While the area's porcine inhabitants may be rejoicing today, aficionados of great pork barbecue and Southern style hot dogs are mourning the possible loss of Dick Howell's Barbecue Pit in North Florence. Howell's has been a fixture in the Shoals for more years than most of us can remember and was one of the first businesses to be patronized by both black and white customers.
Yet there's an interesting connection to another famous barbecue establishment of which many are not aware. Chris Lilly (pictured) is a Shoals native who currently manages Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur. He lists Dick Howell's along with Wright's Barbecue in Petersville as being strong influences in his culinary life, but that's still not the primary connection.
It seems Lilly's father built Howell's Pine Street location. The small concrete structure is said to have suffered substantial damage in a late afternoon fire. We hope this Shoals icon of fast food is soon open again and influencing a future generation of chef's.
What's up with this: If you're waiting at ECM and inquire about the the hospital's dining facilities, someone will usually direct you to Bunyon's Barbecue. We agree Bunyon's is tops, but what does this say about our local medical facilities?
Shoalanda 
A recent column focused on the giant Santa that resided prominently in Sheffield during December in the 1950s and 1960s. There's still no word on the location of this desirable artifact, but we now have a photo...or at least part of a photo. It's an intriguing tale.
It seems that during the 1950s, a mother took a black and white photograph of her daughter standing in front of Santa's boots. In order to comprehend the enormity of the Sheffield Santa, remember that this child, who was then three to four years of age, would ordinarily have achieved a height between 36 and 39 inches. The parking meters to the right of the child are anchored in the raised sidewalk and mounted on metal posts approximately 42" in height. Taking those measurements into consideration, we may infer that Santa was...to put it scientifically...very tall, not to mention wide.
Now to discuss the elephant, it seems that the photographer, while focusing on her daughter, inadvertently lopped of Saint Nick's head and shoulders, and so the photograph remained for many years until it was given to a family friend--the brother of our thoughtful donor in fact. The young man asked an artist to finish out the missing anatomy of the famous Sheffield Santa, and, voila, so the Big Guy appears in our blog today.
If you have a keen eye, you can see that Santa stood where the fountain sits today--or should we be so correct as to say the filled-in fountain featured prominently in Steve Wiggins' video Sheffield: A City Hanging over a Cliff. If the Sheffield city fathers were to find Santa, would there now be a prominent place to display him? Sadly, as large as our corpulent Santa is, even given the fact he was halved each year for storage, no one may have thought him worthy of salvation as the world moved on into the 1970s.
If any other readers have photos or information, please contact us. We hope the Saga of the Sheffield Santa is ongoing.
Special Thanks: To Pamela Lindsey Hamm for providing us with the Sheffield Santa photo. She was a friend of the girl in the photo and her brother the thoughtful family friend who had the image artfully restored.
Shoalanda
If you're like most of us, you and your family received a tractor trailer load of gifts--not all that you wanted or needed. If you have some extra stuffed animals in very good condition, may we suggest you take them to Wellington Place on Wilson Dam Road in Muscle Shoals. Wellington has a women's secure Alzheimer's unit where they will be greatly appreciated. Just leave your donations at the front desk, specifying they're for the Alzheimer's ward.
Didn't get that book you wanted this year? You might want to head to Elgin and make your dollars count. Heart's Cry Thrift Store on Hwy 101 has a huge selection of used paper and hard backs, with prices ranging from twenty-five to fifty cents. After leaving Heart's Cry, be sure to stop around the corner on Hwy 72 at K's Cove Used Books and Treasures. K's has both a quarter and a dollar bargain table, plus great prices on other slightly used books. In the new section you can find works by Debra Glass and other Ellora's Cave authors, plus several local histories, as well as K's unique body and bath products.
Ready for a new approach to reading? If you enjoy Net Flix, you just may be interested in Book Swim. For $9.95 a month, almost any books of your choice will be mailed to your home. Keep them as long as you like or even purchase those you can't live without. Check out the Book Swim ad to the left of this blog.
As for the knitted nose warmer your Aunt Bessie sent, hmmm, we suggest you take that to Heart's Cry as a donation. We promise they may even find someone who would really love it.
Statement of Policy: We know that some of our readers think any rapist/predator should be immediately turned over to the victim's family for punishment. We know others who seem to think there should be two sets of rules--one for males and one for females. Let us assure you that we believe all punishment should be within the law, but that it should be equal for both sexes. When a woman commits a crime of this nature, she should not be exempt. If for any reason you feel she should, we suggest you lobby your legislators for a change in the law.
Shoalanda
Scott Morris is the relatively new editor of the TimesDaily. Apparently it hasn't taken Mr. Morris very long to get the feel of local government, at least where Florence is concerned.
