University of North Alabama - Diorama Yearbook (Florence, AL)

Page 29 text:

40 ■ A. 111.? ' - student Life 27 m

Page 28 text:

Sometimes the monotony of classes is enough to send students out on a sojourn to the downtown area. The more experienced students find creative forms of entertainment Within Walking Distance. For a student, walking distance is seldom farther than his or her next class. Within walking distance often depends on where you are and just how far you have to go before you can drop your load. But for some un- known reason, students are willing to walk farther when it is for entertain- ment purposes. And sometimes the boredom of classes is enough to send students out on a sojourn of the down- town area. When asked what there is to do around town, the veteran students are armed with answers: Pope ' s Tavern Museum, Wildwood Park, Trow- bridge ' s, the Chicago Subway, and maybe even the Florence Public Li- brary. But the more experienced stu- dents of boredom find even more cre- YE OLE GENERAL STORE steps back into the past with its down home country atmosphere. Store proprietors stack their selection of hats for sale. ative forms of mild recreation. Here is a list of suggested places they have found. Located a mere two blocks from campus is the Zodiac Theatre. It is a small community playhouse that pro- vides a more cultured choice of theat- rical entertainment than the six- channel choice of dorm television. For a peaceful place, the First United Methodist Church has a court- yard garden of meditation. Statuettes, shrubbery, flowers, a stone walkway, and an amphitheatre, all half sur- rounded by stained glass windows, offer a stillness from the sometimes overflowing campus. Ye Ole General Store steps back into the past with its down home country atmosphere. It holds a wide selection in bandannas, overalls, and wicker baskets, and a priceless taste of Southern hospitality. A small section of Mobile Street is known for its personality which is made out of the street lamps and the bricked-out street surface. It has claimed the name of cobble stone court. Scattered benches and large- leafed poplar trees across the way from the now closed Shoals theatre give the quaint impressions of an- other time and place. The Corner Fruit Market offers a wide variety in exotic reading among the usuals of late night junk food. It also sells an almost lost delicacy, Ap- ple Beer, and that is something that this dry county store can take pride Wilson Park provides the right nighttime atmosphere for any rendez- vous or close encounter, which can be highlighted by a multicolored foun- tain. Smokehouse Billiards, the home of the famous poolroom hamburger, is where a game of eight-ball and a chili burger are available from 4:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The characters of Paul Newman ' s Hustler come to life in this combination poolroom res- taurant. Ceiling fans, cue lined walls, hanging lights, completed with the eating bar, casually surround the still used shoe shine chair. A trend in fatigues made the War Surplus Store well-known for its olive drab supplies needed to complete the Army Look. Ranging from footwear to headgear, a nice collection of army paraphernalia can be purchased there. Even if you don ' t have the space, or can ' t afford the price of a pet, the Pet Center is a great place to go when you miss the friends that you left be- hind at home. Caged mice and kittens, and a chorus of birds provide the right escape from the human race. An add- ed attraction is a large rainbow col- ored parrot who will try to steal your heart with his ham acting tactics. Unless you are one of the willing souls in hiking boots, or would rather make your journeys in the comfort of your car, the downtown area is about as far as you would want to walk. There are other places left unmen- tioned that you may venture into and find another glimpse of the South- ern south. — Jayne Anne Miller MULLIN ' S GARDEN provides a solitary still- ness for student Jayne Miller. It is located three blocks from the sometimes overflowing cam- pus. (Photos by Patrick Hood)

Page 30 text:

' The Father of the Blues was bom in Florence 110 years a o. Ihis summer, thousands of people came to the second annual Handy Festival to wish a happy birthday To cMister Handy With Love. I 1 hate to see that evening sun go down, begins William Christopher Handy ' s most famous song, St. Louis Blues. North Alabama honored the late father of the blues, who was born in Florence in 1873, with a second annual birthday celebration this summer. The W.C. Handy Festival brought frolick- ing in Florence and sashaying in the Shoals. People from near and far flocked to Handy ' s hometown to join the celebration. The festivities began on August 12 with a concert featuring jazz-pop art- ists Manhattan Transfer and ended in Norton Auditorium on August 20 with a performance bv superstar Roberta Flack. In the meantime, other events were taking place all across the Muscle Shoals area. The Street Strut on Flor- ence ' s Court Street brought partici- pants of every age, adorned in festival colors of blue and green, and topped with parasols, bows, streamers, and spangles. They danced, sang, and ca- joled their way through town. On Sunday, the Greater St. Paul Church echoed with amens and the sounds of the choir, as grown men wept openly at the mass choir concert in the church where Handy ' s father was once a pastor. Another favorite Handy festival event was the Black Tie jazz [ubilee at the Holiday Inn in Sheffield. Wing-tip collars were starched so stiff they could stand by themselves, and flowing black silks sprinkled with sequins and edged with pearls caused a flutter of excite- ment in anyone who saw them. Other events of the festival includ- ed riverboat cruises, Handy ' s on the Plaza, Art in the Park, after party con- certs, and the Get Down at Listerhill HANDY ' S ON THE PLAZA, a temporary sidewalk cafe, is set up on cobbled Mobile Street in Florence for the duration of the Handy Festi- val. It is one of the celebration ' s most popular events. The food is good at Handy ' s, but it ' s the jazz music and New Orleans atmosphere that really bring in the customers. (Photo by Grant Lovett) Credit Union. Oh, I hate to see the evening sun go down ... begins St. Louis Blues, and in that same spirit, music lovers hated to see the festival come to a close. But as Peggy Clay, president of the Mu- sic Preservation Society said, As sure as the sun goes down, it ' s going to come up again, making the Shoals area the place to be next August. — Randy Nash GETTING ALL DRESSED up is part of the fun of the Street Strut on Florence ' s Court Street. Avid festival-goer Karen Gruber carried a ruffled pink parasol, while Bess Cox wore a flapper costume straight out of the Jazz Age. Ricky Cobb donned a top hat for the occasion. (Photo by Grant Lovett) GETTING INTO THE SPIRIT of the celebration is (uanita Reynolds of Florence. After participat- ing in the Street Strut, she shimmied around Wil- son Park to the strains of Handy ' s music, show- ing the crowd there what jazz is all about. (Photo by Grant Lovett)