The Jefferson Journal - Jefferson County Historical Association

Transcription

J e f f e r s o n C o u n t y Hi s to r i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n
Th e Je f f e r s o n Jo u r n a l
No. 2
JCHA Newsletter
Spring Q. 2013
Upcoming
Programs
THIS TIME IN
HISTORY
April 11, 2013
103 years ago
“Making The
Connection Between
Mountain Brook And
The Titanic
March 26, 1910
Or ville Wright piloted
the first plane in Alabama,
c a u s i n g t he M o n t g o m e r y
Advertiser to report “a
strange new bird soared over
the cotton fields 90 miles
south of Birmingham.”
The Wright brothers came
to Montgomery to set up a
pilots’ training school. Several
pilots were trained, but the
brothers left the area by the
end of May. Replacement
parts for broken machinery
were difficult to locate in the
area and the flyers’ efforts
were frustrated by numerous
spectators during their stay.
By Julie Williams

July 11, 2013
The History Of
Brookside
And Its Coal Mines
By Staci Glover

Mountain Brook
Library
Reception 6:30 Pm
Meeting 7:00 Pm

Our Mission:
To Preserve and
Pass On
Jefferson County
History
Julie Williams
Mountain Brook
and the Titanic
I
s there some hidden connection between
Mountain Brook and the sinking of the
Titanic in 1912? What can this be you may
ask? Mountain Brook is a long way from the
famous ship’s port of call. Well, come to our
April 11th meeting to find out. Julie Williams has
addressed the JCHA previously on the Wright
Brothers’ flying experience in Alabama and was
warmly received.
A professor of journalism at Samford University,
she is past president of the American Journalism
Historians Association, holds a BA degree in
continued on page 14
Page 2
I
J e f f e r s o n C o u n t y Hi s to r i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n - T h e J e f f e r s o n J o u r n a l
No. 2
Message from the President
am deeply pleased to become your president this
year. Following Alice Williams is a pleasure- she is an
extraordinary woman, superb at making judgments
as to the future, careful as to her guesses as to what the
surprises may be, always thinking about the welfare of
our organization. I am deeply honored, and I thank her
for leaving our decks so spick and span. Her reputation
for care and detail and good sense is well earned.
We are also indebted to our other officers and board
members for their attention and care. One of the products
of that attention and care is the Newletter, which has
never looked better. We are always on the lookout for
interesting articles and I hope we hear from you for ideas
and for articles as well.
Several days ago I had the pleasure of attending the
meeting of the board of our History Museum affiliate.
I serve on that board because of my office as your
president. The meeting was outstanding-almost 100%
attendance, many thoughtful ideas and much energy. We
will be hearing a report of the museum activities at our
upcoming Members meeting from its director.
We are pushing forward on the plan to videotape all of
our member meetings, and make
those DVDs available to members
as well as to the people who use the
library facilities at Emmet O’Neal.
If you wish you can purchase a copy
of these DVDs at the library.
I look forward to seeing you at
the Members’ meeting on April Tom Carruthers
11. Our outstanding speaker will be introduced by
another of our members, Bill Barnes. As you know these
programs are in the charge of Vice President Craig Allen,
an enthusiastic and ingenious historian himself. He will
tell us about the program in July.
The sad death of Tom West leaves a big abyss in our
hearts. His love of history, his willingness to do the work
to get things done, his constant eye for the very right
piece of furniture or document to add to the Museum’s
collection, his total lack of any fear in expressing his
views, all these parts of his being and so many more have
helped make our organization a splendid one.
- Tom Carruthers
President
The Jefferson County Historical Association
THE JEFFERSON JOURNAL
This newsletter is published quarterly by and for the benefit
of the membership of the Jefferson County Historical Association.
Copyright © 2012 by JCHA. All rights reserved.
