Downtown Canoe in the early 1930s
A slender young man in dusty overalls walked across the plank sidewalk from the busy wooden structure in downtown Williams Station known as the Carney Commissary in the early 1890s and towards his room at the Magnolia Boarding House just across the tracks. Nicholas Ashley, the commissary clerk, had just handed the young man a letter from family in some distant county, as in the commissary served as the William's Station Post Office as well as a mercantile store for locals. The letter carried news of his mother's pending death and the uncertainty which awaited her as she sought the sweet hand of family upon her fevered brow and the distant sound of an angel band reverberated calling her home.
The letter was a week old. Her fate, following the mailing of the letter, was unknown. There was no Facebook, smartphones, text or even good roads to travel home quickly to see his beloved mother. Landlines were a rarity in this era but one man in town possessed the ability to call home and find the latest news as to whether his mother remained in this Earthly Providence or whether she now belonged only to his memories.
William Carney, owner of the Carney Mill, and Father or Atmore, had a direct telephone line which connected his home (located on the western end of town) with Mobile, Alabama and the young man humbly knocked upon the door of this local captain of industry to seek use of this modern apparatus known as a telephone.
Carney was deserving of his title as Father of Atmore. Seldom had such a philanthropic spirit resided in the heart of man. Carney, a Confederate veteran, had "climbed the rough side of the mountain," having fought in a catastrophic war and coming to South Alabama during "The Big Cut" when men made fortunes overnight in the timber and turpentine industries. He made a fortune, but never forgot the common man.
Carney treated his workers, of all races, fair. Whereas he owned most of the land inside what is now the city limits of Atmore, he would give parcels of land to settlers who he felt possessed a skill or trade beneficial to the small town. He was above the fray of politics and cronyism and, in conducting his affairs in such manner, created a role model for others to follow.
This patriarch of William's Station would also allow any resident to use his land line telephone to contact the Mobile switchboard as to family emergencies or other issues. The young resident of William's Station mentioned above would have found relief, or closure, over the landline from Carney's home to the Mobile switchboard-possibly in short order. Perhaps Mrs. Carney offered comfort or a verse of scripture to steady the young man as he spoke with a relative in a distant town.
Yet times were changing, even as the young man's voice travelled over the line. A growing population demanded phones. Farmers and others would often run their own lines, sometimes running the line from fence post to fence post-this according to a statement this writer once heard Mr. Minor Corman make in the 1990s. Companies like Southland Telephone would come to these "independents" and offer to buy the lines from them and just send them a bill for maintaining them. The farmers probably thought the telephone company gentlemen crazy for the offer but took the offer anyway for the money offered.
Canoe Station demanded phone service as well. It was here that Mr. Bernard B. Gates founded The Canoe Telephone Company along Randolph Street in Canoe. Gates was born on February 20, 1881 and lived until December 12, 1971 and died in Montgomery, Alabama. His telephone company was founded in the early part of the 1900s and existed until around 1929 when it was sold to the Alabama Telephone Company. It is very likely that Southland Telephone Company became the successor in interest to this early Canoe tech-company. At the time of the sale, a company had acquired Atmore's phone services which was known as "The South Central," this according to The Atmore Advance of July 12, 1928.
Gates, had married Miss Pearl E. Hall on December 8, 1901. One would assume Gates must have been a technological whiz for his age in that the technology was new and he would have been tasked with knowing the installation requirements and the trouble shooting which went with such new-fangled gadgets. Yet as Gates watched The Canoe Telephone Company slowly give way to other, more regional companies, it would seem he would have to wonder if the tiny community was giving away some of its individuality in the sale of its phone company.
Today, as the demise of the landlines gives way to smartphones, Wi-Fi and the "next big thing" as to technology, a tiny, unassuming house on Randolph Avenue in Canoe stands a silent watch over the location where a man and his wife dared to dream big in a small town.
Vote for and support The Canoe Landmark District referendum-scheduled for the 2020 ballot in Escambia County. Call 251 294 0293 for more details.
Shadows and Dust Volume III: Legacies is available for purchase in the amount of $30.00+$5.00 shipping and handling to PO Box 579 Atmore, AL 36502 or visit Lulu Publishing.com; Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles.com OR at the Monroe County Heritage Museum in Monroeville, Alabama.
The Canoe Civic Club is proud to announce the date of the upcoming Canoe Homecoming in beautiful downtown Canoe from 8:30am-2:30pm on Saturday November 23, 2019. Email at the above address for free vendor info.
