The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1917-07-28
MEN, WOMEN
AND THINGS

Just a bit about Livingston. Not the
| great missionary who carried the gospel
light to darkest Africa, but Livingston.
the little west Alabama city that is hold
| ing on high an educational torch which
is lighting UP the surrounding coun-
! ties with its beams of culture.
| Livingston is situated in Sumter
county one of the 1s counties of cen
trail Alabama forming what is known as
the BLACK Belt" Some seem to think
! these 16 counties get the name of the
! BLACK Belt because in certain sections
| there are about 16 negroes to one white
man, but this is not the case. 1t gets
/ the name from the color of the soil, and
not from the inhabitants, and the cres-
| cent shape of strip of land, 20 to 30
! miles in width from north to south, ex-
| tending from the Alabama Mississippi
/ state line on the west to within few
miles of the Alabama Georgia state line
on the east.
found Livingston attractive in many
| ways. went to the public library,
which is well stocked with readable
books and magazines, and got into an
enthusiastic Red Cross meeting. The
women were in the majority, but the
men were aiding and abetting in the
good work, and l was not surprised that
Livingston and Sumter county raised
their apportionment.
| A thing which appealed to me greatly
| was the cool place around the famous
well, seated, covered and set apart for
a meeting place. It's a great place for
the men to get together and discuss poll
tiles and the war and other live topics.
II beats the average village barber shop
| to death as a clearing house for news.
Every town ought to have such forum.
1t would go long way in settling lot
| of pressing and vexatious city problems.
! Just suppose a score or more of the
| leading citizens of Birmingham could
| set out under the trees at Avondale near
the spring and fresh out the Vexed ques-
! ton of a chairman for the commission.
| do not mean that any body or set of men
| ought to do any hand picking of candi
! dates, but If men of all classes and ranks
could talk it out and agree on a suit
| able man irrespective Of cliques, inter-
ests or political fortunes, it might clear
| the political atmosphere.
| But did not set out to get tangled up
| in the local political embroglio, but
| rather to tell of a glimpse L got of
great school. The Normal at Livingston
| Is a great school, for it is the incarna-
ton of the spirit of great woman, and
as long as Alabamians hold in reverence
the names of its benefactors, they will
keep green the memory Of Julia Strud-
wick Tutwler, whose monument, SO far
as brick and stones is concerned, is built
into the State Normal at Livingston.
The work she began under the wise
management and leadership of Dr. G.
w. Brock has grown until today the
school ranks with any of it's class in the
country. 1 had heard much about the
buildings, equipment, and the grounds,
| but found them way beyond anything l
| had expected. However it takes more
/
school. and SO DIR. Brock has surrounded
himself with a faculty of men and wom-
| en- who are capable in every way to in
| struct teachers.
| AS a strolled out on the campus I
| found about 100 teachers busy in basket
| making. 1t was an interesting sight to
| see their deft fingers at work, and the
| spirit both of helpfulness and rivalry
Z! that was manifested was most pleasing.
| did not before know that basketry
| could be made such a fascinating pas
| time. Il sagsag Ami
Under DR.. Brock the Normal school
| at Livingston, like those at Florence,
Troy, and Jacksonville, has taken a pro-
| gressive step in education. The set Gus
| toms and traditions of the past have
been abandoned and four quarters of
academic and professional work is being
| offered. At Livingston alone the state
| has invested more than 100000 in build
| ings and equipment, and the time hon
| ored habit of running nine months each
year is thing of the past The doors
| or the nOfmalS IN Alabama now SWING
| open practically IL months in the year.
! l consider this a great forward advance
| in education.
| The dormitory at Livingston has every
| convenience for the young women who
attend. 1t is large. airy and comforta-
BILE. found the kitchen clean and san
itary The meal served was appetizlng
| and wholesome. The rest and reception
/ rooms are ample. The bedrooms neat
and coy and supplied with running
water But the thing that appealed to
me most was the fact that the old DOR
mitory was being used by a number of
| young teachers who, to save expense,
| were doing their own cooking, and liv-
! ing on from IS to Sc a month I went
into their kitchenettes and saw them at
4 work. They have solved the problem of
the high cost of living by doing their
own work and cutting out all waste.
| / found that they were doing fine team
| work. l was interested in the building
| devoted to manual arts and in the things
| being made by those at work at the
benches. The garden in the rear of the
buildings was suffering for rain. but it
had already been a great help in feeding