Issue 97, Summer 2010

The image appears to be the cover of a magazine titled “ALABAMA HERITAGE.” The sepia-toned historical photograph features two individuals. One individual wears a patterned shirt and overalls, while the other person is dressed in a white shirt. They seem to be engaged in an activity or observing something outside the frame. The text at the bottom indicates that the magazine is published by The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Issue 97, Summer 2010

On the cover: Hanna Brown played Scout in Monroeville’s 2005 season of To Kill a Mockingbird. [Monroe County Heritage Museum/photo by M. A. Battilana]

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Features

The image you uploaded depicts the cover of the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. The cover features a silhouette of a tree with green leaves against a red background. This iconic book addresses serious social issues and is widely studied and acclaimed.

Universal Values: The Enduring Legacy of To Kill a Mockingbird

By Wayne Flynt

In conjunction with the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Harper Lee’s bestselling book To Kill a Mockingbird, noted historian Wayne Flynt revisits the novel, considering its famous characters, its private and reserved author, and its prodigious effect on readers worldwide. Today, the book remains one of the most frequently read texts of our time, likely because of its continued relevance and its treatment of the timeless themes of morality, justice, and growing up. Despite its popularity, the book has incited some controversy for its treatment of race and questions concerning its authorship. Flynt skillfully traces the novel’s creation, explores the depths of its message, and reviews the reception it has received through the last half-century, detailing the multi-faceted issues surrounding this complex and compelling text.

Ashville: Old, New, and Lovely

By Margaret Clevenger

Tucked about an hour’s drive from Birmingham, the historic city of Ashville remains one of Alabama’s lesser-known treasures. First settled by Native Americans, Ashville takes its name from its first white residents, the John Ash family. Over the generations, the city has struggled to maintain its relevance in an increasingly modernized and urbanized world, but today, Ashville boasts a lovely balance of the historic and the contemporary. Margaret Clevenger recounts the city’s history and the ways its inhabitants are creating a modern city while retaining the small-town charm of Ashville’s historic past.

The image depicts a white building with classical architectural features, including a triangular pediment supported by columns. In front of the building stands a statue on a pedestal.
The St. Clair County Courthouse. [Robin McDonald]
The image depicts an individual standing in front of a biplane, wearing a flight jacket and goggles. The attire suggests that the individual is a pilot, and the presence of the biplane indicates this could be from an earlier era of aviation, which may be interesting for historical or aviation-related studies.
Future Pacific Theater ace Edward Cragg. [Edward E. Cragg]

Alabama’s Airfields: Remnants of a Forgotten Landscape

By Thomas V. Ress

As America entered the Second World War, it experienced a dramatic increase in its need for military personnel—and in places to train those personnel. Thanks to its location, Alabama hosted numerous military training facilities, particularly airfields. Author Thomas Ress chronicles these airfields and their effects on the war effort and on Alabama itself. Although many of the facilities no longer remain active, they helped shape the outcome of the war, the landscape of our state, and even the lifestyles of some of its people. The influx of military personnel often caused quite a stir in Alabama’s towns, and Ress explores the lasting connections some visitors forged with the state and its residents.

The image depicts a two-story building with white walls, a balcony on the upper floor, and black shutters on the windows. The front door is white, and there’s a small white picket fence in front of the building. Three flags hang from the balcony, and several trees surround the area. The sky appears clear, suggesting it might be a sunny day. This image could be relevant for discussions about architecture, history, or cultural heritage sites.
The Ellicott Stone marks the boundary between the United States and Spanish West Florida. [Alabama Department of Archives and History]

Soldiers and Captives, Boarders and Brides: The Many Lives of Condé Charlotte

By Laura Jane Rogers and Elizabeth Wade

Situated near Fort Condé, Mobile’s Condé Charlotte Museum House boasts a complex and often mysterious history. In 1957 the National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of Alabama purchased the house and began efforts to restore and preserve it. Eventually, they opened the site as a museum of Mobile’s history. However, along the way, preservationists realized that the house’s history held more layers than originally thought. Researchers know the house has been used as a residence, an office, and a boarding house. However, archaeologists have also found evidence to suggest that some part of the structure may once have formed a city jail, and it possibly even constituted part of a magazine for nearby Fort Condé. Laura Rogers and Elizabeth Wade explore the mysteries surrounding this fascinating historical treasure, and archaeologist Bonnie Gums details the current research being conducted on the site. 

