ODE TO JOY BIRDS
The singing kind are such joy birds,
One rarely hears a whiner.
Chirping, tweeting, hummingbirds
Make a fine day even finer.
My family’s Alabama farm was a certified Audubon Sanctuary. We didn’t just love birds and protect their habitats; birding was like breathing—literally a natural...
More than half the time I conduct interviews, the episode concludes with the interviewee saying one of two things (actually the same thing in two different ways):
“Make me look good, now!” And yes, most of them add the “now;” this is the South, you know.
“Please don’t make me look...
Editor’s note: Heather Mann is a reporter for The Cullman Tribune who recently returned to campus at Auburn University for her junior year.
Classes at Auburn University started Monday, but events have been taking place since Aug. 10 (the start of the university's Welcome Week). With more than 30,000...
Georgia Peach Heuchera, or ‘Coral Bells’ perform well in Southern humidity. / Loretta Gillespie
This charming little plant will soon become part of a heuchera collection, if you are anything like me. I started off with Plum Pudding and then had to have every new color the breeders developed.
Georgia Peach...
“I am running. I am running through moonlit woods, with branches ripping at my clothes and my feet catching in the snow-bowed bracken.” With this line, “Into A Dark, Dark Wood” by Ruth Ware grabs readers’ attention immediately and refuses to let go until the story has reached its...
This is a story that deserves to be spoken about with respect. Author Julie Kibler transports you back and forth through time as you hear stories exchanged between the two main characters, Isabelle McAllister and Dorrie Curtis. Isabelle is an elderly white woman in her 90s with no surviving...
America’s Founders regarded a free press as so vital to the new nation that they took care to include that right in the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Founders spoke glowingly about the press as a pillar of democracy and guarantor of liberty. Thomas Jefferson, for instance, famously wrote in...
“Of Women and Salt” by Gabriela Garcia, follows Jeanette, a young woman who is battling addiction and in search of the deeply hidden truths about her family's history. Her desperate quest for answers takes her from Florida to Cuba, Cuba to Mexico, and even further into South America. This...
Decisions, decisions. What was I going to eat for supper? That’s always an important question for me, but today is a special day. Today was the first day that my taste has come back since I had Covid (my fourth time, by the way). In addition, my wife’s out...
The Dripping Springs Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution presented Good Citizens Awards to Owen Griffith Lovell, of Cullman High School, Jefferson Lee Wayne Boyett, of Cold Springs High School, Taylor Lee Dover, of Fairview High School, Dawson Foust, of Holly Pond High School, Hannah Nicole Sumner,...
The purpose of this letter is to draw public attention and awareness statewide to a travesty concerning a profession that should command better wages. Some states, cities and counties are much more equitable than others, however, some officials need to be held accountable for the inequity they allow and...
In the five years since I became Chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, nothing has been a higher priority than making sure we provide world-class, affordable education and training so our students have the skills to succeed in a constantly evolving economy. During this time, we’ve successfully aligned...
CULTIVATE CULLMAN: The Countywide Arts & Gardening Celebration, which includes “Culinary Cullman” and musicians with Cullman County roots, grew from a seed of an idea to a big, beautiful, flowering thing faster than kudzu after an Alabama summer rainstorm. (Date for the 2024 CULTIVATE CULLMAN Arts & Gardening Show...
"Happy" is a song written, produced, and performed by American singer and record producer Pharrell Williams, from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack album. It also served as the lead single from Williams' second studio album, Girl (2014). It was first released on Nov. 21, 2013, alongside a long-form music...
My beloved father Randy Wilkerson died March 22, 2010, 13 years ago at the age of 61.
My father's love was unconditional, and he always wanted the best for me. He encouraged my dreams, my passions, and when I would suffer through the darkest nights of my soul in the...
We now have a huge war machine that dwarfs President Eisenhower’s warning about the undue influence of the military-industrial complex. In an Aug. 29, 2013 editorial for Common Dreams, Bruce Gagnon of the Global Network says, “We’ve become a killer nation. We have to have endless war, like a...
In an era where social media platforms amplify voices, it is imperative to exercise discernment between constructive dialog and counterproductive complaining. As evidenced by the recently concluded Oktoberfest in Cullman, which witnessed unprecedented attendance, the potent synergy of organizations such as Cullman Parks, Recreation & Sports Tourism, the City...
The city and county schools always do an amazing job at taking care of Cullman’s students and with summer just around the corner, they don’t plan to slow down. This summer, both the City and County Schools are implementing a Summer Feeding Program.
Here in the City, the program begins...
