Winter 2009/2010
We don't really think much about having "senses" though we depend on them to give us the full measure of our lives. Imagine living without hearing music, without ever seeing the sunset, or without savoring the delicious shock of ice cream.
These sensations are integral to living, so much so that when one is lost, we desperately seek to replace it. Think of the amputee back from Iraq, still "feeling" in his brain the phantom sensation of bending the knee, and struggling every day to regain mobility using prosthetic limbs.
The life of the legendary Helen Keller is a source of inspiration to everyone. Pictured on our cover is the beautiful new statue honoring her in the U.S. Capitol, reminding everyone who passes that courage, determination, and a compassionate teacher can overcome what seemed a hopeless life deprived of the fruits of fully engaged senses.
All of the senses originate in the brain, that mysterious seat of both the concrete and the ethereal. I guess it would be fair to say that in this issue we've tried to consider both. As usual, we have an overall theme, and we've attracted some very interesting writers to examine each concrete sense. As for the ethereal, those feelings that aren't specific to one of the five senses, there's plenty of that in the story of life and death experiences.
Longleaf award winner John Fleming tells a harrowing tale of being an eyewitness to death and new contributor Christian George brings a fresh voice, countering with a story of the life-after-death experiences of Don Piper and Bill Weise.
We continue the Longleaf tradition of welcoming new writers: Lulu Buffett, who needs no introduction to Gulf Coast regulars, Joan Chrissos, food writer at the Miami Herald, and Nicholas Sparks, whose dozens of books and films have touched audiences the world over. Managing Editor Theresa Shadrix gives us a visit with the irrepressible Rick and Bubba who represent the ephemeral "sense of humor."
And we have our old friends Sherry Kughn, Lisa Berryhill Worsham, and Loyd McIntosh, further illustrating the power of the senses. Last, (but not least!) Longleaf's double award winner, Brandt Ayers, joins up with our friend Daniel Wallace of Big Fish fame, Mike Stedham, and Pat Kettles in a whole section of "nose" stories, which will give you a new perspective on the effects of the proboscis in life, wine, and music. And football.
We hope this exuberance of reading will enliven your hibernation and heighten your senses, bringing you back to Longleaf for our "Adventure" issue in the Spring.
Josephine Ayers, Editor-in-Chief
Summer "Roots" Issue
Here in the south, family is a popular topic of conversation. “Who’re your people?” is an almost universal greeting, trailing closely the OTHER important question, “What church do you go to?” But when we speak of “roots”, we’re really talking about beginnings of things, usually the beginnings of things important to our families, our communities, and us.
We have stories of many beginnings, starting with the Longleaf pine and continuing with subjects as varied as farming, Southern food, rail transportation, and our own origins - but this is NOT Darwinian! It’s all about curiosity, a favorite trait at Longleaf.
If you’re curious about the Longleaf region, you’ll find a lot to think about when you read Bill Garland’s account of the life of a longleaf pine. It’s a compelling story of a 300-year journey, a single tree bearing witness to our history.
And do you remember Alex Haley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book Roots, published in 1976? The saga of his search for his family history awakened a deep interest in genealogy and the stories passed down through generations that enrich our sense of family and home. You will be fascinated by Markeshia Ricks’s account of Chris Haley’s memory of his uncle, the book,and the mini-series.
John Fleming introduces us to Jean Baptiste Baudrau II, the dashing scoundrel with whom hundreds along the Gulf Coast claim ancestry. That so many seek proof of familial ties to Jean Baptiste suggests that we’re all secretly proud of the scoundrels in our family tree.
Longleaf continues to attract outstanding writers with extensive Southern connections. In this issue we have two Pulitzer Prize-winners; of course, there’s our hometown boy Rick Bragg, who introduces a beautiful section of memories of home. And we are pleased to welcome a new friend of Longleaf Style, Diane McWhorter, who writes about her native Birmingham today. Diane is the author of Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama—The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2002.
This “home” section is completed with a very personal memory by Edith Alston, Anniston native and former living editor of The Anniston Star. Her mother, Cornelia Alston, the subject of this issue’s excerpt from Edith’s book-in-the-works, Pickups, was society editor at The Star in the 40s and 50s.
What would an issue about “Roots” be without reference to Southerners’ obsession with good food? Nathalie Dupree, the noted food writer and television personality from Charleston shares her wit and wisdom–and some prized recipes–and answers the intriguing question “Just what is Southern food?” And where does much of that fresh food come from? Deirdre Long, The Anniston Star entertainment editor, gets to the roots of farming and the modern trends in cooking “local.”
