1970s By - Demopolis Public Library

Transcription

MYRTLEWOOD HISTORY
1970s
By
LUTHER FRANKLIN BRAGG, JR.
Dedicated to MY MOTHER, who gave me life,
who taught me to care, and who loves
the place of our birth as I do.
r>
This is a workine manuscript
and is constantly being changed.
This manuscript is the sole property of Luther
F. Bragg, Jr. and all riCDts are reserved.
~,
jI
CONTENTS:
1<' orevvord
Photographs
Maps, Documents and Illustrations
The History:
Prologue - Years of Apprehension and Turmoil
"
Chapter 1
1970
Chapter 2
1971
Chapter 3
1972
Chapter 4
1973
Chapter 5
1974
Chapter 6
1975
Chap t er' 7
1976
Chapter 8
1977
Chapter 9
1978
Chapter 10
1979
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Index
r».
I
,
•
FOREWORD:
This sixth volume of the Myrtlewood H'is t or-y covers ano t ho.r decade
of life and chancing times in our t own and Nation ••• the 1970s. As
previously stated, the Po r-ewor-d for each of these volumes is very
much the same but certain facts and information bear repeating.
It was during the Summer of 1972 that this history was begun, so
with the typing of Volume VI (1970-1979), the 9th year marIe
approaches. I hGd given myself roughly 10 years to complete this
h Ls t or-y through the 1970s, but it is doubtful at this point if I
can reach this goal. The going is slow. There is still so much
more to learn to make this history the ITork I intend it to be-
not a skimming of the surface but an in-depth history of our t own,
it's people and the world about us. New information and corrections
already warrant a second typing of the first five volumes but that
is not possible in the near future. As previously stated, it is
my intent to continue this history for so long as I live and am
able ""to keep it up-to-date. .Lt is a mamouth labor but truly a
labor of love.
There are still those who refuse to add their families to this
h i.s t or-y , That is their peroGative but I do re{:;ret that their
families are not completely or accurately covered. In meny cases
what information I do have has come from public records, news
paper articles and tombstones.
Except for a few scattered records, our Bl8,ck Families have not
been covered as yet but there is a ':lorking file and it is hope.£>
•
that in time these records can be recorded. It is not &n easy
tasle due to a Lac k of knowledge about earlier f'ami.La e s and in
some cases, suspicion. Tracing one's Pami Ly History has become
more and more popular and I am deliGhted to see it. I ho:oe that
these volumes may aomed ay aid some in compiling their family
history. For this reason, records of our Black families end
wi th the symbol (BF). At best, tracinc:: and recording. one ts
family history can be confusinG and accuracy and proof are
essential.
There are blanks on many paGes, placed there in hopes that the
missing information can still be found. There sre often no
entr.ies for many months and blank spaces are left for new
entries or notations.
Unless the name of a city or torm is followed by the name of
the State, that place is located in Marenr,o County, ALabamc ,
First names and niclmames are often used Vii thin this history,
but along with the full name, unless the full name is not known.
In these modern times it is amazing hoy,' seldom full names are
used. }l'irst names and n i.ckname s pr-e dom'i.nn te-- just note your
newspapers. This can be most confusing and cause error in
tryinc; to compile accurate'records.
Ever GO often I am a skod what the many National rind '.vorln. events
I have included have to do "lith t ho history of Jiyrtlewood. They
IV
i
~
are used to help paint a more cODnlete nicture of the times in
wh i ch we live and in which our :::ncc:Jtors lived •.• the c hanr-e n ,
develo~ment, ero~th and other events
directly or indirectly.
o
;
th~t
have influenced us
I wo u.Ld again like to express my deep rl,):Jreci~2tion to all those
who hav o shared their knowledge and raemo rLe a 1,""ith no and who
have given me their encour agemerrt : and rrup por t , I look forward
to the day when this history can be published in some form so
that it can be read and enjoyed by all who love or have an in
terest in our to~~.
Luther F. Bragg, Jr.
April 1981
•
r;'
f
.'
v
1HE 1970s
Times were tre~1-k,_
during 19 70s t";~~~9
By DOLORES BARCLAY
Associated Press Writer
n
The 1970s were a giant cauldron of
fads, fancies and fetishes. They were
trendy times.
So say the signs of the ·70s....
"Saturday Night" was both live
and f~verish.
Petrocks and pop rocks were frivo
lous and fun. Punk rock was "heavy."
A dance called The Rock made people
sway. And "Rocky" the movie was
the biggest rock of all.
"What's your sign?" was the ques
tion of the decade. A mood ring would
tell if you felt mellow, uptight, funky
or spaced.
CREEP and Watergate were "the
pits." But black was beautiful, China
was "in" and to be born again was as
American as the Frisbee.
You could dial-a-joke, dial-a
prayer, dial-a-story or dial-a-shrink
with your pushbutton phone.
Sparkling water from various
springs sat in refrigerators close to
yogurt, white wine, crudites and
wheat germ.
.Jogging, running, tennis, racquet
ball, yoga. Warm-up suits, running
shoes. Get into shape. Stay in shape.
Hot tubs. Jacuzzis.
"Where are you coming from?"
One had to know - especially'ME.
The "Me Generation" took form with
one collectiveprimal scream. It med
itated, went to est and was Rolled
into knowing itself.
You had to "get your act together"
and go back to basics and back to the
land, where you could recycle every
thing from clothes to bottles. Fruit
had to be fresh. Vegetables had to be
fresh. Soybeans had to be.
Gasoline was scarce. Bikinis be
came strings. Less was best. Small
was beautiful. No-frills. Zero popu
lation.
But there were still big bucks and
mega bucks. Big Mac and the SST.
And fast tracks, fastbacks and rac
ing stripes.
The nation streaked toward the
Buy-centennial in red, white and blue
fervor. But it was the bottom line that
counted.
Hard hats and "law and order."
Flowers and peace. And grafitti was
everywhere.
There was dining al fresco, instead
of just eating outdoors. There was
living together instead of marriage.
Marriages could be open. And sex
uality wasn't lust hetero. It also was
bi, trans and homo.
Macho became a lyric. Sexism be
came institutional.
There were celebrity animals, like
Morris the Cat, now deceased, Miss
Piggy, killer bees, secretariat and
Jaws.
Elizabeth Ray and Judith Exner
told all. Burt Reynolds bared all.
Anita Bryant made some enemies.
King Tut made some friends.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. Mary
Hartman, Mary Hartman.
There were spin-offs and instant :
replays "Upstairs, Downstairs,"
"All in the Family," "M-A-8-H" and
"Mary Tyler Moore."
Electronics fed us, entertained us
and cleaned us - food processors,
juice extractors, hand-held calcu
lators, digital watches, video games,
blow dryers, shower massagers, den
tal picks.
. .
Disco reigned. The dance of the i
decade? The Hustle.
i
Blue jeans, denim, dungarees. The I
designer of the decade? Choose any i
two letters from A to Z and wear the .
initials.
I
Leisure suits were boring in their I
polyester bliss. And Adidas was as II
American as cowboy boots.
T-shirts covered more than just the
chest: "Uppity Women Unite," "Sky
lab Missed Me," "Free Patty
Hearst"
.
There were SMILE buttons and
WIN buttons. Copper bracelets the
Spiro Agnew watch, gold chain~ and
diamonds by the inch. Espadrilles
and platform shoes. Farrah Fawcett
teeth and hair.
'
Pinball wizards poppedup all over.
Backgammon dice clinked every
where. And the sidewalk surf was up,
as skateboards skimmmed down city
streets.
"No smoking" was in. Busing was
out.
Neglect was benign. Disclosure
was full.
i
»
:
Vl
•
'---0-·-
Many .people,
things lost
d~ring·'70s
By LEE MITGANG
Associated Press Writer
The '70s, like any decade, leaves memories of
people and things we have lost.
.
Gaso~ne at less than $1 a gallon, Dinner out for
under $5. A ticket to a bal1game for under $1. Five
cent candy bars. Automat cafeterias.
And we also lost Skylab. Somewhere over Aus
tralia.
The Beatles. Abbie Hoffman. Jimmy Hoffa. Idi
Ami?,. All were among the missing.' .
,
N generation of world-movers died in the 70s
Mab Tse-tung, Charles de Gaulle, Nikita
. Khrushchev, Chiang Kai-shek, Francisco Franco,
Juan Peron, Haile Selassie, Gamal Abdul Nasser. .
David Ben Gurion, Golda Meir.
;
Two popes: Paul VI ... John Paul I. And
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and Cardinal Richard .
Cushing.
.
Two presidents: Harry S. Truman·... Lyndon B.
Johnson.
.
.
And two vice presidents who never made the
next big step: Nelson Rockefeller and Hubert H.
Humphrey.
.
The gunmen died: Frank Costello ... Crazy Joe
Gal1o. And so did the G·man: J. Edgar Hoover.
The '70s stilled the music of: Arthur Fiedler,
Igor Stravinski, Jacques BreI, ~aria Callas,
Maurice Chevalier, George Szell, Lows Armstrong,
Pablo Casals, Dimitri Shostakovich, Duke El1- i
ington, Guy Lombardo, Paul Robeson, G~ne Kru~a, :
Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Jim MOrrison, Kel~h
Moon, MahaliaJa~kson, Bing Crosby, and Jam.s
Joplin.
And stole our sports heros: Vince Lombardi,
Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Casey
Stpnp'pJ
... our stars: Mary Pickford, Alfred Lunt, Joan
Crawford. Rosalind Russell, Betty Grable, Betty
Hutton, Gypsy Rose Lee, Veronica Lake, Edgar
Bergen, Edward G. Robinson, Jack Benny, John
Wayne. Groucho Marx. And Charlie Chaplin.
And ... Gig Young, Robert Shaw, Freddie Prinz.
Zero Mostel, Susan Hayward, Josephine Baker,
Chester Conklin, Dan Dailey, Jack Cassidy, Lee J.
Cobb, Lily Pons, Jack Benny's sidekick Eddie
"Rochester" Anderson, Jack Oakie, Ted Mack,
Rod Serling, Wally Cox.
Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, John Dos
Pasos, Pablo Neruda, Thornton Wilder, Robert
Lowell. Agatha Christie, Ezra Pound, Ogden Nash,
Marianne Moore, S.J. Perelman, John O'Hara,
Noel Coward, Vladimir Nabokov, Pearl Buck, Ed
ward Steichen, W.H. Auden.
And Perle Mesta, Conrad Nagel, Coco Chanel,
Bennet Cerf, Ilka Chase, Mamie Eisenhower, Ed .
Sullivan. Louel1a Parsons, Anita Louise, Samuel'
Goldwy,n, Jack Warner, Normarl Rockwell, Al
Cappo Margaret Mead, the Duke of Windsor, f
Bertrand Russell, Walter Winchell, Walter Lip
pmann. Walter Reuther, A. Philip Randolph, Ralph
Bunche, Whitney Young, Earl Warren.
I
Richard J. Daley, Adam Clayton Powel1, Aldo .
Moro, Lord Mountbatten, Wernher von Braun, John .
D. Rockefeller 3rd, Lady Clementine Spencer-
Churchill.
•
The decade also claimed the lives of the very
rich: King Faisal, Aristotle Onassis, H.L. Hunt, J.
Paul Getty, J.C. Penney, Howard Hughes.
.
... and those who dared the skies: Karl WalIen
da. Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, Charles Lindbergh.
f'rr:A;1.Abil.- AlA •~'Au,1L_ 'TV6') ~:r nu./fiq
•
CHAPTER 1 - 1970:
A new decade davmed and life in our tovm was much the same but
the swift moving years with their chane;es and apprehension were
deeply felt by our people.
Terrorism spread across the United St~tes in this year ••• there were
the tragi'c confrontations between" the law" and students at Kent
.
State University and Jackson State University which resulted in the
death of ·some students ••• our economy suffered from a recession and
inflation ••• there was growin~ concern over pollution ••• terrorists
were on the r-ampage t:b.rouG'hout the wo r Ld ••• hi jacking spread to the
skies ••• and the Vietnam war spread to Cambodia.
Here at home, the Rev. Robert Ercell Stockman continued as minister
of the Baptist Church, the Rev .. Charles "';ilson pa s t or-ed the Presby
terinn Church and the Rev. Mitchel E. Zirlott TJastored the Methodist
Church.
Durine; this year, Danny Ross Nelson, son of 'i/illie Gladys Milstead
Nelson and the Lat e Hoss Nelson, mar-r i ed Sandra Sue Criswell BUllock,
daughter of Edward G. and Lola fuae Criswell of ForklRnd, Ala. The
couple did not make their horne in Myrtlewood. Sue had one child by
a former marriage.
Thurs. Jan. 1:
New Year's Day.
Sun. :i~eb. 15: EUGene Holt Barkley, 4th and l,',st child and. 3rd son
of Do ug'Las McDan i.eL and Robert Seale (Bobbye) 11cAlpine Barkley, was
born in the lJospital at Demopolis, Ala. His pe.r errt s were livine;
in Myrtlewood. Patern~l grandson of eharlce Victor and Lula Stokes
Bar-lcl.ey of Calvary, Ala., and mat er-na'L r:randson of William' Thomas
and Coralie Evington Eddins McAlpine of Myrtlewood.
Thurs. Feb. 19: Dawn Michelle Hall, 1st child and daughter of
Joseph We.de (Joey) and Betty Ann Crawford Hall, was born in the
hospital at Demopolis, Ala. Her par-errt s were living in Myrtlewood.
Paternal e;randdaughter of Corbet Lamar and JU2,ni ta Letha Aldridee
Hall of I1Iyrtlewood and mnternal grEndson of Clyde
and
Elizabeth
Cr~wford of Gallion, Ala.
There are no entries at this point fbI' the month of OCnrch.
Man's conquest of space continued and the fantasy worlds of Buck
Rocers and Flash Gordon were more and more becoming reality. The
Apollo fliebt pr-ogr-am continued but tragedy v,'as narrowly averted
in this month of '\pril. A s tr-onanc s James Lovell, Jolm Swirrert and
Fred lIaise were enraute to the! r.1oon far m;.n's 3rd landing on th::tt
planet when an oxygen tank exploded in the command f1hip. The moon
Land i ng had to be aborted but the npac e ship circled the moon and
Country club...country club
.:J
,.
•
Fred Adams ...
Myrtlewood Country Club's "Mr. -BIg"
Who says that fancy brick
and a swimming pool a
country club make?
Fred Adams and his
"country club" of domino
players in Myrtlewood disprove
this statement many times
over. The clubhouse. a tin roofed, polyethylene-walled
building behind the Adams
house, is the sce ne of many
afternoon domino games
which often continue into
the night. The small building
is equipped with a fan,
electric lights, and heat.
The dues are most agreeable.
The MCC doesn't have a
golf course or a pool yet,
but it has as good or better
time with three tables, several
chairs and lots of time. It
started about three years ago
with a brick patio. A tarpaulin
was then added to keep out
the rain and sun, and from
there it evolved into its
present shape .
"Only people on Medicare
or too lazy to work are eligible
to play", says the host with
a smile about the membership
of Myrtlewood Country club,
whic h is the offic ial t it le .
There ate 11 charter mem
bers, and many, many honorary
members. The charter mem
bers include Jim Tucker,
'Villie carter, Bob Sutton,
Pete Carter, trby Williams,
'1';. C. Williams, Horace
F.:theridge, Coty Guinn, Fred
Adams, and Coleman and
G_e~rge R.~e:..:n.:.:t.=z..:....
_
•
The Democrat-Reporter
Linden, Alabama
Thursday
9 April 1970
MCC Charter Mtlmbl!r~...
Irby Wllllorn~, Pole Carter, and .lIm Tuck.r
I
I
J
1970 - Continued:
retvrned to e ar th safely ~ The as tr-onaur s s t ay cd alive by u s i.ng
oxygen from the lunar module.
ThrouGh the wonder of Television vie ar e able to sit in our horne s
and witness the world's happ eni.ng s as they tal~e place. We human
beings are so quickly spoiled. \Vhen Television first came on the
scene we were awed but in time, as more 8.11c1 more people were able
to o~~ one, we soon took this marvelous invention for {~anted. We
forget that not too many years ago the only way we could see history
makinG events was to watch them in the newsreels of motion picture
theatre .•• after they had taken place. We tend to f'or ge t that not
many people had automobiles in those days and Boine to the movies
wa s a rare trcD.t for many peopa..e and not possible for others. We
tend to forget that not too long ago we marveled at the invention
of the radio and how few people could afford the luxury of o~ning
one of those for a lonG period of time. We forget that the most
of OUI news came to us only' in newspapers and ma~azines Dnd t~at
not too many years ago many people could not afford those ••• and
that the news and happenings of our times was carried by word of
mouth whenever people met.
Whereas our two grocery stores and the I10st office wer e the "meeting
place ll for most of ou.r citizens, a few of our men and some from out
of t own met daily in "The Myrtlewood Domino Farlor." The f'o LLowd.ng
article appeared in the Democrat-Reporter of Thursday April 9th:
"Who says that fancy brick and a swimming pool a country club make?
Fred Adams and his 'country club' of domino nlayers in MyrtlevlOod
disprove this statement many times over. The club-house, a tin
roofed, polyethylene-walled building behind the Adams house, is the
scene of many afternoon domino cames which often continue into the
night. The small building is equipped with a fnn, electric li~hts,
and heat. The dues 8re most agreeable. The ~yrtlewood Country Club
doesn't have 8. go Lf cours or a pool y e t , but it has good or better
with three tables, several chairs and lots of time.
It started
about three y e ar s ago with a brick patio. A trapulin was tl)en
added to keep out the rain and sun,· and from tbere it evolved into
its present shape.
'Only people on Nedic~re or too lazy to work
are eliGible to pIny', says the host Fred Adams, with a smile about
i
1970 - Continued:
the membership of the MffJ.C, wh i ch is the official title. There
are 11 charter members, and many , many honorary members. The
Ch~rter tIembers include: Jim Tucker, Willie Carter, Bob 3utton,
Pete Carter, Irby 'Nilliams, E. C. Vvilliams, Horace Etheridge,
Cody Guinn, Fred Ad~ns and Colem~n.and George Rentz." . (Note:
a little over a decade later, James Earl (Jim) Tucker, .Wickham
Reginald (Yete) Carter, Sr., Charles Irby Williams, Jr. and COdY
Carson Guinn of Myrtlewood, and Robert (Bob) Sutton of Linden
were deceased.)
Sat. April 18: Former Myrtlewood resident, Alfred Clifford Crosby,
age 62, died and was buried at Columbus, Ga. He was the son of
the late Charlie and Nola Jane Snelgrover Crosby, and the brother
of Wonnie Rowe Crosby, James Roderick.Crosby, Mrs. William Frank
(Ava Illildred Crosby) ROGers, Jr., Rufus Osborn Crosby and William
Crosby. Alfred Clifford Crosby was born 3 Sept. 1907 at Lake, Miss.
He came to Myrtlevvood at age 18 with his parents, brothers and
sisters. In our tovm he worlced for the Kirkpatrick Mill. He left
Myrtlewood in 1926 to join the Army at Ft. Benning, Ga.
Our t own is knovm to many people throue;hout our Nation and to some
abroad. The following item was written, by Stuart Covington in his
column "Alabama Ramblings" which appeared in liThe Birmingham News"
of Thursday, 23 April' of this year:
IlTINY MYRTLEWOOD WOHTH VISIT---Myrtlewood may not be exactly a
household name to most Alabamians, and we'll admit it's not the
largest place in 'Nest Alabama, or' even l\iarenf,o County, for that
matter ••• but don't sell Myrtlewood short. It's Borta small, but
it plays a very important role in Alabam:t commerce. It's known to
a lot of folks' outside the borders of Alabama than you'd probally
imagine ..• It's on Hiehway 114, about 20 miles west of Linden. (Note:
!lir. Covv'ington miscalculated his mileage--Linden is only some 10-12
miles from Myrtlewood) According to the 1960 Census it had less
than 500 population. It lies just a few miles East of the Tom
bigbee River--on the navigable stretch. Myrtlewood is important
because it serves as a junction point in an important East-West
rail route. It is here that the rails of the &iant Louisville
and Nashville meet those of the shortish Meridian and Bigbee, which
ter-mi.na.t e s at Meridian, Miss •.. At Meridian, the M&B turns freight
cars over to the Illinois Central and ~outhern railroads. At Selma,
the L&N has a hook-up with the Western Railway of Alabama which
moves cars through to Atlanta ••• The scenery around Myrtlewood is
quite pretty--pine dotted hills, a few houses. The Tombi~bee
also makes a majestic bend nqt far from Myrtle~ood... We don't
know if the boarding house 'on the hill' near the railroad yards
is still in operation, but train crews said you could a.Lway s count
on a man-sized meal if you went there ••• Myrtlewood is an old tovm
and the towns of Nanafalia and Sweet "'/aber are nearby, which mi gh t
interest a visitor •.• In short, why not visit Myrtlewood the next
time you're in the neighborhood, whether you're a railroad fan or
not." (Note: It is thouCllt that the .boarding house Mr. Covington
had reference to was the home of Mrs. Shock A. (Josie Barney)
Adams which was located on the site of the present Post Office
Grocery store" and not on the hill above the r-ai.Lr-o ad , )
MYRTLE.W<OC>D HISTORY
MYRTLE.WOOD DIGS
MAY 1970
NEW WEJ.1.,
TO
EXPAND
WATER
Digging is scheduled to begin
May 28 for a new well as the first
step toward the $906,950.00 ex
pansion of Myrtlewood's water
system.
The ground work for the project
which should add 264 new water
customers to. Myrtlewood's 303
customers began in 1989.
After water is reached, samples
must be sent to Alabama Depart- '
ment of Environmental Manage
ment for approval of the -Water.
After approval is gSined, construe- ,
tion willbegin on the new9iStribu
tion system, '~onstnictioIi'~ is . ~
scheduled to take 120 days for lay- I
in the lines. . ,,,," ._," .., 1
g
,
,,",',," r "''''
j
Mayor John Th~r,CityClerk I
Betty lack~arkley,"i.Iid banker j
Mike Robison' of First Bank of
Linden, attended a pre-:
construction 'conference, in;
Tuscaloosa'Monday, May14'.~ i
Othercoundl'members whQ are
also on the water committee for
Myrtlewood are Kevin McK1nney, '
Jane Vick; Betty Hall, MadReSan
singa, and DavidReaeh. '~bhn
Burns is the water liupermteJ1dent
and Herman flM:aclt" Glall8 is the
assistant superintendent. ::,-"
Myrtlewood's 41 nUles of water
lines will double with the exiStence
of 42, newiniles upon 'completion
"., ,,":,;
of the project; -,lr,
Funds to add the 'new well and
construct the new' lines will come I
from a $f,00,000.00 Community i
Development 'Block .Grant, !
$454,009 which Myrtlewood bor- : '
rowed, $16,000 that Myrtlewood is " .
putting into the system, $26,000 ' ,
contribution from Sweet Water, I
and a. $106,000 grant from '~
I:d~iW;~iIt~-Farmers Home Administration,
'
and from fees.
.
The FmHAgrant came after the ,:
pressure stamnzeu l~ the
bid contract went ov.~r what was. ", 'Myrtlewood will be gaining a ,water
&rea. Any water used IN' ~1 0""
funded for the proiect, Myrtlenew water
·th th
wood's loan will be repaid through i
source WI
e new metered.
the customer's usage.
. ' , 1-~~!~-,!,~e,~1q)a~ston will __ ~ie I . Future plans are to construct a
Sweet Water iaparticipating in ! Myrtlewood 10, with the . weet : water tank in Myrtlewoon. a,I:C",r
the fundiIlg because the town will _I Water system and withu. ,)OU rh ding to Councilman Kevin McKin
ney, "so if we have a breakdown
have an einergeilcy conrieetion and , Marengo system for U"\~cge;I<,
add two emergency water' purposes. In Dixons ~lillf tn" or a line breaks. people m
Myrtlewood won't be the. first t.\:
sources-Myrtlewood's system Myrtlewood system will be U1.klLi·;
and South Marengo's..
and replacing water tc ':(>foT L;...: , be without water."
1
:1
• •
Tne Democrat-Reporter, Linden, AL •• Thursday, 17 May 1990
.
.s
•
1970 - Continued:
May: Robert Washington and Annie Merle Bullock Jowers and son
Thomas l''lindell Jowers moved to Linden. They had been living in
the former Edwin Leonidas (Lonny) Carter house in Myrtlewood
since May 1962. The Jower's dauBhter, Mrs. Robert Wayne (Judy
Merle Jowers) Hud.g ens , and her children who had been livine in
Texas alGo moved to Linden around this time to occupy an apart
ment next door to her parents.
May: William Vaden (Bill) and Sarah Elizabeth Taylor Nelson
and young son, William Vaden, Jr. (Little Willie) also left our
town to make their home in Linden. The:r had lived in a trailer
home beside (NW of) his mother's home.
Mon. May 25: William Barry Etheridge, 2nd and last child and son
of William Clark and Elaine Bullock Etheridge, Jr., was born in
the hospital at Demopolis, Ala. The' parents were living at Fork
land, Ala. Paternal granson of William Clark and Alice Frances
Poellnltz. Etheridge, Sr. of Forkland ~nd maternal f,randson of
Thomas Levi and Nettie Pearl Hinson Bullock of M;',rrtlewood. Both
the parents and paternal grandparents were former residents of
our town.
June: There's no place like homel After a month in Linden,
William Vaden and Sarah Elizabeth Taylor Nelson, Sr., and son,
William Vaden, Jr., returned to r'l1:tTrtlewood and made their home
in the Smith-Yelverton house.
July: During this month 4 party telephone lines replaced the
usual 8 party lines in Myrtlewood. It did make a difference.
Much is done in the name of pr05T€SS and some of it is wise
and necessary, but each time an old hcuc e is demoLi.shed or a
section of land is vacated, a part of our tOV:TI disappears for
ever from sight. Only memori.e s are left for t.ho ae who knew
these places. Unfortunately, in most cases, photographs were
never taken of these houses and sites or are not available.
This is anotller reason the author hBs been trying constantly
to secure and copy old pho t ogr-aplis and to pho t ogrnph all the
houses and buildine;s in our t own,
The week of July 20th of this year, Henry Strrttforcl rmdAda Gray
Carter Thomas had an old house on the hill above the Coats-Ward
place torn d ovm , This old house, in bad ahap e , was last lived
in by a Black family, Robert and Essie Doss. This was the last
of four houses on the hill which h~d been built on Carter land
by the Henderson Baker Lumber Co. ca 1918-20. Many families
lived in these houses from tbe t in-e tlley wer-e built until one
by one the houses were unfit to live in and were demolished.
This last house was the fir~t one on the RiCht (North) side of
the r-oad that led up to the sumit of the hill. During the y ev.r s
the Author was growing up there W2.S a l::l.rc;e gravel pitt on this
•
1970 - Continued:
aame side just befor~~eaclled the aforementioned house. In the
area of the eravel pitt, almost center, stood an:enormous pine
tree under which we played for many an hour. Beginnine at the
backside of the F,Ie.ggie Lee Brown house (now the home of the
William Vaden Nelson family) a path began, wound ,down the hill,
to the East and North sides of the gravel pitt' and on dovm a
lone and steep hill, to cro 5S a branch and fil'18.11y reach the
Henderson Baker Mill.
families who lived in this last 'house on the hill were those
of Rial Norris, a Hoearth family, a Peppenhorst family, Charlie
and Emily Lyles Lammers and their children, and he r parents Joseph
Madison and Frances Elizabeth Anderson Ly Les , Dcr-Las Z. Beverly
and family, Alonzo Hasty and Goldie, Beverly Stephens, the Willie
Sparl\:s family and perhaps a number of' oLb er s , Rober-t and Essie
Doss and their nephew, Ira James, were the last to move into this
house. Robert Doss died here arourtd this time (late 1969 or early
1970) and Essie left MJrrtlewood. For the first time since ca
1918-20 there was no one livine on the hill. The ar-ea was now
left to eive way to Nature's undergrowth.
YJ10vm
DurinG this summer, work continued on the rebuilding of the road
from just South of the Gladys Milstead Nelson house on past the
Coats-Ward horneplace and ending at the present WillhlIO Vaden Nelson
house. This side r'o ad , which begins off Main Road North and beside
the brick house owned by the L.• N. Townzen family, wound its way
like a snake on to the aforementioned hill above the Coats-Ward
place. A number of years before 1970, this road was worked on
and blacktopped to the Gladys Nelson house. Legal restraints
at the time prevented this road from being blacktopped on to the
Coats-Ward homep'Lac e and the Maggie Lee T'rOVl11 house. Now, some
years later, construction was under way in preperation for con
tinuing the blacktop to the Brown house. To provide the required
width for the,new roadway, many huge oak, pine and other trees
were uprooted and pushed down the hills to r-o t-s--wha t a waste of
valuable wood. Some of the many curves in this road were now
eliminated.
To eliminate one of the very sharp curves, another old landmark
was demolished. This was the last house on the Right side (North)
of the road before one reached the Coats-Ward place.
This houge was built ca 1906 by Wal~er Durand Poellnitz, Sr. for
his wife, Willie Belle Guinn Po~l],nitz, and chilrlren, Ruth Lucinda,
Edwar-d Leland and Walter Durand, Jr. The Poellni tz family lived
here until Mrs. Poellni tz became quite ill and tihe family moved
next door to the home of Walter, Sr.'s sister, Henrietta Poell
nitz. Mrs. Poellnitz died in 1908 and the W. D. Poellnitz house
was rented out. It bec8111e one of the most rented houses in our
town's history.
Known families who lived intlli~: house were: Charles and Etura
Nichols Pence, Mrs. Corder Henry (Mac[';ieLee fllcCrnry ) Br-own and
her children, the John Harrison family, a MacDonald family, w.
Clem and Jen'nie Solomon and children, WilliE1.m Davis and Ruth
Poellnitz Carter and daughter Jean (Ruth returned to old borne),
7
1970 -
Continued:
John and Ada Rew Lamme r s , . Willi;lm Frank and Mildred Crosby Roger-s
and children, a Fort f arm Ly , Mr. and r:irs. GeorGe Keener, Ross and
Gladys r.1ilstead NelGon and their first child, Nell, William and
Mamie Gcwer , d auglrt er- Joyce and r,1rs •. Gower's mother, Mrs. Lela
Kiddy. In November of 1943, a brother nnd sister, Willie Cole
man and Mildred Belle Jones, bought this house for their parents,
Thomas Leonard and Nancy Lillicm Parnell Jones. Willie Coleman
(Bill) Jones had come home from the Service and left a&ain to work.
Mildred Jones married in 1945 and left home. Mrs. Jones died in
1949 and Mr. Jones left Myrtlewood. In 1954 Bill Jones married
Eule.. Lee Thomas and they lived in this house tUltil May 1956. The
house was rented out to Russ Ma,yton for a time and he VIas the
last person to live here. The house was sold in 1948 to Dave
Morgan but he never lived in it. Now, the house was gone with
some 42 years of livine; and memories scattered to the winds. The
land is now so grown up one would never know a house once stood
there.
,
Sat. Aug. 1: Tragedy. does not have to occur within our t own or
to one of our residents to be deepljr felt by our people. Heart
felt concern went out on this date to Samuel Graham and Daisy Lee
Singleton Fowler Nelson when her son, Gerald Edward Fowler, age 29,
was killed in an automobile accident. Gerald, a native of Linden,
had never lived in our town. He was survived by his wife, Charlotte
Ann Marsh Fowler, 2 children, Michael Gerald (Mickey) and LeAnn
Fowler of Linden, and his mother and step-father of MyrtlevJood.
.
Gerald was buried in Memorial Gardens at Linden. Mrs. John
Tucker of the Putnam area, a passenGer in the other car involveq
•
in this tragic accident, was also killed. myrtlewood had shared
in the grief of Daisy and Graham just 19 months prior to this
date, when Daisy's only other child, Frances Carolyn Fowler Creehan
was killed with her husband, Jack Creehan. Their private plane
cn' a flig}Jt from Demopolis to Pennsylvania, crashed in a snow
storm just after Christmas of 1968 near Pittsburg, Pa.
e
Wed. Aue. 5: Effie Lee Huches Hall Dennis, age 84, died at home
in Myrtlewood and was buried in the Myrtlewood cemetery. The
widow of Robert Andrew Dennis, she was survived by 3 sons, Comer
Davis (Bo) Hall, James William Dennis a.nd Robert Percy Dennis;
and 3 daughters, Mr s , Ja.mes Earl OIyrtis· Olee Hall) Tucker, Mrs.
Raymond McCrn.r~T (Annie Belle Dennis) Sollie and mrs. Jewell Curtis
(Nora Lee Dennis) Etheridge. Two sons, Bonny Lorenzo (Pat) Hall
and John C~leman Dennis, had preceeded her in death. Effie Lee
Huges was born 14 July 1886 at McWilliams on the border of Monroe
and Wilcox Counties, Alabama, the daughter of
and
.
Hughes.
She
first
married
Edward
Lorenzo
Hall
--:---....,..-,.,.,...,...,.,...,.-.---
at rvlcWilli[~ms and children, Myrtis and Bonny, were born there.
After Mr. Ha.ll died, she came to Kyrtlewood with her children
ca 1911-12 to live with her recently widowed uncle, Jefferson
Davis Hughes. Her third child, Comer Davis Hall, wa.s born in
Myrtlewo~d, 10 Feb. 1912.
Effie Ilee Huehes Hall married Robert
Andrew Dennis in Myrtlewood ·10 Feb. 1918 and they made their home
in our t own, Their 5 children were born here. 1'I1rs. Dennis was
a member of the Methodist Church.
1970 - Continued:
August: During this month, William Kelly Etheridge, Jr., ae;e 18,
was injured in an automobile e.cc Lderrt on. his way home from Linden.
His car left the highway and he sustained seriovs injuries to his
face, leaving the left side of his face partially paralyzed.
September: The 1970-71 Mareneo County school term began. Myrtle wood school children attened either the Linden public schools .or
the private Marengo Academy schools.
October: In this month, William Vaden and Sarah Elizabeth Taylor
Nelson and son, William Vaden, Jr., moved from the Smith-Yelverton
house to make their home with Bill's mother, Mrs. Ross (Gladys
Milstead) Nelson.
Sun. O'Ct. 11:
Homecoming was held at the Myrtlewood Baptist Church •
.Sat. Oct. 31: On this Halloween Day, Edward Gene (Ed) and Margaret
Ann (Bobbie) Roden Vines and children, Clella Vay and Byron Lester,
left Myrtlewood to make their home in Linden, AIR. They sold their
royrtlewood home (the ,former Maggie Lee l1cCrRry Bro~n home) to Barber
Allen and DeLois Bullock Tolbert. The Vines family had come to
Myrtlewood from Linden in September of 1963 a few days. after the
birth of their son Byron.
.
•
Mon. Nov. 2: Barber Allen and DeLois Bullock Tolbert moved into
the house they had purchased from the E. G. Vines family. Allen
and Lois had been living in a trailer home beside (Left side-South)
of the Edward Coleman '{{illiams, Sr. house. Lois was a native of
our town and Allen was a native of the Camp Ground-Geneva area.
Allen was employed by the American Can Paper Mill at Naheola.
During this month of November a twelve month recession, which be gan in Novenilier of 1969, began to level off. It was the 5th post war recession in this country.
Tues. Nov. 24: Laymon Myres Yelverton, age 40, died of leukemia
and pneumoni.a at Caraway Iftethodist Hospital in Barnu.nghem , Ala.
after a long and costly illness. Our. area had been deeply con cerned and touched by Laymon's valiant fieht ar,ainst leukemia.
A resident of Half Acre, he was buried there on Thurs. 26 Nov.
1970. He vms survived by his wife, MarGaret Upchurch Yelverton
and 4 children, Laymon fIl;yres, Jr.,' Frank L
, Harold 0
and Patsy Lanette; his mother, Mrs. Jessie Lavon (Reda Pe-a-r"'l- Overstreet) Yelverton; six brothers, Walter Lavon Yelverton, Sr.
and Clyde Melvin Yelverton, Sr. of Myrtlewood, Norman Lee Yel verton, Bill Mack Yelverton and. James Lafaye Yelverton of the
Demopolis ~rea, and Harold Yelverton of ~ales, Eneland; and 2
sisters, Mrs. Alfred Carlton (Genevieve-Bea-Yelverton) Jowers
of Por-IcLand and r,~rs. Herschel Lee (Clo.1'o. Geneva YeLver t.on ) Chio
of Fell City, Ala. Laymon Myres Yelverton, Sr. was born in
1970 - Continued:
Myrtlewood on 20 Au~ust 1930. His parents had come to Myrtlewood
en 1928 to operate the E. A. f;1e~_1.dor dairy. Laymon left our town
as an infant with his parents in 1931 to live in Union Town, Ala.
Thurs. Nov. 26:
~hanksgiving
Day.
-.
Thurs. Dec. 24:
Fri. Dec. 25:
Thurs. Dec. 31:
Christmas Eve.
•
Christmas Day.
New Year's Eve.
10
CHAPTER 2 - 1971:
In this oecond year of the new decade Red China was admitted to
the United Nations .• the Viet Nam war continued but there we r e some
troop withdrawals .•. here at home President Nixon's waee-price
freeze, Phase 2 went into effect ••• the school busing issue divided
the Nation .• a devistating earthquake hit California .... and the
Apollo space pr'o gr-am continued,•••• and dur Lng this year, in a move
to create a number of 3 day weekends, Coneress shifted Veteran's
Day from Nov. ll~h to the 4th Monday in October.
In our t own, the Rev. Robert Ercell Stoclanan continued as the
Baptist minister, the Rev. Charles Wilson as the Presbyterian
minister and the Rev. Mitchell E. Zirlott as the Methodist minister.
Fri. Jan. 1:
New Year's Day.