Visit us online and view back issues at
www.jeffcohistory.com
Jim Bennett, Editor
Editorial Board
Tom Badham
Judy Haise
Dr. Ed Stevenson
Birmingham News, November, 1946.
Please send letters and notices to the editor via email:
jbennett2006@charter.net
or mail to:
112 Meadow Croft Circle, Birmingham, AL 35242
No. 2
Page 3
In Memorial
JCHA Loses Former President and Leader, Memorial Fund Established
T
he Jefferson County Historical Association
morns the passing of its spiritual leader and
former president, Thomas Mabson West, Jr. on
February 8. An active member to the end, Tommy also
headed up the society’s historic marker program and
was first to propose the JCHA create the Birmingham
History Center.
He was born August 9, 1940, the son of Thomas
Mabson West, Sr. and Kathryn Reynolds West. He
attended the University of Alabama where he was a
member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, graduated from
Samford University with a Bachelor of Science and
Cumberland School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree.
From an early age he had a great interest in history and
descended from the founders of both Birmingham and
Montgomery, unique in Alabama history. Memberships
included First Families of Alabama, Society of the
Revolution (president), Society of the War of 1812
(president), Jefferson County Historical Association
(president), Friends of the Irondale Furnace (president),
Society of Colonial Wars (Lt. Governor), Newcomen
Society, English Speaking Union, Birmingham Exchange
Club, and Jamestown Society. He erected twenty-six
historical markers throughout Birmingham, Mountain
Brook, Homewood, Montgomery, and Mobile.
His proudest achievement was as founder of the
Birmingham History Center. Birmingham, founded
in 1871, lacked the history museums of Montgomery,
Mobile and Huntsville, and that need
was finally filled.
He loved his church, Independent
Presbyterian, and served four terms
on the Board of Deacons and as
Moderator (president) of the Board
of Shepherds. As an insurance agent
Tom West
since 1974, he served as president of the
Birmingham Association of Health Underwriters, Board
of Directors of the Birmingham Independent Insurance
Agents, and Board of Directors of the Birmingham
Association of Life Underwriters, a rare combination of
leadership in all three insurance disciplines.
Memberships also included Montgomery Country
Club, The Club, and the Phi Delta Theta Alumni Club
of Birmingham. Pursuant to his interest in history he
produced three important books: Historic Birmingham
and Jefferson County by James R. Bennett, The Elyton
Land Company Minutes Books, and The History of
Jefferson County before 1850 by Will Franke.
Tommy was a devoted husband, father, and friend. He
was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his
wife of 23 years, Mary Ellen Holman West, stepdaughter
Dr. Kristin Carroll Bains, her husband Jason Scott Bains,
and his golden retriever Sherlock.
Donations to his memorial fund may be sent to
JCHA Treasurer Harry Bradford, P. O. Box 130285,
Birmingham, AL 35213-0285.
List Of Donors To The Thomas M. West, Jr. Memorial Fund
March 20, 2013 ($2,030.00)
Mr. and Mrs. Borden H. Burr II
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Ritchie
Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Miller
Ms. Carolyn H. Reich
Mrs. Agnes Donalson Roberts
Mr. and Mrs. Ross Askins
Mr. and Mrs. Harry F. Bradford
Ms. Paula J. Cox
Ms. Susan N. Nuckolls
Mr. and Mrs. Mell Gage Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Thad Long
June M. and Louise G. Moody
Mr. William B. Phillips, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Balliet
Mr. Jeffrey Bains
Mr.and Mrs. William N. Clark
Mrs. Alice McSpadden Williams
Mrs. Minna Ruth Hill
Mr. and Mrs. Gary G. Gerlach
Mrs. Bartley Statham
Mr. and Mrs. Paul M. Pankey, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Sharp Gillespy
Mr. William Yougene
Mr. and Mrs. Olin Beall Barnes, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. George T. Lane III
Mr. and Mrs. Willard McCall, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. John E. Carroll
Ms. Leah Rawls Atkins
Mr. and Mrs. John J. Kuklinski, Jr.