Along with the exciting new writers in Longleaf, some of our outstanding “repeaters” are here also: Bob Davis with the scurrilous beginnings of the railroad’s route into Anniston, and Brett Buckner on noted wood artist Dale Lewis. Loyd McIntosh shares one man’s journey to finding his Cherokee roots and Sherry Kughn introduces readers to a new collection of Native American artifacts on display at the Oxford Public Library. Last, but certainly, not least, the inspiration for the “Roots” issue, the heartwarming story of her search for a co-worker’s birth family is recounted by managing editor Theresa Shadrix.
So, there are many beginnings for you to savor–but before you dig in to the magazine, celebrate with us the great news for Longleaf Style. We’ve won a Silver and two Bronze awards, plus an honorable mention, from the Magazine Association of the Southeast. We’re enjoying the applause, but it makes us even more determined to produce a better product! Give us your feedback and help us to spread our wings.
Josephine E. Ayers
Editor-in-Chief
Spring Issue
The Spring issue of Longleaf Style is in stores now! The theme for this issue is "Collections".
Features
Antique Roadshow by Loyd McIntosh
The Chaos of Montebrier by John Fleming
"Gone With the Wind" Guru by W. Winston Skinner
Margaret Mitchell by Sherry Kughn
"Nyet!" to "Gone With the Wind" by Tatyana Kudriatseva
Collecting Comics by Jason Odom
Dr. Dennis Pappas by Sherry Kughn
Collecting Wine by Pat Kettles
Collecting the "Big Five" by Morgan Silvers
Why I don't Collect by Harvey H. Jackson
Cuisine
Cupcake Obsession by Meg Weidner
Arts
Phillip Simmons's Gates by Mary Eloise H. Leake
Library
"Spit, Scarey Ann and Sweat Bees" by Kathryn Tucker Windham
"Collections of Nothing" by Theresa Shadrix
(be)Scene
Click here for full gallery of the Anniston Revelers' Krewe
We welcome your comments about Longleaf Style.
Southern Fried Bigfoot update
In Chasing Bigfoot, the story I wrote for the fall 2008 issue, I interviewed Sean Whitley, producer of "Southern Fried Bigfoot". Sean emailed me today with news the documentary about the "skunk apes, boogers, and wildmen" rumored to prowl the swamps and bottomlands of the Southern US, will have its broadcast premiere on April 13, 2009 on The Documentary Channel, carried by DISH Network, at 9pm Eastern/8pm Central. The DVD will also go on sale on DOC's online store around the same time.
I've seen the documentary and it is very interesting because he really looks at all sides, from the chasers to the skeptics. So, mark your calendar, program your TIVO or post a sticky note on your fridge to remind you about the show!
Blessings,
Theresa Shadrix
Odd Eggs
This is my post for the Southern Authors blog.
By Theresa Shadrix
The spring of 1939 was the perfect time for dreaming in Alabama.
The south was hypnotized by Margaret’s Mitchell’s book Gone with the Wind and with the movie premier later that year in December, Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh would become southern royalty.
Even with the depression and looming war, folks were optimistic.
Classrooms were filling up with students wanting to learn reading, writing and arithmetic.
Farmers were preserving crops by refrigeration.
Industry was booming.
It was the ideal atmosphere for a 21-year-old dreamer.
While most of her friends were setting up house or pursuing careers as nurses and teachers, one young woman set out to become a real newspaper reporter.
Sure, she’d written movie reviews for her cousin’s paper in Thomasville as a pre-teen and the clicking of typewriters in the newsroom held her captive since before puberty.
While other girls played with dolls, she played with wooden type cases and learned to set headlines.
But, just because she had been a shadow in the newsroom, it didn’t make her a real reporter.
In 1939, fresh out of college, she was armed the achievement as class valedictorian of her high school and a degree when she walked into The Montgomery Advertiser for her first job interview.
She felt confident, sure of herself and at home.
After all, the Advertiser newsroom was the incubator of her childhood companions – the words of newspapermen like Grover Hall, Max Moseley and Atticus Mullin.
But, on this spring day in 1939, the dream of this young woman would begin with a compliment and end with devastation.
