By Rubin E. Grant Josh Donaldson has had more than his share of ups and downs the past few weeks. On Sept. 2, the Sunday after he returned from the Patriots’ season-opening meet in Memphis, his father, Dr. Steve Donaldson, died following a five-year battle with cancer. The elder Donaldson, 66, was a professor and computer science program director at Samford University, where … [Read more...]
Manhattan Melodies: Homewood Band Gears up for 40th Anniversary Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Performance
By Ingrid Schnader At 412 members, the largest band in Alabama calls an Over the Mountain community home. It’s the most-seen high school band in the South, and it has performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade more than any other high school band in the country — the Homewood Patriot Band. Band director Ron Pence is gearing up for the band’s ninth performance at the … [Read more...]
Football Has Long Been a Part of Renowned Artist Skipper’s Life
By Rubin E. Grant Internationally renowned artist Steve Skipper was once a standout high school football player. Skipper played linebacker for the Homewood Patriots in the mid-1970s, starting his junior and senior seasons. He patterned his game after two of the NFL’s most vicious hitters, Jack Lambert of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dick Butkus of the Chicago Bears. “I was … [Read more...]
Peruvian Import: Homewood Senior Loo is Right at Home on the Volleyball Court
By Rubin E. Grant As a young girl growing up in Lima, Peru, Alejandra Loo would look out the window of her family’s apartment at the volleyball players practicing on the court outside. She was fixated. “It looked like so much fun and when I saw the players mash the ball, I told myself I wanted to be able to do that,” Loo said. Loo told her mother she wanted to play, … [Read more...]
‘The Expectations for Us Are Really High’: Homewood Has Experience in the Right Positions
By Rubin E. Grant The Homewood Patriots enter the 2018 football season with designs on making a run at the Class 6A title. In 2017, Homewood came within a minute of finishing the regular season unbeaten. Then after a thrilling comeback first-round playoff win against Fort Payne, the Patriots were eliminated in the second round by Clay-Chalkville to finish the year … [Read more...]