Category Archives: Book Signing

Annual Gathering, Annual meeting, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Birmingham Historical Society, BOOK, Book Sale, Book Signing, Cake Contest, Food History, Publications

Photo Highlights from the Annual Meeting

First the PROGRAM! Birmingham boosters Stewart Dansby and Tom Cosby had the audience enthusiastically participating in a “Birmingham IQ” quiz highlighting the many superlatives that make Birmingham a great place to live. Did you know…? WOW! The audience was impressed by stats and amenities that are often overlooked by Birmingham natives.

Birmingham Historical Society President Wayne Hester begins the annual meeting as the audience reviews multiple choice answers to the “Birmingham IQ” quiz by Tom Cosby and Stewart Dansby.

Stewart Dansby and Tom Cosby created a list of multiple choice answers to test Birmingham’s knowledge of their city.

Group of five individuals posing for a photo at an event, with one person holding a tote bag that says 'Monet to Matisse'.
Pictured left to right: Stewart Dansby, Maury Shevin, Jennifer Chandler (Vulcan Park & Museum), Graham Boettcher (Birmingham Museum of Art), and Tom Cosby. Maury Shevin was the winner of the Birmingham IQ test. Jennifer and Graham donated prizes along with prizes from Lyric Theater, Rickwood Field, and Birmingham Historical Society.

Next the BOOK!

Birmingham Historical Society members all received a copy of Birmingham by the Book: A Guide to the Magic City, a definitive guide of over 50 years of research by Marjorie White about her adopted city. Tasked with directing the organization as a newcomer, one of her first goals was to create a guide and many years and over 70 publications later, this is the not-to-be-missed result. A book signing by Marjorie White followed the meeting.

Available locally at Thank You Books, Shoppe, Birmingham Museum of Art, and at Birmingham Historical Society.

After the quiz, Birmingham Historical Society VP, Rick Sprague, reported on the progress of the society since a survey produced a strategic plan that was published in 2020. He noted that ALL goals have been achieved and in some cases surpassed!


Followed by the CAKES! In recognition of the guide book’s history, all of the cakes entered used recipes that were over 50 years old with some interesting stories to accompany them.

A round, frosted cake with a smooth white icing and small red flecks, placed on a decorative glass cake stand.

And finally many thanks to the JUDGES! Three members of Les Dames d’Escoffier Birmingham agreed to judge the cakes. Christiana Roussel, Sonthe Burge, and Charbett Cauthen. We were delighted to have their expertise and share in their enthusiasm for all things culinary!

Three women smiling together at a table with desserts, including cakes and a potted plant, at an event.
Two women engage in conversation at a table filled with various desserts and snacks during an event, with a large cake prominently displayed.
A decorated table featuring several cakes and desserts, with greenery accents and decorative place settings. Three women are engaged in conversation nearby.
A pecan meringue torte displayed on a glass plate, partially sliced to reveal its interior layers. The dessert is on a yellow serving platter alongside a knife and a rolled cloth napkin. A yellow award ribbon reads 'Best Visual Presentation.'
Judges left to right: Christiana Roussel, Sonthe Burge, and Charbett Cauthen. BHS Trustee and cake contest organizer, Carolanne Roberts, chats with Christiana.

Thank you to all who participated and especially to all who attended!

Annual Gathering, Annual meeting, Birmingham Historical Society, BOOK, Book Sale, Book Signing, Cake Contest, City of Birmingham, Meetings, Membership, Publications

ANNUAL MEETING, Birmingham by the Book Introduction & Event Highlights

  • Monday, February 23rd, 2026, 7:00 PM
  • Birmingham Botanical Gardens Auditorium
  • Free and open to the public

Available NOW!

BUY HERE ON AMAZON.COM
or support our local vendors: Shoppe in Forest Park and Thank You Books in Crestwood

Cover of 'Birmingham by the Book: A Guide to the Magic City' published by the Birmingham Historical Society, featuring an aerial view of Birmingham at sunset.
Invitation to the Annual Meeting of the Birmingham Historical Society, featuring the introduction of 'Birmingham by the Book.'