“I’ve read some of your articles. You write well,” Hartwell Hatton told her. Then he added, “If you were a man, I’d hire you. But, I don’t want any female reporters.”
Confidence and good writing could not change the fact she was a woman.
Kathryn Tucker Windham didn’t give up her dream that day. She wasn’t skipping with glee when she returned home to Thomasville to work with her mother at an insurance office. But, she kept on writing.
She wrote stories for her cousin’s newspaper, The Thomasville Times, and became as a stringer for the Mobile Press-Register, The Montgomery Advertiser and The Birmingham News.
It would take World War II before Windham finally received the call she’d dreamed about. In March 1941, she accepted the position at The Montgomery Advertiser left vacant by Allen Rankin when he became a soldier. She was paid less than Rankin for the same job, but she was finally a real newspaper reporter.
She didn’t have much time to breathe when the real world hit her as two young girls initiated her into the fraternity of reporting. On April 21, 1941 the naive, girl reporter from small town Alabama had to gather facts on the drownings of Euline Hicks, 12, and her sister Juanita, 10.
When one of the bodies was discovered by the river, Windham was the one the police asked the stand guard while they retrieved equipment. This newspaper world didn’t smell as sweet as she recalled in her dreams, but she told every detail in her stories to readers.
Along with being the police reporter, Windham also shared stories of the “odd eggs’ in town and was crowned the “Odd Egg Editor”. Telling odd stories would become her trademark, in print and in spoken word. She shined not only in reporting, but in photography and storytelling.
She was also a widow and mother to three young children at a time when being a single working mother seemed very odd indeed.
Although I was struck by her charm the first time I met her and in correspondence that followed the Longleaf Style magazine feature on Windham in 2007, it took my reading her book, Odd-egg Editor, to appreciate the oddity of Kathryn Tucker Windham. In the current era, when newspapers struggle with identity and reporters want to dictate what stories are important, it is refreshing to remember the dreams and perseverance of a young reporter 70 years ago. Kathryn Tucker Windham excelled at being the odd-woman out and by simply by telling stories. It's a goal that doesn't seem so odd.
Theresa Shadrix is the managing editor of Longleaf Style magazine. Among her most prized books is an autographed copy of Odd-Egg Editor sent by Mrs. Windham that reads, “To Theresa Shadrix, to give account of what it was like to be a girl reporter a long time ago. Kathryn Tucker Windham. Selma, August 2008.”
Winter Issue
The Winter 2008 issue is out and we hope you will enjoy the journey. The cover photo is taken by Lesa Cummings from her trip with her husband, David, to Antarctica.
The Winter issue includes:
ARTS
Angels in Art by Richard Donohoe
Alabama Angels in Art BY Dr. Karen Henricks
Angel Food Cake by Josephine Ayers
Handel's Messiah by Mike Stedham
First Emperor & King Tut by Mary Eloise Leake
TRAVEL
Steamboat round the bend by Dr. Harvey H. Jackson
The Queen Mary2 by Ed Fowler
Mid Size Cruise Ships by Mary Eloise Leake
Small Ships by Josephine Ayers
TRENDS
Exercise for Travelers by Ann Angell
DESTINATIONS
Ave Maria Grotto by Sherry Kughn
Antarctica by David Cummings
CUISINE
Panola Church BBQ by Bob Davis
Unexpected Food: Stemley Stir Fry by Loyd McIntosh
SPIRITS
Holiday Cocktails by Pat Kettles
LIBRARY
1968-2008: Journey to a world remade by H. Brandt Ayers
Mark Childress by Sherry Kughn
Rick Bragg to speak on Dec. 4 in Atlanta
Contrary to popular belief, I'm not Rick Bragg's scheduler or fashion consultant, but I do like to let readers know when he is in the area. On Thursday, Dec. 4 Rick will speak at the MAGS luncheon.
Time:
11:30am - 12:00pm - Registration and Networking
12:00pm - 1:30pm - Lunch and Guest Speaker
Location:
Villa Christina
Address:
4400 Summit Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30319
Register Now: Click Here!
MAGS December Holiday Luncheon: Guest speaker, Rick Bragg.
Rick is the author of two best-selling books, Ava's Man and All Over but the Shoutin', and recently released his latest, The Prince of Frogtown. In 1996, Rick won the Pulitzer for his stories published in The New York Times.
Cost:
Pre-Registered Members - $30; Members Door - $35
Pre-Registered Non-Members - $40; Non-Members Door - $45
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