Issue 93, Summer 2009

The image you provided is the cover of the “Alabama Heritage” magazine, issue number 93, from Summer 2009. The cover features a photograph of an individual playing the saxophone. The person’s face is obscured with a beige rectangle for privacy reasons. They wear a hat and appear to be in mid-performance, holding the saxophone up to their mouth as if they are blowing into it. The background is dark, contrasting with the golden hue of the saxophone, which serves as the focal point. The cover includes the following text: “ALABAMA HERITAGE” in large white letters at the top. At the bottom, additional text reads: “PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA, THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM, AND THE ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY.” This image captures a moment of musical performance and heritage from Alabama. It’s interesting because it represents an aspect of cultural history related to the state and showcases the significance of music in that heritage.

Issue 93, Summer 2009

On the cover: W. C. Handy had to make music, no matter what. [W. C. Handy Home, Museum, and Library]

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Features

The image depicts a cemetery with various types of grave markers, including headstones, monuments, and urn-shaped vases. The scene is adorned with trees, their branches draped in Spanish moss, creating a serene and somewhat aged ambiance. This setting could be relevant for discussions on history, culture, funerary art, or the natural beauty of such places.
Selma’s Live Oak Cemetery [Robin McDonald]

Where the Dead Speak: Black Belt Cemeteries and their Stories 

By Thomas C. Ware

Although often viewed simply as monuments to the past, cemeteries are actually a treasure trove of information about the lives and customs of people and their communities. Alabama’s Black Belt cemeteries prove no exception. Exploring them reveals a great deal about Alabama communities. From Eutaw to Demopolis, Dayton to Marion and Selma, Alabama’s cemeteries hold important lessons about the wartime customs, religious beliefs, and social practices of Alabamians.

The Sacking of Athens and the Souring of ‘Civil’ War

By Thomas Ress 

In May 1862, after repeated struggles, the Union occupied Athens, Alabama. Led by Colonel John Basil Turchin, the troops inflicted considerable damage on the town, but the exact cause of that damage remains disputed. Some witnesses claimed that Turchin gave his men explicit permission to plunder Athens as revenge for earlier Union defeats. However, when the charges were formalized in a trial, presided over by future President James A. Garfield, evidence against Turchin proved conflicted. Turchin’s punishment reflected a growing leniency toward “war crimes” and led to a shift in the attitudes of citizens on both sides of the war. It soon became much more violent than “civil.”

The image depicts a black and white photograph of an individual standing with arms crossed. The person wears a military-style uniform with buttons down the front and has a bandaged left hand.
Brig. Gen. Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel helped lead the southern thrust of Buell’s Army of the Ohio. [Library of Congress]

The Making of a Blues Legend 

By Daphne Pruitt

Growing up in Florence, William Christopher Handy had little hope of pursuing a career as a professional musician. His parents insisted that music interfered with religion, and other adults in Handy’s life disparaged what was often perceived as the wild lifestyle of musicians. Despite the hardships he faced, Handy was determined to make music his career, and he worked diligently to achieve this dream, traveling throughout the South to learn and practice his trade. Along the way, he found love, earned a following, created a new genre of music, and established himself as the “Father of the Blues.”

The photograph depicts an individual sitting and engrossed in reading a book or magazine. The title “Geo. P. Bent Mfg. Co.” is visible on the cover, suggesting a connection to the George P. Bent Company, known for manufacturing pianos and other musical instruments. The faces of this person and another individual standing in the background are pixelated, likely for privacy reasons. The setting appears to be an older office or study room, with what seems like a wall-mounted telephone visible in the background. This historical context adds interest for those studying artifacts from that era.
W.C. Handy. [W.C. Handy Home, Museum, and Library]
The image depicts a sepia-toned photograph of an individual sitting on a large sack or bag. The person wears a button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves, trousers, and suspenders. Wooden chairs in the background suggest an old-fashioned or historical context.
Fob James as Rob Warwick in “Stark Love”
[Helen Mundy/Donald Ramlow Collection]

Hollywood’s Reluctant Star: Forrest James

By John White 

In 1926 Forrest James was a student athlete at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, the future Auburn University, when he was spotted and asked to star in a Hollywood movie. The film, Stark Love, premiered to great acclaim, making its mark as one of the last films in the silent movie era. Its star, too, had great appeal, and was even offered a Hollywood contract. Interestingly, Hollywood never acknowledged the reality of James’s life, and advertisements for Stark Love touted him as an Appalachian Mountain man who made one movie then retreated back into the hills. In reality, James, influenced by his mother, turned his back on Hollywood and returned to his native land of Alabama, where he became one of the most successful multi-sport athletes at API and established himself as a successful businessman and community member.

