Steve Flowers: Alabama is a big front porch
James E. “Big Jim” Folsom was one of our few two-term governors. In the old days, governors could not succeed themselves. Therefore, Big Jim was first governor in 1946-1950. He waited out four years and came back and won a second term in 1954, and stayed through 1958. Big Jim was still a young man when he was first elected in 1948. He and his wife, Jamelle, had their firstborn child, James E. Folsom Jr., in 1949 while Big Jim was governor. Therefore, Jim Folsom, Jr., who some folks refer to as “Little Jim,” was literally born in the governor’s mansion. Big Jim hired a man to be the governor’s mansion butler and overseer of the mansion on Perry Street. The gentleman’s name was Dave Perry. He looked the part. Dave Perry was a tall, handsome, distinguished gentleman with a beautiful baritone voice. Dave Perry practically raised Jim Folsom, Jr. He took him to school every day, taught him to ride a bike, and taught him to swim in the pool Big Jim had built behind the mansion shaped like the State of Alabama. I’ve wondered over the years that the reason Jim Folsom, Jr. has such a rich southern Black Belt drawl is because he grew up listening to Dave Perry, who had that same melodious drawl. Jim Folsom, Jr. went back to Cullman when his daddy left office, but Dave Perry stayed on as the master butler at the governor’s mansion. He stayed through different governors, including all of the Wallace years as governor. Guess what happens? Forty years after Dave Perry became the governor’s mansion butler, Jim Folsom, Jr. became governor. Dave Perry’s boy had come home. It was like old home week. Jim Folsom, Jr. was my favorite governor to serve with during my entire legislative career. He was the only one who was close to my age. We were friends. I was friends with his wife, Marsha Guthrie from Cullman, while at the University of Alabama. She was a student leader. So, Jim and Marsha were truly friends of mine and still are. During legislative sessions and even during the rest of the year, occasionally, Jim would invite his closest legislative friends and political buddies to join him in the “Library,” a backroom in the center part of the mansion. We would talk politics in the same room that his daddy held court in 40 years earlier. Guess who would join us sometimes? Mr. Dave Perry would tell us Big Jim stories we had never heard. Dave passed away a few years ago in his hometown of Montgomery. He was an Alabama legend. The Alabama Front Porch narrative appears to be poised to transcend to a new generation of Alabamians. My lifetime friend, Bill Blount of Montgomery, recently shared this story of what goes around comes around in Alabama. The 1954 Governor’s race was between “Big Jim” Folsom and Baldwin County State Senator Jimmy Faulkner. Senator Faulkner had been the Mayor of Bay Minette and owned several southwest Alabama newspapers. Big Jim beat Faulkner handily to win his second term as governor. The other two contestants in that governor’s race, whose progeny make up our “Big Porch,” were State Senator Bruce Henderson from Wilcox County and State Senator Karl Harrison from Shelby County. At that time, the President of the Alabama Young Democrats was Frank Long, who was openly for Folsom and would later become legal advisor to Folsom and an integral part of his Cabinet. Faulkner made a big deal about Frank Long’s allegiance to Folsom and refused to attend all Democratic events. Fast forward to today. Marshall Long, a Montgomery attorney who serves as an administrative assistant for the state senate now, is Frank Long’s grandson. Marshall is married to Caroline Camp, who happens to be Jimmy Faulkner’s great-granddaughter. Further, Marshall’s brother, Frank Marshall of Birmingham, dates Nickie Reese, who is the great-granddaughter of Bruce Henderson, the aforementioned candidate from Wilcox County. Lastly, the Long brothers grew up with Bill Blount’s sons, Wilson and Jesse Blount. Their great uncle was Karl Harrison from Columbiana in Shelby County, who was also a candidate. Matter of fact, Jess’s middle name is Harrison. Kathryn Tucker Wyndham would enjoy this generational transition. She would simply smile and agree that her adage lives on – Alabama is indeed a Big Front Porch. See you next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Steve Flowers: Special Alabamians
Under the title “Alabama is a Big Front Porch,” made famous by the legendary Alabama storyteller Kathryn Tucker Wyndham, I will continue to share some personal political stories with you this week. As many of you know, I have been friends with our iconic senior U.S. Senator, Richard Shelby, for close to four decades. History will reveal Senator Shelby as Alabama’s greatest U.S. Senator, and folks, that is saying a mouth full because we have had some great ones. We have had a cadre of great Senators, including Lister Hill, John Sparkman, John Bankhead, and Howell Heflin, along with Shelby. As Chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Shelby has brought untold hundreds of millions of dollars home to Alabama. It would take a book or volumes of books to tell the story of Shelby’s prowess at bringing home the bacon to his beloved state. He is completing 36 years in the Senate this year. Two of my favorite Alabamians and loyal friends are former Congressman and now University of South Alabama President, Jo Bonner and one of the finest ladies in the state, Dora James of Opelika. I visit with each of these two friends almost weekly. They graciously read the column and give me feedback. Jo Bonner epitomizes the adage of being a true southern gentleman. He is admired and beloved all over the state, more than he can imagine. Dora James epitomizes a true southern lady. She is admired and revered in Lee County. She is a true philanthropist and modest, kind and genuinely sweet person. About seven years ago, she hosted book signings for me at Auburn University and in Opelika that attracted several hundred folks at each, not because of me but because of her. Speaking of memorable book signing events, the people of Jasper and Walker County hosted a large event at which Congressman Robert Aderholt was gracious enough to travel down from Washington to introduce me. Over the years, I have enjoyed a special closeness and connection