Issue 82, Fall 2006

The image features the cover of a magazine titled “ALABAMA HERITAGE” with the issue number “SUMMER 2016” and a price tag of “SIX DOLLARS.” The main focus of the cover is a photograph of an antique ceramic vase with two handles. The vase has a cream or light beige color with some darker spots and streaks, suggesting age or the firing process used in its creation. On its surface, there is a large inscription that reads “1851,” indicating either the year it was made or another significant date related to the vase. The text at the bottom indicates that this publication is “PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AND THE ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY.”

Issue 82, Fall 2006

On the cover: Robert Ussery’s grandson, Masten Faulkner, made this jar on 1859. [Photo by M. Sean Pathasema. Courtesy the Birmingham Museum of Art]

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Features

The image depicts an older model revolver resting on a plain, light-colored background. The revolver features a metal frame, a wooden grip, and a visible cylinder capable of holding multiple rounds of ammunition. It also has a trigger and a hammer at the back. Unfortunately, there are no markings or text to identify its specific make or model.
This .44-caliber Kerr revolver was manufactured in England and shipped through the blockade. [Alabama Department of Archives and History/Fouts Photography]

Privation and Pride: Life in Blockaded Alabama

By Jessica Fordham Kidd

When President Lincoln issued his blockade proclamation in April 1861, the Union navy had a thirty-five-hundred-mile shoreline to blockade. Although many Confederate blockade runners were able to break through the Union patrols, the blockade caused shortages of many everyday necessities. Clothing, food, and household supplies became very expensive and scarce. The people of the blockaded South had to use inventiveness and perseverance to survive. Parthenia Antoinette Hague’s memoir, A Blockaded Family: Life in Southern Alabama During the Civil War, is a meticulous record of how Southerners adapted to the blockade and invented substitutes for hard-to-find household goods. Hague describes how the people in her community developed substitutes for things like coffee, sugar, and baking soda. She details the efforts of women to clothe and shoe their families and illustrates the methods of conservation and recycling that helped people make the most of what they had during the lean blockade years.

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A Heritage in Clay: The Lineage of Robert Ussery

By Joey Brackner

Explore the interwoven genealogies of Alabama’s Southern folk pottery tradition through the lineage of Robert Ussery, whose pottery legacy has grown steadily with his family tree. For over two centuries, descendants of Ussery have remained true to the conventions of folk pottery while adapting the art to meet the varying needs of consumers. From essentials of the home, such as churns and chamber pots in the early 1800s, to present-day face jugs and ornamental ware, the line of Ussery potters has truly seen the full spectrum of the tradition realized.

Based on Joey Brackner’s Alabama Folk Pottery (University of Alabama Press, 2006). 

The image depicts a single, weathered ceramic pot resting on a rough asphalt surface. The pot exhibits signs of age, with a patina that could be mineral deposits or general wear. Its wide opening tapers slightly toward the base, and visible horizontal ridges encircle its textured surface. Two small holes near the base suggest drainage. The background is nondescript, emphasizing the pot’s appearance.
Sol Ham’s early pieces were completed with an alkaline glaze. [Ed Conerly]

Ground Zero in the Fire Ant Wars

By Joshua Blu Buhs

The fire ant is an icon of the South just like sweet tea and red dirt. However, the tiny denizen, with its mounds growing cancerously out of lawns and gardens from Texas to Virginia, was not always a local. Surprisingly, the insect was not even heard of in Alabama until the 1930s, when it entered the country through the port of Mobile, fleeing the flooded regions of its native Argentina. Its flaming sting, swarming proliferation, and perfect adaptability to adverse conditions quickly alarmed the State Conservation Department, which launched an odyssey of extermination that Joshua Buhs has dubbed “The Fire Ant Wars.” Solutions, from pesticide to imported natural enemies, have been attempted in vain, and the wily foe, Solenopsis invicta, continues to thrive.

