R e t i r e m e n t R e l ay
J ames
alvert
C
BY KELLY WHEELER
James Calvert shows off his plaque he received for being
in the Cullman County Sports Hall of Fame.
I
t isn’t every day that James Calvert is given
the honor of riding in a Christmas parade
as the Grand Marshall, but 2019 proved to
be his recognition year.
The honor was even more special given the fact
that the Good Hope Christmas parade also paid
tribute to his son-in-law Johnny Harris, who
passed away in August.
“Good Hope has always been my home in
Cullman County, and it meant the world to be
selected as Grand Marshall of this year’s parade,”
the 92-year-old said.
Calvert, who has been a Deacon at Good Hope
Baptist Church for more than half a century,
said the church not only holds a special place in
his heart, but also his memories dating back to
childhood.
“I started going to Good Hope [Baptist] when
I was about 7 or 8 years old with my family,”
Calvert said. “I remember that we would walk to
church from where we lived.”
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One of his most vivid memories was that of
Robert Miller, who would ring the church bell
every time someone died.
“We didn’t have phones back then, so the
church bell was the way of letting the town know
of someone’s death,” Calvert said. “This would
get everyone’s attention in the neighborhood and
then [Mr. Miller] would ring the bell at exactly
the time the funeral was scheduled to take place.
“Yes, these memories are priceless evidence
of just how much times have changed,” he said.
“Now everything is known instantly and without
much effort, the news is spread.”
Another priceless memory of his childhood
days at Good Hope Baptist was the way revivals
were actually conducted.
“Preachers didn’t just preach 15 or 30 minutes
back then, it was more like an hour or two, so
my mom would bring a blanket to put down on
the ground for the kids to lay on,” Calvert said.
“I also remember when we had revivals that we
CULLMAN COUNTY SENIOR MAGAZINE