“We Keep You Connected” Sweet Seasons Farm · Connected Sweet Seasons Farm hosts their annual ... most troubling of all are allegations of a captain who failed his primary duty

Clyde Wisner’s love for Plainview

sPans the deCadesCreate your own masterpiece at

Zivery art studio

ConnectedSweet Seasons Farmhosts their annual Art at the Barn event

Published for themembers of

“We Keep You Connected”

March/April 2012

What were they thinking?

As this column is written, newspaper and television headlines continue to cover the wreck of an Italian cruise

ship, the Costa Concordia. Images of the cruise liner lying on its side amidst rocky shoals are truly stark. Worse yet are videos of crew members tell-ing passengers, “It’s just an electrical problem. Go back to your cabins.” But most troubling of all are allegations of a captain who failed his primary duty and then committed a ship captain’s worse sin: abandoning his ship, passengers, and crew. Please don’t misunderstand me. This is no rush to judgment. In fact, the ONLY thing we know for sure is that we DO NOT yet know the whole story. It will be a long time before we do and, candidly, we may never know it all.

Still, there are a few obvious facts. First, the ship ran aground and began taking on water and listing to its star-board side. The Italian Coast Guard learned of the accident from police on shore who were called by passengers from the ship. When the Coast Guard asked the ship’s command if assistance was needed they were originally told no. According to Wall Street Journal accounts, the captain spent much of his time immediately following the accident on the phone with his cruise line. Ap-parently, his first action after damage re-ports was not to issue an order to stand by all boats and prepare to evacuate the ship. Only the ship’s proximity to the shoreline prevented this from being a horrible maritime tragedy. And so the question: Talk on the phone or prepare for a possible orderly evacuation? What were they thinking?

While we are talking about ship-wrecks, let’s revisit Titanic. After all, the 100th Anniversary of that tragedy approaches. Imagine being in a room with the brightest maritime engineers and designers of the early 20th century. Someone makes this suggestion. “Let’s put only half the number of needed life-boats aboard.” Another person asks why and is reportedly told a full complement of boats would unnecessarily clutter the

decks. I suppose, and hope, someone also asked what would happen should there be an accident. The famous an-swer, of course, was that the Titanic was “unsinkable.” Well, if the boat was un-sinkable then why would it need ANY boats? What were they thinking?

So what am I trying to say? The captain of the Costa Concordia did not become Master of that boat by being an idiot and neither were the men who designed and built the Titanic. The point is quite simple; smart people make stupid decisions. Often, harsh reality reveals just how ridiculous those decisions actually were. For example, after what happened to Titanic, can you imagine suggesting only half the num-ber of boats necessary? This discussion wouldn’t bother me so much but for one thing: I am guilty. Thank God I have missed a few icebergs or I would not be writing this article. I suspect many of you can relate. The last time I checked, no one is perfect. During a recent safety education series, I challenged all of our employees to avoid at all costs any of those “what were they thinking” mo-ments. We can do that, of course, if we JUST THINK. Please, I beg of you, for your own sake, approach major deci-sions of your life with caution. Examine the consequences of your actions if there is a bed of rocks or an iceberg in your path that you don’t see. We make a dif-ference in our lives by paying attention to those little things that many people take for granted or don’t consider at all. That’s part of the price and hard work of getting it right. Maybe no one will ask of you or yours, “What WERE they thinking?”n

Fred Johnsonis Executive Vice President and GMof FarmersTelecommunications Cooperative, Inc.

is a member-owned corporation dedicated to providing communications technology to the people of Northeast Alabama. The company has over 16,000 access lines, mak-ing it the state’s largest telecommunica-tions cooperative.

ConnectedVol. 16, No. 2 March/April 2012

is a bimonthly magazinepublished by Farmers Telecommu-nications Cooperative, © 2012. It is distributed without charge to all

member/owners of the Cooperative. Send address corrections to:

Farmers TelecommunicationsCooperative, Inc.

P.O. Box 217144 McCurdy Ave. N.

Rainsville, Alabama 35986Telephone: (256) 638-2144

www.farmerstel.com

Produced for FTC by:WordSouth Public Relations, Inc.

www.wordsouth.com

On the Cover:

Sweet Seasons Farm in Valley Head is 175 acres of rolling hills and beautiful scenery. Owners Richard and Paulette

Manning host an annual Art at the Barn event each May. Read more on

page 10.Photo by Monica Dooley of Mon-el Fine

Art & Images in Boaz.


General Manager Comments

Board of TrusteesRandy Wright, President

Flat Rock Exchange

Gary Smith, Vice PresidentFyffe Exchange

Danny R. Richey, SecretaryGeraldine Exchange

Lynn Welden, TreasurerBryant Exchange

Kenneth GilbertPisgah Exchange

Gregg GriffithHenagar Exchange

Randy TumlinRainsville Exchange

2 Connected - March/April 2012

Phone: 256-638-2144 | online: farmerstel.com“We Keep You Connected”

FTC ExClusivE BroadBand • HigH-Speed BroadBand internet

with speeds up to 6 MB**

• 15 MinuteS outgoing CallS nationWideoverages will be billed at 25¢ per minute.

