Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Your last summer read, brought to you by our Commissioner, Jim Bennett

August 20th, 2010

Iron & Steel: A Guide to Birmingham Area Industrial Heritage Sites by James R. Bennett(Red Mountain Park Commissioner) and Karen R. Utz(Curator at Sloss) is a great way to spend your last few hours of summer reading. At only about a hundred pages long, it’s an easy and enjoyable read that will leave you wanting to get out and explore our city. Check out this fantastic quote from the introduction of the book:

“Closely associated deposits of iron ore, limestone, and coal enables foundry-grade iron ore to be made here more cheaply than anywhere else in the nation…From Tannehil, which began making iron in 1830, to the Sloss City Furnaces, which helped make Birmingham the ‘Pittsburgh of the South’, history buffs and tourists alike can walk the very pathways of the old iron workers.”

Pretty neat, stuff. Glad I’ve secured my copy. Have a great weekend!

Posted in Dave's Blog, General |

Reunited.

August 10th, 2010

This weekend, I headed out to the park with Adrian Kirksey and Louise Taylor, family members meeting for the very first time. Adrian, a native of Kentucky, began researching his family tree several months ago and learned that he had family who worked in the mines on Red Mountain. He then found Louise and Red Mountain Park and we all ended up atop the mountain on Saturday talking about his great uncle who died in the Songo mine, and his great grandfather with the incredible work ethic. Adrian gave us all chills when he talked about how moving it was to stand in the exact same place where many of the men in his family stood years ago. Wow.

Relatives Louise Taylor(L) and Adrian Kirksey(R) meet for the very first time and talk about their family's remarkable history on red mountain.

Posted in Dave's Blog, General, Oral History |

Underneath Red Mountain Park….

August 5th, 2010

Always in the back of my mind is the fact that underneath this park we’re building lies the remains of a workplace that was unlike anything around here today. Hundreds of feet below us, there were several jobs being executed with extreme caution and care each and every day. What exactly were those jobs and how were they done? Below is a short clip of one of our oral history interviews with Isaac(Ike) Maston, who begins to tell us of the different tasks men were doing undergound around the clock:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp9hK7gFnds

Posted in Dave's Blog, General, Oral History |

NEW feature to Red Mountain Park−the Speaker’s Bureau.

July 30th, 2010

Houston, we have a problem. But it’s a great problem to have, especially since we now have a fantastic solution.

We are happy to say that we have had so many requests for presentations about the park that we felt the need to build a group that would conquer some of those speaking engagements. Where’s the very first place we looked to find the some of the people who can talk about Red Mountain Park the best? The Friends of Red Mountain Park. We took some of the Friends that knew the park the best and then trained them further on all of the content of our community presentations so that they would be fully equipped to speak to any group. It is a lively bunch with great park perspective and a great ability to spread the Red Mountain Park fever.

How can you be one of the first groups or organizations to utilize the Red Mountain Park Speaker’s Bureau? Just give us a call at our office (254.1909) or email us at: contact@redmountainpark.org. We will set your group up with a speaker that will tailor the park presentation to your time and needs. Happy Bureau-ing!

Posted in Dave's Blog, General, Presentations |