What’s Your Birmingham IQ? with Birmingham boosters Tom Cosby and Stewart Dansby

Cosby and Dansby are former public relations and marketing officers of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and leaders in our city and in the saving and conserving of its landmarks, notably Vulcan, Rickwood Field, and the Lyric

And featuring Birmingham Historical Society’s annual cake contest with this year’s theme: Cakes with a Past

A flyer for a cake contest titled 'Cakes with a Past' featuring colorful illustrations of cakes. The flyer outlines the mission, rules, and judging categories for participants. It invites entries that celebrate memories associated with cakes from the past 50 years.
Cakes with a Past
A cake background form for the Birmingham Historical Society's 'Cakes with a Past' contest, dated February 23, 2026, featuring sections for personal information, cake details, and a recipe.
Rules

Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, Arthur Shores, Birmingham Historical Society, BOOK, Book Sale, Book Signing, civil rights, Dynamite Hill, Fred Shuttlesworth

Birmingham Historical Society presents Tuxedo Junction documentary

Mark your calendars and pre-register for this FREE event in January

Tickets available HERE

Join us in person for a fun afternoon with the Birmingham Historical Society for a special screening of this award-winning documentary that captures the amazing musical history that came out of Ensley in the 1920s through the 1950s. Local filmmakers Katie Rogers and Brandon McCray will be in attendance for a special Q&A after the film, and Burgin Mathews will be signing and selling his book on the subject. Stay for drinks in the courtyard with live jazz by Jose Carr and Bo Berry and friends, who are also featured in the film. *Runtime: 52min

Enjoy the trailer & for more info on the film, visit www.tuxedojunctiondoc.com

Register HERE

Date and time

Sunday, January 18, 2026 · 2 – 5pm CST

Location

Virginia Samford Theatre1116 26th Street South Birmingham, AL 35205

Collage of historical images and contemporary moments related to the documentary 'Tuxedo Junction,' featuring musicians, filmmakers, and people celebrating the musical heritage of Ensley.
Annual Gathering, Annual meeting, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Birmingham Civil Rights, Birmingham Historical Society, Birmingham Landmarks, Birmingham pioneers, BOOK, Book Sale, Book Signing, Cake & Pie Contest, Cake Contest, Meetings, Membership, Parks & Recreation, Publications, Rickwood Field

The 83rd Annual Meeting Featuring America’s Oldest Ball Field – Rickwood

ALL ARE WELCOME at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Birmingham Historical Society at 7PM on Monday, February 24th at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

The meeting will feature guest speaker, Gerald Watkins, Director of the Friends of Rickwood, and a lifetime baseball enthusiast! His talk, Rickwood: Then & Now, will tell the story of America’s oldest grandstand and ballpark. The Friends’ fundraising campaign, spearheaded by Terry Slaughter, Tom Cosby, and Coke Mathews, enabled the park to be restored, expanded, and subsequently brought Alabama’s first Major League Baseball game to Birmingham. Books about Rickwood will be available for sale, and chocolate cake entries from the annual cake contest will be judged and available after the meeting for sampling!

Baseball fans, society supporters and members, and Alabama historians, don’t miss this meeting!

Birmingham Historical Society, BOOK, Book Sale, Book Signing, Railroads

Crescent Train Wreck, Thanksgiving 1951

Have you traveled on the Crescent from Birmingham’s Morris Avenue train station south to New Orleans or north to New York? Are you a train aficionado? Have you been to the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum? Are you from Woodstock, Georgia?

Then you will enjoy reading the new book by Richard Neil detailing a significant train wreck of the Crescent with the Southerner on November 25, 1951 in Woodstock, GA.

The author’s father was fireman of the Crescent during this event, and Richard Neil includes transcripts of wreck survivors as they tell the story of that fateful day.

On December 14, 9AM to 3PM, Richard Neil will have a book signing and discussion of his book, All the Livelong Day: The Thanksgiving Wreck at Woodstock at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera.

It will also be a great time to visit the museum, view exhibits, ride the trains…

and even visit the North Pole! A Christmas Tradition, the train travels in the dark to Santa’s workshop. For more information or to buy tickets, click here!