to the folks in Jasper/Walker County who read my column in The Daily Mountain Eagle. They have a rich political heritage with the Bankheads, Carl Elliott, Tom Bevill, and others. To show how old I am getting and how long I have been writing this column, it seems that every state senator I know says, “Please do not write something bad about me because my mama reads your column religiously every week and has for decades.” Speaking of books, I had the opportunity to meet and visit with the legendary author of To Kill A Mockingbird, Nelle Harper Lee. Folks in Monroeville, who knew her well from their generation, called her “Nelle.” Even though she had an apartment in New York that she purchased when her book came out in the 1960’s, Nelle Harper Lee lived her entire life in Monroeville. She lived with her sister, Alice, who was a good bit older than Nelle. I am told that Alice was the first female lawyer in Alabama. She was one of the most prominent lawyers in Monroeville and lived to be over 100. Alice and Nelle were neither married. Nelle Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, is one of the five most read and purchased books in history. I am told by Monroeville old timers that it is a total allegory. It is simply a story of Harper Lee growing up in Monroeville. All the characters are real, even Boo Radley. One day a few years ago, Harper Lee sent word to me that she enjoyed and read my column weekly, in the Monroe Journal and would like to meet me. I journeyed to Monroeville, and we exchanged greetings, and she gave me a signed copy of her book. I thanked her and told her that it was bought and read by quite a few more people than mine. She was a person of very few words and renowned for her privacy and reclusiveness. The only thing she said to me, substantively, was, “You are taller than you look like in your picture.” I thanked her for her time and the visit and book. When I got back into my car, I called my older daughter, who is a lawyer in Birmingham, and said, “I know when I die you are going to just pile up my books and throw them away, but there is one you might want to save.” We will continue with more stories next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Steve Flowers: Legendary Alabamians
The longer I continue to write about Alabama politics, the more I realize that Alabama really is a “Big Front Porch” – a saying made famous by our legendary Alabama storyteller, Kathryn Tucker Wyndham. I have been involved in the world of Alabama politics for 60 years. I have been writing this column for over 18 years, and that is longer than I served in the legislature. I am sometimes asked whether I liked being in the Alabama political arena or writing about it better. The answer is easy. Writing is better. It is more fun to be able to throw stones than to have stones thrown at you. I am also asked at social or political events around the state what are some of my favorite political memories. Indeed, I have been blessed to have met and known some of Alabama’s best-known political and literary figures, and some of them well. I began paging in the Alabama Legislature at age 12 and met Governor George Wallace when he was in his first term as governor. Ironically, 20 years later, I was elected to the legislature, and Wallace was again governor for his fourth and final term. My legislative district included Pike, Barbour, and Dale Counties, so I represented Wallace in his home county of Barbour. Wallace loved the fact that I was now his representative. He would have me visit with him often in the governor’s office, and he would tell me political stories and maxims. He told me a lot of inside stories about the Civil Rights era, as well as pre-Civil Rights, some of which I have shared with you and some I will share later. One of my favorite friends in Alabama politics was the late Senator Howell Heflin. Heflin was a very straight-laced gentleman. His daddy was a Methodist minister. He was truly a great man and one of the wittiest and best storytellers I ever knew. He was a real Alabama hero and legend. He was a decorated World War II veteran, one of Alabama’s best lawyers, Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, and our U.S. Senator for 18 years. Most people who knew him well in Alabama and Washington simply referred to him as “Judge.” I wrote a glowing column about “Judge.” He appreciated the column. It really was like a eulogy. He liked to call me “Tree,” a nickname I acquired in college. After the column came out, he started getting calls from all over the state. He called to thank me. I told him, “Judge, I’m in about 60 papers, and about 30-40 of the papers send me copies of the paper, and why don’t I gather those up and bring them to you and read what title they gave to your column.” He said, “Would you do that, Tree?” I said, “Yes, I would enjoy a visit.” He had retired from the Senate and was back home in Tuscumbia. I drove to Tuscumbia for the day. Got there for breakfast and stayed all day. We perused the papers I had brought him, and I headed home. Ole Judge died a few weeks later, and I traveled back up to the Shoals for his funeral. I was proud when the preacher used some excerpts from my column for Judge’s eulogy. There was a throng of people at Judge’s funeral, including quite a few famous and powerful members of the U.S. Senate. I do not think that the Florence airport had ever seen that many private jets. I had already had my goodbye with Judge, and the line was very long to greet “Mrs. Mikie,” Judge’s wife, and Tom, his son. Judge’s wife was from a prominent North Alabama family, the Carmichaels. Thus he had coined her nickname “Mikie.” As I was leaving, I heard someone shout my name, “Tree, wait.” It was Tom Heflin, the only child of Judge and Mikie. Tom is a lawyer and a fraternity brother of mine from the University of Alabama. He said, “I want to tell you something. When we went into daddy’s bedroom the other morning and found him passed away, beside his bed was a large desk, and on the desk were all the papers you brought him the other day. He had read them just before he went to bed.” It made me feel very good. It is one of the most rewarding memories of my column writing days. I will continue with more stories next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
