By P.J. Gossett
General manager
HAMILTON — This just might be a Christmas to remember. As this is being written, predictions are for a harsh arctic blast to sweep in Thursday night with the lowest temperatures we have seen in years. Some are talking about this being the coldest Christmas since 1989.
The Greatest of All Time. The GOAT. These words and titles are thrown around pretty flippantly now and typically used in sports arguments.
You have your favorite player, you call them the GOAT, then the arguments start.
But, how often do you actually label someone the greatest of all time and actually mean it?
There aren’t many athletes in my lifetime that I have seen who I’d be able to label as the greatest in their sport.
There are two sports where the argument has ever made sense to me: basketball and soccer (football if you are inclined to call it that).
As we begin to celebrate the Christmas season and close out 2022, allow me to share the story of two great Jefferson County/Alabama political legends.
Alabama Supreme Court Justice Mike Bolin is retiring at the end of the year from the state’s highest judicial tribunal. Bolin is a young 72 and would not have retired and would have sought and been elected to another six-year term if it were not for an antiquated state law that disallows someone running for a judgeship in the state after age 70. Bolin is one of the most popular and well respected judges in Alabama.
Laying my hand on the Bible in Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker’s office less than 24 hours after beginning my second term in the Legislature, I was taken aback to realize four years had passed since my inaugural oath. Lawmakers take office at midnight following the elections, which were held on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
In 1902, an Alabama woman’s experience on a snowy day produced one of the most commonly used inventions of the modern era. While riding a streetcar in New York City, Mary Anderson noticed that her driver had to frequently get out of the vehicle and wipe snow off the windshield. This sparked an idea that led her to design the first operational windshield wipers, improving driving conditions for all drivers who would come after her.
Jo Bonner was officially sworn in as the fourth president of the University of South Alabama on Sept. 23, 2022.
The University of South Alabama is the crown jewel and flagship of the Alabama Gulf Coast. It is a sprawling, manicured, beautiful and functional modern campus. It is currently the third largest university in the state. Under the leadership of Bonner, it will grow and prosper to where within the next decade it will be thought of as one of our premier “Big Three” major flagship universities along with the University of Alabama and Auburn University.
For high school students, choosing a career path can be a difficult decision. They weigh many factors, such as personal interests, the rising cost of higher education, earning potential and accessibility of job opportunities. And in recent years, the challenging economy and job market has left many students uncertain about taking their next steps. A 2019 survey found that only about half of our high school students feel prepared for the workforce.
The teacher in this photo of Buttahatchee School students in 1944 is Pearl Holcombe. The school was located at the intersection of what is now Chalk Mine Road and State Highway 253, on the south side of the highway from the Buttahatchee Cemetery, which is all that is left of this long ago thriving place.
It was more than just a school. Vaccinations, adult education classes and Extension classes, among other events were held here.
In the early days, mail was delivered by any means possible, including horses, dog sleds, steamboats, trains and automobiles. This photo shows a rural mail carrier in Guin using a horse as locomotion.
The Guin Post Office was originally established as Caudle on April 24, 1883. It was changed to Guin on March 31, 1888.
The nearest post office when the name changed in 1888, was Pikeville, the oldest post office within Marion County.
Made and contributed by Bill Weaver, this shot of downtown Hamilton at night was taken about 1968 on Military Street North at the main intersection.
The courthouse is on the left, and the Marion County Bank Company building is in the center. This is now Wells Fargo. The Lion’s service station (a 24 hour service store according to the sign out front) across U.S. Highway 278 can be seen. A telephone booth is on the corner on the south side of 278.