For more information about the book signing, visit Richard Neil’s website HERE or the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera HERE

Buy Richard Neil’s book on Amazon HERE

“All the Livelong Day is a creative nonfiction narrative by Richard Neil detailing theThanksgiving Wreck at Woodstock, on November 25, 1951. The true account is narrated by the son of the fireman on Southern Railway’s Second 47, The Crescent, southbound from Birmingham to Meridian, Mississippi to New Orleans. The story details the train wreck and the characters involved, The Greatest Generation of post-World War II. The author is a forester and describes the southern flora as well as the Klamath National Forest mountains of Northern California. The book begins with the author being stationed in Eddy Gulch Fire Tower in summer of 2021, a summer of intense wildfire. He returns home to Red Mountain in Birmingham, Alabama, on a perch below Vulcan, a cast iron statue of the god of forge and metalworking. The story is told from there, beginning on morning of the wreck. In fine detail, the narrative tells of the fireman’s ride to Birmingham Terminal Station and of the train ride south, a ride onboard engine, until the trains meet head-on in Woodstock. The fireman’s wife and brothers drive from Woodlawn, a community in Birmingham, to Woodstock on night of the wreck to try to find out who’s alive and who isn’t. National Transportation Safety Board transcripts allow the participants to tell their story in their own words using their actual testimony.” – Amazon

Birmingham Historical Society, Birmingham pioneers, BOOK, Book Sale, Book Signing, City of Birmingham, Healthcare, lecture, Medical Care, Publications, Research, UAB

The Story of UAB – A Talk and Book Signing

Please mark your calendars for this book signing and talk about the history of Birmingham’s largest employer and one of the nation’s largest transplant programs. Based on the book by Dr. Arnold Diethelm, cardiovasular surgeon Dr. William Holman will recount the leadership of visionary doctors at UAB medical center.


About our speaker: Dr. Bill Holman
Following training at Cornell and
Duke Universities, the cardiovascular
surgeon joined the UAB faculty in 1987.

Currently Emeritus Professor
in Surgery, Dr. Holman championed
the editing and publishing of Order
from Chaos, his father-in-law’s
unpublished manuscript.

Watch the interview on CBS 42 by Jen Cardone

Director Marjorie White, greeting Ehney Camp. Tim Pennyciat, UAB Archivist on left
Peggy Balliet showing Dr. bill Holman a photo of the first fundraising gala for the Kidney Foundation.
BHS Volunteer, Katie Tipton
Speaker, Dr. Bill Holman
BHS Director, Marjorie White
First fund raising gala for the Kidney Foundation.
Peggy Balliet organized the first fund raising gala for the Kidney Foundation. She, Joe Farley and Marie Ingalls are in the photo along with UAB faculty.
Tim Pennyciat, UAB Archivist with Dr. Bill Holman
Annual Gathering, Annual meeting, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Birmingham Historical Society, BOOK, Book Sale, Book Signing, Cake & Pie Contest, Favorite Pie & Cake Contest, Meetings, Membership, Publications, Trustees

500 Million Years of Alabama History at our 82nd Annual Meeting

Please join us on Monday, February 26 at 7 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens for the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Birmingham Historical Society. President Wayne Hester will preside. 

Recorded history is said to have begun with the drafting of the Sumerian cuneiform tablets, approximately 5,000 years ago. Beginning in the 19th century, the study of fossils has evolved to tell a significantly longer span of earth’s history:  500 million years, i.e. “Deep Time.” Per our speaker Bill Deutsch: “Alabama has been part of this unfolding story  since the modern science of Paleontology began, and fossil richness will keep it center stage.”

 Deutsch will take us on a mesmerizing “Walk Through Deep Time”, unfurling Alabama’s rich fossil legacy and its connections to our history, geology, and world-class biodiversity.  (Add to your FB calendar HERE)

Following Dr. Deutsch’s talk, Carolanne Roberts will announce the winners of the Fruity Wonders Cake Competition, praising our members’ creations and sharing comments from our esteemed judges.

