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Anna Bell's Attic Ministries, Inc., (ABAM) located at 208 Schad Street in East Brewton, is serving the community on many levels. "It is a joy and pleasure for our organization to serve the community," said Founder Hermastine Lancaster. "Our organization is God and Christ centered. It is operated by God's wisdom. So far, we have been running like a well-oiled machine." The organization opened January 23, 2021, in honor of Lancaster's maternal grandmother, Anna Bell Quarker of Freemanville, Ala.,...
Schools and education have always been a prime concern in the Canoe area. According to Annie Waters, History of Escambia County, a log school was constructed early in Canoe's history. Records show that by 1894 there were three schools in operation with an enrollment of 80 pupils. The schools in that long ago era were famous for their teachers, and Canoe had a true colony of teachers throughout much of her history whereby education and culture was passed from one generation to the next. In the...
I have always been a person interested in history and particularly my family history. When I first started doing research into my family a distant cousin who was also very interested in family history, told me that when I talked to the older people in the family to take a tape recorder and record what they had to say. When I was told this several decades ago, taking a tape recorder with me at the time would have been a little bit of a job. At the time tape recorders were about the size of a medium size suit case and were usually on a rolling...
My friend Pasty Fore Kirkland was the most fun person I ever knew. Don't get me wrong here, I have had many fun friends in my lifetime, but Patsy came with a twist. A twist that caught my attention immediately when I as a "newby" at W. S. Neal School as my Wallace class was known. I used the title "newby" instead of the well known title of a "feeder school" as the incoming/transfered students from out in the country schools were called. Wallace, Damascus, Henley Roberts and North Brewton schools were "Feeder" schools. All us tenth graders from...
Luke 9: 57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. 61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid the...
Hebrews 11:1-3 states, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Welcome back for another edition of the Handfuls of Purpose series. For the next few weeks we are going to looking at faith in God and faithfulness to God. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews has been called by many as the roll call of the rig...
The Century Methodists have returned to in-house worship. This past Sunday was our second service since mid-March. We are being safe, abiding by the prescribed guidelines. I am so thankful for the gift of seeing and being present with the church family. I sure wish I could hug them. I have always believed there is power in the gathered body of Christ. In fact, scripture urges us to avoid forsaking the assembly of the church. The Church has been a steady resource for me. The foundations of faith I have gained there hold me firmly on this...
It was an embarrassing halftime show when the entire Minor High School Marching Tiger Band was out-of-step. It was especially embarrassing for us in the percussion section since a major part of our job was keeping everybody in step. Our band director decided we’d play the theme from “Mission Impossible.” The music wasn’t especially difficult, as I recall, other than the rhythm. Most marching bands play 4/4 (common) time since it’s easy to remember left-right-left-right. But “Mission Impossible” is 5/4 time so it was like we had something dif...
The local schools around Canoe have always played a major role in the community. Centers of social interaction, cultural events, music and education could all describe the island of benefits of a school in a small community set in a sea of agriculture and forests. Looking back one hundred years at Canoe's schools show what was important to the student body and the area at the time. Many of the students enrolled at the time would go on to see the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, World War...
This is a brief history of the Century High School. This history would not be appropriate without a short History of the Century grammar Schools as taken from the minutes of the Escambia County School Board Meetings. In 1901 an almost square building containing two rooms was built on the North side of Church Street at Mayo Street. It was built by the Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company (Hereinafter referred to as the Company) On September 23, 1901, the Board of Public Instruction (Hereinafter referred to as the Board) on motion voted that the New...
A cemetery is the safest place on earth for stalking. Everybody there is harmless. But I need to share some good advice to others that may decide to join me and the CEO in, the art of cemetery stalking. How it's done from my experience: You have a SIRNAME and some noisy reason for wanting to go cemetery stalking. You load up and go in the general direction that someone years ago mentioned that someone from years ago may or may not have died and may or may not be buried in said cemetery. "By damn, he's family and I wanna find out". "Okay, I'll...
Good morning Tri-City readers, so thankful for each of you and so blessed that you take the time to read the articles every week. I try to not have to repeat but life sure keeps us going and some weeks I have to revisit some articles. It has been very encouraging to me that a few of you have called to let me know how much you enjoy the articles and so sorry I have been slack in calling you back and I am sorry for that. Sometimes we just let life get us to the point of being too busy to give the appreciation back, but I am going to do better on...
Welcome back to another edition of the Handfuls of Purpose series. Today let us look at an encouraging passage that the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers of the Philippian church. Paul was encouraging the believers at the city of Philippi in the New Testament book of Philippians. Many have said that the book of Philippians is one of the loveliest thank you notes written by the Apostle Paul to the church. In chapter one of this book in verses twenty-seven thru thirty Paul gives encouragement in living the Christian life during harder times....
Forty four years ago this month, I entered Asbury Theological Seminary as a student. I had no definite plans, but was following God’s leadership to go to seminary. I studied there for three years, graduating to pursue ministry. Dr. Frank Stanger was the seminary president. He offered an early morning group for prayer and discussion. Weekly we met in the cafeteria for some moving and instructional moments. At the time, I knew I was fortunate to learn from such a wise minister. I have appreciated that even more as the years have passed. I was a...
