The Jackson County Chronicles
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ISSN-1071-2348 January 2019 The Jackson County Chronicles Volume 31, Number 1 In this issue: • A Review of the First Ever Cedar January Program: Back by popular Hill Cemetery Stroll: A look at the demand: General Grant?? Did I hear that people who made our first right? Yes, Dr. Curtis Fields last cemetery walk a success. impersonated the Union general at the • James Morgan Money: A Life in January 2017 JCHA meeting. During his Service to Jackson County: An 2017 visit, he talked about Grant’s time in examination of the man responsible for the Skyline Road Jackson County, which imposed an unfair and Scottsboro Hotel. limitation on Dr. Fields’ vast repertoire of • After the Flood: Two Rivers in Grant stories. This time, he will broaden North Alabama: An essay by his presentation to discuss the general’s David Bradford originally life and times. The meeting will be held a distributed in “Like the Dew.” week early, on Sunday afternoon, • Looking Back at 1966: A review January 20, 2019 from 2pm to 4pm at of significant events in the county the Scottsboro Depot Museum. during that year. • North Jackson Progress Stops Bicentennial Exhibit in Stevenson Publishing: The sad loss of this Starting January 7. The Alabama great county news source. Humanities Foundation’s 19-month traveling bicentennial exhibition • St Luke’s Episcopal Church on state history, titled “Making Alabama” will be at the Stevenson Celebrated 140 Years in Library from January 7-18.This is the exhibit’s only stop in the county. Scottsboro: The history of this Visitors can explore the collection of collages, interactive tablets, and church by Barbara Jacobs Heath. • The Battle of the Bulge and Two a historical audio medley. Monica Davis, the library’s director, said all Jackson Countians Who Fought ages are invited to the event. The free exhibit is open during There: A remembrance of two of extended library hours, which are 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday our veterans, Albert Haggard and through Saturday. The “Making Alabama” tour Charles Bradford. started in April and will continue through • Membership Roster: Please December 2019. Please take advantage of this check your name on the list of special exhibit while it is so close by. subscribers published in this issue and contact us if you have Marking the Grave of U.S. Marshal Ed problems or questions. Moody. Thank you to everyone who attended the cemetery stroll in October and contributed to the fund to mark About this Publication: the grave of fallen U.S. Marshal Ed Moody. We have located a period- The Jackson County Chronicles is looking stone and have ordered it. It will include the names and dates published four times a year and for both Ed and his wife Ada and be centered over both graves, with mailed to members of the Jackson foot stones marking the dimensions of the two graves. Thank you for County Historical Association. your generosity. Editor: Annette Norris Bradford New Writer: Thank you, Barbara Jacobs Heath, for sharing with the Associate Editor: David Bradford Chronicles your history of Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church, which Editor Emeritus: Ann B. Chambless appeared first in the The Daily Sentinel. © The Jackson County Historical Association January 2019 !1 of !34 ISSN-1071-2348 January 2019 A Review of the First Ever Cedar Hill Cemetery Stroll The first Cedar Hill Cemetery Stroll is now history. It was a monumental undertaking, a year in the making, enabled through the diligent research and planning of Blake Wilhelm and Julia Everett at Northeast Alabama Community College and David and Annette Bradford of the Jackson County Historical Association. It required the considerable talents of 16 costumed actors and a small army of people supporting them. Paul Stevenson as James Skelton Sarah and Miles Hodges as Tom Shipp and his mother In our wildest imagination, we could not have seen the cemetery stroll going so well. After all the meetings and planning and research and logistics and then praying for a cool, dry day, everything came together perfectly. We had initially estimated that 300-400 people might attend, but we counted 675 at the entry points, and suspect there were more than this. We hoped to raise $300 for a marker for Marshal Moody, but instead over $900 was donated. So many people came and brought their children. We hope they all left with a better sense of our shared history. Our actors were just wonderful, from six-year-old Miles Hodges, who charmed his audience and did his presentation about little Tom Shipp 12 times, to ninety- year-old Rev. James Thompson, who had himself flown a jet similar to the one in which pilot Cecil Floyd died. Les Hutson, who already does so much for his