Tag: featured

(ODD)yssey, Blog Post

That time a trip to the ‘Ladies Rest Room’ in Tennessee proved educational

Kelly Kazek

The historic Ladies Rest Room in Lewisburg, Tenn., was a lounge for country women to use to rest, eat or wash up when they came to town. They were encouraged by the USDA in the early 1900s. (Photo courtesy of Duane and Tracy Marsteller/Historical Marker Database) On a recent drive to my late mother’s and… Continue reading That time a trip to the ‘Ladies Rest Room’ in Tennessee proved educational

Blog Post

Newspaper print editions ended but you can still find my columns/books in print

Kelly Kazek

This weekend saw a flurry of social media posts about the publishing of the last print editions of Alabama’s largest newspapers, The Huntsville Times, Mobile Press-Register and The Birmingham News. The main things I have to say about that: AL.com has lots and lots of news stories from across Alabama. I am honored to continue… Continue reading Newspaper print editions ended but you can still find my columns/books in print

Blog Post

This mural in a small Tennessee town has an amusing backstory

Kelly Kazek

The mural in Sweetwater, Tennessee, about Harry Burns' mother. I recently visited the town of Sweetwater, Tenn., for the first time. It was so quaint. It is also home to an underground cave attraction called The Lost Sea, which was also very cool. See photos and read more here. In downtown Sweetwater, one business had… Continue reading This mural in a small Tennessee town has an amusing backstory

(ODD)yssey, Blog Post, Natural (ODD)yssey

A ride on the Lost Sea, the nation’s largest underground lake

Kelly Kazek

The gift shop and entrance to the Lost Sea. A little piece of advice: You really shouldn’t watch the horror movie “The Cave” before going into an actual cave. Especially when the film involves underwater cave diving and strange creatures and the actual cave involves lots of water and strange … rainbow trout. While the… Continue reading A ride on the Lost Sea, the nation’s largest underground lake

(ODD)yssey, Blog Post

A visit to the ruins of Alabama’s first penitentiary

Kelly Kazek

A 1940s postcard of the Alabama State Penitentiary in Wetumpka, Ala. (Troy University Libraries) Not long ago, when Sweetums was doing a presentation at the Elmore County Museum in Wetumpka, Ala., we decided to see what remained of Alabama’s first prison, opened in 1842. Known as Wetumpka State Penitentiary or Alabama State Penitentiary, it operated for 100… Continue reading A visit to the ruins of Alabama’s first penitentiary