Return to Irondale 2013, Part 4

by Glenn N. Holliman


An Oral History of Irondale, Alabama....

Left, Bishop Holliman, born in the Birmingham suburb of Irondale, Alabama in 1919, returned in late January 2013 for a talk with the Irondale Historical Society.  While there he sat for a two hour oral history interview with Dolores Hydock, a professional story teller, who lives only a block from where Bishop grew up 90 years earlier.

Dolores has made an audio CD of the interview which can be ordered at www.storypower.org.  Her web site and talents are fascinating.  If one is interested in Alabama culture, her work and other CDs are available at her site.

Below, Dolores and Denise Tew Wight, president of the Irondale Historical Society interview Bishop at the society' museum in Irondale.  Information on the Society can be found at www.irondalehistory.org.

Below, Bishop gives a hug to Delores,  a professional actress and Yale University graduate, after the session at the Irondale Historical Society. Denise Tew Wright, director of the Society, who kindly arranged the interview and talk, is on the far right. Denise is the driving force behind the preservation of the local history of the town.

Below, Bishop and Denise stand outside of the Historical Society building.  In the background, a modern building has replaced the old grocery store where Bishop worked as a clerk in the late 1930s. 

Below, the trains which traversed the town in Bishop's childhood, still move through the center of Irondale, a major switching yard for several railroad lines. This is the view from the Historical Society's back yard looking north.

My Father, who now lives in Indiana, is grateful for the opportunity to visit his childhood home and is appreciative that so many nieces and nephews took the time to attend his talk with James Pugh in Irondale in January 2013.  GNH

Have questions about Holliman family history and associated families? You are invited to join the Hollyman Email List at Hollyman-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com and the Hollyman Family Facebook Page located on Facebook at "Hollyman Family". Post your questions and perhaps one of the dozens Holyman cousins on the list will have an answer. For more information contact Tina Peddie at desabla1@yahoo.com, the list and Facebook manager for Hollyman (and all our various spellings!).

Since early 2010, I have been publishing research and stories on the broad spectrum of Holliman (Holyman) family history at http://hollimanfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/ . For stories on my more immediate family since the early 20th Century, I have been posting articles since early 2011 at http://ulyssholliman.blogspot.com/ .

Let's save the past for the future! If you have photographs, letters, memorabilia or research you wish to share, please contact me directly at glennhistory@gmail.com. Several of us have an on-going program of scanning and preserving Holyman and related family records. Thanks to the Internet, we are able to scan, upload to the web (with your permission) and return the materials to you.

Announcing also a "Seminar and Site" gathering October 18 and 19, 2013 in Fayette, Alabama for Hollimans and associated families whose ancestors are from that area. Space at the Rose House Inn is limited for the occasion due to a football weekend. For information, contact me at the above email. Hope to see some of you there. - GNH