By June Mathews Celebrating the past comes naturally to Bonny Hanna Picard. It’s been her business for 40 years. The founder and president of Hanna Antiques, Picard has long lived her passion through buying, selling and often restoring treasures from bygone eras. Still in her 20s when in 1979 she established a small furniture refinishing business in an oversized building on … [Read more...]
Every Picture Tells A Story: Modern Condo in the Sky Is Backdrop for Local DJs Antiques and Art Collection
Story by Lauren Helmer • Photos by Lee WallsYou may not know her face, but you probably know her voice. Dru Cunningham Backensto is Birmingham Mountain Radio’s DJ host of the “Flipback Lunch,” which airs weekdays during her 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift, and the soon-to-launch “She Show,” featuring all female artists and dynamic local women as guests. Dru opened the doors to … [Read more...]
Father’s Messages of Love: Oak Mountain Man Shares Funny, Uplifting Notes With Kids Through Napkinisms
By Lauren Helmer My father changed my life one day when he wrote me a note, and the significance of that note really set my compass for the rest of my life,” said Oak Mountain resident Billy Ivey. “When I was 14, he was diagnosed with ALS, and when I was 15, I got cut from the basketball team. And I was devastated, because my father was a great athlete,” Ivey said. “I … [Read more...]
Surgeons’ Ties That Bind: Doctors John and Winn Mathews Say Working Together Has Deepened Their Father-Son Bond
By Sam Prickett Dr. John Mathews tried to talk his son, Winn, out of becoming a surgeon. “It’s a difficult life,” he said, and after a 40-year career as a surgeon, he would know. But Winn decided to follow in his father’s footsteps anyway. Some inspiration came from reading Dr. Ben Carson’s 1992 autobiography “Gifted Hands” while he was in third grade, Winn said, but he also … [Read more...]
Cricket, Tea and Trade Training: Group Brings International Flair to Hoover as it Reaches Hands Across the Globe
By Ingrid Schnader When Hoover City Councilman Mike Shaw’s daughter Melodi began studying Japanese, Shaw noticed how learning the language and culture gave her a purpose. Now a student at Auburn University with a minor in Asian studies, Melodi’s passion inspired her parents last year to begin a non-profit organization called Destination Hoover International. “Hoover is an … [Read more...]