Tues. Jan. 5: Madelle Fann Malphurs, age 76, died at the home of
her daughter in Virginia Beach, Va. a short time after leaVing her
home in myrtlewood. She was broup:ht back to i\lyrtlewood for burial
beside her husband Horace Edgar Malphurs, Sr. She was survived by
one son, Horace Edgar Ma.Lphurs , Jr., and two daughters, Mrs.
(CIFlreMalphurs)
and Mrs.
, (Zeta Ma.Lphur-s )
•
Mrs. Mal uhur s was born 24 Jan. 1895 at
• She
and her husband came to our town in June 1953 wlwn he succeeded
John Lindsey B'Lac kweI'L, Sr. as the L&N and M&B depot agerrt , The
flialphurs placed a trailer home underneath old oak trees near the
Baptist Church (North of) on land owned by William Clark Etheridge,
Sr. Their son Horace Jr. lived with them in Myrtlewood f~r a short.
time but neither of their daught.er-s lived in our t own, Mrs. Malphurs
was a zealous worker in the Baptist Church. (Detailed information
on this family is not available.)
Fri.' Jan. 22: Thomas Levi (Junior) Bullock, Jr., age .39, was
killed in an automobile accident while enroute to work 2.t the
McMillan Blodell paper mill at Pd.ne Hill. He V/8.S survived by
his father and step-mother, Thomas Levi and Nettie rearl Hinson
Bullock, Sr.; 4 brothers, James Morris Bullock and John,Dou~las
Bullock of myrtlewood and R. T. Bullock and Robert Carl ton (Pete)
Bullock; 2 sisters, Mrs. Robert Washington (Annie Merle Bullock)
Jowers of myrtlewood and Mrs. 1flilliam Cln.. rk (Elaine Bullock)
EtheridGe, Jr. of Pcr-k.l.and , Ala. He was buried at Myrtl ewo od ,
"Junior" Bullock was born 6 July 1931 (1 t
, the
son of Thomas Levi and Abbie Vice Bullock, Sr. He first came to
our t own with his father and step-motI l e r in 1944, age ca 13 and
left with his parents in 1946 for Cleveland, Miss. He r-ebur-ned
to r.1yrtlewood ac;C'.in with his parents in
• He was a member
of the Baptist Church.
,,-,
February: During this month the Apollo 14 crew were launched
for the 31'd moon landing. Alan Shepard and Edgar 1I1itchell Land ed
on the moon as stuart noosa orbited the moon in the command ship.
They made a safe return to earth.
II
1971 - Continued:
.ff\
Sat. April 3: Donald Ulmer (Donny) Vick, son of 'Aubrey Spain and
Jessie Lee Tucker Vick of rllyrtlewood, "va's married in the Catholic
Church of Demopolis, Ala., to Krisa Elene Pissanos, daughter of
Constantino and I~ay Jee Gonzalez Pissanoa of Costa Rica. Donny
•
was in the U.S. Navy and they made their home
Donny, a na t Lve of our t own, had left Myrtlewooo 26 April 1969 when
he joined the U.S. Navy. He was a member of the Baptist Church.
Sat. April 17: Former Myrtlewood resident,' Alfred Carlton (Buddy)
Jowers, age
, died at Forkland, Greene Co., Ala. and was buried
there. He was-survived by his wife Gevevieve (Bea) Yelverton Jowers;
his parents, George Washington and Relia Ardell Blakney Jowers of
Aimwell; three brothers, Robert Washington Jowers of Myrtlewood and
James Edison Jowers and Thomas Aubrey Jowers. Buddy Jowers lived
in our tovm as a child with his parents ca 1923-25. His wife Bea
had also lived in Myrtlewood as a child.
Thurs. April 22: Another beloved landmark passed into the pages
of history on this date as the facilities of the old Post Office
in the former Carter Mercantile store building, were moved to the
new brick post office adjoining the E-Z Shop grocery store.
,
The new post office of bricks and cinder blocks with plate glass
windows was vastly different from our Post Offices of the past.
The new office contained a large counter and 130 mail boxes. The
old office had contained 40 boxes. (The author is the proud possesor
of the old mail box used by his Grandfatller, Julius Sidney Coats,
for many years.) Mrs. Wickham Reginald (Mary Margaret Sayers)
Carter, Sr. continued as the Post Master, Mrs. Edward Berlin
(Virginia King Compton) McKinney as the Asst. Post Master and
Samuel A, len tSammy) Barr as the Rural Route c,'trrier. The mail
was still being transported to and from the rost office by truck,
driven by Charlie ROGers. The new post office and the E-Z Shop
grocery store stand on the site of the former house of the late
Mrs. Shock A. (Josie Lee Barney) Adams. Her nephew, William
Frederick (Fred) Adams had moved the house to its present location
and had built this new brick-cinder block building.
The Carter r,1ercantile building was now empty but Myrtlewood natives
can never forget the activity that once flourished in and around
this old landmark. The Post Office had been moved to this building
ca 19T8-19 from the old Meador Drug store builqing which used to
stand on a site between the present w. K. Etl1eridge, Jr. house
and the driveway of the former American Can Guest House. It stood
on the Right hand side (North) of the curve at which po Lnt Depot·
Hill began its descent. A seperate volume could be written on
the old Post Office and Carter store ,t/ith a wealth of stories and
personal memories. It was a very special place and. surely, on a
quiet evening the host of voices and m0.ffiories of the years past
must have echoed thrOUGhout the now deserted building.
12
,
i ~yrt~ood'
,
~\
.
't
.
.
. .
progresses' U)ith· n~f'.post;oJfice:
. . , '
•
_
_
:."
I
~~~_~_
•
The past gives wa.y to m\)dernlzatlon at Myrtlewood as the community
'. begins to use the brand new United States Post Office, The former
bUilding; left was 'erected between 1911 aad 1918 and,was used until
Clippings from:
Linden, Ala.
Thurs.
1971
April 22 of this year wh.n the facilltl.. ..,.,. moved Into the new ""lid.
In9. The old post offlc. hod 40 boxes and the ne.., one has 13:). Th.
,o~mast.r I. Mr•• Mar..,.. Cort.r; Mr•• VIrginia McKinney Is aul.tant•.
..
MYRTLEWOOD HISTORY
19
•
New councilmen tor, tne lawn ot Myrtlew~d,
left to right, .eated, Billy Ray Duke., John
B~ns, and W. T. San.Jngi br.lng the goVern.
ing body up to full strength again'. ,Wei·
coming the new councilmen are, left to
'~ 1)l!"'6C~7-~(}fl70<.
r>.
ILl
right, "anding., Mayor Ralph Mo.eley,
Clerk Mr•• John 'Burn., and Coyt H. Jordan.
Mrs. Evelyn Yelyerton, councilwoman, was
not pre.ent for the picture.
1971 - Continued:
Sttn. April 25: Elizabeth NancJr (Betty) SQuires Lyles, ar,e 84, died
at
• She \v<.1.S buried in the Myrtlewood cemetery
besrde her husbana Huey Dennis Lyles, Sr. "Miss Be t ty" had been a
resident of the Nursing Home in Linden. She was survived by 5 sons,
Willard Bernard Lyles, James Austin Lyles, Huey Dennis Lyles, Jr.,
WilliHm Durron Lyles and Ralph C
Lyles. Her only daughter, Mrs.
Ariel Ellis (Louise Lyles) Bouler had died in Myrtlewood, in 1937.
Elizabeth Nancy (Betty) Squires was born 15 June 1886 in the
area, the dauehter of James Squires and Winifred Blamey. She was a
sister of James Lev Squires and Thomas Blake Squires, both of whom
lived in our t own at one time. "Miss Bettyll" had been a member of the
fi'IyrtlewoodBaptist church since 13 Sept. 1925. She came to our town
with her husband and 6 children. (Detailed information
on this family is not a v a i l a b l e . ) '
.
Fri. April 30: Allison Etheridge, 2nd and last child and only daughter
of Remb,ert Bayne and Daisy Katherine McAlpine Etheridee, was born in
the hospital at Demopolis. Her parents were livinc in Forkland, Ala.
Both parents had grovm up in our tOViTI. Paternal eranddaughter of
former Myrtlewood residents, William Clark and Alice Frances Poellnitz
Etheridge, Sr. of Forkland, Ala., and m0ternal eranddaughter of William
Thomas and Coralie Eddins McAlpine of Myrtlewood.
"
May: The 1970-71 school term ended in Mareneo COllnty. It is not
known which, if any T,lyrtlewood children graduated high school this
year.
•
',
Sun. May 16: First Class postaee was increased from 6¢ to 8¢ on
this date, Airmail from 8¢ to lO¢ and Postal Cards from
It to 6¢.
(Note: On 22 March 1981, First Class postage rose from 15¢ to l8¢,
and postal car-d s from I.e to 12¢. Airmail had been eliminated some
years ago.)
June: During this month, loyal fans were dismayed as a Sunday night
TV favorite, "The Ed Sullivan Show" left the TV airvmys after 25 years
of entertaining the American public.
June: Dur Lng this month, \Villi::tm Vaden (Bill) and Sarah Elizabeth,
Ta;ylor Nelson and son Willirun Vaden, Jr., installed a trailer on
the site between the Allen Tucker and George William Ne Ls on houses.
They had been living with Bill's mother, Mrs. Ross (Willie Gladys
Milstead) Nelson.
Sat. June 12:
Lillian Everett Carter L'ind s ey , aee 83, died at
and was buried
•
Lil1i~-ll1 Carter was born in our to'I.n 28-1reo-:-TIm8~-tIle daughter·
of pioneer settlers, Kit Carson and Lizzie Donny Roeers Carter, Sr.
She crew up in our town and after fini~J:,irlC r-cno ol , beca.me a teacher
and taUGht in N:yrtlewood for a number of year s , She left our to·..·n
and on 3 June 1944 was married to James T. Hopper. Widowed in 1948
15
1971 - Continued:
she was married on 1 Aoril 1954 to John D. Lindsey. There were no
children by either marriage. With her death, only two of the 8 chil
dren of Kit Carson and Lizzie Donny Rogers Carter', Sr. were left,
'Nickham Reginald (Pete) Carter, 31'. (the only child to remain in our
town) and Kit Carson Carter, Jr. of Braggs, Ala.
Tues. June 15: Robert Washington and. Annie Merle Bullock Jowers
and son, Thomas Windell Jowcrs, moved back to our town to live in
the former Dav i.d and Nelly':.Morgan Lynn house which they had pur
chased. The Jowers f<:'.mily had lived in Linden for tbe past year,
but had lived in Myrtlewood prior to that. "
July 26: The Apollo 15 moon mission was launcllcd with David Scott
and "Alfred ~orden landing on the m60n as James Irwin oribted in the
command ship. This was the first mission to use the lunar rover
to ride over the moon's surface.
Sat. Abg. 7: Relia Ardell Blakney Jowers, ace 75, died and ~as
buried at Aimwell. She was the wife of George "Nashington Jowers
and mother of Robert '.'''ashington Joviers of Myrtlev.fOod, and James
Edison Jowers. A third son, Alfred Carlton (Buddy) Jowcrs pre
ceeded her in death in April of this yenr. Mrs. Jowers was born
1895 in the Aimwell area, the daughter of Thomas W- - Blalmey and Liza J
. Squires. She arid her nucband and three
sons lived in Myrtlewood ca 1923-25.· The late James Alfred Blakney
of Myrtlewood was her brother.
•
September: The 1971-72 school term opened in I"l3.rengo County.
Denise Laura Barlcely, daughter of \'/illic,m ::.itokes and Betty Jack
Lyles Bar-kl.ey entered the first gr-ad e at Marengo Academy in Linden.
As previously stated, the Author had ~ttempted to rccord all school
children for each year but this became an impossible task. The
goal was changed to record all those who began school in tbe first
grade and those who grc:.duo..ted from hieh school, but this too has
proven to be most difficult.
October: ;Nilliam Kelly Etllcridce, Jr.,' son of \'/illiam Kelly and
Eleanor Blanche Beck Etheridge, Sr., enlisted in the u.S. Air
Force Qnd was sent to Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. He entered
the serVice a month befor~ his 19th birthday.
October: During this month, Mrs , BillyU.ay (Frances Joyce Woolf)
Dukes was makine preparation to open" Joyce's Cloth ShOll" in our
town. 'rhe shop wan to ae LL cloth ma.. ber LnL arid sewing accesories.
The cinder block buildinG with pl~te ClUBS windows '~as built by
and owned by our t own" s "Master Builder" ';!illi~lm Frederick Adams.
The buildinG was located between the E-Z Shop and ~ost Office and
the Adams home, facing North and H'i.ghv.ny 114, our t own t a East-West
main road.
1ft,
US
llJl'HER FRANKLIN BRAGG, JR. (ill<E BRAGG) AND HIS GREAT LOVE, 'lliEATRE
enrertainer-reacher~·LiJkeBragg
It is a long way from New
'
York City to Myrtlewood...
;~~(I5~iace1e.bfat1r\cc~.After b1Ih SCh~.Br&ci'l~
hrS.2.5t,h year in show busi':'~~ served in the U. S. Navy,l'e",
a long way from the busy
life of New York to the red
ness; When he was growing?1 from 1942 to 1946. While in' ,
mud hills near the Tombig-'
up in Myrtlewood, he rememthe service. he edited a ne~rscWJ:it1ng Biblical plays
val station neWBpl.per for 16·
bee River... but Luke Bragg
is one man who will tell you 'for sundliY school at the
I months and bandIed the USO'
every trip he makes from
,Myrtlewood Baptist cnurch.v.
shows. His work with the
.]
.~the big city" to Marengo i lind writmg and staging play-' U80 and special services I
County is time well spent.
lets and entertainments at . gaove him ,OPIlO."r,tunity
.1
He makes the trip about
~es~ an~_lu!1ch hour at the
vel-in and around Houma' ,
three times a year ...during
Myrtlewood school. He and'
..
the months of June and seehis classmates would put on"
tember, and at Christmas
these entertainments and
Eiirwe.....·ik;' •••.:,·_•. ;"i:.'r·.. . t".': ",
time. He loves the homecharge pins, or a sheet of
;1:1 . . ISlandS.u {"v~J'-:i"'';';
7:.'''''' '0', ,r:
place of his family in Myrtle- notebook paper as admis• :":'Vt'·,,,.,,> .... ~.;;:','.
wood, and nothing gives
sion.
By the time he'
dis- '.' .
him greater joy than workBragg graduated from Repcharged from the Navy, he
ing out-of-doors and seeing'
ton High. SChool and recalls
was well bitten by show
the beauty of the countryan English teacher who rebusiness. He .bad profes
.stde. When he is home, he
cognized and encouraged
sional~heatre training under
likes to work around the
him to engage in writing.
the GI bill at JacobsP1ll0w
house... painti&1g, helping
debating, and public speakUniversity of Dance in Maswith repairs. and doing
ing. She was then Miss Lau- sachusetts and in New yak
chores that give him the outrette Fort!1er, now Mrs. Gwin
l;:«~r;d, change of pace he
Alderman of sweet Water.
TtIE DZI.-./OCPAT-REPO~TE..~,
to~ra-
~a:.~!BoBtan;"'Ua'ss:';1I'olty
~~~.~~~q(~~'')~i;;{
·.·t;JiiO._l.~·s·b·.~.al·
'was
t7
as a:
City
dancer and actor.
He then went on the road
with the SChuberts in a musi·
cal repertory company', per
forming "Rose Marie" and
<therproc;lUctions. For a
short time' he lived in Bir
mingham and was studio
manager of Jack Saxon
Dance studios and had his
own radio show on WBRC.·
His first attempt at acting
was with the Birmingham
Civic Theatre.
N<t 'yet enough training,
. was Luke Bragg's decision
about himself. So back to
Jacobs Pillow University for
the summer of 1948 and then
to New York where he has
since lived.
LIND2.~,
ALAIW1A
...
US
LUTHER FRANKLIN BRAGG, JR. - llJ"KE BRAGG AND HIS GREAT LOVE, THEATRE
JUIlua.llllllC
W)IWJt4
.,... :sn'"·
ArIlaatGD·IiI~"J,· ,... . '.,
was
His close telatives1it '., ':".
and 'smgerin' i1tihtc~~~~".~,"/,:
relllO in addition to his par:. .
earl1 teleV18i'O~~j,"Btase1lliO"'s
ents-include Mrs.H, E~' -".
(Louise) Rentz ancftamily ," 1.~
:
"f!:'''
..
·.'f
"""" !
.
*:
,~.
One of Braga·.'bobbie. is .'~
:'r~ ·pt,· 0
er..
compiling and wdtlnfa..fam- ~
:. C1a¢t~jPeecbtao~~~.C; .
Uy hh1tory Q( the Coats-' ., ~,~
~efn'L~:BlVhllb~6i'"
Mccrary and Bragg-Pond ~:-.-.,
an "old boofer'~. be tauaht .
famUies. .,\; ", ~":h" ~." c· ,;j
tap dancing toa.'Then he.
The long trip from New' .. j
began to feel the need to' ...
York City to a,arengO£Ou~-" .1
branch out and started:~" '? '
ty Ina,y net always take UP ': ,
toward his present career, .'
Brasg's time. When he
For 14 yearsi he haS been
tires. be plans to come:,~' '"
ass.ociated,wJtb RecRea..t19n.__
"bome" to MyrtlewoOd. to l
Rooms and settlement.la
live, BUd write. and enjoy . ~
SOcial services AgeocY\.!n .~. he has worked over the Yf;!afS, I"~ tbe countryside Mare~o . ': ,;1
New York City, He wor~s,,'~: write him or.visit. an.dre- :'" it Countians wbo baventt left ;' 'J
with youngsters from' ~ight ::I~ call vivid memori~s' and lm:,',~l . seem to take for granted.• ",' .' 2\
through 16. and d~ing the.. !:A pressions tbey bold ot time J .
• .' ' "
0 ;;'".7
past year began te achi~~. i: ~:"'" spent w~king witbblJii~.~of ~~t.
" . 'OCTOBER U. '1971 . '-7:
pre-school cbildren from,.3'~ .how m~ch tb~y le~ned,;en.;:~~
age~ three througll five,t:~~~ Joyed. and r~m~mber oftbe;T.'
Dunng ~he summers at th~ "'j lOad times.!fI'h,at. is his~";-:~'~
agency s boys and girls ·.greatesthOl1or,·~'~ . }:".s't)\
"
UNDEM.
. '.•
camp in upstate New York. ~"I . . . : ' . . • "
f"
he directs the shows for the' Bragg s father, Luther F. ;"
summer program, He not on- " Brasg, died in 1935 and is,:,'
ly directs-he writes, com; ",' buried in Myrtlewood, Hu; -: ,;;;,
HOlE: Newspaper made a mistake .. it
poses, plays the piano pro-':' mether, Mrs.. Mary Lee c;:~ats f
should read: ''His only brother, Lt.
duces, does cboreogra~b,y'. ~~ ward and ~is ~epf.ather. .
.fLJI..rUS BRAGG is burf.ed in Arlington
designs and executes the' .;: c. s. ward. live in Myrtle- .. '
.National Cemetery •••• ' i
"'~' '.~'
- wood,' Hisqn_ly brother !_4ft; ;,~
__ -"n"" .,.,"=... "..,Por t~~bjif ·~";',.·1,~Uaj __.71
bUSYBii''''a~to~a!nCel'
8.WIl!'·.··I;··. J
se;
J
.
re- '
fi~j~~~;,~S.:.~~'1
.,Ilje ~~~';~i
,'0"
ALAB~MA
I
~
•
A scene from "Bye. Bye. Birdie' ~dlrected" c~olropEe.~~:o.,~ de· "Mi kon-"iecro,;.
~~y,;':1 ~u . summer., The cost includecL 66
signed by Luke BrOil, from the show "Acc'"'t;;.~ ,~~:~~ ,~t'-C!li!'P c!oul1l"terdr'Ol,Il:dg-l,I~!;po.l6.
'l';,~ ;\.....
" - I"~ ~ ..~.
ford...,
!
~
-
GOnt1~ued:
Sun. Oct. 10: Hcme comi.ng was held at the M;yrtlewood Baptist Church.
The day was windy and chilly.
October 19: "LOOK" maWl.zine passed into history as on' this date the
last issue was published.
Wed. Dec. 2: Georgia Thurman Compton, .age
, former resident of
Myrtlewood for some 24 years, died in a hospItal in Montgomery and
was buried in that city beside her husband, Beo Jefferson Compton,
Sr. She was survived by 2 sons, Beo Jefferson (B.J.) Compton, Jr.
and Ge~rge Augusta (Billy Boy) Compton of Mont~omery; and one daugh
ter, Mis. Edward Berlin (Virginia King Compton~ McKinney of Myrtlewood. Georgia Thurman was born
1890 at Sycamore,
County, Ala., the daugther of
Thurman and
• She came to' rt.~rrtleVlood ca 191"8' with her husband and
~i-n~f-an~t--son, Beo Jefferson, Jr.
The Comptons moved into a new house
which had been built on the site of the old Thomas Minto Wither
spoon log house on the hill (South) where the road turns Left to
reach the Yelverton and Dennis-Etheridge homes. Children, George
Augusta and Virginia King were born in our to~n. Mr. and Mrs.
Compton and their s ons left our t own in 1941 to live in Montgomery, •
Ala. Daughter Virginia h8.d married Edward Berlin McKinney 2nd re
mained in Myrtlewood. Mrs. Compton had been a member of the Methodist
Church.
Wed. Dec. 22: Former Myrtlewood resident, Iris Cordelia Solomon
Gagnon, age 71, died at Winter Park, Fla. Her body was left to
Science. The daughter of the late William Clemons and Virginia
Salina Ray Solomon, and the widow of Louis E. Gagnon, she was
survived by 3 sisters, Mrs. John Charles (Ola Lee Solomon) Andrews,
Mrs. Thomas Strother (Rosa Gay Solomon) Dawson and Mrs. Louis B.
(Jimmie Solomon) Stedham. Iris Cordelia Solomon was born 8 Dec.
1900 in Mobile, Mobile Co., Ala. She carne to Myrtlewood with her
parents ca 1917 from Thomaston, Ala. and left before ca 1928-29.
She had been a member of the Baptist Church in our tovm.
Fri. Dec. 24: Christmas Eve.
r-.
Sat. Dec. 25:
Christmas Day.
Fri. Dec. 31:
New Year's Eve.
CHAPTER 3- 1972:
l'his third year of the new decade wi tmc as ed the continuation of
the Viet Ham war and ~.iecretary of State Henry KissinGer's mission
to end this 'vvar .•• President Nixon's visit to Commun Ls t China and
his visit to Mosco,"! and. the si{plinG of the strategic arms limitation
agreemerrt ••• a presidenti~l election year ..• the attempted assassination
of Al~bama Governor George C. Wallace •.. the Watergate breakin •.. the
re-election of Vresident Nixon ... terror at the Summer Olympics •.•
flooding that killed hundreds in west Virginia, South Dakota, Penn
sylvania and seven other states ..• and the Supreme Court ruling 5-4
that capital punishment is unconsti t u t i ona'L .11 cruel and unusual
punishment. It .was 'a continuation of uneasy t·imes and the worse
was yet to come.
II
During this year, our neighbor Sweet Water acCtuired a new industry,
known as Central Industries. This factory was eneaged in the build
ing of Church furniture. It located 2 miles West of Sweet Nater on
Highway 10.
In this year our Baptist Church was served by the Rev. Robert Ercell
stockman and the Hev. Joseph Byron Dekel. The Rev. Charles '.hlson
continued as the rresbyterian m'i.ni.s t er and the rlethodi~3t Church was
served by the Rev. Mitchel E. Zirlot and the Rev. Hurley D. Guy.
•
...
MYRTIEWOOD HISTORY
-
JANUARY 1972
John Blackwells celebrate
50th wec/,4ijtga'LT.;J~fff,}ary
Mr•.and M.rs. John L. Black
well, sr., celebrated their
Golden wedding anniversary
Sunday, Jan 2, at the Myrtle·
wood community house with
family and friends present.
The Couple were married
Jan. 1, 19221n ~~lewood
He retired from L & Nand
M & B rall road ce.. in June
1953, as agent·operator fol·
lowing 41 years service.
Friends assisting the re
freshments were Misses om
ger Duggins, Kathy Yelver
ton and Cindy Thomas, and
Mrs.. W. B. Wheat, Mrs. Cody
Guinn, Mrs. Billy sansing,
Mrs. George Rentz Jr., Mrs.
Earnest Thrash, Jr. ,Mrs.
Rosa Lee Williams, and
.Mrs. Richard MCKinney.
Many local friends called in
addition to the ott of town
guests, who were: Mr. and
Mrs. John L. Blackwell, si..
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Taunton
of Montgomery, Mr.. and Mrs.
Estill Jones sterns of Ken
tucky, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence
Jones, Mrs. Austin Jones of
selma, Mrs. Westbrook Comp
ton oU!~afa11aJ-M1~es_
Maggie and Bettie Daniels
of~mwel!~ Mr~. ~o~ He[l·
drtckson of Bay Minette, Mr.
and Mrx. Raymond McDonald
of Marion, and Mrs. W. J.
Carter of Thomaston.
r>
...
---
,
,it.
,~ ,'-"'I;
l~
~,
,.'
Linden, Alabama
Thursday, 6 Jan. 1972
;#
-;:".;
., t·
...
4·
<:>.
a.. I
•
1972 - Continued:
Sat. Jan. 1:
New Year's Day.
On this New Year's Day, John Lindsey and Chloe Jone3 Blackwell, Sr.
celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the Community Hou-se
in l'ilyrtlewood. They were married in our t own on 1 Jan. 1922 and
except for some 4 years (1953-57) lived all of their married years
in Myrtlev','Ood..
Fri. Jan. 7: Our tovm lost another of its citizens as on this date,
Rosa Lee Wiggins ~illiams, widow of Quintus'Haywood Williams, Sr.
left Myrtlewood to make her home in Mobile, Ala. She first came
to our t.own in August 1945 from Belhaven, N. C. 'id th her husband
and their children, Virginia Louise, Charles Aubr-ey and HaroLd
Bertram. One by orie the children left home and in 1968 Quintus
died. Their r,lyrtlewood. house, the former Pearl Evans Luther
house, was left vacant for the time being.
Sun. Jan. 9: Charles Stephen Ward, Sr., age 86, died in the
hospital in Demopolis after an extended illness. Services were
held in the Myrtlewood Baptist Church on Mon. Jan. lOth with the
Rev. Robert Ercell Stockman officating. Burial 'Nas in the Illyrtle
wood cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Mary Lee Co~ts Bragg
Ward; 3 sons, Charles' Stephen Ward, Jr., Lester Conley Ward and
Eugene Hassell W8.rd all of Memphis, Tenn.; 1 steo-son, Luther
Franklin Brar>:'B:, Jr. of New York City; 1 d.augh t er , Mrs. Jack (Mary
Luvinia ',"lard) Miller of Ar-kariaas ; 13 grandchildren and 2 step
•
grandchildren; and 1 sister, r,r;rs. ,James L. (Eva Naomi Ward)
Moore of Dearborn, Mich. He was preceeded in death by a son,
James Robert Nard, a step-son, Julius LaVerne Brar~g, and tv'lO
daughters, Pauline and Edna Ward. Charles Stephen 'Nard, Sr. was
born 19 May 1885 at P'i edrno n]; I"1issouri, t he son of Dr. Joseph Avery
Peter and Mary Elizabeth Carter 'Nard. "Char-Ld e" came to 1'IIJrrtlewood
in the spring of 1945 and sawed for the former Henderson Baker Mill
in our t own, ;:{hile here he boarded wi th the Reverdy J. Fasson
family and then the George Keener family. In late 1945 he left
our tovm to work at Fulton, Ala. In 1947 he married Myrtlewood
native, Mary Lee Coats Bragg and they made their home in Missi
ssippi, Arkansas and Alabama. There were no children by this
marriage. III health forced him to retire from the saw mill
business and in September 1954 he and ~ary Lee ~oved from Linden
to make their home vwit n her father, Julius Sidney Coats, in our
t own, For a number of y.ears "Charlie" "Vard taur:;ht the Adult Bible
Class at the Myrtlewood Baptist Church.
January: Later in this month the Americ~n Can paper mill of
Naheola cut all the trees surrounding the Eyrtlewood cemetery
and the area resembled a war torn area or the results of a
devistatinB tornado. With the cemetery situated on a high hill,
it was widely eXDosed to the elements. American Can had bought
all the land sur-r-ound ing the I',lyrtlewood cemetery.
'-,
1972 - Continued:
Sat. Jan. 29: The brick home of Doug.las Mcllani.eL and Hobert Seale
(Bobbye) McAlpine Barkley burned on this date and vias a total loss.
No one was at home when the fire started. The Barkleys had bought
this house from the Hiram T. Barrineau family in 1964. After the
fire, Mac and Dobbye m~d children, Douglas McDaniel (Daniel), William
Tecumseh (Bro), Coralie Annette and Eugene Holt, moved to Linden
temporarily.
This home had been built during the fall of 1955 and Spring of 1956
by \Yilliam Clark Etheridge, Sr. and was si tUB.ted in what had been
the NE section of the former Cosmo Roberts home. That home had
been demolished by Clari\: Etheridee and the Lumber' used in the build
ing of this brick home and its "twin'" to the South side. The first
family to live here was that of. J. R. and
Hamby and
their daught er s Rayne l Le and
• T1ieIrambys rented this
house from ea June 1957 until~une 1958 after which the house was
sold to Hiram T. Barrineau and his family. The Barrineau family
left our tovm possibly ca 1964 or 1963 (Information on this family
is not" available) and the house was sold to the D. M. Barkleys.
Wed. Feb. 9: James Roderick Crosby, age 66, died and was buried at
Gulfport, Miss. He was the son of Charlie and Nola Jane Snelgrove
Crosby who came to myrtle'Nood in 1925, butq,t th2.t time he was in
the U.S. Navy and it ,is not known if he ever lived in our town.
Sun. Feb. 20: A diplomatic move of world interest and speculation
took place on this date as the U.S. President, Richard Milhaus
•
Nixon, arrived in Pekine;, China for a historic meeting with
officals of Communist China. He and his ~arty were lavishly wined,
dined and entertained by Premier Chou Enlai. President Nixon had
br-oken through'" the bamboo curtain" to establish U. S. relations
with Mainland China for the first time since
•
Frio Feb. 25: In the later hours of this mornine;, a Miller Lumber
Company t r-uck from Demopolis wr-e cked on the Paper Mill Road in
the vicinity of the Chester Beverly home. The log truck ran into
a dtich when the hood of the truck suddenly flew up and blinded
driver Jessie ~hite's vision. The load of logs crushed the cab
forward, p Lnni.ng the driver inside and scatterin;j logs allover
the h'i.ghway , A group of Myrtlewood people rescued the driver
by pulling the door of his truck open ;with the aid of another
truck. The driver suffered only slieht injuries. (A photograph
of the wreck appeared in the "Democrat-Reporter" of 3 March 1972.)
When atmospheric conditions are just right, sound can certainly
travel far and loud and clear. They must have been riGht this
morninG for ·MTS. C. S. (Mary Lee Coats Drage) Ward, who lives
a good mile or IUore "across the woodlands" from the Papor Mill
Road and the Beverly home, could hear Mrs. Beverly screaming
when the wreck occured.
Mon. Feb. 28: Our tovm does not have an airport or even a landing
strip but .ca 1 pm on this date, an AH-IG Cobra Gunship helicopter
made an emer-gency Land i.ng in a field nervr the !lOmeof the ':/illiam
Blanton Wheat family on Bouler Bill. The craft's lateral controls
froze as the Army pilots, CW3 Donald Craft and C'N2 William Hoffman
23
1972 - Continued:
were flying over our t own errro ut;e from Savannah, Ga. to Ft. Hood,
Texas. Cody Carson Guinn, who lives on the top of the hill above
the Wheat homeplace, took the pilots to his home to call their
base to arrange for recovery operations. Cody Guinn then drove
the Viet Nam veterans to a motel in Linden for 10dginB. (A photo
9raph of Cody' Carson and Estelle Poellnitz Guinn and Mrs. W. B.
~Octavia Stine) Wheat, Sr. was made with the pilots and ,downed
helicopter and appeared in "The Democrat-Reporter" of 3 March 1972.)
Fri. March 10: Another first for our tovm--on this date, Mrs. James
Wayland (Sherry Wheat) Young opened Myrtlewood's first beauty parlor.
The building had been constructed by Walter Lavon Yelverton and was
si tuuted to the East .s i de of the Yelverton e;rocery store. It Vias
nice for the ladies of our town and neighboring areas to have a beauty
shop in our community. Sherry also cut hair for some men and boys
of our tovm--another first.
Sat. March 11: William Stokes (Billy) and Betty Jack Lyles Barkley
took o~er management of the E. Z. Shop grocery store from Samuel
Graham and Daisy Lee Singleton Nelson. Graham nnd Daisy were the
first to operate this store which was built by "Master Builder"
William Frederick Adams. The store began operation 1 May 1969.
Later this month, William Blanton and Octavia Stine Wheat sold their
new home on Bouler Hill and moved to the Pine Crest area of Linden.
r~r. and Mrs. Wheat and children, Sherry and William Blw1ton, Jr.
(Bill), first came to our t own in May 1958 from Mobile and built a
home on Paper Mill Road. They then sold this home in 1967 to E. C.
(Pop) Williams, Jr. and moved into the W. Rabb Etheridge-Lyles
•
house nextdoor to (North of) the Community House. The. Wheats then
built a new house on Bouler Hill in 1968. DauGhter Sherry had
married James ~ayland Young and made her home near Half Acre. Son
Bill had left 1'II:~{rtlewood to join the Army. The Wheats also had 2
daughters, Sue and Charlotte who had never liv0d in our to,vn. Mr.
and Mrs. Wheat were members of the Baptist C~urch.
The Wheat house on Bouler I-lill was bo ugh t by Joseph Wade (Joey)
ffi1d Betty Ann Cra~~ord Hall who moved into the house with young
daughter Dawn Michelle. The Joey Hall family had also been
living in the 'IV. Rabb Etheridge-Lyles house when they moved into
the Wheat house.
(NOTE: In this history, many houses are identified with hyphenated
names such as W. Rabb Etheridge-Lyles. For older residents many
houses were known as the "such'and such house" so called for the
person who lived there the longest time or the most recent. This
particular house was actually built by Will and Mattie Crosby as
early as 1898-1900, but for the "old ti:ners" of our t own it has
always been known as the "Rabb Etheri<;lge House" for he lived there
such a long time. Many people lived there after he left our town,
and the George Keener familyovmed this house in later years. It
was last bou~ht by the L¥les family and is presently owned by Huey
Dem~is (H.D.) Lyles, Jr.)
Throughout this history, the Author has tried to show how the land
has chanced ownership from the time of the 13 original purchasers
1972 - Continued:
on to present times. This is not for yersonal revelation but to
show how the land has changed hands over the y cc.r s •.• how the large
plantations of the o r-Lg i.naL ovmers were gr-nduaLl.y br-okcn up into
smaller tracts, and then in more modern times into even smaller
tracts and single home lots.
As stated in Volwne I, it is thouGht that with the exceotion of Dr.
Josiah Thomas Evans, none of .the 13 original purchasers of the land
that makes up the Myrtlewood area, ever lived here. It is possible
tl1at they had overseers living in the area taking care of their land
but this has not been proven. After the early 1830s this land is
thought to have started changing hands. Much of the land in our
area was purchased by the Carter family with [l r;reater portion
being pur-c'ha.s ed by the Poellni tz families. After Daniel John
l\1eador married Lidie Augusta Poellnitz, daughter of pioneer
myrtlewood settlers , and came to our tOI'Vl1, he controlled much of
this land. It is not known exactly what land was owned by Senator
Meador and his wife and what belonGed to his mother-in-law, there
fore tll'e term "Poellni tz-Meador" land is used often in this history.
The Witherspoon family also bought Land in our area in that section
where the Yelverton and J. C. Etheridge families now live. It would
take many months of searching through old deeds to establish just
how the Myrtlewood land changed hands and when.
During this year, possibly this Spring, Henry 3tratford and Ada
Gray Carter Thomas sold their land on the hill above the Coats
Ward and W. V. Nelson homeplaces.
•
(Note: Again hyphenated names are used to identify certain homes.
In the above case--the Coats-Ward home~lace was purchased by Julius
Sidney Coats in 1900 and is now owned by his daughter Ti1rs. Charles
Stepehen (Mary Lee Coats Braeg) Ward. The W. V. NelRon home was
originaly bu Ll, t co. 1914-15 for j\~rs. Corder Henry (Maggie Lee
~11cCrary) Br-own and her children and often referred to as the
Brovm-Nelson home.)
The land sold by Henry and Ada Gray ThomGs surrounded one wedge
of land owned by her brother William Davis (Willie) Carter. The
Thomas' sold their land to Albert Westbrook (Buck) Cdm9ton, Jr.
of Nanafalia who planned to clear the land and plant pine seedlings.
The land to the East of the property sold to Buck Comnton belonged
to Mrs. C. S. Ward except for one narrow strip running East to West
behind the Bro'fm-Nelson house. At the time of this sale the Brown
Nelson home was oMled by Barber Allen and DeLois Bullock Tolbert.
Another part of· the Tolbert land (a total of } acre) lay across
the road from their house (North of). The Thomas' executed n
swap with the Tolberts givinG them an extension of land behind
their home (West of) in exc11anee for the Droperty North of their
house. This Northern site was then included in the land sold to
Buck CAmpton.
MYRTlEWOOD HISTORY
MARaI 1972
I:>(!.mOCAA7 - RePoj.'l7~
Posing before the helicopter which mode a precautionary land
ing at Myr tlewood are CW2 Willia'" Hoffman, Cody Guinn, Mrs.