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The image displays a close-up of an ant, revealing intricate details of its anatomy. The ant is positioned laterally, with its head turned slightly towards the camera. Notable features include its mandibles, antennae, compound eyes, and segmented body (head, thorax, and abdomen). The exoskeleton texture and fine hairs are visible. The ant appears to grasp a small white object with its mandibles. A scale bar below indicates 1 mm, providing a size reference. This image offers a unique perspective on the ant’s physical characteristics.
Solenopsis Invicta. [April Noble]
The image depicts a two-story building with classical architectural features. The central tower-like structure has arched windows on the second floor, flanked by large green window shutters. The first floor features double doors, above which there’s a balcony supported by four columns with Corinthian capitals. The facade is light beige, and steps lead up to the entrance.
The John Drish House, Tuscaloosa. [Robin McDonald]

Places in Peril 2006: Alabama’s Endangered Historic Landmarks

By Melanie Betz Gregory and Ellen Mertins

This annual collaboration between the Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Preservation Alliance once again brings the state’s threatened landmarks to the forefront. This year’s list includes historic homes in Ashville, Talladega, Huntsville, Montgomery, and Anniston, along with nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century barns statewide. The “Victorianized” John Ash House, one of the oldest buildings in St. Clair County, and the distinctive Lewis Young “Red Roof” House in Dadeville found their way onto the Places in Peril list this year. Fort Cusseta, the Old Judicial Building, the Drish House, and Seymour Bluff Archeological Site also help round out the list of endangered historic places for 2006.

Departments

Alabama Mysteries

The Brasher-Dye Disappearance

By Pam Jones

Brothers Billy Howard and Robert Earl Dye and their older cousin, Dan Brasher, disappeared mysteriously one rainy night in 1947. They left a relative’s house in the rural backwoods of Jefferson County, bound for a party and were never seen or heard from again. Perhaps they were murdered at the party or in one of the many natural caves of the region. Their disappearance was most likely related to the numerous illegal moonshine distilleries in the area. Now, more than fifty years after the three vanished, theirs is the oldest active case for the Jefferson County Cold Case Squad. Where did their bodies end up? Down the shaft of a coal mine? In an unmarked grave at a local cemetery? Pam Jones explores the many strange possibilities of this Alabama mystery.

The image features an individual holding a framed photograph. The person wears a cap and a dark-colored jacket with visible buttons. In the held photograph, two figures stand side by side in an outdoor setting with foliage in the background. The relevance or interest may lie in the meta aspect of a photograph within a photograph and possibly in the historical or personal significance of the individuals depicted.
Curtis Brasher holds a picture of his cousins Billy Howard Dye and Robert Earl Dye. [E.W. Scripps Company]

Nature Journal

Bioblitz: The Walls of Jericho

By L. J. Davenport

Professor Larry Davenport descended into the Hurricane Creek Canyon with a team of fellow naturalists to explore the Walls of Jericho. It was an effort by the State Lands Division to “blitzkrieg” the biology of this Forever Wild tract: 12,510 Alabama acres adjoining 8,943 in Tennessee. The goal: identify as many species of wildlife possible and gain a greater appreciation of Davy Crockett’s old stomping grounds.

The image depicts an individual standing in a lush forested area. They wear a plaid shirt and khaki pants, holding a yellow bag and a walking stick. The person appears to be touching or pointing at something on a moss-covered rock face. The surroundings are filled with various shades of green foliage. It’s a serene scene, perfect for discussions related to ecology, botany, or hiking.
Curtis Hansen searches for lichen. [L.J. Davenport]
The vintage photograph depicts an individual wearing a hat and a suit with a high collar. The text below reads “Williams” and “Florence, Ala.,” indicating the photographer or studio name and the location (Florence, Alabama).
Florence City Marshal William Edward Blair. [Lee Freeman]

Alabama Folkways

The Legend of “Mountain” Tom Clark

By Lee Freeman

In the turbulent years following the Civil War, murderous gangs of guerillas and bushwhackers terrorized the Alabama countryside. Composed of enlisted men and deserters from both the Union and Confederate armies, these men were loyal to neither side, only out for power and personal profit. Of these gangs, the most feared was the Clifton Shebang, known to Lauderdale County residents as “the Buggers.” Lee Freeman tells the story of the most notorious of these men, “Mountain” Tom Clark, deserter, highwayman, and vagabond, whose terrorism, capture, and burial are the stuff of Alabama legend.

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