The following is a heartfelt remembrance from Birmingham Historical Society Director, Marjorie White, about Dr. Linn’s numerous contributions during his career as well as his importance to the society ~ quietly serving while editing over 20 annual publications, over 100 newsletters, and numerous event invitations. Above is a picture of Dr. Linn with editor and BHS Trustee, Katie Tipton.
My acquaintance with Julius began in 2003. Ehney and Pat Camp and I called upon him in his home on Thornhill Road to discuss an idea for a book. (Julius lived in the home his parents built c.1927 surrounded by family furnishings, books, and art lovingly handed down over the generations. )
Over the next 22 years, I relished walking in Julius’s living archive and being wrapped in its–and his–warm embrace. Julius not only gave us the funds to publish our book but also introduced us to the legacy of his favorite aunt, Carrie Hill (1875-1957), who exhibited nationally and internationally in the 1920s and 1930s and worked tirelessly to support the arts in our city.
Julius had gone on plein air “painting picnics” with her as a child. Nearly all of Hill’s paintings were held by family members at this time; her oeuvre was all but forgotten. Publishing Art of theNew South: Women Artists of Birmingham in 2004 became the first step of many steps in Julius’ quest to memorialize Hill’s legacy.
When in 2006 Graham Boettcher came to Birmingham as the curator of American Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art, we invited him to lunch and shared stories of our “great” local painters. Boettcher’s initial skepticism receded as he learned more, and he too came to join Julius and champion Carrie Hill’s legacy.
In the early 2000s, Julius was a passionate patron and supporter of the Birmingham Museum of Art and of the Birmingham Opera, but soon his professional talent as Director of Medical Publications at UAB led him to serve as a wise and sensible editor of Birmingham Historical Society publications. He became a patron, trustee, and officer of the Society as a member of its Executive Committee. He refused to accept the presidency of the Society; he wanted to serve quietly.
At the end of each year, following the publication of our annual book, he would say, “I guess I will stay tuned”… red pen in hand…for the more than 20 of our annual publications,100 newsletters, and many more invitations to events. Julius’ finely tuned sensibility to design issues and his eagle’s eye for things that needed fixing were invaluable. His comments, corrections, and suggestions were proffered in the most gentlemanly fashion.
Our favorite outing with Julius was a trip to Auburn to petition the head of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) to permit their fragile Depression-era murals on the History of Alabama Agriculture to travel to Birmingham for an exhibit. As always, Julius made us look credible. ACES not only loaned the murals, but later restored them, and transferred them to the Auburn museum for long term conservation. Julius had indeed made us look credible.
Julius helped Katie Tipton and me work out the concept and format for Birmingham by the Book: A Guide to the Magic City (coming Winter 2026). He told me how to organize the UAB chapter and thankfully approved of the resulting text and layout. He read and edited the first draft of the book and this summer was serving as a final reader. Ten days ago, he returned his page proofs of a major chapter with this hand-written note:
“Marjorie, Wonderful, descriptive book of Birmingham’s development, the central areas & more. It should become a classic for newcomers, for businesses, for recruitment of companies & workers. It is well organized with beautiful photography and more. Congratulations to everyone who worked on and organized this project. ” – Julius E. Linn
I hope Julius knew how much we valued his counsel and his friendship.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Opera Birmingham, the Birmingham Historical Society Publication Fund, the Birmingham Museum of Art, or First United Methodist Church of Birmingham.
The collection at the newly opened Dennis C. Pappas Gallery at UAB’s Lister Hill Library features important scientific and medical items related to vision and hearing loss.
Notably, it includes the original handwritten notes (above) of Joseph Henry Johnson, M.D., the founder of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, dating back to 1855. The gallery also displays original instruments and highlights the lasting impact of Helen Keller, encouraging visitors to learn more about these significant topics.
While Dr. Johnson was inspired by his deaf brother, the idea for the Institute emerged as a direct result of Talladega native Reuben Ashbury’s harrowing experience of imprisonment in darkness during the Civil War. He returned to his community, profoundly changed and determined to dedicate his life to assisting those who lived with blindness.
The UAB Library celebrates this legacy by creating a gallery that is open to the public. It features a fascinating medical display that showcases the innovations in care and support for people with visual and hearing challenges, including rare books, medical equipment, touchscreen technology, and 3D objects.
