Category: Main Stories

By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus A slight mischievous smile crossed Jay Clark’s face as he recalled chasing people through Haunted House of Horrors. “When I’m the teacher, I run after them down the hallway of lockers. They typically scream. I guess I kind of live for that,” the Decatur man said. “When they leave, sometimes they come back

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By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus See bears up close. Check. See a male moose in the wild. Check. For her 60th birthday, DeAnn Meely checked the two items off her bucket list as she traveled to Alaska with her husband and daughter this past summer. The trip represented an opportunity for the Decatur artist to study wildlife —

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By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus A chance encounter with a stranger at a church supper led Melissa Penley to start a program that, in the past 14 years, has touched thousands of Decatur children. “I hate that children are dealing with so many issues these days. I thought if we could just feed them on the weekends, that’s

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By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus The cooler temperatures of fall offer an opportunity for north Alabamians to explore local outdoor treasures. Whether going on a solo hike at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge or taking the family to a pumpkin farm, check out these adventures. For the family: Hidden Rivers Farm 169 Goose Pond Road in Hartselle The 4-acre

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By Jean Cole | Living 50 Plus Whenever Larry Lemmond’s wife asks about his growing collection of antique tractors and engines, he tells her, “Blame your daddy — he got me started.” He still recalls the day he fell in love with them. “That was 30-something years ago, but I remember exactly,” said Lemmond, 78. “There was an antique engine

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By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus After hundreds of hours of making slip knots and chains of yarn, Sylvia Miller arrived at Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children armed with 30 hand-knitted blankets and hand-written notes. The blankets created by the Elijah’s Blanket volunteers will end up wrapped around the mothers and fathers of infants in the Neonatal Intensive

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By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus At the age of 10, Blake McAnally delivered his first sermon at his grandfather’s church. He spoke for 45 minutes about the crucifixion. “That was not a good idea to speak for 45 minutes, but I didn’t know that at the time,” the 61-year-old McAnally, of Decatur, said. “Speaking in front of people

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