2024 April 19, Visitor Center, Kennedy Douglas Art Museum, Coffee Cemetery with AVA

 Today we rode into town to pick up hubby's medicine at Walgreens. 

We rode to the Blue The Blue Door Thrift Store/SCOPE 310 and bought AVA a game. 

Ate lunch at Culverts. 

Hubby and I split a plate of shrimp, fries, cole Slaw, and Chocolate moose yogurt.  

We bought an AVA hamburger, fries, and chocolate yogurt.

We stopped at the nearby Walmart for a few items. Ava and I walked across the street to the Coffee & Slave Cemeteries. 

A very large old tree at Coffee Cemetery

Ava wanted to visit a museum so we rode to the Kennedy-Douglass Art Center. There we saw AROY Artistic Rendering of Youth which features artwork created by 7th through 12th grade students from 15 different schools! Outside we stopped to take pictures of the statues. 

AVA and the outdoor art

We walked across the street to Wilson Park there the mist from the fountain seemed to reach the clouds.

overflowing Fountain at Wilson Park 

Color is the music of light 
Frank Lloyd Wright 
(this marker is on the sidewalk at Wilson Park)

We watched a barge go up the Tennessee River 
men fishing 

Ava enjoyed the playground area at McFarland Park. Our last stop was the Visitor Center where they saw several displays. 

Large and small-mouth bass
Bass fishing & tournaments are big in the Tennessee River in Florence
Ava enjoyed the one with the big and small-mouth fish. 

WC Handy Statue in Wilson Park 
WC Handy 
Father of the Blues 
1873- 1958 
Born in Florence, Alabama 

Display of WC Handy's music at Florence-Lauderdale Visitor Center.
Handy played the Cornet (pictured here) 
Handy's first hit was "The Memphis Blues".

The W. C. Handy Music Festival is held annually in Florence, Alabama, sponsored by the Music Preservation Society, Inc., in honor of Florence native W. C. Handy, the "Father of the Blues." The non-profit Music Preservation Society was formed in 1982, with the mission to preserve, present, and promote the musical heritage of Northwest Alabama.

The next 2024 Handy Festival will be Wednesday-Saturday June 12-15 in Florence, Alabama. 

2023 Feb 20-22, Bus Trip to Jacksonville, and touring Jacksonville, Fl (Diamond Travel Hueytown, AL)

Day 1: Hubby and I traveled 2 1/2 hours to Hueytown, Al stopped at Jack's in Hueytown for gravy and biscuits.

Everyone was checked in and given a name tag that was our ticket for our meals, events, and lodging.

Around 7:30 the bus arrived loaded our luggage along with 40 other people's luggage onto the bus and 

By 8 AM we were on our way.

Our first restroom stop was I-20 at the Georgia Welcome Center in Waco, Georgia.

Georgia Welcome Center Waco, Georgia.

Our next stop was for lunch at the Arbor Mall in Douglasville, Georgia where there were several different places to eat. We picked Chick-fil-A I ordered a kid's chicken nugget meal and hubby ordered a chicken sandwich with waffle fries.

Arbor Mall in Douglasville, Georgia 

Our third stop was at I-75 Rest Area Southbound Forsyth, Georgia.

 I-75 Rest Area Southbound Forsyth, Georgia.

Our fourth stop was the Florida Welcome Center I-75 in Jennings, Florida. (They always have fresh orange juice here but they closed at 5PM and it was just a few minutes after 5).

Florida Welcome Center I-75 in Jennings, Florida

We stopped for dinner at Ole Times CountyBuffet in Lake City. Here I ate collard greens, green lima beans, carrots, a piece of fish, cornbread, and a slice of chess pie.

Ole Times CountyBuffet in Lake City

We finally arrived at the hotel were given our room keys and took our luggage to our room.

Everyone was exhausted from the long ride, took a shower, and went to bed. 

Holiday Inn Express room 310.

