FREE November/December 2018 THE VALLEY STAR SERVING THE TENNESSEE VALLEY www.thevalleystar.net Three plus years and still going B eanBeans Boutique opened in April 2015. Owner Sabrina Hodges (Bean Bean as her niece’s and nephew’s call her) pictured separate, is a Dental hygienist/ assistant and never dreamed she would be opening her own business selling trendy Ladies apparel. Three and a half years later BeanBeans has been voted Peoples Choice 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and Best Womens clothing 2018. BeanBeans has THE BEST customers!! It’s been an amazing venture but one she cannot take credit for. Had it not been for David Hodges, BeanBeans would have never happened. Sabrina also credits her employees for her successful business. Pictured are Anissa Green, left and Cammie McCaig, right. Anissa, a retired school teacher, has worked for her on and off since the store’s opening. She has been a huge asset and everyone loves her. There are a lot of customers who think she’s owner and BeanBean says she is ok with that. Cammie, also a retired school teacher, joined them about September this year and has fit right in. She’s a natural. BeanBeans says hiring Cammie has allowed her to spend more time with her sweet granddaughter Alaina. These two ladies are the key!! Upbeat, energetic, depen- dable and fashionista are a few words that describe them best. If you are looking for the latest, trendy and affordable Boutique Apparel and Accessories, come see us at 201 Hwy 31S in Athens (between Pizza Hut and Rooster’s). Our hours are M-F 10-6, S 10-4. We carry sizes Small to 3X. We have a monthly drawing for a $30 Gift Card. Bring this Ad and receive and extra 10% off you’re entire purchase. (Expires11/20/18) Sabrina Hodges, owner of BeanBeans. Anissa Green and Cammie McCaig
Transcript
FREE November/December 2018
THE VALLEY
STARSERVING THE TENNESSEE VALLEY www.thevalleystar.net
Three plus years and still goingBeanBeans Boutique opened
in April 2015. OwnerSabrina Hodges (Bean Bean
as her niece’s and nephew’s callher) pictured separate, is a Dentalhygienist/ assistant and neverdreamed she would be openingher own business selling trendyLadies apparel. Three and a halfyears later BeanBeans has beenvoted Peoples Choice 2015, 2016,2017, 2018 and Best Womensclothing 2018. BeanBeans hasTHE BEST customers!! It’s been anamazing venture but one shecannot take credit for. Had it notbeen for David Hodges,BeanBeans would have neverhappened.
Sabrina also credits heremployees for her successfulbusiness. Pictured are AnissaGreen, left and Cammie McCaig,right. Anissa, a retired schoolteacher, has worked for her on andoff since the store’s opening. Shehas been a huge asset andeveryone loves her. There are a lotof customers who think she’sowner and BeanBean says she isok with that.
Cammie, also a retired schoolteacher, joined them aboutSeptember this year and has fitright in. She’s a natural.BeanBeans says hiring Cammiehas allowed her to spend moretime with her sweet granddaughterAlaina. These two ladies are thekey!! Upbeat, energetic, depen-dable and fashionista are a fewwords that describe them best.
If you are looking for the latest,
trendy and affordable BoutiqueApparel and Accessories, comesee us at 201 Hwy 31S in Athens(between Pizza Hut and Rooster’s).Our hours are M-F 10-6, S 10-4.We carry sizes Small to 3X. Wehave a monthly drawing for a $30Gift Card. Bring this Ad and receiveand extra 10% off you’re entirepurchase. (Expires11/20/18)
Plant, recently won his first DoveAward for best bluegrass/country/roots album of the year.
Walker’s album, “Blessed: Hymnsand Songs of Faith” features someof the 40-year-old baritone’s favoritehymns, including “Amazing Grace,”“Old Rugged Cross,” “Victory inJesus” and “I’ll Fly Away.”
Gospel Music Association’s DoveAwards is compared to countrymusic’s Grammys for Christianand gospel performers.
Born with muscular dystrophy, agenetic disorder that weakens themuscles, Walker never let thewheelchair he has been confinedto since childhood define him.
He made his singing debut at theage of four performing “Elvira” forAthens Bible School’s MusicalExplosion. He became a regular onthe Jerry Lewis Telethon of theMuscular Dystrophy Association,appeared on “Nashville Now” withthe Oak Ridge Boys, sang lead forthe Trinity Mountain Boys andperformed on the Grand Ole Opry.
Nine years after being named theInternational Bluegrass Music
Association’s Male Vocalist of theYear in 2007, the country-bluegrass singer returned toperforming at the request of hisclose friend, the late Joey Feek.One-half of the popular husbandand wife Grammy Award-winningduo Joey+Rory, the 40-year-oldFeek, who died from cervicalcancer in March 2016, asked forWalker to sing at her funeral.
Bill Gaither of Gaither Music Groupattended the funeral and heardWalker’s version of “Leave itThere.” A week later, Walkerreceived a call from Joey Feek’shusband Rory Feek. The Gaithers,Feek said, were interested in doinga project with Walker.
“Call Me Old-Fashioned,” acompilation of inspirational songs
performed by Walker andproduced by Feek, hit the airwavesin September 2016 and debutedat No. 9 on the country charts.
“Growing up singing these songs inchurch, you don’t think you aregoing to receive an award oneday,” Walker told the DecaturDaily. “It’s just hard to believe.”
The Valley Star’s Anthony Batesdid an in-depth interview withWalker a few years back. In honorof his latest award, we arereprinting that interview below.By Anthony BatesThe Star’s Valley Rover
Chances are if you were bornafter 1970, you will notremember Bradley Walker.
