2
10
53
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/2539/archive/files/8e92e1b67277fe23411f0db132efc61f.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=VG6MIHFnJiAS3ORtme8TU5Eha4HO2pJKQUum3y4nlmEujXgOnbhpT7aV%7EAyVldFR6VdlCp62DPZjwJoXj1F8HF8kD-8vPSuUskLNzoem-MGYvMQxivdanCHJAwLvmo288tGrjACnBcnRffR2CMUhy%7E7NYMoE1KwAuMTzGfdYVF6vW2WKoX5F48ARADXds-LnJkn2yLt7FUDbwqy55N1tpxP%7EgKY00VMJlghWG6jfxkTm%7E2TWw-7%7E240rWdiPuA37AiV1hpFsXynRxQi0jod0OWoXe-EENet0VwKjZy1EMLxV88E8cqDmH2fGwd23VEwZpbyGTz8%7EoKbl%7EAQu6ynwwg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
e0817f4e669ec9768190e305acecf8ef
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa
Description
An account of the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr. wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr., 1889-1988
Subject
The topic of the resource
History---Tuscaloosa (AL)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
PROBABLY the oldest indoor swimming pool in Tuscaloosa was the University Bath House. It was located just north of the present Music and Speech Building on the campus and was fed by a bold, cold spring – Marr’s Spring – which was the prime reason for locating the University on its present site.
The bath house enclosed a circular pool about 16 feet in diameter and about 6 or 7 feet deep. A continuous flow of spring water was the only sanitary treatment of the water but the extreme coldness of the water kept the use of the pool to a minimum. Its closet known rival as to chill was the large spring at Coaling which was the source of the Big Sandy Creek.
The bath house was not kept locked – an open invitation to the small boys in the area. I recall bicycling to the pool with a small group of boys. I dived in expecting to swim across the pool but the shock from the cold water made me change my mind before I reached the surface and I changed my course 180 degrees while under water and scrambled out at the point of entry. We went to the Warrior River to complete our swim.
The only other indoor swimming pool I recall was in the basement of the YMCA building located on the northeast corner at the intersection of 21st Ave. and University Blvd. It was constructed about 1908. The concrete pool was about 12 feet by 24 feet and was without tile lining and purification system.
The normal schedule was to drain the pool and scrub down the floor and walls and then refill with city hydrant water. The boys had the use of the pool from Monday through Friday and then the girls were magnanimously given the exclusive use all day Saturday after which the pool was drained.
To conclude the old swimming holes articles, it might be apropos to mention some of the present day pools of Tuscaloosa.
The privately owned pools are too numerous to try to chronicle. These pools are usually works of art, tile lined, recycling water purification systems and many of the desirable appurtenances such as springboards, slides and the like.
Included in a list of major pools – both indoor and outdoor are:
1. U. of A. Natatorium. This is a regulation pool 75 feet long with eight swimming lanes. Both the water and building are heated when needed. The depth varies from 4-1/2 feet at the north end to 12 feet deep at the south end. Its other niceties are too numerous to mention. Spectator seats are provided along the west side.
2. The new YMCA in Tuscaloosa is well equipped with an excellent swimming pool – a gift from the David Warner Foundation.
3. The Benjamin Barnes YMCA has a similar pool, also a gift of the David Warner Foundation.
4. In Queen City Park there is an excellent outdoor pool with bath house and many pool appurtenances – a gift from the David Warner Foundation.
5. Both the Tuscaloosa and Indian Hills Country Clubs have excellent tile lined outdoor pools with all the necessary accessories and dressing rooms.
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Newspaper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa, September 23, 1971
Subject
The topic of the resource
History--Tuscaloosa (AL)
Maxwell, Fred (Frederick Richard Jr.), 1889-1988
Swimming pools
Description
An account of the resource
Fred Maxwell wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
To see the complete article enlarged click on the image.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fred Maxwell
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Camille Elebash
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
September 23, 1971
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Brenda Harris (Description)
Tuscaloosa Public Library
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1961
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Tuscaloosa (AL)
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/2539/archive/files/ea59f00385bf1c1947cfe55ffc4d5077.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=TUWH%7E5ZayqvqySVBgnLgoYj927JJnlPIILx8fo5kiCwZ69F%7EQbvZ2N9U3N8oGZxHYO8Hg0CIH8upm%7EkgPhqF0f5QAkpcR7CvQ7-hOG5UXoiL5OV8TADPmXg3d7kKThibJ08wG3HsFcIMDrBMEesUwon%7EMgnpnysGfrdrVWpl7YiWA8pbWOS6t5y7xXvgql85nw0pej--b-yFsAj89Ra9zrtD6Qd7CWTAhEzNTTagjyRPx9BP%7EaItkXaivAJvPEe56YZ8vFdehYSL-RCP3mB3VwNhDYHp98XI98x6M53l4iO2n-dwXEgGiC7ihwSdDIbS9jitp0%7E4buvoAI8sN3jHYA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
c69564e3d0119ceff1384ece26a89382
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa
Description
An account of the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr. wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr., 1889-1988
Subject
The topic of the resource
History---Tuscaloosa (AL)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
(Editor’s Note: This is another in a series of articles on old swimming holes in Tuscaloosa.)
