We're excited to announce our newest additions to the Alabama Heritage team. Join us in welcoming our three editorial assistants, McKenzie Knight, Madisen Krapf, and Izzy Piper.
In 2008, when I began working at Alabama Heritage as a student, I was assigned an article to fact check and prepare for publication. While gathering possible images for the story, I was told that anything I chose might not be “Robin McDonald approved.” A few days into production of the summer issue, I received a phone call—my first of many over the years—from Robin. After our conversation, he hung up and phoned our editor at that time, Donna Cox Baker, and said, “I think she’ll work out well.” Even better, he approved the images I’d chosen—well, most of them. [TUSCALOOSA, ALA., JANUARY 2024] — Actress Lucille Benson left her hometown of Scottsboro to find fame and fortune, becoming one of the most well-known character actresses of her time. Best known for her roles on the The New Andy Griffith Show, Little Fauss and Big Halsy, and Mame, Benson became a household name. Summer 2023 Issue of Alabama Heritage Looks at the 1953 Polio Epidemic in Montgomery County7/12/2023
[TUSCALOOSA, ALA., JULY 2023] — In early 1953, as the Polio outbreak was quickly making its way through Montgomery County, medical officials hoped to stave off the epidemic with gamma globulin, inoculating more than 30,000 young people. In the Summer 2023 Issue of Alabama Heritage, author Keith Krawczynski looks at the medical and public response to the epidemic. [TUSCALOOSA, ALA., April 2023] — The Spring 2023 issue of Alabama Heritage magazine highlights the Renaissance of Mobile, Alabama, from the 1920s to the 1960s. For nearly forty years, the city of Mobile experienced an artistic and cultural flourishing that encompassed visual art, architecture, literature, and, of course, carnival. [TUSCALOOSA, ALA., July 2022] — The Summer 2022 issue of Alabama Heritage magazine features the Southern Vintage Fire Apparatus Association, and its collection of historic fire engines. Author and photographer Ken Boyd explores how fire engines evolved since the 19th century, while sharing tales of how people would combat fires throughout the South. Alabama Heritage welcomes Caroline Gazzara-McKenzie to its team as its new marketing and digital media manager, replacing Rebecca Todd Minder who was promoted to director of the magazine. Caroline earned her bachelor's degree in sports journalism in 2016 and master's in international journalism in 2019 from The University of Alabama. She has worked for several publications, including UA's Alumni magazine; several newspapers, including The Tuscaloosa News; and most recently was a communications specialist for The University of Alabama's Strategic Communications division. As a self-proclaimed "military brat," Caroline states that she has moved more times than she can count, but each experience has left an impression. She fell in love with the state of Alabama after seeing the community come together after the April 2011 tornado during her college visit in May 2011. Caroline has lived in Tuscaloosa for 10 years and is deeply invested in learning more about the history of Alabama.
Alabama Heritage has faced many changes recently, with the retirement of two key team members, promotions of the three of us who remain on staff, and a physical move of our offices back to the University of Alabama’s main campus. As we step into our new roles, we are mindful of and grateful for the opportunities before us, including our treasured relationship with you. Though all three of us have worked for the magazine for many years (more than 40 years combined), we still appreciate the enormous responsibility of bringing stories of Alabama’s history to you each quarter. Every issue allows all of us to open ourselves up to new ideas, reflect on the past, and, as a result, imagine a new possible future for our state.
Winter 2022 Issue of Alabama Heritage Features Alabama Native and World Champion Box Joe Louis1/14/2022 Born in 1914 into a family of sharecroppers on Buckalew Mountain in Chambers County, Alabama, Joe Louis Barrow went on to become one of the world’s most celebrated boxers. Acclaimed storyteller Dot Moore looks past the gloves and reveals the storied life of a man born to a humble family, served during World War II, recalls the time the family faced the Ku Klux Klan. More than one hundred years after his birth, Chambers County commemorated its storied son by commissioning, installing, and dedicating a statue of him on the courthouse lawn. |
|