By Sarah Owens Photography courtesy of Alabaster City Schools “Hey, is this Graham Bennett?” “Yes.” “We’ve got a job opening at Thompson High School. Would you like to teach jazz music here?” The timing of that phone call still makes Bennett laugh. It came in 2019, just hours after the birth of his second daughter. … Read More
Alabaster’s own Holly Dean comes full circle By Barry Wise Smith For Holly Dean, the CEO of Baptist Health Shelby Hospital, life has come full circle. Born at Shelby’s sister hospital Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital, Dean grew up in Alabaster before moving to Hoover and graduating high school there. So, when she took the top … 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
This year’s 23rd annual festival promises to be the biggest and best ever It’s summer so it must be time for Alabaster CityFest. To help celebrate, we’ve compiled information on the festival including interviews with two headliners along with sponsors, bios, schedules, and an FAQ, all to whet your appetite for the real thing on … Read More
By Carmen Brown Saddle Lake Farms HOA Board President Mellissa Wiley and her husband Steve looked at more than 100 houses before they found that country feel in the city they were looking for. “We were looking for some acreage that was still in the city of Alabaster,” Wiley says. “This is still in the … Read More
Placement of flags in preparation of the Memorial Day ceremony at the Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo Patriotism, love of country, and sacrifice for the common good. By Lee Hurley Veterans Day is observed on November 11, whichever that day happens to fall on in any given year (Monday in 2024), but how did the … Read More
Fortune launched its third annual Fortune’s 50 Best Places to Live for Families 2024, showcasing the cities and towns across America that best support the unique needs of multigenerational families. Alabaster was named 34th best city to live in chosen from a criteria of 2,000 cities that fit its qualification criteria. The wide-ranging city analysis … Read More
Fortune launched its third annual Fortune 50 Best Places to Live for Families 2024, showcasing the cities and towns across America that best support the unique needs of multigenerational families. Alabaster was named 34th best city to live chosen from a criteria of 2,000 cities that fit its qualification criteria. Fortune independently evaluated over 2,000 … Read More
By Barry Smith When Reshad Hudson was growing up in Alabaster in a single-parent family in his grandmother’s house, he never pictured himself as a national political reporter. But life has a funny way of surprising you. Raised with his older brother by his grandmother Shirley Bishop and his mother Darlene, Hudson was a shy … Read More
For 25 years, the American Village costumes have brought history to life. By Katharine Armbrester Photography by Steven Ross and Courtesy American Village American Village has educated and delighted its many visitors ever since it was founded by now-president emeritus Tom Walker in 1999. The village offers replicas of historic buildings and actors (also called … Read More