:!> mAlU,'" ; q 7 .2
William
5. Wheat, CW3 Donald Craft, and Mrs. Cody Guinn.
1972 - Continued:
April: In this month, the Apollo 16 moon mission was launched
from Cape Canaver8.1, Fla. Astronatus John Younr, and Thomas
Mattingly wer-e the 5th tl~am to make a 18-11din['; on the moon's sur
face as Charles Dulce oribted the mo on in the command ship. This
was the first mission to land in the lunar hir:~hlands where the
moon's oldest rocks were thoupht to exist. The astronatus made a
safe return to'earth and brought home a record 214 pounds of moon
rocks, some belonGinp, to the. moon's ancient crust. This was the
next to last of the moon missions. In snite of these fantastic
accomplishments most Americans had become very blase about this
phase of science fiction having become reality. Many were very
much against this proe;ram and considered it a waste of time and
more t han that, a waste of billions of dollars that should have
been spent on earth. Some even contended that the entire moon
landing pro [;Tam was staged like a movie and did not actually
happen.
May: g:error continued to rear its vicious head and in this month,
Alabama Governor George C. Wallace was the victim of an attempt~d
assassination. He was hho t down in a T,br;/land shopping center as
he campaiGned as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States.
He was seriously wounded and was paralyzed for life from the waist
d own ,
May: The 1971-72 Mar-en-to Coun ty school term ended. Hobin IWnrion
EtheridGe, daughter of Jewell C~tis and Nora Lee Dennis Etheridge,
Sr. , graduated from High:3chool at Mar-erigo Academy in Linden, and
William Malone Yelverton, son of ~alter Lavon and Maxine Inthia
•
Dunn Yelverton, Sr., graduated from HiGh School at Sweet Water.
May: In this month, Virginia Louise (Ginger) Dup;gans, daugh t e r- of
William Parish and mabIe Louise Morgan Dug-gans, Jr. of Myrtlewood,
married Ronnie Lee Moss, son of
and
Moss of
• The couple was married in Linden, Ala.
JUNE: The author of this history beGan ,,,:atherinr; informn.tion toward
wri tine a comprehensive history of l'IIyrtlewood. A resident of New
York City for some 25 years, he had been able to "f'Ly" home for a
few short weeks in June and a~ain in late AU,~lst or early Sentember
in between his jobs. September t hr-ou.th r\~Cl.Y he tau(':bt dance and
drama in New York City and staGed Children's Theatre Froductions,
and had spent his swnmers performing in summer stock or directing
Children's Theatre Productions for summer c amns ,
1972 - Continued:
afternoon or early evening~ and talked of the old days of the family
and our tovm, he was suddenly struck with an urgency to record all
of this for posterity. AND SO 'IT BEGAN. It was a project of emense
proportions--Family Histories, with all the many branches who came
to this COtUltry as early as the late'1600s or early l700s, settled
in Virginia or the Carolinas and then migrated to Alabama--a Myrtle
wood history which would endeavor to record every person who ever
lived in our town, all buildings,. when people arrived, when they
left, births, deaths, marriages, special events, special memories,
Church, School and Post Office histories, etc. etc., from the days
of the Indians to the present time. It was. to t ake years, much
money, hundreds and hundreds of letters, research of every kind,
the collection and copying of priceless old photoGra~hs, maps and
documents. There was to be much joy in discovery and deep apprecintion
for'the belp and interest given by so,many--and the constant disapoint
ment of so many who refused to answer the letters, fill out the history
forms and add their knowledge and memorios to the l-Jistory of our t own,
(Note: It was a labor of love and in the year of 1981 it still was,
and was still going ori , )
.
This was the first t,ime the author had been .ab.l,e to spend an entire
summer in his native home since 1936. It was a dream come true.
The peace and quiet, the beauty of our town and surrounding country
side, the beauty'and constant wonder of Nature and all of God's
creations are blessi~gs beyond compare.
As previously noted, the Author has yet to trace and record the
Black families of our town but has every intention of doing so.
Since the earliest days there has been a large Black population
in and around !':i~rrtlev,rood but in these days so many have died or
moved away it is very difficult to trace the early families. Some
information has been gathered but there is a relucta.nce on the
part of many to contribute to this search. These days have
witnessed a-constantly growing interest in tracine one's Family
History and old records are often difficult to sort out and
can be most confusing. In hopes that some may, in time, use this
history in tracing their families, those entries relating to
Black families end with this synillol (B).
Fri. June 23: John Glover was found dead in bed by his vlife on
this early morning. He was buried 2 July 1972 at Myrtlewood
with Masonic Rites. He was survived by his wife, Alma
Glover; an adopted son, John Walber of Los Angeles, Calif; ana
an Aunt, Mrs. Cora
White of I'1~yrtle\'lood. John Glover
was born
1897, the Don of Kelley and Eliza Wi ther
spoon Glover. (B)
Wed. June 28: Lawrence Hayne s died at 6 a s m, this mo r'n Lng of
a he ar-t a t t ack , ". hile changing the tire on hi.s car. He vla.s
buried 1 July 1972 at Myrtlewood. He was survived by his wife,
Nancy Haynes; 5 children, all of Oberlin, Ohio j 47 grandchildren
and 9 great-grandchildren. Lawrence Haynes ~as born 15 Aug. 1903
in Barbour County, Ala., the son of
and
Haynes. (B)
June: Dur i.ng this month the Watergate scandal be gan but was not
uncovered until 1973.
•
1972 - Continued:
Fri.... July 14:
Cody Oar-son and Mabel Estelle Poellni tz Guinn were
involved in an automobile accident at the intersection of HiGhways
43 and 69, South of Linden. Fortunately, the Guinns were not
seriously injUred.
Thurs. July 27: 'Tragedy struck on this date, and although it did
not involve Myrtlewood residents, it was deeply felt in our tovm.
Mrs. Lawrence Agee (SOlU1Y) Kirkham, Jr., her children and her
mother, Mrs.
Perry, were involved in a tragic automobile
accident outsid.e meridian, Miss. The station wagon in which they
were riding was rammed by another vehicle and burst 'into flames
and two of the children who were in the rear of the. wagon were
trapped .and burned to death. Mrs. Kirkham, her mother and other
children were injured VIi tin Mrs. Kirkham b e i.ng ho sp i, talized for a
lenethy time. Ironically, Mrs. Kirkham was the neice, by marriage,
of Mrs. Cody
, Carson Guinn.
August: DurinG this month, Douglas IIlcDaniel and Robert Seale
(Bobbye) rricAlpine Barkley and children, Do ug'Lrrs McDaniel, Jr.,
William Tecumse,h, Coralie Annette and Eugene Holt, moved back
to Myrtlewood to occupy a trailer home on the site where their
brick home had burned in January of this year.
Tues. Aug. 1: Williain Vaden and Sarah Elizabeth Taylor Nelson
and young son, Willi~n Vaden, Jr., moved into the former Maggie
Lee McCrary Brov'm house next door to (NW of) the Coats-Ward home.
The Nelsons bought this house from Barber Allen and DeLois Bullock •
Tolbert who had 'been divorced in this year and left our t01m.
Bill, Sarah and "Little Willie" had been living in a trailer home
between the George William Nelson house and the Allen Lenoir
Tucker house.
Tues. Aug. 1: ' On this date, Woodson (Peck) Burton died in Selma,
Ala. and was buried there on Fri. Aug. 4. He was survived by his
wife, Annie Louise Lawrence Burton, a son; Dawson Burton, and a
daughter, Kathlene Burton
• Peck Burton had worked for
the L&N railroad before hiS-retirement and had worked as a flag
man on the run between Myrtlewood and Selma. He had boraded with
the Julius Sidney Coats family and mrs. Shock A. (Josie Barney)
Adams. Peck was a native of Virginia.
Fri. AUG. 18: Wallace Aubr-ey V Lck , son of Aubrey Sp2.in and Jessie
Lee Tucker Vick of Myrtlewood, married Hazel Jean Braswell, daugh t er
of James Alexander and Maegie Lee Clark Braswell of Linden. They
were married in the Myrtlewood Baptist Church with the Rev. Robert
Ercell stockman officiating. The couple made their home in
Demopolis.
Sat. Aug. 19: Robin Etheridge, dauGhter of Jewell Curtis and
Nora Lee Dennis Etheridge, Sr. of Myrtlewood, married John Robert
Moseley, Jr. of Linden. The couple me.d e their home in Linden.
Robin was a native of I11yrtlewood and had graduated High School
in May of this year.
1972 - Continued:
Mon. {\.U{~. 21: Robert Earl With'3rspoon, aee 16, drowned in the
Tombigbee River near the Myrtlewood Landing (Old Fort Clarion).
Funeral rites were held f-jat •. August 26th at the Chalk Level A.M.E.
Zion Church between rllyrtlewood and Linden. He was survived by his
parents, Matthew and Bessie ~N.i therspoon; sisters, Catherine and
Gloria Witherspoon of Myrtlewood, and mrs. Bonnie Witherspoon Jack
son of California; and brothers, Frederick, Ricky, Milton and
Matthew, Jr. of Myrtlewood; and his grandmother, Mrs. Martha
McKnight. (B)
September:
The 1972-73 Marengo County school term began.
September: Billy Ray Dukes was elected as the 4th Mayor of our
town, succeeding Armon Ralph Mosley who had served as Mayor since
October 1968.
September: During this month a new TV series began which was to
capttrre the hearts of America and become a long running favorite.
rEhe series was known as "The Waltons" and was based on a book by
Virginia native Earl Hamner.
Thurs. Sept. 21: Our tovm had been experiencing a long dry spell
and all things growing were showine the strain, but on this date
we had a good rain, t.he first in 16 days, the second in 40 days.
Fri. Sept. 22:
r-
The first day of Fall.
Witll showers and good rain between Sept. 21st and 27th, all things •
growing began to rally with a new growth that was amazing for this
time of year.
Sat. Sept. 30: Earl Munford Brovm, former resident of Myrtlewood,
died at Trenton, Ohio and was buried in Middletown, Ohio. He was
survived by his wife, Clara Esther Jones Brovm. The Browns had
one son, Karl S. Brown, who had died in 1961. Earl and Clara
Brovm had come to our town ca 1923 and lived on Depot Hill. Their
son Karl was born there in 1924. Earl Br-own wor-ked for Henderson
Baker Mill. He was born 29 Sept. 1892 in Kentucky. In that state
he married Clara Esther Jones, daughter of Silas Cleveland 8.nd
Duttie Emmarine Clark Jones who also lived in Myrtlewood. Clara
~s a sister of Mrs. John Lindsey (Chloe Jones) Blackwell, Sr. of
Myrtlewood.
Fri. Oct. 1: On this date, Billy Ray Dukes took office as the 4th
Mayor of our town, and William Parrish (Bill) Duggans became the
Marshall of the Town of Myrtlewood. He followed Kenneth Dunn who
had had served as Marshall since Novernb~r 1968.
Fri. Oct. 6: Barber Allen Tolbert and DeLois Bullock were re
married this evening at the home of Probate Judge Sammy Daniels
in Linden. A reception followed at the home of the William Vaden
Nelson, Sr. family. This was the house Allen and Lois had owned
and lived in when they were first married.
30
1972 - Continued:
Sun. Oct.
~:
Homecoming was hold D.t the Myrtlewood Baptist Church.
October: Later this month the Rev. Robert Ercell St0c}~lan resigned
as minister of the Baptist Church foll.owine; [mother stormy split in
the Church membership. Some warrt ed a younger' and more modern minister.
Peace in the Baptist Church was a short lived thing.
After several trial sermons, the Baptist Church called the Rev.
Jcseph Byron Dekel as its minister and he bec;an as regular pastor
on 3 November 1972. Two "firsts" came into beinp,. The Church
bought a trailer home and placed it under the trees on the South
East side of the Church for the new minister, his wife Jean, son
Joe and daughter Hi tao (This family declined to give Lnf'or-me.t t on
for this history.) The Church also voted to go full time for the
first time in its history. (The Church was founded in 1884). So,
suddenly, the Baptist Church held preachinG services every Sunday,
with a full time minister who was the first minister to live in
our to~n, in the Church's first parsonaf,e.
",
mono Nov. 6: Barber', Allen and De Lo i o Bullock Tolbert placed a
trailer home on the North side of the E. C. Willi8ms, Sr. home.
This site was formerJ.y occupied by the trailer home of Kenneth
Dunn, former rviyrtlewood Marshall.
Tues. Nov. 7: Presi~ent Richard Milhaus Nixon was re-elected as
the President of the United states in a landslide v.ictory as he
captlrred 49 states.
Wed. Nov. '22: :Fresident Nixon lifted a 22 ye'r::tr old ban on travel
to Mainland China for U.S. ships and planes.
Thurs. Dec. 1: On this 31st Anniversary of Pearl Harbor, the last
Apollo space mission (Apollo 17) lifted off from Cape Canaveral,
Fla. for the moon. Eugene A. Cernan' and a civilian geologist,
Harrison H. Scmitt landed on the surface of the moon on Monday,
Dec. 11th at 2:45 p.m., as Ronald F. Evans circled the moon in
the co~manu ship. They returned to earth safely and so ended
this spectactular conquest of space. The next project was to be
the Sky Lab.
Sun. Dec. 24:
Christmas Eve.
Mon. Dec. 25:
Christmas Day.
Tues. Dec. 26: Harry S. Truman (Demo cr-at }, 33rd l'resident of the
United States, died in Independence, Mi~sovri. lIe had served as'
President from 1945-1953. He was Vice-President w~en Franklin
Delano Roosevelt died on 12 April 1945. He be c ame rresident and
was elected to a second term. He was succeeded by Gen. DV':i{:ht D.
Eisenhower (RepUblican).
Sun. Dec. 31:
New Year's Eve.
BI
.
.
CHAPTER 4 - 1973:
The uneasy years corrt i.nued , This ~re8_r saw the end of the Viet Nam
war und release of prisoners, but there was revolution in South
Amer-Lca and the explosive Mid-East War between Isarel and Egypt
Syria.
In our country there was the "'faterGate Scandal, the investigation
and results of 7 men who had burglarized Gnd bugged the Democratic
Party Headquarters in the Vlatergate complex in ',Vashington, D. C.
We were to lose a Vice-President by r-e s i.gna't Lon , The U. S. Economy
and the Enerc;y Crisis mad e headlines and were d e e p Ly felt.
The
U. S. Space pr-o gram took another Ginnt step forward VIi th SKYLAB,
the second phae e of NASA' sventure in manned space. As the giant
Skylab orbited the earth, astronauts. Pete Conrad , Paul :"vei tz and
Joe Kerwin 'bLa st ed off into space to link up with Slcylab and live
within it for 28 days, ~rovinG that hmnans can function in space
for lone periods of time. At the end of their mission the astro
naut s. entered their apac e capsule, d i.s i.ngaged from the Skylab and
made a safe rettrrn to earth. As the 100 ton ship orbited 270
miles above our earth~succesive teams of U.S. As tr-onau t s linked
up with the Skylab anQ spent ti~e there and lateR there was a joint
mission between U.S. nnd RUGsian astronauts-cosmonauts. The most
breathta)cine aor i.a'l landscape photographs wer-e mad e from Skylab,
a violent Typhoon was charted in the Pacific, a locust infection
in Africa was chart~d and a forest bliCht in Washington state.
Here at home, this year brOUGht another "First" for our tovm. A
Marengo County carbaGe pickup service began in r,Iyrtlewood. Those.
us i.ng this service were required to purchase p'La e t i.c (§lrbaGe bags
bearinG an official decale from local t~ocery stores. The filled
bags were placed by the roadside and once a wee k the Garbage truck
carne to pick up the bags , An unforseen problem ~3-rose--does, and
sometimes cats, were fond of tearing the bags open and scattering
the contents.
The Daptist Church was now holdine Sunday morning and evening
services every SW1day. The Rev . JOSe9h Byron De lce L was the
Minister. The Rev. Hurley D. Guy continued as the Methodist
minister. 'I'he small r'.'Iethodist membership had church services
only one SW1da;y 2. month as did the Pr caby t er-Lcns with a11 even
smaller membership. Students from the Pr-e sby t cr'd an aeformed
Theolo~ical Seminary were servin~ as ministers this year.
Mon. Jan. 1:
New Year's Day.
TITon. Jan. 22: The Nation Lo o t its second former President in
le~s than n month's time.
On this drlte, Lyndon Baines Jonnson
(Democrat), 36th President of the United :.:;tatl3s, died e.. ~t
gb LtoL: at his ranoh 'in Texas of a heart a t t ac k , f','lr. Johnson was
Vice-prcside)1t '.'.'hen John lilitzeerald Kennedy v.:~_'-s 8.ss8.ssinated rmd
became I'resident at that time. lIe '{,'as elected to a second term.
Sat. Jan. 27: At long last, a rence Trent;'l wo.s si{:;ned officialy
ending the Viet Nam ','far.
1973 - Corrt i.nucd s
February: John Gess, ministerial student, bGG~n pre~chine the
once a month Church service for the Presbyterian Church .and did
so for five months.
Sat. Feb. 24: Mitchell Wade Hall, 2nd child and 1st son of Joseph
Wade and Betty Ann Crawford Hall, was born in the hospital at
Demopolis. His parents wer-e liVing in r'.1yrtle'lvood. Paternal ,c;rand
son of Corbet Lamar and Juanita Letha Aldridge Ha'l.L of r,lyrtlevlOod,
and maternal grandson of Clyde
and Elizabeth
Crawford of the Gallion area.
------
Sat. march 10: Ronn i,e Lee moss, Jr., 1st child and non of Ronnie
Lee and VirGinia Louise Dugganc Moss, ~3r. was born in the hospital
at Demopolis. Llaternal erandson of William Parrish and Mabel
Louise Morgan Duggans of Myrtlewood.
Thurs. April 5: An c'.dvance party of Amer-Lcr.n officals arrived in
Peking, China to establish the first Ame r i.can dinlomatic establish
ment there in 20 years.
~.
Sun. April 15: Annual 11emorial Services were held in Myrtlewood
with a service at 011e of the churches and the decornting of &raves
at the cemetery following.
•
mon. April 30: The WaterGate scandal continued to mushroom as on
this date, White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman, President
Nixon's Chief domestic adviser John D.!~rlichman, Attorney Gen.
Ricl'L,3,rd G. Kleindienst and ';'ihite Hous e Counsel John W. Dean, left
their offices.
Tues. May 8: Former Gyrtlewood resident, Rosa Gay Solomon Dawson,
aGe 69, died in Montgomery, ALnbamo and was buried there. She wa.s
the widow of Thomas Strother Dawson and the daugh t er- of the late
William Clemons and Virginia ;38,lim:, Ray Solomon. She was survived
by two [listers, r,Trs. John Charles (oi« Lee ;30lomon) Andr-ews and
. I',Irs. Louis B. (JimmieSolornon) steadham. Ro sn 'Gay Solomon was
born 9 Jan. 1904 at Beatrice, Alabama. Sp.e came to our t own ca
1917, age ca 13, with her parcnts from Th6m~8ton, Ala. She
attended school in myrtlewood, was married in our town and left
with her husband before 1928-29.
Wed. may 9:
A near tra[l;ic accident shook our to'lm on this date.
William J:I'r'ederic~: .\dctl~;s \'i2S wor-k i.nr; on his ~ond \Yest of the
Cemetery this afternoon when his tractor turned over, pinninG him
under one of the wheels which continued to rroi,n ar:ainfJt his hcnd ,
He was alone nt the tine. A (;roup of men who were cu t t i.ng timber
rieur-by finalJ.~r heard his cries for he Lp rind vrcr e ab l e to ret the
tractor off him and summon further help. He was to.leen to the
33
::..2..!...:2. - v U 11 II .l.11 l-\ t; u. ;;
Demopolis ho up i, tal. Both Lun.:o wer-e punctured and he sustained
broken r-i.b s , :J. broken shoulder b l adc and a severe head Ln jur y
where the spinning tractor whce L l:i.teraly due into his skull.
Fred was Le.t er removed to a B'i rmi.ngham hospital in critical
condition.
Week of Tilo.y 17: A volunteer fire d.c-partr:1ent had been organized in
our town (exact time unknown) and this week Iilyrtlewood received its
first FIRE TRUCK. The vehicle wac ce cur e d t.hr'o ugh a state-wide
Rural Fire Defense l'rogram conducted by the Porestry Commission to
provide brushfire defense for tbe r-e s i.de rrt s of small communi ties.
The two and one-half ton unit ViEiS Lo ca t ed by the Commission's Fire
Suppression Section anone Federal GoverlWlent surpluG property.
This was the first such unit to be placed in Narengo County.
ft'Iyrtlevljood volunteer firemen made ne ce cnar-y mod i.f Lca t i ona and
eQupped the vehicle for rural fire control. The firemen entered
into an agreement, wi th the l?orestry Commission to maintain the
truc1c and keep it ava'i.LabLe to fiGht fires in the ar ca , William
Frederick Adafls had been appointed fire cheif for our torm. A
conci~te block building was construccd at the NW end of the
Oommun i t;y House to house the new fire truck.
May:
The 1 S72-7 3 r':Iarenc;o County school term encled. It is not
known if there were high school gro.duo.tes from our town this year.
JlU1e: Durin,,:,: this month OLJr t own 10i:; t c.no tnar- resident. Woodie
T
Simpkins left to enter the Nvrsinc; lIRme in Linden due to
poor health 811.0. failing ey e sic;ht. He eventually gave up the
trailer home behind the E-Z Shop bu i Ld i ng v.hi.ch he had rented
from Willio.m l~rederick Adams and remained in the nursing HAme
until his death.
Tues. June 19: The Author arrived in Myrtl~wood to spend his
second full aummer- at home and continue ex t eris Lve v.or k on this
history whi ch he had be gun during the Summer of 1972.
Summer: The South Centrcl,l Bell 'l'e Le phone Company beean laying
underground. telephone cables in myrtle'Nood ,doine aViU;)T "'ith the
ma jor a ty of overhead lines. Many homes had the und er-gr-ound cable
La Ld richt to their house but; many others stilI had lines from
a pole rmmingoverhe8.d across tbe road to their bouses. During
this y enr' the Phone Company conducted 8. ']!ro j ect in the I\1;',Trtlev','Ood
~rea costing apnroximately ~~290,OOO.OO to serve 42 new customers
and e;ive re-grades to 43 other customers. r,r£yrtle 1Noocl subscribers
wer o given a choice of private, semi-private or the regular 4
party lines.
r
Sun'.l11er: Dur Lng this summer , ano hho r old Landmar-k d i s app e ar-e d ,
Allen Lerio i r nnd Barbara Ann Ilc Lcon T1 1clcer tore d own the old
Poellni tz-Nelson home wh i c h was located on the "est S ide of the
Tucker home. Lumber from the old house wa s unc d by tl~e Tuckers
to build a storage house behind the ir hcmo , The houre b e l.orirted
to Bar-bar-a ' s Grandfather GeorGe :,Hlli~]1Yl Nelson. Unf or-t.una t e Ly ,
there is no known pho t ogr-aph of this house.
This house is thouGht to have been built by 1S'04 but could hcve
been bu.il t 2. nwnber of yearn before. The original house 'I'.'ns
i
.
•
1973 - Continued:
buil t of locs, but that WD_G torn away ye?rs
newer section built ca 1907.
3.eO
Lcav.i.ng just the
It is not kno ....n who buil t tlli~.: house.
It is thou(';ht to have been
built on Poellnitz-Me8.dor land. The first knovin residents of this
house were Dr. l3enjamin Bruno Po e L'Lnl t z , Sr. (Grandfather of Ruth
Poellnitz Carter), his daughter Henrietta f,l8.ndeville Poollni tz and
his invalid son Benjamin Bruno Poellnitz, Jr. Natives of Rembert
Hills the Doctor and his 2 children hadloft their hODe there to
live in Half Acre for 8_ short time and then moved to our t own •
It is tlloueht that t hey came to L'l;)rrtlowood. ca. 1904. At this
time, Dr. Po eL'Lni tz was age co. 82, da1..l.c;ht er Henrietta (lcnown by
all as "Miss Hennie") ca 45 and SOl1 Benjamin Br-uno , Jr. co. 40.
Another son of Dr. Poellnitz, Edwin CharIeR Foellnitz, possibly
preceeded his father to our torm. He mar-r I ed f,'Iyrtle . . vood native
Annie Terrell Carter in 1906 and they lived in our town.
r'\
In 1996 another son, \Vo.l ter Durand Po eI'Lnf tz built a house next
door to (Left and West of) his father's house.
It was situated
on a s har p "S" curve between the homes of Dr • .Poellnitz and the
J1..l.lius Sidney Coats homeplace. In this year of 1906 Walter Durand
Poellnitz brouGht his wife, Willie Belle Guinn l'oellnitz, daughter
Ruth Lucinda, and sons Edwin Ire Land and '~'lalter Durand, Jr. to live
in the house he had built. Dr. Poellnitz died in 1907 and later
this year, or perho.p's e ar Ly lS08, ','lillie Belle Guinn Poelinitz
became seriously ill. At this time ',Valter Dur-and Poellni tz built
2 rooms onto the log house lived in by his father, sister and
brother, and moved his faI!1il;f in 'Hith them. Willie Belle Guinn
Poellnitz died in September 1908 and Edwin Leland Poel1nitz died
in 1917. In 1923 Huth Lucinda roellnitz married Willinm Davis
Carter and moved out. Benjamin Bruno l'oellnitz, Jr. died in this
house in 1926 and this left Henrietta and Vial ter living alone.
"r;1iss Hennie" died in December 1932 and Walter left home to live
vii th daugh t er- Ruth. 'No.1 ter Durand, Jr. had left horne in the mean
time. The house built by Walter Durand, Sr. had been rented out
all this time and nOVT this house was rented out.
All the many families who lived in this lious e nr e not known.
Those known to have lived here on a rentnl basis follow but
the date of occupancy for all are not kno wn r John Robert and
Phate Earle Flov/ers Anderson and children; James Strosby and
Heva Clara Johnson Squires; IIuey Denn i s and HcU1CY Elizabeth
Squires Lyles, Sr. and some of their children (d::mghter, Mrs.
Ariel Ellis-LouifJe Lyles-Bouler~dicd in this house in 1937 after
childbirth); Ed and Annie Mae Baker; Thoffi8..s Levi and Hettie Peo.rl
Hinson Bullock,' Sr., their son Thomas LeVi, Jr., daUGhter, 1\nnie
merle and daughter Elcdne was born whLLe they lived here; and
Coby Lor-enza and Ethel Huckabee Hinson Rentz. HOYl many others
lived here?
r
In 1946, GeorGe ':lillio.rn and Nora Victoria Jo','rr:rs nelson bought
this house and moved in. They had lived in ~yrtlewood since
1924 but this was the first house they had owned. Their chil
dren vtei:e crown and mo..rried with sons Samuel Gr:-'.hr~.m and Ross
livinG in ~yrtlewood. The old loe section of this houGe--the
1973 - Continued:
oriGinal pnrt of the ho us e-c-wo.s torn aVl,,"y at some time over the
years. r,':rs. NeLrion died in Jc:m1. J.iJT J' l~)GO and ','lilli2.m Georf,e
lived on in t hd s house alone urrt i.L ~)e~)tember 1967 when he closed
the houcc and moved in with son Samuel Gr-aham and his wife Daisy.
He came bno l: to visit tlJOUl3h and it 1,'.:o.s most touchine; to see him
sittine alone on the front ~orch or in a chair underneath a tree.
Finally ill hG2~1 th prevented him from visiting his old home and
he gave permiesion for it to be torn down. Another old landmark
was gone and no ~hotograph of it kno~m.
The death of a house is a sad event when or.t:l."cor..siders that once
it's walls nere filled with liGht and warmth, life, birth and
death, the laUGhter and joy of the goodtimes and the concern and
tears of the bad times.
June: Dur-i.ng this month, the Rev.
Pr-uorid t preached the
one Sunday Church service for the Presbyterians.
Sat •.June 30: There was total eclipse of the Sun on this date.
It was the second lonGest sclipse in 1,000 years, l~stine seven
minutes and 4 seconds.
July: Richard 'i'/iman, ministerial u tud en t , pr-eached the one Sunday
Church service for the Presbyterians this month.
Mon. July 2: !VIrs. -Iame a \'Ia;yland (Sherry Whe8.t) Young closed her
Myrtlewood Beauty Shop beside the Yelverton Grocery store and
move to a new location on Hic;lwm;)T 69 behind the A. C. Noland
store. This move was a tremendous blow to the ladies, es)eciRlly •
those who were not able to drive long distances to have their
hair done. Sherry also cut hair for a number of men.
Wed. July 11: Carlton Luther (Peanut) Hudgens, 4th child and son
of Robert ','{ajrne and Judy Merle Jowers Hud[,ens, W2_S born in Lufkin,
Texas. Pa ternal crandson of Luther and 011 ie Vand er-man Hudgens
of Lufkin, Texas and ma t er-nnl grandson of Robert WashinGton and
Annie Merle Bullock Jor/ers of Wyrtlewood.
AUGUst: Dur Lng this month Robert \'/ayne and Judy Merle Jowers
Hud gerrs moved bacl: to I/Iyrtlewood with their 3 children and
lived in a trailer horne on the North s i.de of the E. C. Williams,
Sr. house.
August: DurinG this month, Stan Ilun t Ley , minis"lieral student,
preached the one Sunday Church service for the Presybterians.
Sun. Aug. 19:
Church.
A week's Hevival be gan at the
r,l~rrtlewood
Baptist
Sat. AuC. 25: Joan Anne t t e Sanc Lng , dc.uGhter of ~;,/illi8.m Tbomas
and Mi..1.dGe Jordc:m SanGir:G, Vias mnrricd in Aliceville, Ala. to
IInCh Clifford Horton, Jr.,r;on of IIu;:rh Clifford c.nd
llorton, ~r. of Aliceville. The couple resided in Aliceville
where the croom wa s in buoi.ne s s with his father. Annette was
a Myrtlewood ~irl.
1973 - Continued:
.
September: Doug r,lcCullou Gh, mLnLs t e r-Lc.L stude:1t, preached the
one Sunday Church service for tho rrosb;yterians.
"'"
September:
The 1973-74 School term be gan in Mar engo County.
Thurs. Sept. 6: Word wets received t hat after 62 year s , the
lIyrtlewood Rural Route would be discontinued on 15 Sept. 1973,
and the route transferred to the Sweet ';l/ater Post Office. The
Rural Route carrier, Samuel Allen (Sanunie) Barr received notice
that he would be transferred to a route out of the Emelle, Sumter
Co., Alabama office, and Assistant Carrier, Edward Berlin McKinney
would lose his job. This was Rnother brilliant move on the part
of the new Post Office Administration which was established to
perform wo nd er-s for the I'iiail Service. in the United states and
which has to this date in 1981 not been too suc~essful.People
wer-e as ked to write Government officials to protest this move
but it, was useless. The Hural Houte ou t of r,1~rrtlewood had been
estah:)..ished 1 June 1911 with Wickh8.ffi Reginald (Pete) Carter, Sr.
the first carrier. Themail had been car-r-Led "across the Creek"
first on horse or mule back, then by buggJT, then by a 11,'lodel T
and then more modern cars.
Frio Sept. 14: This was t h e final d ay for the L1yrtlewood Rural
Route and another long chapter in our LLyrtlewooc1 history ended.
It was a senseless move. A number of people from "across the
cree~' rented nail boxes at the ~yrtlewood office.
I.10n. Sept. 17: Former resident Jessie Aubrey Souires, are 55,
•
was killed this morning when his gas truck ran off IIighway 69,
2 miles '.Yest of Hig:b.way 80. It is t hough t he mir;ht have suffered
a heart attack and was dead by the time his truck wrecked. He
was dr-Lv Lng a truck for the C'Lev eLand & r,100re Oil Company of
Demopolis. Jesse and his family lived in this city. He '.'las
buried 21 Sept. 1973 in Memorial Gardens cemetery,' Demopolis.
Jesse was survived by his wife, Audrey Laverne Griffin Squires
and children, Jerry ','/8;:lne Squires, RoLand Bruce Squire::;, Mrs.
Thomas llalph (Bar-bar-a Elaine ;3quires) Sessions, T.1ary Hell Sc~uires
and Audr-ey Car-o L'i.no ;Jquires; 1 brother, "'iilli'J.m HUGh (\'i.II.) Sc;,uircs;
and 4 sisters, r\'lrs. Henry (Ella Ouida Sr:;uireG) Thrar:Jh, r,~rs. George
Godfrey (Jackie Eva Squires) Hentz, n~rs -. lVIilmie Lee Snuires Little
and 1.1rs. Bryant (Winnie mae S ruire s ) 'Nard. Jes'se Aubrey S qu i.r-e s
vms born 15 April'1918 in the Aimwell nrea, the con of the late
James Lev and Hobecca Le e Barney Squires. Jesse had lived in
Hyrtlewood wi. th his 8o.ternnl aurrt , E'Irs. Shock A. (Josie Lee
Bar-noy ) Adams and ;:;ono to school in our t own , TIc had worked at
one time for Carter r,'~orcantile Compan;)' in L:~,Trtle\'lood. It is not
known when he left our t.own ,
October: Dur-Ln; this morrt h , 'dilliL""m ;~tol((~r; ;-1.110. Betty ,J:J.ck Ly Lo s
Bar-lrLey took over ownership of "Joyce's l·'abric ShOIl II in our t own
from the original owner of the bus Lno s s , 1,;rs. Dilly Ray (Pr-nnc ea
Joyce ',Yoolf) Dukes. The buildinr; w::.ts owned by ',Villi?,I'l :.?rederick
Adamo. J ,1"8. ',hll:trd Ber-nar-d (r,:2.rie Eliz,:"beth Da':er) Ly Le s became
m:..ulL1Ger of the shop.
1973 - Continued:
Sat. Oct. 6: John Chester Beverly, Sr., age 42, was shot and
killed around 11:30 this evening outside the VFW Club on Sunshine
Road some seven miles east of Butler. Chester was shot following
an argumerrt with Samuel D. Andre'....s,8,ge 52, of Jachin. The victim
was struck by two bullets fired from a 22 caliber pistol' by Andrews.
A third shot was fired but missed. Chester Beverly was carried to
Choctaw General Hospital at Butler wher-e he was pronou.nc(~d dead on
arrival. Andrews was arrested and chareed with murder;was later
released on $10,000 bond to await action of the Choctaw Grand Jury
next Spring, the Fall session haVing ended last week. The private
club, scene of the shooting, is operated bJ the Veterans of Foreign
Wars in Choctaw County.
r~on.
f'"
Oct. 8: Funeral services for John Chester Beverly, Sr. were
conducted. at 2 p , m, in the myrtlev.JOod Baptist Church with the Rev.
Joseph Byron Dekel and the Rev. :,'/ayne Sharpe officating. Chester
was buried in the Cemetery at Shiloh, MarenGO Co., Ala. He was
survived by his wife, Nell Rosetta Nelson Beverly; two sons, John
Chester Beverly, Jr. and Joseyh EUGene Beverly; 1 dauehter, Janet
Nell Beverly; father, Dorris Z. Beverly, Sr.; and three brothers,
Dorris Z. Beverly, Jr., Rex Beverly and Don Beverly. John Chester
Beverly, Jr. was born
1931 at
, the son
of Dorris Z. and Gladys Norris Beverly. He-came-to Myrtlewood with
his parents and brothers ca 1940-41 at age cn 9 or 10. He married
15 July 1955 in Me r Ld i.an , r,uss. to Nell Rosetta Nelson, daughter of
Ross and ~illie Gladys Milstead Nelson of myrtlewood. Chester con
tinued to make his home in our tm'm. He W2.S emp Loy ed by the American
Can Paper Iiiill at Naheola. Chester was a member of the Baptist
Church.
'
Tues. Oct. 9: Louise Alta Meador Vood, nee 91, died at the South
, land NursinG Home at Marion, Ala. and was buried in the Ivy Creek
Me-t hod Ls t Church Cemetery, Aut auga Co , , Ala. beside her husband,
Benjamin Wilmer 'Nood. Louise Alta I'lieador wan born 9 Sept. 1882
in Myrtlewood, the first child of Senator Daniel John and Lidie
Augusta Poellnitz 11eador. She erew up in our tovm until she was
married in 1917 to Benjamin \'Vilmer Wood. "MLs s Loui ce" then
left our to~~ to live at Burnsville in AutauGa Co., Ala. She was
a Charter'f!Iember of the myrtlewood Baptist Church, havine; been
born before the Church was organized. Louise Meador was the grand
daughter of r,lyrtlewood pioneer settlers,' Edwin Augus t us and Sarah
EnGlish Lyles Poellnitz and was born in their home in Myrtlewood.
Louise and Benjamin ~Nilmer Wood had no children. She was survived
by one brother, Cedric Boykin Meador, and one sister, Mrs. Taylor
Goodv~rn (Dorothy Zelle Meador) Jones.
Wed. Oct. 10: At 2 p s m, , EST, a cpe c i.a'L bul Let i n over TV announced
that Vice-President Spiro Ac;ne'N had resigned his office. Our
Country was without a Vice-President until 6 December of this year.
l!'ri. Oct. 12: l',lrs. Charles Stephen (I1':;::try Lee C08.ts B.racrd Ward
left with her son, Luther Er-anlc'l i.n Bro.,";:";, Jr., for an extended
stay in New York City. He hrid lived in New Yorx City for r-ome
25 years r,'orkinc in the Theatre but this ',':ns her first visit to
the Bie City. 'I'he old homepLcc o in r,,:yrtlevtOod war: temporarily
empty for the first time in its history.
1973 - Continued:
\'led. Oct. 24: Jonathan Wade Nelson, the 1st and only child of
Danny Hoss and Sandra :.lue Criswell Bullock Nelson, ',','1.,18 born in
the hospital at Demopolis. His parents vtei:e not living in our
t own,
Paternal Grandson of 'Nillie Glad;rs r','[ilstead Nelson and
the late Ross NeLs ori of Myrtlewood, and maternal grandson of
Edward G. and Lola Mae Criswell of Forkland, Ala.
