Alabama
Miss Wallace State representative Savannah Lynn to compete for Miss Alabama title – The Cullman Tribune
HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Miss Wallace State representative Savannah Lynn is headed to Birmingham June 26-29, to compete in the statewide pageant and Miss America qualifier, Miss Alabama.
It was an unexpected turn of events for Lynn, a seasoned pageant contestant. On Sept 10, 2023, she was not named Miss Wallace State, nor the first runner-up. Instead, she was selected as the pageant’s second runner-up, leaving her third in line to make it to the statewide circuit. However, due to scheduling conflicts for the winner and first runner-up, Lynn was next in line and bravely stepped up to the challenge.
Said Lynn, “I remember right after that phone call, the first thing I did was pray. I was so nervous and excited at the same time and all I wanted to do, was thank God for this amazing opportunity.”
For Lynn, preparing for the pageant was more than just a routine; it was a part of her family’s legacy. Her two great-aunts, Sonya and Regina White, own the local pageant wear staple, Avenue Bridals. Lynn’s connection to the pageant world was established long before she could even walk, thanks to her glamorous great-aunts and their stunning outfits that always stole the show.
“I have participated in pageants since before I could walk, Lynn smiled. “ Growing up with a family who owned a pageant dress store was such a cool thing to me. I mean, how could I not participate in pageants? I have so much love for the pageant industry and it will forever hold a special place in my heart.”
While moving through the ranks of the pageant sphere and advancing her skills and on-stage performance, Lynn held those familial ties close to her heart. She said her mother, Heather Lynn, has been her biggest supporter through the hours of practice, rehearsing and countless tears, instilling a strong faith and sense of self in the young woman, no matter how tough the criticism or circumstances.
“I wouldn’t even be competing if it wasn’t for her. She has always been my biggest supporter in everything that I do and I’ll forever be thankful for her,” Lynn said emotionally.
Her mother’s and aunts’ support are what led Lynn to find her philanthropic platform, Back to Business. The platform hopes to bring awareness to and incorporate business skills in STEM courses in public education. Lynn is now next in line to run Avenue Bridals, keeping the storefront in the family. Her passion for business skills in STEM education blossoms from those familial ties and the needs she said she has seen for upcoming owners of small, local and family owned businesses that have lasted decades.
“We are the next generation to take over these small businesses one day,” she said. “I want students to feel prepared and excited about becoming business owners and working in the business industry.”
Lynn will compete in the Miss Alabama Pageant beginning at 7 p.m. on June 26 in the Samford University Wright Center. The pageant will not be broadcast publicly; however, tickets can be purchased online at Missalabama.com.
Copyright 2024 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Alabama
Alabama 4-star OL commit Micah DeBose transferring schools for final HS season
Alabama 4-star offensive line commit Micah DeBose has transferred from Vigor to Theodore for his final season.
Bobcats’ head coach Steve Mask confirmed the news to AL.com on Thursday. Mask said DeBose enrolled earlier this week.
“This was an educational decision for Micah and his family,” Mask said.
Both Vigor and Theodore are Mobile County Public Schools.
DeBose told AL.com on Sunday that he plans to graduate in December.
The one-time Georgia commit committed to Kalen DeBoer and Alabama during his official visit to Tuscaloosa on Saturday night. He told AL.com on his way back home Sunday that his recruitment was officially shut down.
“It was really their plan for how they are going to get me acclimated to college – that whole process. That was the difference,” DeBose said of why he decided to commit to Alabama.
DeBose announced his commitment in front of a room full of recruits and their families, Alabama coaches and some player hosts in Tuscaloosa.
He is the 8th-ranked senior recruit in the state, according to the 247 composite rankings, and the 8th-ranked player at his position in the nation. He joins Southside-Selma WR Derrick Smith, Carver-Montgomery RB Anthony Rogers and Saraland DL Antonio Coleman as top 20 in-state players in the Class of 2025 committed to the Tide.