Day 2: Breakfast at the hotel omelet, sausage, biscuit with grape jelly, and milk.

At 8:00 we were on the bus headed to St John's Town Center to pick up our guide.

Our first stop was Memorial Park along the St John's River. 

St John's Memorial Park along the St John's River

Our next stop was Sweet Pete's Candies where they have 100s of candies & chocolates.

Sweet Pete's Candies 

We walked to the nearby Weldon Johnson Park which was located in the center of town near the Art Museum and City Hall.

James Weldon Johnson Park

Our next stop was Jessie Ball Dupont Park to see Jacksonville's Favorite 70-foot tall 25-foot trunk Oak Tree.

The so-called Treaty Oak is at least two centuries old.

Treat Oak 70 Feet 25-foot trunk 

We loaded back onto the bus and headed back to St John's Town Center to drop off our guide and get lunch.

We chose the M-Shack's gourmet burger that is made with all-natural hormone-free ground beef. 

Hubby and I split the M-Shack's hamburger 

Our next stop was the Miss Headley River Boat Cruise along St John's River.

Miss Headley River Boat Cruise 

We loaded back onto the bus and headed to the hotel to freshen up for we were going to the Double Tree by Hilton for a buffet dinner and show.

By the time we filled our plates, there was no place to sit with our group. We ended up setting up front near the band, with a fun group from Louisiana.

One of the women was a librarian. The one sitting next to me had red hair and she said her husband didn't care for traveling. She said when I was growing up my dad would take me to the pub with him. He would give her money to play Pack Man games and he would go and drink. Her dad was much older than her mom. Her dad had passed several years back and her mom remarried and she didn't care much for her new husband.

She said if anything happened to her husband she would never remarry. Their group had already visited the Fountain of Youth and she said the water tasted like sulfur. This group was a lot of fun and we all danced around the room waving our napkins to the Saints Go Marching In. 

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.

Music History Recording Studios of Muscle Shoals, Florence & Sheffield, Alabama

Welcome to
City of Muscle Shoals
Hit Recording
Capital of the World

The Singing River Sculpture (Sheffield)
Legend of the Singing River 
The Yuchi and other early inhabitants who lived along the banks of the mighty Tennessee River held the legend of the Spirit Woman who lived in the river, protected them, and sang to them. If the river was angry, She sang to them loudly; if the river was peaceful, She sang softly and sweetly, sometimes humming a comforting lullaby. 
Some say that all they heard was the high waters' mighty rush and roar over the mussel shoals, or at other times, the calm low waters babbling through the river rocks. Others say She is real and can still be seen in the early morning mist, hovering over the waters, just as She did many years ago. In her honor, they called it the Singing River, and in her honor, we named these sculptures the Singing River Sculptures. 

1951 Dexter Johnson's Recording Studio

Bluegrass musician and uncle of Swampers guitarist Jimmy Johnson established the Shoals area’s first professional recording studio in his garage, a decade before Rick Hall’s FAME opened its doors.

Recording Studios(Alabama Music Hall of Fame)
Dexter Johnson's Recording Studio c1951
Charles Stanfield's Mobile Recording Studio c.1955
Tune Recording Studios c.1957
Spar Recording Studio c.1958
Fred Bevis Recording Studio c. 1967
Woodrich Recording Studio c.1973
Joe Wilson Recording Studio c.1973
Paradox Recording Studio c.1975
Cactus Recording Studio c.1980
Audio Workshop c1984

1956 Tune Records,123 E Alabama Ave Florence, Al. 

The Shoals’ first record label and publishing company, released a single by Bobby Denton called “A Fallen Star” which laid the foundation for the emergence of the area’s recording industry. (James Joiner, Walter Stovall, Kelso Herston, and Marvin Wilson) (Junior Thompson recorded Who's Knocking/How Come You Do Me 1956)

This Concertone tape recorder was used by James Joiner in this Tune Records Studio, one of the first studios in the Muscle Shoals area to make commercial recordings
(Alabama Music Hall of Fame)

1959 SPAR Music, 123 1/2 E Alabama Ave Florence, Al. 

(Stafford Publishing and Recording) 

above the City Drug Store in downtown Florence, was the brainchild of the “local bohemian type” 

(Tom Stafford), the birthplace of the Muscle Shoals music scene, and the precursor to FAME Studios.