• unliMited incoming calls

$5995Per Month

onlyADD

DigitAltelevision

(over 170 channels*)

$119 95Per Month

*Number approximate. Actual lineup may vary. **Speeds are approximate, not guaranteed. Some areas not yet capable of receiving this service.Some restrictions apply on use of FTC’s Unlimited Long Distance Service and Unlimited Incoming Calling. Please contact FTC for additional information.

The Connected Life is made possible by

Are youliving connected?

“Catching up with friends on Facebook... while Pandora plays my favorite songs!”

“I rule at Madden NFL... no matter what country my opponents are from...”

“I just found a YouTube video of how to bake the perfect dish... so much better than a recipe!”

“Connecting to my server back at the office saves me some serious commuting time...”

Connected - March/April 2012 3

Optical fiber technology has been used for years in tele-communications networks.

Now, FTC is using the same technol-ogy that forms America’s communica-tions backbone to bring lightning-fast Internet and crystal-clear television service into homes and businesses.

“It’s amazing,” said Greg Wigley, an engineering assistant with FTC. “We have the latest technology, and it’s allowing us to offer world-class service to our customers — service that many people in the big cities don’t even have access to.”

Simply put, fiber optic lines are hair-thin strands of refined glass that are used to carry information at close to the speed of light. One tiny strand allows FTC to deliver broadband Internet, high-definition television and crystal-clear phone service to members. Because bandwidth on fiber is virtually unlimited, an amazing amount of information can be trans-ferred over the line. “The range of services we can offer is just so much wider than has ever been possible,” Wigley says.

Fiber allows fast downloads and capacity for all of your connected devices. Some households, with game systems, smartphones, multiple com-puters and Wi-Fi enabled televisions, can max out the capacity of traditional copper lines. Fiber provides the band-width needed to get the most out of all your favorite devices.

Also important for rural coopera-tives like FTC, fiber service does not noticeably lose speed like copper does as it gets farther from the central of-

fice. “With copper, the farther you go out the slower the service is,” Wigley says. Fiber gives FTC customers access to the same download speeds as resi-dents in Birmingham, Atlanta or other urban areas.

“It’s as fast as they’re going to get anywhere,” Wigley explains. “To be able to offer that in a small market is significant.”

And it’s not just families that will benefit from fiber. In future issues of Connected, we will examine how businesses, medical professionals and government agencies have benefitted from broadband connections and how their work will be enhanced by fiber. “Everybody will benefit,” Wigley says. “The capabilities that fiber will allow businesses will be unlimited.”

FTC crews are working hard to bring that upgrade to all of our customers, but the process takes time. After the fiber mains are laid in your area, expect a letter in the mail notifying you about the opportunity to upgrade. If you opt for upgraded services that require a fiber connec-tion, a crew will come out and plow a line running from the main to your home. Outside the house, the box and wiring will look similar to your exist-ing copper connection. “A week later, you won’t even know we’ve been in there,” Wigley says.

So far, from the feedback Wigley has heard, members like the idea of world class Internet speeds. “They’re very pleased with it,” he said.

“They’re excited to be able to get the faster speeds. It’s been a very posi-tive reaction.”n

new lines will bring state-of-the-art internet speeds to local homes, businesses

Note: This is the first article in an ongoing series examining how world-class fiber Internet access will benefit various sectors of our community.

By Andy Johns

thepower oF Fiber


March is national Kidney MonthAccording to the National Kid-ney Foundation, 4,000 names are added to the national waiting list for organ transplants every month, and about 18 people die every day while waiting for an organ trans-plant in the U.S.

How to get involved:

Donation Support the work of the National Kidney Foundation by making a monetary donation online at www.kidney.org/support. Dona-tions help fund patient education, early detection screenings, profes-sional education, research and or-gan donation awareness.

Living Donor Living donation takes place when a living person donates an organ or part of an organ to someone in need of a transplant. The donor is most often a close family member, such as a parent, child, brother or sister. A donor can also be a more distant family member, spouse, friend or co-worker. Non-direct-ed donors — those who donate anonymously and do not know their recipients — are also becom-ing more common. Learn more about living donation by visiting www.livingdonors.org.

organ Donor If living donation is not your choice, you can still help save lives by identifying yourself as an organ and/or tissue donor. This can be done on your drivers’ license or by signing a donor registry. Simply visit www.donatelife.net to learn more about all the options.

keeps hope alivePaula Nance

There is a suitcase sitting beside the door in Paula Nance’s home in Rainsville,

filled with everything she will need when the call comes. She tries not to think about that suitcase, or the call, as the days turn into months, and then years. It has been two already – and the waiting makes it hard for her to keep hope alive.

Paula needs a kidney, and time is running out. She has been on a transplant recipient list at UAB hos-pital since the day she first packed that suitcase. The phone call she is waiting for, saying a donor has been found, is the one that could save her life.

Diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease in 1995, she is no stranger to the genetic disease that has ravaged her mother’s family. Seven family members, including her mother, grandfather, three aunts and two cousins, have already lost their lives. And Paula fears for her own.

Her kidneys began to fail a year-and-a-half ago, and she was placed on dialysis. Paula chose to use peritoneal dialysis, a type which allows her the freedom to stay at home and self-administer the treatment each night instead of traveling to a dialysis center.

“When my kidneys started to fail and I went on dialysis,” she says, “I didn’t want to tell anybody. I’m very independent and I didn’t want people to feel sorry for me. But it was a terrible burden to bear alone, knowing I might not live.”

