2022 Sep 3, Sugerfest & Historic Buildings Arab, Alabama

 Today we rode to Arab to stroll through the park filled with over 100 vendors. Tents were lined up as far as the eye could see selling items from A to Z. 

Vendor Tents

The sweet aroma of baked goods filled the air making my mouth water. You could almost taste the barbeque, hamburgers, and hotdogs that were being cooked. Lines of people at every food truck.

Funnel Cake, Ribbon Fries, and freshly squeezed lemonade were just a few of the food items sold.

Santa Fe Food Truck

There was a petting zoo with two large lazy cows, a goat trying to climb out of his pen, a miniature long-haired goat that kids just loved to pet, and many other animals.

Petting Zoo

Pony Rides

There was a long line for the pony rides. Kids were climbing walls, playing games, swinging, and sliding.

The splash was opened for those who wanted to cool off.

There was music playing in the concert area.

People play cornhole and other games.

But we were more interested in the Historic Village area where we saw. 

1. The Boyd Homestead
Boyd Homestead 1890-2006

Lola Boyd lived her entire 99 years in the Boyd Homestead.
Her dad, Matthew Boyd built the home in 1890 on 160 acres of land in Arab. Ms. Lola was born in 1906 and was the youngest of 11 siblings. She graduated high school in 1929 from Arab and went to college and received her teaching degree from George C. Peabody College in Nashville, TN. 
This home was not built with indoor bathrooms or closets. An 
outhouse served as the bathroom and a well was located outside the home that provided water for the family. The home also did not have electricity until the 1940s. 
Ms. Lola taught school and never married nor had children She helped take care of her parents and was given the Homestead after they passed. The home was then willed to the Historic Society after she died in 2006. The society moved and restored the home to mimic the 1940s era.

The Stage Coach INN @Elvin Light Museum 

2. The Elvin Light Museum

Inside were cubicles filled with different items from:

Hyatt's Boarding House

Dr. Ellis Porch and Dr. Braxton Smith's Office

Arab Infirmary Dr. Ellis Porch and Dr. Braxton Smith

The Thompson Family

Russell Rice, General Mdse Est. 1897

Peoples Drug Store

Reed Pring Shop 

Fleming Barber Shop 

The Stage Coach INN

3. The Ruth Homemaker's Clubhouse
Belongs to the Homemakers of Arab who hold demonstrations, and enjoy canning, quilting, knitting, and mattress making. 

4. The Phillips Blacksmith

George C. Phillips Blacksmith Shop

Another very important business to the Farmers was the Blacksmith Shop where he could get his tools sharpened and mules shod. Mr. George Phillips had owned his own blacksmith shop in Scottsboro, Al, and was a resident blacksmith for the Georg C.  Phillips Blacksmith shop. Mr. Phillips has since passed away, but his legacy lives on. The Blacksmith Ship is built from vintage wood to mimic a structure from the 1940s era. 

The farmer looked forward to carrying his animals to the Blacksmith shop to be shooed. This was important to the well-being of the animals, but it also gave the farm a break from the farm and an opportunity to socialize with fellow farmers.

Horseshoeing is done today by a farrier who goes out to the farm every 4 to 6 weeks in a truck equipped with a forge.

Tractors have replaced the Mule, therefore the need for local blacksmith shops has diminished.

5. The Winslett Barn - used for weddings and events

6. The Rice Church 
The Rice Church 1910-1950s

This Church building, originally known as Liberty Primitive Baptist Church, was once located in the Rice Community near Arab. It was donated to the Historical Society in 1993 and restored to a manner representing rural churches from the early 1900s. Today, it is used for small weddings, memorial services, and spiritual needs. The Church would hold services, baptisms, weddings, and Christenings, sometimes all on the same day. Farmers that traveled far for Church would bring their own lunch and typically stay all day. 
They really took advantage of Sundays since this was the only day they would have time to attend.

Inside sat a woman playing old-time gospel music on the piano. She said the church where I now attend had a piano player but got sick and could not play so the church asked her if she would fill in that was over 20 years ago. She was a retired teacher and had taught music. Her talent was far beyond the previous piano player and the other players didn't want to come back. She played beautifully.

7. The Hunt School House
The Hunt School 1935-1952

This two-room school is very typical of the schools in Alabama built during the Great Depression era: high ceilings, a"cloakroom, " for each classroom, and architectural details in the true Colonial Revival design. The Hunt School operated in a small community south of Arab from 1835-1952. When school buses became popular in 1952, students were bused into larger schools. The school year revolved around spring planting and fall harvesting since most students lived on a farm. The school went without electricity for the first ten years. There was no water, cafeteria, indoor bathrooms, or library. Children walked to school and washed their hands in a pan filled with water.

9. The Smith Country Store 

 Inside was filled with items of a different era. In the very back behind the coal, heater sat a group singing and playing Bluegrass music. We listened to a couple of songs that I had never heard before.

10. The Smalley Grist Mill 

When a farmer and his family would move to a new area, there were two businesses he would immediately look for.

One was a grist mill where he could get this corn ground into cornmeal. Since cornbread was such an important food staple at the Great Depression supper table, the Historic Village needed to have a Grist Mill. Mr. Jerrell Smally bought the Grist Mill from Arab's old Farmers Ex change and donated it to the Arab Historical Society. The building was built from vintage lumber to mimic a structure from the 1940s era. 

During the Great Depression, everyone grew corn. A large family would consume as much as 300 pounds of corn a year. 
The farmers would gather a portion of their dried corn during harvest and take it to the local Grist Mill to get shucked, shelled, and ground for cornbread. They would pay for this service by leaving a portion of their corn with the miller.