Wed. Oct. 31: Halloween--it ~2S trick or treat time nnd it was
most definitely a TR~AT for William Vaden (Bill) and Sarah Eliza
beth Taylor Nelson as their 2nd child and'lst daughter, Becky
Elizabeth Nelson, 'Nas born in the ho sn i, tal at Demopo Ld s , The
parents lived in TiiyrtlevlOod in the former I,1aC:Gie Lee r,lc,Crary
Brovvn house. Pa t cr-na'l :'jTanddaughter of ';lillie Gladys Milstead
Nelson and the late Ross Nelson of myrtlewood, and maternal
eranddaughter of the late Edward Lee and Belle Elizabeth Hartwell
Taylor of Crystal, West Vireinia.
Thur·s. Nov. 1: Our t ov.n was deeT,lly shocked this d ay as Cody
Carson Guinn, aGe 80, died at home of a he~rt attack. He had
been to the Post Office this morning and was not feeline; well
when he came home. He lay down for awh I Le 2.8 his wife and her
i s t er, ]"
1 ('A Lia c e -,ro.l1CCS
'I'
D
,11
i d ee,
SlS
lilrs. ,',
,Ii 11'li:.m Cl ,~.r,.c
,LOC
.i n i. t z ) "nt'
j~ ncr a
Sr., who ViaS visiting for the day, [lrepared the noon meal. 'Yheri
t h ey werrt to call him to eat they f ound him d cnd ,
He YI2.8 buried
in the Cerr..etery at Hembert Hills f ol Lowi.ng Graveside services.
Cody Guinn was survived by his wi.f'e , Mabe l, Estelle Poellni tz
Guinn; one brother, Sidney P; Guinn of ThoJno'ston, Al8..; and one
•
sister, !':irs. Samuel l.Tames (Cammie Pearlie Guinn) Ford of the
Nursing Home in Linden. Cody Carson Guinn was born 5 Feb. 1893
the son of John Henry 2nd ~nnie Raley Guinn. Co. ISIO Cody lived
in r'lyrtlewood vlith his par-en t s for about a year. He married
Iflabel Estelle Poe Ll.n Ltz, daUGhter of Sidney Caleb and LuLa Gray
Luther Poel:Lnitz of Hembert Hills,
• He and
Estelle riov cd to LI~lrtlewood in Octooe-r-6f lS~bO'li1to a home t hey
had built on the site of the old E. A. Meador Corner Store. He
wa s a member of the Myrtle':lOod Baptist Chur ch ,
','/ed. Nov. 7: The ','/aterp;ate Scandal '/V2~S the t~,l!~ of the Nation
and the \''forld.
It had been r cv ea'Led that Pr os i.d errt H.ich8Td Hixon
had known of tbe Viatergr,te brealdn and vcovcr'up but in a n~'.tionally
televised address on this date, he r:tnted tlmt he had no intention
of resi[~ing the Presidency.
Thurs. Nov. 29:
It Vias reported in The Dcmocr-e.t Reporter of this
d a t e the. t Gu.rbage collection in r.1oTenco Coun ty ' s Rural pickup
service v.ouLd Co on a flat rate emu t l.e r~:lle of County t;nrbnge
baGS would ccucc to be sold.
l~ll rurnl roo,trans wor-e to be »Lac ed
on a ;:~3. 50 morrbh Ly rate for tLc onc e n we c;: colle ction. }?8. trons
would be o.Ll.owe d to urie p.Lns t i.c f,arbC'l,ce bags of their 0\','11 now
or approved c;arbo'Ge C::1.118 wi.Lh the lion pr-o ne r-Ly ~:;er.led. (Note:
this plnn did not materialize. Patrons were ~lloDed to continue
using the Coun ty baeD j.ur-che.scd a t loco.l fit01'8S, or pay a f'La.t
rate and put out unlimited [;arba,r;e each week.
:> (')
~_
\
I
1973 - Continued:
November: .B' or this month, Johnny Co.no nr-e ac he d the one Sunday
Church service for the Presbyterians.
December: The Fresbyterians had no minister or Church Service
this month.
Sat. Dec. 1: Effie GrRjT Tucker, dnuchter of James Earl and Myrtis
Olee Hall Tucl~er of Myrtlewood, married James D. Kelley, son of
Kelley and
The~r wer-e mar-r Led in Autauga
-v""'i""'l"::::l-e-,-l"""\l"--a-. Effie Gray, a na t i ve of our t own , had left home some
ye ar s before.
Sat. Dec. 1: Elizabeth Dixie (Bess) C8.rter Coats, 2,ge 86, (lied
in Montgomery, Ala. and was buried in the cemetery at ~cKinley,
1112.renc;o Co , , Al8,. on 3 Dec. 1973. The widow of William B. Coats,
she was survived by 3 sons, William A. Coats, Winston Grey Coats
::.11d Hobert Jones Coats. Elizabeth Dixie (Bess) Carter wa.s born
in our tovm 22 Jan. 1887, the 8th and last child of Edwin Leonidas
(Lonny) and LTarcnret Jane Rogers COTter. She r;re\·, up in r,1 Jr r t l e vlo od
but it is not known when she left our town. She was married 5 Jan.
1910 to 'Nill Lam Bennett Corrt s , son of L!n.ren,r;o County :oioneers,
Williar:t Austin and Carrie Conner Dennett Corvt s . Bess Carter was
a chc.r t e r r.iernb er- of the I,~yrtlewood l:[ethocliGt Church. She was
the last child of Lonny and 1,I3.K,;ie Carter who wer-e p Lorie ez- settlers
of I',I;yrtlevvood.
First names '_~nd n i ckname s ar-e used tlJrouehout thir~ hi::tory but
•
never vii thout use of the full name too, whenever the lr'ttter is
known,
It is the custom even today th~l.t most p e op Le :-Lre known
by a first name or nickname 2nd it is rnre ~hen the full name is
ue ed in print or ever known by most.
Thurf~. Dec. 6:
Gen?ld Rudolf' Pord wns swo r'n in as the 40th Vd:ce
president of the United Stater-; renl3.cing Spiro Agnew who had re
signed under :9ressure on 10 Oct. 1973.
Fri. Dec. 14: As our enerGY crisis Brew worse, Secretary of
State Henry Kissinc;er ur ged KinG I·'8.is~~l of Saudi, Arabia to end
the Arab oil embargo against the United states.
Sun. Dec. 16: Alonzo Hasty Eitephens, aGe 61, died in the r.I<l.renc;o
Coun ty Nur s i ng Home at Linden. lIe vms bur-Le d in the cemetery at
Shiloh, I'!iarenc,o c o , , Al n , on If', Dec. 1973. He 'NC:W survived by
his wife, (;.01d.i8 Beverly Stephens. Alonzo Hncty and Goldia
Beverly ~tephens h~d come to ~yrtleTIood to live 3 Nov. 1944.
III hcal th had forced them both into the l'.~nrsin(': llome . They
had last lived in the Kit Carson Cnrter house. (Family infor
mation not cva.i.Lab Le , )
Mon. Dec. 24:
Tues. Dec. 25:
Christmas Zve.
Christmas Day.
f\;on. Dec. 31: New Year's Eve.
CHAPTER 5 - 1974:
"What is happeninc to our Ocurrtz-y and our '.Vorld?1l
This wa.s the
nnquished cry that grew louder arid clenrer and Vias to continue
to grow throughout this decade and into the next. Many Na t Lona'L
and ';/orld events might not have affected l.IyrtlevlOod citizens
d i.r-e c t Ly but the stun total mad e an imnact t ha t caused a great and
gro'wing concern. This year the Watergate scandal climaxed with
the resignation of our President .•• we acc,uired a new President
and Vice-President •.• the U.S. Economy worsened ••• the enerr,y crisis
worsened ••• terrorism e;rew •.• and controversy raeed as the new
President granted conditional amnesty for deserters and draft re
sisters of the Vietnam War.
The senseless and destructive act of vandalism was another growing
evil in our country. Once associated with the cities, it, and
other evils began to creep into the small towns and communities.
This -,year, youthful vandals broke into the shuttered Kit Carson
Carter house, the second house built in myrtlewood. They poured
syrup over all the floors of "this historic' old landmark and then
poured corn meal over the syrup. The~r also destroyed many items
stored in the house which had last been occupied by Alonzo Hasty
and Goldia Beverly Stephens. Later this year vandals broke into
the Edwin Leonidas (Lonny) C2.rter house, another old landmark,
and did considerable damage. They broke up furniture including
a priceless antique sideboard. The Willi8.m Frederick Adams store
room behind the Cloth Shop was broken into this year and fireworks
were stolen.
•
The freedom and sense of security '."Ie once knew was van i shi.ng more
and more. Gone were the days when p e op Le left home and did not
close their windows and doors. By now, most people kept their
door-s latched when they were at home during the day as well as
the nightime.
Sonic booms were frequently heard and felt in our town these days.
';Vi th the U. s. Naval Air S tation located at Meridian, miss., some
60 miles avvay, jet planes flew over our area frequently, buzzing
our homes vii th such a roar it wac nerve wr-ac k i.ng , and whe n they
broke the sound barrier there was such an explosive sound that
houses shook, windows rattled and the ground trembled. Of Great
concern was the buzzing of the highly volatile Gas Plant near
Camp Ground.
These were the times in which we were living 2.nd they were not to
eet any better. Good things most certainly still happened but we
rarely hoard of them--the bad dominated.
In our torm, the :L{ev. Joseph Byron Delre L corrt i.nuod 2.8 the Bao t i s t
IiIinister and the Rev. Hurley D. Guy as the Me tho d Ls t minister. The
Presbyterians had no minister this year.
'"'
. t,
~\.1r""
Early this year, DOUGlas foticDaniel and l'iobert See-Ie LIcAlpine J32.rlcley
and children left myrtlewood 'aeain. Their trailer home 1';0.8 moved
away and the lot W2,S sold to John T,1ichael and P8.trici2. :b.ye Bur-ns
who owned the lot and brick house next door (South of) to the
-1974
--
- Continued:
Bnr~;:ley' slot.
The Barkl ey G brick home on their lot has been
destroyed by fire 29 Jan. 1972 rmd Inter tl18,t ~'e;J,r they cle:,red
the lot and installed their trailer home there. Both the Burns
and Barkley lots wer-e once the "front Jr~,rcl1t of the Cosmo Hoberts
homeplace.
Tues. Jan. 1:
New Year's Day.
Sat. Feb. 10: Former resident, Joseph Cornelius (Joe) Blackwell,
age 85, died in a Tuscaloosa ho ap i, tal and was bur-Led at Thomf:3.ston,
Marengo Co., Ala. He wa s survived by his wife Eunice Parker Black
well, a Thomaston native; and 2 brothers, John Lindsey BlaclIT/ell,
Sr. of N;)'rtlewood, and Claude E. Blackwell of T,Tontgomer;y, Ala.
Joseph Cornelius B'Lackwe l.L was born __ :B'eb. 1889 at Chestnut,
Monr-oe Co., Ala., the son of Thomas B. and Lila Holder B'l ac kwe'l L,
Joe Blackwell came to Myrtlewood in 1~22 from Chestnut, Ala. to
operate the Marengo Mercantil~ store on Depot Hill for his brother
Lindsey Blackwell. He married Eunice Parker, dauchter of
and
Parker of Thomaston, on 30 June 1926 and they
made their home in our t own , Joe and. Eun i.c e had no children. They
left Myrtlewood in 1935 to, make their home in Moundville, Hale Co.,
Ala. and Joe operated a grocery store there U:"1til his retirement
in 1962. Joe and Eunice were members of the Baptist Church. In
our t own they had lived in the old E. A. Poellni tz house, living
quarters behind the Marengo I'ilercantile store on Depot Hill, the
•
former Elias David Adams house and last lived in the house now
belonging to Mrs. Ashby Henry Woolf.
Fri. Peb ; 15: Former resident, Marylou Barr Taylor, 2.ge _
, died
while visiting with her son and his family in Lake Johnson, Texas.
Funeral services were conducted on Sunday afternoon, 17 February,
in the Baptist Church at Nanafalia, Marengo Co., Ala. ,\,\,i th burial
in the Nanafalia cemetery. The widow of Julian VI
Taylor, Sr.,
she was survived by one son, Julian ~:t'
Taylor, Jr. of Lake
Jackson, Texas; and two sisters, Mrs.-George Ellis (marian Barr)
Carter- of Marietta, Ga , , and f;Trs. J. G. (Sadie Barr) Huey of
BirminGham, Ala. Marylou Barr was born
at
the daughter of Walter
and Amrny
- - - - - - - Barr.
Walter
and Ammy Barr and children are thou[;ht to have rrvedinl\lyrtlewood
during the 1880s and 1890s and perhaps into the early 1900s. They
lived in a log house which stood to the left side (North of) of
the present E. C. Williams, Sr. house. Walter Barr operated a
log Groccry store which stood on the e i, te of the present Lar-ry
N. To\'\'nzen brick house and the first 110~~t office \"2.8 located in
this store. It is possible that Marylou Barr was born in our
t own and perhaps her brother Goodman and some of her sisters,
marian, Sadie and Camilla Earle. It is not known v..hen the Barrs
left our town.
(Information' on this f'am i Ly not ava i Lab'l e ) Mar-y Lou
Barr became a school teacher and later marrip.d Julian W
Taylor,
who is known to have taught in r.T:rrtlevYood from 1932-34. -·r\~i:lrylou
Barr Taylor taught EnGlish and Li t er-atur-e for more than 20 years
at Jones Valley Hi::~h School near Dirrnint;ho.m. Sl.!e wac a mcmber of
the Ame r Lcan Association of Uriiversi t Jr ":Iomen. She vn:e retired
and livinG in Nanafalia prior to her death.

1974 - Continued:
rl~o.rch:
li'irst Class postage r:as raised from 8~ to lO~ and Air l'.'Iail
from 10~ to l3~. People wer e olJ.t'r8<Jcd.
(No t e . By Warch 1881, First
Class postaGe had risen to l8¢ and there W~3 no Air Bail.)
Sun. !',Iarch 3: Tammy Louise ~r;:oss, 2nd 8.~1c1 last child and ol1;ly
daugh't er- of Ronn i e Lee and VirGinia Lo u i s o Duggans 1,10ss, wo.s
born in the hospital at Demopolis. ~atcrnal cranddadughter of
William Parrish and mabel Louise Morgan,jDuggans of lilyrtlewood.
Thurs. March 21: Ii:rs. Charles Stephen (Mary Lee Coats Brar;G) Ward,
Sr. returned to her home in Myrtlewood after a five month stay "vith
her son Luther Franklin Bragg, Jr. in New York City. The old home
place, never having been left alone for that length of time, fairly
burst with joy upon her return.
"Streaking" was a new fad amon~ young people at this time and on
her b~rthday, March 7th, Mary Lee Ward witnessed such an event.
Her son lived on the 26th flopr of his building and the balcony
looked out over Pace University and Be ckman Do...vrrcown Hospi ta.l. A
group of the University stuclents {;e.thered under bright street
liGhts and 3 male students stripped in the ver~r chilly nicht air
and paraded around the surrounding blocks.
It was a rather
s trar t Li.ng end to Mary Lee's birthday evening..
Tues. April 2: Woodie T
Simpkins, age 80, died in the Nursing
Home at Linden and was buriea at r,'~yrtlewood on Wednesday April 3rd.
"Mr. Woodie" was born 18 Aug. 1893, place unknown,
(Information •
on this family not available.) He was a Priva t e in the U. S ~ Army
during W'N I. He came to Myrtlewood from Coffeeville, Ala., after
the death of his v:rife, to help take care of his father who was
1"iving in our t own with Mr. Woodie's s i.s t er- Anna and her husband,
James Alfred Blakney. Mr. '.Voodie bought the William A. I'"losley
house, now ~'7ned by the William P. DU5gans. Ca Nov. 1969 he sold
his house to ';"iilliam Parrish and I.. I abel Louise r.10rgrm Ducgans and
moved into a trailer home located behind the E-Z Shop [~ocery
store which he rented from -I'Yilliam Frederick Adams.
III health
had forced lIr. Woodie into the Nursing Home in June of 1973. His
father had died as had his sister and her husband.
Thurs. April .11: Our town prayed as \'iilli"m1. ll'rederick Adams
underwent major sureery on his head in a Birmincham hospital.
Sun. April 14: On this Easter Sunday, Henry Ashby Vioolf, age 75,
died in the Medical Center at Selma, Ala. after nn extended ill ness. He was buried on Monday, April 15th in the Ceme t e ry at
Camp Ground, lfiarcngo Co., Ala. He was survived by his wife,
Evva Belle moseley Woolf; one d augh t er, Mrs , Joseph L. (Jnnice
EerIe WOblf) Hendrickson, of Bay I'fiinette, Ala.; two ;~andchil
dren, Marr-;i:.ret Evva and Holmes Ashby Hendrickson of Bay IiIinette;
and 3 sisters, Ii,rs. Osca Earnest (Ruth \'ioolf) Thr8.sh, Sr. and.
I,'Irs. J. B. (I\lerle Woolf) EtheridGe of Carnp Ground, End WrG. ]~dgar
(Sue Ella "-ioolf) Farl;;:er of 'Thomas t on , ALn , Henry Ashby :ioolf was
born 15 Jan. 1899 in the Crunp Ground area, t~e son of Darius Dennis
and Ella Vaughan BragG ~"Ioolf. He married Evva Belle moseley of
1974 - Continueu:
Thomaston, Ala. ~~o hnd come to ~~yrtle~ood in the 19303 to te~ch
cho o L, Ashby and Evva Belle mad e t::Je ir home in our t own , buying
the house which had belo::gcd to ','!illi::Ull Julian (Jv.le) Carter.
.
Ashby ~.'.'oolf W2.S the first full-term Llayo r of our town <',fter the
t own wa s Lnc or-por-rvt ed in 1957 n.n( ~;crvecl until SeDtember 19613,
[jervin::; two terms. He was a member of the Gamn Ground United
r;Lethodist Church, was on the Church BOQrd, and taught 2, Sundt1.JT
School class there. He was a mason and a member of tbe Linden
Civitan Club.
(This family refused to ~ive information. What is
knovm has come from Ashby's obituary and tombstone.)
. 8
l"ri. April 19: William Frederick and Bertha Adams returned -horne
to 1.1yrtlewood following his major sureeery in Bd rmf.ngham ,
Sat. May 4: Former Myrtlewood resident, Austin B. Lyles, aee 79,
died. in the Veteran's Hospital at Montcomery, Ala. Services were
conducted on Mon. May 6th at the Aim\'lell Baptist Church '.vith the
Hev. Horace Victor Sollie o f'f'd c La't Lng , Burial V!8.S in the Aimwell
cemetery. He was survived by his second wife, Audie Mae Cabiness
Lyles of the Sweet Water area; five sons, Joe Lyles of Portland,
OreGon, Tony Lyles of Lufkin, Texas, Francis Lyles of Nacogdoches,
Texas, George Lyles of Norman, Okla. and Harold Ly Le s of Butler,
Ala.; 3 daughber-s , mrs. John (Marie Lyles) Tyson and Nrs. Johnny
(Chloe Evelyn Ly Le s ) Jimmerson of Butler, Ala., and Mrs. Amos
(Susie Helen Lyles) Hawthorne of Lufkin, Texas; 3 sisters, Mrs.
Geo~ge ~Evelyn L~les) Lammers or. Livingston, ~la., ~rs. Charley
(Eml1y Mae Lyles) Lammers of York , Ala., and I!Lrs. S11vester
•
C'1.1Geree Lyles) Stewart of Gulfpo'rt, I'/Iiss. ~ 35 grandchildren and
12 e;reat-crandchildren. Austin B. (Aune Le ) Lyles V/8.$ born 5 Nov.
1894 in the Aimvlell area of I'~iarenrr,o Co , , Ala., the son of Joseph
Mo.dison and Prances Elizabeth Anderson Ly Le s , A veteran of WW I
he married Rose Derte, his first 'llife and mother of his children,
whom he had met whi.Le in Pr-ance dur Lng the war. This family
lived in :Wyrtlewood for a nurnb er' of year, exac t time unknown;
May: The 1973-74 school term ended in r,J:arenc:o County. Known
Myrtlewood young people who eraduate hi~h school in Linden this
may were: Dorris JackGon (Jack) Belverly, son of Dorris Z
Beverly and Joan Lanell (Bebe) G10ver Bev er-Ly , \Villiam Nichael
(r.Iil{e) Barldey, son of William Sto!::es and Betty Jack Lyles Barkley,
and Randy Clarke Vick, son of Aubrey :.3pnin and Jescie Lee Tuc}cer'
Vicle.
Fri. IVlay 31: RCtncly Clarlr Vicle left L!yrtlewood to wor-k on a river
boat for the Findley Towinf, Co.
At this time there are no entries for the months of June and July.
1974 -.-
Continued:
August: During this month, Edwar-d CoLeman (Pop) \Villi~:uns, Jr.
succeeded ·dilli2.m Parrish Du[','{~ans, Jr. p.:s L~8.rskl.11 of r,;yrtle'.'.'ood.
Bill DUGGO,ns had served in thi~ office since Oct. 1972. :"lil1i:tID
Par-r Lah .uugc;o.ns, Jr. was appointed to serve as Ilun.i c i oa.L Judt;e
r-ep Lac i.ng Coyt Herbert Jordcm,Jr.
. . Thurs. Aug. 8: Kelley Elizabeth l'Ic~~i~ll1ey, 2nd child and Ls t
daughter of Richard Thomas and Judy Fae Lyles mcKinney, was 'born
in a hospital at Selma, Ala. Her parents wer-e livin£,;, in M;yrtle \'lOod.
Paternal e;randdaughter of ~dward Berlin and Virr;inin King
Compton 1,lcKinney, and maternal crtmclc1:m;"7;hter of ',Hillard Bernard'
and Marie Elizabeth Baker Lyles all of I,lyrtlewood.
Thurs. Aug. 8: Although not totally unexpected, the Nation.and
the World were shocked as our President, Richard Milhaus Nixon,
addressed the Nation on Television at 8 p.m. this eveninG and
announced he vuxe resigning from the Pr-e s Ld ericy of the Uni to states.
His ~nvolvement in the Watergate Scandal had taken- its toll.
Fri. Aug. 9: On this mornind, Richard Nixon and his family de parted V/c.shinc;ton, D. C. and flew to California and seclusion.
At Noon on this date, Vice-President Gerald Rudolph Ford became
the 38th President of the United States. Television carried
full coverage of the Nixon's departure, the swearin£ in of the
new President and other events connceted Viith this shocking time.
It must be noted aeain how miraculous it is th::d \ve can sit in
our homes and watch history being made before our very eyes on
Television.
Mori, Aug. 12: Carter I.1ercantile store, shuttered since 1968 was
sold on this date to Goodloe Sutton, Editor of the Democrat Renorter in Linden. The historic old landm8xk was closod in
1968 when ovmer-operator, William Davis (Willie) Carter, retired
and sold his stock. Goodloe Sutton p Lannod to tear d own the
store building and use the Lumber- in the bu LLdLng of his new
home in Linden. A most fascinating book could be wr i tten abou t
this old landmark about which so many of our lives wer e inter twined.A brief history of the store follows this page.
It was
thoueht that the old store would be torn down right away but its
demise was s l.ow and painful and it wa s [L long time before the
last signs were removed and'the site cleaned off.
Tues. Aug. 13: The Democrati-Reuor-t o r' of this date announced
that repairs for the WyrtJ.ewooc1 Landing (0;1.c1 Port Clarion) on
the Tombie;bee niver, had been put up for btl) b;y the Marengo Co.
Commission. Irate boaters had Gubnitted a petition to the
Commission last month and 8.3 8. resuJ. t the Commison ho.s be rr,un
pl.ann i.ng a new Land i.ng to be located on a more suit8.ble site
near the present landing. The present landinG is in an area
that is frequently flooded. American C~n Co. is in the pro cess of forwarding the deed to the ~roperty. Costs for the
. present landing were over &3,000 but the cost of the new l~nd
inc; had not been estimated at this time. Bids were to be sent
t03 firms. Coun ty work on the project will consist of clear
ing dirt and preparinG the base for tIle LardLng , Old Port
Clarion has a fascinating h i.s tor-y of ~ ts own;
i
.
•
ANOTHER OLD LANDUillRK PASSES INTO HISTORY - GONE FOREVER
,
,
-
~ __.__~_~
~~
~_.-c
,
l_._._.. '
•
The picture above and the f'o L'l ow.i.rv; article by Mrs. r.'illi8.m Davis
(Ruth Lucinda Poellnitz) Carter appeared in The Democrat-Reporter
~inden, marengo Co., Alabama, 29 August 1974.
"Carter I'/lercantile store was built by J. D. (Dixie) Carter in 1897.
Mr. Carter operated this business until his death in 1920. The
store was well s tio c ked from shoe taclcs to barrels of flour, from
needles and pins to many varieties of bolts of cloth, shoes, and
overalls, horses collars, plows, feeds of all description for
livestock, just everything carried in General merchandise.
Mr. Woodie Lews was the first clerk ~nd Mr. Will Pritchett the first
bookeeper, tho Mr. Carter did aome vbook-wo r-k himself as he engaged
in other activities as well; such a f~rming and cattle raising.
'.'ihen 11r. Lewis bo ugh t a busine as in Linden, a relative of his, l\1r.
Tyson Lewis of SV/eet Water took over dirt i es as clerk. A few years
before Mr. Carter's death, Mr. \1. ~. Evans joined as partner--the
partnership was dissolved after Mr. Carter's death and his widow,
Mrs. Nora Carter eave the two sons, '.'{illie and Dudley, charge of
the firm. This change over 't oc k pLac e in 1925 and from that time
until Willie's retirement in 1968 the business h3.d been manaGed by
him. Mr. \'1. R.. Carter helped wi t h boo kke ep Lng until in 1929 a
brother-in-l2.w, Henry S. Thomas, moved here, ran a saw mill but
helned in the store in all capacities; also another brother-in-law,
Den I,lcCoy kept the books when Thomas' other duties became too
demandinG·
,
1974 - Continued:
"Many p or soris have had sm2,11 bc,'?;innin{';8 in the business wor-Ld be
cause fill"'. Carter o..lw2-;ys favored C'..l1C.l tru::oted the YOV.nr':i to name a
fev., (and ',','i th apo Log i e s to any overlooked) Carl ton Corley,. Buell
r.~cKinney, Jesse SnJ.ires, MildreiJ Jones, Nor-a Denrri.s , Anna Br-own,
Jnnice \1001,f, Mattie E. Carter, Ph i.L'Lf.p Barr and Fred. Adams who
always helped out vvhenever called on.
The stock was sold to S. G. Nelson in 1968 but the bu i Ld i ng wan
left standing unoccupied until August 12, 1974, when 1~r. Goodloe
Sutton, Editor of the Democrat-Re~orter, of Linden, Ala. purchased
it and will have it completely removed in a short while. Thus
coes a good old Landmar-k where happiness and fairness have a.Lway s
been Carter's'way of life."
William Davis ("Nillie) Carter retired 31 May 1968 after some 43
years of wo r k'i.ng in and/or owrri.ng Carter I'olercantile Co. The
stock and some of the fixtures were sold to Samuel Graham Nelson
who W8,S op enLng the E-ZShop,' a new brick store at the red-light
intersection of our to~~. Although Mrs. Carter stated that the
Carter store was built in 1897, other records indicate that it
was built co. 1893 some 3 years after the owrier-, Jefferson Davis
(Dixie) Carter, killed the outlaw Rube Burrow. Dixie Carter's
store at that'time was a log building which stood approximately
on the site of the present driveway of son Willie's homeplace.
The Post Office moved into the present store co. 1919 and remained
there until 1971 when it moved into 8, new office beside the E-Z
•
Shop. In the accompanying picture, the door into the old post
office is the one on the far left. The double doors led into
the store. Inside the store, to the left there was a connecting
~oor between the Post Office and store.
The store was one long
large room. Counters lined each side with a counter running
down the middle of the room. In the center of the store about
three-quarters do~ from the front stood the potbelly stove with
wi ckez- bottom straight cha i.r-s and a fe'll barrells gathered ar-ound
it. On the South side of this area was the "bookkeeping cage"
with the huge old iron safe. The back part of the store was
reserved for feed sacks, farm equipment, barrels, a shelled
corn bin and a wide assortment of other merchandise. ~)~en the
author was a child the store was a place of wonder--when he
grew up it had still not lost its fascination. The store faced
East and the Post Office war.; on the South side. In days past,
the old hand pumped gas tanks stood by the porch approximately
opposi te the front door. Thicle wooden plank benches lined the
wall of the por-ch and between the posts at the edge of the porch,
worn by years of sitting, carved by the knives of countless
whi, ttlers, and there were even some chc clcer-bour'd s etched into
the benches. Checkers used to be played. with soda water bottle
caps. The two benches shaWHan the porch of the accompanyine
picture came from the Presbyterian-Methodist Church •
•
If onl~r those old walls could have t2.1ked--',Yhnt tales they could
have told. The tales that can be told by Willie Carter covering
his years in the store would fill a book of fascinating reading.
1974 - Continued:
\
The s t or'y of the "corn thief" h0.8 been recorded in this history.
Back dur-Ln; the d epr-e as Lon., times wer'e r-ough and it \'12.8 d Lf'f Lcu.L t
for most people to feed their families. ~illie C~rter carried
then II on the books" for so Lori.; C'.8 he »o as i.b Ly c ouLd but as ked
that whenever possible the people would 0UY him just a little
at a time--he did not get his merchandise for free. One man
ran up quite a Large bill at the store and could not pay but
Willie could not d eriy him some food for h i.n family. One day,
this man sold some timber but he did not pay any t h Lng on his
account with the store. He had an old car and his wife would
come by andcet a dollar or less worth of c,as and pay for it,
but nothing toward the account. Finally \''lillie wrote the man
a.ak i.ng if he could not pay something on his larGe account. The
man wrote back, short and to the point--his message, "Jesus paid
it all." When Willie Carter closed his store in 1968 he lost
out completely on thousands of dollars still owed him by people
he had given credit to in good faith.
There follows a further identification of those persons named
in Mrs. Carter's article:
'Nill Pritchett was William It. Pritchett who married Annie R.
Sessions and who lived in myrtle',11100d as G-::.rly as 1904. ",'foodie
Lewis was Woodie Simpson Lewis of Svveet ,,'/ater who ma.rried a
Myrtlewood school teacheri Birdie Loftin. She was a siste~ of
mrs. Wickham Heginald (Mamie Loftin) Carter, Sr. T~Tson Lewis
was Alvin T;yson Lewis, Sr., a native of Sweet Vlater, who married
a Myrtlewood school teacher, .Minnie Le e \Yilliams. \'1. Ii'. Evans
wa.s Willi3.m Frederick (r?rec1) Evans who married Helen Benjamin
•
Rogers. He was the son of Caleb Rembert and Sina Ellen Westbrook
Evans and the grandson of Dr. Josiah Thomas Evans who built the·
first house in our t own , In later y e ar s Fred Evans operated a
store at the foot of Depot Hill ('..Vest side) and ctill later this
stored was operated by Tyson Lewis.
WiCYJ181I1 Reginald (Pete)
Carter, Sr •. was the son of Kit Carson and Lizzie Donny Rogers
Carter, Sr. and a first cousin to 'N. D. (Willie) Carter. Henry
S. Thomas was Henry Stratford ThOl:J.8.S, na t Lve of Rembert Hills,
who married Ada Gray Carter, Gister of ':'lillie Carter. Ben BcCoy
was Thomas Benjamin (Ben) r,i[CCO;)T who married Annie Pearl C2.rter,
sister of Willie Carter. Carlton Corley was Carlton EUGene
Oor'Ley , son of Eugene and Minnie r\1a~Tton Cor l ey vmd stey-son of
!;lack Adams. Euell McKinney was Euell Deniis (Red) r\lcKiYlne;)T, son
of Thomas Singleton and Lena t\12mdy Headley r,TcKinne;'l8.nd.brother
of Edward Berlin 1~cKilLney. Jessie Squires was Jessie Aubrey
(Peter) Squires, son of James Lev and Hebecca Lee Barney Snuires.
Mildred Jones was mildred Belle Jones, daur:;hter of Thom<ls Leonar-d
and Nancy Lillian Parnell Jones, and sister of \'/illie Coleman (Bill)
Jones. mildred married Judson Vaughan (Buddy) Coats. Nora Dennis
was Nora Lee Dennis, daughter of Robert Andr-ew and Effie Le e HUGhes
Hall Dennis, who married Jewell Curtis Etheridge, Sr. Anna Br-own
was Anna Lee Brown, daugh t er- of Hobert Lee and Vivian Blanche ';'lard
Brown who married Roy Etheride;e. Janice "Voolf \'Jets Janice Merle
'doolf, dauglrt er of Ashby Henr-y and Evva BelleI1Ioseley ","loolf, who
married Joseph L. Hendrickson. Mattie E. Carter '.'las Met ttie Earle
Nichols who mar-r i ed first, William Claronce Chapman, and second,
iNilliam Julian (Jule) Carter. Phillip Barr was the son of :Jar-mel
Allen a~:~ r\'~~:l.rcucrite Barr. F~ed, Adorns wo.s 'Jill Lrun Frcderi c k Adams ,
son of dJ.lluUll Edward and Anrri.e Belle :eresnell Adams v... h o lno.rried
Minnie Bertha Goodman EtheridGe.
L/g
i
I,
,.
1974 - Continued:
Tues. Aug. 27: One of our Nat i.onu.L heroes, ChnrLe s ,l'n;tDu::;tus
Lindberg, age 72, died in Hawaii and WGS buried there. The
American aviator, born in 1902, won sudd en fame when in 1927,
at the ace of 25, he flew solo, non-stop from New York to Paris,
Prance in his p l.ane II The Spirit of St. Lou i s'", The handsome
young aviator won wor-Ld fame vri, th t h is amazing II first" • The
~orld later suffered with Lindberg Rnd his wife in 1932 when
their y oung son was kidnapped and lcilled.
o
r>
\'
Tues. Aug. 27: As required by law, the General Revenue Sharing
Actual Use Report for Myrtlewood To~~, Account No. 01-2-046-501,
was filed by Iflayor Coyt Herbert Jordan, Sr. on this date and a
copy appeared in The Democrat-Reporter on 5 Sept. 1974. The
report stated that The Gov er'nmerrt of Llyrtlev.'Ood Tovm had re
ceived General Revenue Sharing payrrerrt s totaling ~t5, 047.00 during
the period from 1 July 1973 throu~h 30 June 1974. Of the 14
catergories listed under Actual Exrenditures: Public Safety,
Capital ~~36 .16 and Operating/maintenance ;;)59.92. There wer-e
no eritries for the categories of Enviromnentnl Protection,
Public Transportation, Health, Recreation, Libraries, Social
Services for Aged or Poor. Under I·'inancirl.l Adm , the Capital
was listed at ~3112.80. There were no entries under Multipurnose
and General Government, Edcuation,Socio.l Development, Hou.sing
and Conununity Development, Economic Development and "0thersll.
The Captial total was ~p148. 96 and the total Operatinc;/Mnin
tenunce was $59.92. Under the Trust Fund Report: (1) ijalance
as of June 30, 1973--~n424.13 (2) Revcnue Sharing Funds Re
ceived from July 1, 1973 through June 30; 1974--$5047.00 (3)
•
Interest E,arned--$146.41 (4) Total Funds AViJ.ilable--:;p6617. 54
(5) Total Amount Expended--$208.88 (6) Balance as of June 30,
1974--$6408.66.
September: ,Two of our citizens were c;iven Ilfeature story treat
ment" in Tlie Democr-a't-Repor t e r'" this month.
Charles Irby \1111iams, Jr., a young 76, Vias noted for his :~rowing
of fine tomatoes. The Democrat-Re~orter of 12 Se~t. 1974 ran
Irby's picture with his tomatoes and told of how he did it:
IlCharles Irby WilliamG, Jr. is noted for his tomato -plants •••
Need a recipe for giant tomato plants? Irby Williams of Myrtle
wood has just the right solution. ','filliams' hills of bush to
matoes stand over 10 feet tall and are still crowing. Already
this year, he has harvested ten bushels off the 12 hills, he said.
His hills nre surrounded by 10 feet of wire fencing which enables
the plants to climb. 'A lot of people think they I re vine t.oma't o e s ,
but theJr are bush',. he said. Last y ear-, using a 8imiliar syrrt em,
r/illiaIos (Sathered tomatoes until Dec. 8. This y e ar- he exp e c t s
the plants to produce until the cold snap. Set out on I"In.rch 15,
the p Larrt s are sprayed each week vo'ith a p Larrt food.
In mid-July
./illiams sai.d he fertilizes his pLan t s , then mulches them with
leaves and straw. \'Ihile being Lrrt er-v i.ev.. . ed at his home on Aug. 29,
he was still gathering the red luscious looking Better Boys and
~\,tkinsons, and small GTeen tomatoes were still forming.
'i'/illie.ms
said' th:d; he hoped his methods could increase tomato rroudction
of others. Alrendy people have told him of their 111r.ntG b e Lng
dead."
0
1974 - Continued:
f1'lyrtlev,'Ood's "Master Builder" "Villi2,m l~rederick (Pr-e d ) Adums, was
Given f ea tur-e story treatment vribh h i s -:lictu..re and an ac co urrt of
his latest venture in The Democrat-ReDorter of 5 Sept. 1974. Fred
had just finished a storm cellar dug into a hillside in back of
his horne. The 4x8 foot shelter had walls of concrete filled cinder
blocks and a railroad steel crossbcam c e a La.n.; over which 4 -inches
of concrete had been poured and covered with dirt. Fred is quoted
as saying he built the shelter because os II so many dad-blamed storms'"
but he really put the cause upon his wife Bertha who, he said, was
fearful of the high and often tornado bearing winds that periodically
whip through the cotU1try.
