Friday, April 03, 2009

Hey y'all~

Spent the afternoon out at Lake Lee with the bossman watching the Blue Angels do their dance of death.
Astounding!
Marvelous!
Beautiful!

They'll be back in T-town tomorrow afternoon so if you can make it happen~

Y'ALL COME!

best,
rr


My Boss, Lee Pake, Standing Behind Cat Woman

LEE PAKE, ALABAMA'S LIVING LEGEND
Not only did Lee recruit more members into Alabama Home Builders this year than any other home builder, he's recruited more members than anyone!





Ricky Blumenfeld, Robertoreg, Mickey Watson, Sylvia Jackson, Allen Ziegler, Louis Davis







Kathy On St. George

Hi Robert,
Just thought you might want to know , Lester Cleveland ( L. C. ) Green
crossed over on April 1 at the age of 90 .
A fashion icon who brought the styles of the '60's to Dothan , Al.

Best,
David A.

RR....

I'm sorry to hear about the passing of L.C. Green.
His store was next to Buie's City Cafe, so I got to
know him well.

He was a great businessman and lots of fun to hang with.
I recently sent you a bit that a Miami disc-jockey used as a show opener.
I got that bit from Tony Narducci, L.C.'s
nephew. He lived in Miami but visited L.C.,who lived up the street from me, in the summer.
I noticed he was one of the pall bearers at the funeral.
I haven't seen or heard from him in forty years.

Maybe I can see him again.

Small world.
Isn't it?

Buddy


3-13-09 message from Buie

RR..
I luv this show opener from a Miami disc jockey. circa 1959.

WELCOME IN TO ANOTHER HOUR OF POWER
FROM THE TOWER OF THE NATION'S STATION
THIS SWINGING SOIREE IS BROUGHT YOUR WAY BY ................

Rap on,
BB




Green, Lester Cleveland "L.C."
View/Sign Guest Book

Mr. Lester Cleveland "L.C." Green passed away Wednesday, April 1, 2009, at Flowers Hospital following a lengthy illness. He was 90.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, April 4, 2009, at 2:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church with Dr. Johnny Fain and the Rev. Bob Gross officiating. Visitation will be from 1 p.m. until service time on Saturday in the sanctuary. Burial will follow in Memory Hill Cemetery. Flowers will be accepted or contributions may be made to the Alabama Baptist Children's Home or First Baptist Church Building Fund.
Mr. Green was born Aug. 21, 1918, in the Kinsey area to the late Lester C. Green Sr. and Thollie Brackin Green. A lifelong resident of Dothan, Mr. Green graduated from Dothan High School. During WWII, he served his country with the 8th Air Force, U.S. Army Air Corps in England. He was owner and operator of L.C. Green Clothing Co. in downtown Dothan and Porter Square Mall for more than 30 years. He has been a member of FBC since 1955. Mr. Green served as a deacon, a Training Union and Sunday school member.
He was preceded in death by his parents; three sisters, Sylvia Green, Doris Martin and Audrey Cherry; brother, Wallace A. Green; infant brother, Robert Harold Green.
Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Martha Roberson Green, formerly of Graceville, Fla.; three children, William Samuel "Bill" and his wife, Margaret, Becky Green of Oakman, Ga., Joanna Lea Beige and her husband, Markus of Dachau, Germany; sisters, Thessalie Gouge and her husband, Floyd of Dothan, Gloria Green of Dothan, Sherry Harritos of Dothan; brothers, Hidy Green and his wife, Evelyn of Midland City, Joe F. Green and his wife, Barbara of Dothan; five grandchildren, Lauren (Philip) Justiss of Seagrove, Fla., Hunter and Holden Green of Dothan, Dawson and Justin Painter of Chelsea; and one great-grandson, William Philip Justiss of Seagrove, Fla.
Active pallbearers will be Tony C. Narducci, Larry N. Green, Wesley Green, Randy Green, Dennis Montgomery and Hunter Green.
Honorary pallbearers will be the Chapel School Class of First Baptist Church and the Supper Group.
Ward Wilson Memory Hill Funeral Home, Cemetery and Crematory, (334) 792-4194, is in charge of arrangements. Sign the guest book at www.dothaneagle.com.