Departments

The image depicts the interior of a rustic wooden structure, possibly a small chapel or meeting hall. The walls and arched ceiling are constructed from exposed logs, creating a cozy, cabin-like atmosphere. Rows of wooden pews with cushioned seats face the front, where a simple wooden table stands—likely serving as an altar or podium. Natural light filters in through windows and an open skylight, illuminating the space. Overall, it reflects a traditional and perhaps historical approach to communal spaces, emphasizing natural materials and simplicity.
The Shoal Creek Church has never been wired for electricity. [Robin McDonald]

Southern Architecture and Preservation

Shoal Creek Church

By Joseph M. Jones

Standing in the Talladega National Forest, the Shoal Creek Baptist Church offers an example of a late eighteenth-century rural sanctuary. Built over a hundred years ago, the log structure remains under the care of descendents of its original parishioners, who work to preserve and protect this monument to their ancestors’ spiritual heritage. Although no longer a practicing church, the structure is used for occasional worship services, Boy Scout events, weddings, and reunions. The primitive building remains one of the forest’s best-kept secrets—a structure that reminds passersby of the importance of preserving the remnants of our past. 

It appears to be an old, sepia-toned photograph featuring a couple. The person on the left is wearing a dark suit with a bow tie and is seated. The person on the right is dressed in a light-colored gown with a veil, suggesting wedding attire, and is also seated. The photograph has rough, uneven edges and shows signs of age with spots and discoloration throughout.
Mr. and Mrs. William Morgan, 1852. [Ernest Dollar]

Alabama Treasures

The Shoemaker and His Bride: The Story Behind a Picture

By Ernest Dollar

An antique photograph of a couple on their wedding day led its purchaser to uncover the story of Montevallo’s Mr. and Mrs. William Morgan. A shoemaker by trade, William Morgan left his wife and child to serve in the Confederacy, was wounded in the Battle of Antietam, and became a Union prisoner before finally returning home to his family. Throughout it all, this photograph served as a precious and rare memento, reminding his wife of her beloved while he was at war.

The Nature Journal

Roadside Stories

By L. J. Davenport

Decades ago the Alabama Historical Association began to post markers at historic sites along Alabama’s roadways, making a car ride an education in the Alabama past. Erected now by several different agencies throughout the state, the markers reflect how historical interests and cultural values evolve over time.

The image you uploaded depicts a close-up of a small flower. It features four brownish petals surrounding a prominent green center, likely the pistil. The background is a blurred green, suggesting a natural setting. The intricate details of the flower’s reproductive parts are beautifully captured in this image.
The story of the wildflower Croomia combines death, prolonged litigation, and the founding of the Confederacy. [W. Mike Howell]
The image you uploaded depicts the cover of a book titled “The Pen Makes a Good Sword: John Forsyth of the Mobile Register.” The cover features a sepia-toned photograph of an individual sitting on a chair, with their face obscured by a beige rectangle—presumably to maintain privacy or anonymity. The title text appears in an elegant script font at the top, and the author’s name, Lonnie A. Burnett, is displayed at the bottom in a smaller, plain font.
The image you uploaded depicts the cover of a book titled “A Southern Moderate in Radical Times: Henry Washington Hilliard, 1808-1892” by David I. Durham. The cover features a portrait of a man in vintage clothing typical of the 19th century, with his face obscured by a gray rectangular block. The background has an ornate design that suggests the setting is from an earlier historical period. This image is relevant for those interested in American history, specifically regarding figures who played roles during times of significant change or conflict, such as the Civil War era.
Josiah Nott of Mobile

Reading the Southern Past

Injustice Rendered: Leo Frank and the “Scottsboro Boys” 

By Stephen Goldfarb

Stephen Goldfarb reviews biographies of lesser-known but historically significant Alabamians: John Forsyth, Henry Hilliard, and Josiah Nott. The Pen Makes a Good Sword: John Forsyth of the Mobile Register (University of Alabama Press, 2006), by Lonnie A. Burnett, follows Forsyth’s influential career as a newspaper editor who helped shape public opinion in the years surrounding the Civil War. A Southern Moderate in Radical Times: Henry Washington Hilliard, 1808–1892 (Louisiana State University Press, 2008), by David I. Durham, follows the life of Forsyth’s contemporary, Henry Hilliard, a state representative, lawyer, and minister from Montgomery. Reginald Horsman’s Josiah Nott of Mobile: Southerner, Physician, and Racial Theorist (Louisiana State University Press, 1987) follows Nott, an ethnologist whose scientific hypotheses about the origins of disease proved much more accurate than his opinions on race. Each of these biographies helps rescue its subject from the anonymity of the past.

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