Wed. Sept. 11: Phyllis Jan Jordan, 1st child and daughter of Herman
Russell and Phyllis Riddle Jordan, was born at East End Memorial
Hospital, Birmingham, Ala. The parents were Iivine; in Birmingh8.m.
Herman was a native of Myrtlewood. Phyllis Jan was the uaternal
granddaughter of Coyt Herbert and Annie Lee Supple Jordan, Sr. of
!ilyrtl'ewood, and maternal granddaughter of William K. and IiIiriam
Bourroughs Riddle of Springville, Ala.
'I
The 1974-75 school term began in Marengo County this month.
•
Fri. Nov. 1: Former Myrtlewood resident, Sidney Powell Guinn, age
96, died at his home in Thomaston, Ala. Services were held in the
Thomaston Baptist Church on Sun. Nov. 3rd 'vvi th burial in the Thomas~
t~n.
Survivors'included 4 sons, Everett Guinn of Thomaston, Osborne
Guinn of Ii:obile, Ala., J. L. Guinn of Birrningh2vm, Ala. and Lester
Guinn of Norfolk, Va.; 4 daughters mrs.
(Edrie Guinn) Surg
iner and Mrs.
(Irene GUinn~ Welch of Wichita Falls, Texas.
one sister, Mrs. Samuel James (Camn i.e Pe.rr-Ld,e Gu.i.nn ) Ford. of the
Nursing Home in Linden; 16 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
tIr. GUilLa died exactly one year to the day from the time his brother
Cody Carson Guinn died in My,rtlewood. Sidney Powell Guinn \'I'8.S born
1878, the, son of John Henry and Ann Raley Guinn. He came
to our tovvn \':i th his parents ca 1910 and Ld.ved here for about one
year.
Mon. Nov. 11: Armistice Day. By this time 42 States had returned
to obserVing Veteran's Day (Armistice Day)on~ovember 11th but
the Federal Government still observed the 4th Monday in October.
Congr-e as was cons i.de r Lng a measure to return the Federal holiday
to the original November 11. Veteran's Groups had been up in arms
over the change since the beginning.
Tues. Nov. 26: Inflation spiraled in our country. Treaslrry Secre
tary William E. Simon, £'ltated that the U.S. mo.y be fa.cinr; the loneest
recession since WW II, and did not rule out thnt it nl::;o could be
the worst. The longest of the five postwar recessions extended for
13 months, from July 1953 to AUGust 1954. The last recession ex-
SO
I
! ,
!
1974 - Continued:
tended 12 months, from November' 1969 to I\"ovember 1970. Simon said
the nation's uneployment rate, now 6ncrcent of the 12.bor force, will
hit 7 percent by late spring, ~nd irulic~tcd ~e would ~ot be Gur~rised
if it werrt hiGher. 'I'he economy, whi ch h2.S been decling all year, is
expected to corrt i nue to decline throne:h the f i r s t ru::'.rter of 1975 and
then level off. (Note: By mid-1S81 the Economy YJaS still in bad shape
and getting no better.)
.
~;"led.Nov. 27:
murphy A. Vice, age 62, husband of Annie I,'I8.e Adams
Vice, died. He was buried in Myrtlewood. There were no children.
Annie Mae r;re\y up in Myrtlewood but her husband had never lived here.
~urphy A. Vice ~as born 6 July 1912, the son of James \liley and Emma
Ste})hens Vice of Linden, Ala. He End Annie Mae, daughter of the late
Gtrother Gregg and Harriett Annie Dickson Adams , wer e married 6 Dec.
1941 at Linden, Ala. l1urphy's mother was a sister of the late Alonzo
Hasty Stephens.
Thurs. Dec. 19: Nelson Aldrich Rockerfeller, former Governor of
New York State, was sworn in at 10:12 ~m this afternoon as the 41st
Vice-Presider-t of the United States. He replaced former Vice-Presi dent Gerald Ruldolph Ford who had replaced Ra char-d 1.'Iilhaus Naxon as
the President this past August. The Nation was without a Vicg-Presi dent from the time Ford became President until now.
Fri. Dec. 20: Douglas McDaniel (r11ac), Barlcley, Sr. and Hobert Seale
(Bobbye) rdcAlpine Barkley were re-married at the l1;yrtlewood Ba:)tis~
Church with the Rev. Joseph Byron Deke L officiating. The Barkleys
had divorced earlier this year and left our tovm. They did not re turn here to make the ir home.
Tues.
Dec~
24:
Wed. Dec. 25:
Tues. Dec. 31:
Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day.
New Year's Eve.
Sf
ca~PTER
6 - 1975:
In our world, the turbulent ye~rs continued with no let up--they
were to get no better. This year marked the fall of Vietnam and
CambodLa , In our country, two assassination a t t emp t s were made
against our President Gerald Ford. The media was filled with the
Patty Hearst story--the daughter and heriess of newspaper publisher
Willirun Randolph Hearst who at age 18 was kidnapped from her
Berkley, California apartment in 1974 by the SYlnbionese Liberation
Army and then participated in the 1974 holdup of a San Francisco,
Calif. bank. The Watergate aftermath continued. There were reve
lations of questionable CIA activities. The powerful labor leader,
James Hoffa, former president of the Teamsters Union, disappeared
with no clues. This year, for the first time, in the history of
the Space Program, the U.S. and Russia teamed up for a join space
venture. A Russian space ship linked up with the US Skylab high
above the earth and the Russian crew joined the US Astronauts in
the space ship for a brief stay. The U.S. Economy did not improve
as inflation and the recession continued. People were asking" "How
are we going to make it?". The situation was to grow worse.
.
Here at home, the Rev. Joseph Byron Dekel continued as the Ba:!;Jtist
Minister but left during the year. The Rev. Hurley D. Guy continued
as the Methodist Minister. The Presbyterians had been without a
regular Ininister since 1972 but were to gain one this year. During
this year the Presbyterian-riiethodist Church had its auditorium floor
carpeted and cushions were installed on the pews.
•
Wed. Jan. 1:
New Year's Day.
Thurs. Jan.' 2: Brandon Lee Gibbs, 1st child and son of Elbert Lee
~Sonny) and Kerry Phillips Gibbs of Selma, Ala. was born in Vauehan
Memorial !-Iospital in Selma. Paternal {7andson of Mr. and Illrs. Lee
Gibbs of Ashville, Ala. and rnaternal grandson of B. S. and Geraldine
Tucker Phillips of Linden. Great-grandson of James Earle and Myrtis
Olee Hall Tucker of Myrtlewood and IIIrs. W. T. Phillips of Linden.
Geraldine Tucker Phil+ips was a native of our to~n.
January: DH!inS this month, Clyde ~elvin Yelverton, Sr. replaced
William Parrish Duggans, Jr. as the Myrtlewood Municipal Judge.
Bill Duggans had served iin this office since August 1974.
,....,
Wed. Jan. 22: Harriet Annie Dickson Adams, age 86, died in the
niarengo Co. Nursing Home at Linden. Services were held Thurs.
Jan. 23rd at 2 p s m, in the MyrtlevlOod Presbyterian Church ',vi th
the Rev. Paul Gibson officiating. She was buried in the Myrtlewood
Cemetery beside her husband Strother Gregg Adams and a son Oscar
Gregg Adams. She was survived by 2 sons, Charles David Adams of
Troy, Ala., and Horace Pittman Adams of Dothan, Ala.; 3 daughters,
mrs. David Bufford (Agnes Louise Adams) Barron and mrs. HU?,h (Elsie
Estelle Adams) Lewis of Forest, Miss., and Mrs. Murphy A. ~Annie
Mae Adams) Vice of Demopolis, Ala.; 8 grandchildren ~nd 6 great
grandchildren. Harriet Annie Dickson was born 5 Sept. 1888 at
Pine Hill, Wilcox Co., Ala., the daughter of HUGh Hayne and Mary
Alice Stokes Dickson. She was married on 12 Feb. 1907 at Pine
Hill, to Strother Gregg Adams, son of Elias David and Mattie B.
I,
1975 - Continued:
McCaskey Adams. She came toyrtlewood with her husb?nd and six
children in December 1920 from ',va"J'ne, Ala. "Miss Annie" was a
member of the T.,1yrtlewood Presbyterian Church. She was widowed
in 1921. The children grew up and.gradually left home and were
married. "Miss AIU'lie" lived alone for a number of years until
ill health forced her into hospitals and then in :March 1969 she
made her home in the Maren&o Co. Nursing Home in Linden until
her death. When the Strother Gregg Adams family came to Myrtle
wood, they bought the forQer Nicholas Peay Lyles house. After
Annie Adams death the house was sold and it was torn down by the
Ovn1ers Billy Ray and Joyce Woolf Dukes who had planned to build
a new home on the site. The house was located on our Main Road
East-West (Hiehway 114), the first house on the North side before
one reached the Yelverton grocery store, traveling West.
During this month of January the Baptist Church sold its old
pews to the Chalk Level Church (a Bl~ck church) on Highway 69
between myrtlewood and Linden. New pews had been ordered from
the Central Industries Church Furniture plant at Sweet Water.
It is not knovm when the beautiful old, curved mahagony pews were
installed in the Baptist Church. They were possibly purchased
when the new Church was built in 1910. The old pews had served
their time well. They were hard and uncomfortable to sit on
for any length of time but their passing was a time of sadness
for those who knew them well. Some possible five or six generations
ha~ sat upon these pews.
They had borne silent witness to some
65 ye~rs of history at the time of their passing. There was only
one member of the Bap t i.s t Church still living in myrtlewood who •
Imew them from the beginning--Mrs. Charles Stephen (Mary Lee Coats
Bragg) Ward, Sr.
The old pews were removed during the week of January 20th and the
new pews were to be installed on Sat. January 25th. The new pews
had been ordered in September 1974.
Fri. Jan. 24: 'rhe Central Industries Church Manufacturing Co.
at Sweet Water burned ,on this date and the new pews for the
Myrtlewood Baptist Church were destroyed just one day before
they were to be installed.
Sat. Jan. 25: With the old pews sold and gone and the new pews
destroyed by fire, the Baptist Church was w i t ho u't seats. Chairs
of every description and from ever source were brought to the
Church on this date so that the congregation could be seated
for services on Sunday, Jan. 26th •
.I!'ebruary: During this month, Tom.. . Meyer, ministerial student,
preached the once a month Church service for the Presbyterians.
FebruarJT : During this month, John Michael and Patricia Raye Burns
left I'lyrtlewood with their· children, Coneta and Tammy, to make
their home at Half Acre. The Burns family came to our tovm ca
the Spring of 1969 having bought the brick house from Roger
Dale and Linda Faye Thrash Gunter. The Gunters had left our
tovm in the Spring of 1969. John and Put Burns sold this home
1975 - Continued:
to the Larry N.
of this year.
To~'mzen
family who were to move into it in August
Sun. Feb. 23: With the critical fuel crJ.sJ.s, Daylisht 3avings
Time was begun on this date some two months early. It was thought
that the prolonged daylight hours would result in some fuel savings.
Thurs. Feb. 27: Thomas Levi Bullock, Sr., age 74, died in the
hospital at Demopolis after a lengthy illness. Services were
held. on Sat. Dlarch 1st at 11 a.m. in the Myrtlewood Baptist
Church with the Rev. Joseph Byron Dekel officiatine;. Burial was
in the Myrtlewood Cemetery, beside his son Thomas Levi (Junior)
Bullock, Jr. Tom Bullock was survived by his wife, Nettie Pearl
Hinson Bullock of Myrtlewood; 4 sons, R. T. Bullock of Demopolis,
Robert Carlton (Pete) Bullock of Cleveland, Miss., and James Morris
Bullock and John Douglas Bullock of myrtlewood; 2 daught er s , 1.1rs.
Robe~t Washington (Annie Merle Bullock) Jowers of Myrtlewood, and
mrs. William Clarlce (Elaine Bullock) Etheridge, Jr. of Forkland,
Ala.; one br-ot.ne r , Lee Bullock of Cleveland, Miss.; 18 grandchil
dren and 16 great-grandchildren. Thomas Levi Bullock, Sr. was
born 12 Dec. 1901 at
, the son of Robert and
Nancy Squires Bullock. He was first married on
to
Abbie Vice, daughter of Geroge [end Annie Walker Vice, 2,na -tli"ey
had 4 sons and 1 daughter, Thomas Levi, Jr., R.T., Robert Carlton,
James Morris and Annie merle. Abbie Vice Bul.Locu died
and on
Thomas Levi Bullock, Sr. mar-rLed Nettie Pearl
Hinson, daughter of Reuben Henry and Lula Belle Watson Hinson. Thay
had 2 children, Elaine ~nd John Douglas. Tom and Nettie Pearl
Bul Lock carne to 01"l.T to'Nll in 1944 with son Thomas Levi, Jr. and
daughter Annie 1ilerle. Annie merle left our town in 1945 and
daugh t er- Elaine was born in this ye::'3.r. In 1946, Tom and Nettie
F/earl and children, Thomas Levi, Jr. and Elaine, left T.1yrtle\''iOod
to make their horne in Cleveland, 1;;iss. They returned to our t own
with son Thomas LeVi, Jr., daue;hter Elaine and son
J""ohn DouGlc~s who had been born in Cleveland, 1t~iss. in 1949. Tom
Bullock was a member of the Baptist Church.
~
..
Sat. March 1: William Kelly lliosley of Atlanta, Ga., resident of
our t own as a Child, owner of considerable property in the M;yrtle;,..
wo od area and a periodic visitor to our tovm, was the first
recipient of The TREASUR (Timber-Recre8..tion-Enviroment) Award.
The award was presented to Kelly mosle;)' by his Alma mater, Auburn
University, for recognition of his excellent multiple-use land
prOGram for his property near myrtlewood. His 900 acres of land
between L;yrtlev!Ood and the Tombigbee River had been in his f'arai.Ly
since 1904. Kelly Mosley lived in Myrtlewood as a child ca 1904
1909 vdth his parents William Artie and Willie Jeannette Thomas
Mosley. They lived in Myrtlewood a second time, co. 1511-1913.
Kelly Mosley of Atlanta, Ga. visits his land and lodee (Pinelnnd
Lodge) in OUI to~n periodically each year. His property was
tra.."1sforl,·ed in the 1960s from over cut ani was t ed land to a
"show and tell" place with a pine tree farm, 2 lakes, several
game plots and over 6 miles of roads.
Farm Bureau supports
lid bill on goat hill
lH€. "Dt/l1cUW
RrPoIJ..TM.
c:l fr14,q ./q·l f;)
Marengo County Farm Bureau sent
its full complement of paid
employees and elected officials to
Montgomery Tuesday, Feb. 28, when
the Alabama House of Representa
tives voted on four "lid bills."
The main bill, introduced by
Representative Rick Manley of
Demopolis for the third time in three
years sailed through the house voting
77-23.
Every stop is being pulled by the
Alabama Farm Bureau to get this
bill passed. The Farm Bureau
originally instigated the "lid bill" to
prevent farms from being taxed out
of existence.
Delegations from the metropolitian
counties fought the bill and killed it
twice in the Alabama Senate. This
third time around, the Senate is
expected to pass it.
One Birmingham senator, George
McMillan, who is a candidate for
lieutenant governor, twice battled the
measure <to its death. He and the
Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, and
Birmingham delegations cited the
'bill as a measure to keep big forest
products industries from paying their
fair share of taxes: McMillan
admitted in Linden recently when he
spoke to the Rotary Club that he and
his contemporaries had no idea what
the taxes were going to be, much less
what the "lid bill" would do,
. McMillan and his contemporaries
all joined in the chorus of the Farm
Bureau led movement to get the bill
passed...after they got their first tax
assessment under the reappraised
values.
Reappraisal of property for tax
assessment purposes is a federal
court ordered, state-wide action. The
"Iid bill" would limit the amount a
county or city may receive the first
year in increased property taxes to 20
per cent. This does not necessarily
mean that all property taxes will
increase 20 per cent, nor does it mean
no individual property tax will be
limited to only a 20 per cent increase.
What it does mean is that the over-all
amount of money the county tax
collector will take in from property
taxes will amount to only 20 per cent
over the previous year.
The taxes on individual properties,
already taxed at fair market value
will remain unchanged or will be
affected ,only a little bit. Some
property already taxed too high will
actually be reduced. Property taxes
which are too low will be increased to
fair market value...some could still
be increased as high as two or three
hundred per cent. The taxes will,
however, .be equalized, as nearly as
possible, state-wide.
Each county in' Alabama has a
Board of Equalization, which ap
parently failed, in the eyes of Federal
Judge Frank M. Johnson of
. Montgomery, to do the jobthey have
been paid to do.
The "lid bill," designed to hold
down the amounts of money local
governments will receive, serves a
dual purpose. It will also give the
counties in the state time to change
their millage rates. It will not
prevent land which has been under
taxed from being raised in its
assessment.
The "lid bill" had most of its early
support from counties such as
Marengo, due to the local Farm
Bureau organizations.
Marengo County Farm Bureau
President Billy Rentz has been
outspoken on the need for the "lid
bill" at every public meeting he has
attended.
The metro areas of the state have
contended since Reconstruction that
the Blackbelt politicians of Alabama
have run the state. It appears, in the
"lid bill" issue, the Blackbelt is again
providing the leadership in Alabama.
The Alabama House passed the
measure on a- strong vote and
pressure is mounting at the capitol
for the Alabama Senate to get down
to business and do likewise. With an
army of Farm Bureau, paid and
elected, personnel flooding Mont
gomery, and the metro opposition
melting fast after the members of
those delegations got their first
year's assessments under the new
reappraisals, observers expect the
"lid bill" to. also sail through the
senate with only minor oppositon.
1975 - Continued:
March: II~inisterial student, Dan Rose, pr-euched the once a month
Church s erv i ce for the Presbyterinns this month.
Sat. r'l!arch 8: Our town welcomed. another "FIRST!~ and most welcomed
event with the opening of "StUIPPY' s Wash Parlor." The washer-t er La
buil t by our "Ii:aster Builder" VVillie.il1 Prederick Adams, was named
for his wife Bertha to whom he had given th~t nickname. The
concrete block building was construced behind the E-Z Shop and
Post Office building and in front of tile Coyt Herbert Jordan, Sr.
home. Water was piped in from Fred's pond on his land NW of the
Io,:yrtlewood cemetery. This was the pond Fred was working on when
he suffered his near fatal accident. The gleaming yellow washing
IJ.lachines and dryers were a joy to behold to all those who had been
traveling to distant places to wash or whos e lack of wat er' at home
prevented their having their o~~ washing machine. Customers re
ceived their f'irst wash load free. Our town wi, th a washerteria-
who would have thought it. It was a far cry from the days of the
old cast iron wash pots, zinc tubs and washing boards, water dravm
f'r-omwe l Ls or lugged from a spring and heated in the pots. many
people used to have "washing spots" beside a spring and washing
was done there once a week. The pots were left in tllese spots
when not in use and no one ever thought about their beine stolen.
Today, those old cast iron pots are valuable antiques and bring
a handsone price.
Sat. March 15: The myrtlewood Baptist Church finall;y, received
its new pews. The;:{ were delivered and installed on this date by
Central Industries Church 1,'urniture Co. of Sweet Water almost
•
two months after this plant burned and the other pews were de
stroyed. The t empor-ar-y assortment of chairs were replaced by
handsome and rnod er-n 'pews m~1.d.e of' R lieht South Amer-Lcan mahago ny
wood with padded backs and seats covered in an olvie colored
material. There were 16 pews each 14 feet long, 2 pews each 11
feet long, and 2 pews for the choir ee.ch 14 feet long. The cost
of the pews plus the r-epai.r Lrig and repainting of the pulpit set
totaled ~3,704.48. The handsome new pews were a far luore comfort
able G.ddition to the Church but the graceful, dark old mahagony
pews were missed. The new pews were used for the first time on
Sunday Karch 16th.
Fri. March 21:
Spring began.
Sun. March 30:
Easter Sunday, which was rather ear-Ly this year.
Tues. April 17: A Forestry Field Day and Demonstration was held
e.t \'1illirutl Kelly Mosley's Pineland Ledge near rl~yrtlewood. Over
60 foresters from 8 counties attended.
~
- convanuec s
Sun. May 4:· l1evival s er-v i c es began at the Baptist Church this
evening and ran t~xoueh Sat. evening May lOth. Only evenine
services were held at 7:30 p.m. each evening. The Rev. Clyde
StricklC'nd of the Providence, Marengo Co., Baptist Church was
the Guest minister and Frank Gallo\vay led the music. The Rev.
Joseph Byron Dekel was resident pastor of the Myrtlewood church.
Dinner on the grounds and open house followed the Sunday morning
service on May 4th. In addition to the new pews, carpet had been
laid on the auditorium floor, a choir loft had been added and
stalls built for the pia~o and organ.
Sun. May 11:
Ii:other' s Day.
Sat. may 17: A community cleanup was held at the !.Iyrtlewood
cemetery this day begining at 7:30 a.m. in preparation for
the annual Memorial Day services.
Sun ..··May 25: The annual Comminity memorial Service was held at
3 p.m. this Sunday at the Il:yrtlewood Pr-esby t er-Lan-Ke thodd s t Church.
The two churches alternate each year. Former resident, mrs. Judson
Vaughan (Mildred Belle Jones) Coats of Forkland, Ala. was the guest
ape alce r , Followine the Church service, the people adjurned to the
myrtlewood cemetery to decorate the graves. Beautiful plastic
f'Lower' ar-r-angemerrt s were now available and these and some fresh
flower arrangements carne from Florist Shops and some Variety stores.
In days of old, such vias unknown and the [raves were decorated wi, th
crepe myrtle, home e;ro'hn roses and other flowers and ereenery fro~
shrubs and trees.
May: The 1974-75 school term ended in I,1areneo County. Those young
people graduating from High School from riiyrtlewood this year were:
Cynthia Jane Thomas, daughter of WillinIll I,. (Bubba) and Ann mayton
Thomas, who graduated from ffiarengo Academy in Linden; and Jewell
Curtis Etheridge, Jr., son of Jewell CHTtis and Nora Lee Dennis
Etheridge, Sr., Jor~ Chester Beverly, Jr., son of Nell Rosetta
Nelson Beverly and the late John Chester Beverly, Sr., and John
\Vayne Dennis, son of James William and Laverne Cobb Dennis. John
Wayne Dennis was not a full time resident of our to~m but he had
stayed in Myrtlewood this year and attended school in Linden. His
father was a Myrt1ewoocl native, brother of Nora Lee Dennis Etheridge
and Mrs. James Earl (Myrtis Olee Hall) Tucker. The tr~ee boys
graduated from the Linden College Prep School.
~'7
1975 - Continued:
II1on. June 2: A new I'liarenco Co urrty program called II rural trans
portation for eLder-Ly residents" began operation on this date.
The plans called for a 12-passenger van to make regularly
scheduled trips in the county mondays throue;h Frideys. The Van
will pick up elderly persons 60 years or older. Each passenGer
is ellcrounged to make a contribution of at least 25 cents for
each roundtrip ride on the van and each rider is to be issued
an identification card with name, address, telephone number and
date of birth listed on it. The Van is to bring passengers into
Linden to attend to business at the Courthouse, visit service
aeencies, get m~dical or dental attention, buy food stamps or
transact other business.
Late Spring and Summer: A deluge of obscene phone calls began
to plague the women of I.1yrtlewood and Marengo County. This was
the second such outbreak, with calls being received all hours
of the day and night.
Exc e'ss i.ve rain flooded the r,Iyrtlewood area in June causing a
great setback and damage to gardens and fields.
June: James Austin Lyles, former resident of Myrtlewood and son
of the late Huey Dennis and Nancy Elizabeth (Betty) Squires Lyles,
married Mrs. Corrine (Connie) E. Vickery of Linden. The couple
lived in Linden.
Sun. June 8: George Godfrey and Maggie Belle Adams Rentz cele
brated their 50th Vledding Anniversary at the Camp Ground Church
fellowship hall. The couple lives at Camp Ground. Maggie Belle •
the uaughter of the late William Edward and A1U1ie Belle Presnell
Adams, tp:ew up in Myrtlewood. She and George, the son of the
late George Alexander (Sandy) and Fannie Virginia Rentz Rentz
of Camp Groillld, were married 7 June 1925 at the home of his
sister, Mrs. Dermis E. (Rubye Lou Rentz) Bar-k'Ley, in Linden
by the Il.ev."O. J. Goodman. They have two children, William
George (Billy) 3entz and Irving Gray Rentz, and 5 grandchildren,
the bhildren of Irving Gray.
Sat. June 14: Annie Brockway Patton Carter, age 89, died at
Bryce Hospit8.1 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Funeral services were held
at the myrtlewood Cemetery on Monday June 16th at 2 p.m. with
the Rev. Hurley D. Guy officating. She was survived by one
son, Vlil1iam Earl (Billy) Carter of Atlanta, Ga, , and one sister,
miss Mattie Lee Patton of Selma, Ala., and 4 grandchildren.
"Annie B" had marr-Led James Dudley Carter, son of Jefferson
Davis and Lenora !I1cDuffie Carter of I1yrtlewood but they did
not make their home in our tovm. A long time resident of
Linden she had lived in MontGomery prior to her illness. She
was born 10 February 1886.
Sun. June 15:
~\
Father's Day.
Mon. June 16 - Fri. June 20: The Presbyterian-11ethodist Churches
held a joint revival each night at 7:30 p.m. The Rev. Ted Martin
of Linden was guest minister. Special music was presented during
the revival.
58
197~
- Continued:
There was talk again of our r.own Getting a water system but it
was not to happen for a number of years yet. Myrtlewood has
a.Lway s had a water problem. A few homes wer-e fortunate with an
adequate water supp Ly but most homes were not. ljTost hornes by
now had their own running water wi.t h wat e'r piped in from wells
or ne~rby sprines, but pump trouble was a constant headache.
The more serious problem occured during the long dry spells when
most water supplies dropped dangerously or dried up all together.
110n. June 16: The General Revenue Shari~g Planned Use Report
for Myrtlewood was filed on this date, and according to law,
was pubLdehed in The Democrat-Reporter, Linden, Ala. on TLurs.
19 June 1975. General Revenue Sharing provides federal funds
dir8ctly to local and state goverwuents. This report of the
goverl~lent's plan is published to encrouage citizens partici
pation in determining the goverrunent's decision on how the money
will be spent. The Goverru~ent of ~yrtlewood Town, anticipating
a Ge~eral Reveue Sharing Payment of ~4,836.00 for the sixth en
titlement period of 1 July 1975 throuGh 30 June 1976, plans to
SIJend these f~~ds for the Pur90ses sho~~. Account No. 01-2-046
501, Myrtlewood Town, Mayor , !'ii~lrtlewood, Ala., 36763. The form
states: "Submit pr-cpo sa'l for funding consideration by 15 Sept.
1975 to Tovm Clerk, a copy of this report, and supporting docu
ments are open for public scrutiny, at Town Hall, 11yrtlewood,
Ala. Assurances assure the Secretary of the Treasury that the
non-discrimination and other statutory requirements listed in
Part E of the instructions accompan3ring this report will be com
plied with by this recipient Govermil.ent with respect to the
•
entitle:nent fund reported heron. (Signed) COYT H. JOH.D~\.N, Chief
Executive Officer, Mayor of Myrtlmvood, dated 16 June 1975." In
this report of Planned Exp erid i, tures, there are 3 columns: (A)
9atergories (B) Captial and (C) Operating-Maintenance. The
Public Transportation, Health, Recreation, Libraries, Social
Services for aged or poor, Financial AdTilinistration, Multipurpose,
and General Govt., Education, Social Development, Housing and
COlnmunity Developments, Ecnomic Development, and Other (Specify).
The only catereory filled in on this report for Myrtlewood was:
WATER SYSTEM, $4,836.00 Capital.
Sat. June 21: A miscellaneous tea shower was held at the Myrtle
wood Community Center honorinp Cynthia Jane (Cindy) Thomas,
daughter of 'iYilliam L•. (Bubba) and Ann rvlayton Thomas, and bride
elect of lViichael Anthony Norwood of Lavaca, Ala.
July: The Rev. Ted martin became the Minister of the Myrtle
wo od l)resbyterian Church this month. He was the first regular·
minister since 1972. The Presbyterians had a preachin~ service
only once a month, as did the Methodists.
Fri. July 4:
gatherings.
(t'\
Independence Day ••• a time for picnics and family
1975 - Continued:
Sat. July 12: Cynthia Jane Tilomas, daughter of William L. (Bubba )
and Ann Mayton Thomas of j,Iyrtlewood, married Michael Anthony
No rwo od , son of Clifford S a n d
No rwo od , Jr. of
Lavacca, Ala. They were mar-rLed at-7 p s m, in the Myrtlewood
BUi)tist Church with the Rev. J,ose9h Byr-on :Je~cel of f i.cat i.ng , The
bride was given in marriage by her father. Members of the wed
ding party were Nora Thomas, sister of the bride, Maid of Honor;
Mr-s , Sheryl Greene and 1-,1rs. Roswena Norwood, Bridesmatrons; Paula
Sessions, Flower Girl; the groom's father was his best man; Donnie
Barrineau and Eddie Landrum were groosmen; Sa~~y Norwood and
Charlie Pritchett were ushers; and Cliff 'Norwood was ring bearer.
Following the ceremony the bride's parents entertained with a
reception in the ~yrtlewood Co~nunity Center. The couple r~ade
their home in Lavaca. (Information on the Thomas family is not
available.)
.
.
Thurs. July 17: Leland Ersell Beck, Sr., aGe 68, former resident
of Myrtlewood, died in Doctor's Hospital, Mobile, Ala. Funeral
services were held Fri. 18 July at the Sweet Water Ba.0tist Church
with burial in the Nanafalia cemetery. He was survived by his
wife, Elizabeth r.lathers Beck; 3 sons, LeLand Ersell Beck , Jr. of
IiIobile, Ala.; Charles Beck and Jack Be ck of :3weet \Vater; 1 daugh't er ,
tIrs. Guy (Margaret Beclc) Tucker of t\lobile, Ala.; 3 half-sisters,
1.lrs. A.llie (Ada I'/Iae Woodard) Etheridge of Half Acr-e, mrs. Walter
(010. Bianca ',voodard) Williams of Birmingham, Ala., and r.1rs. Charlie
(Minnie Lee ;Voodard) Etheridge of Uniontown, Ala; 12 grandchildren
and 1 great-grandchild. Leland Ersell Beck was born
1907
at
, the son of Homer Peter and Lelia Mauae Lyles
Beck. As a small child he lived in Myrtle'/wod for about a year •
\vi th his mother and brother 'Nilliam Homer Beck. His r,lother kept
house for mr. and IiIrs. Tom Bouler. She later married Oscar James
W'oodard and left I1Iyrtlewood. Ersell Beck married Elizabeth Mathers,
daughter of Claude P. and Hary Dial ~athers, Sr. who were living in
our tOV.'1l at this time. Ersell and Elizabeth made their home in our
t own for a number of years.
His brother, William Homer Beck,
married ~laggie Rhee Jordan and they were the parents of Mrs. William
Kelly (Eleanor Beck) Etheridge, Sr.
Wed. July 23: Ruth Weeks Carter, age 59, died suddenly at her
home in Mountain Brook, Birmingham, Ala. Funeral services were
held on Fri. July 25th at 10 a.m. at the John Ridout Church Chapel
in Birmingham. Graveside services and burial were held in the
Myrtlewood cemetery at4pm on the 25th. She was survived by her
husband Wickham Reginald Carter, Jr., one son, Wickham :1eginald .
Carter, III, and one brother, Paul Weeks of Jacksonville, Fla.
Ruth Carter had never lived in our t own but \'I8.S a frequent visitor,
having married Myrtlewood native Reginald Carter, the son of
WicldlUm Reginald (Pete) Carter, Sr. and tDe late Mamie Loftin.
Ruth Weeks was born 16 Nov. 1916 at
, the daughter
of
and
Weeks. She and Heginald Carter
were marriea-17 AUbust 1940. Ruth Carter died just 18 days be
fore the birth of her first cranuchild.
1975 - Continued:
Sun. July 27: The Rev. Joseph Byron Dekel resigned as Pastor
of the Baptist Church to become effective 12 Aug. 1975. Again
there was a bitter upheaval in the Church.
August: Larry N. and Helen Benita Tovmzen moved to :;\~;)rrtlewood
this month with their children Debra A. (Debbie), Cynthia Lou
(Cindy), Susan Agatha (Susie) and Larry (Bo). TheJT moved into
the brick house they had boueht from the John Michael Burns
family. Larry Townzen was engaged in Construction work.
(Information on this family is not available.)
August: By this time, an outbreak of encephalitis had occured
in Mississippi with ~ly-deaths attributed. This disease which
causes an inflamation of the brain und damage to the central
nervous system is also known as "sleeping sickness." The
dreaded disease had not reached Marengo County at this time
but ...there was great concern due to the abnormal swarms of
rnosqui toes which had pl.agued our area since late Spring. All
citizens were urged to rid their yards of mosquito breeding
places by drainine stagnat pools of water, cuttine tall grass
and thinning shrubery and hedges. The st. Louis strain of
mosquito was the main cause of the illness and deaths due to
encephalitis.
Sun. Aue. 10: Wickahm Reginald Carter, IV, the first child of
Wickham Reginald and Robin Dobbs Carter, III, was born at
• He was the first grandchild of Wickham
~-....-~...--:::--~--'";'
Heginald Carter, Jr., former native of our town, and the late
Ruth Weeks Carter and the paternal great-grandson of 'P/ickham
Reginald (Pete) and Margaret Sayers Carter, Sr. and the late
Mamie Loftin Carter of myrtlewood.
•
Sat. Aug. 23: Laura Frances Lewis, daughter of Alvin Tyson
and Frances Thomas Pearson Lewis, Jr. of J','Iobile, Ala. married
David Gaines Lanier, son of rlIr. and I\lrs. Campbell Brown Lanier
of West Point, Ga. They were married at the Spring Hill Baptist
Church in Mobile, Ala. Laura Frances Lewis was the granddaughter
of minnie Lee Williams Lewis and the late Alvin T~Tson Lewis, Sr.
of I\r;yrtlewood, and Evie Gertude Thomas Pearson and the late
William Beatty Pearson-of Thomaston. The couple made their
home in Atlanta, Ga. Alvin Tyson Lewis, Jr. was a native
of our tovrn but did not live here after his marriaGe.
August: William Fredericlr Adams was nmkin<.cs plans to install a
number of trailer homes on his property in the area of the old
gravel pit on Cemetery Road. This area l~y behind (South of)
the site of the former Evans-Adams homeplace and was on the
West side of the Cemetery Road. The first trnll~r home was
occupied by Joseph M. and _
McIlwairt and their
children, Joey, Kar a ta and---··-------Joe mcIIT.'min was wor-ki.ng
for the American Can ,aper mill at Naheola. (Information on
this family is not available.)
(Postscript: The proposed Trailer Park did not materialize and
in time the McIlwains left Myrtlewood leaving an empty site.)
~{
1975 - Continued:
Thurs. Aug. 28: Ii. General Revenue Sharing, Actual Use Report
for r~:yrtlewood was published according to law in The Democrat
::1.eyl o r t e r , Linden, Ala. on this date. The r eoo r t stated: "The
Government of I',jyrtlewood Tovm, Account No. 01-2-046-501, Myrtle
wo od , Ala. 36763, has received. General Revenue 3hnring paymerrt s
totaling J5,322 ••• Actual Expenditures: Public Safety--Captial
~87. 93--0perating-II:aintenace 893.98.
Financial Administration-
Captial $103.68. Total Actual EXgenditures: Ca)tial $191.31 and
Operating-Maintenance ~93.98. Trust Fund Report: Balance as of
30 June 1974 - ~~2, 909. 25. Revenue Sharing Funds received from
1 July 1974 tp~oueh 30 June 1975 - $5,322~00. Total funds
available (total of above two items) ~8,231.25. Balance as of
30 June 11l75' -- ~7,945.S6.11 Signed-- Coyt H. Jord.an, Mayor.
September:
The 1975-76 Marengo County school term began.
September: George Gary Boles replaced Edward Coleman (Pop)
\'VilliHms, (.Tr. 2,S the new Police Chief of r,T~rrtlevvood. "Poji"
Willia8s had served in this office since Oct. 1974. George
Gary Boles and wife Gloria moved to myrtlewood. from Pennington,
Ala. with their children Crystal and Janice. They moved into
the house on Paper Mill Road formerly owned by John Douglas
Bullock on the North side of the road between the Winslett-Ray
house and the Thomas Levi Bullock house.
Sun. Sept. 14: The new "permanent" postal r-at e s went into effect •
on this date but were to last only until the years end. 1st Class
postage remained 10¢ but each add i t Lona). ounce wouLd cost 9¢ an
ounce. Postal cards ro~e from 7¢ to 8¢ and there was a 16% in
orease in parcel post rates. The establis~Eent of permanent
rates is necessary before the Postal Service can raise rates
on a temporary basis.
Tues. Sept. 23: Cedric Boykin Meador, age 75, died in the hos
pital at Demopolis. He had been a resident of the Nursing Home
in Linden. Graveside services were held in the meador Family
pr Lva t e cemetery at r..l~rrtlewood on Thurs. Sept. 25th at 3 p , m,
The Rev. Asa Boozer officiated.. Cedric Mendor was survived by
one s Ls t er-, Mrs , Taylor Goodwyn (Dorothy Zelle f;leador) Jones
of Demopolis and a nunilier of nephews ffild neices. Cedric Boykin
L:eador, a bachelor, was born 18 Sept. 1900 in Myrtlewood in the
old E. A. Poellnitz home, the son of Senator Daniel John and
Lidie Augusta Poellnitz T\;eador. He grevl up in 0\.;1.1'" town and left
between 1927-30 to live with his sister Louise Meador Wood at
Burnsville, Aut auga Co., Ala. In later y ear-s ill heal tih forced
both of them into a nursing home at Mr',xion, Ala. Louise died
9 Oct. 1973 and Cedric moved to the nur s i.ng home in Linden.
Active pallbearers wer-e Willard Ber-nar-d Lyles, Samuel Graham
Nelson, Henry Echols Rentz, Edwar-d Coleman \'iilli8.J11.s, Sr., William
Kelly EtheridGe, Sr. '::lnd James Morris Bullock. Honorary pall
bearers wer-e Charles Irby Willi2..1TIr:, Jr., Coyt Herbert Jordan, Sr.,
James Earl Tucker, Bernie MeNei.L Crawford, 'Nickham Ree;inald Car-t er ,
Sr., Henry Stratford Thomas, Willi8re Frederick Adamas Edward Berlin
McKinney and Robert Lee Brown.