Mrs. Sue Bates Watkins
Dr. and Mrs. Roy T. Flannagan
Mr. and Mrs. H. D. Wages
Mr. and Mrs. Dale Andrews
Dr. and Mrs. E. W. Stevenson
Mr. David Bates
Mr. and Mrs. Meade Whitaker
Mr. and Mrs. Walter E. Shackelford
Mrs. Ann W. Relfe
Sirote and Permutt PC
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Bennett
Mr. and Mr. James R. Haise
Page 4
New JCHA historical marker at Office Park.
No. 2
Office Park Fountains.
Editor’s Note: This is the last article written by Tommy West for the Jefferson Journal before his death.
New JCHA Historical Marker Erected in Mt. Brook
D
by Thomas M. West, Jr.
id you know that 57 years ago Ervin Jackson
and Newman H. Waters built the first office
park in America? Few people were even aware
of this and therefore this is one of the most important
of the 23 markers erected by the Jefferson County
Historical Association, many of which are in the
Mountain Brook area.
The new idea of getting office workers out of
Birmingham’s downtown office buildings and into a
suburb with free parking, attractive low-rise architecture,
easy access and beautiful landscaping had never been tried
before so Jackson and Waters were taking a daring risk.
But their idea worked and office parks were soon found
all over the country. It all began in Mountain Brook.
The developers themselves were as interesting as the
project itself.
The Jackson brothers, Erwin and Philip, Sr., hailed
from a long line of super achievers who led the effort
to create the Vulcan Statue plus involvement in mining,
mortgage lending, savings and loan, insurance, property
management, bedding manufacturing, banking and even
the Federal Reserve Board. Truly, the Jackson family has
meant much for generations to the Birmingham area.
Office Park’s co-developer, the late Newman H.
Waters, stands out as one of the most fascinating and
amazing people in Birmingham’s recent history. He was
first known as a neighborhood theater magnate and his
Waters Theaters chain dominated Jefferson County for
many years. If you lived in Mountain Brook, Homewood
or Vestavia, you went to the “Homewood”, the façade
of which remains today over bicycle and toy stores on
the main drag. If you lived in Forest Park, you went to
the “Avon” which remains today as a social venue. If
you liked drive-ins, there was the “Starlite” and “Shades
Mountain.” Waters Theaters covered almost all of
Jefferson County.
These Waters theaters, which ran “second run” movies
after they left the “Alabama”, “Melba”, “Ritz”, “Empire”,
etc. were cheap too. Kids under 12 got in for the princely
sum of a dime! Popcorn was a nickel and so was a Coke…
so for a quarter your parents could drop you off for the
Saturday matinee where a typical bill might include
“Casablanca”, followed by a Roy Rogers or Gene Autry
western. “Movietone” news and Previews of Coming
Attractions were also favorites.
continued on page 9
No. 2
Page 5
Press/Media
The Birmingham Ledger, Pages From the Past
by Jim Bennett
The home of the Birmingham Ledger as it neared completion in 1902. The building at First Avenue and 21st Street, North had
two stories underground and enough steel to carry 14 stories in time. It was developed by the Jemison Investment Company (Jemison
Magazine, September 11, 1911).
W
hile we are all familiar with Birmingham’s
most recent dailies, the Birmingham News and
the Birmingham Post-Herald and to a lesser
extent some of their predecessors, the Birmingham AgeHerald and the Birmingham Post, few may recall another
prominent paper, the Birmingham Ledger.
The Ledger was established in 1892 by E. B. Powell
and T. A. Wiggs. A leading rival to the Birmingham News
at the turn of the century, it changed its name to the
Daily Ledger in 1896, then changed its name back to the
Birmingham Ledger in 1902.