After finally opening up about her disease to her church family at Naza-reth Baptist in Rainsville, she felt the burden lift. “My church family and Pastor Roger (Graham) have been a tremendous source of love and support,” she says. “I couldn’t make it without them.”

Paula also found that her friends were anxious to help in any way. So were her coworkers at the DeKalb County School System, where she has been a computer software technician for 18 years. “It’s still hard to talk about it with people,” she says.

Paula is one of more than 105,000 people currently on the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) list awaiting an organ transplant in the United States.

While she waits for the phone to ring, she draws strength from her faith in God and the love of her husband, Eddie, and daughter, Brandy Byrum. “I don’t know if I’ll get a kidney,” she says. “I hope so, but I’m not sure if that is God’s plan for me. If He chooses to use my life this way, I’m okay with that. But I do want to live.”n


A friend of thecommunityClyde Wisner’s life has

intersected with Plainview

School for more than seven

decades. At 92, he is still in

love with the community he

helped shape through his

hard work and generosity.

By Stephen V. Smith

Drive through a town like Rainsville and it’s easy to see the progress that has taken

place in the past few decades. New businesses, highway development and community buildings are evidence of a population that works together, sup-ports one another and wants to leave their corner of the world a little better than they found it.

What you don’t often see are the stories behind the stories, the people who were in the right place at the right time — and with the right heart — to do something positive that would im-pact their community for generations to come.

Such a man is Clyde Wisner. Were it not for Wisner’s hard work and love for his community, Plainview School could in fact be located somewhere else today, and the DeKalb County Schools Coliseum might not have been built at all.

Learning to workWisner was born near Powell

in 1919. When he was five, his fa-ther died and his mother was forced to move the family to Fort Payne, where she worked for 18¢ an hour in a hosiery mill. At age 92, Wisner still

recalls those tough years after his fa-ther’s death. “It was a pretty hard time back then,” he says. Their home was so poorly sealed that he remembers snow blowing in and watching chick-ens underneath the house through the cracks in the floors.

Those early days taught Wisner to work. He cleaned the house, swept the floors, made up the beds and car-ried his little sister on his back to the babysitter. When his mother remarried and the family moved to the Chavies community, he continued doing his share and more, plowing and hoeing on the family farm.

Wisner’s work ethic opened an opportunity for him that would begin his lifelong connection to Plainview School. When he was 14, he was of-fered a job by Massey Patton, a man who owned some of the land around where Plainview sits today.

Patton was assisting a Mr. Shigley of Valley Head and a Mr. Jones with the construction of the first Plainview School, as Wisner remembers. “Mr. Patton told Mr. Shigley and Mr. Jones that he had just as soon have me help-ing him as any man he’d ever seen,” Wisner laughs. Patton would back a wagon to the edge of nearby Town

Creek, and he and Wisner would fill three large barrels with water. They would drive the wagon, with its steel spring seat, to the construction site, where they would dip and pour the water into barrels there.

The job was not full time, and he was only paid 10¢ per hour, but Wisner says “I was tickled to death to get a job… for years I didn’t even have enough money to buy a Coca-Cola.”

Helping run the schoolThe mid-1930’s were difficult for

a poor country family, and Wisner continued to work hard to help make ends meet. As a 16-year-old, he was less interested in school and more interested in earning money. “Things didn’t work out just right,” he recalls. “I didn’t have books, I didn’t have paper, and had no money to buy any with.”

But that didn’t keep him away from Plainview School. Wisner hauled in coal and kept the heaters going in the nine classrooms during the winter months. He kept water in the pans that sat atop the coal stoves. He swept the rooms once a day, and the hallway twice a day.

The “dollar watch” Wisner kept in


his pocket let him know when to ring the large school bell, telling students when recess began and when it was time to get back to class. During recess, he handled sales at the little candy store set up in the principal’s office.

Coming home to Sand MountainAt age 22, Wisner married his

sweetheart, Dane Marie Carlyle. He worked in a furniture factory in Rome, Ga., for a while, then joined the Navy where he served in Virginia during World War II. After his discharge, it didn’t take long to decide on the next move for himself, his wife and their new son, Ricky. “I’ve never found a place yet that is any better place in the world than Sand Mountain,” he says. “I believe the best people in the world are on Sand Mountain.”

In 1965, Wisner realized his dream of owning enough land to farm on a respectable scale. He bought a 99-acre Chavies farm from the family of G.O. Durham, paying $14,000 in cash. “It was all the money I had,” Wisner recalls. Over the next several years he would raise hogs, cattle and corn there, steadily improving the farm by clearing land and building ponds.

Clyde Wisner stands with his sweetheart of 70 years, Marie, on the site where he planted his first cotton crop in the 1960s. Wisner sold the land for Plainview to build its football field. In the distance sits the DeKalb County Schools Coliseum as it is being repaired from the April 27 tornado. Wisner raised corn on that land for years before selling it for the construction of the Rainsville Civic Center.

Wisner was reconnected with Plainview during this time, driving a school bus for 16 years. But his biggest contribution to the school was yet to come.

Making expansion possibleAs Plainview School continued

to grow, the need for land became evident. Wisner owned some 20 acres around Plainview, and thus held the key to the school’s future. “A trustee of the school came to me and asked if I’d sell 10 acres,” Wisner remembers. The trustee told Wisner that Plainview needed a football field in order to become a high school. If that couldn’t happen in the current location, the school would have to be moved.