There were three lakes in the environs of Tuscaloosa that were largely used for swimming. They were:
1. Lake Loraine
2. Fern Lake
3. Stallworth’s Lake
Lake Loraine was located on Bryce Hospital property and was well developed. In addition to the lake there was a bath house, a boat house (boats for rent) and a pavilion for picnics and dancing.
It could be reached by the old horse-car (end of line) and later by the dummy line or by horse and buggy.
A remnant of the lake can be observed today by looking east between the two L&N overpasses on the 82 Bypass just south of the new river bridge near the city water pump house.
Fern Lake was also on Bryce Hospital property just east of Gulf States Paper Corp’s plant near Holt. It was a beautiful lake equipped with a bath house and a skiff for fishing and for frog gigging.
Stallworth’s Lake appeared late on the scene (circa 1918). It was located on the west side of the foot of River Hill and across the road from the Tuscaloosa Motor Co. It covered much of the space occupied by the pre Civil War industrial complex which included a foundry, cotton mill, shot tower and other industrial activities. A dressing room existed at the site.
When this lake was abandoned it was used as a garbage dump and covered with dirty by the city. There is little evidence now of the area ever being the site of a swimming lake.
There were several good swimming holes in the various creeks a few miles out of the city limits. Included among these were:
A. Binion Creek near Samantha, an important tributary to the new Lake Tuscaloosa.
B. Hurricane Creek about eight miles northeast of the city. The water was fine but the creek was infested with leeches. Some physicians used leeches for bloodletting, an accepted treatment for some physical ailments. Once attached to a human body these slick rubbery parasites could seldom be removed by grasping and pulling with your fingers but a sidewise slap with the open hand would easily remove them.
C. Big Sandy Creek with its origin in a big cold spring near Coaling had the reputation of being the coldest water in the whole area. There were many swimming holes along this creek and the place I learned to swim was at Duncanville about 14 miles south of Tuscaloosa.
D. North River – A wonderful campground and swimming hole was located about three miles up North River where the first rapids or shoals were encountered. This spot is just south of the new dam for Lake Tuscaloosa. I hope to re-visit this spot some day and see if I can locate any of the large beech trees in which I carved an arrow pierced heart with my initials below the arrow. It would be interesting to see whose initials are carved about the arrow.
E. Little Yellow Creek – this creek was best reached by canoe. It was on the north side of the Black Warrior River just below old Lock 13. Subsequent to our use of this swimming hole Lake Harris and Lake Nicol have been developed as a source of water for the City of Tuscaloosa.
(To be continued next week.)
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Newspaper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa, September 16, 1971
Subject
The topic of the resource
History--Tuscaloosa (AL)
Maxwell, Fred (Frederick Richard Jr.), 1889-1988
Lakes
Swimming
Description
An account of the resource
Fred Maxwell wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
To see the complete article enlarged click on the image.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fred Maxwell
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Camille Elebash
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
September 16, 1971
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Brenda Harris (Description)
Tuscaloosa Public Library
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1960
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Tuscaloosa (AL)
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/2539/archive/files/f2b88063d25db6ac84da6711f37ca786.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=SMfBpk8Qhf3N6RGEy8ZfQrnpNnhs1XAY1B%7EbHbm0CYCMJEVb9cCWGOe8PlmNkdOA313bmCWGVaRE-UT%7ENuAbJosB5ihdRwIgAh92cDT5qmLBvWuniAqL8bU%7EPLVsDiolV9-y21VOuLjoo3XPCF5MN-isx8gRH1d%7EB%7E2gLAj9ZSH10Uei7A9Dj5nEH7j-p9od8NlnwhJVqsL5tDq-Sz1DIkKCPcJIo78Ym3XpHuAqT-U16kPh%7Ezs462jaLHTR%7EPuBO2mOluFf-D8P%7Eu5oUCCx5DT55S1kvC9UMKHffonNMeRACxUL4RDAGcCMehfJm-L6E5V-SBRwqSPUuQPykeaYcQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
64faf2953601ea2c8651881d48d8eecf
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa
Description
An account of the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr. wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr., 1889-1988
Subject
The topic of the resource
History---Tuscaloosa (AL)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
September 9, 1971
(Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of Mr. Maxwell’s comments last week on old swimming holes in Tuscaloosa County.)
THE BLACK Warrior River provided almost unlimited swimming availability, however the nature of the banks, the ecology and easy access resulted in about four locations serving the greatest number of swimmers. These four were Riverview, Rock Quarry, the “Barge”, and the steamboat landing just below the old river bridge.
“A” – Riverview had many advantages such as:
1. Served by the street car line.
2. Served by a good graveled road.
3. Dressing rooms (at certain decades).
4. Concrete swimming pool (after 1915) with springboard and slide.
5. Located upstream from the city’s sanitary sewers that emptied untreated into the river.
“B” – The Rock Quarry was not for the beginners or timid souls. It was patronized largely by the more experienced and expert swimmers.