Original Site of FAME Recording Studio early 1960s

This marks the site of the pioneering music company of Florence Al Music Enterprises FAME, a name that became renowned worldwide as the home of "the Muscle Shoals Sound".

FAME was founded in the early 1960s by three young local entrepreneurs (Rick Hall, Billy Sherrill, and Tom Stafford)  who improvised make-shift studios in a vacant room above the City Drug Store that once stood there. FAME's earliest recording sessions launched the careers of such music business legends as Arthur Alexander, Rick Hall, Billy Sherrell, Norbert Putnam, David Briggs, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, and many others. 

Original Site of FAME Recording Studio early 1960s
Following the limited success, the partnership dissolved. Rick Hall took the publishing company and FAME name in return for the studio equipment. He relocated the studio to an empty tobacco warehouse in Muscle Shoals. His next recording "You Better Move On" by Arthur Alexander, was acclaimed as the Shoal's first worldwide bestseller.
Over the next several decades FAME recording studios became one of the most successful producers of rhythm and blues, pop, and country music in the world. Rick Hall became known as the "Father of the Muscle Shoals Sound".

1961 FAME (Rick Hall) 603 Avalon Ave., Muscle Shoals, AL was the first successful professional recording studio in the state of Alabama, producing hits by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Clarence Carter,  the Osmonds, and countless others.

2015 Fame Recording Studios where it all Started 

Fame Recording Studios where it all Started in 2011

FAME Recording Studios Home of the Muscle Shoals Sound (2009)
(Muscle Shoals Municipal Building)

Rich Hall on his own in Muscle Shoals
Fame Studio at Old Candy and Tobacco Warehouse
(Singing River Statue Muscle Shoals)

1963 Quin Ivy Recording Studios  

1965 Norala Sound Studio,104 E 2n St Sheffield, Al 

Founded by FAME songwriter and WLAY disc jockey (Quin Ivy), gave the world Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” and brought Jerry Wexler and Atlantic Records to the Shoals

Percy Sledge's "When a Man loves a woman"
Hospital orderly Percy Sledge recorded 'When a Man Loves a Woman' at Quin Ivy's studio in 1966. Mr. Sledge's breakup with a girlfriend inspired the lyrics credited to songwriters Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright.

The release featured Marlin Greene (guitar), Spooner Oldham (Farfisa organ), Albert 'Junior' Lowe (bass), Roger Hawkins (drums), Jack Peck (trumpet), Bill Coifed (tenor sax), and Don Pollard (alto sax). Greene and Ivy produced the cut. At the request of Roger Hawkins, Ivy played the recording for Rick Hall, owner of FAME Studios. Hall felt it had hit potential and contacted Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler, who released it. The song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was Atlantic's first certified gold record. Rolling Stone magazine ranks it number 54 among the best songs of all time.

Percy Sledge was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. Spooner Oldham followed in 2009. Donna Jean Thatcher Godchaux, who sang backup on the hit, was inducted in 1994 with her husband Keith Godchaux and other members of the Grateful Dead

Producer Quin Ivy Norala and Quinvy Studios
 Record store owner and WLAY dis jockey Quin Ivy established North Alabama Recording 

Studio (NORALA) at 104 E. Second Street in Sheffield in 1965. He purchased used equipment, including Ampex 351 and Berlant mono tape recorders and a radio station console. Ivy-mounted egg cartons on the studio walls to deaden stray frequencies.