Even though Wisner didn’t like the idea of giving up part of his farm, he disliked the thoughts of relocat-ing Plainview even more. “Of course, I didn’t want no part of moving the school, so I sold them the land,” Wis-ner says. That would not be the end of his sacrifices for Plainview.

In the mid-70s, Wisner received a phone call from Plainview principal W.D. Kirk, asking him to visit his of-fice. When he arrived, Wisner found Ray Williams and Dr. Marvin Barron there as well. The group said they wanted to see a coliseum built next to Plainview, and Wisner’s corn field was the perfect spot.

“I raised some mighty good corn on those 10 acres,” Wisner says. “I had a one-row corn picker on a Ford tractor. I enjoyed that the best in the world, gathering that corn… I’d pull that Ford tractor back in first gear and go to it, and it just pulled that corn off and threw it in the trailer.”

Wisner loved farming those acres, which supplied some of the corn nec-essary for his hog operation. But there was something he loved even more — Plainview School. He offered the land at $3,000 per acre. “Someone told me I was the craziest nut that he’d ever seen,” Wisner laughs. “I said ‘why?’ and he said ‘that ground’s worth a dollar an inch!’”

But the idea of a growing Plain-view School was worth even more to Wisner. He still remembers the names of some of those who went door to door in the community to raise funds for the purchase. Dewey Williams, Ray

Williams, Hugh Don Williams, G.R. Williams, Marvin Barron and W.D. Kirk. “In about three weeks, they came up with the money,” he says.

The project hit a snag when or-ganizers realized the DeKalb County Board of Education did not have the money to build the coliseum. A meet-ing was held and Wisner was asked if he would mind letting the City of Rainsville build the coliseum instead, since it could borrow the money as a municipality. “I told them it was fine with me, as long as the city would give the school some benefit out of it,” he recalls.

The Rainsville Civic Center opened in 1981. The DeKalb County Board of Education purchased the property from the city in 2001, renam-ing it the DeKalb County Schools Coliseum.

Wisner has been to many events in the coliseum through the years. “I love it,” he says. “I see lots of good friends every time I’ve been in there.”

He is also very proud of the renovation being done to the building following the direct hit it took from a tornado last spring. “I was afraid they would have to tear it down.”

As Wisner looks back on his long life, he is not impressed by the story of the young boy so poor he couldn’t afford a Coca-Cola, who grew up to be a large landowner who blessed his community. He never considers the fact that his hard work and generos-ity made him the right man in the right place to do the right things to help his beloved school grow. When Wisner thinks about his time here on earth, he sees only how he has been blessed, with a wife he has spent the past 70 years with, a son that lovingly cares for them, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, a family at Chavies Church with “the sweetest bunch I’ve ever met in my life,” and a community that loves and respects him.

For Wisner, life is summed up simply: “Me and the wife have been mighty pleased and happy.”n


It was the worst scene Dewitt Jackson had ever wit-nessed. As director of the DeKalb County Schools Coli-seum, he knew the building inside and out. Throughout

the drive home from Montgomery, where he had been at-tending a legislative event with Alabama’s county commis-sioners, Jackson tried to imagine what the coliseum looked like based on the phone calls he was receiving.

When he arrived at the site where an EF-5 tornado had slammed into the back of the coliseum, he became physi-cally sick. Standing in the parking lot littered with metal and smashed vehicles and debris from homes of people he knew, he wondered at the fate of the structure that would soon celebrate 30 years of service to the people of Rains-ville, DeKalb County, Sand Mountain and beyond.

“It took six weeks to determine that the building was structurally sound,” says Jackson. Even so, the extensive

damage to the roof system was allowing rain to pour in and deteriorate the building. An emergency phase was contracted in order to dry in the building.

As part of this process, all trusses were replaced. Rolled insulation, the type used before in the roof that was visible from below, has been covered in metal decking.

The roofing insulation is just one feature that will help make the building more energy efficient. Additional insulation has also been placed in the side walls that were repaired. The building will also boast high-efficiency lights, electrical system upgrades and a climate-control system that balances comfort with affordability.

In February, the DeKalb County School Board made its final determination on what enhancements would be made inside. The work will bring great improvements to the com-munity facility. n

air ConditioningThe lack of air conditioning has always been one of the challenges with the facil-ity. With the energy efficiency improve-ments, operating a cooling system will now be more affordable. Two large fans,

like the ones in the Agri-Business Center on Highway 75 North, will circulate over the “blue seat” sections, and a smaller separate cooling unit will be added to handle the lobby for when events are held in that space.

neW BleaCHerSThe mechanical parts of the 30-year-old bleachers were wearing, making it diffi-cult to manually pull them out and align them properly to avoid cracks that could catch a foot and cause injury. The new bleachers will extend and retract elec-tronically, ensuring proper alignment. They will also feature several flip seats for additional comfort.

elevatorThe stairs from the lobby to the arena have always proven to be a difficult climb for many citizens. When the coliseum re-opens, an elevator will provide quick ac-cess to those who want to avoid the steps.

Better than ever when repairs are complete, the DeKalb County Schools Coliseum will feature many improvements for convenience and comfort

improvements coming to the Coliseum


CPNI:Understanding your rights

Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative, Inc., (FTC) wants you to understand your right to restrict the use of, disclosure of and access to your Customer Proprietary Network Information, or CPNI. You have a right and FTC has a duty, under federal law, to protect the confidential-ity of your Customer Proprietary Network Information.What is Cpni?