There was a rock quarry on the south bank of the river a short distance below Riverview that supplies a large quantity of stone that went into the construction of Locks and dams No. 10, 11 and 12. The tipple for loading the stone on barges had several levels of cross timbers which permitted a diver to select a height that his courage and confidence allowed him for a dive. The water was about 30 feet deep at this point.
“C” – The “Barge” was the product of a local swimming club. The club purchased an old river barge and anchored it in the river just north of Pinehurst (between Locks 10 and 11). Since the river was rather deep at this location a pen was built on the west end of the barge for swimming beginners with a latticed floor to keep its occupants from getting in water over their heads.
The barge was first anchored near the south bank of the river for convenience in boarding, however for ecology reasons it was shifted to the north side of the river. A skiff was provided to carry the swimmers to the barge, however most of the good swimmers preferred to swim across in spite of the ecology.
“D” – The steamboat landing on the south side of the river between the old county bridge and M&O Railroad river bridge was very popular for small boys primarily because it was so convenient. The road to the river before its level was raised by locks and dams below gave a gentle slope into the water not provided in other river swimming holes. Another feature the boys seemed to enjoy was the almost total absence of adult swimmers. This must have been due to the fact that another sanitary sewer emptied into the river near this location.
So there was an ecology problem without a sponsor even in those days.
(To be continued next week.)
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Newspaper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa, September 9, 1971
Subject
The topic of the resource
History--Tuscaloosa (AL)
Maxwell, Fred (Frederick Richard Jr.), 1889-1988
Swimming
Black Warrior River (AL)
Description
An account of the resource
Fred Maxwell wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
To see the complete article enlarged click on the image.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fred Maxwell
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Camille Elebash
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
September 9, 1971
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Brenda Harris (Description)
Tuscaloosa Public Library
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1959
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Tuscaloosa (AL)
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/2539/archive/files/1f659ed985451f4ac85dcd0a2ae79d9a.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=aWqKIgyRyyk4800FeASNh-cuKN%7EqP4D47EkPG%7ExwQkJZcq7p7dmrpXli6X4cgOLE3nKrq%7Efd-FqjX8QVZxopywGcG1OVYfJC2s6YJIS8xtZAKh5RHVpHxHNhSddhzXj8VmSaF88DVIgB7VEO%7EFgvp4WYVHBc1gfn9LJncr5PBQJF4UXgWG8uoNIdMyyjQSa7g8qeZiEjNW%7EHyCzBUR5L-GudbQQoY4M6AQjUTbwkoP2EVR%7EGtvVUSafrzPNJeH31Yb3-OBjel3QCldONfbbeL7nd2MWrpSfCG0EH376s2XZ2k9CZnVcNo9kC3lAYTHvyWKfUnM-0hVPO3m7mwgcUDg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
4183d0d0254f5c2444e80c6e3cda85ae
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa
Description
An account of the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr. wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr., 1889-1988
Subject
The topic of the resource
History---Tuscaloosa (AL)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
NOW that the outdoor swimming pools will soon be closed for the Winter, let’s recall some of the old swimming holes of 1900 and later.
The Culvert. A small spring fed branch of water flowed west along the north side of the AGS & Warrior Southern Railroads, thence southwards through a culvert under the railroad tracks and on via creeks to the Black Warrior River several miles below. The culvert is located in line with the junction of the University of Alabama Alavet Apartments and Thomas field.
The water was very cold and just deep enough to swim in. There was a hazard in the area –quicksand—but the boys were aware of it and respected it. There was an unconfirmed rumor that a cow got caught in the quicksand and sank out of sight and was never recovered.
Swift Creek. This was one of my favorite swimming holes. It was located near Moody Swamp just beyond the railroad crossing—AGS and M&O—near Kaulton. There were deep holes for diving, waist deep parts for playing around and also swift shallow sections ideal for water wheels and other temporary constructions.
A worn path along the railroad track made an excellent bicycle route. A favorite multi-mode of transportation was to ride a bicycle to the M&O depot, catch the freight train bound for Montgomery (when we could meet their schedule) and jump off when the train stopped to blow its whistle at the crossing and then continue to the creek by “ankle express.”
“Last man in is a rotten egg.” Only seldom did we catch a freight train back to the depot. The fun we had at the creek more than made up for the long walk back to the depot and bicycles.
Spencer’s Mill. The grist mill pond on Snow’s Creek in Northport was very popular with old and young alike. The dam provided ample deep water for diving. The mill house was used as a dressing room while its foundation timbers allowed enough climbing hazards to satisfy the youngsters. The rope swing was ideally located to allow “take off” from a high bank and “drop” into the deepest part of the pond.
Mrs. Anna Harris, who learned to swim after she had passed her 60th birthday, gave performances from the rope swing that would put “the man on the flying trapeze” to shame.
This excellent swimming hole was inundated by the new Oliver Dam backwaters.
