alabama
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Tori Bailey of WZZA Soul Radio
We very nearly interviewed Tori Bailey, possibly the busiest person in the Shoals area. Tori runs WZZA, the only Black radio station in North Alabama, started by her mom and dad in 1972. Tori is also president of the Northwest Alabama NAACP and VP of this and board member of that. Tori organizes the world famous WC…
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Alabama WHNT: California man lives on a ‘Shanty Boat’ documenting Florence residents
It’s one of the oddest sights you might see on the river this summer. Making its way through the Florence Harbor on Friday, Wes Modes captains his hand-made vessel.
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One of the last mom and pop stores
After World War II around 1955, my dad got a job with TVA. He would have made a lot more money but he wanted to do something else. So he opened up a small country store in Courtland Alabama.
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Join us for a Secret History exhibition at Kennedy Douglass Center for the Arts in Florence AL. Opening reception Friday at 5:30pm and artist talk Sunday 1-3pm. Shantyboat Open House at Florence Harbor Marina Friday 2-4pm, Saturday 10am-4pm, Sunday and Monday 4pm-7pm.#shantyboat #art #alabama #exhibitions #socialpractice (http://ift.tt/2aRiGzw)
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Family Shantyboat Photos
One of the many folks we met in Florence Alabama shared these photos of their family shantyboat with us.
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Times Daily: Telling secrets: California artist gathers river stories from a shanty
Times Daily By Monica Collier For four days, Friday through Monday, the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts and Florence Harbor and Marina will host Wes Modes and “A Secret History of American River People.” Modes, an artist and oral historian from Santa Cruz, California, has been traveling American rivers in a 1940s era recreated shanty…
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Florence Courier-Journal: The River’s Life and People
A rustic recreated 1940s shanty boat, a daring river voyage, and a meticulous archive of river stories are all part of a multi-year art and history project, A Secret History of American River People. Santa Cruz, California artist Wes Modes is currently floating his homemade houseboat down the historic Tennessee River.
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A Morning with Zachary Nelson
We ran into Zach Nelson while we were docked at Brickyard Marina. He brought over his 72 year-old grandfather Joe who told us stories while Zach played our shantyboat guitar.
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WAFF Huntsville: Shanty floating down the TN seeking hidden histories of river people
Get close enough to the Tennessee river, you can hear it’s story. But you can only learn so much, standing on the shore. If you’ve been on the banks the past week in North Alabama, you may have noticed a tiny shack floating down the river. No matter what you may think about the odd…
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Sonnie Hereford, Civil Rights Pioneer
We were fortunate to be able to talk to Sonnie Hereford IV, who at the age of 5 was the first child to integrate public schools not just in Huntsville, but in Alabama.
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An Interview with the Arsenal Archaeologist
I had the opportunity to interview Ben Hoksbergen, archaeologist for the Redstone Arsenal. He took us upriver in his boat to several artifact sites and up to Paint Rock near the Guntersville Dam to see prehistoric paintings on the rock.
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Huntsville Times: Fishing For Stories
Artist cruises into Huntsville today (or tomorrow) on a shantyboat river journey. The boat was built by California-based artist Wes Modes, who is traveling America’s rivers to document the stories and history of people who live and work along the rivers. And he’d love to know who he should talk to.
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Guntersville Gleam: He’s running the river in a shanty boat
Guntersville Advertiser-Gleamby Joe Cagle People in Guntersville are used to seeing the same sort of traffic coming in and out of the city harbor. The occasional pontoon boat, a bass boat or even a Guntersville Police boat are the norm, with big yachts sometimes visiting. But a very different kind of boat pulled into the…