The inaugural exhibit at the newly opened Pappas Gallery features rare books, medical equipment, and touchscreen technology and 3D objects, exploring scientific effort to counter vision and hearing loss.
The Dennis G. Pappas Historical Collections Gallery is on theSecond Floor, UAB’s Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences, at 1700 University Boulevard
Sunday, November 3, 3 pm
Free Parking at 9th Avenue Parking Deck1602 9th Avenue S, just across University Blvd. from the library.(Sign boards will direct you to the pedestrian bridge thatleads across University Blvd. that leads to the library gallery.)Drop-offs on University at the front of the library are also possible.
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.
Director Marjorie White, greeting Ehney Camp. Tim Pennyciat, UAB Archivist on leftPeggy Balliet showing Dr. bill Holman a photo of the first fundraising gala for the Kidney Foundation.BHS Volunteer, Katie TiptonSpeaker, Dr. Bill HolmanBHS Director, Marjorie WhiteFirst 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
At its annual meeting on February 28th, the Birmingham Historical Society celebrated its 80th year. James White first shared a report on its financial history and its founders, as well as the current safeguards that protect its financial future. The Society’s stated goals of research, publication, and education often provide new owners with information that can enhance their property with unexpected historical perspective. Slossfield Maternity Center is an example of just that and three speakers highlighted its importance from their unique perspectives.
The Slossfield Community Center was added to the National Trust of Historic Places in May of 2008. It was purchased in 2018 by The Salvation Army with plans for it to be once again used as a core community center.
Slossfield is a complex of concrete buildings at the Finley Avenue exit off I65, built in the 1930’s and surrounded by industrial facilities including ACIPCO, Sloss, US Pipe, coal mines and quarries. One of the buildings, The Slossfield Maternity Center, was constructed in 1939 by WPA labor to train black physicians and nurses and improve prenatal care and delivery in one of the most underserved and poorest areas of Birmingham at that time. Under the leadership of Dr. Thomas Boulware, Jr., Slossfield became the most successful of four demonstration centers built by the U.S. Public Health Service in the late 1930’s.
The first speaker, Sharon Holley, is Director of the new nurse-midwifery program at UAB School of Nursing, and is passionate about the role that midwifery can continue to play in providing safe births and healthy babies. In researching Slossfield via UAB archives, she presented statistics illustrating that Slossfield had become a model of good prenatal and obstetric care reducing the infant and mother mortality rate in that area by up to 92%.
At that time, blacks could only be admitted to hospitals in Birmingham by white physicians. The few black doctors were not able to admit patients to hospitals until 1952 when Holy Family Hospital was built in Ensley. Consequently, most black births prior to that time were at home, assisted by midwives, as the Slossfield Maternity Clinic was reserved for high risk deliveries, or first time mothers. Holley spoke about how we can use Slossfield’s historic example in creating a program for today’s mothers.
Left to right above: Sharon Holley, Thomas Boulware III, and John Stamps Left to right below: Living conditions in Slossfield during 1930’s, Maternity Center under construction, location of Maternity Center on complex at far left
Dr. Thomas Boulware, Jr. came to Birmingham from Missouri in 1929 to serve in Norwood Clinic (soon to be known as Carraway Hospital) under Dr. Charles Carraway. He was quite young and immediately became interested in caring for the underserved communities of Birmingham. Dr. Boulware established the first indigent maternity clinic at Hillman Hospital (UAB), and served as medical director of Slossfield Maternity Clinic, training all the doctors and nurses on staff there.
The second speaker, Dr. Boulware’s son, Thomas Boulware, III, told stories of his father’s commitment to his patients, in one instance, traveling back & forth from North Birmingham to Woodlawn to deliver two babies born on the same evening. He told of his father delivering three generations multiple times, and another in which he had delivered eighteen members of the same family. And he highlighted many of the achievements of his father over an esteemed 60-year medical career in which he delivered over 26,000 babies.
The last speaker, John Stamps, is Director of Operations at the Salvation Army. He pointed out that the Salvation Army is actually a Christian outreach church despite being known primarily for their humanitarian efforts. The Salvation Army purchased the abandoned and deteriorating Slossfield in 2018. They have taken on the challenge of restoring it as a core community center, bringing back many of its original services. John Stamps outlined their plans, and with his new understanding of its origins, hopes to re-establish its significance to the community.