Former Vigor coach Markus Cook said they sky is the limit for DeBose moving forward.
“He can be as good as he wants to be,” Cook said. “As long as he keeps God first, commits to the weight room and pursues excellence every day then the sky is the limit. Micah can be as Micah wants to be.”
DeBose goes from the Class 5A, Region 1 race at Vigor into the tough Class 6A, Region 1 race with Theodore. The Bobcats open the season against Baker on Aug. 23.
Alabama
7 old Alabama barbecue restaurants we miss the most
Alabama’s barbecue history goes all the way back to 1891, when the original Golden Rule Bar-B-Q opened east of Birmingham in Irondale.
Later, other iconic barbecue restaurants opened around the state — including Big Bob Gibson Bar B-Q, which began in Decatur in 1925, and Brenda’s Bar-B-Q Pit, which started in Montgomery in 1942 – and have stood the test of time.
But while those have lasted generations, many old Alabama joints that we thought would be here forever are no longer around, either because of a devasting fire or a downturn in the economy or simply because their owners finally decided to hang up their aprons.
We know there are dozens of others, but here are seven of those old Alabama barbecue restaurants that we miss the most.
The Brick Pit in Mobile
Best known for its pecan-smoked ribs — which longtime pit boss Jerry Edwards cooked “low and slow” for up to 12 hours — The Brick Pit was a beacon to barbecue lovers on Mobile’s Old Shell Road for more than 20 years. Outside, the old white house with the bright red trim has framed by Spanish moss, and inside, the walls and ceiling were covered with graffiti from customers who signed their names and left personal notes commemorating their visits. Founder Bill Armbrecht – whose friends started calling him “Brick” in high school – acknowledged in early 2017 that he was struggled to keep his business afloat and finally closed for good later that same year.
A brief history of The Brick Pit
Gibson’s Bar-B-Q in Huntsville
An extension of the legendary “Big Bob” Gibson barbecue family tree, Gibson’s Bar-B-Q started in Huntsville in 1956, when Gibson’s daughter, Velma, and her husband, Paul Hampton, branched out to open a place of their own. In addition to pulled pork, smoked chicken, smoked turkey and ribs, Gibson’s also serves barbecue stuffed potatoes, barbecue salads and Brunswick stew. More recently, Paula Mabry and her cousin Art Sanford — great-grandchildren of “Big Bob” – continued the Gibson’s Bar-B-Q tradition for nearly 20 years until an electrical fire in April 2022 gutted the kitchen and caused smoke and water damage throughout the restaurant. The Memorial Parkway landmark never reopened and was demolished earlier this year.
The history behind Huntsville’s Gibson’s Bar-B-Q
Goal Post Bar-B-Q in Anniston
Along Anniston’s Quintard Avenue, the neon placekicker always put the pigskin through the uprights outside Goal Post Bar-B-Q, a landmark in the Model City for a half-century. The barbecue and smoked hams were dead-on, too. S.A. Pruett opened the Goal Post in the early 1960s, and, according to The Anniston Star, he hired an Anniston sign company to design his iconic sign, which pointed the way to his restaurant. Over the years, a few Alabama football legends dined at the Goal Post, too, including Paul “Bear” Bryant and Joe Namath. The Goal Post closed in 2013 and the building was later demolished, but the neon sign was salvaged and now occupies a prominent spot outside another longtime Anniston barbecue institution, Betty’s Bar-B-Q.
Johnny Ray’s in Birmingham
Johnny Ray opened the original location of his eponymous barbecue restaurant in Birmingham’s Roebuck area in the early 1950s, and at various times, Johnny Ray’s operated multiple locations in the Birmingham metro area, including Homewood, Hueytown, Pelham and Vestavia Hills. Johnny Ray’s was equally beloved for its banana, chocolate, lemon and coconut cream pies – from recipes by Ray’s wife, Honey Ray – as it was its ribs and pulled pork. The last Johnny Rays’s, located in The Shops of the Colonnade off U.S. 280, closed in May 2022.