(Editor’s note: To be continued next week.)
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Newspaper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa, September 2, 1971
Subject
The topic of the resource
History--Tuscaloosa (AL)
Maxwell, Fred (Frederick Richard Jr.), 1889-1988
Swimming
Description
An account of the resource
Fred Maxwell wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
To see the complete article enlarged click on the image.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fred Maxwell
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Camille Elebash
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
September 2, 1971
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Brenda Harris (Description)
Tuscaloosa Public Library
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1958
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Tuscaloosa (AL)
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/2539/archive/files/fe4dc3658362c40ab8463c644f3c04f3.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=Zgl3t09k9YOie1RvYJ8I5lAFfrwjtU7EhmNZksq301adH5LbobgLxztHlqD3CNfQRFuif412XSJI%7EhDbyqWqB8LNa7-Z6qJv41E4DMvWjT1cbI6SrDTtT8MKHutxbXyG1znIAoCbvWVmlOaMO7qQrbI4ZAX91KQeKBofFirCdBB%7EC0tDJl86d3slDWBj-I4wkAh1izlVASMivGoRzXQC5uaOVIV-9yN6HmRSae0fUZWggkR59i-5eytRcvHmvkg5Ge6LkoK8dJg1uSEUdSo7nNVqcuZfUV8YmlDvHA2-qBzuKJGNsuCmeMbWYC9guVYt76nmc%7EEOC-8VV-pJNH6q%7Ew__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
10d2963bda1d2561dc9a394ee89cf2a6
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa
Description
An account of the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr. wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr., 1889-1988
Subject
The topic of the resource
History---Tuscaloosa (AL)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
(Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of last week’s column on the air fields of Tuscaloosa.)
In 1940 Parks Air College contracted to train Army Air Force Cadets through their primary flying course. Later groups of English and French cadets were added for training for their respective countries. Naturally this lead to congestion at Van de Graff Field since the CPTP training planes were light piper cubs while the Army primary trainers were larger and faster Stearman biplanes. Since the Army pay was considerably more remunerative than the CPTP pay the CPT Program became the “red-headed step-child” at the Van de Graff Field.
The conflict was finally cleared by the Parks Air College opening up a new landing field at or near the Spiller place on the Greensboro highway (No. 69). Although this field had few facilities since it met the CAA requirements the University was glad to shift to the new field in the interest of safety. The new field was named Foster Field in honor of Richard Clark Foster, Pres. U. of A. After World War II activities at the Van de Graff field slowed down considerably, Parks Air College moved back to St. Louis in about 1945.
J. B. Carl who operated the drug store in the Alston Building undertook the management of the Van de Graff airport. In about 1950 in conjunction with R. (Bob) A. Cardinal, J. B. Carl organized the Dixie Air, Inc. and this firm has operated the airport to date.
Up to about 1955 there was only a take off strip or runway that was paved. The City of Tuscaloosa realized that the activities at the airport were bound to increase so that an aviation committee which included Col. W. Van Brown, Air Force commandant at the U. of A., as chairman, Herman Burchfield, oil dealer, and others were appointed to serve the city in its aviation endeavors.
Many improvements at the airport are the result of this committee. Paved taxi ways have been added so that the main strip is used only for take-off and landing.
The most noteworthy recent improvements at Van de Graff Field are the 6500 foot paved jet take-off and landing strip with the necessary taxing and loading aprons also paved, and the modern terminal building erected.
Another outstanding accomplishment of the aviation committee is that through their efforts the U. S Air Force has inaugurated a program that gives students at the U. of A. who are enrolled in the Air Force ROTC a voluntary flight training course. Van de Graff Field has the honor of having operated the first and now the largest college flight training course of the U. S. Air Force.
But “Old Tuscaloosa” is getting too up to date in its dealings. So for a real historical treatis of Van de Graff Field I recommend attending the dedication exercises of the new terminal building and jet landing field to be held soon.
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Newspaper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa, August 26, 1971
Subject
The topic of the resource
History--Tuscaloosa (AL)
Maxwell, Fred (Frederick Richard Jr.), 1889-1988
Airports
Description
An account of the resource
Fred Maxwell wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
To see the complete article enlarged click on the image.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fred Maxwell
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Camille Elebash
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
August 26, 1971
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Brenda Harris (Description)
Tuscaloosa Public Library
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1939
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Tuscaloosa (AL)
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/2539/archive/files/59180c75a7cfa5b806318a986cedf2b1.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=OYtS%7E1jpyWfU5bbeVppQAKfsRJXdEpAzzYQtNryUSSLLUo%7EdPFVdA1PMORco3r2with2V-ywdHANXoB5gTaZSc-%7EsS1YmJ4E12dQXPW0BiZnHn6LXtVZdF0zDHqZmEi64YtI737DW8YgPzxksiuonk6P%7EMeRWmJhbZo%7ERspRb78XRarmOC7mOvNDBRbucaUk6tamSqefmYfOY2NZI4iVhrv3Ebt3fNtdSn1cpSuzePQpYlsj8ohbCFaWolSldauChjywgO29qzXMls-swaO9PdVgtWNj0BszxFNyJDqP-SMkcBmAemHxWeneMr5zVCTRYppqpcDjiNViHNkwkJF8cw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
3e802f2aa9c99f88aaf3c390e910d769
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa
Description
An account of the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr. wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr., 1889-1988
Subject
The topic of the resource
History---Tuscaloosa (AL)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
(Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of last week’s column on the airfields of Tuscaloosa.)