He was the poster child for the MDTelethon on local TV’s Channel 19
for three years. He was the firstever and the only one to have thathonor for three consecutive years,first in 1989.
I remember him very well.
I loved to watch “Mornin’ Folks”with Grady Reeves, that is the firsttime I remember seeing Bradleyon television. His first song toappear on Mornin’ Folks was“Elvira,” made famous by the OakRidge Boys.
I thought it was the coolest thinghearing such an amazing voice atthat young of an age. Bradley wasa hit and became a regular on theshow.
continued on page 16
November 9, 2018 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET Page 3
Submitted by Michelle Smith
The Dauphin Island Sea Labfield trip has become an an-nual event for 5th graders at
Athens Intermediate School.About 100 students and chaper-ones went to Dauphin Island ear-lier this fall. The studentsparticipated in a variety of labs,lectures and in-the-field experi-ences.
The students examined andtouched a large variety of pre-served specimens in the lab roomand pairs of students dissectedsquid. The students learned
about the salt water marsh bydragging seine nets, sieving mud,and scooping up marine animalsto identify and discuss thespecies that live in that environ-ment.
Students got into the ocean andmeasured wave frequency andthe crest of the water. They alsovisited the Estuarium, rode on aboat, cast a net and caught vari-ous fish. The scientists taughtthem about the different species,the food chain, and the habitat ofthe marine animals.
SCHOOL BELLS by Debra Johnsonby Debra Johnsonby Debra Johnson
AIS 5th graders enjoy trip to Gulf
Page 4 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET November 9, 2018
Athens recently held the12th annual StorytellingFestival, which has become
one of the favorite attractions for
visitors to our town. Online ticketsales revealed that we had travel-ers from at least 12 differentstates to come to the festival,
which is good for the economy inthis area. Good crowds attendedthe event all weekend with areaschool children attending on
Tuesday and Wednesday beforethe weekend event. Three oldtime favorite storytellers were onthe roster with two newcomers.
12th Annual Storytelling Festival
North Alabama Title and Escrow is locally owned and operated byAdria Bonniville. She has served the greater Huntsville metro area for over 15 yearsand is experienced in every aspect of title and escrow services. Give Adria a call today!
Athens Gas Department reminds you“MAKE EVERY DIG A SAFE DIG”
Alabama State Law requires you to call theAlabama One Call Center 48 hours prior to any
excavation, to have underground utilities located.
811 is the new nationalthree digit call number.
1-877-885-5592Emergency Line:
256-216-8621
1806 Wilkinson Street Athens, AL 35611
256-242-1444
Bil Lepp Tim Lowry
Josh GoforthCarmen Deedy
Donald Davis
November 9, 2018 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET Page 5
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Golden Eagles going to the playoffsThe Athens Golden Eagles are
making improvements eachyear under head coach Cody
Gross and staff. The Eagles went8 and 2 in regular season qualify-ing the team to play Homewood inthe first round of the Alabama 6Aplay-offs. This is the 3rd year Grosshas been the head coach of theGolden Eagles. The excitementhas been contagious to the com-munity and fans. The team excite-ment last Friday night from theplayers as they defeated the 7AAustin Black Bears reminded meof the good times and excitementwhen Steve Rivers had winningseasons.
Today’s competition is much betterthan the old days. Players are big-ger and faster and formationsmuch more complicated. Nutritionis a valuable part of the player de-velopment in seeing to it all teamplayers get what calories theyneed to develop to the maximum.Phil Cross, head trainer, cares forour injured players with utmostcare. Volunteer equipment manger,Bill Zachary, sees to it the equip-ment and fluids are there for theplayers.
Logan Smothers, Division 1 candi-date, has led the Eagles this yearas quarterback. Logan has greatspeed and the ability to pass downfield. Jaelen Cates and LakeidronBorkin has carried the pig skindown the field for the running at-tack. Cesar Sanchez has done thekicking duties and made some keyfield goals that contributed towins. The offensive line is an-chored down by 340-pound offen-sive lineman, Caden Shoulders.Leading the defensive side of theball is Ethan Rinke. Jaelen Cates
also plays on the defensive side ofthe ball making big plays as acover corner.
The Golden Eagles have greatboosters, and the Athens programis making a come back from pastyears and good things are tocome. Coach Gross is a player’scoach who sees to the needs ofthe players. Players come out andenjoy the game of football. Foot-ball takes a lot of hard work andsacrifice. The late Bear Bryant isquoted, “The price of success isoften high, but so are the re-wards.”
Athens will be in their new schoolin the near future, and studentswill have the best facilities
for learning ever offered to our stu-dents. A solid education andsports program will prepare our
students for whatever the chal-lenges the future throws at them.
Thanks to the teachers, coaches,and leaders of the Athens SchoolSystem that work each day to edu-cate our children to the best oftheir ability. Having success as ayoung person as they maturehelps define who they are and howcontent they are about life.
Eagles ready for 4th quarter.
Eagles celebrating victory over Austin Black Bears.Place kickers warming up.
Running back, Jaelen Cates.
Eagles taking a breather on sideline.
QB, Logan Smothers, on the run.
Page 6 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET November 9, 2018
November 9, 2018 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET Page 7
Bring your funny bone to thefourth annual PrestonBuilders Hope for the
Holidays childhood cancer dinnerfeaturing award-winningventriloquist Mark Thompson.Tickets are on sale now as aretabletop sponsorships for yourbusiness or organization. Enjoythis holiday tradition with friends,family, or co-workers, and lookout for The Grinch as he will belurking around during dinner.
