Wiregrass Seniors Magazine January 2019 JANUARY ISSUE | Page 12

Page 12
WiregrassSeniorsMagazine.com
11. There really is a Sweet Home Alabama. Archi-
tect William Benns built a custom home for customer
and funeral director H.W. Sweet in 1906. The his-
toric plaque outside the property in Bessemer indi-
cates the house cost Sweet $10,000.
Ronnie Van Zant briefly dated Mr. Sweet’s
grandaughter. So there’s that.
12. When Miss Baker became the first monkey to
survive a space expedition in 1959, she was hailed
as a hero in Huntsville. When natural causes claimed
her in 1984, a graveyard plot was set up outside of
the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. People some-
times leave bananas on top of her tombstone. SO
what your saying is? Sometimes bananas, go ba-
nanas, and leave bananas, in honor of a monkey!
13. Like the standard features in your car? You have
Alabamians to thank. Mary Anderson invented wind-
shield wipers in 1903 after seeing drivers lean out of
their cars to wipe rain from the windows; Auburn
University graduate George Kirchoff spent nearly four
decades working on refining the airbag. Really, well,
a former Bama player once predicted a superbowl
win while he was wearing a fur coat.
14. One area post office takes the whole inclement-
weather pledge very seriously. A route in Magnolia
Springs is made up entirely of mailboxes situated
riverside. It takes postal workers in a boat more than
four hours to service 180 homes along the 31-mile
stretch. One word, Email!
15. While New Orleans gets most of the glory—and
street vomit—Alabama was actually the first place
to celebrate Mardi Gras. When the city of Mobile
was founded in 1702, mystic societies called
“krewes” held the gatherings. I hate to hate, but
saying we were “first” sounds juvenile. Unless it’s
the best, which it is is! So we are - first, Nawlins!
16. Albertville, Alabama, is the fire hydrant capital of
the world. After the Mueller Company produced its
millionth hydrant, dogs howled with joy at seeing a
chrome hydrant installed in front of the city’s Cham-
ber of Commerce. Really, one measly ol’ fire hy-
drant. How did Dothan not get a mention with its
bazillion whimsical peanuts all over town? This is a
call out to Albertville. Next year, we will be #16.
We know people and we can make this happen.