It is the information that FTC obtains that relates to the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location and amount of use of the telecommunications service you subscribe to from FTC. It includes the infor-mation that is found in your bills, but it does not include subscriber list information (name, address and telephone number).

Examples of CPNI would be the telephone numbers that you call, the times you call them, the duration of your calls or the amount of your bill.use of your Cpni.

CPNI may be used by FTC to market services that are related to the package of services to which you currently subscribe, when providing inside wiring installation, maintenance and repair services, and when marketing “adjunct to basic” services, such as call blocking, call waiting and caller I.D. CPNI may also be used for the provision of customer premises equipment (“CPE”) and services like call answering and voice mail or messaging, and to protect Company property and prevent fraud. A carrier may use CPNI to bill and collect for the services you receive from the company.

FTC and its affiliated companies offer additional communications-related services. We seek your approval to access your CPNI so that FTC, and its affiliates, can pro-vide you information on new services and products that are tailored to meet your needs or may save you money. if you approve of our use of your Cpni as described above, no action is necessary on your part.

You have the right to disapprove this use of your CPNI by contacting us in writing at P.O. Box 217, Rainsville, Alabama 35986, or by phone at 256-638-2144 or toll-free at 866-638-2144, within thirty-three (33) days after this notice is sent to you. Our drop box, located at 144 McCurdy Avenue North, Rainsville, Alabama, is accessible twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days per week. If you disapprove of our use of your CPNI, you may not receive notice of new services or promotions, but your existing services will not be affected. If you do not notify us of your objection within thirty-three (33) days, we will assume you do not object and will use your CPNI for these purposes. You have the right to notify us at any time to object to the use of this information. Your election will remain valid until you notify us otherwise.

Thank you for your patronage!

Important notice to subscribers regarding your Customer Proprietary Network Information

It has been almost a year since tornadoes turned life upside down in Northeast Alabama.

No one has forgotten the storms, or the many precious lives that were lost.

A group of citizens, led by a city councilman, wants to make sure no one ever does.

“We just want to always remember them,” Rainsville Councilman Bejan Taheri says of the 34 DeKalb County residents who will be memorialized on a new monument. “I want the young people to realize not to take things for granted. Some-thing like that can happen pretty quick.”

Taheri and other locals have been working to get a marble memorial in place at the DeKalb County Schools Coliseum. “It’s very important to remember we got through it,” says Luanne Bowman, former chairperson of the Rainsville Beautification Committee. “We’re resilient and if bad times come again in whatever shape, form or fashion, it’s important to remember we can come through it again.”

The memorial will include an angular, black marble monument, as well as a fountain and waterfall. One side of the monument will feature the names of the 34 victims, while the other will have a depiction of a swirling tornado and snapped trees.

Taheri, who first proposed the monument, says he was in the basement of Rainsville Holiness Church when the funnel touched down. The idea for the memorial came to him in the days after the storms as he watched his com-munity struggle to recover. “I was riding around and looking at the devas-tation,” he remembers. “I just wanted something positive out of this. I said ‘What can we do to bring life back to the city?’”

He’s been impressed with the town’s response. Kirkpatrick Concrete and Supply, Johnson Lumber Company and S&S Wholesale Supply have all do-nated supplies, along with Adams Masonry from Chattanooga. Several local banks and the Rainsville Lions Club have donated money. Bird and Kamback Architects in Huntsville, who designed the coliseum, crafted the monument’s design at no charge. “People are just amazed by the way everyone came together,” Taheri says.

Bowman calls the support “amazing” and says even those without the financial means for cash donations have given of their time. “I think every-body’s on board with it and excited,” she says. “It’s been a real touching thing and a wonderful testament to our community.” n

a tornado anniversary service is planned forapril 28 at the Coliseum.

Donations may be mailed and made payable to:The DeKalb County Tornado Monument/Memorial • P.O. Box 396 • Rainsville, AL 35986

tornado memorial

Wayne Dukes (left) and Daniel Sapp work on a monument that will memorialize DeKalb County victims of the deadly April 27, 2011, tornadoes.


Sweet Seasons Farmif you have ever dreamed of a storybook

wedding or longed to visit a place where

beauty and simplicity take your breath away,

you are going to fall in love with Sweet

Seasons Farm in Valley head.

Just a short distance from Fort Payne lies one of the most charming and fastest-growing visitor destinations

in DeKalb County: Sweet Seasons Farm.For more than 40 years, Richard and

Paulette Manning have put their hearts into developing the picturesque rolling hills and green pastures of their 175-acre working sheep farm — making it an ideal destination for both visitors and cameras. Besides being one of the oldest and largest farms in the state, it is also a model example of the many ways to have fun with a family business.

The farm’s heirloom pumpkin op-eration was featured in a 2006 issue of Southern Living magazine, even making the cover. “We raised heirloom pumpkins for years, but now only on a very small scale,” says Paulette. “Since then Southern Living has done quite a few shoots at the farm featuring flowers mostly. They did a shoot on making wreaths, but mostly just used our scenery.”