Hosted by Eli’s Block PartyChildhood Cancer Foundation,the dinner offers tables of eightor six seats are as well asindividual seating. Thompson’sshow is family friendly as he useshis incredible gifts of ventrilo-quism, song and comedicpuppetry to entertain all ages.With the help of his endearingpuppet friends, Red, Kirby andCrackers and his uniqueapproach to audienceparticipation, Thompson createsa vibrant show that is robust withmusic and laughter. His specialability to entertain in awholesome light makes for theperfect evening.
“I have always been inspired bythe great need for clean adultand family entertainment,”Thompson said. As a very youngman, I developed the skill andtalent of ventriloquism andcomedy while performing showsaround town in SouthernCalifornia. It all began when I was6 years old. I pulled my puppetsaround the neighborhood in alittle red wagon asking peoplehouse to house if they wanted a
puppet show. The joy thatovertook them becamecontagious and inspired me. Ididn’t make the choice to go intothis business…the choice wasmade for me. I just followed mycalling.”
Throughout the years, Thompsonhas received thousands ofinvitations and performed over3,000 live shows including over60 times on television. Thepopularity of the act comes fromhis ability to captivate andentertain all age groups whetherof the same ago or various agestogether. The show is not onlyentertaining and hilarious, butalso educational andinspirational.
“We are thrilled to have Mark asour featured entertainment thisyear,” said Kristie Williams, Eli’sBlock Party director. “The dinneris really growing and becoming aholiday tradition for families, andsome companies use it as theiremployee holiday dinner. Webelieve there is nothing like it inAthens for this time of year, and
bringing Mark to our communityis exactly the direction we haveenvisioned it growing.”
Dinner guests will enjoy a holidaybuffet-style meal catered bySuzanne’s Bakery, and live dinnerentertainment by harpist StevenMiller. Guests may visit with TheGrinch from SantaLand inRogersville, Alabama, and beready to bid on a holiday cakeauction.
Tickets and sponsorships are onsale online at . The foundationraises money for pediatric braincancer research and puts thefunds directly in the hand thatholds the microscope. Dr. TedJohnson’s innovativeimmunotherapy work atChildren’s of Georgia is therecipient of this year’sfundraising.
The cool nights that happendue to less sunlight in Octo-ber will get the bucks out of
their bachelor groups. Bucks willseparate from the pack and beginto stake out their territory. I re-cently was scouting a white oakflat for acorns. I was walkingalong an old logging road andsaw two scrapes in the dirt wherea buck had started to lay down ascrape line marking his space.Also there were several saplingsrubbed by a buck along the road.The activity of the bucks in-creases daily till the full rut kicksin, usually after Thanksgiving. Ihave found the first week inDecember primetime for catchingbucks cruising for does.
Acorns will be the primary foodsource for deer in the early sea-son and as the acorns are de-pleted, green fields will be foodsources for the later part of theseason. The does bed down andstay close to the green fieldsfeeding on them several times aday. I see does on deer plots at12pm to 1pm. As long as there islittle pressure on the doe, theywon’t venture far from the feed-ing source. Always rememberwhere there is a doe the bucksare nearby.
Many hunters depend on gamecameras to get a snapshot of thedeer that inhabit their huntingproperty. Cameras are a goodtool to see the deer that travelthrough, but don’t be fooled bythinking you get a photo of everydeer. When the bucks start chas-ing does, they may come from 5miles or more to visit your doe
herd. The alpha buck will try tofend off newcomers, but theyhave little luck getting rid of alove struck buck.
A watering hole is just as impor-tant as a food source for all deer.The warmer the weather, themore the water is in demand.Having an undisturbed areawhere bucks can bed and feelsafe is a must on hunting prop-erty. Bucks like to bed on highspots with a lot of undergrowth.The escape route allows the buckto clear out if a hunter pressuresthe animal.
A hunter needs to get on theirdeer stand an hour before day-light and walk in as quietly aspossible and avoid stepping ondry branches and leaves. Alwaysconsider the wind direction whenchoosing a deer stand. Neverhunt with the wind blowing yourscent into the bedding area. Thethree things to always try toavoid: noise, excessive move-ment, and human smell.
Follow all game laws and wearyour hunter orange for safety’ssake. Alabama requires all deerharvested to be logged on hunt-ing license or regulation sheet. Aconfirmation number must be ob-tained within 48 hours of the har-vest and recorded on yourdocument sheet or license.
With the threat of CWD being re-ported in the Southeast, har-vested deer from out of statehunts must meet special require-
ments before transporting them.If you hunt out of state, follow thenew rules or face a stiff fine. Con-tact Alabama Fish and Game fora clarification of the new rule.
CWD is a dreadful disease thatcan wipe out complete deerherds. All hunters have the re-sponsibility to help protect ourdeer and report sick or unusualacting deer they may encounter.
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Big rub shows a buck is using the area.
November 9, 2018 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET Page 9
YEARS AGO IN LIMESTONE COUNTYYEARS AGO IN LIMESTONE COUNTY by Rebekah DavisLimestone County Archivist
by Rebekah DavisLimestone County Archivist
by Rebekah DavisLimestone County Archivist
On Nov. 17, the City ofAthens will celebrate its200th birthday a couple of
days early with the Athens Bicen-tennial Bash, a great big party onthe Square.
Events will include:
• Beard and Bonnet Contest– sponsored by the Friends ofthe Archives, who will award acrisp $100 bill each to themale with the best beard andthe female with the best bon-net or hat. Start growing andsewing!
• Art as Our Narrative – bi-centennial-themed art exhibitat High Cotton Arts.
• Christmas Open House –shops open and decoratedwith a historical flair this year.