Alabama Republican Party Chairman Terry Lathan released an open letter to Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama on Thursday. It appears in its entirety below.
An open letter to Senator Doug Jones:
Stop it, sir. Please just stop it. The NFL referees in the New Orleans playoff game may not have thrown...
ODE TO FOUR, JOYFUL SEASONS
Spring is joyful, then there is also this,
Summer is such sunny bliss.
Autumn is a sweet molasses kiss, and
Winter is time to joyfully reminisce.
THE FOUR SEASONS: spring, summer, fall and winter were mostly named for “planting times.” The word “seasons” comes...
Residents of Cullman are likely familiar with this frustrating situation: only one or two options for internet service, and high prices for slow speeds.
Unsurprisingly, local internet speeds are 33 percent slower than the average for Alabama. According to speed test data, the average internet connection in Cullman only delivers...
Shane Quick is a “Home County Hero” of mine. The modern-day trinity of Frank Stitt, the James Beard Award-winning, celebrity chef/founder of Highlands Bar and Grill; Mother Angelica, the nun who founded the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament; and Shane Quick, the visionary founder of the star-studded and throng-delighting,...
MONTGOMERY - Final passage of a five-year farm bill by Congress today (Dec. 12, 2018) was welcome news for Alabama farmers eager to prepare for the 2019 crop year.
The House of Representatives approved the bipartisan legislation by a 369-47 vote, following Senate passage on Tuesday by an 87-13 vote....
Jeremy Hogan, founder of Saving Forgotten Warriors (Carol Berry)
Saving Forgotten Warriors’ mission statement is “Advocating for the health, safety and wellbeing of our military veterans no matter the era or conflict.” This statement was exactly what Jeremy Hogan described in our interview this week.
Jeremy didn’t really set out...
BRING YOUR GRANDMA to SEE “THE GRANDMOTHER MAGNOLIA” and BRING YOUR GRANDPA to see “THE GRANDFATHER PINE” at the Sportsman Lake Park TREE MUSEUM—FREE and open to all, 365 days each year. (Directions: Go to Sportsman Lake Park and take the road to the picnic pavilions, look for the...
The collector’s edition of “WUNDERGARTEN,” the folktale I set in 1870s Colonial Cullman, was birthed this week. (Signed copies available at Leldon’s in the Cullman Warehouse District by April 25, in time for Mother’s Day gifts.) Saluting the forested hills of north Alabama, it has an engraved wood binder,...
As we honor our war dead this Memorial Day, please remember the extraordinary price Vietnam veterans have paid.
If you have never visited the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C., I urge you to do so. Being a Vietnam veteran, I knew from its construction that I must visit. Yet,...
Oh, my Lord. I didn’t want to believe a link a friend just sent me. There is a new flavor of Skittles candy - mustard! I repeat – mustard-flavored Skittles. I’m gagging as I type this. Folks, the end times have to be near.
Though not as bad, Kellogg’s has...
Recent changes in the newspaper landscape in Alabama have us wanting to share some good news about newspapers. Alabama newspapers are alive and printing.
Like most every industry in the world, our industry is experiencing changes that some have characterized as the end of newspapers.
Nothing could be further from the...
To gather the fullest employment picture in Alabama – and across the nation for that matter – we must shift our focus to labor force participation.
Alabama’s current unemployment rate is at an impressive and historic low of 2.2%. In fact, almost all of the 10 states with the lowest...
This week in She Reads, we have an incredibly surprising work, “Zoe Rosenthal is Not Lawful Good” by Nancy Werlin. In this novel, we meet Zoe Rosenthal a straight-A, ambitious straightlaced student who is laser-focused on her goals.
Zoe has a step-by-step layout for her life. She plans on attending...
ODE TO WANDERLUST
I long to walk there, maybe there and then there.
More joy-filled I’ll return, you may surely trust.
In my lifetime, I shall flaneur everywhere,
Just my feet, my daydreams and wanderlust.
“I love to go a-flaneuring” just doesn’t have quite the earworm viability of “I...
Royal Princess Grace Kelly grew up in a charming two-and-half-story American Colonial-style house at 3901 Henry Avenue, Philadelphia, PA. This is our destination for “The Stars and Stripes Forever Birthday Party.”
The house was built in 1928 by Grace Kelly’s dad, John B. Kelly, a three-time Olympic gold medalist for...
Ross Harrison, left, with Carol Berry, right (Brittany Howell for The Cullman Tribune)
This week on Community with Carol, I continued my interview with Ross Harrison, the PTO president at Sacred Heart School. The history that Sacred Heart has in our community was too much for one interview. (See part...
