For the past twenty years those who grew up in East Florence, aka Sweetwater, have been holding an annual reunion. According to Ruth Rickard, a member of the Sweetwater Reunion Committee, “We try to honor someone who has been well known in the community and someone who grew up here and helped Sweetwater over the years.”
The honoree in 2011 will be Larry Fisher. Now a resident of Shreveport, Louisiana, Fisher has never forgotten his Sweetwater roots. In 2010, he founded the Facebook page Remembering Florence. The page now has over 3,800 members. Fisher also has a political page and is the subject of his own fan page.
This year's reunion will be held August 13th at the Florence Coliseum. We'll have more information before the big day. Congratulations to Larry--it's a well deserved honor.
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Sources say the Webster Hotel and Suites in Sheffield has closed. The hotel has been faced with financial problems the past few years and suffered from extremely unkind reviews from the public. As with the Southland Restaurant, we hope someone can purchase the facility and restore it to its former glory.
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It's been some time since we've honored a local hero. Today we want to thank Kerry Gilbert for all he and his band do for this area, especially Franklin County. It's hard to pick just one video to showcase the KGB, but we think this one's a real crowd pleaser:
Shoalanda