Day 165 - Cargill

Haven't done this in awhile, but this is where we used to buy corn for our goats. Took 3 drums in the back of the pickup and pulled up under the shute for them to fill it. Awfully lot of corn dust - had to be sure windows were up on the truck. You weighted as you went in and again as you went out, that's how they charged you.

I don't use that much corn now that I only have a few goats (though they're multiplying as I type). I buy it in 50 pound bags now.

My little pickup truck was so tiny compared to the huge trucks that hauled the corn to who knows where.

Plus Day 162 - Old Citizens Bank Building

This lovely old building is downtown and was actually a bank when I was growing up. Then it encountered some sad times. A young couple finally bought it and re-did it. I understand now there are offices on the ground floor and they live on the 2nd floor.

I love old buildings and am so pleased when people restore them instead of tearing them down.

Plus Day 161 - Book on Amazon

Gosh, I guess I've intentionally/unintentionally taken quite a sabbitical in keeping this up to date. I had an experience today that encouraged me to go back to it. So, here we are at PLUS Day 161 and hopefully I can actually finish out 365 - though it's obviously had a little break.

This is the cover of a book that has just been listed on Amazon. It's the memoirs of my great-grandfather, Albert Martin Ayres I. And, I believe appropriate for this Blog, since he lived a big part of his life on Georgia Mtn. and lived in Guntersville while he was Probate Judge in Marshall County. I published it in 2004 as a gift for my kids/grandkids and the publisher has just listed on Amazon. I'd be shocked if anyone actually bought it, but it does have some interesting parts, and it was nice to see it on the "Big A".


At the urging of some online friends, I've started Memoirs and Family Stories Blog and will include some of the more interesting text from the book. So, if you're interesting in reading some of the book, check out the new blog.

Day 128 - Wedding House

I took this photo before the leaves started turning and just found it (didn't go out today, so had to revert to something saved). This house sits on a corner in Guntersville and is the house my parents got married in on November 27, 1937. They didn't make 50 years either, my Dad died in 1983.

They had friends who lived there and it was just them, my parents and the minister. It was during the depression and both families lived way out in the country and no one had any money, so they kept it a secret from their families for a several weeks.

Day 121 - Feed Mill

We have several 'feed mills' on the river in Guntersville. This is Wayne Feeds. Corn comes in on barges and then they do 'whatever' to turn it into various kinds of feeds. There's a dog food company down the road.

Day 120 - Spanish House

At least that's what we always called it. This house is older than I am (and that's pretty old). It's an Antique Shop now instead of a house - but open by appointment so I've never been inside. It always fascinated me though.

Day 115 - Blue house

I didn't realize we had so many different 'colored' houses in town until I started this project. This was a photo a made before the leaves started turning.

Day 114 - Two tone tree

I'm so enjoying the fall colors - and ours are finally here. They probably won't last long, so I'm taking full advantage. This tree is in my bank parking lot.

Day 110 - choppy water

It's been pretty breezy here the last few days and the water was choppy this morning. The sea gulls seemed to like it though - you can see a few of them if you enlarge the photo.

Day 107 - Breezy Day

Our sky was bluer today than normal (less humidity), but it was quite breezy.

Day 106 - Harvest display

I'm not much on Halloween decorations - but I love the harvest stuff. This was in front of a real estate office in town.

Day 105 - The Witch Crashed

Cute little house - but I was particularly drawn to the crash of the witch on the roof.

Day 102 - Old Henry House

This interesting old house was originally owned by my great-great grandparents - built sometime in the 1800's. I suspect it wasn't pink then. Don't know who owns it now, but at least it's still there and apparently having some work done on it as there was scaffolding on the left as you're looking at it.

The picture below is the same house somewhere around 1900 - the girl on the far left is my great aunt and that's my grandmother sitting next to her. I have no idea who the other two are, but I love this photo.

Day 97 - Old home/now a business

Such a gorgeous old home - now a mortgage company. But at least they've taken care of it. The interior looks much like it did when I was a child - except for the desks and filing cabinets of course. Seems that so many of the old homes are becoming businesses these days.

Day 92 - Don't we Wish

No, unfortunately, those are not the current gas prices in Alabama. That's an abandoned gas station next to the cross stitch shop where I work and I've been meaning to get a photo of the prices. It's obviously been closed for quite awhile. No one can operate it because the underground tanks aren't up to safety standards, the owner won't pay to have them taken up and no one will buy the property knowing they would have to do that also. So there it sits, with it's welcoming/unrealistic prices - but no gas!

Day 91 - golf carts

Not real exciting - and I think these little buggies are used for other things besides a golf cart. There's a place that "customizes" them at the foot of the mountain and I pass it everytime I go into town. They always have carts sitting out front during the daytime.

Day 80 - Sno Biz

One sign says open - one sign says closed. It's actually closed.

It's at the end of the Piggly Wiggly parking lot and across the street from the Rec center & softball fields, so does a pretty good business in the summertime. Tiny little building.

Day 74 - Old, old hospital

I love this building - and amazingly someone bought it a few years ago, re-did it and now it's an office building - "Ringold Plaza". Not sure what year it was built, but I know it was there in the 1940s. My second son was born there in 1959. Then they built the 'new' hospital which opened in 1963 (my youngest son was one of the first babies born in the 'new' hospital), and the one pictured stayed vacant and abandoned for many years. THEN, they built the newer hospital and the '1963 hospital' became the old hospital and one in the photo here became the "old, old" hospital. Then they tore down the 'old' hospital and built a bank there. If you're not totally confused now it's not my fault.

I understand this building pictured here has massive concrete walls and it was apparently quite a challenge to redo it. Probably one of the reasons it wasn't torn down earlier, it would have been pretty difficult and the city didn't want to spend the money to tear it down. I know they've done a great job on the lobby and front entrance and they tell me the offices are lovely.

We're such a "tear it down and build something new" society, I'm so glad this building was saved.

Day 73 - Elementary School - or it was

Better known as "the old rock school" - this is where I attended school in the 2nd through 6th grades. It's now the local 'community theatre' - but at least they didn't tear it down.

Day 70 - Chamber sign

Not a very exciting day in the photo department. This is the sign in front of our Chamber of Commerce.