Succulents require little care, and they reward you with beautiful foliage and occasional blooms.
The popularity of succulents has exploded over the past couple of years. That might be because these are such unusual looking, hardy plants – they practically thrive on neglect.
Most, but not all, succulents come from desert...
Carol Berry, left and Flourish of Cullman, Inc.’s Melissa Dew (Courtesy of Carol Berry)
I am excited to partner with the Cullman Tribune to write a new weekly series, “Community with Carol.” This series will be focused on community awareness.
As a lifelong Cullman resident, I love my community! I...
Image courtesy of sunshineweek.org
Dr. Chris Roberts, University of Alabama Department of Journalism and Creative Media
Alabama Press Association
I played the role of Atticus Finch for you by taking on an unpopular cause in court. I sued Harper Lee.
But unlike the attorney in Lee’s famed “To Kill a Mockingbird,” I emerged...
There is a glaring hole in the choices being considered by the United States and the international community in response to the Syrian chemical weapons attack that left 1,400 dead. The only two options that are being seriously debated are action in the form of military engagement and inaction....
CullmanSense reporter Will Hogue, based in NYC, has some thoughts on Kanye West, and he wants you to hear them.
NEW YORK CITY - There was something picturesque about Kanye West standing at Madison Square Garden with his laptop in front of him, his successful hip-hop friends behind him -...
Back in Business: Alabama blows out Bulldogs. Despite a slow start offensively Alabama was able to turn a 21-6 halftime lead into a 49-9 blowout. Quarterback Bryce Young’s Heisman campaign continued with a 20 for 28 night for 348 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. Mississippi State head coach Mike...
While it sounds simple, creating places where neighbors get to know neighbors is the key to growing a thriving place to live. That’s what Dr. Ray Oldenburg, an urban sociologist, describes in his book, “The Great Good Places.” If first places are our homes, and workplaces are second places,...
Moving forward...
CullmanSense was launched on Dec. 31, 2010 as a daily e-publication and quickly grew into Cullman's only Monday print publication in less than one year.
On April 1, 2016, CullmanSense acquired The Cullman Tribune, Alabama’s oldest continuously published weekly newspaper.
For the last year, CullmanSense has been the online presence...
CULLMAN - St. Bernard Preparatory School’s production of “Cinderella” was held recently and their talented students and staff presented the story like no other. “Cinderella”, a Rodgers & Hammerstein Production, is a timeless classic enjoyed by many for generations. The junior version of the timeless tale, performed by the...
Change is a largely evolving concept. Occasionally, we are swept up in this giant wave of newness and gives us a feeling of being dipped into ice water. Initially, when submerged in freezing water, the human body has what is known as a “cold shock response.” The lungs immediately...
When in the process of moving forward in life, do you ever find yourself gravitating toward what you ran from in the first place? Maybe not the exact circumstances or person, but the recognition of patterns you were trying to break reemerging?
Maybe you left a job due to mistreatment...
CULLMAN – Ten years waiting for the announcement that there would be another movie. Waiting a month and a half after purchasing tickets for the day to arrive. Three hours waiting in line to grab a seat. Waiting through thirty minutes of previews. But when the timeless opening theme...
“I Miss Precedented Times.” That’s a T-shirt slogan seen recently, and indeed the year 2020 has brought unprecedented challenges due to the coronavirus COVID-19. As December begins and the weather becomes colder, COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have increased in Alabama, and it is feared that activities associated with...
The following is an opinion piece submitted to The Tribune by U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Alabama. The opinions expressed are Aderholt's.
Our beliefs, our ideals and our very way of being are almost entirely rooted in the way we were raised. The values that are instilled in us by our...
Readers who frequent the Cullman County Public Library System share reviews of some of their recently read books.
Submission date: June 22, 2023
Reviewer: Paulette Gentry
Title: “A Corner of the Universe”
Author: Ann M. Martin
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Thoughts about the book: This book caused me to think about how a...
This year, the Cullman Elks Lodge will host a community-wide celebration of Veterans Day at Cullman Airport all day, Saturday, Nov. 4. The focus this year will be on honoring our Vietnam veterans. It will include helicopter rides over Cullman, provided by the Army Aviation Heritage folks from Ozark,...
The Iron Bowl: Any time the Tide of Alabama travels to the plains of Auburn magic happens, and unlike the norm this time the magic was in favor of Alabama. After Alabama's offense was stagnant for 58 minutes, they found themselves at their own 3-yard line down 7-3. Alabama's Bryce...
Our Congressional Representatives and Senators were called back last week and briefed before the fall session starts. They will have to decide whether to support Obama’s call for a military attack on Syria. I shudder when I think about this whole process. I remember that just before the invasion...
