Description: Athens and Limestone County were founded in 1818, the year before Alabama became a state, making Athens one of its oldest cities. The quaint, picturesque downtown square in Athens, the county seat, is the heart of the community. Athens and Limestone County are studies in the ongoing tug-of-war between tradition and progress. Athens is traditionally a railroad and cotton town--once ranking among the state's largest cotton producers--but since the aerospace boom of the 1960s, it has increasingly entered the orbit of the technology center of nearby Huntsville, home of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center and Redstone Arsenal. These days, Athens is home to many manufacturing firms, and local civic groups are focused on revitalizing downtown and bringing tourists to Limestone County.
Review Quotes: Title: Local author keeping Alabama's history alive
Author: Lora Scripps
Publisher: The News Courier
Date: 9/27/2010
Local author Kelly Kazek is at it again, this time bringing to life local and state history with two books that celebrate our past.
Kazek, columnist for and managing editor of The News Courier, has taken on local history in a pictorial book about Limestone County and state history in a book about fun, quirky and little-known tales about Alabama.
"These books were both really fun to put together," Kazek said. "I learned so many new things about this wonderful county, and about our state. I've always loved obscure facts so researching Matilda the World's Oldest Chicken, who was from Bessemer, or Huntsville's landmark church mosaic known as the Eggbeater Jesus kept me intrigued. I hope readers will be too, because, hey, I've got a daughter getting ready to start college soon and I need people to buy some books!"
Kazek will have both books available Friday and Saturday at her booth at the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention at Athens State University. Both the convention and the university are pictured in Kazek's recently released book, "Images of America: Athens and Limestone County."
Forgotten Tales
In "Forgotten Tales of Alabama," Kazek dives into the state's Southern tales, unusual people and their quirks. Published by The History Press, the book includes 140 pages of Alabama's strangest stories.
Tales are included in these sections:
Colorful Characters, such as Blind Tom Wiggins, who was labeled an "idiot" but showed himself to be a musical prodigy, and Outlaw Tom Clark of Florence;
Curious Creatures and Odd Occurrences, including stories on UFOs spotted over Alabama and the Wolf Woman of Mobile;
Strange Sites, such as the Tree That Owns Itself and the Key Underwood Coon Dog Graveyard near Tuscumbia;
Intriguing Incidents like the Birmingham ax-murder spree and the Moonshine Murder Mystery;
Tombstone Tales, which includes stories from the 194 mystery graves from Limestone County to the tale of a man buried in two different cemeteries.
The book will be available for the first time at Kelly Kazek's booth at the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention. The soft-cover book is gift-sized and costs $15.95.
Images of Limestone County
In "Images of America: Athens and Limestone County," Kazek journeys into the past in a 128-page book that recounts one of Alabama's oldest cities.
From the county's most influential people, important places and pivotal events to working, living and playing in Athens and Limestone County, Kazek combines both the tradition and progress of a place founded in 1818.
"Athens and Limestone County" includes more than 180 photographs. The soft-cover book from Arcadia Publishing is available for $21.99 at area booksellers and gift shops and will also be available at the Fiddlers Convention.
Kazek also is the author of a collection of humor columns "Fairly Odd Mother: Musings of a Slightly Off Southern Mom," and "A History of Alabama's Deadliest Tornadoes: Disaster in Dixie." She can be contacted at kelly@athensnews-courier.com or 256-348-1348."