Almost a year ago I visited Fort Payne and Rainsville, AL, for the first time in several years. After the devastating tornadoes in 2011, so much has changed, but the more I thought about it, so much had already changed from the time I was a boy.
In the late 60s and early 70s, the Rainsville intersection had a phone booth at one corner with nothing else but a small parking lot. The booth stayed there for many years. On the other side of Hwy 75 from the booth was the old McCurdy House, which stayed there until being moved and the spot is now occupied by McDonald’s.
I remember the old drive-in about 3/4 of a mile from the intersection that was later a place for Roadway trailers to be parked. The odd thing about the drive-in was that we could see the screen from our house even though we lived on the brow road (Co. Rd. 44) near Hwy 35.
My mother took us to shop at the IGA on Hwy 35, and if I recall correctly, a Jitney Jr. once stood directly across the street from it. The old Post Office stood nearby. The Rainsville Curb Market was a place I only frequented whenever my grandparents visited from Ohio. Grandpa would take me to the store to get a few items on our way to great-grandmother’s house. For a while, Rainsville had a small Five & Dime, which was the best place to get toys.
The old Dairy King, which later became Kings Restaurant, was a place where teenagers spent weekends and summers cruising around and hanging out. I also remember a small Dairy Queen in Fort Payne when I was about four years old. I suppose the reason for this is because I won a free Fudge Sundae but had to give it to my brother David because I was too full to eat it. The contest was based upon matching the number on the back of the red plastic spoons to the one they had written on their board.
In Chavies, we had the old iron bridge, which was a single lane bridge. Not far from Plainview High School was a small Mom & Pop store where I remember my father taking me in the late 70s. We got Grapico sodas in the old glass bottles. The cashier told us that those were the last ones being made and they were being discontinued. At least that had been the rumor, I suppose. What actually happened was the franchise for Grapico was being sold to Buffalo Rock, but a few years later, the product was back on the market.
For the longest time, Dewey Williams had a store near the old Hwy 35. After the highway was reconstructed into four lanes, the area changed a lot. But I suppose that’s the nature of the beast in all areas. Once a town or an area progresses, a lot of the historic landmarks disappear.
For those of you who grew up in DeKalb County, AL, what are some places you remember that are no longer there?
My Grandfather, T.F.Everett owned a general store in Chavies ,Ala. near the old iron bridge.. My Mother and I lived with Grandpa and Grandma Everett until I was 8yrs. old.. Grandpa was known as “Uncle Tom ” I remember the old men who frequented the store . They would sit around and spit their tobacco and whittle and gossip..That would have been G.O.Durham , Orb Durham , Uncle Ben Everett (Grandpa’s brother )Rozell Hall ,Sam Gilbreath .. That was in the 1940’s .. I was born in 1940…..I remember that the boards were loose on the bridge and you could hear them rattle when a car was crossing.. Every day ,around Noon (Dinner Time for them) Grandma would say “There’s Chitwood ” He was the Mail carrier ,at that time.. The High Schoolers would gather in front of the store to wait for the School Bus that would take them to Ft.Payne High School..Plainview School only went through the 9th grade.. I remember taking a notebook from Grandpa’s Store and trying to get on the bus ,with the other kids,,,Of course , I would get caught and have to wait til I was old enough to go.. I went to Plainview through the third grade ,then ,my Mother took me to live with her and her husband in Rossville , Ga.. I hated it and wished everyday ,that I could go back to Ala, where I had always been allowed to pretty much ,be free.. I would walk to Chavies Baptist Church ,by myself ,even at night , for many people were walking to church, too.. I remember my Sunday School Teacher was “Aunt Ida Durham ” ..Her husband was “Uncle Albert Durham “.. All kids loved “Aunt Ida “.. The Durham Family was well known ,as was the Everett Family , the Wisener Family, the Gilbreath Family , the Downer Family ,Hodge /Freeman Family and so many more…I remember the FIRST SUNDAY in MAY for the BIG SINGING at the Chavies Baptist Church…People would come from many miles away for that .. All Day Singing and Dinner on the Ground ! Such a HAPPY,CAREFREE TIME for a LUCKY LITTLE GIRL..