This is the third in a series of five. There exists formal research data that reveals that incompetent leadership is a major cause of decline in the Evangelical Church. In my work as a church consultant my observation and research confirm this to be true.
I have often been robustly...
A Follow-Up on Fort Hood
Last week a horrible event repeated itself. A lone gunman attacked the army base of Fort Hood, killing three and injuring 16 others. This was less than five years after Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 people and injured another 32. Both events involved...
Ah, yes it’s the time of year when politicians and those with political aspirations fill out paperwork as they prepare for the upcoming election cycle. It’s also a perfect opportunity to bring those candidates and elected officials together for traditional debates to find out where they truly stand and...
My family is full of cancer patients and survivors. Access to timely treatment, affordable medications and regular screenings/doctor visits are essential and the reason why those that I love are alive today. Any breaks in coverage could mean delayed care, not just for my family, but for our entire...
Alabamians may have felt their wallets bulge a bit last month when the Legislature approved our bill that slices the sales tax on groceries in half and implements the single largest tax cut in state history.
Alabama was one of only three states that taxed groceries at the full rate...
This is the true story of heartache, physical, sexual and alcohol abuse, love, hate, financial burdens and finally, finding joy, happiness and hope.
We trust that you will understand why the names and some of the circumstances had to be changed to protect the privacy and safety of some of...
Photo: Members of First Baptist Church of Cullman giving a check to First Source with funds they raised through our Baby Bottle Boomerang program.
Have you ever felt challenged by parenting? Have you ever felt overwhelmed by pregnancy? Any parent can honestly say that parenting has its challenges! We are...
Those silly dogs of mine will chase anything that moves and a few things that don’t. They rarely catch the things they chase except the ones that don’t move. The non-moving objects have included rocks, trees, paper someone threw down in the yard and flowers. I have actually witnessed...
Perhaps you’ve never heard of Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis, but because of her, we celebrate Mother’s Day. She was born in Culpepper, Virginia, on Sept. 30, 1832. Her father, a Methodist minister, was transferred to a church in Barbour County, Virginia. Later, in the midst of the Civil War,...
The announcement that the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize was to be awarded to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) took many by surprise. The consensus choice seemed to be the young female education activist, Malala Yousafzai. The selection of OPCW, however, fits the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s...
You’ve probably heard something like this before: another national ranking, another instance when Alabama ranked dead last.
But I promise you, this one is different, and by the end of this column, I’ll explain how.
A couple of years ago, University of Arizona journalism professor David Cuillier set out to measure...
“Every storm, no matter how big and strong, passes eventually. Just know and remember that your spirit is much bigger and stronger than any storm that comes your way, and that all storms will fall apart long before you ever would.” These profoundly encouraging words are from author and...
If you are looking for American-made products this year, here are some ideas that might help you fill those stockings!
The New York Times dubbed zkano founder Gina Locklear the "Sock Queen of Alabama," and for good reason. The organic sock company is located in Fort Payne, which was known as the Sock Capital of the World until...
Last night we posted a news story about the grand opening of the new Cullman County Democratic headquarters in Cullman. The headline of that story, "Cullman's with Her! Democratic HQ opens in Cullman," has been met with fury and vitriol the likes of which is, frankly, disturbing.
The point of...
This is the fourth in a series of five. The average pastoral tenure is three-and-a-half to four years. True loyalty is developed over time and is tested by a variety of circumstances. How loyal are you and how loyal are those you consider trusted friends?
It is often stated that...
Carol Berry, left, with Rachel Bryant, right
My guest this week on “Community with Carol” is Rachel Bryant, founder and director of Karma in Cullman.
The organization began in 2013 after a turbulent time in Rachel’s life.
The idea for Karma was simple; Rachel was cleaning and decluttering, and thought, “I...
“Blessing of the Lost Girls” is J. A. (Judith Ann) Jance’s latest book. As the title indicates, this novel is about missing and murdered Native American women. Few people realize the problem of these missing and murdered women. While a work of fiction, the fact is many missing and...
Carol Berry with Katie Loyd
I believe I have found the oldest nonprofit in Cullman: St. Vincent de Paul. The mission of this organization is to assist the less fortunate of our community on a confidential basis with necessities such as food and winter coats and provides some assistance for...
Vietnam veteran Jim Alderman reacts during a therapy session for combat-related stress at the Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bay Pines, Fla. Oct. 29, 2015. DoD photo by EJ Hersom
It’s almost surreal that our country is at war half a world away, and we are carrying on...