• Live music
• Commemorative shoppingtotes and cupcakes
But the perhaps biggest event ofthem all during the BicentennialBash will be the re-creation of anevent nearly a century ago and ofone of the most iconic historicLimestone County photos: TheTrade Days car giveaway.
If you’ve been in the LimestoneCounty Archives – or in DobbsShoe Shop – then you have prob-ably seen the photo of the throngof people massed on the eastside of the Square and wondered,
why were all those people piledinto Athens? Well, here’s what weknow:
• The first special Trade Dayevent was Dec. 27, 1922, andthe event went so well thatthey did it again, on Dec. 23,1924.
• There’s a reason so manypeople crowded on the squarethat day: They were hoping towin a car, and you had to bepresent to win.
• You didn’t have to buy a raf-fle ticket, you got one forfree… IF you spent money in aparticipating merchant’sstore. And obviously, everyonespent their money on…… hats. A status symbol of thetime, a new hat showed thatyou had made your crop andhad made your money for theyear. So every fall, HermanSwanner’s store nearly soldout of the thousands of hatshe had stocked.
• Winners of the cash draw-ings that day were LeRoyHoward; $5; J. S. Owen and J.M. Cannon, $10 each; HinsonGrigsby, $15; and W. J. Hud-son, $25. The new car went toMrs. Lakin Lambert, who livedin the Shoalford district intoday’s East Limestone. Ironi-cally, Mrs. Lambert didn’t buya hat or anything else to get
her ticket. Her sons andnephew had pooled theirmoney to buy her husband anew suit of clothes for whenhe boarded a train, bound fora new job, so they all got aticket. One son gave his ticketto his mama.
This year, you can donate $5 aticket or $10 for three to AthensMain Street to be eligible for a
drawing to compete in an AthensTrivia Contest. And like nearly acentury ago, the contest winnergets the keys to a car – this timea Kia Rio donated by DealersAuto Auction – and aphotographer will be on hand toonce again snap an iconic photoof the celebrating crowd indowntown Athens.
Historic Trade Days recreated atAthens Bicentennial Bash Nov. 17
Identified businesses in this photo are, from left: Hendricks Corner, Gilbert Drug Co., Jaffe Bros., C.O. Johnston’s Hardware
Store, L. L. Rogers’ store; The Leader, Joe Steinberg, Martin-Richardson-Malone, Farmers & Merchants Bank, W.T. McDaniel
building, Johnson-Rawls-Cain, and Edmundson’s Grocery. A Nashville photographer took the panorama photograph of the
crowd that day.
To advertise in The Star callSonny Turner | 256-431-5498 orKathy Thornton | 256-777-1425
Page 10 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET November 9, 2018
By Debra Johnson
As colder weather approaches,the plants’ growth period is dwin-dling. I have been so happy thatour tomatoes put on a secondgrowth, and we have had freshtomatoes on into the late fall.
However, I am watching for thefreezing temperatures in theweather forecasts so I can pull offthe remaining tomatoes insteadof letting them freeze.
I guess we can eat fried greentomatoes if they have not allripened by then. We are pullingup the cabbage that we plantedand are enjoying the turnipgreens, which should last for awhile even in the cold tempera-tures.
My grandboys are having fun find-ing and digging up a few sweetpotatoes that were uncoveredfrom the last rains. We ended up
with plenty of sweet potatoes tolast until next year’s crop. We areletting them cure in the barn for awhile before eating them.
We will soon bush-hog the re-mains of the plants in the gardenand prepare soil and let it lay outthis winter. We will kick back thiswinter and enjoy the garden veg-etables that have been preservedeither by canning or freezing.
Growth dwindling down in the garden
***Coming Soon***THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018 10am-2pm
“THANKSGIVING AT CAMELLIA'S
We will have....TURKEY, HAM, DRESSING , MASHED POTATOES,
FIELD PEAS, SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE, GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE , FRIED OKRA & ROLLS
You don’t want to miss it SO mark your calendars!!
We are also taking orders for Thanksgiving now.So place your orders soon!!
(256) 444-4800
18025 Nuclear Plant Rd
Athens, AL 35611
Checking to see if the cabbage is ready to pull.
A few heads of fall cabbage.
Harvest of sweet potatoes.
answer on page 20
CELEBRATEHOLIDAYPRAYERTHANKSGIVING
TURKEYCORNBREADMAYFLOWERPUMPKINPIE
THURSDAYVEGETABLESHARVESTPILGRIMS
SETTLERSTRADITION
November 9, 2018 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET Page 11
DEB’S Delights by Debra Johnsonby Debra Johnsonby Debra Johnsonby Debra Johnson
Sweet Potato PieIhave submitted this recipe be-
fore, but with the ThanksgivingHolidays approaching, I thought
some people might like to try thisrecipe. I have made this pie, andit is delicious.
Ingredients
2 cups cooked,mashed sweet potatoes
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 unbaked pie shell
1 tsp vanilla flavoring
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Ina mixing bowl, cream butter,sugar and brown sugar untilcreamy. Add milk. eggs, vanillaflavoring, salt and all of the
spices. Stir, then add sweet pota-toes and beat together with mixer
until smooth. Pour into unbakedpie shell and bake for 1hour or
until center is firm. Serve warmor cool. Store in refrigerator.
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Iwas walking around in thewoods a couple of weeks ago insearch of deer signs. I noticed a
good crop of hickory nuts andacorns had started to fall fromthe trees. The woods were alivewith gray squirrels gathering upthe nuts and storing them forlater in the year when food will beshort.