After a 28-year run and a series of advertising wars,
it was sold to the Birmingham News, exclusive of its First
Avenue building, for $425,000 in 1920. The Ledger
published its final edition that year on April 18 and was
discontinued. In 1917 the News had moved to a new sixstory office building on the corner of 4th Avenue North
and 22nd Street and just three years later, in purchasing
the rival Ledger, increased the size of its staff to 748 and
its circulation to 60,000.
The Protective Life Insurance Company later
purchased the building and, with the help of architects
Warren, Knight and Davis, built the 14-story Protective
Life building using its frame as the base.
The Ledger was known as a Democratic newspaper.
During the early days of journalism, papers across the
United States were often published along political party
lines. At the time of the acquisition, James J. Smith,
one of its principal owners, was president and publisher
and J. R. Waters was treasurer. The paper’s editor was
George M. Cruikshank, who wrote a notable history of
the Birmingham district in 1920 entitled A History of
Birmingham and its Environs.
Page 6
No. 2
James Meissner and Birmingham’s
106th Observation Squadron
by Tom Badham
1st Lt. James Meissner and his “Dark 14,” after stripping his
wing fabric on May 2, 1918.
O
ne of the more fun places in Birmingham
to eat lunch used to be VJ’s on the Runway
located on East Lake Boulevard overlooking
the Birmingham Airport. While there, you might have
wondered how both the civilian terminal and the now
huge National Guard Air Base of the 117th Tactical
Refueling Wing came about. One man, Maj. James
Armand Meissner, and a few of his friends caused it all.
While Meissner was born in Londonderry, Nova
Scotia, Canada on July 30, 1896, with the family “home”
in New York City, he lived in Birmingham as a child and
young man. His father was an executive with U.S. Steel
and was here as a an officer of TCI.
When the U.S. entered World War I, Jimmy wanted to
get into the fight. His father was horrified since his sister
and her family still lived in Germany. He forbade Jimmy to
get into combat. If he wanted to be an ambulance driver,
like Ernest Hemingway and Walt Disney later became, or
some other non-combat role, that would be acceptable.
Jimmy wanted to fly, become an aviator. This caused a
huge family rift. His father and he were estranged for
years after the war.
As a member of the Sibley College, Cornell University,
Ithaca, N.Y., corps of cadets, he enlisted in the U.S.
Signal Corps and graduated with the first class of the
School of Military Aeronautics on 14 July 1917. Meissner
was one of the first pilots sent to the Second Aviation
Instruction Center at Tours, France, and then on to the
U.S. Army Air Service Third Aviation Instruction Center
at Issoudun, France, in October of 1917. He received
his Military Aviator Rating and was commissioned
a 1st Lieutenant, 20 November 1917. He and Eddie
Rickenbacker were two of the first pilots assigned
to the first U.S. pursuit squadron, the “Hat in the Ring”
94th Pursuit in late March of 1918. This squadron
became America’s most famous pursuit squadron
in France leading all the other American squadrons
with 68 confirmed victories and seven of its members
becoming aces.
Lt. Meissner soon became a flight leader in the 94th.
Frequently teaming with ace Lt. Douglas Campbell, they
would fly off on voluntary combat missions in addition to
their assigned flights. During four of his missions flying the
notoriously weak-winged Nieuport 28, he tore the linen
fabric off his top wing while fighting the enemy. With
extraordinary flying skills, he managed to coax the plane,
which should not have been able to fly at all, either back
No. 2
Page 7
Page 8
No. 2
War Bond Breakfast Topped $2 million
by Jim Bennett
B
Guests at Birmingham’s “Million Dollar War Bond Breakfast”, Tutwiler Hotel, July 1, 1942.
y the summer of 1940, Nazi victories in Europe
brought a sense of urgency to government
officials discreetly preparing for United States
involvement in World War II. Of principal concern
were issues surrounding war financing. While some in
Washington recommended an increase in taxes, the
prevailing view was to initiate a voluntary loan program
funded through war bonds.
