David M. Frings: from mayor of Alabaster to wildlife photographer and world traveler By Katharine Armbrester Photos by David Frings In August 2025, the exhibition “Feathered Focused: Wild Birds Through the Lens of David M. Frings” opened at the Gadsden Museum of Art. With his camera, Frings captured striking images of stately plumed egrets, tropicbirds … Read More
Arthur Teele takes over as Alabaster’s Director of Courts By Barry Wise Smith In May 2025, Arthur Teele left a long court career in the city of Birmingham to take over as Alabaster’s new Director of Courts and Court Clerk. “I couldn’t ask for a better team,” Teele says. And while Alabaster is smaller than … Read More
Alabaster Fire Department Battalion Chief Nathan Smitherman is named as the city’s new fire chief. The Alabaster Fire Department (AFD) will ring in the new year with a new fire chief. On January 1, Nathan Smitherman will take over as the new chief of the Alabaster Fire Department. Smitherman has been in the fire service … Read More
This longtime community volunteer is creating a legacy of hope. By June Mathews Charlotte Ann Dawson could write a book about organizing a successful event on a shoestring. When she cobbled together the first Charlotte Ann Dawson’s Fun Walk and Run in 2024, she handed out some flyers, invited anybody she could think of who … Read More
By Lee Hurley In a quiet corner of Alabaster, within the comforting walls of the Healthcare Center at Buck Creek Nursing home, resides Clarence Lovett— a man whose life story is poignant, positive, meaningful, and yes sometimes sad. His journey is as layered as the history he has lived through. If anyone’s life can be … Read More
By June Mathews Mike and Lou Ann Jezdimir of Alabaster met on a blind date subtly arranged by their landlady, who simply asked Lou Ann to give a newcomer a tour of the town. The couple-to-be lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where Mike had recently accepted a job with a medical device manufacturer. The connection was … Read More
Alabaster resident Samuel Richardson joins the Peace Corps. Sam Richardson’s dad told him early on that there are two types of education. There is the type of education when someone learns through textbooks and college courses, and there is a different type where you travel and immerse yourself in a culture. This doesn’t mean staying … Read More
Going Native in Alabaster An interview with Dr. Sue Webb on the use of and value in using native plants. By Lee Hurley Dr. Sue Webb is a master gardener and native plant expert with a science background in microbiology. Dr. Webb will give a talk at the Albert L Scott Library on Saturday October … Read More
For this retired educator, learning is a way of life. By June Mathews Tommie Mowery Harrison grew up in Wilton, a tiny town about as far south in Shelby County as you can get. A family of modest means, the Mowerys never had money to spare, but Tommie’s parents, Paul and Thelma, worked hard to … Read More
By Jen Matthews The thing about a pendulum is that its very nature is to swing. Back and forth, from one extreme to another. And in most areas of life, the extreme stance is rarely the right one. But culture has a way of following the pendulum’s swing, constantly shifting from one end of the … Read More