Taking a limit of squirrels in thefall was a thrill we looked forwardto when the leaves started to fallfrom the trees. A hunter couldfind 2 or 3 hickory nut trees, sitquietly and bag a mess of youngsquirrels. I had a Winchester 74,22 caliber rifle to harvest thesquirrels. Early in the morning
just after daybreak was a primetime to hunt. I preferred to squir-rel hunt after a fall rain while theleaves were wet. The wet leavesallowed a hunter to slip throughthe woods undetected. Walking indry leaves makes a lot of noisealerting all the wildlife to scamperin another direction.
In the fall, we had fresh turnipgreens and fall cabbage. We dugour sweet potatoes in early Sep-tember and stored the in the barncrib to cure out. Sweet potatoesneed a month or so to cure in awarm dry place. The starches inthe sweet potatoes turn to sugarmaking them sweet. Grandmawould ask us to hunt some young
squirrels for meat to highlight themeal with the garden food. Squir-rels were first pressure cooked,then fried to perfection. A bakedsweet potato and a chunk offresh hand churned butter was areal treat.
Greens were best cooked slowwith a piece of hog jowl meat toseason them. The final thingneeded was a pone of cornbread. My favorite dessert was asweet potato pie. There is nothingany better than sweet potato piewith a cinnamon topping. Cinna-mon was lightly dusted on the topof the pie. Sweet potato pies wereset on the window ledge to cool.The desirable aroma sometimes
was overpowering and the pienever had the opportunity to cool.
Living walking distance to yourkinfolks has many advantages,like breaking bread together andtalking about the events of theday has many dividends. Thefamily raised or hunted downtheir food, and no one went tobed hungry. Papa said, “ Theytold us back in the 30’s therewas a depression going on acrossthe country. We had no idea whata depression was. Living off theland and not counting on anybodyto feed us was our way of life. Wequenched our thirst with well orspring water and lived off theland.”
Page 12 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET November 9, 2018
UNCLE BONDEE’S ADVENTURES by Uncle Bondeeby Uncle Bondee
Fall Feast in the holler
November 9, 2018 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET Page 13
Page 14 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET November 9, 2018
The Oldsmobile 88, a uniqueand brightly colored heavyvehicle back in time, is rarely
seen on the highway today but inthe late 1950’s it was popular inLimestone County.
For 1958, General Motors waspromoting their 50th year ofproduction, and introducedAnniversary models for each brand;Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile,Pontiac, and Chevrolet. The 1958models shared a commonappearance on the top models foreach brand; Cadillac EldoradoSeville, Buick Roadmaster Riviera,Oldsmobile Holiday 88, PontiacBonneville Catalina, and the all-newChevrolet Bel-Air Impala.
The 1958 model is best known inOldsmobile as the year of the“ChromeMobile” thanks totremendous splatterings of chrometrim on the body, particularly on thehigher-priced Super 88 and Ninety-Eight models. The styling wasadvertised by Olds as the “MobileLook.” The Dynamic 88 debuted in1958 and lasted through 1966positioned as the entry level modelbelow the Super 88. This modelfeatured a more economical RocketV8 than its more expensivelinemates – a de-tuned 265 horse-
power version of the 371 cubic-inchRocket V8 with two-barrelcarburation.
Super 88 models were powered bya four-barrel 300 horsepowerversion of that engine as standardequipment with a J-2 optionfeaturing three two-barrel carb-uretors and 310 horsepower. A newoption for 1958 was a “Trans-Portable” radio that could beremoved from the instrument panelthrough the glove compartment andused as a portable radio forbeaches, picnics, etc. thanks to
portable batteries. A revisedinstrument panel was highlighted bya new deep-dish steering wheel with“horn bars” replacing the long-standing horn ring still commonduring that period.
Despite an economic recession thatcut into new car sales industry wide,and especially affected themedium-priced car market that Oldscompeted in, Oldsmobile saw only aslight decline in sales for 1958 andeven rose in industry standings tofourth-place behind the “Low-PricedThree” of Chevrolet, Ford and
Plymouth, while surpassing a now-floundering sister division Buick onthe sales charts for the first time inmany years. Oldsmobile was alsoway ahead of other middle-pricedcompetitors such as sister divisionPontiac, Mercury, Dodge andChrysler, along with Ford MotorCompany’s all-new and ill-fatedEdsel, and Chrysler Corpor-ation’sDeSoto - the latter two nameplatesof which would fade into oblivionwithin the next three years.
The 1958 Olds 88 was unique
SEARCHING FOR TRUTH by Kevin Harrington, Marion Street Chuch of Christby Kevin Harrington, Marion Street Chuch of Christ
This is the time of year whenmost people are gettingready for the holiday sea-
son. Believe it or not, Christmasdecorations are already beingsold and Christmas music is al-ready playing on the radio. How-ever, contrary to popular belief,there is a holiday in between Hal-loween and Christmas:
Thanksgiving is one of my favoriteholidays. It’s a time of year whenwe can eat good food, watchsome football, and enjoy somemuch needed family time. How-ever, I do have one major prob-lem with Thanksgiving. Sincethere is a national holiday for giv-ing thanks, most Americans saveall their thanksgiving for thefourth Thursday in November.Should this be the only day weare mindful of our blessings? Isthis the only day out of the yearwhere we thank God for all thewonderful things He’s done?
