By Laura McAlister Journal EditorCahaba Heights will soon have new trees to replace some of the many uprooted by the April 27 tornado that tore through the area.Mary Jean Archer is donating 10 dogwoods Vestavia Hills in memory of her father, the late William John “Bill” Christiansen, a longtime resident of the city and an avid gardener.“My dad lived most his life … [Read more...]

By Laura McAlister Journal EditorFrequent shoppers at the Homewood Piggly Wiggly know him. He’s at the grocery store nearly every day, greeting his customers and inquiring about their families.What many of those customers may not know, however, is that Stanley Virciglio, owner of the Homewood, Liberty Park and Crestline Piggly Wiggly grocery stores, battled cancer and … [Read more...]

By Laura McAlister Journal EditorThey sound like dishes from a five-star restaurant – chicken Florentine, spinach salad with strawberries, Dijon pork – but they’re not. These tempting creations are actually cafeteria food that will be served to students in Mountain Brook and Homewood when they return to school in August.The two school systems are working with … [Read more...]

By Laura McAlister Journal EditorFor the longest time, Ilse Scheuer Nathan covered up the small numbers tattooed on the inside of her left wrist. Though time has now faded those numbers, she’s much more apt to talk about them now.Ilse is one of about a dozen surviving Holocaust victims in the Birmingham area. Her story was one she didn’t always want to discuss. But at … [Read more...]

By Matthew Terwilliger Journal InternFor the second time in three years, volunteers from Vestavia Hills have given Michelle Hunt and her family an opportunity she otherwise couldn't afford: a house of her own.Michelle, along with many others in Birmingham’s North Smithfield neighborhood, lost her home to the April 27 tornados that tore through the area. After the … [Read more...]