community, gave us a big slice of his time to help us appreciate Dr. Marvin Lynch. Carter Jones let us see a picture of his grandfather Congressman Bob Jones that only a family member could share. Nat Cisco brought Sheriff Matt Wann to life John Neely as Colonel John Snodgrass Rev. James Thompson as pilot Cecil Floyd © The Jackson County Historical Association January 2019 !2 of !34 ISSN-1071-2348 January 2019 and helped us appreciate the sacrifice this man made to give the Scottsboro Boys the trial that due process required. Regina Nicholson drove from Atlanta in awful traffic to tell us the story of her great grandmother, Mary Hunter. Kelly Goodowens, who serves the county so faithfully and maintains our historic depot, is always ready to help, and very ably recreated Dr. W. H. Payne. Paul Stevenson led audiences to understand that James Skelton’s killing another person while defending family honor, even when the courts acquitted Carter Jones as Congressman Bob Jones him, had dire consequences. Nat Cisco as Sheriff Matt Wann NACC English professor Joan Reeves owned the role of author Babs Deal and spoke of Deal’s work with an authority that would convince you she had actually written it. Jerry King held his big audiences spellbound and left them wondering if the Unknown Man really was William Bradford Bishop from the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. Ernie Kennamer channeled his grandfather James Morgan Money who played a major role in the building of the Skyline Road and the Cumberland Farms Colony. John Neely, whose father was instrumental in saving our historic depot, took time away from his professional acting roles to bring life to Civil War hero Colonel John Snodgrass. NACC actor Logan Bloyer, whom many of us recognize in the role of Lurch in last year’s Addams Family musical, embodied the enthusiasm and disillusionment of the World War I soldiers in his incredible recreation of Thomas Cobbs Kyle, only two weeks before the 100th anniversary of Armistice. Bill White ably brought his friend Charles Bradford to life, recounting Bradford’s World War II time as a prisoner of war and his leadership of Company B during the Korean War, when ignoring orders saved the lives of so many young Jackson County men. Actress and teacher Traci Phillips captured the accent and cadence of Lucille Benson as she shared the career of the local character actress in her role in Haloween II. Our actors were just incredible; most of them did their presentations at least 12 times for Joan Reeves as author Babs Deal appreciative crowds. Regina Nicholson as educator Mary Hunter © The Jackson County Historical Association January 2019 !3 of !34 ISSN-1071-2348 January 2019 Ernie Kennamer as Judge James Money Kelly Goodowens as Pharmacist W.H. Payne Logan Bloyer as WWI Soldier Tom Kyle We had so much good help staging this event. Our good turnout was due to all the help we got publicizing this event from The Daily Sentinel, The Clarion, The North Jackson Progress, and The Sand Mountain Reporter, and the air time given us by WAFF, WKEA, and WWIC radio; WAAY television; and the Scottsboro Electric Power Board. We appreciate the generous grant we received from the Alabama Bicentennial Commission to keep NACC and JCHA expenses to a minimum. We appreciate the assistance of the City of Scottsboro. Thanks to the Highlands EMS for keeping an ambulance on site, which we are happy that we did not need. Thanks for Benny Bell and his team for turning Cedar Hill into a manicured garden for the event. Thanks for Eddie Tigue and the rescue squad for opening up the facilities at the armory and allowing our Bill White as Charles Bradford Traci Phillips as Actress Lucille Benson in Halloween II Jerry King as the Unknown Man © The Jackson County Historical Association January 2019 !4 of !34 ISSN-1071-2348 January 2019 visitors to park there. Thanks to Beth Presley for cleaning the headstones of people on the tour and helping out the day of the stroll. Thanks to Britt Meeks for capturing all our actors on video. Thanks to Pat Presley, Reid Henshaw, and Alan Everett for parking assistance and for setting up and taking down. Thanks to the NACC Presidential Hosts and volunteers for manning the entry tables and passing out programs—Amy Shankles, Lori White, Reda Patterson, Hannah Cornett, Haley Wilson, and Renee Goss. Thanks to Jennifer Petty, Haley Lawrence Wilhelm, and Tammy Bradford for assisting our visitors and keeping the crowd distributed across all the gravesites. Thanks to the NACC theater department for dressing many of our actors. Thanks to the NACC music department for the wonderful instrumental and vocal ensembles whose talents made the atmosphere of the day more festive. Thanks to Barbara and Ed Carter and Susan Fisher for representing the JCHA at the signup table.