A form of the word “thanks” isfound over 169 times in theBible. If something is talked
about that many times, maybe weshould pay more attention to itrather than just on one day out ofthe year. Consider a few of thesepassages: “In everything givethanks; for this is the will of Godin Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess.5:18), “Giving thanks always andfor everything to God the Father
in the name of our Lord JesusChrist,” (Eph. 5:20), and “Oh givethanks to the Lord, for he is good,for his steadfast love endures for-ever!” (Psalm 107:1). When I readthese verses from the Bible, Idon’t get the impression that weare to only be thankful onThanksgiving Day, but we are tobe thankful every day. Paul tellsthe Thessalonians to give thanksin everything. He told the Eph-esians to give thanks always andfor everything. You and I have been extremelyblessed by God. Even when itseems like times are hard and weare struggling through life, Godhas blessed us richly. James tellsus “Every good gift and every per-fect gift is from above, comingdown from the Father of lightswith whom there is no variationor shadow due to change” (James1:17). Take a moment to thinkabout where you are in your life.Think about all your possessionsand your education. Think aboutyour family and your friends.
Think about your shelter, yourfood, and your safety. If you haveany of those things, you areblessed by God.
A man sat at the dinner table oneThanksgiving and complainedabout everything: the table set-ting, the room temperature, and
the food. He could find nothingfor which to be appreciative. Hisdaughter said, “Dad, isn’t thereanything you’re thankful for?”“Nothing,” was his tense reply.His little grandson, taking all thisin, noticed the big bird in the cen-ter of the table. “Grandpa, I knowone thing you can be thankful for.
You can be thankful you’re not aturkey.”
I hope we never lose sight of whatGod has done for us. I hope weremember to be thankful everyday of the year, not just onThanksgiving. Tell God how thank-ful you are. And more importantly,show God how thankful you are.
Evangelist - Kevin Harrington
SERVICES
Sunday - Manor Service 8:30 a.m.
Worship 9:30 a.m.
Bible Classes 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday - Bible Study 6:30 p.m.
Also, you can join us Sundays at
9:30 a.m. on Facebook Live
124 N. Marion Street
256-232-1786
Website: www.marionstreet.org
Kevin Harrington
Being Thankful
Also, you can join us Sundays at 9:30 a.m. on Facebook Live.
MarionStreetchurch of Christ
November 9, 2018 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET Page 15
To advertise in The Star callSonny Turner | 256-431-5498 orKathy Thornton | 256-777-1425
Page 16 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET November 9, 2018
“Naturally that led to a closerelationship between Grady and I,”said Bradley. “I remember whenmom and I would be sitting aroundthe house I grew up in on PepperRoad, and this big car would pull upin the yard, displaying Mornin’ Folkson its side. Many times he would popin just to check on me and say hello.I loved Grady Reeves, and still to thisday I miss him very much, and thinkof him often. He was one of thesweetest, kindest, and most gentlemen that I ever met.”
In 2002, Bradley was hired on at theBrowns Ferry Nuclear Plant. Therehe met and became good friendswith Roger King to whom Bradleycredits for helping him settle into thejob he holds now as a materialcoordinator. Since then, Roger hasretired and they still remain closefriends.
“I am blessed to have great co-workers and friends at TVA today. Weare like one big family,” said Bradley.
Two years later, Bradley built a newhome in the East Limestone area.
“I love my house, and I plan on beinghere forever,” and with a smile hesays, “You never know, my passion isstill there for music.”
Besides his love of music he is alsovery passionate about AlabamaCrimson Tide football. His entireliving room is proof of that. Due to histalents involving music, he has beenfortunate to have met many bignames in the music industry,including the Oak Ridge Boys whomade the song “Elvira” famous.Many of us remember the popularcountry music show “NashvilleNow.” At 10 years old, Bradley wasinvited to appear on the show andsing with the Oak Ridge Boys.
But his ultimate goal is still ahead.Bradley has many friends, inparticular, a bluegrass band calledIIIrd Tyme Out who had alreadyperformed on many big stages. Onestage in particular, the Grand OleOpry. They knew that it was a dreamof Bradley’s so the band quicklydecided, to make his dream cometrue. The guys made the phone calland informed him “Welcome to theBig Stage”!
On May 31, 2002, he made his veryfirst appearance at the Grand OleOpry.
Bradley says today that he has tokeep things in perspective. “I’llalways love my music,” he says. “But
my job at TVA pays my bills.”
“You have to be at the top of themusic business to make a career outof it and make a living.”
He says nothing in life is easy and ifyou don’t work for it, it is not worthhaving.
“I’ve gotten to do what a lot ofsingers out there would love to do,sing at the Opry with some bignames, nine times to be exact,” hesaid. “Still to this day I get calls fromsongwriters in Nashville wanting meto sing on a demo of one of theirlatest songs. I am lucky for such ashort drive to Nashville.”
Bradley’s mother Sherl, stepfatherJimmy Putman, and his dad TomWalker, do a lot of traveling with theirson when time allows it.
“I would not be able to do what Ihave accomplished, without myfamily’s support,” he said.
Each year in July, Bradley travels toColumbus, Ohio to perform a festivalbenefit show for childhood cancerresearch sponsored by St. Jude.
Walker also performed for years atAthens Bible School’s MuscialExplosion.
“That is something to this day that I
really enjoyed and miss very much,”he said.
Bradley has one album out entitled,“Highway of Dreams,” and iscurrently working on a secondrelease. He remembers the countrymusic of yesterday - Hank Williams,Loretta Lynn, and the Conway Twittyback when country music was whatit was meant to be. “Country musictoday is way out in left field. I’llalways be more of a traditionalcountry singer, that’s where myheart is,” he said.
In 2011, an album was producedtitled, “Mark Twain: Words & Music,”a story that is based around the lifeand times of Mark Twain. Bradley isfeatured on the album along withcountry legends such as Vince Gill,Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, Joe Diffie,Emmylou Harris, and Ricky Skaggs.The album also features JimmyBuffet as the voice of Huck Finn, andlegendary actor Clint Eastwood asthe voice of Twain.
