WHICH FAIRVIEW, ALABAMA?
ASHS Column for 03 15 07
Jerry Simmons

     Motorists from other states would
need more than a map to find
Fairview in Alabama. There are 12
of them. A Zip Code Finder shows a
Fairview in Chilton, Coffee, Conecuh,
Cullman, DeKalb, Jefferson,
Limestone, Marion, Mobile, Morgan,
St. Clair and Winston counties.
     And there are other places in the
state with identical names. For
instance, there are five Unions,
located in Etowah, Greene, Henry,
Morgan and Tallapoosa counties.
     There is a Rabbittown in Calhoun
County and another one in Winston
County, and a Rabbit Town in
Marshall County.
     There are three Pumpkin Centers:
One in DeKalb County, another in
Walker Count y and a third in Morgan
County.
     There is a Flat Rock in Clay
County; another in Jackson County
and there are Flatwoods in
Montgomery, Walker and Wilcox
counties. Hillsboro is in Lawrence
and another one is in Madison County.
     There are two Enterprises, one in
Chilton County, the larger one in
Coffee County.
     You'll find a Crossville in Lamar
County, another in DeKalb County.
     There is no Dallas in Dallas
County, but there is a Dallas in Blount
County and another Dallas in
Madison County.
     Wallace was first named "Florence" but the application for a post office was refused because there was already a Florence, Alabama. It was then named "Miriamville."
When Major Wallace built a mill there he changed the name to "Wallace."
     The following are names of some of our area’s towns, communities and settlements. Some may not be in existence any more. Many I hadn’t heard of until I came across this list:
     Scranage, Mortimer, Steadham, Ackley, Clematis, Hadley, Hillaryton, Barryton, Mosquito Flats, Windom, Lusk, Hartwood, Mt. Olive (6 miles from Wallace, 4 from Sardine), Blue Springs, Juniper, Still, Poplar Springs, Stanton, Manistef, State Line, Billville, Ginnvile, Hurricane, Nadawah, Dolive, Carpenter, Fannie, Scratchankle, and Magnolia Springs. Add your choice to this list by contacting me!
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     In a discussion at church some time back, the topic was the concept of ultimate love as laid out in First Corinthians chapter 13. One lady in the group said her husband was an extreme example of that. She said he was just too easy on people.
     He added that she was always fussing at him about letting people take advantage of him. He went on to explain what she meant by that. "A person owed me a lot of back rent and my wife insisted I go get the money due us, so I finally agreed to do it. After an hour or so, I came back home, and she met me at the door and asked if I got the money. I replied, ‘No, but I loaned him $50.00.’"
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     Word got to us a couple of weeks back that we are lax in giving credit for work done on the preparations for Old 100. We have no intention of leaving anyone out, and that’s the fear one has when trying to list names. You’re bound to slight someone even though it was unintentionally done. Some folks have thin skins. I’ve heard it said that it’s best when everyone wants to get something done, and no one cares who gets the credit.
The Alger-Sullivan Historical Society wants to be fair to everyone and recognize individuals who have figured prominently in helping us. In that light, I’d like to personally thank the Town of Century’s mayor and the Town Council. By name, Mayor Evelyn Hammond, the council in office in 2006, comprised of Marie McMurray, Gary Riley, Louise Folmar, Freddy McCall, and Nadine McCaw.
     Mayor Evelyn Hammond was very cooperative with us in frequently allowing town employees to assist us. Some of those employees (I hope all) have already been mentioned in one of Margaret Collier’s past columns but rest assured, they are thanked again here, too.
     We’ve received letters of support and pledges of volunteer labor over the past couple of years from local civic organizations like the Lions Club and its president, Ray Hammond; and the Tri-City Rotary Club and its then-president Terri Sanders. Escambia County (Fla.) County Commissioner Kevin White and County Administrator George Touart have proven to be friends of the Society, too.
     This is not counting all our legislators, who wrote letters of support. Greg Evers personally appeared at a panel review meeting for us and gave an impassioned and effective appeal that culminated in their awarding our first Old 100 grant a year ago.
     There are many, many others who’ve been cheerleaders and supporters for our efforts and if I started naming them, I’d surely leave someone’s name out. If you feel you’ve been a great help and want your name mentioned in these pages, remind me. Just don’t be so angry at us personally as one individual was when it was felt we didn’t give enough credit to someone!
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     Our next meeting is Tuesday, March 20. Be sure to be there and meet our speaker, Brandi Spain Williamson, from Jay. Brandi is a graduate of Central High School and taught at UWF, but now is a teacher at Jay High School. Her topic is to be George Washington and promises to be quite interesting.
     Y’all come.

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This page last modified on Sunday, May 20, 2007