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Dr. Jim Brown traces a very personal profile of a region in transition through its natural history, local history, and folklore.
In 1971 James Seay Brown Jr. moved to Birmingham with his young family to start his first full-time teaching job at Samford University specializing in modern European history. Within days he discovered the Cahaba River, and soon was regularly exploring many of Alabama’s rivers and much of its countryside—from the Paint Rock River on the Tennessee line to Wolf Bay on the Intracoastal Waterway. He was enchanted both by the myriad animals and plants he discovered and by the surviving old-time settler and Native American folkways so closely tied to their seasonal migrations and development. In this program, he delves deeper into folklore studies for their insights into history. Local examples presented themselves in abundance—Sacred Harp singers and African American railroad callers; the use of handmade snares and stationary fishtraps to catch river redhorse and freshwater drum during their spawning cycles; white oak basketmaking and herbal medicine traditions; the evolution of the single-pen log cabin into the impressive two-story I-house; and many more.
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Located in Hoover, Alabama, at 200 Municipal Drive, the Hoover Public Library has been operating since 1983. The Hoover Public Library seeks to reinvent the way communities view libraries. As the heart and soul of the Hoover community, we are more than just a library. We’re the place you come to meet your friends, experience live theater, peruse art, listen to music, entertain your children, learn about new technology, seek job searching assistance, explore your interests, find good book recommendations and much, much more. We seek to grow our patronage by offering an unparalleled customer experience.