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 This
photo of John (our mgr., at age 3) sitting with his Great Grandfather (John)
at "Papa John's Store" was taken in 1952 on the outskirts of Monroeville,
the home of Harper Lee, and the setting of her Pulitzer winning 1960 book,
"To Kill A Mockingbird." Monroeville was also the setting for the Academy
Award winning film "To Kill A Mockingbird," starring Gregory Peck. Papa
John's "retirement" store was located in the quiet community of Mexia,
just outside Monroeville on the road to Old Salem. |
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 Here's
a photo of a 3 year old with even closer Monroeville ties. Our mgr.'s father,
John Sr., was brought into this world by Dr. Rayford Smith on Feb. 2, 1927
in Monroeville. John Sr. lived in Monroeville as a child, and rode his
bike past the Lee* and Faulk** homes on his way to Monroeville Grammar
School. John Sr. moved to a larger Alabama city in early 1936.
*Lee home - childhood home of Nelle Harper Lee,
(born April 28, 1926) author of the Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel "To Kill A Mockingbird," and perhaps Alabama's most famous writer.
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 In
Harper Lee's novel "To Kill A Mockingbird," (and in the movie), Jem and
Scout seem to prefer "overalls" for everyday play clothes, and possibly
more - if they had been allowed. Here is a photo of 3 year old John Sr.
(same age as above) about to break in a brand new pair of boy's overalls,
verifying that overalls may indeed have been the "children's play clothes
fashion" of the day (c.1930) in Monroeville. Although it appears to be
a "farmer's hat" (intentionally we suspect), the hat in this photo was
actually John Sr.'s favorite, well worn cowboy hat pushed back. |
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(Click Here for more about "Scout" and "Jem" in our Harper Lee Bookshelf). |
 When
he moved from Monroeville, John Sr. embarked on a fascinating path of experiences
and associations. He would soon meet Hiram King Williams, another teenager
from south Alabama. Destined to become one of the South's most famous song
writers and singers, Hiram Williams was known as the "Singing Kid" and
"Luke The Drifter," but is better known as Hank Williams (Sr.).
John, Sr. briefly played in "the Singing Kid's" band as a young teenager,
then falsified his age (15) to join the Navy during WWII. John Sr. and
Hank Sr. never played together after that, but John Sr. & wife Irma,
would be next-door neighbors to Hank & Audrey Williams in 1946 (320_1/2A
& 320_1/2B Adams Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama, respectively). John Sr.
& Irma are still "kicking" and at their computers every day, you can
email them at
Now Requires JavaScript, But Non-Javascript Users Can Type The Above Email Address Into Your Email Software. |
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(Click Here to browse our HANK WILLIAMS (Sr.) Bookshelf for his music & credits) |
  A
century before the time setting of "To Kill A Mockingbird," another Monroe
County writer/publisher was about to become famous, although not for his
published works. In 1818, 9 year old William Barrett Travis moved
with his family from South Carolina to Monroe County, Alabama, where they
settled land secured from the Creek Indian Nation in 1815 by General (and
later, President) Andrew Jackson. (One of the men in Andrew Jackson's command
was David Crockett). By age 22, Travis was publisher of the Claiborne Herald,
a school teacher, a volunteer in the Militia, had "read Law" (as did Atticus
Finch in Harper lee's Novel) and was a practicing attorney. He abruptly
moved from Alabama to Texas in 1831, where he continued his law practice
and Militia affiliation. On March 6, 1836, 4 days after Texas formally
secceeded from Mexico, 26 year old commandant Colonel William Barrett
Travis (above, left) and 187 men, including David (Davy) Crockett
(above, right), died at the battle of the Alamo. |
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(Click Here for our Alabama-History-Bookshelf with books and Movies about William Barrett Travis; Davy Crockett; Alabama Territory Creek Indian Wars; and the Alamo. |
| Other Monroeville/Monroe County Literary notables include Mark Childress, Riley Nicholas Kelly, R. B. "Dickie" Williams, Mike Stewart, George Singleton, /and Greg Britt. Their works are also featured in the "BusterSoft Country Store" Bookshelves |
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