After acquiring the Van de Graff Field property the City of Tuscaloosa was confronted with the necessity of proper development of its airport.
One of the most urgent adjuncts needed was a hanger for the housing, storing and repairing of airplanes together with an office, lobby and other pertinent facilities.
The existent large hanger was obtained through a Government PWA grant augmented by a loan of necessary additional funds from the University of Alabama. Dr. John M. Gallalee supervised the construction of the hanger. The University was granted certain priority rights in the use of the airport including the use of the landing field and the right to construct hanger, laboratory and classroom buildings in a designated area.
In 1939, with World War II already underway in Europe, our Government awoke to the face of the paucity of airplane pilots in this country. A Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) was inaugurated to provide a backlog of pilots and when if needed. It was planned to have no connection with our military establishments and to be handled (with a few minor exceptions) through accredited colleges and universities.
Thirteen Universities were selected in 1939 to run a trial program. The University of Alabama was one of the 13 chosen. In each case the school was to give the ground school portions of the training while a licensed local commercial flying school would give the actual flight training. Each school was allotted a quota of 25 students.
Professor Leslie A. Walker of the U. of A. faculty was chosen as the Director for the local project.
For the flight training an experience and first rate flying school, Parks Air College of St. Louis, Mo. was given a lease on Van de Graff Field for $1.00 a year and a contract to teach the 25 selected students to fly up to the proficiency of obtaining a private pilot’s license issued by the Civil Aeronautic Authority.
It is unique that the U. of A. CPTP was the only one of the 13 trial programs that completed its training which the scheduled time and qualified all 25 students for their pilot’s license.
It was also logical that Prof. Walker was called to Washington to administer the next college program.
As a collateral duty to my job as Prof. of Electrical Engineering I was made Director of the CPTP at the University of Alabama.
The 1940 CPTP was expanded to 450 colleges and universities. The quota of students for each school was limited to 50.
Due to the excellent record set in 1939 in addition to our regular quota of 50 students we accepted the offer to:
Pioneer an advance course to include acrobatics.
Pioneer the inclusion of coeds in the course.
Pioneer a non college course to be given in Montgomery (Competent instructors were recruited at Maxwell Field.)
Accepted an additional class of 35 students from a school that defaulted.
Many interesting stories could be told about some of the graduates of CPTP. After Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941 many of these graduates went into military flying in the Army, Navy, Marine and Air Corps.
While attending an Alabama Press Association meeting last November in Colorado Springs, Col., we were entertained by Lt. General T. K. McGehee at NORAD and ADC. After the banquet Major General William S. Harrell told me that he remembered me as the Director of CPTP in 1940 who got him interested in flying by accepting him in the CPTP course. He went into the U.S. Air Force and was still on active flight duty.
All five coeds completed the course with “flying colors.” Miss Sue Clarkson, now Mrs. Reese Phifer of Tuscaloosa kept up her flying since her husband was a military pilot and they owned their own plane. Miss Nancy Batson continued her flying after her CPTP course, owned her own plane after graduation. She joined the WAFTS and delivered B-24 and B-26 Bombers from the factory to their assigned air fields during World War II.
(Editor’s Note: To be continued.)
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Newspaper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa, August 19, 1971
Subject
The topic of the resource
History--Tuscaloosa (AL)
Maxwell, Fred (Frederick Richard Jr.), 1889-1988
Airports
Description
An account of the resource
Fred Maxwell wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
To see the complete article enlarged click on the image.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fred Maxwell
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Camille Elebash
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
August 19, 1971
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Brenda Harris (Description)
Tuscaloosa Public Library
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1938
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Tuscaloosa (AL)
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/2539/archive/files/75c712dd2fcb96c3df0da0cd3a3c0ace.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=ASRj-Ci8jgfn4DxWuZlY9%7EoCbgc1GoCIpIdSBj8jcFIQ3%7E4OpexquMzpVx53Hryg-XaE0-Z3y3oDQUhnU1uWSeDF04jCUzejN51TYB8bXGBAcfQQRpPvTjh9tEPzGY9ZZqTOKrS-pkRypP4QPmKhSgGVJtwU7TlRsC7u9QU0SCBmHcBpBZaZFzeYHA8kELJnI8E-L-8brBbLPPYo1miORH9nZ64hPOJtTBULN0Er4T9a51MFO-A3PRcNkBZMjulnJVoZBnfH82fsOsT0JLQj2ZGPT%7EM4fhk0Zp6KH9mDfLbJCeA0OJIPH5UE-QHlf%7EjAVLSSEQSwC5512IQ%7ELntpFw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
80c05abbbc3d72404ad16d7d61f36a3f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa
Description
An account of the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr. wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr., 1889-1988
Subject
The topic of the resource
History---Tuscaloosa (AL)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
(Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of last week’s column on the airfields of Tuscaloosa.)
