By Lee Davis It’s been 15 years since Krystle Johnson picked up her high school diploma, but she still bleeds orange and black. Johnson earned all-state honors as a center while leading the Hoover Lady Bucs to the Class 6A basketball title in 2001. Although she played college ball at UCLA and the University of Alabama, the lure of her high school roots remained strong. Her … [Read more...]
Labor of Love: Hoover Resident Tackles Ultimate DIY Landscaping
By Sarah KuperHaving lived in many areas of the country, Sid and Gayleen McLean always embrace new habitats, both personally and horticulturally. “Everywhere we have ever lived we have done the landscaping. It’s something I learned from my mother,” Sid McLean said. The couple had retired and moved out west, but when Sid McLean inherited his parent’s home in Hoover, … [Read more...]
Opinion Role: BSC’s Natalie Davis Takes the Public Pulse
By Lee Davis When Natalie Davis accepted a position as a political science professor at Birmingham-Southern College in 1972, she never saw it as a long-term proposition. “I had gotten my undergraduate degree from Stetson University in Florida,” Davis recalled. “I thought I’d teach at Southern for two or three years and go back to Florida. Instead, my husband and I fell in … [Read more...]
The Adventures of Fred Norrell: Homewood Man Pens Memoir of Boyhood on Lake Martin
By Sarah Kuper Fred Norrell said he wasn’t looking to pen a bestseller when he began writing his book, “A Boy’s Adventures on Lake Martin.” Rather, his goal was to put in writing for the next generation stories of a bygone era, of a childhood spent outdoors. “I really wrote it for my son,” Norrell said. “He didn’t have the childhood adventures I did – he wasn’t as interested … [Read more...]
Trophy Case: Spain Park Staff Earns National Award
By Lee Davis A decade ago, C.J. Hawkins left a successful program at Clay-Chalkville to become the new softball coach at Spain Park. On her first week at her new job, Hawkins realized the challenge she faced. “We were cleaning out the dugout and found an award they had been giving to players for diving for a fly ball – just diving for it, that’s all,” she said. “We knew then … [Read more...]