Terry Bowden stands by his Bear Bryant Award in his office at the University of North
Sep, 15, 2009 Last Updated:11:31 am
Terry Bowden appears right at home as he sits in his office at the University of North Alabama’s Flowers Hall Annex. The man who was once the hottest college football coach in the nation is now comfortable running one of the elite programs in Division II. Among the items sitting on his desk is the Bear Bryant Award, awarded to the Division I coach of the year by the Football Writers Association of America. Bowden won the award after leading Auburn to an 11-0 record in 1993, his first season as coach of the Tigers. The Auburn years are long behind him now, and Bowden is focused on his new team. He took over as head coach of the Lions on Dec. 31, 2008, after spending 10 years as a broadcaster, writer and speaker. Bowden is thankful to be back doing what he loves. The fact that he is coaching at a Division II school doesn’t... Full Story
The memory keepers
Sep, 15, 2009 Last Updated:01:12 pm
Two fierce lion heads roar silently from the windowsill. In the center of the room, a display case houses various items that represent the life of George Lindsey, from pictures of his time on the University of North Alabama football team to the cast of the “Andy Griffith Show” to mauve saddle shoes emblazoned with “Hee Haw” on the tops.
Cottage living
Sep, 15, 2009 Last Updated:01:14 pm
I just wanted my home to be happy and say welcome,” Leigh Pile says about her Tuscumbia residence. She has indeed accomplished that goal. The décor is best described as a playful and eclectic elegance.
Learning folk traditions
Sep, 15, 2009 Last Updated:01:23 pm
I felt at home at the Folk School even before I arrived. I found the glowing recommendation of an older acquaintance so compelling that I researched the school online the very next day. Two weeks later, in May 2006, I arrived in Brasstown, N.C., for my first stay at the school — a nature studies class. I have since taken
Take a learning trip
Sep, 15, 2009 Last Updated:01:29 pm
Charlene Stemen Kolar was looking for a way to travel on her own. “My husband has a number of brothers that he participates in sports with, and I love to travel but was not confident to travel and tour on my own,” said Kolar, of Ohio. “I was searching under travel, and Elderhostel popped up repeatedly.”
Remember Red Bay
Sep, 15, 2009 Last Updated:02:35 pm
Red Bay celebrated its centennial in 2007, inspiring one of the town's charming highlights: The numerous murals painted on the sides of buildings in the downtown district. One of the largest murals is a colorful visual history of Red Bay, depicting farmers tilling the red clay soil with horse-drawn plows, felling trees and splitting logs. The most prominent feature of the mural is the black,...
Following a dream
Sep, 15, 2009 Last Updated:03:02 pm
It was a music teacher who inspired Johanna Stafford to become a band director. “I always wanted to be a teacher,” Stafford said. Now in her fourth year as band director at Colbert County High School, Stafford started playing piano at age 8. She began playing the oboe in band in the sixth grade, switching to the basoon in the seventh grade.
Music is forever
Sep, 15, 2009 Last Updated:03:09 pm
For Deshler High School band director Craig Weeks, “music is forever.” He said he has loved music since he was 4. “My family was in a Southern gospel group,” he said. “We toured different churches and stuff. I’ve got about five generations that were in band. I just ended up making a profession of it.”
A lyrical love affair
Sep, 15, 2009 Last Updated:03:16 pm
John Bradley has a love affair with music. “It just touches something. It’s an emotion. How do you explain love? It’s not a passive thing,” Bradley, band director at Florence High School, said. This was why he became a band director. “Because I love music,” he said. “It’s just something I enjoy.”
Shaping young minds
Sep, 15, 2009 Last Updated:03:27 pm
The best part of my job is getting to work with the kids. It doesn’t matter what grade they are in. Working with them is the very best thing about my job,” said David Wiseman. Only the luckiest of us understood early on what we wanted to do for a living. David Wiseman may count himself among those people.
A higher calling
Sep, 15, 2009 Last Updated:03:30 pm
Band director Pat Stegall considers his job to be a calling. “I’ve enjoyed music pretty much my whole life,” he said. An uncle gave his some Sousa recordings when he was a child, and he started playing clarinet in the band in the seventh grade. Stegall went to Bradshaw High School in Florence, and then to the University of North Alabama.
