John Henry, Steel Driving Alabamian

Cudjo Lewis was a captive aboard the Clotilda when it entered Mobile Harbor, the last slave boat to the United States in 1860. The story was well known to locals in Mobile but two writers, Emma Langdon Roche and Zora Neale Hurston, went to find Cudjo and tell their version of his story. Over 80 years later, Ben Raines would find the remains of the Clotilda and bring the story to light again. 

Support the Podcast

The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.

1. Tell a friend about the podcast.
2. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art
3. Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://www.amazon.com/Alabama-Short-Stories-Shawn-Wright/dp/1735582239/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660505378&sr=8-3
4. Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book.
5. Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing through Bookshop.org which gives back to local book store.

You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.

I hope you have enjoyed the first 5 seasons of the Alabama Short Stories podcast. When I released season three, I published the book, Alabama Short Stories, Volume 1. This was the perfect solution for those who like their podcasts in written form. And as a bonus, it had pictures to illustrate the stories. 

With season six of the podcast upon us, I am proud to announce volume two of the book, Alabama Short Stories. There are 30 more stories covering seasons four through six with photos. There are 50 more pages in this book for the same great price. I don’t know, I guess my stories are getting longer. But they are still short.

You can buy both volumes of the book online at Amazon.com. They come in paperback, hardback and Kindle versions. 

If you would like to support your local bookstore, you can purchase paperback versions at Bookshop.org where every purchase on the site financially supports independent bookstores. 

You can also purchase the books online at major brands such as Barnes and Noble. Just search for Alabama Short Stories. 

Volume two will be published on March 1, 2024.

Thanks again for listening and reading Alabama Short Stories. 

Support the Podcast

The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.

1. Tell a friend about the podcast.
2. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art
3. Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://www.amazon.com/Alabama-Short-Stories-Shawn-Wright/dp/1735582239/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660505378&sr=8-3
4. Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book.
5. Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing through Bookshop.org which gives back to local book store.

You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.

Welcome to Alabama Short Stories. This is Shawn Wright, and I am happy to say that Season 6 starts on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, with more great stories about the state of Alabama.

I will start the season with a story in the news the past couple of years. It’s about Cudjo Lewis and the writers who have been telling this former slave's story for the past 100+ years, and we find the Clotilda in the process.

We take driving on our well-maintained roads around the state for granted, but can you imagine what it would be like without them? Some Alabamians did and became part of a movement of good roads that turned out great.

There is a story about a photographer with a funny name, Spider Martin. A well-known photographer around Birmingham, he made his name on the road from Selma to Montgomery and got to know Dr. King along the way. 

Music is a vital part of our lives in Alabama, and for centuries now, groups of people have been holding on tight to a tradition of singing named after a book of songs. Learn the story of Sacred Harp and the people keeping it alive and thriving.

While her husband may be remembered as a great writer, the people of Alabama know that F. Scott Fitzgerald would be nothing without his wife, Zelda Sayre of Montgomery. Listen to their story and how their volatile relationship made them the poster children of the Jazz Age. 

I tell the story of a woman who was a psychic and the rush for gold. Both of these stories are in east Alabama, and while they don’t relate, they were both sought out for their life-changing discoveries.

There is a story of Johnny Mack Brown; he traveled to Pasadena with the University of Alabama’s team for football glory and turned that success into stardom as a movie cowboy. 

The CIA battles communism with modern art only to find out that the real fight is at home among its people. Auburn University benefits from the pearl-clutching outrage and buys paintings for pennies on the dollar, the basis for their fine art museum.

And we end the season by telling the story of America’s oldest baseball park and the players who played there. Specifically, a son of Fairfield, Alabama, who went on to greatness playing for the San Fransisco Giants. 

While you are waiting for the season to start, you can help the podcast out. Call a friend or two and recommend the podcast to them. You can subscribe to the podcast using your favorite podcast app. And if you are listening on Apple, make sure to rate us. It helps drive listeners to the show. 

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoy season 6 of the Alabama Short Stories podcast.

Support the Podcast

The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.

1. Tell a friend about the podcast.
2. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art
3. Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://www.amazon.com/Alabama-Short-Stories-Shawn-Wright/dp/1735582239/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660505378&sr=8-3
4. Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book.
5. Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing through Bookshop.org which gives back to local book store.

You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.

Armistice Day was created at the end of what we now know as World War I. At the end of World War II, one Birmingham native felt a need to celebrate all veterans, and he set out to honor them. Raymond Weeks took his fight to Washington, D.C., and then put his words into action by leading what has become the largest and oldest Veteran’s Day Parade in the nation in his hometown of Birmingham. Listen to this episode to determine if his effort to create a holiday was successful.

