50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides
Content related to the burning of the Freedom Riders bus in Anniston on May 14, 1961.
Conversations about the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides (Sunday morning update includes new news articles from appearance in Montgomery)
News stories and social media buzz surrounding the marking of this historic civil rights event.
May 15, 2011 |  0 comments | 24 24 recommendations | email to a friend
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A prayer for reconciliation: Remembering the Freedom Riders
Rev. Alberta McCrory, the mayor of Hobson City, delivered this invocation Wednesday night at a reception honoring the Freedom Riders, a group of civil rights heroes who traveled to the South on buses to challenge Jim Crow segregation laws.
May 14, 2011 |  0 comments | 17 17 recommendations | email to a friend
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Anniston bus murals unveiled
“We talk about Martin Luther King Day, we do service activities, but I’m not sure we have the full understanding of what happened here,” said Rachael DeMarce, a member of the Blackfeet tribe born and raised on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana. (Editor's note: This article is a somewhat longer version of the one that appears in the March 13 print edition of The Star.)
May 13, 2011 |  0 comments | 21 21 recommendations | email to a friend
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Reconciliation, understanding mark Freedom Riders' return to Anniston
The students who attended the ceremony at the library were chosen from hundreds of students who applied for the opportunity to retrace the steps of the 1961 Freedom Rides, and come face to face with history.
May 12, 2011 |  0 comments | 31 31 recommendations | email to a friend
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Bus burner's son takes a different path
Richard Couch is in the same line of work as Atticus Finch. It's a world away from the path chosen by his father, who did a year's probation for his role in the burning of the Freedom Riders bus.
May 11, 2011 |  1 comments | 60 60 recommendations | email to a friend
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The day that would change Anniston’s place in history began like any other small-town Sunday
Sunrise, as it often does on late spring days, illuminated the beauty of the Cheaha Valley on Mother’s Day 1961. Like a newborn, the day carried expectations of church and family celebrations and the relaxation of the week’s grandest time. Anniston awoke slowly, gently, its Sunday morning routine hard to disrupt.
May 11, 2011 |  1 comments | 24 24 recommendations | email to a friend
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A Rider wishes for reconciliation
Among photographs of old friends and paintings from the civil rights movement, Freedom Rider Hank Thomas keeps a small piece of the bus he nearly died on. It is a reminder he does not need, but a reminder nonetheless.
May 11, 2011 |  0 comments | 19 19 recommendations | email to a friend
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A son of Piedmont continued the Rides
On May 14, 1961, as the Greyhound bus with the first of the Freedom Riders was burning on the side of the highway outside of Anniston, Bill Harbour and his friends were elsewhere, celebrating with a picnic. They had just integrated Nashville’s lunch counters and movie theaters.
May 11, 2011 |  0 comments | 16 16 recommendations | email to a friend
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The girl who helped when few others would
You might not know Janie McKinney, a 62-year-old communications specialist at UCLA. But, as 12-year-old Janie Forsyth, she became part of local civil rights lore by committing a simple act of kindness.
May 11, 2011 |  0 comments | 27 27 recommendations | email to a friend
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Recalling a father’s ‘courageous stand’
Tom Potts Jr. is the owner of Potts Marketing Group, a local public relations/marketing agency. He’s the spokesman for the Foothills Community Partnership, the entity in charge of industrial lead cleanup for the area.
May 11, 2011 |  0 comments | 19 19 recommendations | email to a friend
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Related Letters and Editorials
A sharper focus: The power of an iconic image to show what’s there — and what’s not
The still photo is the platform upon which an entire episode of human history can be transported. It must be taken in focus, with the scene properly composed, and at the precise moment that captures the enormity of the event.
May 15, 2011 |  4 comments | 17 17 recommendations | email to a friend
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Accepting responsibility in Anniston
Jewish people all over the world recently remembered the Exodus of our ancestors from slavery in Egypt. Central to this major Jewish Holy Season is a ceremony in the home in which the family elder narrates the story of the Exodus and enjoins each one present to remember it as if he or she were personally liberated.
May 13, 2011 |  3 comments | 14 14 recommendations | email to a friend
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A story and its audience: Honor city’s civil-rights history
Anniston is deserving of its spot on Alabama’s Civil Rights Trail, though its status may never equal that of Birmingham and Montgomery. The reasons are obvious — from Bull Connor to Rosa Parks, from Kelly Ingram Park to Martin Luther King Jr.
May 12, 2011 |  0 comments | 15 15 recommendations | email to a friend
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Freedom Rider Hank Thomas: Anniston’s place in my life
When I boarded the Greyhound bus in Washington, D.C., May 4, 1961, headed south, I was in search of my American dream — that elusive dream, the dream that the Declaration of Independence’s reference to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” included me, a coming-of-age black man.
May 12, 2011 |  0 comments | 27 27 recommendations | email to a friend
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H. Brandt Ayers: Redemption — How the shock of the bus burning became a spur to action
Yes, on Mothers Day 1961 a mob of white thugs burned a Freedom Riders bus and beat some of its occupants on the outskirts of Anniston, but that isn’t the whole story.
May 11, 2011 |  0 comments | 20 20 recommendations | email to a friend
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50 years down the road: Recalling Freedom Rides is a chance to measure how far we’ve come
Fifty years separates modern-day Anniston from the Freedom Riders’ visit on Mother’s Day 1961. Those buses, one burned, one spared, left an indelible, if not unfair, image of the city – especially for those not here, for those who did not see it firsthand.
May 10, 2011 |  2 comments | 12 12 recommendations | email to a friend
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Anniston and the burning bus: We are obligated to confront our past, no matter how ugly it may be
The 1961 Freedom Ride attack lays like an open wound in Anniston’s history, stubbornly refusing to heal, impossible to ignore. It represented a dividing line between the past and future. It exposed the community to national and international condemnation. It tarnished the Model City image that civic leaders had been cultivating since the 19th century. It remains Anniston’s most shameful and painful incident.
May 08, 2011 |  5 comments | 30 30 recommendations | email to a friend
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Related Documents