'
1975 - Continued:
October: This year, Willie-1m :,~elly Etheridge, Sr. purchased
Poellnitz-r.1eador property from mrs. Taylor Goodwyn (Dorothy
Zelle Meador) Jones of Demopolis. The property included the
old Edwin Augusrtua Poellnitz home acr-o s s the ro'".cl and ,;'/est of
the h01:\e6 of Kelly Etheridce and mrs. Cody Corson Of-abel Estelle
Poellnitz) Guinn, the little house on the curve (West side) of
tLe r-ead past the Peollnitz home, the old Aldridge home and the
Jones home on the East side of the road.
The old Poellnitz home was built ca 1860 for Edwin Augustus
Poellnitz and his bride Sarah EnGlish Lyles. It is thought
to be the third house built in our town. Kelly Etheridge used
the land surrounding the house for a garden and the house for
storage. The old house ~as in bad shape but it is such a pity
it could not have been restored to it original grandeur. As
is true of a number of old houses in our to~n, the house was
made of lumber one cannot buy today.
This "rnorrth , Kelly Etheridge tore down the Jones house. a Black
family, Lou Gene and Beulah rv'i therspoon and their children had
to move from this house to a house on Highway 69 between Myrtle
wood and Linden. This house wa~ built by the Foellnitz-Meador
family ca 1909 for
Jones who with his brother-in-law
L. E. rtIasters br-ough t a saw mill to our town around this time.
It is not known vzhen the mill closed and the T\1asters and Jones
families left our tovm. A house had been built for L. E.
IIIasters C2. 1909 and stood on the site of the nresent Samuel
Graham Nelson home.
•
Many families lived in this house but a complete list is not
available. Those known to have lived. here were: William Julian
(Jule) andZennith Rogers Blount Carter, after 1909; F. M. and
J'osephine Cross Hackwor-th and family C8, 1916-22; Mr. and mrs.
L. W. Fell and children George, A.ill., Ruth, Ida and Lloyd; Pat
Hinn and family are thought to have lived here at one time;
and Mary Elizabeth Etheridge Applegate; Claude P. and
L:ary Dial II'lathers; Leland Ersell and Elizabeth rl'lathers Beck;
Coyt Herbert and Annie Lee Supple Jordan, Sr.; Willard Bernard
and Barie Elizabeth Baker Lyles (ca 1939-40); Samuel Graham and
Rubye Lou Squires Nelson; James Morris and Annie Rhie Kratzer
Bullock and family; John Chester and Rosetta Nell Nelson Beverly
(ca 1956-60); Dorris Z. and Joan (Bebe) Glover Beverly and son
Dorris J8.C~{SOn (Jack) (ca 1960). It is not known at this time
which white f8mily was the last to live here. As stated, at
the time the house was demolished, Lou Gene and Beul8.h Wither
spoon and children were the last to live here.
The fOTtler Aldridge house and the little :bouse on the curve be
yond the Poellnitz house were slated for demolition. Kelly
EtheridGe planned to divide this prOllerty into house lots for
sale. At this time, Black families occupied both houses.
e:
,~
1975 - Continued:
I'vetold this before.
• • •
(Ed. note: Author J. G. Mc Iranicl, ,\t,D, describes tli: time lu: 11'11,1' invited /0 join (Ill
"c,1"£1I1si\','" countrv club with rather 11//11.1'11''/ J'('I{II;I'c'III,·/IIJ. iacilitirs '(///" activities.
Ol"n,l' wishitu; (0 contribute stories (0 this /1'(/(111',' I'lig". should contact tlu: Journal of
the Medical Association of Georgia, ()38 Peachtree S( .. NL .. A "(///(11, ,(;t/. 303(1),)
TIle Myrtle-w-ood Country Club
R
EC[;,\TL Y A FRIEI'D by the name of Kelly Mosley invited W. E. (Muddy) Waters
and me to go with him to sec his tree farm which is in Western Alabama ncar the
little town of Myrtlewood.
It seems that Kelly had inherited some of this land years ago ami had added to
it fWl11 time to time. It had grown lip in all SlHtS 1)1' trL'l'S and underbrush, Over the
years the timber had been cut occasionally but no thought W:lS ever given to the
future.
Kelly is in the process of changing all that and with the cooperation of the
county agent. the foresters and the soil conservation officers. he is gradually making
it into a model of scientific tree farming.
It was a great joy to ride through the woods and sec hcuutilul tall growing pines.
poplars and sycamores, to see the undergrowth thinned by controlled burning and
poisonous sprays. til be startled by white-tailed deer scampering to safety. We
enjoyed seeing other game and fishing in the lakes in front of his lodge.
On the second morning I accompanied Kelly on a visit to the only general store
in town. Out behind was a white man and a black man standing beside a tractor.
They were digging a ditch. The black man was doing most of the work and the
white man all the talking. It turned out that MI'. Fred Adams owned the store. but
leased it to the people operating it. He owned and his wife operated the laundromat.
We talked while Kelly went into the store. When he learned that I was a retired
M.D.. he said 'that 1 was just the man that they needed to join their country club.
if] could qualify.
He noted my hesitancy and insisted that 1 look at the Myrtlewood Country Club
before rejecting membership. Iexplained that I did not have time to visit it, espe
cially since Kelly would be back any minute now. Then he said, "Well, you arc
looking at it. There it is right there."
It was a building about 40 feet by 20 feet enclosed with heavy plastic. In it were
four tables, around each table were four nondescript hut comfortable chairs. At
each end was a bench that would accommodate five or six people. On every table
was a set of dominoes. There were doors at each end, also an air conditioner and
heating unit.
It seems that the Myrtlewood C\)UIHry Club was founded in 11)62. Fred's wife
had left him that year, I do not know for what reason. but Fred said "for good
and sufficient reasons." Anyway. Fred and several of his friends would gather at
his home about], o'clock and play dominoes. Then in 1964, he up and married
again to a charming lady by the name of Bertha. It wasn't long before this new
wife spoke to Fred. as only a wife can do, "no more men cluttering up her living
room every afternoon." And so they moved over to a widower's house. Then he
got married ... and that was that!
They polled every member and, to a man. all said that their wives or daughters
were positive, "no playing dominoes" in their homes every afternoon.
And that's when the Myrtlewood Country Club was built. Among the group
were "jacks of all trades." They put up two by fours on the back of Fred's
property. covered it with heavy plastic, found some discarded doors. chairs and
OCTOBER 1975, Vol, 64
•
403
I'VE TOLD THIS BEFORE / ~ontinu!d
tables, g.nt traded-in hc.ucr-, ;Iir coudiuoucr-, ;Jnd it\ a, comtortnblc ;I~ ~ "II l'k;l~c.
lhcv meet c\'l'ry \\l'l'kday ;lfll'rIl11llll ;11 2 ,,'dl'l'k alld I'I"y dominov unt il suppl'r
umv. Then nil Frid;l)' nig.hl 111l'y 1'1;1)' h'lJ\l S p.m. on. A member i, 1'\p,lkd if h,
hl'h even a penny Ill' a nickel. Nil alcohol ullowcd. Snh'king., tllh;ICCll dh'\\ ill':: and
whittling arc pcrmixsiblc. I saw one 111;1;1 \\ hiltling on a cedar stick and l'hl'wing
rohacco. I asked him wh.u he was making, he spat and suicl, "nothinu.' hilt a~ he
watched I Ill' game, think inj; llf wha: he \\as )!lling. I" play Ill'XI, he \\(lull! slice Illf
a rcw slivers with a razor sharp knife, then lay his wocul and Ilpl'n knife' in his lap
and pLly when his turn carne.
I asked Fred JIllW thcv financed the light-. heat and repairs. He pointed t(l a
~th'rt wide tin can nailed hy the front door. If a player had been cspcciall) lucky
and felt good he usually put in a nickel or a dime and occ.isionnlly a quarter. SIHnc
times, too, if a player had been haviug a poor run (If dominoes he might drop ill ;1
cui n. hopefully to change his J uck. Incidentally. the cl uh was always in the black.
Of course. membership is not limited to Myrtlewood. Some live 20 tIl 30 miles
away, and old members who have moved ofttimes drive SO ttl (iO miles and spend
the night with friends on Friday night.
Knowledgeable citizens vow and declare that the dub is the greatest asset in the
county. It is said that members insist on their dinner at I:! noon, and take a nap.
then about 1 :30 they get the "willies.' They "tidy themselves up," check their hair
and commence looking out the window if someone is tll pick them up. SOllie cheek
their hearing aids and wash their glasses. One of the chid members who give»
several a ride. is said to always crank his car at I o'clock and let it run a flow
minutes, thus insuring a prompt response at I :45. Usually his "pick-lips" arc
waiting at the curb. There is no doubt that the therapeutic aspects arc outstanding,
not only to the members, who look forward to the game every afternoon. but to
the wives who arc free and do not have them underfoot.
Fred kept bedevilling me about whether I had the qualifications til joiu, He
went on to relate that they had judges, lawyers. farmers. preachers. railroad men.
clerks, de" hut no doctors. I knew what he wanted and tinullv asked, "What are
the qualificutions?' Here the)' are ...
Answer the following, "yes" or "no":
1. Do you work?
2. Would you work if offered a regular job?
3. Does your wife enjoy having you sit around the house in the daytime'?
A "yes" to any of the above questions disqualifies YIlU.
N,lW two more:
I. Arc you on Medicare or Medicaid?
2. Can you see spots on dominoes, or hear a dinner hell'!
A "no" to either question disqualifies you.
I qualified. The only stumbling block is that I have til learn how to play "block
dominoes" before being granted full membership.
404
JM.A. GEORGIA
•
1975 - Continued:
October: During this month, the Rev. Jack Compton became the
interim pastor for the Baptist Church. He did not make his
home in our t own but came on weekend s for chur-ch services. He
was the son of Clifford and mattie Car-oLyn Strother Compton.
I'iIattie Cr.r'o Lyn Strother and her sister Etta Strother had taught
school in r.:yrtlewood at one time. (Inforrm_diion on this family
is not available.)
Sun. Oct. 12: The annual Homecoming and dinner on the erounds
was held at the Bap t I s t Church. Interim pastor Jack Compton
preached the Noon service. Dinner on the. grounds followed and
a s Lngi.ng program. followed dinner with III'lIar;:l and The Hee.rtbeats ll
featured. Whenever homecoming is held there is no Sunday School
or evening services.
Mon. Oct. 27: The Federal Government observed Veteran's Date on
this" date. Wi th many States having gone back to obserVing it on
Nov. '11th there was some confusion.
Fri. Oct. 31: Halloween. The little ghosts and goblins went
from house to house to "trick or treat" accompanied by adults,
but older youngsters acted on their o~n.
•
Sun. Nov. 23: Charles Irby Williams, Jr., aGe 77, died in the
hospital at Demopolis. Funeral services were held on Mon. Nov.
2'4th at 2 p s m, in the 'Myrtlewood Baptist Church with burial in
the cemetery at Aimwell. The Rev. Jack Compton officiated.
Active pallbearers were Sonny Cliff Willi8~s, Terry Barr, w. C.
Williams, Jr., Tommy Lee, Delaney Ayd eLo trt and Robert Parten.
Honorary pallbearers were Irby' s fellow domino players, Yvilliam
Davis Carter, William-Frederick Adams, Judge R. J. Westbrook,
George Godfrey Rentz, Robert Sutton, B. E. Deloach, Walter Lavon
Yelverton, Sr., W. J. Cannon, Joe watts, Clyde Melvin Yelverton,
James Earl Tucker, Willie Greer Young and Wickhp~ Reginald Carter,
Sr. Irby was survived by his wife, Leona Tuberville Williams of
IIlyrtlewood; 2 brothers, James Clifton (Cliff) Williams of Linden,
and Edward Coleman (E.C.) Williams of myrtlewood; 4 sisters, Mrs.
Walter Thomas (010. Nora 'vVilliams) Odom, Sr. of Chi.ckaaaw , AlE.,
Mrs. James Luther (Doshia Williams) Walker of Myrtlewood, ItIrs.
Kit Carson (Annie Lee Williams) Parten of Demopolis and Mrs.

Rosa Lee '{iilliams Gilmore of Prichard, Ala. Charles Irby Williams,
Jr. was born 31 Dec. 1897 at Half Acre, the son of Charles Irby
and Rosa Lee Jowers Williams, Sr. He came to l'iTyrtleviOod with his
parents 15 Dec. 1917 at age 19, from Nanafalia. He left our town
in 1922. On 23 Dec. 1922 he was married in Mobile, Ala. to Leona
Tuberville, duught€r of William Riley and Louise Helpon Tuberville
of Franklin, Ala. Leona had lived in our tovm ca 1921-22 with
her maternal Aunt Mrs. William H. (Bessie Helpon) Fowler and gone
to school here. Irby and Leona came back to ~yrtlewood in Nov.
1975 - Continued:
1965 and installed a trailer home to the East of the former Pearl
Luther house. Irby was a member of the Baptist Church. He was
a devoted dominio player and was noted for growing fine tomatoes.
Thurs. Nov. 27:
Thanksgiving Day.
Nov. or Dec.: William Kelly Etheridge, Sr. tore dovnl the little
house on the curve NW of the old Poellnitz house. Johnny Wither
spoon (BF) who had been living in the house moved to a house on
the road running from the Richard McKinney house to Paper Mill
Road. It is not known when this little house was built but it
is fairly certain that it was built.by the Poellnitz-Meador·
fronily. As far back as the Author can remember (born 1922)
the little house was there. Approximately in front of this house
the road took a sharp curve to the North going on toward Depot
Hill.·. At one time there were two sections of road on this curve
wi til Em "island" in the middle. The inner section was a remnant
of the original road and was very sandy. When this road was
blacktopped the "island ll and two sections disappeared. At this
time the only whd, te p eop Le known to have lived in this house
«ex» Clarence and I.Iary Lou Cave Barr. It is not knovm how many
black families lived here. It was a small, "dinky" little ho us e
but it was another old Landmar-k and nov,' it too was gone • Later
on, Kelly Etheridge had the trees cut on this property and sowed
winter Grass. It made a beautiful lot for a house. In December
Kelly began digging a deep well down the hill West of the old
•
Poellnitz house as a water supply for the house lots he hoped to
sell in this area.
December: In this month, Woody Earl Vick boui3:ht 3 acres of land
on the hill above the Coats-'Nard and ~.v. V. Nelson homeplaces. The
land was bought from William Davis (Willie) Carter and was surround
ed by the land Albert Westbroolc (Buclr ) Compton, Jr. had purchased
from IIenry Stratford and Ada Gray Carter Thomas. As recorded
earlier, this hill was a busy place in the old days with 4 houses
and a water tank. Over the years the houses were torn do\Vl1 and
the area had been taken over by wisteria and undergrowth. In
time Woody Vick had his land cLear ed and used it as a ,garden.
He built a small shed and installed a radio in it to hopefully
scare away the deer and the nights wer-e filled ,vi t.h music and
talking. Later on, Woody sold this land to his brother Randy
Clark Vick.
Once again there was speculation as to just what rnight be living
in the swamps along the Tombigbee River. There was known wild
life in these areas and some rather tall tails have been told of
other life eXisting there. At this time there was some speculation
that wolves E1ight be returning to t~le area for some had been
reported killed in Swnter and Wilcox Counties which border marengo
County. Wolves once ro~med our area as did bears, cougars, bob
cats and other animals. There had been reports that bears had
been seen in IIlarengo County around this time. Deer still abound
in the swamps and the myrtlewood area alone with foxes, bobcats,
squirrels, rabbits, opposums, racoons, wild turkey and the ever
1975 - Continued:
present snakes. Now, t he str'luee armadillos had joined the wi.Ld
life of our area.
Sat. Dec. 20: A bake sale was held at the Traffic Light inter
section in wyrtlewood from 9 a.m. Ul1til Noon. Coffee, cakes,
pies, sandwiches and "Christmas surprises" wer-e sold by the Young
~~ults Suhday School Class of the Baptist Church.
This being the
deer season, hunters were urged to stop by for coffee and sand
wiches.
Wed. Dec. 24: Christmas Eve.
On this Christmas Eve day, Jamie Daniel and Merridth Lindsey
Blackwell, twin daughters, were born to Ronald and Mary Lynn
Blackwell Taunton in Montgomery, Ala. The parents were resi
dents of that city. The twins were maternal c;randda1l[;hters of
John Lindsey and Anna Clare Barr l31ack'!lell, Jr., residents of
:JYiontgomery but both natives of Myrtle','mod. Maternal great
grandparents were John Lindsey and Chloe Jones Blackwell, Sr.,
mary (Mamie) Rogers Carter Barr and the late Harvey May Barr
all of ~yrtlewood.
•
Thurs. Dec. 25:
Wed. Dec. 31:
Christmas Day.
New Year's Eve.
On this New Year's Eve, the u.S. Postal Service celebrated by
raisine First Class Postage from 10¢ to 13¢ and ounce. Airmail
had become obsolete. With most ;:Jeople now owning tele.phones,
letter wr Lting was becoming a "lost art" and with these constant
postal increases people would be writing even less.
CHAPTER 7 - 1976:
-
...
This was the year of our Bi-Centennial, our Country's 200th birth
day. There were celebrations of every natlrre, gra~d and simple,
large and small. Two hundred years is a 10Ylg time and the days
of 1776 seem ancient to us, yet our Nation is still an infant
compared to the cotUltries of Europe and Asia, and we are re
minded that we are all descended from these old countries.
Some sources reported that this new year saw progress in the
recovery of the U.S. Economy, but un-employment and inflation
continued and it was becoming more and more difficult for the
most of us to make ends meet, especially those on fixed incomes.
This was a presidential Alection year with the former Governor
of Georgia, James Earl (Jimmy) Carter opposing the Republican
president Gerald Rudolph Ford. Violence increased in our country
and the world. The hijacking of commercial airliners continued.
The news media was filled with stories of sex scandals in our
Nation's Capital, the Patricia Hearst trial, the Legionnaires
disease and the landing of un-maned instruments on the planet
Mars. The drug traffic grew stronger and more violent and was
finding its way into the small towns and communities. Marengo
County was no exception. Weather patterns were chaneing and
seasons not blend into each other as they did in ye~rs past. The
chanses were abrupt and drastic. Air polution and water polution
grew wor-se and i t ae emed that more and more people, the young as
well as the old, never fel t r-ea.l Ly good anymore.
.....

___
•
Here in our area, the Armadillos were increasing. This strange
armored mammaL had begun movi.ng no r-t hward and eastward from Texas
and had invaded our territory. What had caused this migration?
Our yards and lavfl1s were plagued by these strange looking creautres
who rooted like hogs, searching for ~orms and insects, dUG up the
grass and left holes large enough for a person to ste9 in and
turn or break a foot or anxl,e , The adnl t armadillo '....e i.ghs 8 to
17 pounds, averages about 16 inches long and is covered with a
hard boney shell. One shell covers the head, 2 shells cOYlnected
by moveable bands cover the body and the tail is covered '."lith
hard rinGS which are locked tOGether. The armadillo holes up in
burrows in the woods and gulleys durinG the day and makes its
damaging rounds at night, however one can be seen duri~e daylight
hours ever so often. It has been said that the great armadillo
advance began after its natural enemies, the wildcats, wolves,
bears and coyotes were Virtually elimnated. Its only enemies
now are an occasional racoon or dog, the farmer's gun or extended
freezing wea tnar-, It is said they are very fond of peanuts,
c arrt a.Loupe s , watermellons and t omat o e c , It has taken less than
a century for the Armadillo to micrate from its n~tive home in
Central ~nd South America into Texas, across the Mississippi
River, East all the way to Georgia and 2.S far North as Kansas.
It is thought that the threat of extreme cold '.-!eatller has pre
vented it from spreading further Northward. We could have done
very well without this new addition. First the FIREANTS from
South America, and now the Armadillo.
~_~~~
-:--
~
~
__
~_-=-......:::..oo
=-,V
1976 - Continued:
As the New Year began the Baptist Church was without a minister
again. After another heated division of the Church membership,
the interim pastor, Jack Compton, had resiened in December. A
new minister was to be secured in January but would resign l~ter
this yeur after another upheaval and another minister would re
place him. The Rev. Ted Martin continued as the Presbyterian
minister and the Rev. Hurley D. GuY as the methodist minister.
Thurs. Jan. 1:
New Year's Day.
Sun. Jan. 4: The Rev. John W. Campbell from Mississippi preached
a trial sermon at the Baptist Church this day. A covered dish
dinner was served in the Fellowship Hall at noontime. The weather
was very cold this day.
January: William Frederick Adams had built a building near the
SW corner of the Red Light Intersection. The building was to be
used ---as a garage for the repair of automobiles and other macnfnery ,
Our tovm was in need of such a business. A young man who was in
Trade School at this time, was to come to our to~m and run this
garage upon his graduation. During this month Fred Adams bought
and installed a trailer home beside the garage for the young man
to live in. (Postscript: After all of this preparation, the young
man finished Trade School, promptly accepted another ~osition in
another place and did not even bother to notify Fred.)
January: In this month Myrtlewood's Chief of Police, George Gary
Boles, received a radar " s p e edgun" to be used in traffic speed
•
control for our town. Our main road, running East-West through
the heart of town, is Highway 114 Lead i.ng to the paper mill at
Naheola and is a busy highway, especially during shift changes
at the mill. In spite of the traffic light at our intersection
of this hd.ghway and our main road North and South, it is a
dangerous place for cars and trucks go barreling through town.
Those approaching the Red Light Intersection from the North and
South parts of our to~m cannot see traffic approaching from the
East due to a rise in.the roadway in front of the Post OfficeE-Z Shop building.
Ca Jan. 18: The Rev. John W. Campbell was called as the Baptist
minister. The Church bought another trailer horne and installed
it under the trees to the SE side of the Church for the new
minister, his wife Eula Mae and their 3 children, 1 son and 2
daughters. (Information on this family is not available.) The
first trailer horne had been bought and placed here for the Rev.
Joseph Byron Dekel and his family and was the Church's first
parsonage. Later the Church rented a house on Paper Mill Road
for the Dekels and the trailer was sold and removed.
Sat. Jan. 31: A miscellaneous tea shower was held at the
Community House for Kathryn Rose (Kathy) Yelverton, bride
elect of Virgil Dale Alridge, and daughter of Walter Lavon
and r,laxine Inthia Dunn Yelverton, Sr. of ivT~,rrtlewood.
'70
1976 - Continued:
February:
In this month, the\labam:J. '''Iildlife Federation went
on record supporting a DOS ·se;.~son for Al.abama hunters, and also
urged the hunters not to shoot ccyot e s , woLve s and panthers. It
seems that wolves and other9reyers upon deer have come into
Marengo County and adjoining counties because the deer herds
are so dense.
Mon. Feb. 2: Dr. Gerald Williams re~laced Dr. Robert T. Williamon
as Chief of Staff at the Llaren:;o County Nursing Home in Linden.
Dr. Bob I'i;erlcle of Yaunsdale, Ala. Vias added to the staff.
Sun. Feb. 8: Kathryn Hose Yelverton, daughter of Walter Lavon
and Iilaxine Inthia Dunn Yelverton, 31'. of r,lyrtlewood, married
Virgil Dale Alridge, son of Mrs. W. F. (Jean Carol Mathis Alridge)
Youngblood and the late Virgil Alridge of Natchez, I'iliss. The
couj.Le was mar-r-Led in the l."lyrtlewood Baptist Church at 4 p s rn ,
with the Rev. Jinun Jr I'flathis, uncle of the ~':Sroom, officiating.
The bride W8.S C;iven in mar-r i age by her father. Mrs. David Gaddy
-of Vinden served as Matron of Honor. Bridesmaids were Lee
Etheridge, Julie Green, Debra Hill, 1:1rs. Janet marlowe and mrs.
Phyllis ',VriGht. Christy DS;Nn Loe WCts the flower girl. Todd
mathis was the rinsbearer. James Kine; of Roxie, Eiss. served as
Best Man, and r;rooms:nen wer e r,1ark Youngb Lo o d , Walter Lavon Yelver
ton, Jr., 'Nilliam Ii~alone Yelverton, Timothy '.vright Yelverton and
~icl{y Whitehead.
NU2)ti8.1 mus i,c ·:.'[lS rendered by mrs. John Robert
(Hobin hlarion Etheridge) h:osley at t}.. . e organ and Mrs. Clyde Melvin
Yelverton, Jr. who sane "If II and II The Lords Prayer. II A r e cep t f.on
followed the cer-emony at the :,~~rrtlewood Community House. The
couple made their home in Hoxie, r',1iss. whe r-e the groom wa s emp Loybd
by Lrrt er-nat a ona.L Pape r Corp. Kathy wa s employed at Bryan Whi te field Memorial Hos~ital in Demopolis as an LPN.
GrRndp~rent~ of
the bride are 1\11'. arid Ylrs. Willi8.r::; :~bner Dunn and the late Alberta
Elize.beth Ray Dunn of Linden, and L~rs. Reda Pearl 'Cv er-s t r e e t Yel verton of Po r-k'l.and , Ala. and the La t e Jessie Lavon Yelverton.
Gr2~ndlK1.rent;s of the croom r.r e 1.'[1'. and I',lrs. Eugene mathifJ of Linden
and 1j:rs. C. Q. Alridce of Ro x Le , ri~iS~-l. and the late C. Q. Alridce.
Wed. Feb. 11: Char-Le s David Adums , 2'.ge 58, former resident of
died of n heart attack in a hos,ital at Troy, Ala.
Funeral services wer e held Thurs. Feb. 12th at r,IcGehee Dil18.rd
Funeral Hone in 'I'r-oy , Aln. v.L th bur-LaL in Greenhills IviemoriHl Park
£l.t Tro Jr • He was eur-v Iv ed by his v.'ife, T'.1rs. Helen Faye Curry Adams;
one daughter, Ilirs. Jimmy (
Adams) Diclcens of Dothan, Ala.;
2 sons, David Adams of Au"uv.rn, Ala. and Jim Adams of Tro JT ; 3 sisters,
I,~rs. Mur-phy .;. (Anni.e I:iae Adams) Vice of Demopolis, 1'r.r8. Hugh L.
(Elsie Estelle Adams) Levri s of Forest, I,'~iss. and I,ll's. David Bufford
(Agnes Louise Adams) Barron of Forest, 1~iss; one brother, Horace
Pittman Adamc of Do t lian , A12..
Char-Len David Adams ¥-Ie,s born 12 Oct.
1916 at Half Acre, roaren~o Co., Ala., the son of Strother G~egg
and Harriet Annie Dicl:son Ad.aras , He came to r\T~rrtle,,',rood with his
par errt o in Dec. lS20, C'.ge 4, from Wayne, A18,. After growine up
and atten<lir...g school in our tovffi he left in 1935, age ca 19, to
join the C.C.C. At the tj.me of his de2l.th CharLe s 'NO.S a veteran
o f'f'Lc La.L of tl:e state Hieh','.'ay Dept. '.'lith 36 y e ar e of service. He
wa s a 7th Div. Eng i ne er- in chrnGe of construction and maintenance
in Barbour, Coffee, Covington, Cr-enshaw, Dr.Le , Geneva, Henry,
Houston and Pike COlmties, Ala. He ~as a Baptist.
~yrtlewood,
1976 - Contirned:
Thurs. Feb. 12 : At this time, people po s i.ng as 'Social Security
representatives and a~]prai::,.er::'. from the Gulf Coast Appr-a'i aer-s
Firm, have been cr:tering homer. and stealing from unsuspecting
homeOMlers. Legimate employees of Gulf Coast Appraisers, Inc.
are currently ',',orkin£; in the Jixons Kills area of r,'[arengo Co.
Imposters enter H borne and wl: j.le one t aLks to the owner-s the
other enters other parts of tile house to, auppo s e d.Ly , make an
appraisal, and then proceeeds to steal. As a result of this
fraud, the Social Sec'LJ.rity officials and G.C.A.,Inc. have
appealed to loco..l newspaper for help. Many homeowners have
been refusing to allOW the legitimate appreisers into their
homes and in SODe cases have run them off their property with
out a chance to explain. On this date, The De~ocrat-Reporter
ran photos of the lecitimate aipr-ad s er-s , End stated that each
of these men c8.rry identification with their photo and a cer
tificate from r,'rareneo Co urruy Tax Assessor John Ramsey.
Fri." Feb. 13: The riI;yrtlewood Baptist Church held its annual
Sweetheart Banque-t at the Commund, t JT Center this evening. The
Rev. John \". Campbell, pastor of the I.lyrtle"'I:Ood Bap t Ls t Church
was the sp e alce r and Fr2ml<.: Callor;ay of the Providence Baptist
Church Vias I',laster of Ceremonies and entertained. Tammy Renee
Mosley, dauGhter of Ar-mon Ralph and :ituth Beatrice Tay.lor Mosley
was named Queen.
Mon. Feb. 16: The Federal Government observed Georee INashington'os
Birthday (Feb. 22nd) on this date in its program to give 3 day
we e lcend s ,
Thurs. I\larch 4: Terry Lavon Hudgeris , 5th child and son of
Robert Wayne and Judy merle Jowers HudGens, W2_S born in the
hospital at,Demopolis. The ;,Jc·rents were livinG in myrtlewood.
maternal grandson of Robert ',,'iashington and Annie r','ierle Bullock
JOv'lers of r-lyrtlevYood, and pat er'na.l grandson of Luther and Ollie
Vanderman HudGens of Lufkin, Texas.
Mon. March 8: Kenneth Rex Beverly, aGe 18, died at 9:20 p.m.
at hi~ home in Thomaston of leukemia. Services were held at
the Thomaston Bap t Le t Church on Wed. IIIarch lOth at 3 p s m, with
burial in the Tho!Yl2.ston c eme t er-y , He VIas aur-v i ved by his
parents, Rex and
Beverly, and a sister Tina Ann
Beverly; pa t ez-no.L GTandp~re~ts, Dorris Z. and Ophelia Jones
Eatman Beverly, Sr. of Gallion; and maternal € ; rnndparents, Mr.
and ~ilrs. Neville Dickson of ArlinBton. Kenneth had never lived
in our town but all heC1.rts had Gone out to him when he was struck
with this tragic illness. His f'a t Irer- grew up in faCyrtlewood.
1976 - Continued:
Tues. March 9: Marjorie I,lez.,doY' Foster, aee 57, former native of
1'Y:yrtlewood, died. of cancer in r.ob i Le , Al8-. Funeral services were
held on Thurs. l,:arch 11th a t t:le Be Lmany Funeral Home in Mobile
with burial in the }Jine Crest Cemetery at ILobile, where her parents
were buried. She ~as survived by her husband, Warner Curtis Foster,
a civilian employee at Keesler Air Force Base; a brother, Gayden
Perldns Meador of Kobile; and an Aunt, !;'irs. Taylor Goodwyn (Dorothy
Zelle Meador) Jones of Demopolis. She had no children. Marjorie
~eador was born 23 April 1917, the dau&hter of Edwin AUgL~stus and
Ellie Lea Perkins Eectdor. She vias born in Vaughan r.:emorial Hospital
in Selma, AIH. but her p ar errt s wer e Lav i.ng in Myrtlewood. marjorie
erew up in our to~n and ~ttended Grammar and Jr. HiCh School here.
She graduated High School in Linden. She was a Sunday School teach
er at the Baptist Church in I\~yrtlewood. e.nd an active worker with
youne people. She entered Judson Collece at marion, Ala. 9 Sept.
1935 and received her B •.A. She vie.e twice named to Who's Who Among
Students in American Colleges and Universities. Marjorie was a
gifted poet and had sene of her wor-ks publishecL After gaduation
she Was employed o.s assistant to the Director of Personnel at
Judson Co l.Le ge , and was subsequently promoted to reGistrar, a
position she held for 3 years. On 21 Dec. 1957 she married Warner
Curtis Foster. For some 17 years she worl::ed with the University
of Alabama in I',:obile, A12,., first as assistant to the Director of
Personnel, and in March 1964, before the school formally opened
in June of tlwt y ear-, she was appointed registrar of the University
Center and held th<:~t post until shortly before her d e a'th , In 1968
her responsibilities were expanded to include those of Associgte
Director of Admissions and Records. I.1o,rjorie was a member of the
Alabam Aas o c Ls.t Lon of ColleGiate J.ecistr8.rs and Adnission Of'f'd c er-s ,
and the 1\meric2cn As so c Lc.t i on for Eicher Education. She 1:8.0. lived
in mobile, Ala. for tl\e past 39 ;ye<:.>.rs and was a member of the
Woodmont Baptist Chur-ch , I.1::.',r jorie I[\CeS a gr-andd auglrt er- of Senator
Daniel John and Li<lie_Aur:;usta l'oellnitz r...: eador and Great-t:;rand
d augh't er of pioneer I/iy-rtlev:ood settlers, Edwin AUGUstus and Sarah
English Lyles Poellnitz. She was a lovely person •
• Narch
: Nola Jane 3nelgrove Crosby, a~e 93, former resi
dent of I,:yrtlevlOod, died a t
and was buried on
~,';ed. march 15th at
• The wino\'! of Char-La e Crosby
she \'las the mother of Wonnie Rowe Crosby, Je-:.mes Roderick Cr-o aby ,
Alfred Clifford Cr-o sby , r,'Jrs. William Frank (Ava I,Iildred Crosby)
Rogers, Jr., Rufus Osborn Crosby and CL~,rle~ Willi2,m Crosby. She
was born 28 Dec. 1882 a t Newt on , l''iiss. the d;:mghter of
and
Snelgrove. I',~rs. Crosby carne to r,~yrtlev{ood in
1925 from EngLewo od , ~\l~l. ,,'.'ith her husband and chil<iren. They
lived in the house nov.' owned by V/illi8.m Parrish DUCEans, Jr.
Ch.vr-La e arid Nola Jane Snelgrove Crosby left our t.own in 1928 for
Forkland, Greene Co., Ala.
IlIon. March 15: Ella Boozer Compton , age 102, f'or-raar resident of
r,Iyrtlewood, died in the L12.rengo County NursinG Horr.e at Linden.
Funeral services v.o r e held a t the Cook arid Spigener Chapel in
Demopolis with burial in the c eme't e ry at Sweet Water. The widow
of Samuel William Comjrt on , Sr., she was survived by 3 children,
Dr. Goldsby I:inc; (Jack) Compt ori of Linden, S2.lllnel '.7illit'.r:1 (Joe
Bill) Conpton, Jr. of Palm S~rings, C~lif., and Krs. Routon
(Jimmie ~erle Co~~ton) Shows of Luverne, Ala.; 3 grandchildren
1976 - Continued:
and 5 great-grandchildren. El:La Boozer was born 9 Dec. 1873 at
Sweet ",'later, I\~aren:~o Co , , Ala., tl"e daugh t er of Asa and Sara.h
Frances Corley Boozer. She \'l~'S the y o:..m gest of 13 children. After
local schools, she at t end ed tJ:.e Female Institute in Demopolis and
Livingston Norme.L Sc}:ool in Livinston, Sumter Co , , Ala., wher-e she
was a student of famed educat or- Julia Tutwiler. Ella Boozer became
a school teacher and tauC,ht at Uni.ori Grove, Rembert Hills, Sweet
~o.ter, Old Spring Hill and Linden, all in Mareneo County, Al~. On
18 Sept. 1901 she was married 2.t Rembert Hills to Samuel V/illiam
Compton, son of George -"iashineton and Pierce King Lewis Comp bon
of the Sweet \later area.
It is thought that ca 1902, Ella and
Sam Cornp bon came to l,iyrtlewood where he taught school and served
as principal. , It is t.hougrrt tl'.l.2t their first two children, Sarah
King, born 1903, and Frances Lorena, born 1905, were born in our
tovm. The~r both died v.L thin two we elcs of e ach other in 1907 and
in that same year the third child, Jirr~ie Kerle, was born. The
4th child, GoLd sby Kind (Jack) was born in r,,:yrtle:;','ood also. The
Comptons lived in the house nor" owned by Willigll1 Parris}, Duggans,
Jr. 'It is thought that they left our tovm co. 1912 for Godo, Ala.
Their last child, Sallluel ','/illi':O.ll1, Jr. (Joe Bill) Vias born in 1914
after they left m~rrtlewood. In 1915 the family moved to linden.
Ella Boozer Compt on had been a member of the Linden Illethodist Church
since 3 Oct. 1915. She had been active in the Missionary Society,
United DauGhters of the Confederacy, the Eastern star and the
Women's Christian Temperance Union. Ella Compton was widowed in
1947. In Lat e.r ye::~,rs, ill health and advanced age forced her into
a nursine home in Luverne, Ala. She was later moved to the Nursing
Horne in Linden wher-e she lived until her death.
Tues. march 16: John Robert (Rob) Anderson, age 69, suffered a
heart attack and died while driving his truck near his home in
the Sweet ''/Yater ar-ea , Funeral services wor-e held Thurs. Harch
18th in the Baptist Church at Sweet 'Nater with burial in the
cemetery at Aimwell. He was survived by his wife, Phatie Earle
Perkins Anderson; 3 sons, Robert Edwin Anderson, Ernest Clinton
Anderson and Kenneth Earl Anderson; 3 daughters, Mrs.
