By By Lowell McGill
I think my eyes were playing tricks on me this week when I went to our archive files to gather some news from 1973.
I began my research in my normal manner, jotting down notes from the old Advance files. After making several notes, I discovered I was reading from the 1963 files. Rather than go back and start all over I decided to leave it like it is and write about people, places and events from 1963. So, I’ll get back to 1973 next week.
It was much like a joke I heard years ago. It seems a drunk, after getting into his car following a night on the town, called the police station and reported his steering wheel was missing. After giving the desk sergeant a description of his automobile he hung up the phone. No sooner than he had done this he placed a second call to the police station. He said “Sergeant, cancel that report I just gave you about my missing steering wheel.” The sergeant said “O.K., we will cancel this for you, where did you find your steering wheel? The drunk replied “Oh, I really didn’t lose my steering wheel I just discovered I got in the back seat by mistake.”
Well, I didn’t get in the backseat by mistake, and I certainly wasn’t drunk. I suppose I was just in much of a hurry.
Back in 1963 St. Regis Paper Company in Cantonement reported 125 workers from the Atmore area comprised a good portion of that firm’s total workforce. Local workers, who have retired or passed on, found that a great working environment. And, it was only a 35 minute drive to work.
Atmore’s Claude Kelly became the Director of Alabama’s Department of Conservation, a post he served for many years. The appointment was made by Gov. George Wallace. Don, Claude’s son, was a good friend of mine. In fact, he was a friend to everybody here in Atmore. He was extremely intelligent and never uttered a bad word about anyone. I suppose he developed those characteristics from his dad. Sadly, Don passed away several years ago.
Chunn Sneed left Atmore that year to take a position with a bank in Gulfport, Miss. His dad, Joe Sneed, was president of the Bank of Atmore here for a number of years.
Lee Roy Jordan was honored at Excel, his hometown, for the many awards he received while playing football for Paul “Bear” Bryant at The University of Alabama. Jordan would go on to play for the Dallas Cowboys where he retired several years ago.
Last week, I incorrectly misspelled the last name of Mr. Walter Eugene Vaught. In the story I wrote about his death I spelled it “Vault”. I want to thank Laura Napps for calling this to my attention in her e-mail to me. I also want to thank her for the nice comment she made regarding our weekly column. She told me she moved from Atmore when she was 11 years old. Her home is now in north Alabama. She says she still has fond memories of “home.’ In fact, I learned from her that her family’s mailman was my “Uncle Arthur” McGill. She says she still visits Atmore on occasions.
Dan Allen Currie did me a favor this week, and in doing so, I learned about a most interesting and profitable internet business he has going on.
But before I get into this I want to tell you about those beautiful, stately peacocks the Currie family owned.
Years ago those traveling Jack Springs Road would slow down long enough to watch the birds strut and feed in that spacious yard which was landscaped with shrubs and many appealing flowers. If you were lucky you may see the birds spread those colorful feathers which formed that rainbow fan resembling the NBC TV logo.
Parents would take their young kids to see these birds and hope they would see them spread their feathers into that familiar fan. My boys still talk about watching the birds when we went out there back in the 1960s. I am sure many of you remember seeing those peacocks, too.
I failed to ask Dan if the birds were still there. Perhaps, he will let me know and I will pass it along to you next week.
Now, I’ll get back to that favor from Dan. You see, he located on e-Bay some obsolete equipment that I needed. Well, within four days that equipment was in Dan’s office ready for me to pick up.
I learned that he has been buying and selling on e-Bay for the past several years. He has his own account with them and he is set up buy and sell at a moment’s notice.
Now, I was always interested in getting into this field but I found it too time consuming to learn. But, that’s not the case with Dan. He is extremely knowledgeable in every aspect of the company. He sometimes bids on their online auction and often finds bargain items that he will resell for a profit.
The overall e-Bay concept is still too tough for me but that is not the case with Dan. He” knows the ropes.” I am convinced one must be highly intelligent and must possess an entrepreneurial drive to be successful in this business. Dan has these qualifications. He says you can find most anything you need on that E-Bay website. Most amazing are the unbelievable low prices.
I also discovered he and I have areas of common interest. He enjoys and knows about nostalgic radio programs and Saturday matinee movie shows. He is also interested in geography, a field that intrigues me.
So, if you ever want something from E-Bay be sure to talk to him about it. He’ll find it for you.
I finally finished researching that story on Coumadin which I briefly touched on last week. So, tell your parents, your grandparents and your friends and anyone who takes Coumadin some revealing news is forthcoming on a new device that may eliminate having to take that “blood thinning” medicine.
Finally, I want to thank Leonard, Kevin and all the skillful crew at Southern Computer who have been maintaining my “grandfathered” computers, software and printers for the past several years. They came to my rescue again this past week and got me “back up and running”. They did this at a time when I had claims from Mobile and Mississippi waiting to be settled from heavy flooding two weeks ago. Theirs is a diversified professional service with the very most knowledgeable and highly trained technicians in this area. Being there for me when I need them proves you never go wrong when you buy locally from firms like this and get dependable “follow up” service after the sale.
We will be back with news from 1973 next week.
Lowell McGill is a historical columnist for The Atmore Advance. He can be reached at exam@frontiernet.net