Following in Grandpa Al's footsteps.

For the past two days, we have been following up the available facts we have regarding Dad's childhood in Birmingham and Montgomery. I'm very pleased to say that we have found out quite a bit! I can't wait to share it with Doug, Ted, and the rest of the family.

For the time being, here are a few photos.

From the age of 9, dad lived in the Masonic Home of Alabama (an orphanage) in Montgomery, Alabama. Although the original building has been removed and a nursing home constructed, now even the nursing home has been demolished. Some of the land had been sold to a school, and some to a church, but the majority of the land is an open field, with a couple of workshops. Beside the workshops are a few of the original cornerstones of the Masonic Home of Alabama. There were a few other relevant items as well that I photographed.

Dad attended the Cloverdale High School after finishing his elementary school at the Masonic Home. We found the original Cloverdale School about a half mile west of the Masonic Home. Surprisingly, it is still in much the same condition as it would have been in the 1930's when dad attended. It is now owned by Huntington College and is used as a sports extension of the college. You can still see the "Cloverdale School" above the door, as well as in several other places.

Prior to the move to Montgomery, dad lived in Birmingham. He states on a document that he was born on "Cottage Hill Road, Cottage Hill, Jefferson County, Alabama". As I suspected, Cottage Hill has been renamed Pleasant Grove, and Cottage Hill Road is now Pleasant Grove Road. We have no address for his original home, nor could I locate one in the Pleasant Grove archives, however we can say that we drove up his street!

This church "may" be where he attended school in grades 1to 3. The church's exterior has been redone in brick in the 1970's, but it did host a one room school in the early 1900's, and was the original "Frog Pond" church. Dad states that he attended Frog Pond School from grade 1 to 3.

In other news, today we visited Tupelo, Mississippi and the home where Elvis was born.