Even as early as the opening of Maynor Field in 1929 it was realized that a much larger field would be necessary to meet the requirements of an adequate airport for our community. After looking over the entire county it was obvious that the large acreage just west and southwest of Maynor seemed to be an optimum location. Several apparently good areas down the Sander’s and the Foster’s Ferry Road were ruled out on account of extreme highwater conditions on the Black Warrior river would flood the airfield at a critical time when it might be very essential for emergency operations.
The desired property adjacent to Maynor Field belonged to the Van de Graff estate and was in the process of a complicated probation of a will and therefore considered off the market and unavailable.
Hargrove Van de Graff became very interested in an airport for the City and he was added to our Junior Chamber of Commerce committee on airport acquisition.
Hargrove’s enthusiasm over the project was outstanding, yet so great was his honesty and integrity that he refused to push the Van de Graff property until he was convinced that it seemed to be the optimum location. Together he and I went over all the sites I had considered and many more before he was convinced.
Hargrove was made co-chairman of the J.C.C. Aviation committee and it was worked out whereby the desired property could be sold to the City prior to the completion of the probation of the will by allowing the court of equity sell the property at a proper appraised price and the court holding the proceeds for final disposition.
At this point I retired from the chairmanship of the J.C.C. Aviation committee on account of passing the eligible age for membership.
Under the able leadership, the city of Tuscaloosa acquired by purchase the acreage for the enlarged airport and it was duly named and dedicated to Hargrove Van de Graff as Van de Graff Field.
The old Maynor Field was not included in the new airfield but was utilized as a gravel pit.
(Editor’s Note: To be continued.)
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Newspaper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa, August 12, 1971
Subject
The topic of the resource
History--Tuscaloosa (AL)
Maxwell, Fred (Frederick Richard Jr.), 1889-1988
Airports
Description
An account of the resource
Fred Maxwell wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
To see the complete article enlarged click on the image.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fred Maxwell
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Camille Elebash
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
August 12, 1971
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Brenda Harris (Description)
Tuscaloosa Public Library
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1937
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Tuscaloosa (AL)
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/2539/archive/files/7cba6af4849690a7fb756878cb07fb3f.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=Ne0xnmEuDRo-rfy69RzYMeKZzWD1qz04B8H6lUDUfnMtSbl6H8aPOwQwSmlVg95ugtx74ZcyfhQIWkVi35GeS6k-Oy0Pj9pZcQH15aPHlZIQRHjCwBE54ADxF2Dv0ErI0MjsDSQrZxgzofdq4CvrYshhLEio3bUnuw3Hh%7E%7Em5TSaSIPZgXHVTL389FVRQ8Vh9O9-eoptsCZUZFUKPSq9WNKHFnRjgMbbliaPgSAHZiPumeYOyJ7qY0EpUrUiV3sL1DMLv3KKsYJGW68KTPaC2DR26uCW7ZmAddZ7y3OnHfRyDrv2y99DypS3%7EaSWtwaVYLOaUwmp3scvNU7q7V3YQA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
8f958c18024ae9f9943aa6b326271a88
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa
Description
An account of the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr. wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr., 1889-1988
Subject
The topic of the resource
History---Tuscaloosa (AL)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
(Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of last week’s column on the airfields of Tuscaloosa.)
Tuscaloosa’s first aviation landing field “Druid Field” was officially closed about May 1925, but transient small planes continued to use the shrinking runway for two or three years longer.
In looking for a location for a new landing strip for airplanes it was noticed that a North-South strip of land between the M&O tracks and the Columbus road (Highway No. 82) laying just east of the current Tuscaloosa Airport – Van de Graff Field, although limited in size had some very desirable characteristics of location topography and drainage. It was noticed how quickly surface rainwater disappeared. It is now evidenced by the huge gravel pit that underlaid the field and has been deeply excavated to secure the gravel for market.
Permission was granted by the heirs of the Van de Graff estate to use this area gratis for a municipal aviation landing field provided we would vacate the property on request.
The surface of this field was given a smoother finish by the City and County of Tuscaloosa as was done for Druid Field. A 50 foot circle of white gravel was placed in the center of the landing strip as a marker to identify it from the air.
This field was dedicated on May 28, 1928 as Maynor Field. It was named for Eldridge (Doggy) W. Maynor who was the third University of Alabama student to be killed in W. W. I. He left the University in 1917 to join the 101st Field Artillery unit in the aviation (spotter) department. His diploma was granted post-humously. Notice of his death came in cablegram dated June 9, 1917.
The “log” for Maynor Field for May 28, 1928 shows the first entry as Eugene Maynor, brother of “Doggy” who flew in from Birmingham in a Curtis aeroplane.