Monday, June 23, 2008

When I was in High School, I worked part time at L.C. Green's Clothing Co. on Foster St.
I often wondered what happened to L.C. I'm sure he must either be deceased or in his 80's
by now.

He was a very colorful character, sort of like Ebeneezer Scrooge.

He and Charlie Merceir
used to yell at each other across Foster st. and call each other names. I think at one time they were
in business together and there was some bad blood between them.

Maybe Buddy Buie would know.


Bill Hanke

LC and Charlie both are deceased. LC’s wife is still living. I saw her in the grocery store a couple of months ago. I worked with LC’s brother, Heidi Green at Stephenson’s IGA from ’64-’66 along with some other colorful people.

Bill you are right, Charlie and LC used to keep Foster St entertained.

I bought clothes from both of them.

H

On Thu, Jun 26, 2008 D. M. wrote:

LC Green is alive and doing fairly well. Probably in his late 80's.
Daddy (Charlie Mercier) died in 1972.
I think the story has been embellished over the years. They were fierce competitors, but had character and class that would have made that highly unlikely.


That's funny about Ann Howard's mother dating L.C.
He used to tell us that when he was in high school, he was like
the Atlanta Journal because he covered Dixie like the dew. He also said they called him Blitzcreig Green because he moved in fast and struck like lightning.
LOL.
Bill Hanke



I remember my mother trying to jew down L.C. one time to buy me a winter coat. It's the only time I ever heard her do something like that. Times must have been tough at Covington Planter Co. that year.
Goo

DOTHAN'S FLASH FLOOD~ March 28,2009

Anybody want to buy a perfectly good strip shopping center that's not in a flood plain?








all images courtesy of Harrison

Wednesday, April 01, 2009


MYSTERY NIGHT @ STURDIVANT


RR~
Not that it matters, but I got your email to my Yahoo account & not my Comcast account. Comcast has changed our email system & I don't know if I am missing emails or what.
I really enjoyed reading Buddy's speech that he delivered at your reunion. It was most heartfelt (I'm sure LITERALLY, for him!) and took me back to the good ole days, a simpler time and being YOUNG!! No, we can't live in the past, but we surely can visit it & enjoy our wonderful memories...and remember where we all came from.
Yep, good ALWAYS wins over evil, family and friends are most important...and you learn these things by being brought up in a town such as Dothan, by parents, aunts & uncles (yes, it takes a village, and I was lucky enough to have come from a large extended family. So besides my parents, I had 7 aunts & uncles to answer to as well!). And, in Buddy's case...such humility. What a great guy to have to remind us of these things! I'm sure the singing was great and I know a good time was had by all.
Peace out,man!
BQ~

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Hey y'all~

Many thanks to the great Al Kooper http://alkooper.com
for sending us a Mabel King tune called
ALABAMA ROCK 'n ROLL!
(just wish I knew how to post it on the blog)
If you'd like to rock out with yo'
IT
out, ax fo' Mabel @
robertoreg@gmail.com

No way in the world a po' boy like me could have had so much fun the past three days without a lot of LOVE,
help and support.

ZERO, NW FLA. wishes to thank Kevin, Lee, Karen, Christopher, Jimmy, Bud, Bec, Wilbur, Buddy, Gloria Jane, Larry, Carl, Sid, Danny , Charmin' Sharman, Lewis, M. , Ann & Joe.

Nothin' that good gets done without assistance.

MUCHAS!

best,
rr

RR
Gloria and I enjoyed seeing you at the reunion.
I enjoyed singing harmony on Georgia Pines with Wilbur. He's a great performer
and deserves another day in the sun. I wish he'd perform more.