Evie Edwina Anderson) Stephen, r~:rs.
(Edna Earle Anderson)
Barr and 1'1rs.
(Laura Ann An<r8rson) Ca.L'Loway; 21 grand
children and 2 gre2.t-grandchildren. A son, Don Anderson, had
preceeded him in death in 1972. John Robert Anderson was born
i8 Dec. IS07 in the
area, the con of Robert C
- - . . , .
and :Betty J2.ne Er-ne s t Anderson. As a ver-y young man he came to
l"Lyrtlewood ';;i th his par errt s , It is thought that while living
here and working at Henderson Baker lUll, he married on
to Phatie Earle Perkins, daugrrt er- of "Valter C. and Susan G.
Flov'1ers Perkins. They made their home in our' town and the most
of their children were born here. It is not known . . . he n this
family left r.:yrtlcvlood.
(Parri.Ly refused to answer r ecue s t for
Lnf'or-na t i.on , )
Fri. March 19: Lillh~n Inez Evans L~cDuffie, age 97, died in
Tampa, Florida and ,{.'D.S buried tl-.ere. She vt:.. '.s the 6th former
I'llyrtlewooc1 res1dent to die in some six we e ks of this y e ar , and
the 5th in a r-ow to die in this morrtih of l.lar ch , She was the
widow of Benjamin Yrancis LcDuffie and the mother of L1rs.
Willit=..m James (Edna Inez LcDuffie ) Barritt, Frances I,r;cDuffie
1976 -Continued:
who died as a.n infant, Douglas Evans McDuffie, Mrs. Charles
Alfred (Lillian Elmorine r.lcDuffie) Fleming, William Kine T,!c
duffie and Boyki,n Pr ed er-Lck ?,~c.0uffie. (F2,rnilv Lnf'or-mat t on in
conp l.e t e-c-Panu.Ly refused to ['ive Lnf orrua t i.on , ') Lillian Inez
Evans was born 26 Nov. 1878 at Jefferson, l!iarene;o Co , , Ala. the
daughter of Caleb Re:nbert and S Lna Ellen ~"/estbrook Evans. She
came to L'iyrtlewood with her l=';lrents 8.S a young child between
Barch 1888 and before 1895. The family moved into the home of
her paternal Grandfather, Dr. -Io s i.ah Thomas Evans, the first
person to build a home in Ii'iyrtlewood. Lillian Evans gre,;v up
and went to schco l c.In our town. On 14 Dec. 1904 she was mar r Led
in the r,'~;yrtlewood Barrt i.st Church (the first Cl:.u.rch builtin our
tovm) to Ben jaman :i!'ro.ncis HcDuffie, son of '.,Villiam Kine (Billy)
and Ada Rogers tlcDuffie of Curnp Ground.
I:nmediately af te r tIleir
marriage Lillian and Ben nov ed to Tam,s., Florida to make their
horne and. lived there until their death.
Sat. March 20: An Associational Youth Rally was held at the
Church in Thomuston P.t 7 ~). m, The percenta~e and largest
,attendanc~ banner v.a s presented to t.ne lii:~{rtJ.eVlood Baptist Church
with 20 present and 52 :')er cent a t the r8.11y.
Bap t'Ls t
Sun. March 21:
A. fashion ShOYI ',"l8.S held in the I'l;)rrtlewood Community
Center at 3 p.m. Local resiQents modeled sprine fashions, casual
dress and evening wear , No adrri s s ion wa s char-ged , Chair:nen of
the event were 1,1rs. Terry (Ance18. li'aye Etheridge) Barr and I"lrs.
Darrell (Vonda auth Thrash) Nettles of Half Acre-Camp Ground.
•
April: After heavy and prolonged rain the Tombigbee ~iver rose
to 68 feet and flooded the countryside. The Paller If.ill Road was
under wa t e.r forcing traffic to detour via Butler in Choctaw County.
Deer and other wildlife were driven out of the swamps and the
mosquitoes descended in droves.
April: During this nonth the U.S. Government began printing ~2
bills again after a 38 year lapse, but the public shulllLed the
bills. The ~2 bill was always considered unlucky and one had
to tear off one corner of the bill to br-eak the curse.
Wed. lbril 14: There was mother II first" for our t own on this
date. "The mosQuitoes were so bad one co~ld not venture outside
without beLLe covered. The American Can Paper I,:ill at Haheola
sent a spray t r-uck into L:yrtle\';ood to spray the r02.dsides.
Sat. AIJril 17: Walter Lavon Yelverton, III, 1st child of '//alter
Lavon ~Von) and Linda Emmons Yelverton, Jr., was born at 4:30 a.m.
in New Vaughan TIemorial Ho so i t o.L in 3elm:)., A18.. The ;Jarents were
living in r,!yrtlewood. Pa t er-ne.L gr-and son of Vial ter Lavon and r,!axine
Inthia Dunn Yelverton, Sr. of h:;yrtle'liood, and maternal :':,Tandson of
Carolyn Beck Em::lons of Linden, Ala. and the l::tte Karl EmI1ons.
'75
1976 - Continued:
SQD. April 18: Easter Junday. Easter 8unrise services were
held at the Ja.r;'ltint Church 8_t () ~.m. this Dorning.
~
In the. afternoon, the annual Cornnun i, t JT Decoration Day services
were held at the Baptist Chur-ch; A conuni ttee was formed to raise
money to buy a new fence for the II't;)rrtlewood cemetery. Through
the efforts of ;":~rs. Jewell Curtis (Nora Lee Dennis) Etheridge, Sr.
the American Can Co. deeded an acre of land at the South end of
the cemetery so "tInt tlle c eme t er-y could be enlarged. All the land
sur-r-ound i.ng the c eme t er-y had been pur-che.se d by American Can.
Po LLowi.ng services and t~le business rne e t i.ng at the Church the
congree;ation traveled to t;~le c eme t er-y to decorate the c;raves.
On this Easter SundaJT , the U.S. Fostal Service's increase in
postal rates becall1e effective. Basic special delivery charges
rose from 60~~ to 80¢, the minimum fee for money orders rose
from 25¢ to 30~, the certified mail fee rose from 30~ to 40¢ and
the minimum registered na i.L fee rose from 95¢ to $1.25. Postal
rates kept increasing but the m~il service seemed to grow worse.
Mon. April 26: kyrtlewood had its hopes raised again with the
p o s s Lb i.L'i.ty of acqu i.r-Lng " city wa t e r works."
A committee began
going to all houses in r.:yrtlewood and surrounding ar eo.a to get
interested people to sign up for the proGram. The " si&l up fee"
was $25 to 330, to be refQDded later.
It was stated that the
average morrt h Ly bill p er f'arm.Ly would be ~ 6. The currents plans
called for s e cur-Lrig water from Pe nrri.rig t ori , across the river near •
t~"1e American Oan Pap e r L~ill.
It 112.c1 b e cn suggested that wa t e r
piyes run across the railroad-vehicle bridge, but this was a
draw brid::;e ... it 'Nas also sucgested t~l~.t the pipes l:light be
laid on the river bed.
(Postscript: The p Lan was not feasable
and was dro:..Jped, but the search for a water source continued.)
Tues. I'llay 4: Votine; was held at the l.lyr-t Lewo od Community Center
from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. for 5 local county offices, 9 State offices
or delegate spots, plus 2 state ~mendments, plus the Democratic
Republican primary election.
Tues. t1ay 4: Donald Vince~t Fitts, Jr., son of Donald Vincent
(Donny) and
Hill Fitts, Sr. w~s born in the Colwnbia
Hc s p i, tal for ','Iomen, '//:J.shir:{;ton, D. C.
Paternal grandson of Jame s
A. and margaret ·tiinslett Fitts of Iflyrtlewood, and rn-rt er-na'L e:rand
son of hiI'. and hlrs. rll. L. Hill of ','{aveland, tiiss.
Sun. May 9:
Mo the r ' s Day.
hIon. l':l:::W 10: Douglas l';lcDaniel (Mac) and Robert Seale (Bobby e )
:i:iicAlpine Bar-lcLey took over owner-snap of the E-Z Shop {,;rocery
store in !,~yrtlewood from his brother und sister-in-law, ~i/illiam
Stokes (Billy) and :3etty Jac~{ Ly Le s Barkley. The store's name
was chap,§ed to r.I8cl3 Grocer¥ .md beer was sold here for the first
time. ,:.:.>ee 1 I':2.Jr 1~69 ann 11 I,larch 1972.)
1976 - Continued:
May: The 1975-76 E<:,-rengo County sch:ool term ended this month.
myrtlewood High 3chool graduQtos were: Bradley Keith Mosley, son
of Armon Ralph and Ruth ;) eatrice Taylo~ I',;osley, who graduated
from Linden ColleGe Prep (Forccrly this was the Linden public High
School) Brad wor-ked on the scLool newS92::~er and wa s a member of
the Future Farmers of .uner i ca , Gr-adua t Lng from IiIareriGo Academy,
the private schoo L in Linden, '.-.'ere: Billy Ray Dukes, Jr., son of
Billy Ray and Frances JOJrce Woolf Dukes, Sr. Billy was on the
Honor Roll and a memember of the Beta Club; Randall Scott Barkley,
son of William Sto:ces and Bett~T Jac){ Lyles Barkley; and r,Uchael
Lamar Hall, son of Corbet Lamar and Juanita Letha AldridGe Hall.
Mike was Vice-President of his Sr. Class, on the Honor Roll, Co
editor of the newspaper, member of the Beta Club :mcl Honor Society
and was Valedictorian of the Sr. Class. Brad Mosley had driven
the public school bus from II'l~rrtlewood and surrounding ar ea this
past year.
Tues. May 20: The Hev. William King Edward James, age 90, a
f'o rrner pa.s t or of the r,:yrt1ewood Baptist Ohur ch , died at LaRocca
Nursing Horne, Tuscaloosa, Ah:,. He wa s buried in the Ever~zreen
Cemetery at Tuscaloosa. liev. James was survived by his wife,
Kathrina Br-own Jones; one 80::1, Dr. Robinson Br-own James of
Richmond University, Va.; t:'1ree do.ughters, r\~rs. Katherine Miller
of Pr Lnc e t on , N. J ., 1','1rs. ?~lizabeth l\'~offi tt of New Haven, Conn.
and mrs. I,'!arion Br-yan of Bedford, I,lass. Another SOD, Lt. "'villiam
Edward James had died dur Lng il..·i II. rrhe Rev. James preached in
Myrtlewood ca 1912-14 and baptized ~rs. Charles Stephen' (Mary
Lee Coats Br-agg ) ·.'lard, :31". at 8,e;e ca 10 or 11. A native of
Rosser, Sumter Co., Ala., the Rev. James grew up on a farm near
•
Cuba in Sumter County. He WDS orc\.8.irlecl to the nu.n I s t er-y C',t the
Cuba Church in 1908. His first pc.s t or a't e was old I.Tt. Herman
Church. He served. many chur-clie s in Alp-bama, 15 to 20 of tl'em
located in the Tuscaloosa area. He ~lso served in Key ~est and
Dade City, Fla. A gr-adua.t e of Howar-d ColleE;e in Bd rrm.ngham , Ala.
he a.Leo s trud Le d G.t the Univ81'si t;y- of ;\.1abaria in Tusc8.100f;a, Ala.,
the Roche ster Seminary in :8.0 chester, If. Y, and r-e o e aved his B. D.
decree from So"U.thern Se:ninary in Louisville, Kentucky. He taught
in the Howar-d ColleGe Extension Ddv s i sn.on (Howard Colle,se is now
Samford University) and served, as cnaLrrun of the Execu.tive
Comrnittee of tl:e Tuscaloosa Associ8.tion.
Wed. May 21: The drive to raise funds for a new fence for the
cemetery was under 0ay and on this date a letter was
pr-epar-ed to be me.i.Led out to residents and forner residents:
~yrtlewood
Myrtler'!ood, Alnbm:12_ 36763
I,'; a;)' 21, 1976
Dear ii'riend:
'lIe v/ri t e to give y ou 0.11. oppor-t un.ity to help on a pro ject
dear to the l:.eD.rts of nany of us - thr:.t of placine; a new fence
around our I\:;yrtlev'iood Ceme t er y ,
Recentl;y )..ElericCln Can Company cleeded to us an acre of land
ad jo Lrri.ng our pr e s errt ac erage , "'/e are now in process of having
this new acre cl.e ar-ed , but v:e need a fence ar-ound the entire area
1976 - Continued:
(ole, ceme t er-y , plus til e nev. acre }, The old fence is cui te di
lapidated, else v.e would add. [' new f cnce on only the new e.cr-e ,
"','e have secured a price of :::;16~0. SO for the fence around the
entire area and a gate. If ;'/( 1) .. ',','ould like to "lend H helpine hand"
and donn.tion, you may rnt.xe ~'01.1T check naycb'l e to r:;;yrrtlewood Cemetery
Fund, and send it to I,Irs. E. ~',. Thome-s, Treasurer, Ii~yrtlewood, Ala
bama 36763.
We shall
venience.
ap~reci8te
hcnrirc from you at your earliest con
Yours truly,
r,l~Trtle....o cd Community
Cenetery Committee
(~rs. H. S. Thomas, Treas.)
may-.June: The old fence was removed fron the I"iyrtlewood Cemetery,
the sides of the c eme t er-y (outside the old fence line) wer e bull
dozed and all bridal wr eabh bushes, rose v i.r.e s , etc. v-e r e removed.
The new acre of land was bulldozed and Graded. This new acre was
at the far end (South end) of the Cemetery.
June: Dur Lng this rnorrt h , the old C08,ts Hotel in Linden v.as de
molished. The old. Landrir.r-k Lo c ot ed on the' corner of Coats Ave.
and i;:ain st. was E'. two s t o ry buaLd i.ng built by Ed Coats of Linden
prior to 1920. The property had been purchased by Ben Gard.ner of
Linden who planned to build a f,rocer;)' store on the site.
June: During this month, Wil1iE'J!1 ICelly Etheride;e, Sr. bcugh t all
of the renaining Po eL'l n.i tz-L:eD.dor Land in I:lyrtlewood. This land
had been in the Poellnitz 8J'Jd t~('en the Fo e Lf.n i, tz-I.1eador family
since before the Civil ~ar. At this time the land Bold to Kelly
Etheridge belonced to Grandchildren of the late Senator Daniel
John and Lidie AUGUsta Peollnitz Meador. With this sale, the long
chapter closed on this illustrous family. All that r-ernc rned in
o~rr to\Vl1 now was the small 9rivate Meador family cemetery on a
hill behind and East of the Baptist Church. The old ,Poellnitz
home was still stand.ing, a desolate, ernpty shell, also owned by
Kelly EtheridGe.
The latest property acquired from the Kendor family joined the
SE section of r,:.I'S. ·C. s. O'Iary Lee Coe.t s Bragg) Ward's property,
extended behind and to the South side of the Gladys Milstead Nelson
hone, all that area in front of the Corbet L8.mar Hall and Aubrey
Spain Vick hOQes ~nd South includinc l~nd containinG a sprine, used
by Willard Bernard Ly Le s and ':lilliam Stokes Barkley, on across the
road South of tbe Bap t i c t Chur-ch and on to th8.t section behind the
RObEl. Lee :Niggins 'irilli2_ms horre p'La.ce ,
Sat. June 5:
Leroy rllarsh2'.ll Jordan, an old friend from the Camp
Ground area "3.cross the Creek", died at age 80 in the hos?ital at
Demonolis. Services were held Sun. June 6th at 3 n.rn. in the
Camp- Ground I,~ethodist Church riith bur La'l, in the Cal!lp Ground cemetery.
He vias sUTvived by his wife, Janie Bell Supple Jordan of Camp Ground,
CD
1976 - Continued:
one son, Roy Maz-sha'l L Jorc.cm of Dernopo Li s , and one daughter, WI's.
C. R. (Grace Jordan) Eurton, Jr. of Birmincham, Ala.; one brother,
Coyt Herbert Jordan, Sr. of I"~;:'Trtlev'iood; one sister, 1/;rs. :,Villi8m
Homer (lIIag Gie Ree -Ior-dan ) Beck, Sr. of Linden; and 4 gr8ndchildren.
Leroy Marshall Jordan was born 8 April 1896 in the
Half Acre
az-ea.iof Th'jareneo Courrty , ~\.la., ch e son of Thomas Lero;y and Belle
Landrum Jordan. He lived all of his life in the Half Acre area.
(Note: Half Acre joins Camp Ground and it is often to distinguish
the exact area a perBon lived in.) Leroy was married on 4 June
1931 in Linden to Janie Bell Su~ple, daughter of John Henry and
Ruby e Viola Co ole Supple of the l.::r"rtlevwod e.r ea , Janie had lived
in our tovm at one tiTIe and Fone to school here. She was the
sister of l.lrs. Coyt Herbert tAnnie Lee Supple) Jordan,' Sr. Leroy
was well known in our t own, Dur i.ng th'8 d8.;)iS of the Henderson Baker
Mill he was in the ~ac:einG bU2 iness. Ler oy had been a timber and
cattle farmer, fornler cen~er of the Marengo County Cattlemen's
Association, Director of The Farm Bureau, served 17 y eur s as a
District Director of the Federal Land Bank, was a member of-the
Camp 'Ground I,~ethodist Cilurch and had served there as 8. Sunday
School teacher and Su~)erintendent.
Mon. June 7: Willir:.,.m ICelly Etherid{c::e, 3r. had Samuel Gr2.ham Nelson
cut the huge old p i.rie tree nca.r the former Aldridge house. This
tree had been there since the Author's eother was a child.
Mon. June 7: . The Linden Ci t;y Council net on this date and Linden
Il:ayor Bracey Hill repoted th2.t the Linden Volunteer Fire Jept. had
answered 70 to 80 percent of all its cnlls outside the city limits.
last year. Hill said thif) pr'omp t ed him to write to bothrilyrtlewood
and Providence and s ee if the~r wou'l.d he Lp vd tl:. the expense of
maintaining and op er-rvt Lng tile trucks. He stated that I,'iyrtlevtOod
did not re.)ly and Pr-cv i d enc e re jected the proposal. He aLso stated
that neither Der:10C'01is nor Butler woo.Ld s erid their t.rucr:s outside
their city limits-without permission of their mayors, and sometimes
these municipalities failed to resvond to a fire call where Linden
did send its truck.
This article, which arp enr ed in The Democrat-Heporter on 10 June
1976, prompted I-~yrtleYlOol1 Iiayo r Coyt Eerbert Jordan, Sr., to have
the follovdng letter pub Li.aued in The Democr-ab-Repo r t er' on 24 June
1976: "Ii1yrtle~'100d, Alabama, June 21, lS76--~,'ir. Goodloe Sutton,
Editor, The Democrat-He::;orter, Lil1den, Alab2.ma. Dear Goodloe: For
the benefit of t ho se ti.. roughout the ccurrty who receive your very
infornmtive p<:yer each wee k , I vlO1J.lo. like to set the record straight
cono er-nf.ng the t own council of I.':yrtlewood appe ar Lng in the Democrat's
June 10 issue. Our t own vas incorporated 15 y errr s a.,::o and I've
been 2. member since it' s Lnc e u t Lon , s ez'v i.n.; as c ounc i Lman , chairman
pro tern, and mcyo r for the last f ew years, the place I'm seeking
for re-election. 'Ne c.r e :;11 ac t i.vc council 3~1d. ver'jT cooperative
at all times. ''','e do indeed have an aot ive volunteer fire de'8.rt
rnerrt , and have r e s po nd ed to c2.11s outside of our Lnc or-po r-a t Lon ,
as far out as Sweet W2.ter, . on one occassion. We viill be Glnd to
give our assistance to our co un ty seat in e x t Lngu i.ahi.ng a fire if
you viill give us a call. There will be no charges. ':.fi th ree;ards
to a letter, or press reJort mentioned earlier, I would like to
state that the Town of I;:~Trtlewood has at no time received a letter
1976 -
Contin~ed:
from Linden's ~ayor Dill re~uertine financial assistance for th~
fire department. Since stated oub l i cat i on , Il1ayor Hill, who is a
friend of mine, ho.s written a. lotter of apoloGY for the statement
he made in stated press report. Certainly I accepted wholeheartedly.
With best wishes, Coyt H. Jord::n, hlayor."
In this same issue of The Democrat-Re~orter of June 24th, Linden's
Mayor Bracey Hill issued a report stating that at Monday night's
council meeting he had announced that Il~yrtlewood had not been sent
a letter request ing financia.l help to fight rural fires. Hill,
reporting to the council June 21st, said he 8.pologized to myrtle
wood mayor Coyt Jordan, and that the~T had gotten together and
agreed to cooperate on the fire figLting program.
Sat.' June 12: A r-ummage sale was.held by the Teen Surid ay School
Class of the Ba;;tist Chu.rch at the Red LiGht Intersection to raise
money for tbe group to go to Gulf Shores. $100 was raised at the
sale •... The Sunday School cLa s s had also been active in a car wash
program.
Sun. June 13: By this time our area was under a stagnant air mass
high pressure system that hnd lingered for days. Cool days had
been replaced by extremely hot wea ther almo st overnie;ht. Alerts
had been issued in sections of Alabama and IJississippi. Myrtle
wood has been without rain for 11 days at this time.
Tues. June 22: Work had begun on constructing new tennis courts
behind the Corow.unity House and a new fence was to be erected.
•
Thurs. June' 24: Our town received its first appreciable rain on
this date and it was badly needed.
July arrived and with it a special time of celebration--our Nation's
200th Birthday.
July began with fall-like weather in our t own and the nights were
chilly. There was rain on July 2nd.
Sat. July 3: A Bicentenial Celebration was held at the Community
House this evening. 'There wer-e free hot dogs and drinks and some
S350 wo r t h of f i.r-ewo r ks had been secured from Chattanooga, Tenn.
The skies were threatning all day and there was a shower- in the
afternoon. It was damp and chilly at niGht. The Myrtlewood
celebration had been set ulJ outside but due to the weather it
was moved into the Co~~unity House. The fireworks display went
off at 9 p.m. and Insted for half an hour but the damp weather
hurt the display.
c
Sun. July 4: INDEFEI'iD:mCE nAY - Our Nation's 200th Birthday. Some
TV Networks gave a 16 hour coverage of events and celebrations
. allover the Nation. In our tovm there was a rain storm in the
morning and the day was damp and chilly. It rained cost of the
1976 - Continued:
nicht. The Ba])tist CLurch held. a special service this mornine
and people were asked to wear old fashioned dresses, overalls,
and such--a few did. There wac to be dinner on the [rounds but
due to the we2.ther the dirt..ner v.ras held in the Fellowship Hall.
Fireworks were continuing ',','i thin the Bap t i s t Church and t.he Rev.
John. 'N. Campbell resigned this Sunday among much bitterness. He
agreed to preach through Stmday evening, July 18th.
Mon. July 5:
year.
Federal Holiday since July 4th fell on a Sunday this
July: During this month Coyt Herbert Jordan, Sr. (present Mayor),
Armon Ralph' mosley (former r,:ayor) and Joseph :'.'lade Hall wer e running
for Mayor of I.'lyrtle'/Vood. The City Council was un-opposed.
July: During this month, Billy Ray Dulce s bough t the homeplace
of the late mrs. strother Gregg (Harriet Annie Dickson) Adams.
He had all the timber around the house and across the highway
(South of the house) cut and the area resembled a war torn zone.
The Dukes planned to tear d own the old house and build a new
house on the site.
Sat. July 17: Douglas McDaniel und Robert Seale (Bobbye) McAlpine
Barkley moved a small house trailer from Calvary to Nyrtlewood
and located it on the site of the former Evans-Adams house on
Cemetery Road. The Bar-k'l.ey s who wer-e operating the E-Z shop
continued to live at 'Calvary but used the Myrtle\rvood trailer
for stayine overnight when they closed the store late at night.
•
July had begun with some rain and chill but by now we were in
bad need of rain, the weat.ner Y/::l.S blistering hot and all things
growinS were wilting and dying. People nere wilting too and
electric bills wer-e soaring sky-high, especially for those who
had air con~itioners.
Tues. July 27: The f'o I Lowi.ng article app ear-ed in The Demopo l i s
Times on this date: ":;:I:1.ren50 To Be HalJped: Trumble, mcGuird and
Associates of Atlanta, a mappinG and aprraisal firm, is preparing
county-wide ownership maps in rlarenco County in conjunction with
a re-appraisal proGram being performed by Gulf Coast Appraisal
of r'l:obile. These 0"-:118rshi-:) ID2,DS will be comn i.Led onto an 2.erial
photo base from public recorus~and field research. Residents
can expect visits from representatives of TI'.1A for <1.dditional
information needed to support recordeo. data. !.lass reproduction
of deed and plat records is ncar-Lng corro l.e t i on and preliminary
map Layou t is we LL und e r-way in At Lant a , according to \'layne Nobles,
Fro ject Director for the Hl8.))ing firm. }1reliminary plans are
to complete .the n1a:)ping project by 1 June 1977 and the compiled
material ttITned over to Jclu~ Shauver, Project Director, Gulf
Coas t A.:n)ro.isals."
(Postscript: These pro jects turned out to
be one colossal mess, with acres of land missing for sone home
owner-s wh i.Le others wer-e credited ':"ith land they did not own , )
By the end of July our to;~l received sone much needed rain but
vie also received S01:1e violent electrical and r:ind storms vii th
it.
1976 - Continued:
August: During this .norrth , Mrs. Eaz-ne s t (Frellie
)':/inslet
mov ad f'r-orn the Rabb EtheridGe-171es house next door to the Community
House, to the TOJ:lI!lY Ray owned >ous e on I'ap er Illill Road. The Ray
owned house was orieinally the Jinslet home.
AUGUST - THE OBITU.:ULY OF A HOU ..;E: Dur Lng this month another old
landmark passed awCJ.y. The" Annie Adams house" wa.s demolished and
nothing was left standing exce0t two mute brick chimneys, standing
like two tombstones over a large grave--a momentary reminder that
once a proud house stood upon this site filled with sone 90 or more
years of warm life and living.
The house was 10cQted on ou~ main East-~est road (Hiehway 114), the
first house on the. risht (North side) 2vS one entered riI~rrtlewood.
Before the 9resent llighway was re-worked and then blacktopped the
old dirt road took a sharn curve to the South side of this house
and Lar-ge trees stood ric;ht :J.t the roads edee.
In the old days,
before Highway 69 was built, this was the old r:Iyrtlewood-Gernet' s
II'Iill road.
This house was built by or for Nicholas Peay Lyles (Jcnown as II Capt.
Nick") from South Carolina who came to Llarengo Oourrty af t e r serving
in the Civil 'i'ia.r and was married in le66 to Sarah Louise Poellnitz,
d augh t e r of Julius Edv..in and nary Remb er-t Poellni tz of :lembert Hills.
It is possible this house ~as built shortly after their msrriage.
Nicholas Peay Lyles wa.s the ,brother of Sarah English Ly Le s who
married Edwin Augustus Poellnitz. They built the third house in
rllyrtlewood ca 1860. Nick Lyles mar-r t ed the sister of Edwi.n Augustus
Poellni t z , The mother of Nf.clt and Sarah English Ly Le s vms the
•
sister of M:ary Lucilla J1..J.stina Pe ay who marr-Led Charles Augustus
?oellnitz, Sr. of Rembert Hills.
Capt. Nick and his wLf e had five children and it is thouCLt that
they were all born in this ~ouse. Capt. Nick was co~nissioned
Sheriff' of Eareneo Courrty , A12vb2.ma 16 AW:sust 1888. ',Vas he still
liVing in liyrtlewood at this time? He later coved to Linden to
make his home. His eldest known child, L':ary Lou Lyles, mcr-r i.ed
Thomas Jefferson Deck and it is possible that they lived in the
myrtlewood house at one time. Tom Be ck was known to have lived
and worked in our tovm.
The next f?,mily known to have lived in this house was that of
Bell Benjamin Bouler. He bOUGht this ho us e co. 1914 and moved
in with his wife, Edna l\.lice Kirkh9..TI1 Bouler and children, Algerine,
Charles Elwood Qud Ariel Ellis. The Boulers had cOwe to our to\Vl1.
ca 1905·from the Sweet ,'later area. Their last Child, Jane Allen,
was born in the Lyles house in 1911 and diel there in 1918. Ca
1919, Bell Bouler sold this house to Strother Grege Adams and
mov ed his family to land he pur-cha.s ed 0!1. the old Illyrtle;'/oodLinden road. The hous-e he built here is now the site of the
Joseph Wade Hall home.
strother Gregr; and Harriet Anm e Diclcson Adams moved to I/lyrtle
'!'iDod and into this house in Dec8nber of 1920 with children
Oscar Gregg, Agnes Louise, Elsie Estelle, Annie r,lae, Charles
David and Horace Pittman.
1976 - Continued:
strother Gregg Adams wa s the SO~l of Elias David and j,lattie B.
McCaskey Adams and the brother o f \Villicu11 :edward, Shock A. and
I,;lack Adams, 2.11 of whom lived 1.-1. our to\",r:"1. Strotli.er Gregg Adams
died in 1921. His son Oscar GregG died in 1934. One by one the
children left home and "~,~iss Annie" lived there alone until ill
heal th forced her into ho SEJitals and nursing home s . She died
22 -Ianuar'y 1975 and the house',nd property Y\'aS sold to Billy Ray
Dukes who had it torn do~m this month, planning to eventually
build a new house on the site.
Sun. Aug. 8 - l"ri. Aug. 13: A Rev i, val ~...as held at 7; 30 each eve
ning at the Presbyterian-Methodist Church. The Rev. Joe Bates of
the Linden United ltIethoclist Church was the guest minister. The
Presbyterians Rnd r.1ethodists hold joint revivals with a Presby
terian mi.nf.s t er- ccriduc t Lng the services one year and a T.1ethodist
the next.
Tues •... Aug. 10: An election for the I/Iayor of Iriyrtlewood ':'78,S held
at the Community Center w.it h the polls open from 8 a s m, to 6 p s m,
Poll workers were I1~rs. James SarI (M~rrtis Olee Hall) Tucker, r,~rs.
James a. (Mar-gar e t :,'iinslet ) Fitts, Ii:rs. Henry Ashby (Evva Belle
Ilo s e Ley ) ','/oolf, I'::rs. William l~elly (Eleanor Blanche Beck) Etheridge,
Sr. and Edward Colenan Williams, Sr. Of the 3 contenders, Armon
Ralph IV:osley, a former may or , r-e oe i.ved 53 votes, present j,l~ayor
Coyt Herbert Jordan, Sr. received 52 votes and Joseph ~ade Hall
received 16 votes. A runoff election between Mosley Qnd Jordan
was set for Sept. 14 but ~rior to that time, Coyt Jordan conceded
the election to Ralph Tlo s Ley , The 5 members of the Ci t~r Council •
were urs-o ppo s ed , 'I'hey were, !"';rs. Clyde Uelvin (Evelyn Ray ) Yel
verton, Sr., ",.'lilliam Thomas Sansing, Sr., James Norris Bnllock,
Walter Lavon Yelverton, Sr. cU1Q Llrs. Jev,rell Curtis (Nora Lee
D~nnis) Etheridge, Sr.
Tues. Aug. 10; Former Myrtlewood resident, Francis Marcel Lyles,
age 53, died in the V.A. Hospital in Houston, Texas. He was the
7th former resident of our town to die this year. Funeral ser
vices wer-e held in his' hcme t own of Naco gdo che s , Texas with burial
in the Old North Cemetery there. Francis was survived by his
wife Velma r~oore Lyles of Nacogdoches, Texas; 1 son, Joe Lyles
of Nacogdoches; 2 daughters, Linda Lyles of Nacogdoches and Mrs.
Rose Ann Lyles Volker of Culver City, Calif.; 3 brothers, Joe·
Lyles of Portland, Cregan, Geroge Lyles of Norman, Okla. and
Harold Stanely Lyles of :Sutler, Ala.; 3 sisters, I'I:rs. Marie Lyles
Tyson of Toxey, 1\.lr1•• , I{~rs. Helen Ly Le s Hawt ho r-ne of'fLnfkin, Texas
and lhrs. Evelyn Lyles JiT!li11crson of Gilberto\'m, Ala. j 2 step-brothers,
Willie Ann Cabiness of Nanaf'u.L'i.a , }\l'l,. r.nd Joseph (Bee) Cabiness
of Sweet '.'iater, Ala. i and his step-mother, T'lrs. Austin B. (Aud i,e
rilae Cabiness) Ly Le s of Sweet Jater, Alrl. Frances r.larcel Lyles
was born 21 sept. lS22 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the son of Austin B.
and Rose Berte Lyles. He cr.me to r'::yrtlewood vii t h his p ar-errt s
nfter r.Iarch 1927 "me. left ',:rit:n his parents in 1935.
(F8,~:.lily
Information incomplete.)
1976 - Continued:
':led. Aug. 11: On this date an.' Thurs. Au:z. 12, appraisers from
Gulf Coats A~~raisal of ~obile, Ala. were in myrtlewood re-assess
ing all property. Their wor-kv.us far from adequate and many people
were angr'y over the attitude o f these wor-ker-a, (See 12 Feb. 1976,
27 July 1976 and March 1978).
Thurs. Aug. 12: On this date '~mother old landmark left the Myrtle
wood scene enveloped in flames. ~illiam Kelly Etheridge, Sr. burned
the little house t~~t sat o~ a hill across the road from and SE of
the Commun i, t;y House. The old house was falling down. The fire
department truck stood by 2.S the house burned in case the fire
got out of control. The author was present and made color slides
of the burning of the old landmark. mor and more of old m;,{rtlewood
was disappearing. Kelly Etheridge h~s recently purchased the last
of the Poellnitz-r,leador Land in our t own and this was part of that
purchase. No one had lived in the house for years but Robert Wash
ington Jowers had used )art of the land near the house for a garden.
Before bur-nang the house KeLLy had cLe ar-ed the pro pertv of all
1L'1.dergrowth. After the house was burned the site was cleared and
presented a beautiful location for a house to be built on.
It is not known when the little house was built but it was most
likely built by the Jileador family. Both '....hi te and black families
had lived in this house. The known white families were those of
Austin B. (Aussie) Lyles, Leo Grcmtham and ;;"'13.1 ter adorn. It is
strange how things happen--Francis Marcell Lyles, who had lived in
this house died just two days before the house was burned.
Fri. Aue. 13: For the first time in ovr area, telephone customer~
could now call Lons Distance and not have to give their number to
an operator, so Ions as one was using direct dialing.
Mon. Aug. 16 - Fri. Aug. 20: The annual Bible School, sponsored
by all three churches, WQS held at the Baptist Church. The Bible
School met for 3 hours each morning. Once during each Bible School
term, the smallest children visited the older citizens and shutins
in our tovm and sang for them. It was always a delightful visit.
Tues. Aug. 17: The 8.lli'1.ual General Revenue Sharing Actual Use
Report for LIyrtle·.\'ood Town was filed this date and published in
The ~eillocrat-Reporter on Thurs. 26 Aug. 1976, according to law.
The report stated. that the Government of 1;;yrt1ewood Tovm has re ceived General Revenue Sharing payments totaling 84,953.00 during
the period from 1 July 1975 thru 30 June 1976. Account No. 01-2 046-501, Myrtlewood Tovm, Mayor , Fi~;rtler:ood, Alabama 36763. Actual
Exp end i, tures (Includinc obligations): Public Safety - CaDi tal
:$325.00 - Operating/~.:ainteance ,33813.60. Recreation - Ca)ital
84936.79 - OpeartinG/~ainteance 8268.22. Financial Administration
Operatine/l',[aintenance ~)2122. 78. I.'iultiIJUr~lOSes and General Govt.
Capital $1477.80. Ca:~)ital Total: 86739.59. OperatindI:~c::intenance
Total: ~6204.60. Trust Fund Report: Balance as of June 30, 1~75
~7945.00.
Revenue Sharinc ~llilds Received from July 1, 1975 thru
June 30, 1976 :33697.26. Interest Received or Credited July 1, 1975
thruJu~e 30, 1976 ~~3697.26.
No fund released from Obligations.
Sums of lines 1,2,3,4 = ~n6,596.22. No funds returned to ORS.
Total f~ds _availe.ble ::;16,596.22. Tot2_1 ~\.mou!lt Expended $12,944.19.
Balance ";3,652.03. Re:-,ort s i.gried Coyt H'•. Jor-dan, I,layor, 18-17-76.
j
1976 .- Continued:
Weather wd.se , AUGU.st hoo. been ~ •. s t r ange month. The month beGan
unucually cool with chd L'Ly ni::)~ts and 8. feeling of Fall in t.he air.
We had that "Cold day in August" on the S'th vd th 8. low of 56 and
the heaviest de.. .' old timers hr.: ever r-emernbe r-ed for this time of
ye2_r. Record Lows wer-e broken 3 or 4 niGhts in a roy,'. Then the
wet-.. . ther 'N2Tl1ied up to hot and dry and card.ens and tl;e countryside
began to wither and burn up.
Sun. Aug 22: Bible School commeric emerrt exerices vrer e held at the
Baptist Church at 6:30 p.m. At 7 p.m. the Baptist Church began
a 'week's r-evava'l v:i th the Rev , Green n. Harrell of Thomaston as
the guest minister. Refresmnents were served following the
evening service.
Mon. Aug. 23: ~10bert ',Vayne and Judy I:~erle Jowers Hudgens who v:ere
livine in a trailer home wi·th their cbildren next door to and North
of the E. C. ~;,/illiams, Sr. horne , installed a new and lel , r e e r trailer
home on the same site.
Tues. Aue. 24: After 25 dry
much needed. Soon after one
the trees, bushes and grass.
times in one day e nd Lng ';:i t:b.
the evening. There was rain
days we finally had rain and it was
noticed ~all colors a~pe~ring in
Then on t:be 26th we had rain four
strone; winds and heavy rain during
on the 27th and 28th.