The first song recorded at NORALA was Florence native Donna Jean Thatcher's "I'm Out of Touch." Several months later Percy Sledge cut the classic "When A Man Loves A Woman." With proceeds from the Sledge session, Ivy completed a better-equipped studio across town in 1968 and named it Quinvy.

Ivy also produced Tony Borders, Buddy Causey, Jeanie Green, and Z.Z. Hill, Ben E. King, Mickey Buckings and The New Breed, Don Varner, the U.S. Male, and the Wee Jun.

1969 Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was the home of the Swampers(Jimmy Johnson, David Hood, Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins) and the consummate 1970s hit factory, recording the Stones, the Staple Singers, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Rod Stewart, Bob Seger, and more. 

1969 Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
Muscle Municipal Building)

Muscle Shoals Sound 3613 Jackson Highway (2019)

1969 Widget Sound Studio in Sheffield, 3804 Jackson Hwy., Sheffield, AL 

a very near neighbor to Muscle Shoals Sound gave Woodford and Ivey’s Wishbone a workspace pre-1976 and gave the world Sailcat’s “Motorcycle Mama.”(by Ron Ballew) 

Widget Studio is the first step in the music field for Ronnie Ballew (left) owner; the first major production for "Peanut" Montgomery(center) and the studio's first waxing puts the voice of Al McLendon (right on record for the first time.
TIMES DAILY 

1972 Broadway Sound Studio, 1307 Broadway St., Sheffield, AL 

the successor to Norala carried the R&B tradition of its predecessor into the 1970s and gave birth to the “Southern rock” genre by recording Lynyrd Skynyrd's first demo. (Quin Ivy)

Broadway Sound Studio Est. 1972 (2008)
(Alabama Music Hall of Fame)

Broadway Sound studio with owner and producer David Johnson second right
(Sheffield Singing River Statue)

1973 Wishbone Recording Studio 
1920 Webster Avenue, Muscle Shoals, AL 

was a proving ground for songwriters like Mac McAnally and Robert Byrne and recorded albums by such legends as Roy Orbison and Hank Williams, Jr. (by Terry Woodford)

Wishbone Recording Studio Est 1973

Wishbone Studios (Photo furnished by Terry Woodford)
 (Singing River Statue Muscle Shoals) 

1974 Music Mill Recording Studio, 1108 E. Avalon Ave., Muscle Shoals, AL 

founded (by Al Cartee), was the first of the big local studios to specialize in country music, working with everyone from Narvel Felts and Roy Clark to Bobby Bare and Arthur Alexander.

1974 Music Mill Recording Studio (2008)
(Alabama Music Hall of Fame)

1978-85 Cypress Moon Studios

was the second home of the Swampers, (Jimmy Johnson, David Hood, Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins) where they reconnected with their R&B roots and got reacquainted with old friends like Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, and B.B. King.

Cypress Moon Studio (2019)

The world-changing Muscle Shoals Music
Legendary producer Jerry Wexler at Muscle Shoals Recording Studios' riverfront location
(Singing River Statue Sheffield)

1977 East Avalon Recording  2815 1/2 East Avalon Avenue Muscle Shoals, Alabama 35661 

Wishbone engineer Steve Moore purchased the studio from its builder and designer Joe Wilson and East Avalon Recorders was born in the "Hit Recording Capital of the World", Muscle Shoals, Alabama. 
The successful studio operated until around 1988.

1987 Avalon Recorders

1977 East Avalon Recording

East Avalon Studio
 (Singing River Statue Muscle Shoals)

1985-2005 Malaco Recording (at Cypress Moon)

used the Sheffield studios for its own artists, including Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, and Little Milton, while continuing to operate its own facility in Jackson. The Rhythm Section, minus Beckett, worked with other studio musicians at Malaco Records and at other studios.