The flood almost got us. The water was up to the top of the seawall on Thomas Mill Creek. We'd have
been in deep do-do if the rain had continued. Weathermen are predicting more heavy rain this week
and we are all a little nervous.
Pray for sunshine.

BB

Buddy Buie's address to the Saturday, March 28th DHS Class of '59 50th Reunion


Each one of us has a story of how we got from the corridors of DHS in 1959 to the Dothan Country Club tonight.

We all have been blessed just to be alive. Many of us have survived health problems. Some have had to overcome personal problems, financial problems, and other difficulties.

We all have our own bag of rocks to drag. But, here we are tonight, alive and well and ready to celebrate our 50th reunion.

I wish everyone here could share their stories with us, but Bobby Bottoms asked me to share mine.

I started writing songs in my head when I was in high school-probably in Miss Jones’ English class. I hated school from the time I began to the time I graduated. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my friends and all the fun times, but studying was not my strength.

I graduated from Dothan High School in 1959 with great distinction. The distinction was the fact that I was one of the worst students to ever walk those hallowed halls.

As you might remember, Bobby Goldsboro and John Rainey Adkins were our classmates, and they had a little band called the Webs. They weren’t good talkers but I was, and so I became their booking agent and manager.

But secretly I wanted to be a songwriter. I listened to Big Bam, WAGF, and WDIG all the time. I loved the songs themselves and I knew what I wanted to do.

John Rainey Adkins was the first person to take me seriously as a writer. My writing career began in the front seat of my 56 Chevy. We would sit in front of his house on Main Street and I would sing A-Cappella the songs in my head and he would pick them out on guitar. Later Bobby and I began writing together.

Our ticket to the big time was Roy Orbison. I brought him to Dothan when I promoted a concert at the Houston County farm center. He loved the band and hired them to be his back up band and I became his road manager.

Roy was from a tiny town in Texas called Wink. He was a dreamer like us and we all shared the small town experience. I believe that was one of the reasons we all related to each other so well.

Bobby left to go on his own when he had a big hit with Funny Little Clown. I went to New York with him as his manager and met everybody at United Artist Music.

One day Mike Stewart, president of UA called me to his office and told me that I was too young and inexperienced to be managing an artist with a top ten record. He said – I’ll make you a deal. You give up management and we’ll sign you as a writer. I really like your writing and I’m willing to advance you $75 a week for five years. There was no contract, just a handshake, but for 5 years a check would arrive at 1008 Irwin St, Dothan Ala, my folks home.

Later I saw him at award dinners and he’d always smile and say –“I knew you’d make it.”

From 1966 to 1980 my co-writers and I had around 30 billboard hits, including Spooky, Stormy and Traces of Love. One of my proudest achievements was when I formed the Atlanta Rhythm Section from a group of session musicians. Everyone said you couldn’t make a rock and roll group from a bunch of session musicians, but we did it.

From that endeavor came hits like So Into You, Imaginary Lover, Bother Me Tonight, and Champagne Jam. We wrote most of them on Lake Eufaula and I produced most of them in my Atlanta studio. In the 90s, I became enthralled with contemporary country music and had cuts by Travis Tritt, Wynonna Judd and Garth Brooks.

I list these accomplishments not to be boastful, but to make the point that big ole dreams come true in little ole Dothan, Alabama.

I remember Dothan in the post-war years, the soldiers were coming home and downtown was buzzing with enthusiasm. New businesses were starting and there was a feeling that the sky was the limit.

I miss Nip & Ernie’s, Oscars, Toms, Porters Fairy Land, Kelly Springs and Sky-View drive in.

.

I grew up believing good wins over evil and that friends and family are important. Dothan Alabama taught me these lessons and I am truly thankful.

I want to thank Bobby Bottoms and everyone on the reunion committee for their hard work.