More than 1,000 pages from the FBI investigation into the attack on the Freedom Riders bus outside Anniston on May 14, 1961. The files were requested by the Anniston Star. Many names have been redacted by the FBI. Click the images to view a full size version of the documents.
The Ride: Special Section


Read the full special section commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Ride. Click the image to view a full version of the document.

Today's Events
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Wednesday, 19, 2013
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Pond Spring- The Gener... 3:50 PM
Oxford Farmers market 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM
Join us for the kick-off of Oxford's first...
Oxford Farmers market 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM
Join us for the kick-off of Oxford's first...
Hip Hop Hope Vacation ... 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM
$0 The Living by Faith Ministry will host Vac...
George Smith: I just love watching Ozzie ...
Jun 19, 2013 | 73 views |  0 comments | 4 4 recommendations | email to a friend | print

WEDNESDAY’S LIST . . . of beans ’n greens ’n other things:

***

DON’T TELL me I’ve nothing to do.

From the window of my barn I see Ozzie coming through the hedgerow from next door. I like Ozzie a lot, but I’m not sure he feels the same. Efforts to pet and feed over the years have been a flop at best.

What Ozzie likes to do is hunt. I mean really hunt.

You see, Ozzie is a brindle, bob-tailed, three-legged cat and he loves to feed on whatever he can find in the hedgerow across my back yard, including field mice and squirrels.

Ozzie is flat out deadly, too.

Since losing his right front leg to a tumor a couple of years back, he has taught himself a new way to hunt. He keeps stalking to a minimum. But with the patience of Job, he settles down and waits for a meal to come within striking distance.

When the meal does, it’s “Wham” and Ozzie heads for the dinner table.

He’s a wonder to watch ...

^^^

IT IS A typical day at the Smith Estate. I am out in my barn kicked back in what I call “Archie’s Recliner.” I am reading a book, listening to Merle Haggard on the stereo, and watching TV (how’s that for multi-tasking, huh?) The blonde is out and about.

The phone rings. It is from the blonde. She is at Sears in the Quintard Mall ...