Years ago churches recorded their pastors’ sermons on reel-to-reel tape, then later on cassettes. These often gathered dust, but many of us feared one day they’d be replayed, and we’d be embarrassed by yesteryear’s foolishness! One of the reasons for this is how my denomination commissions preachers. A young man comes forward to share with the church the call of God, and the pastor says, “Fine. Preach for us next Sunday.” In my case, I was a junior in high school and didn’t know much about life. But I began to get busy preaching here and ther...
The humming white noise of the constant croaks, crickets and coos of the summer nights is something that feels like home to most Alabamians. These sounds of summer are so familiar, yet often unidentifiable. Identifying the individual sounds of the night can give us a greater understanding of the wildlife in our backyards. “If you live near the water or a water source, the sky is the limit in terms of what you can hear in your backyard," said Jim Armstrong, a retired Alabama Extension wildlife scientist. Insects Some of the most frequent noises...
It took me years to discover that one of the best ways to maintain emotional control is to key in on an “It’s okay” attitude. This attitude is built on the premise that if there is nothing that I can do about a situation, then why should I get emotionally involved with it? Few of us are immune to the little things that can get under our skin and endanger our emotional well-being. There is the traffic jam on the way to work…the driver in front of us going ten miles below the speed limit…a business associate who is late on a project…a spouse who...
Safer-at-home orders, social distancing and quarantines have added a new level of difficulty to beating the summer heat and serving safe and yummy food at a family gathering. While cooking and socializing outdoors can minimize the risk of contracting COVID-19, there are still other summer food safety measures people should follow. Terence Martin, the Urban Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (UEFNEP) coordinator with Alabama Extension at Alabama A&M University, offers some food safety tips for outdoor festivities this summer. Food...
The War Between the States proved a dividing line in American history, one which is still being crossed, drawn and re-crossed even today. Whereas many would seek to view that era through a modern lens, those who fought for their state, and the South, take a different view. One such different view might have been found in Private S.K. McCall of Monroe County, Alabama. McCall was born in Bainbridge, Georgia on May 29, 1841. He ended up in Monroe County where he joined Company D, of the 3rd...
Since 1988, The Alger-Sullivan Historical Society has worked to collect and display items that reflect an earlier time. Originally dedicated to the lumber and logging history of Century, the society’s museum now holds relics that also represents the regional history of many communities of the great logging era. Above the doorway of our first display room is a huge carved oxen yoke donated from one of the area’s last oxen drivers, Joe Ross. In another room other yokes are seen. One item crucial to the work of oxen sits among the saws and axes of...
Today being my 76th year on this good earth I decided to share some of my most embrassing moments. I am at that stage in life that it is all funny now, but when these things happened I thought my life was over. Here goes, I was a first grader, my family was ‘church mouse poor', I wore pretty homemade feed sack dresses and bloomers made from bolts of white broadcloth. Mama kept us in good underwear. She bought cards of elastic to put in the waist and legs....................bloomers. So, I was playing with the girls on the playground and the b...
As history passed by the grave of Alexander Bolivar Cromartie in the Canoe Canaan Freewill Cemetery, his descendants continued to live in the small town of Canoe, Alabama. One of his daughters married into the Mixon family. The family ran a store in Canoe. Many would remember this store as being built for the purposes of being a bank around 1913. Yet the bank was short lived and the building was used as a school annex and later the Mixon Grocery. The Mixon’s son, Emmett Leonard Mixon Jr., would have grown up during the Great Depression and a va...
Thanks to a writer friend posting his story about dancing at " Fanger", I decided to write my story about dancing in a "juke". Circa 1962, both my parents were gone. My Mama's sister took the responsibility to caution me to, "stay outta them roadhouses". Aunt Cora was firm in her belief that dancing in a roadhouse would be my ruination and her shame to bear. Oh Brer Rabbit ! Aunt Cora's son Doug, same age as me, loved a roadhouse like a possum loves persimmons. Doug ask me and my coworker Shirley if perhaps we wanted to go dance to Chubby...
Drinking water safety is a real concern for many with questionable local water supply. A 2019 Gallup poll indicated 83 percent of Southerners are more concerned about contaminated drinking water than climate change. Karnita Garner, an Extension environmental specialist, said although regulations to test local water supplies have long been in use in communities, public concern over the safety of drinking water is still on the rise. “The Safe Drinking Water Act was put in place in 1974,” Garner said. “However, recent water quality issue...
A given in this country over the years is how Americans rally when faced with crises. We have a propensity for taking care of each other when the chips are down and the results are high. Possessing a “servant’s heart” is never more evident than at this time. How we react in time of need says something about each of us, doesn’t it? This time in our lives reminds me of a story that is entitled “The Servant.” Here it is: A servant of the Kingdom was walking through the forest late one summer day, when he happened upon what looked like a lantern....