Sat. Aue. 28: The Drug problem, once thought to be a bie city
operation, continued its spread in our County and vicinity.
Narcotic agents cracked a ring of 14 marijuana dealers in marenBo
•
County on this d.ate, in a raid that culminated months of vlOrk.
Undercover agerrt s mad e pur chns e s f'r-ora various dealers in Linden,
Demopolis, SVieet ','/ater and ThoTn8.sville, 1\.12.. More .warr arrt s have
been issued for the arrest of other Lnd i.v i.dua.Ls wI'.O have been
ae eLi.ng mar a juana , These ar-r e c t s are e xp e c t ed soon in the Lar-ge s t
roundup of traffickers of any illeeal substance in this county.
mono Aug. 30. The 1976-77 r';;arenco County school term began, wi, th
regular full-day schedule besirilling on 0ed. Sept. 1 from gam to
4pm. In late October the schedule\qll be changed to Sam to 3pm
'Nilmer Keith (SOll..ny) Breckenridge, son of ;Vilmer Henry and Julia
Ann Bullock Brecke:nridge, and Eugerie Holt Bar-kl.ey , son of Douglas
I/,cDaniel and Bobby e l\:cAlpine Barlzle;{, be can the first grade this
term. l\:ichael Lamar Hall continued at the Universi t~r of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Ala. havinG entered there durine; the sV.IJmer, and
Billy Ray Dukes, Jr. entered the University of Alabar.:'s medical
school this fall. Bike and Billy had finished high school in
May of ~his yeL~.
Tues. AUG. 31: A special election to choose a State Senator for
the 29th Sen8.toric.:ll District ".;2.S held on this date. Votinc; was
held at the !\~yrtle..vood Communi, ty House and the poll workers were:
~rs. William Kelly (Eleanor Blanche Beck) Etheridge, Sr, ~illiam
Thomas SansinG, Sr., l,:rs. James Earl (r,'I;rrtis Olee Hall) Tucker,
L1rs. Coyt Herbert (Annie Lee Su.pple) Jordan, Sr., lilrs. Edward
Berlin (Virgini2. King Compt on ) I,lcKinney and ·I'iilliam Davis Carter.
Tues. AUG. 31: Tl'le month ended with a shower in the af t er-no on
and a heavy rain-electric8.l storm ca 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
1976
-
- Continued:
'
Aug-Sept.: Durine; this time a number of our citizens had bl8.ck t cpp i.ng applied on their ~,roperty. Willimtl Thoffi8.S Sansin~, Iiirs.
John Chester (Nell Nelson) 3evc;rly, Sr., CO~{t Herbert Jora.an, Sr.
and others had their driveways bLac kbopp ed , WilliE.m Frederic};:
Adams had the ar ea in front of end behind his garage bui.Ldi.ng
SW of the traffic liCLt intersection, and the area between the
Washerteria and Post Office-E-:6 Shop bLack't opp ed , The price
for this service was 81.39 a square foot.
Wed. Sept. 1: The month began with a heavy thunderstorm, strong
winds and heavy rain. Gone were the days when it just clouded up
and rained--it seems that now the rain is always accomT,'anied by
bad weather--strong winds, heavy thunder and violent liehtning.
The rains came again on September 3rd and we had rain for 6 days
in a row. There was a frontal system seesawing back and forth
over us. All thincs growins took on new life and the landscape
resembled green S?rine instead of Fall.
September: During this month, a former native of Myrtlewood,
pur-chn s ed a lot on the North side of Bouler Hill from ','lilliam
Kelly Etheridge, Sr. and made plans to return to his home to'lm.
Ariel Ellis Bouler, now living in San Antoine, Texas. was born
in our to~~ in 1909. He left Myrtlewood in 1937 to make his
home in San Antoine. Nov! he was oLanm.ng to corne back horne to
live with his wife Pearl.
September: Randall Scott Barkley entered the Trade School at
Thomasville, Ala. to take a course in electronics. He had
finished Hieh School this past ~ay.
•
Mon. Sept. 6: Labor Day. The Post Office was closed and children
had a day off from school. The ~~erican Can Paper Mill at Naheola
had shut down for a week of repairs as was its custom at this time
each year. Labor Day was first observed in 1882 and was made a
National Holiday in 1894.
Thurs. Sept. 9: Br-adLey Keibh T\~osley, son of Armon Ralph and
Ruth Beatrice Taylor Mo s Ley , entered the U. S. Navy in I/Iontgomery,
Ala. and was sent to the U. S. Naval Air Station at Orlando, Fla.
for basic training.
Thurs. Sept. 9: Bro~n's Discount ~rug Store opened in Linden at
222 S. I,:ain st. in the forr:ler ::-"ord lio t or- Company building. fiIr.
Brovm had at one time worked .1.S a phar-muc i s t for Little Drug Store.
Fri·._ Sept. 17: Stanle;iT Wayne and Tommye Lisp. Bridges Owens moved
to Hyrtle'aoocl from Linden witl: tl1eh~ young son Jonathan Wayne.
The JT made their horne in the Rabb Etl:.eridge-Lyles house next door
to the Community House which was last occupied by Ii:rs. Earnest A.
Winslet. stan Owens' was worxinc for t~e .~erican Can Paper mill
,2..t Naheola. Stanley "'/rl"j'neOwens was born 8 Sept. 1952 at Se Lrna ,
Ala. the son of Burt ~nd Irma Moseley Owens of Greensboror, Ala.
Tommye Lisa Brid.ees VIC.S born 14 Nov, lS52 at Selma, Ala. the
daughter of John Thomas and I.I8.rilyn Nettles Bridges of Arlington,
Ala. Stanley and To~~ye were 83rried 29 Jan. 1972 at Arlington,
IIar-erigo Co., Al<1. Son Jonathan:rayne was born 4 July 1974 in a
hospital at t:eridian, reliss.
.
1976
- - Continued:
.
Sat. Sept. 25: A garage sale '·.lS held at tee Traffic light inter
section in myrtleviOocl to raise no ney for the Cystic Fibroses drive.
liIrs. Armon Ra.Lph (Rutih Taylor) !,:osley '{las Chairman of the I!iyrtlewood
drive.
Thurs. Sept. 30: r~lrs. Louise 'j. King of Linden, retired as the
Administrator of the lTursinC Home in Linden and was re.91aced by
Pat Phil en who had been in training as her replacement. Mrs. King
served for 10 years, from 1 Oct. 1966 to 30 Sept. 1976. She was
76 years old.
Those delicious homegrown tomatoes vvereplaying out for another
season. This year, tomatoes were considered to be the second most
valuable vegetable crop in our country. It is thought that this
ereat favorite was not gr-own in the United States until near the
end of the 18th Century (the 1700s). Tomato seed were not adver
tised in seed catalo~Aes until 1835.
At tllis time, area farmers were plauged by raccoons, deer and
beaver eating tDe cotton boles. In recent 3r es r o the beaver seemed
to be maki.ng a comeback in our ar'e a , They had first moved into
the South after the alligator population had been shot and dis
appeared. The beaver build their dams on creeks and streams and
have caused huee sections of land to be flooded.
Another pest 'which has taken over Lar-ge areas of our County is
the Kudzu vine. Oriental in oriGin, it was introduced into the
United States in the late 1800s princiDally as an ornament~l
porch vine. In the 1900s it was planted on roadsides and other
areas to stop soil erosion but it quickly got out of hand. The
Kudzu takes over and chokes out everythinG in its path. Its
tentacles reach 60 feet in length and some swear tha.t it ~rows
" a yard a nic;ht." It climbs and engulfs huge trees, banks, and
telephone poles. It can be a pretty siGht when it covers un
sightly areas but it doesn't know when to stop.
Fri. Oct. 1: As the new month began, our High was 82 and our
low was 46. Some heat felt good in the house of evenings and
early mornings.
On this evening of October 1st, the annual HomecominG at marengo
Academy in Linden W8.S held with the thei:le of "World History."
:i~ora Thomas, daughter of \Yilliam L. (Bubba ) and Anny I'.layton Thomas
of ~yrtlewood was crovuled Homecoming Queen.
- Sat. Oc t., 2: An" Art In The Park" show was held in Confederate
Square in Demopolis. Twenty-five students of 7\larengo Academy
in Linden exhibited their wo r-ks in this show and Timothy Charles
(Tim) t::theridee, son of ~;iilli8.m Ke LLy and Eleanor Beck Etheridge,
Sr. of ~(yrtleVlood, won First Place in the High School division
awards with his pencil drawing, "The Head of a Deer."
Sat. Oct. 2: Judy Gail Jordan, dauGhter of Coyt Herbert and
Marilyn June French Jordan of Half Acre, m~rried Keith Rentz
Burr, son of Helen Grace Rentz Burr of Grand Rapids, Mich. The
double rin~ ceremony was held at 5 :p.m. in the Camp Ground
Methodist Church "vit h the bride's father, The Rev. CO;)Tt Herbert
•
1976 - Continued:
Jordan, Jr. and the Rev. Olen l~owe officiating. Mrs. Darrell
(Vonda Ruth Thrash) Nettles 'i.'a~~ pianist and Mrs. Roy li:arshall
(Nancy Smith) Jordan ~as soloi~t. The bride was given in marriage
by her father. Her sister, Patricia Jordan, V','3.S r/iaid of Honor,
and Melanie Cole was the Bride r.ma.Ld , Coyt Herbert Jordan, III,
brother of the bride, was best man- and Billy Ray Dukes, Jr. was
the Groomsman. A reception wc.:' held in the Fellowship Hall of
. the Camp Ground methodist Chur-ch following the ceremony. The
couple traveled to Florida for their ~loneymoon and then made
their home in the Trailer Home besicle the William Frederick
Adams garage building, Sv,,' of the Traffic Light Intersection.
Grandpe.rents of the bride are Coyt Herbert and Annie Le e Supple
Jordan, Sr. of l\'lyrtlewood, and grandp9.rents of the groom are
George C. and Eva Jackie Squires :aent~ of Camp Ground.
Mon. Oct. 4: Armon ~alph Mosley took office as the 5th Mayor of
Myrtlewood suceedine; Mayor Incumbent, Coyt·:Herbert Jordan, Sr.
Ralph had served as the 2nd Mayor of our tovm from Oct. 1968 to
Sept~·. 1972.
The Tovm Counc i.L had been un-opposed in the recent·
election and remained the same : I/.irs. Clyde Melvin (Evelyn :lay)
Yelverton, Sr., I\1rs. Jev.'ell Curtis (Nora Lee Dennis) Etheridge,
Sr., Walter Lavon Yelverton, 3r., James !Ilorris Bullock and
William Thomas Sansing, Sr.
Fri. Oct. 8 and Sat. Oct. 9: A weekeild revival was held for
these two evenings at the Baptist Church, with former minister
Rev. Joseph Byron Dekel as guest minister.
Sun. Oct. 10: The Annual Homecoming and dinner on the grounds
was held at the Daptist Church with the Hev. Joseph Byron Dekel
as the guest minister. A s i.ng i.ng program f'c LLowed dinner with
Mary and the Heartbeats of Pennington, Ala. featured •.
•
Fri. Oct. 15: The hunting season for rabbit, raccoon and opossum
opened this day to r-un t::U-OUgl1 28 Feb. 1977. The bag li.ni t for
rabbits was 8 a day and 8 in possessionj for r-acco on , 3 a day and
3 in possession. There was no bag limit for opossum.
Sat. Oct. 16: A miscellaneous bridal shower was held at the
myr·tlewood Community House for Sharon Eay e (Sherr;y) Sansing,
bride elect of CharLe s Austin Tucker, Jr., and (laughter of
William Thomas and Annie Llade;e Jordan Sansing, Sr. of h'Iyrtle
wood. Hostesses were Mrs. Billy Ray (Frances Joyce 'f/oolf) Dukes,
Sr. , Mrs. Richard Tilomas (Judy Iilae Lyles) I'tLcKinney, Mrs • ','/illard
Bernard, (I',Iarie Elizabeth Baker) Lyles, IlIrs. Wickham Reginald (mary
IIlargaret Sayers) Carter, Sr., r-..:rs. Edward Berlin (Virginia King
Compton) r,1cKinney, I-Irs. John Lindsey (Chloe Jones) B'Lackwel L, Sr,
rllrs. William Kelly (Eleanor Blanche Beck) Etheridee, Sr. and
Mrs. William Frederick (Minnie Bertha Goodman Etheridge) Adams,
all of Myrtlewood.
1976 - Continued:
Fri. Oct. 22: Sharon Faye (Shc::T;Y) Sansing, daughter of William
Thomas and Annie l,l8.dge Jord.an ~3~lnsing, Sr. of f'ilyrtlewood, mar-r i ed
Charles Austin (Buddy) Tucker, Jr., son of Charles Austin and Juanita
Mullins Tuckers, Sr. of Cam) Ground. The double ring ceremony was
held at 4 p s m, in the Camp Ground Niethodist Church, with the Rev.
Coyt Herbert Jordan, Jr., Uncle of the bride, officiating. Nuptial
music was rendered by I'1;rs. Darrell (Vonda Ruth Thrash) Nettles,
pianist, and Coyt Herbert Jordan, Sr., grandfather of the bride,
who sang U The ';Vedding Prayer." The bride was /!,iven in marriage by
her father. Her sister, Srs. Hu~h (Anette Sansing) Horton, Jr.
was r,Iatorn of Honor, MyrtleTucl~er, sister of the groom was the
Junior Bridesmaid, and the brides sister, Sandra Gail Sansing, was
the flower girl. The groom's father served his son as Best Man.
Mitchell and Den..nis 13e.rldey, first co us i.na of the groom, served as
ushers, William Thomas SansinG, Jr., brother of the bride, was the
Junior Groomsman, and David Huckabee, cousin of the groom, was the
ringbearer. FolloY/ing the ceremony the bride's parents entertained
with a reception in the Cam9 Ground Church Fellowship Hall. The
couple honeymooned at Gulf Shores, Alabana and then made their home
at Camp Ground.
Mon. Oct. 25: Huntins season for sQuirrel opened in DIarengo County,
with a bag limit of 8 souirrels a day and 8 in possession.
Mon. Oct. 25:
this date.
The Pederal Government observed Veteran's Day on
•
Tb_urs~·
Oct. 28: As part of the massive ~!l:arengo Courrty swine flue
Lnno cu'La t i.on program, shots 'tl8re 8.dministered, free of charge, at
the Myrtlewood Community House from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The county
wide immunization plan is an effort by the U. S. Public HeaL th
Service to immwlize citizens against the A-New Jersey (swine flU)
viral strain isolated in Febru~ry 1976. Because this strain of
flu is slightly different from others, most people did not have
the physical resistance to combat this new influenza. Two types
of vaccine were available - the monovalent vaccaine for "s'Nine
fl~l for general
poulation, ages 18-65, and bivalent vaccine
offering protection from the A-New Jersey and A-Victorial strains
of flu for gersons 65 or older, or those chronically ill. Persons
with chronic heart, kidney and lunS diseases or diabetes are
eligible for this type vaccine. This program, set up by President
Ford, was urged upon all adults, but it was stressed that anyone
allergic to eggs should not take the vaccine but go to a private
physician instead~ Before taking the shots, a person had to fill
out a consent form, copies of which aPPG2red in The Democrat-Re
porter. This prosTGffi was rushed into production and stirred up a
great controversey in the Nqtion. A.number of peo~le died after
taking the shots. Doctors were divided concerning the shots with
many refusing to c;ive the shots or have any th i.ng to do . .' lith tr..em,
feeling that too r:lUC:-C ','JaS unknown P.t this »o i.nt , In comoar i son ,
the program later [.. roved to be a d i sme.L failure'.·
~
Sun. Oct. 31: Daylight Savines Time ended for this se::..son in
the early hours of this Jay while Ghosts and Goblins roamed
the countryside on t~lis Halloween Night.
1976 - Continued:
l,c.uch has been wr i t t eri and said abo u t the new and controvers ial
Term-Tom 'Jaterway but the most of us were still not sure just
what it \.. .as all about. The DeGIOcr2.t-:-te~Jorter of 14 Oct. 1976
enlightened us s omewhat \.. . i th the following story:
"Called. the 'economic t.ur-n i.ng point for the Southe2.st", one of
the largest construction projects in the history of the United
states is under vva-;I in 'Vest Central Al.abama and Northeast Miss.
'I'ne Tennessee-TombiGbee ','1ateriva;;r is a 200-yerl.r-old dream to link
L'Lid-j"merica with the Southeastern Gulf by connecting the 'J:ennessee
River with the Tombigbee River.
l1ecords ShOVI th8.t t he c oric e p t of this link between the 'I'erme s s e e
River and the Gulf is older than t~e United states. In 1760, a
French explorer, the r.~arquis de I,lontcalm, is reported to have
sUGgested to Kine Louis XV that s'J.ch a cOlU1ection would help the
settlement and development of the area. Later in 1810,a group of
Knox 'ce ., Tenn. residents were the first to petition Congress to
build this wat cr-way , which would provide a much needed shorter
route to the Gulf Coast' for their ;Jroducts.
r:
Not until March 1967, after numerous studies and re-evaluc.tions,
vttu: the pro j ect approved by the Secretary of the .:\rJ:'.Y.
For the
first time, actual monies were ap9ropriated for pre-construction
planning. On lIla;,>," 25, 1971, the President of the United St2.tes,
alone with several Governors, nlli~erous Concressmen, Gnd other
dignitaries journeyed to Kobile to officially initiate construct
ion on Teru1-Tom.
•
The first construction contract, tte lock and approach channel
for the Gainesville Lock and .Jarn , W2.S awarded in Se;,)t. 1972, and
of'f i.c La'L ,groundb:,ealdne ceremonies wer-e held Dec. 12, 1972. This
contract is now completed. A seperate contract for t~e Gainesville
Dam and spillw2.:l is 78 per cent corro Le t e , Al thour.;ll it took more
than 150 years to ~et Tenn-Tom started, construction is now pro
Gressing r-ap i.dLy in ;\.l2.bar.1a and Mississipoi. At l'l.liceville, the
second lock and dam contract to be avmrded is now 20 per cent
complete and scheduled to be finished in 1979.
In both states, a totul of 16 contracts have been awarded for a
total of more than 3177 million. Nine contracts valued at Sl05
million have been awarded in Alabama. Five Alabama contracts
totaling 337 million have already been finished.
They include
the Gainesville Lock, ~liceville diversion channel, Rattlesnake
Bend cutoff 2.1'1..0. two channe L improvement contracts on Demopolis
Lake., Work is almost com:,Jleted on the northern terminus of the
waterway in Yellow Creek, near' the point where the Al2.bama,
Mississippi and Teru1essee state lines connect. The site is near
Iuka, Il Ls s ,
This monumerrt a.L pr-o ject ha s been co np ar-ed to the Panama Canal
as a trade route. It 'sill connect the Tennessee :iiver at the
common bound ar'y of 'Eenn'essee, A12.barna and i:lississiT-lpi, v:i th the
o..lready navigable Tombigbee-Black ';'/arrior sy s t en at Demopolis.
This connection will link mid-America's 16,000 mile Ln'l and water
90
1976 - Continued:
~
way system with tLe Southeastern Gulf and foreign mar-ke t s , It
will reduce the river distance between many inland ports and the
Gulf by as muc~ ~s 800 miles.
The Tennessee-Tombigbee ~:lQ.terwa;y Development Authori t~r is an in
terstate compact comprised of Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Nissi
s s i.pp i, and rrermessee whi ch was formed to promo t e development of
the Tenn-Tonun waterway. According to Glover '.'1ilkins, v.ho has
been associate with the project for 28 years and Authority Admini
strator for 16 years, Tenn-Tom has the potential to help some of
the nation's most pr e as Lng pr-ob Lerns - Lnf La t Lon , unemployment and
the ene rvry shortage. ;/iater-m?y trans~)ort(l.tion is three to seven
times chea)er than other trans)ortation modes. By using low-cost
water transporation, over this new, shorter ro~te, Tenn-Tom can't
help but hRve a tremendous impact on transporation costs. In
addition to bein& a chea?er transporation mode, ~ater transpor
tation also us e s less energy t han other modes. Thus, barges
movin~ on Tel1ll-Tom will be moving c,oods at cheaper rates, plus
there ':i ill be a sav i.ngo in e ncr gy ;"
It has been said t~at this tremendous )roject would benift our
t own of I/~yrtle\':ood bu t so far, no one he.s told us how.
Tues. Nov. 2: This was the day of the Presidential election-
President Gerald Rud oLph Ford, nepublic~:m, vs James Earl (Jinuny)
Carter, Jr., former Governor of Georci~, DCDocrat. VotinG in
our t own was held a t the Community House . At 3: 45 a. m, , 'aednesday.
morning, Hov. 3rd, it was announced that Jimm;y Carter had car-r-Led
mississippi, and 80 it was t.ha t James Earl (JilnmJr) C:J.rter, Jr.,
age 52, Democrat, of Plains, Ga. was elected to become the 39th
President of the United states, with Walter iritz Ilondale of
IiTirm. as the Vice-President. It was a very close race. Jimmy
Carter became the 14th native of the South to become President;
the first from Georcia; the youncest President since John Fitz
Gerald Kennedy; and the 3rd Baptist to become President--Hardine
and Trur.lan were the other Bap t i s t s ,
IlIon. Nov. 8: For;~ler r.:~rrtlev.'Ood resident, Cammd,e Pearl (Pearlie)
Guirm Ford, 2. Ge 89, died in the lll;:;,rengo COUl1.t~r I;ursinr,: Eone in
Linden. Graveside services were held on Tues. Nov. Sth in the
l:emori'J.l Gardens Cerne t e r-y at Linden, with the Rev , Bill Tllidd.le
brooks offici::.·.tine;. The 'NiCow of Samu.el James Ford, she was
survived by several sisters-in-ln.,,,. who included I-irs. Cody Carson
(r,':'abel :Estelle Poellnitz) Guinn of I-:.:rrtlewood. Canunie Pe ar-L Guinn
was born
1887, the d,mchtel' of John Henry c.nd Ann Raley
Guirm. CalS10-s1~e carne to ~i~~rrtleriOod ','/ith her par-cirt s and lived
here for about a year. The f'nm i.Ly 1 i ved in the old Tl:omas r;into
Witherspoon log house v!Lich stood on t lie hill SE of v:Lere the
road Ler.d.irig to the present Yelverton and Etl:ericlee houses turns
off Highway Illt·. Camru.e Pear-L Guinn mar-r Led Sar-mel James Po r d ,
Eon of Edd i.e and 1',littie Agee Ford of
• T:r..e~r had
no children.
PIONEERS OF MARENGO COUNTY
'BY JAMES AND EMOGENE ARMISTEAD
Her. starting salary...
$35.monthly
THf J)em~Li.s TI'mE.$
ll-K~, '-f No(/, 1/97 £e
The school was a one-room
During cotton picking season
I recall clearly that both the
log cabin, It had a wood stove, a school closed early, so the kids parents and the children had a
blackboard, a dictionary, and a could help on the farm, Some- full measure of splendid attri
globe. The seats were crude times an older boy would study butes which cannot be excelled
old-fashioned benches. Some of 'part of the day and work part of today. They were honest and
, the smaller children could not I the day. We were flexible-had thrifty, hard working, generous,
reach the floor so we soen-: to be!
and selfless. They had princi
provided stools for them, Thete I I recall with pleasure that ples -and lived by them, They
was a well to supply water, a there were almost no problems were poor but didn't know it.'
bucket and a dipper. We had a , with discipline. The kids were They were happy and conten
fine large playground-but no , raised to mind. Simple admoni ted. They had spirit and pride.
equipment. There was no ligh- '" lion was all that was needed. At Everyone enjoyed simple plea
very rare intervals the peach sures. A bit of ribbon and a stick,
ting.
I
There were about 25 students tree switch would be needed for made .a 'horse' to ride around
one or two 'swacks'--no more. the playground. Hickory nuts,
ranging from age 6 to 17. and
No parent ever complained. walnuts, and peanuts were ex- .
from grade I to 8. Several of the
students were older than I was.
There was 100 percent support-- 'ploited with delight. Wild
Our regular routine was for even thanks and praise. And the blackberries. were, everywhere
the older students to assist the ~ kids got at least a lecture at and available to kids~nd onakes
" ,
younger ones while I taught home if they had been bad. But' alike.
math and English to the middle these events were very rare.
~'-~--- ----,----~---group. Then the little ones,
One cold winter day we ran . I recall that the school' lunch
.
I'
the kids brought was quite
would go out to play while I,. out of wood for the fire. I had ample. There was novmeat
taught the older ones. The
reminded the trustees that the
.
middle group would be reading.
supply was low but they were shortage in farm land. Fresh
At times I would have a pupil
pressed by their farm work. So, biscuits were standard. The Iine
studying Latin on one side and a
I sent all the kids home and bacon was nearly all lean vs.
6-year-old learning to read on asked them to tell the parents nearty all fat these days. But
the other. One wonders how it that school was suspended be the big favorite was a freshly
worked--but it did;
cause, it was too cold to study. baked sweet potato. They were
Some of the older girls were
The strategy worked. Word good to eat and they made first
preparing to teach. They were
d
spread as if by magic--and rate trading materials.
One of my most treasure
without phones. Soon every man memories is about a freshly
glad to help with the younger
in the community appeared and baked sweet potato. One of the
: ones. The older boys for the
in a few hours I had a two-year older boys-age 17--was a tall
most part went to work on the
supply of fresh cut wood. This is and handsome fellow, but very,
family farm. Only a few went on
to high school or college. Those the way It was. Anything I very shy. Finally, he let it be
who did were successful. We needed, I got.
known that he was beginning to
In 1904, and for many years, notice me, age 16--and not too
had reason to be proud of every
one.
the teacher was heavily invol bad to look at then. At lunch
In those days one did' not ved in community affairs, even lime he offered me half of his
speak of trades and industrial invleadership roles. Teaching sweet potato and was obviously
education. But the' need was Sunday School was a regular thrilled when I look it. Today
present and was met as best we thing. I have delivered babies when we meet we discuss our
d h
and conducted funerals, helped
could.
. great grandchildren--an t e
. In tl A
t t t
Emphasis was placed on aca the sick and injured, advised on
magic of swee po a oes In "'-"'.
· In,
.
demic subjects for those clearly careers, counseled fami Ires
slated to continue in school. For distress, and much more. It was
those soon to be farmers or a natural part of the job in those
woodsmen or carpenters, 'etc. days.
practical subjects were stres
sed.
t
MRS.
MAE
SESSIONS
STRICKLAND, widow of Z. B.
Sessions, and daughter of
James A. Sessions and his 2nd
wife, Ann Hudson. Grand
daughter or'Erasamus Sesslens,
Some Highlights of My Teach
ing as a Teacher in Alabama
BY MAE SESSIONS
STRICKLAND
I graduated from State Tea
chers College at Livingston in
May 1904 at age 16 and began
teaching the following week at
Myrtlewood in Marengo Coun
ty. My compensation was $35
per month.
One of my most rewarding'
experi<.'nccs was to be the first
visiting teacher in Anniston,
Alabama and one of the first in
the state. in 1924 and 1925. The
purpose was to visit the homes
of children who were doing un
satisfactory work in school to
determine if there was some
thing at home responsible for
the problem and to help, if
possible, to alleviate the situa
tion.
One case I recall involved a
very bright student who sud
denly ceased to come to school.
IIis mother told me that he had
no shoes and it was too cold to
be barefooted. I reminded her
that he was in school the week
before. The sad lady explained.
The father had been on night
shift. Thf son wore his shoes to
school. Then, as fatp would have
it. the father was moved to the
day shirt and had to wear the
shoes. F'rir-ndly shoe mer
chants were found. The bright
boy graduated high in his class.
It is important for nil' to
acknowledge the debt lowe Lo
the great teachers who helped
and inspired me.
At Livingston Miss Julia Tut
wiler and Miss Elinor C. Gibbs
gave me a start in the right
direction. When I returned 44
, years later. I recalled this with
; much gratitude. Miss Tutwiler
, was kind. firm, and efficient.
'Those who sat at her feet
learned from her lessons that
helped one to face life's prob
. lems.
!\lifo'> Gibbs ";JS
~"I
1'1'lst.:n
ding English teacher. I learned
, from these two that math and
English are vital subjects. per
haps the most vital. If one can
tr-ach a person to reason analy
tically and communicate effec
tively. one has been successful
as a teacher.
Now at age 88, I can testify
that a career in teaching brings
rich rewards. No money-but
the memory of SD many bright
kids that I helped. In several
instances there were three gen
erations of one family in my
classrooms.
Hundreds of Christmas cards
remind me each year that to
live forever in the hearts of your
kids is a value beyond compari
son.
I congratulate the N.R.T .A.
on this project and I appreciate
very much the opportunity to
participate.
•
1976 - Continued:
Sun. Nov. 14: The Hev. Hobert Hen.ry (Rob) ~?lhi te IB.d been called
as the new Baptist ~inister and preached his first services this
date as the new minister. He did not live in our town but lived
in hiob t Le , Ala. with his wife Sandre:'. Ann Simril White and their
children, Jeffrey Robert and Jennifer Lynn, ages 11 and 9. Rob
\'ihite and his fanily carne to l\'lyrtlewood each weekend and stayed
in the Church trailer home beside the Church. Robert Henry ~i'/hite
was born 30 Sept. 1942 in Atlanta, Ga. the son of Robert Henry
','Ihite and Sarah Louise Jordan. He was married on 9 June 1962 to
Sandra Ann Simril, daughter of Louie r~ilas and Sarah Ann 0VTann
3imril. She w~s born 3 Oct. 1943 at Atlanta, Ga. ~ob White was
licensed to preach in 1975 by the First Baptist Church of Hoover,
Birmingham, Ala. and wac ordained by Co t t age Hill Baptist Church
, II:obile, Ala. in November 1976. He was minister of Evange La sm
at the Cottage Hill Cburch from January 1976 to November 1976.
.l!r~.
T.'l'
N
10..,:
'"ov.
Thurs. Nov. 25:
Hunting season for Buck deer began on this date •
Thanl:sgiving Day.
SW1. Nov. 28: Dedic~tion services were held for t~e Bethel Baptist
Asso cLa t Lon office buildi:'1G and home at 2: 30 p vm , in Linden. An
open house follo~ed the dedic~tion for the office buildin& located
on East Coats ~\ve. (HiShv,ray 28) and the new home for the Director
of Missions loc~ted on Court Street.
November was one of the coldest and wet t e s t November-s known in
J,Iyrtlewood's history. On Sat. Hov. 27th, the tem~)erature had
reacJ::ed co. 70 degrees. On Sun. Nov. 28th rain began and before
it stopped, the temperatv.re pLunged and. t:'le rain began to freeze.
On ilIon. Nov , 29th the t empr-atur-e dro';J1Jed further down and it be gan to clear with a lOTI in the 20s. On Tues. Nov. 30th the A.m.
hours were cl e ar- \vi th a Low in the high teens, rising to the l~lid
40s by afternoon and back to the mid 20s at night. T~e chanses
were too quick and too drastic. Heaters were beine; burned night
and day for war:nth and to keep water pipes from freezing and Gas
suppLde s did not last long. At tl'lis ti::le Butane Gas averaged ca
37¢ a gallon. People Vlere dismayed by the price but four years
later it would have risen to 62.9¢ per gallon.
December: Dur Lng this month a hometovm boy came home ..vi th his
wife to live. Ariel Ellis+Pearl Smith Bergerman Bouler moved
into a trailer 110me on "Bouler Hill". Ariel was born in I1yrtle wood in 1909, the 80n of Bell Benjamin and Edna Earle Kirkham
Bouler, and grew up and wo r ke d in our town. He first mar-r-Lad
Louise Lyles, daUGhter of Huey Dennis and Nancy Elizabeth (Betty)
Squires Lyles, Sr. of ~yrtlewood. Louise died 25 Se?t. 1937 after
the birth of their child, Virginia ~nn. Ariel left our to~m 24
Dec. 1937 to make his home in San Antoine, Texas. He m~rried
there on 15 Aug. 1970, Pearl Gertrude Lena Smith Bergemann,
daughter of
and
Smi tho She was a widow
..
1976 - Continued:
with grO'Nn children. Ariel and. Pearl had given up their home and
left San Antoine 1 Nov. 1976 and stayed with his cousin, Cor~ Grey
Etheridee at Half Acre until their Myrtlewood home ~~s ready. The
site of their new home was ne8r the ho~e ~here Ariel grew up, the
present site of the Joseph Wade Hall horne. Ariel had bouc~t his
new property from William Kelly EtheridGe, Sr. In the old days,
the hill which descends East by the North side of mrs. Cody Carson
Guinn's home, was the old Myrtlewood-Linden road and the hill was
known as "Bouler Hill."
Fri. Dec. 3: Golda Beverly Stephens, a~e 83, died in the hospital
at Demoopolis. Services were held on Sun. 5 Dec. at 2 p.m. in the
Shiloh Baptist Church with burial in the Shiloh cemetery besid.e
her husband Alonzo Hasty Stephens. She was survived by one brother,
Dorris Z. Beverly, Sr. of Gallion, and one sister, Ers.
(Willie Beverly) Sparks of Linden, and a nurnber of neices ana
nephews. She had no children. Gold and Alonzo Stephens came to
~yrtlewood to live on 3 Nov. 1944 from Sweet Water.
They lived .
in two of the houses on the hill above the Coats-\'!ard homepLace ,
and then the Kit Carson Carter, Sr. house. III health forced
them into the Nur s Lnz Home in Linden but mrs. Stenhens later came
back to Myrtlewood to live in the former Luther-Adams house on
Cemetery road now owned by her brother D. Z. Beverly, Sr. (Family
Lnfoz-mat i.on not ava i.Lab Le , )
Fri. Dec. 3: The North-South Private School All-Star footabll
•
classic was held at Ft. Dale Academy in Greenville, Ala. this
evening. Three marengo Academy players from Linden were selected
to play in this game, Bill;y Greer, Kyle Br-own and a Nyrtlewood boy,
Thimothy Charles (Tim) Etheridge.
December: During this month, Bradley Keith (Brad) !'!iosley, son of
Armon Ralph and Ruth Beatrice Taylor r:losley of I\~yrtlewood, gradu
ated from Navy necruit Training at the Naval Air. Station, Orlando,
Fla. He came home on recruit leave and was then sent to Gunner's
Mate School ~t the H.T.S., Great Lakes, Ill.
Tues. Dec. 14: Timothy Charles (Tim) Etheridge, son of '.'/illip...IIl
Kelly and Eleanor Beck :Etl~erid~e, Sr. of l'::yrtlewood, s i.gned a
four year football scholarship with Livingston University,
LiVingston, Sumter Co., Ala.
Tues. Dec. 21: 'rhe ~,jirst Day of Winter, acccr-d mg to the calendar,
but bitter cold had s t.ruck our t own long before now. To celebrate
the official advent of Winter, Marengo Butane Gas Co. in Linden
raised gas prices to 39 9/10¢ per gallon. It had been 37¢ a
gallon on ~ovember 29th.
On this first day of 'Sinter, members of the I:Iyrtlewood Ba~ltist
Girl's Aux i.L'i.ar-y presented a program of songs for the Mar-e ngo
County NursinG' Home in Linden, and presented gifts to the resi
1976- Continued:
dents. Those participating were Paula and Rebecca Sessions, Lori
and .tngLe Bul.Lo ck , Dawn I'.Iichelle Hall, Donna Renee Breckenridge,
Coralie Annette Barxl.ey , Kar i t.a I,'IcIl"aain and their leader, mrs.
Thomas Ralph (Barbara Squires.} Sessions.
FIRE ANTS:
By this winter of 1976, only a few counties in North
Alabama had escaped the invasion of the Fire Ants. It was estimated
that over 27 million acres of Alabama land had now been infested.
Two species of Fire Ants had been brouGht into ~obile, Alabama via
banana boats from South America, the native home of these vicious
pests. It has been stated that the first fire ants came into our
state in 1920 with the largest in 1941. Since this time, about
120 million acres of land have been infested in at least 9 South
Z8.stern states and Texas. The warm, wet we a't lie r of the South is
ideal for the ants. The most potent weapon against this menace
was rilirex which Vias declared an a.L'Le ged health hazard.
The distri
bution of Llirex by planes was stopped 31 Dec. 1977 and ground
ap}Jli'cation ended 6 months later. The vicious fire ant .b i tes lJro
duce a festered })lace very soon after the biting and some humans
have adverse reactions to the bites. The ants cause a loss of hay
and &razing areas for farners. Livestock are also stung by the
ants and young 9igs and calves have been killed by their bites.
The ants also gnaw telephone and electric cables which can cause
water to enter the cables and produce shorts. The ants burrow
deep into the ground, c.s nuch as six feet deep in »Lace s , and
spread the ir mounds over larr;e areas. Their bite is pa i.nf'u'L, and
those who have stated that the fire ants are nothing more than a . •
nuisance (and even some P8.rm Agents have stated th2vt) have never
stepped into a fire ant bed ~nd been covered with the vicious pests.
Wed. Dec. 22: A Community Christmas program W2S held. at the Barrt Ls t
Church this evening at 7 p vm , ilefresnments ",",'ere served following
the program.
As the Christr:.ms Season ap pr-oached , viruses were rampant in our
town and I'iiareneo Coun ty and wee'. tl1er conditions continued to be
bad.
Fri. Dec. 24:
Christmas Eve.
Sat. Dec. 25: Christmas Day. The tem;::Jerature rose to 48 degrees
this day but there v.a s heavy rain all t:n.rouGh the day and. it was
cold and penetrating.
The year ended \7ith severe wcatl,-er. On Thurs. Dec. 30th, the High
was 68 and the low was 30. A Front passed through at night with
strone winds that shook the house and there was some rain. The
temper~ture dropped to the low 20s.
On Fri. Dec. 31, New Xear's
Eve, the High W8.S only 36 and the low W8.S 22.
,
,