During World War I the government had called them
Liberty bonds and sold $21.5 billion worth. So, the
effort began anew. Around the country war bond drives
hit almost every community. Eventually every county in
Alabama met its quota.
It was during this turbulent period that Harold B. Blach,
president of Blach’s Department Store in Birmingham,
came up with an idea to hold breakfast fundraisers where
attendees would not only pay for their breakfast but agree
to buy a bond or two. He was joined by James A. (Jim)
Head whose company sold furniture to libraries. Both
were members of the Chamber of Commerce.
An investment of $18.75 in Series E Bonds would
bring $25 in ten years; $37.50 would bring $50 and $75
would bring $100. The planned breakfast events would
feature speeches by local government leaders, veterans or
active military personnel.
Birmingham’s goal would be to raise $1 million at a
breakfast to be held at the Tutwiler Hotel on July 1, 1942.
The “Million Dollar Breakfast”, sponsored by the
Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Retail Division,
actually raised twice that much. The $2 million figure
surprised people nationwide including those listening
to Don McNeill’s long-running morning radio variety
show, “The Breakfast Club”, on the NBC Blue Network
which originated in Chicago. As part of the Birmingham
breakfast, the total collected was phoned into McNeill
who gave reports on bond drives across the nation.
The printed program for Birmingham’s Million Dollar
Breakfast gave Harold Blach credit for coming up with
No. 2
the breakfast war bond plan which soon spread to other
cities.
The idea came to him when he decided to convert a
savings account which represented a penny a day set aside
for his son Harold, Jr. to a war bond. The government
desperately needed money to help finance the war and
in this small way, that would help, especially if others did
likewise.
The $2 million raised at the Birmingham breakfast
became a national model.
“Since that time I’ve helped organize these kinds of
affairs in Atlanta, Chicago, New Orleans and many
other places,” Blach wrote his son in a birthday letter
book. “Up until now from this little idea, more than $75
million worth of war bonds have been sold.”
The Birmingham event earned for Blach a special
recognition from the U. S. Treasury Department which
stated:
“The idea was originated by a civic minded citizen and
able retailer, a member of this Division of the Birmingham
Chamber of Commerce, Harold B. Blach, who, because of
his leadership and vision, has been appointed chairman
of the America Heroes Breakfast Club—part of American
Heroes Day, to be celebrated the nation over, July 17th.”
Lewis F. Jeffers, chairman of the Jefferson County War
Bond Campaign and an executive with Hayes Aircraft,
praised Blach for getting the ball rolling on other
                
Historical Marker continued from page 4
Waters also built the Eastwood Mall which was one of the
largest and most successful enclosed malls in the United
States. He lived in the great Swann mansion atop Red
Mountain, one of the finest private home in Alabama.
Of some of the others who helped make Mountain
Brook Office Park a reality, F. R. Hoar & Son survives
today as Hoar Construction, Harry D. Hester Architecture
survives today as Hester & Associates, Waters Enterprises
still operates the K-Mart Shopping Center on the site
of the old Starlite-drive-in at Eastwood and the Jackson
family still operates various businesses locally.
Page 9
bond related events in
town. “Heroes Day” in
Birmingham on July
17, 1942 was celebrated
with five separate events
designed to encourage
the sale of war bonds.
Over the course of
World War II 85 million
Americans
purchased
bonds totaling $185.7
billion but it was in Harold B. Blach
Birmingham on July 1, 1942 where the nation’s first
“Victory Breakfast” produced $2 million in bond
purchases, thanks to an idea from Mr. Blach.
[This information is taken from a book to be published
this summer on Blach’s Department Store and the Blach
Family written by Jim Bennett.]
