By Ingrid Schnader After a month of searching for missing teen Aniah Blanchard, residents of Homewood and the surrounding communities were devastated to hear that Blanchard’s body had been found in Shorter on Nov. 25. “Right now, nothing makes sense and I’m so lost,” Walt Harris, Blanchard’s stepfather, wrote in a Nov. 28 Instagram post. “I just want you back. I hope I … [Read more...]
The Reason for the Season: Vestavia Hills’ Waters Hosts Holiday Signings of ‘Twas the Night That Began Christmas’
By Emily Williams In October of last year, Vestavia Hills’ Catherine Conrad Waters published her first children’s book ahead of the holiday season. “‘Twas the Night That Began Christmas” plays off the rhyme and verse of Clement Moore’s famous “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Rather than focusing on Saint Nicholas or the promise of presents, Waters’ book focuses on the … [Read more...]
Layers of Flour and Butter: New Bandit Patisserie, Coffee Shop and Café Opens in Homewood
By Sam Prickett According to Kristen Farmer Hall, “the Bandit journey” started in October 2013, when she and her daughters came up with the idea to bake and deliver pastries to their neighbors. “We’d ring the doorbell and run away, so we became known as ‘the Baking Bandits,’” Hall said. Now, with the just-opened Bandit Patisserie, Hall has brought her pastries out into the … [Read more...]
Football Legend’s Battle with Cancer a ‘Profile in Courage’
By Rubin E. Grant Growing up as a University of Alabama college football fan, I wasn’t a fan of Pat Sullivan when he played quarterback for Auburn. But I was glad to see Sullivan win the 1971 Heisman Trophy because no player in the history of the state had won the prestigious award. When I came to Birmingham in 1979 and started my sports writing career, I interviewed Sullivan … [Read more...]
O Christmas Trees: Ho-Ho-Hoover Randle Event Celebrates Holidays With Tree Decorating and Helping Hoover Children in Need
By Ingrid SchnaderThirteen organizations in Hoover were invited to the first-ever Ho-Ho-Hoover Randle open house and tree decoration contest Sunday at the Hoover-Randle Home & Gardens. The Hoover-Randle group provided the trees, and the only instruction to the area organizations that decorated the trees was that each tree should tell a story about those … [Read more...]