Mr. Morris also seems to be an excellent satirist. If you didn't catch his weekly Sunday column, here's the link to the item that had to have made Mayor Bobby Irons' day. There's nothing wrong with a town the size of Florence having a spokesperson. There is something wrong if that office is inaugurated for the purpose of covering up clandestine meetings or general flubs that come with all governmental operations.
Flubs? Well, a difference of $7,000.00 in proposed additional salary for the media czar would fit the bill.
What's up with this: If you've been checking out posts on various media sites, you've seen where a second young man has come forward to state he's been inappropriately touched by Amanda Watkins. Does UNA not offer at least one lecture in its education program outlining the consequences of such actions?
Shoalanda
Amanda Duboise Watkins' Facebook address is girlinterrupted1. The 38 year-old Watkins was certainly interrupted last Saturday night when she was found having sex with a 15 year-old male. Watkins is, or perhaps more correctly was, a teacher at Sheffield Junior High School; her male companion had been her student the previous year. What would possess an attractive married woman with multiple degrees, not to mention a young daughter, to risk everything for a few moments of sexual passion with someone who's hardly more than a child? While many apparently see humor in this, it is no different than an older man taking advantage of a younger female student. These relationships are taboo for a reason, but are seemingly becoming more and more commonplace. Could anyone have foreseen this kind of deviant behavior from Watkins?
Amanda Duboise is a native of Phil Campbell in Franklin County. After graduation from high school, she attended Northwest Shoals Community College before advancing to the University of North Alabama where she met her husband Carter Watkins (pictured), a Florence native who graduated from Hibbett Middle and Coffee High Schools. Carter Watkins also majored in journalism and is currently employed as WHNT's Chief Photographer for the Shoals Bureau. Together, Carter and Amanda reside in Forest Hills with their daughter Grace Anne and dog Toto.
Perhaps their marriage looked idyllic only from the outside. Sheffield Superintendent Richard Gardner reported that he had spoken with Watkins over an incident two years ago. Gardner did not specify the exact nature of the problem, but did state that it was not sexual in nature. Now Amanda Duboise Watkins has been released from the Muscle Shoals Jail on $15,000.00 bond, while also having been placed on paid administrative leave at Sheffield Junior High.
Photos of Watkins show her wearing a cross; she lists her favorite Bible verse as "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength;" two of her Facebook organizations are I Love Jesus and I'm Proud to be a Christian. Here, in her own words, is the vision Amanda Duboise Watkins had of herself:
Before entering the world of education, I worked as a reporter and freelance writer. My original degree from the University of North Alabama was in journalism. I have always loved reading and writing. I worked as a freelance reporter for the Times Daily, a staff writer for the Franklin County Times and wrote various freelance articles for a few magazines. I even worked at WVNA Radio in Tuscumbia. I decided to go back to obtain my masters after the birth of my daughter. It is a decision that changed my life. I absolutely love what I do. Today's young people are our future. We need to do all we can to make a positive impact on their lives and their educational experience. Every student has his/her own unique talents and abilities. Teaching allows me to help students make those discoveries or further develop ones they have already uncovered for themselves. Helen Keller once said, "Its a terrible thing to see and have no vision."Now, unless offered a plea, Watkins will be branded a sex offender and never teach school again. She also may be required to serve time in prison. Her family deserved more, and certainly the young man she seduced deserved and expected more, as did his family. Teacher sex is a crime--a crime no less serious because the offender may manage to plead to a lesser offense. If our children aren't safe at school, how can we expect them to be safe anywhere?
Shoalanda
From a bunch of cool cats!
E.T., Gayle, Zara, Nan, Amaryllis, D.K., & Shoalanda
If you're looking for Sheffield's classic Santa, Thomas Wolfe was right--you can't go home again. Over the years, we've heard various tales concerning the fate of the giant Santa Claus that annually stood watch over North Montgomery Avenue--even that the late Bob Love was secretly restoring the icon to decorate the entrance of Park Place during the holidays. Yet another year has come and gone, and we still have no Santa. If any of our readers have information about this Sheffield classic of the 50s and 60s, please forward it to us for publication.
Nostalgia in the town of Tuscumbia fares much better; there the Spring Park train of yesteryear has been restored and runs faithfully during much of the year. The month of December sees the diminutive railway turned into a Christmas train. If you haven't made it to the park for your annual Christmas ride, you still have time. The Tuscumbia Railway Christmas Train will run December 26-29 at 6:00 p.m. Admission is only $3.00, making it a perfect ending to a day of after Christmas sales.
What's up with this: Remember to drop off all your Christmas recycling to the Easter Seals building on Woodward Avenue in Muscle Shoals. It's for a great cause and might even convince Florence Mayor Bobby Irons that recycling is more than just an urban myth.
Shoalanda
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