The 106th Observation Squadron of Alabama National Guard took a prominent part in the dedication. Fly-ins by visitors included guests from Anniston, Birmingham and Meridian. Among the fly-in guests are: Wallace Aderholdt, Knox Ide, W. P. Aker, Jr., E. C. Lloyd, Bob Alston (all from Anniston); Lt. E. M. Rutz, Bobby Gill, John Gill, Lt. Lloyd Barnett, Asa Roundtree, Jr., Lt. O. C. Beatty (from Birmingham); L. C. Pope and Frank McDonald (from Meridian); Mark Hodo – President and Charlie Brelam – Secretary of Birmingham Junior Chamber of Commerce; Dick Merrill – U. S. Airmail pilot; A. J. Carroll – Manager St. Tammany Gulf Coast Airways, Inc.
Subsequent fly-in visitors include: Lt. Gross – U. S. Air Service, Montgomery; Lt. Berry – 106th Observation Squadron; D. Davis – Alabama Power Co. Advertising; Major Sumter Smith – Commanding Officer of 106th Observation Squadron; L. Poole – U. S. Post Office Department; Captain K. D. Brabston – 106th Observation Squadron; Lt. George R. Bynum Jr. – 106th Observation Squadron; Universal Flyers, Inc. – Flying Circus; Gates Flying Circus – Paterson, N.J.; E. R. Klow – Montgomery School of Aeronautics.
The last entry in the Maynor Field log was made as of March 15, 1928.
(Editor’s Note: To be continued.)
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Newspaper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa, August 5, 1971
Subject
The topic of the resource
History--Tuscaloosa (AL)
Maxwell, Fred R. (Fred Richard), 1889-1988
Airports
Description
An account of the resource
Fred Maxwell wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
To see the complete article enlarged click on the image.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fred Maxwell
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Camille Elebash
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
August 5, 1971
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Brenda Harris (Description)
Tuscaloosa Public Library
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1936
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Tuscaloosa (AL)
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/2539/archive/files/e888a61d47d42a83e24fe716e744647c.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=hSGdFyobrp0Q4hcDElriMl2ZK399oGw2PH4KoNjIMEoHzTAZIa-pS4V-0m5U6Rauj8iwjUfwEsphJxMHIqRx6ovbFQmGT7qXJF%7EZbUufDqXN71CFRYC%7EAv3EuhiP0WLSmxWtZ47L4fGBIT9KlMCZ8rKNaER3CrqN34WAeWkSAKdP-bYYUUatjWkKpAHtMvEOiF4JyEVEUCvNWjikHovrhk1A0IWivctosf4aJvZSnQkB-ohChRTOoo%7E53Ez8IXCX5EGCpfODAlP5WsFmuXh517ONB3ZWoul-Y6vDFKketuOw2%7EYP0V01P2hLnzt8WERyhbT3IzBUQ9uhUbjeMOYdJQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
9a0525acf0ee81f7e10b256c9d3f91e5
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa
Description
An account of the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr. wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr., 1889-1988
Subject
The topic of the resource
History---Tuscaloosa (AL)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
TUSCALOOSA’S new jet landing airport on Van de Graff Field with its 6,500-foot paved runway is a monument to the city and a credit to the city’s farsighted commissioners.
“Large oaks from little acorns grow.”
Let’s take a look at Tuscaloosa’s first steps toward a modern and adequate airport.
Shortly after World War I with a number of Army Air Corps training planes (Jenny’s with OX-5 Curtis motors) sold at bargain prices, a large number of freelance flyers appeared on the scene. They were called “Gypsy Flyers” and their trade called “barnstorming.” These flyers traveled around the country carrying passengers for a short hop, usually for a fee of $2 to $5. Since this was about the first chance the average citizen had to go up in an airplane they did a thriving business.
Another type of flyer was small groups of aviators called a “flying circus” who were classed as stunt flyers. They put on exhibitions of daredevil deeds which included wing walking, changing from plane to plane in midair or from a moving automobile to an airborne plane as well as putting a plane through a repertoire of loops, barrel rolls, spins, and other maneuvers. These shows were put on for a price, usually by “passing the hat,” and in my opinion the spectators got their money’s worth.
With the thought of future passenger, mail and express by scheduled aviation, I brought up in a Junior Chamber of Commerce meeting that if such a facility was desired that it should be initiated early while suitable property close to the heart of the city could be acquired. I was rewarded by being appointed chairman to obtain a landing field.
Since neither the city nor county were interested in such a project at this time it put a difficult aspect to the problem.
The Army airmen of World War I used a vacant field (for practice) east of Pullen Town (east of Hackberry Lane and south of the present Sears Roebuck store). After the war the field was idle and the owner agreed to let us use it gratis with the understanding that we would vacate on short notice. (I think both parties felt that if the project was successful that the city would acquire it by purchase.)
Both the county and city cooperated in leveling the cotton rows with a scraper to give a smooth dirt surface.
On June 2, 1923, Druid Field was dedicated with a suitable ceremony and speeches. The newly formed Alabama National Guard Aviation Squadron No. 114 operating out of Roberts Field, Birmingham cooperated to the fullest extent. Several of its planes were in attendance.