“Sweetheart, I’m at Sears looking at vacuum cleaners. I can get a small one to go with a regular one. What do you think I should do?”

Recovering from the shock of her asking my permission for anything, I agree to the double dip and then make a mistake with “What’s going on, you asking my permission?”

From the other end, there is a happy laugh with:

“It’d be different if it were shoes and a dress.”

I managed a quiet goodbye (without choking), hung up, and went back to singing along with Merle. It seemed fitting he was in the middle of “I’m Gonna Sit Right Here And Drink” at the time.

^^^

JOE ESTEP deserves a standing ovation. Joe runs the Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame and, this past Saturday night, put together another classic.

Held at the “new” Oxford Civic Center, the 2013 induction played to a near packed house.

Outstanding Joe, outstanding.

^^^

FOR THOSE asking, the Peach Man’s tomatoes are a week away, but Ken Easterling will be at Regions in Oxford on Friday morning at 6 with another load of Chilton County peaches.

If no sell-out in Oxford he heads for the Anniston post office along about 8 . . . but don’t bet he gets there.

^^^

IF YOU’RE lining up at the Walmart deli at Lenlock, I hope you get lucky and a young lady by the name of Vanesa Durham waits on you. She did for me a few days back and while I’ve had an unpleasant moment or two there, Vanesa left me feeling pretty good.

Walmart could use more like her.

^^^

BIRTHDAYS: June 12 – Annette Vice; June 14 – Sage Snow; June 15 – Twins Brettnie and Dakota Smith; June 17 – Aiden Lloyd; 11; June 18 – Don Beabout.

And Jeff Jones, June 17. A member of a vanishing breed (The Great Generation), Jeff drove a “weasel” jeep ashore at Normandy, June 6, 1944.

^^^

QUOTABLE: “My doctor tells me I should start slowing it down - but there are more old drunks than there are old doctors so let's all have another round.”

                       --Willie Nelson

Thanks for visiting ...

-----

George Smith may be reached at 256-239-5286 or email: gsmith731@gmail.com.

 

 