Advertisement from the 1940's
Page 10 J e f f e r s o n C o u n t y Hi s to r i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n - T h e J e f f e r s o n J o u r n a l
No. 2
Dr. Robert Steadham Hogan
Was He the Real Hogan’s Hero?
by Judy Haise
In November of 1944, 2nd Lt. Robert Hogan,
assigned to the 450th Bombardment Group of the
Army Air Force, began his flight log for seven and eighthour combat missions out of a home base in Italy. His
targets were railroad bridges, troop concentrations and
oil refineries near Vienna, Austria, northern Italy and
Yugoslavia. He and his usual 10-11-crew members often
encountered enemy fighters, gas leaks and almost always
riddling flak. When they lost oxygen, they had to suck
emergency bottles.
On one trip Bob thought would be a “milk run,” he
neglected to wear his flak suit and helmet. He vowed
“Never again.” It was freezing cold -46 C. at 22,000feet. Just as they hit one of their two target bridges,
they were hit with flak, started losing speed, probably
due to a gas vapor lock, and were ordered to abandon
ship. They regained control, but were taking heavy flak
Lt. Hogan (far left) and some of his flying buddies on a World
when plexiglass sprayed over his face, cutting the bridge
War II training plane.
of his nose. As was often the case, the bomb bay doors
wouldn’t shut.
r. Robert Steadham Hogan was a well-known
“Thank God we pulled through that one alive,” he
Birmingham internist and rheumatologist.
wrote, “32 more to go.”
He was well into his successful medical career
Even more perilous was Lt. Hogan’s 12th sortie Jan.
for 20 years before his “namesake” Col. Bob Hogan (actor
19, 1945, piloting the aircraft No. 404 “Daisy-Mae.” He
Robert Crane) starred in “Hogan’s Heroes,” a popular
was in formation with 25 other B-24 type aircraft that
CBS-TV sitcom from 1965-71. It fictionalized accounts
“caused great damage to the enemy’s railway system in
of life in Stalag 13, a German prisoner of war camp. Ten
Brod, Yugoslavia.” There were no enemy fighters this
years earlier William Holden had starred in its 1953
time, but “flak at the target was accurate and heavy.”
predecessor, Billy Wilder’s somber movie “Stalag 17.”
Although four aircraft had minor damage, all returned
Did the show’s writer/creators Albert Ruddy and the
safely except “Daisy-Mae”. She received a direct hit
late Bernard Fein know about Birmingham’s POW Bob
between No. 1 and No. 2 engines, caught on fire, and
Hogan?
her left wing fell off. She went into a flat spin, then was
The year was 1942 when the real Bob Hogan left his
spotted spiraling downward and exploding into snowy
initial engineering studies at Auburn University to serve
mountains. Again, the bomb bay doors hadn’t shut,
in the Army Air Force, “feeling it was his duty,” says Bob’s
but this was a Godsend, as Bob and his flight navigator
son Richard Hardin Hogan, a medical administrator in
Wytheville, Virginia.
D
No. 2
J e f f e r s o n C o u n t y Hi s to r i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n - T h e J e f f e r s o n J o u r n a l Page 11
Hogan's Hero continued from page 10
Chester Zukowski fell out the hole, as parachutes were
always attached to their backpacks. Hogan knocked out a
few of his teeth hitting the instrument panel in his haste
getting out.
World War II Prisoner of War
Not a paratrooper, Bob dropped too hard on his
back and knees. Found alone, he was captured by the
Germans and spent six months at Stalag 13, a prison
camp for fliers near Nuremberg, Germany.
Back in Birmingham, Kathleen Steadham Hogan
thought Bob was dead after she got a Western Union
telegram Feb. 3, from the Adjutant General saying “the
Secretary of War desires me to express his deep regret
that your son 2nd Lt. Robert S. Hogan has been reported
missing in action (MIA).” His acting commanding
brigadier general then sent her a letter noting his personal
effects would be sent to her via St. Louis.
Six weeks later, there was hope, when Kathleen
learned that Bob was a prisoner of war of the German
government.