My father was born in Chavies in 1941. My school principal was H.M. Everett. Thanks for sharing those memories. I miss the area, too, but so much changed after the tornado outbreak in 2011.
H.M.Everett was Horace Everett’s son.. Horace was a dentist in Ft. Payne.. Horace was Uncle Ben Everett’s Son.. His Mother was Nancy Wooten Everett ..I remember playing with H.M. and his brother,Ben Dale Everett when we were children..Lucille Sutland Everett was their Mother.. There were two Nancy Everett’s My Grandmother ‘s name was also Nancy Slone Everett….Everybody up there knows everyone’s family tree.. What is your Father’s name ?.. My Mother was Eunice Everett..My Father was from Warrior ,Ala.. She met him while they were building H’WAY 35… His crew would come to Grandps’s Store to buy Coca Cola and bologna.. They were only together for a short while. He was killed in an auto accident ,when I was 6 weeks old..My Mother passed away in 1996, here in Tampa, Fla.. I have been in Tampa since 1963…I haven’t been back to Chavies in around 20 yrs.I heard that the old Town Creek Church was destroyed during the tornado outbreak….I thank you for answering my post .. It was good to hear from you .. You can contact me any time.
My father was Leonard Hilley. We’re cousins with the Dukes. Walter Dukes’ son, Harold, and my father were born the same year. They spent a lot of time together. My father said that Chavies once had its own Post Office. Those tornadoes destroyed Bucks Pocket and the area where I grew up lost most of its woods, too.
Yes, Chavies did have a post office, but that was before I was born, I think.. I remember Joe and Jeannie Lister had a P/O across the creek, not sure if it was still operating,There was a Cotton Gin in the same place..I remember Gerald Dukes .. I also remember a man (just vaguely ) that was Pelham Hilley.. Are you familiar with that name ?..Buck’s Pocket was a beautiful place.. Back to the P/O… I remember that we had a Huge mailbox and our mailing address was Ft.Payne, Ala. ,Route 3… No zip codes back then .. We got the Chattanooga Times everyday in the mailbox.. The Ft. Payne Journal came on Thursday…..Grandpa Everett owned a lot of land down toward Pleasant Hill …360 acres , I believe That was the Family Farm ..We called it “The Old Place “.. I think the family sold some of it to Horace Everett after Grandpa died.. (1951)..
Pelham was my grandfather’s brother. Gerald is Harold’s brother and a preacher. Harold lived near Chavies for a long time. Our address was also Route 3 for the longest time. They changed it to County Road 44 in the 1990s. My neighbor when I was growing up was Bertheena Gray (Sandford). She was a great lady, and taught me how to clean fish. She sold her farm and moved in with her son in the 1990s.
I remember the name ,Sanford Gray .. I think they lived on the “brow” of the Mountain and they went Chavies Church , too… I previously told you that my Mother took me to the Chattanooga/Rossville area.. I went back to Chavies ,when I was 16.. lived with my Aunt and Uncle for a short while.. Met and married Dub Bohannon .. His Mother lived near Rainsville ,and Gerald Dukes and his 1st wife lived next door to her.. Shelby Jo Dukes had a baby boy ,and they separated ,soon after.. I think the baby’s name was Keith .. We went to live in Chicago and my memory tells me that Gerald Dukes came up there ,and stayed with us for a short while.. He was a wild young man, back then.. Moving along ,we moved to Fla and our baby girl died She was I yr old.. We took her body back to Ala and buried her at Town Creek Cemetery.. I believe that Gerald Dukes spoke at her funeral.. If he is still around , you can ask him about all this.. The Bohannon’s were a wild bunch.. 4 boys. Greal, Warren . J.W. (Dub) and Burlen ..I think Burlen still lives in the same place ,where they grew up.. The rest have passed ,including the girls, too (There was 3 girls )..I left Dub within a year of our Baby’s death ,and moved to Tampa I brought our son with me and he is a fine man.. Dennis Bohannon.. He is 67 yrs.old . I have lived here since 1963.. I have no regrets about leaving Dub ,for he had no intention of settling down and I wanted stability for myself and my son….Sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble on so much .. It’s just a lot of memories .My son goes to visit his Uncle Burlen , sometimes..