Ollie’s Bar-B-Q in Birmingham
While some places boasted of serving “Birmingham’s Best” barbecue or the “Best Barbecue in Alabama,” at Ollie’s Bar-B-Q in Birmingham, they skipped over all that and proudly claimed to serve the “World’s Best” barbecue. It said so on their sign outside the restaurant. Renowned for its slow-cooked Boston butts and vinegary barbecue sauce, Ollie’s began in 1926, and after moving to University Boulevard near the I-65 interchange in 1968, the restaurant served the Birmingham barbecue community for another 30 years at that location. As famous as Ollie’s was for its barbecue, though, the restaurant also made national headlines for another reason when co-owners Ollie McClung Sr. and Ollie McClung Jr. challenged the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited restaurants (and other businesses) from discriminating against customers based on their race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The case made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, but Ollie’s ultimately lost in a landmark decision. After Ollie’s closed the Southside location in 1998, the McClung family opened an Ollie’s in Hoover, but it closed within a couple of years. While the restaurants are no longer around, Ollie’s World’s Best Bar-B-Q Sauce is available by the bottle in grocery stores and specialty markets.
Price’s Barbecue House in Auburn
Jeff Price, who worked at Chuck’s Bar-B-Que in neighboring Opelika, convinced his parents, Lorene and Jesse Price, to open Price’s Barbecue House in 1978, back when the younger Price was a student at Auburn University. A fixture on South College Street near the AU campus – where a pig in an Auburn football jersey stood guard out front — Price’s was best known for its finely chopped, mustard-slaw-topped chipped pork sandwiches, a Lee County delicacy that is believed to have originated in nearby Columbus, Ga. Jeff Price later took over the business from his parents and continued to keep the fires burning at Price’s until he sold the site to developers and closed the restaurant in 2016.
Remembering Price’s Barbecue House
Twix ‘n’ Tween Restaurant in Centreville
Those of us who used to burn up the highway between Tuscaloosa and Montgomery couldn’t pass through Centreville without stopping at Twix ‘n’ Tween Restaurant for a barbecue sandwich – or just “a barbecue,” as we called it – with a side of fries, a cold bottle of Coke and maybe a wedge of icebox pie for dessert. The Twix ‘n’ Tween opened in 1952, and the name was chosen in a contest because the restaurant was between the adjoining Bibb County towns of Brent and Centreville, according to a story by the late, great Montgomery Advertiser reporter Alvin Benn. The Twix ‘n’ Tween had a glorious, 60-something-year run until it closed sometime in the mid-2010s. A Mexican restaurant occupies the space now, but the old Twix ‘n’ Tween sign still sits atop the building, a rusting reminder of the glory days.
Alabama
Alabama Retail Association says new retail theft law effective so far
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – The state’s new retail theft law has not even been around an entire year yet, but the Alabama Retail Association says it is working. They are noticing the sign of success, pointing to news headlines.
“We’ve had arrests in Cullman, and in Mobile, and in Hoover,” said Nancy Dennis with the Alabama Retail Association. She says the Retail Theft Crime Prevention Act is already stopping shoplifters. It creates harsher penalties for thieves and crime-ring organizers.
Nancy says organized crime is an industry in itself.
“There are people who will steal from retailers in various ways, then they will sell it online at a lesser price,” Dennis shared.
She says these criminals were not being prosecuted, stealing just under the threshold for charges. Now, prosecutors can group multiple thefts together.
Stealing over $2,500 of products is now a class B felony, and people caught four or more times for any amount will face a class C felony.
“The goal is to hopefully make these kinds of incidents be less and less,” the spokesperson said.
The Alabama Retail Association says this law also allows businesses to sign out warrants for arrests without leaving their stores, and provides training for prosecutors and law enforcement officials.
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