Travis Hardison

Most of us who grew up in the Shoals area have funny, if not fond, memories of Channel 15, WOWL television in Florence. Often it was their newscasts that provided much of the humor associated with the small local station, but occasionally the NBC affiliate hired quality talent, usually students from the local university.

One such newscaster was Travis Hardison. I never met Travis, but I have fond memories of his newscasts. His mother had been a substitute teacher in the Florence system for many years, so I was of course acquainted with his name. Mothers like to talk about their wonderful sons, and Mrs. Hardison frequently mentioned Travis and his younger brother Richard.

Travis managed to deliver the news without falling out of his chair, getting lost reading the script, or egregiously mispronouncing words above the sixth grade level. In short, he was a natural. Travis also performed in several UNA and Zodiac theatrical productions, making him something of a local celebrity.

While I had not thought of Travis in years, I was saddened to learn of his death while doing research on another story. For those of you who loved and admired Travis, all is not lost; Travis still lives here: http://www.alef.co.uk/deadtravis/index.html

I sincerely hope this brings back fond memories for those of you who knew Travis personally.


Reminder: Tomorrow is the first day of March. Original Bama at the Shoals Forum Trivia Contest would like to remind everyone that a new contest is starting. So, what are you waiting for? The link is to the left of this blog.