Cypress Moon/Malaco Recording 

2006 The Nuthouse (Jimmy Nutt)

In March of 2006, Jimmy launched The NuttHouse Recording Studio in downtown Sheffield, Alabama. What was once a 1950s bank, now is the home of The NuttHouse Recording Studio.  
108 W 4th St, Sheffield, AL 35660

The Singing River Sculpture (Muscle Shoals)
The city served as the birthplace for early breakthroughs in the local music industry and later provided a home base for some of the area’s top studios. The first commercial recording to emerge from Muscle Shoals — the Bobby Denton single, A Fallen Star — was produced by James Joiner in the Second Street studios of WLAY Radio in 1957. Four years later in an old candy-and-tobacco warehouse on Wilson Dam Road, aspiring producer Rick Hall joined forces with bellhop-turned-singer Arthur Alexander to cut Muscle Shoals’ first national hit, the Southern Soul anthem, You Better Move On. In the wake of that success, Hall built FAME Recording Studios on Avalon Avenue in 1962. Artists ranging from Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and Etta James to Duane Allman, the Osmonds, and Bobby Gentry later recorded there. From 1970 to 1985, Muscle Shoals became known as “The Hit Recording Capital of the World” as FAME and Al Cartee’s Music Mill, Steve Moore’s East Avalon, and Terry Woodford and Clayton Ivey’s Wishbone Studios generated hits by Clarence Carter, Hank Williams Jr., the group Hot, George Jones, the Forester Sisters, Mac McAnally, Shenandoah, and many others. In 2011 Hall received the American Music Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2014 he was awarded the Grammy Trustees Award for his significant contribution to the recording industry.

In 1964 Mrs. Jewell Britton Wear began a career in the local music industry she founded Florence, Al 

JJ Records with Junior Thompson, Monty Olive, and the Hacker Brothers for that label.

She also established the Music Scene Column in Florence Times Tri-Cities Daily. It was the first column detailing the music in the industry. 

Label owned by Junior Thompson and Jewel Wear.

In 1964, Mrs. Wear began a career in the local music industry. She founded JJ Records with Junior Thompson. She also established the Music Scene column in the Florence Times-Tri-Cities Daily. It was the first column detailing the local music industry.

Thomas Reeder “Monty” Olive 

Taken From: 

April 2010 Newsletter Birmingham Record Collectors

From Killen, Alabama comes a piano player by the name of Monty Olive. Monty's style of playing and singing was compared to that of Fats Domino. Although he never got national airplay his recordings were very popular locally. 

He was another of those who made a musical instrument his "friend". Monty tells it this way. "I've never had a piano lesson. When I first started playing, I would get the melody of a tune set in my mind and try and find the proper keys for it. It was fun and I practiced it every day." Sounds easy, doesn't it? SURE!! 

Monty entertained in many cities across the country including D.C., Detroit, Dallas, and Panama City's Old Dutch Inn. From an interview in the Time Tri-Cities Daily, August 13th, 1957 Monty put it this way. "Everywhere I go I respond to the crowds. I feel the touch of my music. It's something you can't explain. I enjoy performing."

Rain Inside My Heart/Foggy River

Bell of Bar Room/Molly Darling

Mary Lee/Follow Me 

US Rockabilly singer, born Clen Houston Thompson Jr. Florence Alabama

Junior Thompson began in 1956 at Meteor Records from Memphis (Tennessee). He also made a demonstration in Sun Records in 1956, without success. In 1957, it passed to Tune (56), JJ' S, and Badd Records before disappearing from Show Business. He was a regular singer in Dixie Hayride (Florence, Alabama) in 1956. 

1967-1968 JJ’S RECORDS Jewell Wear 

Sit by my side/Jungle Girl 1967

House of Lost Lovers/Ooby Dooby 1967

Cry on My Shoulder/Jimmy Boy 1969

Fairyland Girl/Child Days 1969

I’ll Never Let You Go Little Darling/Sally Ann From Paris, France 1969

The Hackers 

1967 Ange Love/Keep on Running Girl 

Not sure of the location of JJ's Studio may have been located in her home.