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
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
