clown-like figure; this character has arms raised as if in mid-gesture or dance. The image shows costumed characters, possibly from an old theatrical production or film, which makes it interesting due to its vintage nature and because it provides insight into past entertainment styles and costume design.
The winning perfonnance of 1945 was Purple’s “Speak of the Devil, or Ye Gods,” in which Pluto and five of his dainty imps inspired idle gods to lethargy. In the end, Pluto was sent back to the underworld. [Courtesy the University of Montevallo]

Art in the South

For Purple and Gold: College Night at the University of Montevallo

By Cynthia Shackelford

As University of Montevallo alumni from all over the country converge on the campus each February for Homecoming, they come neither for gridiron heroics nor for tailgate parties; they come for the show–two original, student-produced, musical theater productions–and an internecine rivalry without peer.

Recollections

Mildred Carter: Tuskegee Airwoman

By Michael Sznajderman

Mildred Carter learned to fly alongside many of the famous Tuskegee Airmen as a member of the short-lived Civilian Pilot Training Program, an initiative designed to train undergraduates to become civilian pilots on the eve of World War II. She earned her pilot’s license mere months before women were banned from the CPTP in the face of the oncoming war. Though the race- and gender-based discrimination prevented Mildred from using her pilot’s skills on behalf of the war effort, aviation would always be central to Mildred’s life, and–together with her husband, Herbert Carter–she is often honored at events honoring the Tuskegee Airmen. 

The image presented is a black and white photograph of an individual, presumably from a past era given the style of the image. The individual appears to be wearing a dark-colored jacket with a light-colored, pointed collar that stands out against the darker fabric. On the left side of the jacket, there is a visible button or pin. The hair is styled in waves or curls that frame the head and extend down past the shoulders.
Mildred Carter learned to fly alongside many of the famous Tuskegee Airmen. [Courtesy Mildred Carter]
Cell Arrangement: The structure resembles a honeycomb pattern, with variously sized, closely packed cells. In the center, there’s a circular area with smaller, densely packed cells—likely the vascular bundle responsible for transport within the plant. Surrounding this are larger cells with more space between them, possibly part of the cortex or pith of the stem. Color Variation: The coloration varies from pale yellow to darker areas, which could indicate different cell types or states.
The Helicopsyche Actual size: 1/8 inch [W. Mike Howell]

Nature Journal

Helicopsyche

By L.J. Davenport

The Helicopsyche is a snail-mimicking, caddisfly larva; it performs a variety of vital functions in the rivers and streams of Alabama–grazing on submerged rocks and logs, catching and shredding decomposing leaves, piercing plant stems to sup their sap, and preying on smaller creatures. L.J. Davenport discusses the Helicopsyche life-cycle, as well as inquiring into the nature and purpose of its shell.

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