Heritage Center Adds Spice to Rural Life
By Becky Hodgen Email
Deep in the Black Belt of Alabama treasures that seem to be dying out in a fast-paced world can be discovered. It can be said that life moves a little slower here. Cell phones don’t rule life, and folks still sit on their porch and snap peas.
It would be easy not to notice the quaint little town of Thomaston in Marengo County off of Alabama State Highway 25. A rusted sign points to Marengo County School. One stop light and one gas station shows the turn to the little sleepy town with a population of less than 400.
But Gayle Etheridge knows that her little town has got a big secret. Gayle helped open the Alabama Rural Heritage Center. Today, it features some of the Black Belt’s finest crafts and now, starting in spring of 2007, the center also offers a little taste of the South to visitors.
Mama Nems Kitchen, under the direction of Chef Robert Cawley and his apprentice chef Dylan Daniels, a Marengo County native, give down home tastes a new revitalized twist. With entrees that bring fried green tomatoes together with Mama Nems famous pepper jelly, the menu takes folks back to grandma’s table.
So why the motivation to open a restaurant and craft shop in the middle of Marengo County?
Marengo County used to be a powerhouse of agriculture. When cotton farms gave out, it was as if the heartbeat of the county stopped. With a civilian labor force of only 8,912 and the unemployment rate at 4.6 percent, Marengo County is typical of other struggling rural counties. As children grow up, they see no way to thrive here and move away and don’t come back.
Etheridge wanted to change that and give this community back its identity and a reason to be proud. So with the help of city council members, Mayor Patsy Sumrall, and Mary Jolley, former director of economic and community affairs for the University of Alabama, the center was born.
“That’s why I helped open the Alabama Rural Heritage Center. It gave three to four jobs to this community,” Etheridge says. “That might not seem like a lot to others, but to Thomaston that’s three to four more jobs than it had.”
The center grew. Now, with the opening of the Mama Nem’s Kitchen, even more jobs are being provided.
According to Larry Lee, an Alabama resident and rural advocate, there is a fine line between rural and urban areas. The idea of moving big industry to the Black Belt may not always be the best solution. But, by spotlighting their culture, venues such as the Center not only help bring back memories but also help sustain the life that they enjoy.
“These people don’t want big businesses coming and taking over their way of life,” says Lee. “They don’t want 300 new jobs in their community. They just want five to ten new jobs, and that’s hard for many people to understand and take note of.”
Thomaston is not an area that wants to conform to the bigger, busier way of life. It likes its special days such as Rural Fun Day.
“That’s how this all began,” says local resident Barbara Akins. “It was a neat day where you people traveled from all around, and it was based around Black Belt Barbeque. You can’t beat $5 a plate.”
In 1987, the Alabama Rural Heritage Foundation was founded. Its main mission was to preserve and protect Alabama’s rural heritage. Since the foundation began, it has been awarded over $800,000 in grant money. In April 2005, the Alabama Rural Heritage Center became a reality and opened to the public.
In 2006, the center began to take on a new look. The Auburn University Rural Studio came in as the designing and building partners and helped bring it all together. Now the center, located in part of the old Marengo County school that just so happens to be the oldest standing country high school in the state, feeds its guests as well as educates them.
“Every thing this center incorporates is strictly Alabama born and bred,” says Etheridge.
The center also began to incorporate economic development in its mission. It began to showcase home grown vegetables and local arts and crafts. Soon Mama Nems pepper jelly was born. As visitors walk around the Alabama Rural Heritage Center, pepper jelly begins to take on its own identity. It represents grandchildren and grandmothers making pepper jelly, memories that many residents hold dear.
Chatter from residents begins to bring back scenes from Forrest Gump. Just as shrimp could be put with anything, pepper jelly seems to spice up any dish. Pepper Jelly on fried green tomatoes, pepper jelly on crackers, pepper jelly on omelets. It seems any meal is an excuse for pepper jelly to be on the table.
Mama Nems commercial kitchen, with its pepper jelly and watermelon rind pickles, brings in the crowds. It tries to take familiar foods such as the barbeque and gives it a new twist.
It’s Thomaston’s way of coping with the changes, while also reminding visitors of a slower more precious time.
Etheridge said she hopes that its location and its reputation will stop people traveling to and from the beach and to ballgame weekends. Featuring basic Alabama products, the center will help put Thomaston back on the map.
The aroma of Kudzu soap fills the center’s gift shop. A whole wall is dedicated to pepper jelly. Different Alabama artists showcase their work on another wall. Quilts hang over hand-made rocking chairs. Each item truly takes one back in time, which is exactly what the center aims to do.
In June of 2007, Thomaston will also bring back its tradition of showing the play “Steel Magnolias.” The original cast and directors of the summer of 2005 will be presenting the play.
So big plans are in store for this little town. Dreamers such as Gayle Etheridge and Mary Jolley have helped make these plans a reality. Travelers now will be able to fill up with a warm meal and take back memories, while also helping by spreading the word about the cultural contributions that the Alabama Rural Heritage Center provides.
Etheridge cooks up plan to put town on the map
Gayle Etheridge had a dream for her little town of Thomaston, Ala. Her town, with a population of less than 400, was struggling to stay on the map, but she knew that it had spunk.
Growing up in Thomaston, she had watched this small town that used to be a bustling little place eventually shrink down to just a turn off of Highway 25. But Etheridge was not going to let her little town fall off the map.
With the help of Mary Jolley, former director of economic and community affairs for the University of Alabama, they began to come up with a plan to help the community.
Etheridge wanted to find a way to highlight what really made Thomaston unique.
She and Jolley soon came up with the Rural Alabama Heritage Center. The idea came from a tradition in Thomaston called Rural Fun day. It shed light on some of the best kept secretes from around the area.
Arts and crafts were sold by artists who lived in and around the Black Belt, and visitors got a true taste of the famous Black Belt barbeque.
Etheridge knew she had a great idea on her hands.
So began The Rural Alabama Heritage Center that Etheridge now directs She is also the proud new director of Mama Nems, a restaurant opened in the spring of 2007. The restaurant features its signature pepper jelly and barbeque.
So Etheridge is doing what she set out to do. She helps her little town by bringing a taste of Thomaston to travelers and giving something back to her community.
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Last updated May 03, 2007