Anyone interested in buyingBradley’s CDs can do so by
visiting his website atwww.bradleywalker.com
Bradley Walker continued from page 2
November 9, 2018 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET Page 17
agentBy Paula PhillipsGuest Writer
Bobby Allison, legend ofNASCAR, was guest of honorat the Rogersville Chamber
of Commerce dinner on October11 at Joe Wheeler State Park. Hesigned autographs and spoke to
dozens of people before the din-ner.
Amongst his caps, books, andother NASCAR memorabilia, Mr. Al-lison relaxed and enjoyed conver-sations with individuals as theyapproached him, many with aweinspired looks and admiration.Named as one of NASCAR’s 50greatest drivers, Mr. Allison has be-come a legend in his own time.
After dinner, Bobby Allison took tothe stage. He began by telling theaudience a little about himself, theraces he’d won, and how he some-times had some problems remem-bering even now. But, as hespoke, it felt as if he rememberedevery detail of every race in whichhe had ever participated.
Over the course of his career hewon 84 races (tied with DarrellWaltrip for third in all-time victo-ries) and 2 uncredited victories.(He is still upset about not gettingcredit for those victories). He wonthe Winston Cup in 1983; threeDaytona 500 victories (1978,1982, and 1988), among manyother major races. He was votednational Driver of the Year in 1972when he won 10 races and took11 poles – including a record 5straight. He won Driver of the Yearagain in 1983 when he won hischampionship.
His driving career was cut short bya serious, life-threatening accidentat the Miller High Life race in1988. At a speed of 211 mph, histire blew during the opening lap.He hit the outside barrier head onand then was t-boned by racer
Jocko Maggiacomo on the driver’sside. Pronounced dead at the hos-pital, Mr. Allison was revived bymedical staff. Suffering a majorhead injury, his recovery tookmonths, and he never recoveredenough to drive in a race again. Itwould be safe to say that the ex-tent of his recovery was no lessthan a miracle.
It was later in the year that he de-cided to help guide his two sons,Clifford and Davey, in their racingcareers and became an owner.Both sons were rising in the ranksand it looked as if the Allison teamwas headed for many more victo-ries. These hopes were dashedwhen his son, Clifford, was killed in1992 in a practice race in Michi-gan. Eleven months later, Mr. Alli-son’s other son, Davey, was killedin a helicopter crash in Talladega.Mr. Allison said these were thegreatest tragedies he has ever suf-fered.
Mr. Allison spoke about the “Al-abama Gang,” as his team wasknown. This team originally con-sisted of his brother Donnie andtheir friend Red Farmer. Latertheypicked up Jimmy Means, NeilBonnett, David Bonnet, and HuttStrickland…plus all their offspring
including Davey and Clifford. Hechuckled and said that they gotthat name because they startedout racing (and winning) so muchin Montgomery, Alabama. Actually,the original members – Donnie,Red and himself - were fromFlorida.
One audience member asked himabout his infamous fight with CaleYarborough. Mr. Allison becameanimated and was still pretty fieryabout that incident. According toMr. Allison, Cale Yarboroughcaused a wreck with Donnie Alli-son on the track at the Daytona500 on the last lap, when Donniewas winning. Bobby passed thewreckage and on the way backaround, he stopped to check onhis brother to see if he was all rightand give him a ride back to thegarage. He (Bobby) was still in hiscar. According to Mr. Allison, it wasat this time that Cale came run-ning up to him, yelling that it washis (Bobby’s) fault that there wasa wreck. Cale took off his helmetand hit Bobby in the face, causingcuts. At this time, Bobby climbedout of his car and the fight was on.
Mr. Allison, now eighty years old, isstill going strong. After speakingto the Rogersville Chamber ofCommerce and friends, he washeaded for the famous TalladegaSpeedway for yet another speak-ing event. His friend Red Farmerand his brother Donnie - the origi-nal Alabama Gang – were all rightbeside him, doing what they lovedbest: listen to the sound of en-gines roar, feeling the excitementof the crowds in the stands, talkingabout the good old days, andsmelling the tires burn up thetrack.
NASCAR Legend, Bobby Allison guest of honorat Rogersville Chamber of Commerce
Bobby Allison with stories
of his racing days.
Rogersville Chamber of Commerce
Director Leslie Sith and Mr. Allison
Dusti Hafner and husband, Fred
with Allison
James Phillips and Dusti Hafner
with Allison.
James Phillips
and Allison.
ARES agent James Phillips
with Allison.
Colby Corum, Stephanie Corum, James Phillips, Dusti Hafner, and Fred Hafner enjoying the night.
Page 18 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET November 9, 2018
One of the most commonthings I run into whenworking with people and
their horse is, oftentimes trustissues from the horse thereforetrust issues from the people.When working with a horse, wemust first gain their trust andrespect. Neither can be forcedupon the horse. It has to figure itout on its own.
Sometimes, we try too hard orpush the horse too hard to acceptus. Our relationship with ourhorse has to be a slow go. Insome horses they get it prettyquick, others, not so much. It’susually the not so much onesthat teach us patience. Patienceand laughter are the only twoemotions we need to have arounda horse.
Taking it slow doesn’t mean wehave to be so slow it looks
sneaky. What is usually sneaky, apredator on the hunt. We wantour horses not to see us as apredator in that sense.
When moving around horsessimply move normal. The way youwould on any occasion. Any quickmovement could startle the horseand any slow/sneaky lookingmovement could cause the horse
to get a bit worried.