The commanding officer of this unit was Maj. J. A. Meisner, a World War I ace (credited with eight German planes) and a member of Eddie Rickenbacker’s famous Lafayette Escadrille.
The log for Druid Field includes the names of several outstanding pilots. Included are Capt. Sumpter Smith, Glen Messer, Lt. J. A. Kirkham, Thomas E. and William Quick (Huntsville), Lt. K. D. Brabson, the Gates Flying Circus and Mabel Cody’s Flying Circus.
The log for Druid Field concludes with this note:
“Druid Field was sold by its owners and divided into lots thereby closing the field about May 1925.
“No official record was kept after this date. The following list represents some of the planes that visited Tuscaloosa later and is compiled from memory.
“…Mabel Cody’s Flying Circus, Old Gold Cigaretts, Tri-Motored Fokker.”
(Editor’s Note: to be continued.)
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Newspaper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa, July 29, 1971
Subject
The topic of the resource
History--Tuscaloosa (AL)
Maxwell, Fred (Frederick Richard Jr.), 1889-1988
Airports
Description
An account of the resource
Fred Maxwell wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
To see the complete article enlarged click on the image.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fred Maxwell
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Camille Elebash
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
July 29, 1971
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Brenda Harris (Description)
Tuscaloosa Public Library
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1935
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Tuscaloosa (AL)
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/2539/archive/files/1af64a0d4c31c5f3c93b4a92b05d2d09.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=NlYkXxkrvG5vh3f7FT6L-lhL4PYbzUUHZADu6suB0SDFrwMXCs-2xyxOstn18qQFkDJCx9tr%7EqWv5V-%7EAdXU64tT-EhtfSDSJ5mufglO3JFOpwvCNtOp6Cn4hPm9189GEAuOnf5JhzRM8NGwxv3EE61b%7EDfLciFEcbSbZ0XbGSCM9-lkk%7ENyeTt-9gCI8nHw6ofi5YT3LTUTMk9kXiO7sdT0IcJKC9EPAyHrgS5fEZokbxkP6QmuCzEWn0RwEtjGfH0KcW4Ry8zV%7EYRRrPqqEkzYdv09SgglAFz1L51KHq-4mpu6bi5QLoxkVv6OWPpomdNvQ2RHo2SaXufphVo4uQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
972c5db79c38e3ed47f0b421cc419797
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa
Description
An account of the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr. wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Frederick Richard Maxwell Jr., 1889-1988
Subject
The topic of the resource
History---Tuscaloosa (AL)
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
(Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of last week’s column on some of the “fun things” boys used to do around 1900 playing near the wholesale grocery at University Blvd. and 23rd Ave. owned by the author’s father and uncle.)
*****
Buried treasure is always exciting and the store furnished a convenient location. There were two iron gratings on the store’s front sidewalk which furnished ventilation to the basement.
The basement was not lighted and I was not allowed to play in this area. However when I accidently dropped my favorite marble “taw” through the grating I prevailed on my father to let me try to recover it. I not only recovered my agate marble but I found about $1.30 in small coins that had been lost through the grating and had not been disturbed in several years. Subsequently this area frequently yielded 15 to 25 cents a month.
It was observed that a flock of about 10 to 12 geese would walk up 23rd Ave. about 3:30 to 4 p.m. just about every day to pick up the small amount of grain (corn and oats) that was dropped on the ground in handling the large sacks of grain. These domestic geese came from somewhere near Lock 10.
On a few occasions I gave them the following excitement. A small hole was drilled in a single grain of corn and a string was fastened to the grain. At the other end of about 10 feet of string a sheet of newspaper was gathered together in the middle and tied. This grain of corn was included in a handful of corn which was placed near the loading zone. The geese lost no time in gobbling up the corn.
Soon one goose would stand erect with the string protruding from his beak and his sound of an alarm started the geese to retreat. But when the newspaper followed along pandemonium broke loose. First they all ran and sometimes they took to wing and flew across the Warrior River.
The grit in the craw would grind up the grain of corn and quickly release the goose from the pesky “thing” that was following him wherever he went.
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Newspaper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
I Remember Old Tuscaloosa, July 22, 1971
Subject
The topic of the resource
History--Tuscaloosa (AL)
Maxwell, Fred (Frederick Richard Jr.), 1889-1988
Description
An account of the resource
Fred Maxwell wrote "I Remember Old Tuscaloosa" for a weekly newspaper in Tuscaloosa called The Graphic from December, 1970 through December 1971. The Graphic was founded, owned and published by Maxwell's daughter Camille Elebash and her husband Karl Elebash beginning in 1957. It was sold to The Tuscaloosa News in 1976 and ceased publication sometime later.
To see the complete article enlarged click on the image.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Fred Maxwell
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Camille Elebash
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Graphic
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
July 22, 1971
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Brenda Harris (Description)
Tuscaloosa Public Library
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1819
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Tuscaloosa (AL)