Then, we invite you to get a copy of Ancient Life in Alabama, to chat with Bill Deutsch,  sample  cake, and pay 2024 Society dues. Copies of Deutsch’s book will be available for sale for $30 cash, check, or charge.

About the Author

Dr. William (“Bill”) Deutsch is a Research Fellow Emeritus in the Auburn University School of Fisheries, Agriculture, and Aquatic Sciences. The New York native holds degrees in Biology, Anthropology and Zoology, and Aquatic Ecology, the later a PhD from Auburn. During his 26 years as an aquatic ecologist in Alabama, With a longstanding interest in fossils, Deutsch participated in fossils hunting expeditions across the nation He has taught, lectured, and written widely about the natural wonders of our state, especially its rivers and its fossilsand what they can tell us about the present and times long past.

“Since moving to Alabama nearly 40 years ago, I’ve learned about its rich variety of fossils. Rock outcrops are fanned out in a relatively discernible pattern, with bands of fossils representing each geological era. The story of more than 500 million years of life is here, just under our feet. Tropical seas teemed with sharks, mosasaurs, and reef life. Coal-forming swamps ringed coastlines with huge dragonflies and millipedes, slithering amphibians, and towering horsetail plants. Dinosaurs of several types were here along with toothed birds, legged whales, rhinoceroses, mastodons, and giant sloths—the highest fossil diversity of any state east of the Mississippi River! In Alabama? Who knew? How and when did this happen?”

–-Bill Deutsch, “Preface,” Ancient Life in Alabama : The Fossils, The Finders & Why It Matters, July 2022.

“Fruit came with the flowering plants in the Mesozoic age [145 to  66 million years ago]. Late dinosaurs probably imbibed.” Bill Deutsch. 

CALLING ALL CAKES

For the Fruity Wonders Cake Contest

THE RULES: Bake your cake and bring the form and your cake for judging to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Auditorium between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m. on February 26. 

JUDGING CATEGORIES: Most Colorful + Best Creative Use of Fruit + Best Visual Presentation +Best Flavor Profiles + Best Memory Statement + Best Overall

Birmingham Historical Society, BOOK, Book Sale, Book Signing, family history, lecture, Politics, Publications

Sunday, October 29th! The Story of Christine Putman and Big Jim Folsom

Alabama governors have had their share of controversy over the years, but no one can forget “Big Jim Folsom”. A huge man, at 6’ 8” and weighing 250 pounds, he was hard to miss in a crowd, and his larger than life personality matched his size. A notorious ladies man, as a recently widowed governor, he once organized an event where young women lined up to kiss him, earning him the title of ‘Kissin’ Jim’.

He was a populist, grew up very poor in Elba, Alabama, and often traveled with a hillbilly band, the Strawberry Pickers, along with a mop and a bucket to ‘clean up’ politics where he also collected donations. He was loved by the people he supported, but ultimately ruined his career due to his alcoholism and bawdiness.

Christine Putman & Big Jim Folsom by James Douglas Putman, Jr. (Folsom’s grandson) Talk & Book Signing
Sunday, October 29, 3:00 p.m. at 2827 Highland Avenue Signed books will be available for $19.95 – or available now on AMAZON.com

His grandson, Jamie, has written a book about Big Jim’s relationship with his grandmother Christine Putman, who met Folsom when she was a cashier at the Tutwiler Hotel. Although the relationship lasted several years, over multiple cities, and resulted in a son, Big Jim kept the relationship hidden from the general public during his political campaign. Despite multiple marriage promises to Christine, and even after the birth of their son, he never married her. Years later, he publicly acknowledged paternity, and made a financial settlement. However in the interim, to her heartbreak, he had married another woman. His political opponents capitalized on this with songs like the one below:

Written and performed by his political opponents, this was one of several songs focusing on Big Jim’s foibles.

