Local family set to celebrate fifth-generation Thompson grad. By June Mathews On May 25, 1925, a young man named Ulysses Samson Eddings graduated from Thompson High School (THS). The school, only four years old at the time, was built to accommodate students in and around Siluria, a cotton mill town with a company village, later … Read More
For this Alabaster woman, faith and family are the keys to good living. By June Mathews When Katie and Kenneth Hill moved to Alabaster with their preschool son in 1956, a sign proclaiming “Population 750” greeted them at the city limits. Incorporated a mere three years before, the city was still in its infancy. One … Read More
As Kerri Pate, City Councilor for Alabaster’s Ward 7, approaches the end of her second term, she is proud of all the things that have and are continuing to happen in the city. “The sky’s the limit in Alabaster,” Pate says. Pate, who has lived in Alabaster for 26 years, first got involved in city … Read More
By Carmen Shea Brown For decades Sean Edwards has lived his life in the service of others. He served in the Army (reserves and active duty) for nearly three decades, retiring as a Major, as well as serving the community as a Birmingham police officer for 21 years. But his first call to serve occurred … Read More
Paul Johnson is busy. His full-time job is serving the Alabaster community as the Thompson High School Resource Officer. A very serious and giving career. Yet, by night he entertains hundreds of listeners as the lead singer in the band Twelve. If it sounds tiring, it is. If it sounds fascinating, well, it’s that too. … Read More
By Katharine Armbrester Though their art could not be more different, Ahmad Austin and Joel Lockridge have each developed a niche through their distinctive creative methods and both live in Alabaster. Ahmad Austin is known for his colorful, exciting canvases of jazz musicians and other individuals, which he paints using a palette knife. Lockridge is … Read More
FRONT ROW, L to R: Brandon Matthews, Kaleci Theuri, Emily Reid, Hanna Moseley, Lauren Blackmon, Ximena Vega, Jaelyn Gilleylen, Maddie Baxley, Simone Jones, Samantha Edwards, Sasha Gann, Morgan McNichols, Holly Norwood, Kaylah Brown Anna Campbell, Tatum Boothe, Ansley O’Neal, Fred Casillas, Brody Logan. BACK ROW, L to R:Sully Cole, Ada Hasenbein, Rex Gann, Blair N’jaguna, Zayden Felton, Hannah McKay, Kaitlyn Burnett, Thuy Nguyen, Madison McNichols, … Read More
Helper at Heart Albert L. Scott librarian Carol Smith has been making patrons smile since 2006. By Carmen Brown She made them smile, and that was all it took. More than three decades ago, Carol Smith graduated from UAB with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She set her sights on becoming a counselor and was … Read More
Michael J. Brooks Pastors and music leaders have had good-natured arguments for years. Musicians insist pastors will be idle in heaven with nothing to do since preaching isn’t on the agenda, whereas music is. And pastors retort that the music program is the source of much church conflict on earth. As radio preacher J. Vernon … Read More
Alabaster Radio Control Association celebrates nearly 40 years of remote model aviation. By Carmen Shea Brown Bob Anderson keeps a picture that is near and dear to his heart—a reminder of where it all began. It’s a photo of him as a little blond-haired boy when he was about seven years old, living in Columbus, … Read More