Departments

The image you uploaded depicts a historic church building known as the Antioch Baptist Church, established in 1886. The architecture features a white exterior with a pointed steeple and arched windows. In front of the church, there is a group of people gathered, possibly indicating a community or congregation associated with the church. A sign in front of the building confirms its historical significance and name.
This architectural illustration consolidated local support for the restoration of Antioch Baptist Church. [Thomas Kaufmann]

Southern Architecture and Preservation

Preserving African American Historic Places: Alabama’s Black Heritage Council

By Frazine Taylor and Dorothy Walker

Since 1984 the Alabama Historical Commission’s Black Heritage Council has labored to preserve and promote the state’s significant sites in African American history. In addition to its educational efforts, the council has helped preserve and recognize the 1965 Voting Rights Trail, Alabama’s African American churches, and the state’s black colleges and universities. 

Becoming Alabama

Quarter by Quarter

By Joseph W. Pearson, Megan L. Bever, and Matthew Downs

Joseph Pearson explores the government’s delicate but essential negotiations to build a Federal Road on Creek land to facilitate trade and military troop movements. Megan Bever looks at the walkout of southern delegates to the Democratic National Convention in 1860, when the group declined a platform to defend slavery rights in new U.S. territories. Finally, Matthew Downs examines the aftermath of student protests in Montgomery and the rise of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

The image you uploaded is a black and white photograph of an individual from the chest up. The individual is wearing what appears to be a 19th-century style suit with a bow tie and a white shirt.
John Anthony Winston Alabama’s first native-born governor. [Alabama Department of Archives and History]
The image you uploaded is a black and white photograph featuring a group of individuals.
Patrick H. Mell, Jr. and his Auburn colleagues. [Auburn University Archives]

The Natural Journal

Mell Versus Mohr: The Great Botanical Iron Bowl of 1896

By L. J. Davenport

Naturalist Larry Davenport weaves an entertaining and informative tale of the rivalry of two botanists, Charles T. Mohr and Patrick H. Mell. One held a PhD; the other was a freshman student. One had ties to the University of Alabama; the other attended Auburn’s Agricultural and Mechanical College. When both men produced chronicles of Alabama’s plant life, the ensuing controversy produced an intensity normally reserved for the gridiron.

The image you uploaded appears to show a person wearing a suit with a tie. The hairstyle seems to be short and possibly curly or afro-textured.
Cleo Thomas, the first African American SGA president at the University of Alabama [W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, University of Alabama]

Alabama Oral History Project

Cleo Thomas Remembers

By Daniel Menestres

This quarter the Alabama Oral History Project visits with Cleo Thomas of Anniston. Thomas, the first African American SGA President at the University of Alabama, recounts his election to that office and updates readers on the subsequent stages of his life. 

The image you uploaded features the book cover of “Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief” by James M. McPherson. The cover displays a historical photograph from the Civil War era, with Abraham Lincoln at the center. The subtitle suggests that the book explores Lincoln’s role as a leader during that tumultuous period.
The image you uploaded appears to be the cover of a book titled “Jefferson Davis and the Civil War Era” by William J. Cooper, Jr. The cover features a portrait. This book could be relevant for those interested in American history, specifically regarding Jefferson Davis’s role during the Civil War era.

Reading the Southern Past

Lincoln and Davis: New Examinations

By Stephen Goldfarb

In his latest review, Stephen Goldfarb considers the Civil War’s great leaders. Tried By War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief (Penguin Press, 2008) by James M. McPherson presents the effects of the war on Lincoln’s presidency. In Jefferson Davis and the Civil War Era (Louisiana State University Press, 2008), William J. Cooper follows Davis’s preparation for war and performance in it. Taken together, these texts offer a compelling counterpoint, revealing intimate glimpses of the men who led America’s divided populace. 

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