She was poor but she was honest, honest, honest
No victim of a rich man’s whim
Till she met that Southern gentleman, Big Jim Folsom
And she had a child by him.
It’s the rich what gets the glory;
It’s the poor what gets the blame;
It’s the same the whole world over, over, over;
It’s a dirty gosh-darn shame.
Now he sits in Governor’s Mansion
Makin’ laws for all mankind
While she walks the streets of Cullman, Alabama
Selling grapes from her grapevine
So, young ladies, take a warning
And don’t ever take a ride
With Alabama’s Christian gentleman Big Jim Folsom
And you’ll be a virgin bride. (to chorus)

Jamie Putman’s father, James Douglas Putman, Sr. authorized this version of his mother’s story written by Alabama author, William Bradford Huie. Published in 1977, it’s the story of the rebirth of the illegitimate son of one of the most powerful men in American politics.

(Clockwise left to right: “Kissin’Jim” – Alabama Department of Archives; Strawberry Pickers – Burgin Mathews; James E Folsom, Sr. – Encylopedia of Alabama; Christine and Big Jim – AL.com; James E Folsom, Sr. – Encyclopedia of Alabama; Big Jim at the Governor’s Conference – Public Domain)

Birmingham Historical Society, Birmingham pioneers, BOOK, Book Sale, Book Signing, City of Birmingham, family history, Genealogy, Meetings, Publications, Research

Who is “Missy” Roberts Gayler?

The remarkable story of Anne “Missy” Roberts Gayler in One Hundred Years can be accurately told because of the care with which she saved photographs, newspaper clippings, letters, scrapbooks, and journal entries. She documented and saved material that she compiled at the age of one hundred, typing while nearly blind, leaving the manuscript in the care of her family. Her grandson digitized the manuscript, and relatives helped with additional photographs, dates, and research. Fortunately, her granddaughter, Sumter Carmichael Coleman, as a Trustee of the Birmingham Historical Society, felt that it was a story that needed to be shared, not only because of the author’s ties to Birmingham, but because it’s the story of a gallant Southern lifestyle in the 19th century that’s gone with the wind…

Anne Gayler’s story began in Charleston, SC where she was born in 1882 before moving to Birmingham in 1884 when her wealthy and well-connected father financed and came to Bessemer to manage Henry DeBardeleben Coal and Iron Company. She grew up in a life of extreme privilege with schooling in New York and Germany, summers in the mountains and at the seashore, and vacations abroad. After marrying a naval officer, Lieutenant Ernest Gayler, she traveled the world, carefully documenting her adventures, but returning often to her family’s several homes in Birmingham as well as to the home of her sister Belle Hazzard. She encountered presidents, foreign dignitaries, and was present at many historical events. This is the well-written, entertaining story of an exciting life, well-lived, with multiple ties and descendants in Birmingham. Please join us along with family members for a publication celebration.

October 1, 4:00 p.m., 100 Years Publication Celebration, 2827 Highland Avenue.

Now available on Amazon HERE or by contacting the Birmingham Historical Society at bhistorical@gmail.com

Birmingham Historical Society, Birmingham pioneers, BOOK, Book Sale, Book Signing, Coal Mines, family history, Genealogy, Historic Preservation, Neighborhoods, Publications, Research

Before Quinlan Castle

Historic Quinlan Castle was demolished earlier this year to make way for a new Southern Research building. But prior to Quinlan Castle, this was the location of the Roberts’ home, parents to author Anne Roberts Gayler of One Hundred Years, a memoir released by Birmingham Historical Society in September 2023.

Prominent early residents of Birmingham, David Roberts and his bride, Belle Sumter Yates Roberts, moved their family from Charleston first to Bessemer and then to Birmingham in 1894. Roberts had successfully raised capital for the formation of DeBardeleben Coal & Iron Company and took an ownership role in the new firm that was formed in 1886. At the time of his death in 1909, he was associated as a director of several banks and leading industrial and commercial interests in Birmingham. He was 63, his widow, 48, his daughter and the author of this book, only 27 years old.

They later moved to Altamont Road and the author states, “I went to Birmingham for (my sister’s) wedding, a home affair, in Mother’s great house. There was only one difficulty. The minister had some trouble getting to the house on the Altamont, for the automobiles of that era lacked edurance.”

The story of this remarkable Birmingham family as written by Anne Roberts Gayler at the age of 100, is available October 1st, 2023, 4:00PM at a Publication Celebration, 2827 Highland Avenue. The public is invited! Now available on Amazon HERE