Support the Podcast

The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.

1. Tell a friend about the podcast.
2. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art
3. Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://www.amazon.com/Alabama-Short-Stories-Shawn-Wright/dp/1735582239/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660505378&sr=8-3
4. Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book.
5. Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing through Bookshop.org which gives back to local book store.

You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.

When Alabama Power made plans for Lewis Smith Dam in a rural area of Northwest Alabama, they knew they had plenty of time to clear the basin of trees, buildings, and other potential obstructions before the lake filled. Then the rains came, and the basin started to fill up fast. Learn about the area of Smith Lake and what happened when the rains came.

Support the Podcast

The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.

1. Tell a friend about the podcast.
2. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art
3. Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://www.amazon.com/Alabama-Short-Stories-Shawn-Wright/dp/1735582239/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660505378&sr=8-3
4. Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book.
5. Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing through Bookshop.org which gives back to local book store.

You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.

What do you do when you have one of the largest buildings in Birmingham that feature a smooth glass finish with lights to illuminate each window. Create art, of course! Learn about how the Regions building changes light colors and has created designs for the holidays, Olympics, and Golf Tournaments for the past 50 years.

Support the Podcast

The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.

1. Tell a friend about the podcast.
2. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art
3. Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://www.amazon.com/Alabama-Short-Stories-Shawn-Wright/dp/1735582239/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660505378&sr=8-3
4. Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book.
5. Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing through Bookshop.org which gives back to local book store.

You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.

John Henry was a steel-driving man or maybe just a folk tale. John Henry died while competing against a steam drill in West Virginia, or did he? Some think this folk hero, or real-life hero, died here in Alabama at a tunnel south of Leeds close to Dunavant. Listen to the story, and you decide if he was real and where he died. I think you know where we stand on this issue.

Support the Podcast

The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.

1. Tell a friend about the podcast.
2. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art
3. Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://www.amazon.com/Alabama-Short-Stories-Shawn-Wright/dp/1735582239/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660505378&sr=8-3
4. Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book.
5. Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing through Bookshop.org which gives back to local book store.

You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.

Carrie Tuggle and her husband, John, moved to Birmingham in 1883 in search of better work opportunities and social life. They threw themselves into work and growing their family. They both actively participated in the Knights of Pythias, a national fraternal organization. Carrie was a social worker and would see young boys in the court system being sent to prison with adults. It was too much for her to bear. The couple would start the Tuggle Institute to give youth another chance and change the lives of many in Birmingham. Carrie also helped create the Jefferson Family Court.

Support the Podcast

The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.

1. Tell a friend about the podcast.
2. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art
3. Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://www.amazon.com/Alabama-Short-Stories-Shawn-Wright/dp/1735582239/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660505378&sr=8-3
4. Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book.
5. Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing through Bookshop.org which gives back to local book store.

You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.

Harper Lee and Truman Capote are two of this country's most celebrated writers. Lee for her Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill A Mockingbird, and Capote for In Cold Blood, among others. Both writers got their start behind a battered old typewriter brought home by Lee’s father when they were children. They grew up as next-door neighbors in the town of Monroeville, Alabama. They would play a part in each other's most celebrated novels, yet the competition drove them apart as adults. Find out about the unique friendship they shared for most of their lives.

Support the Podcast

The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.

1. Tell a friend about the podcast.
2. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art
3. Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://www.amazon.com/Alabama-Short-Stories-Shawn-Wright/dp/1735582239/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660505378&sr=8-3
4. Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book.
5. Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing through Bookshop.org which gives back to local book store.

You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.

Hugo Black was a U.S. Senator from Alabama who supported FDR’s New Deal. When an opening on the Supreme Court became available, the President knew he wanted an ally on the court, and Hugo Black was his first choice. If the President had done a little due diligence, he would have discovered that his candidate had a checkered past. In 1923, at the end of a trolley line in Shades Valley and by the remains of a race track and dried lake bed, the Klan had held one of the largest Klan events in the country, initiating 1,250 members, including a Birmingham lawyer named Hugo Black. 

Support the Podcast

The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.

1. Tell a friend about the podcast.
2. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art
3. Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://www.amazon.com/Alabama-Short-Stories-Shawn-Wright/dp/1735582239/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660505378&sr=8-3
4. Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book.
5. Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing through Bookshop.org which gives back to local book store.

You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.