Recently in Prattville, AL Category

The Alabama Nature Center at Lanark is a 350-acre wildlife preserve that serves as the headquarters of the Alabama Wildlife Federation. It is located between Millbrook, AL and Prattville, AL, just north and east of exit 179 (Cobbs Ford Road) on I-65. The facility is currently only open to the public one weekend a month (the third weekend.)

If you are a nature buff, a photographer, or just like to catch some fresh air, you should take some time out of your weekend to visit and explore the facility. They've got over 5 miles of beautifully-built walking trails organized in 3 loops around the property. They are all marked with interpretive signs about the flora and fauna you'll see around you.

Price is currently $4/adult/day and $2/child (3-9)/day. Kids under 3 are free. They also have season pass pricing.

(Every third weekend of the month)
Saturday 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Sunday 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Directions and more information can be found at the following link.

Alabama Nature Center @ Lanark

Photo Gallery >> Lanark
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We've got a new high school going in near our house, way out in the country north of Prattville, Alabama. There has been a lot of buzz about naming the new school after the (old) Marbury High School which this school will be replacing. There's been online petitions and a regular stream of articles in the local weekly paper talking about community, memories, provenance, etc.

It seems to me that building a new school is an excellent change to brainstorm, involve the community, get creative and come up with a new name for a new school. Instead everyone seemed to get stuck in nostalgia.

The (old) Marbury High School is in Marbury, a very small community in rural central Alabama. The (new) Marbury High School in not in Marbury, it is not even near Marbury. It's 8.5 - 10 miles from Marbury to the new school site depending on your route. The new school does find itself in the community of Pine Level, Alabama.

Why not rename the current Marbury High School to Marbury School (it is destined to become the new middle school) and give the new school a new name that reflects something about its new location, an honored member of the education community, or some famous individual (president, governor, etc.)?

That's my two cents, now I'll sit back and wait for the first sporting event at the school where the visiting team erroneously goes to the old school because they didn't even know there was a new school...

• (new) Marbury High School construction project page from Cooper Brothers Construction
• (new ) Marbury High School construction photos from Cooper Brothers Construction

My collection of things you'll only see in Alabama.

The Alabama Nature Center at Lanark is a 350-acre wildlife preserve that serves as the headquarters of the Alabama Wildlife Federation. It is located between Millbrook, AL and Prattville, AL, just north and east of exit 179 (Cobbs Ford Road) on I-65. The facility is currently only open to the public one weekend a month (the third weekend.)

If you are a nature buff, a photographer, or just like to catch some fresh air, you should take some time out of your weekend to visit and explore the facility. They've got over 5 miles of beautifully-built walking trails organized in 3 loops around the property. They are all marked with interpretive signs about the flora and fauna you'll see around you.

Price is currently $3/adult/day or $5/adult/weekend and $2/child (3-9)/day $3/child/weekend. Kids under 3 are free.

(Every third weekend of the month)
Saturday 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Sunday 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Directions and more information can be found at the following link.

Alabama Nature Center @ Lanark

Photo Gallery >> Lanark
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Melanie, Colin and I welcomed our 2nd son and 1st brother, Rian Scott Morrison into the world this Saturday evening November 10, 2007, at 8:08pm CST. Melanie labored for 11 hours, then pushed for 7 minutes and gave birth naturally (without an epidural!) Again she's my hero! Both baby and mother are doing fine! Rian weighed 8 lbs. 3oz and measured 20 inches long.

You can send Rian an e-mail: rian at transmit.net.
The proud new parents can be reached at proudparents at transmit.net

We'd also like to thank everyone at OB/GYN Associates of Montgomery, especially Doctors Dupre, and Desautels. Every single member of the staff at Baptist Medical Center East made our stay enjoyable and healthy.

Pictures in 3... 2... 1... Pictures.

I am searching for more information on Mary M. Carmichael (1833-1848) who is interred in Pratt Cemetery in Prattville, Alabama. She posthumously made the local news headlines recently when her headstone was recently located by Tillie Jones being used as a ramp up the stairs at a private residence in Prattville. The last accounting for this headstone was in 1916 and no one realized it was gone until 1995. Her brother's headstone (Dougal Carmichael) remained in place in the cemetery.

This past Founder's Day, July 20th, 2006, the headstone was put back in the cemetery during the yearly graveside ceremonies. Of particular note, it is interesting that Mary and later her young brother Dougal Carmichael are both buried in Pratt Cemetery, which is a small cemetery located on a hill above downtown Prattville. Most of individuals interred in the cemetery were notable citizens of Prattville or business or family relations to the Pratt family. There doesn't seem to be much information on Mary M. Carmichael recorded publicly, so I thought I'd put this information and request online to see if it catches any family or genealogy researchers who might have more information. If anyone has any additional background or information I'd be happy to hear from you and record the information for history's ledger.

The headstone reads:

Two articles from the Prattville Progress:
Pre-ceremony
Post-ceremony