Tim Tebow works out at a Patriots practice. (AP photo)
Tim Tebow works out at a Patriots practice. (AP photo)
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All-Calhoun County girls soccer: Cain led Jacksonville girls to a special season
by Brandon Miller
Jun 18, 2013 | 93 views |  0 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend | print
JACKSONVILLE — Everything came together for the Jacksonville High girls soccer team this year, and its hard work paid off. “This year we were trying to get a theme of excellence and a spirit of excellence into everything they did in life,” said Sam Cain, who is The Anniston Star’s Calhoun County girls soccer coach of the year. “One of my girls, Allison Judge, was valedictorian this year. Being successful off the field is what I think transferred to the field for the whole time.” Cain knew going into the season Jacksonville had a special team, which wound up going 8-0 against Calhoun County teams and making the quarterfinals of the Class 1A-4A state playoffs. The squad also was fourth in the state rankings, the highest of any girls team at Jacksonville, and won a school-record 16 games. “I just knew this was probably one of the best teams that we’ve probably had up here because they’ve been around for a long time and I knew the character and make-up of the team,” Cain said. “They looked out for each other and wanted to play for each other more than just themselves. I just felt that since they liked and wanted to play so hard for their teammates so much that we’d have a good season.” Jacksonville fell to Guntersville 2-1 in the state quarterfinals, but Cain said the reaction to that loss was the biggest memory he will take from the season. “Even after defeat, the emotion that the girls showed after game made it all worthwhile,” Cain said. “It meant a lot that it meant so much to them that they were upset about a loss and their hearts were into it. “It was heartbreaking to see, but it felt good to see they cared that much.” One of the players that didn’t take the loss lightly was senior star Sharon Osterbind, The Star’s girls soccer player of the year. “We worked as hard as we could in the last game and it just didn’t go how we wanted it to, but I wish I could have scored another goal or someone else would have scored another goal and we would have won or tied,” she said. “But it just didn’t work out.” Although Cain loses five seniors to graduation, he still has confidence looking ahead. “It’s going to be hard to replace those girls, but those girls set a good example for the ones coming up,” he said. “One of the younger girls kept talking this year about wanting to be like her older teammates, so I think most the ones coming back want to follow the same path.” Brandon Miller covers prep sports for The Star. He can be reached at 256-235-3575 or follow him on Twitter @bmiller_star.
All-Calhoun County girls soccer team -- complete list
by Brandon Miller
Jun 18, 2013 | 112 views |  0 comments | 8 8 recommendations | email to a friend | print
FIRST TEAM Kiyana Bullock So., 5-8, F • Anniston Noteworthy: Bullock handled a versatile role to the Bulldogs, playing nearly every position on the field. She finished in the season with seven assists and three goals. Laura Davenport Fr., 5-7, MF • Oxford Noteworthy: Davenport worked the hardest for the Yellow Jackets and led the team in goals this past season. The freshman was also one of the team’s captains. Marissa Davis Sr., 5-1, D • Donoho Noteworthy: Davis was a team captain the past three seasons and brought relentless play to the Lady Falcons’ defense. Allison Judge Sr., 5-7, ATH • Jacksonville Noteworthy: Judge played nearly every position for the Golden Eagles. Jacksoville’s valedictorian scored two goals and had eight assists. Mattison Lowery Fr., 5-5, GK • Jacksonville Noteworthy: Lowery allowed an average of only 1.1 goals a game for the Golden Eagles. She made 112 saves and recorded seven shutouts. Quenteeria Mooney Soph., 5-10, D • Jacksonville Noteworthy: Mooney was a relentless defender who won half of her battles last season. She also recorded three assists and a goal. Sharon Osterbind Sr., 6-1, F • Jacksonville Noteworthy: Osterbind led the Golden Eagles with 44 goals and 18 assists, but also played a larger role for the run. The UAB signee served as a coach on the field and played the largest role in Jacksonville’s state quarterfinals run. Virginia Poe So., 5-10, MF • Jacksonville Noteworthy: Poe defended and scored for the Golden Eagles. The sophomore finished the season with 37 goals and 17 assists. Miranda Schoening Fr., 5-11, GK • Oxford Noteworthy: Schoening kept the Yellow Jackets in most games with her outstanding play in goal. The freshman was also the heart of the defense. Katherine Westbrook Sr., 5-9, MF • Donoho Noteworthy: Westbrook provided steady leadership on both sides of the ball for the Falcons. The senior recorded 16 goals this past season. Leslie Williams Jr., 4-10, F • Donoho Noteworthy: Williams broke onto the scene as the Falcons leader in goals scored with 27, as she helped Donoho make a second-round playoff run. Maddy Oblena Soph., 5-3, MF • Sacred Heart Noteworthy: Oblena was all over the field for the Cardinals, leading Sacred Heart with her offensive and defensive play. Second TEAM Anniston — Raven Cooley, Tahlyia Knox; Oxford — Tristan Lackey, Aniya Mahaffey; Jacksonville — Ashton Wells, Elizabeth Poe, Cindee Tang, Jordan Terry, Kaila Green; Donoho — Lily Wiedmer; Sacred Heart — Haili Clark.
Sharon Osterbind had 44 goals and 18 assists in helping Jacksonville advance to the Class 1A-4A girls state soccer quarterfinals. (Photo by Bill Wilson/Anniston Star)
Sharon Osterbind had 44 goals and 18 assists in helping Jacksonville advance to the Class 1A-4A girls state soccer quarterfinals. (Photo by Bill Wilson/Anniston Star)
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On May 14, 1961, Joe Postiglione took photos of the attack on the Freedom Riders bus for publication in The Anniston Star. Sixty-four photos were given to the FBI as evidence, along with descriptions provided by Postiglione. Photos 1-17 were taken at the Greyhound Bus Station between 8 a.m. and 1:10 p.m. Photos 18-64 were taken at Forsyth's Grocery, west of Anniston on State Highway 202, between 1:30 and 2:10 p.m. These images were provided by the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The final two photos were recently discovered in the Anniston Star photo archives.