These days the Mannings are more focused on their newest addition to the farm — the Event Barn. Artfully min-gling rustic charm with modern-day amenities, the barn is an ideal location

By Tina Thurmond


1 2

43

5

for weddings, receptions or large social gatherings of any kind. The Event Barn is available to rent during the months of April through Novem-ber, and offers a large commercial kitchen and plenty of atmosphere to make any day unforgettable.

Shabby Sheep Antiques, Pau-lette’s antique store on the premises, is open by appointment only through the week. “With parties and wed-dings scheduled a lot of Saturdays,” she says, “we’ve had to adjust our schedule to accommodate. I have booths at various places in town, too, so I don’t have to depend solely on sales from the farm’s location. A lot of my stuff gets used as props for parties held at the Event Barn.”

For more information about Sweet Seasons Farm, the Event Barn or Shabby Sheep Antiques, visit www.sweetseasonsfarm.com, call 256-635-6791 or find them on Face-book by searching Sweet Seasons Farm.n

1 A playful sign moves visitors along the scenic path to the day-long event. 2 Original art from local and regional artists can be purchased or just admired by the many visitors to the farm.3 Nearly 100 artisans are expected at this year’s event. Jesse Hemphill of Skirum Creek Forge will be among them with his hand-made Damascus Steel knives. “I’m honored to be among such a prestigious group of artists,” he says. 4 Sales from the baked goods at this years’ event will benefit a DeKalb County man who is battling cancer. 5 The rafters of the eclectic Event Barn at Sweet Seasons Farm are hung with 15 chande-liers, creating the perfect ambiance for an evening of fun. Sturdy farm tables coupled with mismatched chairs of every shape and size and topped with breezy tablecloths add to the rustic elegance. “It is a place you will never forget and will always want to come back to,” says owner Paulette Manning. 6 Glowing bride Abby Horton Albright poses with her wedding party in November 2011.

6

Art at the BarnSaturday, May 510 a.m. — 4 p.m.admission: Free

Art at the Barn is an annual event hosted by the Mannings at their farm where artists and artisans from across the region showcase their work. This year will be the fourth and largest in the event's history with almost 100 vendors and more than 1,000 guests ex-pected to attend.

Spend the day browsing and purchasing original paintings, handmade pottery, jewelry, iron and metal works, blown glass, re-claimed wood furniture and much more. There will be a special Border Collie and sheep demonstration sure to delight visitors of all ages. Proceeds from the baked goods served at the Event Barn will ben-efit a DeKalb County man battling cancer.


Although The Zivery Art Studio in Fyffe just opened in Novem-ber 2011, it is a place owner

Ann Richards has been looking for her entire life.

Richards, who now lives in Ger-aldine, grew up in Sylvania. She was very loved, but as the second eldest daughter in a family of 13 children, her childhood was mostly spent taking care of her siblings and helping to run the household. There was little time to be a kid and sometimes her responsi-bilities weighed heavy.

“I was like a little mom,” she says. “For some reason, my father always called me the ‘Princess of Zivery.’” She liked the nickname, and although she never knew what or where Zivery was, she was sure if she ever found it there would be something magical waiting for her.

A blessed, broken roadRichards remembers her child-

hood fondly, despite growing up without the luxuries that other kids had. “We always wanted to go to other kids’ houses because we had so little,” she says. “But all those kids wanted to come to our house because there were so many other kids to play with.”

Out of necessity, Richards left school in the 11th grade and got her GED. She left home at 17 looking for that perfect life she had always dreamed of. Her road led to Gadsden where she moved into an apartment with her brother’s girlfriend. “I want-ed to go to beauty college,” she says. “Of course, college had never been an option in our house and I didn’t know anything about it.”

A chance encounter with the

right person helped Richards find the direction she yearned for in her life. “I went to the unemployment office and someone enrolled me in the CETA program and sent me to work in the Social Security Office,” she says. The Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) was a United States federal law enacted in 1973 to train workers and provide them with jobs in the public service.

“I got to go to Gadsden Busi-ness College where I got an associate degree as an executive secretary,” she says. “If someone hadn’t given me that opportunity, I’d have never gone to college.” Richards worked at the social security office for several years then decided to move back to DeKalb County to live near her family.

Eventually, she met and married Mark Richards from Geraldine. “After

a real Place for real art

Students concentrate on creating their own works of art at the new studio on Main Street in Fyffe.

By Tina Thurmond


we got married, I started going to a little art class just for fun,” she says. “That was when I discovered that I had a natural talent for art. I had never even tried to draw or paint anything until then.”

Learning by doingRichards learned some basic fun-

damentals in her classes, and began to pursue art more on her own. “I read lots of books and studied the works of artists like Leonardo da Vinci,” she says. “I taught myself to draw and paint. I found that creating art was one of the true loves in my life.”

In 1986, Richards, along with her mom and mother-in-law, opened a store in Rainsville called The Coun-try Connection. “I taught art classes there,” she says, “but then my hus-band and I started our family and we decided to close the shop.” Eventually she went to work for the Head Start program in DeKalb County. “I worked there for eight years,” she says, “and then I left my job to be at home more with my kids, Logan and Taylor.”

She became a member of the North Alabama Arts Council and remained active by doing murals and paintings for the public. But the desire to teach art again was something that never left her.

Zivery is a placeIn 2011, a large building that

Richards had always admired became available for rent. With each passing day, she began to dream of turning it into the place she had longed to find all of her life – Zivery. After a lot of prayer and planning, she stepped out on faith and made it her own.