“My dad didn’t talk much about it, but said they
shot at him coming down,” says Richard. “There were
only three things he ever talked about: His hunger and
starvation, their secret radio (which got better results
than the prison guards) and a teenage girl from a nearby
town, who sneaked fresh fruit to them. “He was in camp
for six months before he was rescued by allied soldiers.”
After he came home to Birmingham, Bob learned that
only Chester was home in Buffalo, N.Y., after serving in
a different prison camp. Bob immediately took to the
road to personally express his sympathy to each of his
remaining nine crew members’ families in New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Massachusetts and
Maine. The trip became tougher, when he found out the
families still thought their soldiers were MIA. Only one
of his crew was married, 2nd Lt. John J. Rau of Westfield,
N.J., and he had a 1-year-old son Bill.
House calls of a different kind were part of Dr. Hogan
and his internist group’s routine. He chastised at least
one patient who smoked, although he had smoked when
prison guards occasionally gave him a puff, and his wife
smoked.
“He told me if I didn’t quit my cigarettes, he’d drop
me as a patient, and he meant it,” recalls Una Coleman,
who still lives across the street from the Hogan family’s
home for nearly 20 years now on Canterbury Road in
Mountain Brook. “I was sick with bronchitis for about
six months, before I stopped smoking. He told me if I
didn’t, I’d never live to raise Tom Coleman Jr.
“We were all crazy about him, Una recalls. “He was
one of the nicest people and really a good doctor. My
children played with the Hogan kids and went to their
lake with them.”
When Dr. Hogan eventually became one of
Birmingham’s first full-time rheumatologists, his family
was glad he didn’t have to spend so much time away from
home and had more time for family vacations.
As a rheumatologist, Bob could empathize with his
new patients, as he suffered with many of the same
arthritic and disk problems, a direct result of his World
War II injuries.
Medical credentials
Born into a family with several generations of medical
doctors in the Birmingham area, Bob also sought a
Dr. Hogan, son Richard and Bob Crane of TV's Hogan's
Heroes at Airport Inn, 1966.
medical career after the war. His father Marian Elias
Hogan had five brothers and four of them were physicians.
In 1910, Bob’s uncle Edgar Poe Hogan, a renown
physician, became superintendent of Hillman Hospital
for 19 years, helping serve indigents. Edgar and his
brother Dr. George A. Hogan established their medical
Birmingham News, January 1947
No. 2
clinic (in Edgar’s second floor home) in a Queen Anne
mansion on 20th Street near Five Points South. It was
built in 1888 by Col. Robert H. Pearson. The land is
now a UAB parking lot leased by members of the Hogan
family.
Bob’s grandfather Archibald Hogan’s Bibb County
cabin, built in 1834, stands just inside the gate at
Tannehill Ironworks State Park.
Bob finished his undergraduate degree at the University
of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 1947, graduated from
Medical College of Alabama in 1951, took an internship
at University Hospital in 1951-52 and residency in internal
medicine at University and the Veterans Hospitals in
1952-54. He became a trainee in rheumatic diseases at the
National Institutes of Health in 1954-55 and was chief
resident in internal medicine at University and Veterans
Administration Hospitals from 1955-56.
He became certified by the American Board of
Internal Medicine in 1958 and was a clinical associate
professor of internal medicine at the UAB School of
Medicine. Through the years, he also studied at New York
University, Cornell University Medical School, Harvard
Medical School and many more medical institutions.
Bob, who graduated from Ramsay High School, and
Birmingham native Alice Katherine “Kitty” Hardin
married in June of 1949. A Shades Valley High School
graduate, Kitty moved from Cahaba Heights three years
ago to an independent living home in North Carolina,
to be nearer the Hogans’ daughter Nelle Lindsay Hogan
Stout and son Robert S. Hogan Jr. The youngest son
James Baker Hogan, lives in Iowa City, Iowa.
“Mom’s 88 now, and still smokes,” laughs Richard.