When we are trying to gain thetrust of the horse, we have to dothings that will not cause thehorse to have a fear of us butlook at us as the leader. Horseswant leaders but we must proveto the horse we are such aleader. When the horse views usas the leader then we can beginto gain its trust.
There is a lot of things we can doand not do, but it depends on thehorse we are working with. The
main ingredient is to take yourtime.
Jim Swanner13124 Carter RoadAthens, AL 35611www.JimSwanner.comEnjoying Horses throughCommunication256.874.6781
HORSE SENSEHORSE SENSEHORSE SENSE by Jim Swannerby Jim Swannerby Jim Swanner
Trust Issues
A check to help fight breast cancer
Alabama Real Estate Solutions presented a $3,600 check to the AmericanCancer Society of Huntsville/Madison County recently to help out local effortsin the fight against breast cancer. On hand during the check presentation wereseveral members of the local real estate agency.
Thank you to ALL who joined the American Cancer Society in the month of October toraise awareness and funds for breast cancer! From our #RealMenWearPink campaignand other initiatives throughout the month, a significant amount of funding was raisedto #fundacure.
We'd like to thank our #RealMenWearPink candidates:- Rodney Jones of Rockstar Personnel LLC who was the winner of the campaign!- Chase Gallimore of 256 Team at Rosenblum Realty - Dr. Noel Estopinal of Alliance Cancer Care- Nick Lasater of Rocket City Digital- Brad Woodis of Lakeside Title & Escrow of Alabama- Jim Merical of Coldwell Banker of the Valley- Russ Russell of Russ Russell Commercial Real Estate- Dr. Davis Reed of Davis Reed Dental- Blake Cruttenden of Bradford Health Services- Josh McRight of Rocket City Insurance Group- Jim Eady of Hamilton Mortgage- Tommy Siniard of Siniard, Timberlake & League, P.C.
We'd also like to thank a few of the partners who helped our Real Men campaigns -- PuroClean, Monarch Steel Co of Alabama, ILPEA Industries, Rockaxe City ThrowingClub, Honest Coffee Roasters - Huntsville, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Meridian CrossingTavern & Eatery, Parkway Place, ZTA Huntsville/Madison, Al Alumnae, Rocket Re-public Brewing Company, Ben Labaree and a whole host of others!Last but certainly not least, Rocket 95.1 98.1 The Beat and My Star 99.1raised a HUGEchunk - $3600 - during their 2nd Annual Paint the Town Pink campaign. Alabama RealEstate Solutions and Compass Homes of Alabamaalong with Amplify Apparel andRocket City Broadcasting listeners made this campaign the success that it was.
November 9, 2018 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET Page 19
Page 20 THEVALLEYSTAR.NET November 9, 2018
Nov 10, 2018 — ArdmoreChristmas Open Housewith store specials, re-freshments at selectstores. More details tocome.Nov 12, 2018 — VeteransDay Observance — localgovernments, area agen-cies, attractions, restau-rants and shops may beclosed or have modifiedhours of operation in ob-servance of this holiday.Please call ahead to con-firm availability and hours.Nov 13, 2018 — 1st An-nual Song Writer Nightand Silent Auction withAthens High School Base-ball and Softball at the
Limestone County EventCenter (114 West PryorStreet in Athens) featuringGary Baker, George Barn-hill, and Lenny LeBlanc.Doors: 5:30PM, Dinner:6:30PM, Show 7:30PM.Tickets include barbecuechicken dinner for $38.00per person. Ticket atryzer.comNov 15, 2018 — DonnellHouse Festival of TreesPreview Party at the Don-nell House (601 SouthClinton Street in Athens)celebrating Christmas andAlabama Bicentennial withamazing decoratedscapes and trees. DonnellHouse Members: $25.00;
Non-Members: $30.00 -includes can-apes andpunch from 6:00 PM -8:00 PM. For more info ortickets: 256-509-2172Nov 15, 2018 — AlbertPickett and his History ofAlabama at the Athens-Limestone County PublicLibrary (603 South Jeffer-son Street in Athens) from5:30PM-7:30PM withJames Pate, editor of Pick-ett’s History of Alabama. Nov 15, 16, & 17, 2018 —Bicentennial Celebration:Living Pictures More de-tails to come.Nov 16-18, 2018 —Christmas Open HouseDowntown Athens, ALChristmas comes early todowntown Athens with car-oling, ice skating, snow,and specials for shoppingto help complete yourChristmas list and Santavisits. Bicentennial activi-ties. For more informa-tion, contact the GreaterLimestone County Cham-ber of Commerce at 256-232-2600 Detail list ofevent on our Tockify Calen-dar
Nov 17, 2018 — Athens Bi-centennial Bash in down-town Athens from10:00AM-5:00PM withshopping, cupcakes, bi-centennial exhibit, com-memorative shoppingtotes by WOW!, a recre-ation of the historic TradeDays including vehiclegiveaway sponsored byDealers Auto Auction andmore.Nov 17, 18, 2018 — Festi-val of Trees at DonnellHouse (601 South ClintonStreet in Athens) withamazing scapes and deco-rated Christmas trees cel-ebrating Christmas andthe Alabama Bicentennial.Open 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM.Admission $5.00; Ages12&under: Free For moreinfo: 256-509-2172Nov 22, 2018 — Thanks-giving Observance — localgovernments, area agen-cies, attractions, restau-rants and shops may beclosed or have modifiedhours of operation in ob-servance of this holiday.Please call ahead to con-firm availability and hours.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
answers
LIMESTONE DRUGLOCATED IN DOWNTOWN ATHENS ON THE SQUARE