“I named it The Zivery Art Stu-dio after my dad,” she says. “It’s an unusual name, but once people hear the story behind it, they understand.” With hours and hours of help from her sister Tammy Jones of Fyffe and her other family members, Zivery became a reality.

The studio is open to all ages and offers classes for everyone from begin-ners to experienced artists. “I teach private art lessons in painting and drawing,” says Richards. “I also offer ‘Simply Strokes’ art parties. They are fun group classes where people who are curious about art get together and

paint for a few hours and everyone takes home a finished painting of their own.”

Church groups, mother/daughter teams and friends who just want to get out and do something artistic come to the classes. “Some of the church groups even set up tables with food on them and they’ll paint a while and eat a while,” Richards says with a laugh. “The art parties give people a chance to see if they have a knack for painting or not, without making them feel self-conscious.

“I’ve got plans to have differ-ent artists visit in the future to teach things like watercolor and sculpting,” Richards continues. “My dream is to be a central location for different kinds of art. I would love for this to be a gathering place where all kinds of art-ists could perfect their craft.”

Kids love this placeThe Zivery Art Studio is very kid-

friendly with art classes and art birth-day parties. “Each child gets to create their own painting to take home, and we have a special party room in the back where they can eat and open their gifts,” Richards says.

While she enjoys all of her stu-dents, Richards admits there is a special place in her heart for children. “I teach Sunday school at Rainsville Church of God, and I have a heart for children who may encounter difficult circumstances like I did,” she says. “In my family, we were always the children watching from the sidelines; we were never the ones that got to be involved. My parents did their best for

us. They just couldn’t afford extras.”For that reason, Richards is ex-

ploring ways to offer scholarships to children and teens for art lessons or a day-camp during the summer where they could learn different art forms.

“As a child, I didn’t have an op-portunity to be introduced to art,” she says. “They didn’t have art in the schools back then and, due to budget cuts, there is very little of it in schools today. Because of that, I know that so many children do not realize the po-tential they have to paint or draw. And it is so satisfying to create something of your very own. I’d love to see The Zivery Art Studio be a starting place for anyone, any age, who wants to explore the world of art.

“It’s a very special place,” she adds. “And it really is magical in here.” Visit ziveryart.com to learn more.n

BIRTHDAY GIRL! Darby Culpepper celebrates her ninth birthday with an art party for ten of her closest friends. “She loved it,” says her mom Lori. “Now she wants to start taking art lessons.”

Artist Ann Richards smiles proudly in front of one of her paintings on display at the studio.


Ever since she was 8 years old and baked her first pan of brownies, Pat Harper of Dawson has been a natural in the kitchen. Never satisfied to cook anything the traditional way, she is known for her inventive and mouth-watering recipes that look every bit as good as they taste.

During the Easter holidays, Pat and her husband, Mike, a nurse anes-thetist at Gadsden Regional Medical Center, are very busy with church and family activities. They attend Grace Presbyterian Church in Fort Payne and have three grown sons: Seth (married to Beth), Brandon (married to Jenna) and Eric.

“When our boys are here, they love to eat,” Pat says. “But I don’t like to cook on Easter Sunday. I like to prepare things the night before so we can spend more time together. I also make dishes to take to our church functions. So it is important that everything be portable as well as delicious.”

Her most famous dish, according to her friends, is her fresh banana pudding topped with meringue. “Pat’s banana pudding is incredible,” says Alethea Wofford, a friend of Pat’s from church. “She bakes her meringue separately and puts it on top of the pudding after it’s finished. It’s not just delicious, it’s beautiful.”

Pat and Mike are very involved with their church and have gone on several church mission trips over the years. “We’ve been to Uruguay three times,” Pat says. “We love it there. The people are so wonderful. I cooked meatloaf and mashed potatoes for a youth group there on one of our trips. They loved it! They had never tasted food like that before.”

Although Mike just returned from a mission trip to Africa, the Harpers also do mission work closer to home. “We’ve been to New York City and helped people there,” says Pat, “and I cook at Bread of Life in Fort Payne

sometimes. I just love to cook and I love to care for other people. It’s a nice combination.”

At one time, Pat dreamed of opening her own restaurant, but never felt it was in God’s plan. “I believe I am exactly where the Lord wants me to be in my life,” she says. “And that is all that matters to me. I have a wonderful husband, and I was fortunate enough to work from home in my own accounting business and home school two of our sons. I am very proud of who all three of them have become.

“I’m very active in the women’s ministries in our church,” she continues. “I did a lot of work on our

cookbook ‘Gracious Dining II’ which is a fantastic and easy-to-use book. Several ladies in the church contributed recipes. Our church is actually full of great cooks.”

When she is not cooking or caring for others, Pat spends time with her mother, Lillian Stover, in Fort Payne. She even finds a little time to travel for fun.

“Mike and I went to Scotland last year for a vacation,” she says, “and it was so beautiful. It

looked just like a postcard.”The “Gracious Dining II” Cookbook is available

for $8 each or two for $10. Sales benefit the Grace Pres-byterian Women’s Ministry Group. For more informa-tion, email Pat at [email protected]

Gracious dining

Pasta salad 16 ounces rigatoni noodles, cooked al dente, rinsed, drained 1/4 pound diced mozzarella cheese 1/4 pound (or less) diced hard salami 1/4 pound (or less) thinly sliced pepperoni 1 bell pepper, coarsely chopped 1 cup (or less) chopped green onions Toss above ingredients together.

Dressing: 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 tablespoon salt 1/2 tablespoon sugar freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (no substitute) 3/4 cup oil 2.25 ounce can of sliced black olives, drained

Mix the oregano, salt, sugar, pepper and vinegar together. Add oil and whisk until well blended. Add olives and toss with salad ingredients. Chill overnight and stir well before serv-ing.

with Pat Harper


old-Fashioned Banana PuddingPudding: 2/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cups low fat milk 2 cups half and half 4 egg yolks (reserve egg whites and refrigerate until ready to use) 2 tablespoons butter 2 teaspoons vanilla

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in milk and half and half. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. In a small bowl, blend about 1/3 of the mix-ture into egg yolks. Return yolk mixture to hot mix; blend well. Cook until mix bubbles, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add butter and vanilla. Cool completely. (I make the day before or in plenty of time to cool completely in refrigerator, topped with plastic wrap.)

Meringues: 4-6 egg whites (4 from pudding recipe) 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 2 tablespoons sugar per egg white

Make the meringues right before you assemble the pudding, remembering that the assembled dessert needs to set for at least 6 to 8 hours for the wafers to soften. I usually add 2 to 4 more egg whites to have plenty of meringue (discard the yolks). Bring the egg whites to room temperature. Whip until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat until a little stiff. Slowly add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Then beat a little longer — 2 to 3 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with non-stick coating, then wipe with paper towel. Using a serving spoon, pile meringue on parchment paper in small heaps. Bake at 250º to 300º until brown, or about 15 minutes.

Dessert: pudding 4-6 bananas, fresher is better (not green) thinly sliced vanilla wafers meringues

Layer pudding, wafers, bananas, pud-ding, wafers, bananas, pudding. Top with meringue heaps, close together. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

stuffed eggs 12 eggs

Electric Stove method: Place eggs in sauce pan. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Turn off eye, but leave pan in place. Let sit for 30 minutes and eggs will be done. Drain off the hot water and cover with ice water to “shock” so eggs will stop cooking and be easy to peel. Peel eggs and cut in half, lengthwise. Carefully scoop yolk into small bowl. With a fork, crumble the yolks well.

Add approximately: 2 tablespoons light sour cream 4 tablespoons light mayonnaise 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard (to taste) 1 teaspoon vinegar 1 tablespoon sugar salt (to taste)

Whip with fork until smooth. Then fill egg halves. Keep refrigerated. Hint: If you don’t have an egg carrier, you can “scrunch” plastic wrap to set the eggs on to keep them from sliding.

german Potato salad 5 pounds red potatoes, washed well, 1/2 pound bacon 1/2 small onion, chopped very fine, to taste 3 ounces water 3 ounces apple cider vinegar 2/3 cup sugar celery seed and salt to taste1-1/2 cups Miracle Whip® salad dressing (do not use fat-free)

Boil potatoes with skins on. Let them cool then dice (not too small). Cook bacon. Pour out the fat, but reserve the drippings. Crumble the bacon on top of potatoes. Finely chop onions and add to potatoes. In the skillet where bacon was cooked, add water, vinegar and sugar to the drippings and heat just until the sugar is dissolved. Add celery seed to the pota-toes and pour the warm liquid on top. Stir in Miracle Whip salad dressing. Add salt to taste. Serve warm or cold.

German Potato Salad


P.O. Box 217• 144 McCurdy Ave. N.Rainsville, Alabama 35986


CroSSroADSto the ArtS

May 5 • 10 a.m.Rainsville

Several local artists, sing-ers and musicians, authors and storytellers will be at the Rainsville City Park and Bevill Center at this annual event. Many will have items for sale and will be demonstrating their special talent through-out the day. The entire family is sure to enjoy this day-long event! Call 256-717-4050 for more information.

Fiddler on the Roof at NACC Theatre

April 18-22 & 25-29, 2012Wed. – Sat. 7 p.m., Sunday matinees 2 p.m.

All seats reserved • Tickets $5 • 256-638-4418

The timeless classic Fiddler on the Roof is being brought back to the NACC stage for the fifth time. This award-winning musical includes such hits as “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” “If I Were a Rich Man” and “Tradition.”

Tevye is the father of five daughters, and they each fall in love with hopes of pursuing their own hopes and dreams. Much to Tevye’s frustration, however, each suitor tests the proud papa’s ability to accept the attitudes of a younger generation. Heartbreaking as often as it is heartwarming, Fiddler on the Roof never fails to remind audiences of the joys and hardships of life and the powerful bonds between good friends and loving family.

Administrative professionals Luncheon

Wednesday, April 25 • NoonBevill Center, Rainsville

Show your appreciation to your office staff by treating those who help keep your business running to a special luncheon on Administrative Professionals Day at the Tom Bevill Enrichment Center in Rainsville. The event begins at noon. There will be a catered lunch, entertainment and door prizes. Tickets are $20. Call 256-638-7800 for more information.

Documents

“We Keep You Connected” Sweet Seasons Farm · Connected Sweet Seasons Farm hosts their annual ... most troubling of all are allegations of a captain who failed his primary duty