Dr. Hogan and his family couldn’t help noticing that
the popular TV show “Hogans’ Heroes” ascribed his
name plus many scenes identical to Hogan’s own military
past to the cast.
The show’s Col. Robert Hogan was a tall congenial
guy like Dr. Hogan, whose Stalag 13 Komandant wore a
monocle like the show’s Col. Klink and both had a secret
radio in camp.
No. 2
James Meissner continued from page 6
to a landing field or to a survivable crash landing. Each
time he stripped his upper wings, Eddie Rickenbacker
happened to be in the fight. Playing guardian angel,
four times Rickenbacker shot down German fighters
lining up to shoot down Meissner’s crippled aircraft.
Meissner came back to Birmingham after the war
as a 23-year-old discharged Army Air Service major
who commanded the 147th Pursuit Squadron with the
insignia of a Scottie dog and the legend “Who Said
Rats”. His eight combined confirmed combat victories
made him an ace. Birmingham considered him a war
hero, but he never thought of himself that way.
He and other now ex-military flyers still wanted
to fly, but it was too expensive a proposition for
them. But, the Army began making plans to create
observation squadrons attached to National Guard
divisions. So, in 1919 he, Asa Roundtree, Henry
Badham, Don Beatty and Sumpter Smith along with
others formed the Birmingham Aero Club with the
specific intention of using it as a nucleus to bring
about an observation squadron based in Birmingham.
With Meissner as their “celebrity war hero”, they
cajoled Birmingham businesses and industries to help
with building materials, equipment usage or whatever
else they’d like to donate while giving speeches to every
civic organization about what a great thing it would
be for Birmingham. They talked Alabama’s Adjutant
General, Col. Hartley Moon, into letting them use
the National Guard’s 31st “Dixie” Division’s old
cavalry training field and rifle range near Ensley just
north and west of Birmingham-Southern College, the
field now partially covered by I-20. Then they found
an abandoned army airplane hanger and talked the
railroad into shipping it to the site which was to become
Roberts Field. They did most of the labor in tearing
down and erecting the hanger along with designing
and building their operations building. At the same
time they were locating and signing up mechanics and
other technicians and staff the squadron would need.
James A. Meissner taken in 1919 photo from the collection of
Dr. Peter Barker who also has done research into Mesissner's
life. The photo is also on the US Army Aircore Archives.
On January 22, 1922, all their voluntary efforts and
hard work paid off when the Army recognized them as the
135th National Guard Observation Squadron attached
to the 31st Division. Shortly after, in an Army re-shuffle,
they were named the 106th Observation Squadron. It
was one of the first to be accredited as a National Guard
observation squadron. By the end of July, the squadron
was functioning as a flying unit.
Their first planes were Curtis JN-4’s “Jenneys” with the
OX-5 motor. They were considered government surplus
and a new in-the-crate Jenney could be bought for $150
with the OX-5 motor in its crate another $50. That’s how
the planes were shipped to the squadron. They then had
to construct them and the motor and test fly them.
Settling down in Birmingham, he married Elva
Kessler, daughter of a landscape architect from Augusta,
Georgia. Meissner’s civilian job was with TCI as a
boiler and blast furnace inspector. Sadly, the immensely
polluted air he had to breathe caused him severe lung
problems. After several years, he had to cease flying and
resign from the 106th. He died on January 16, 1936 in
Birmingham of pneumonia. Eddie Rickenbacker was
There were disparities. “The ground was so hard, and
the men so hungry at Dad’s camp, there was no energy
to dig a way out like the TV show,” says Richard. “He
only remembered eating a couple of leaves of cabbage in
warm water and sharing one loaf of bread with his group
each day.” The Red Cross came in about once a week
with a little more food, but it disagreed with many of the
prisoners.
Dr. Hogan loved “Hogan’s Heroes,” says Richard.
He didn’t tell his family about sending a fan letter to
Bob Crane telling him of their uncanny similarities.
The show’s producers wrote back noting that “Hogan’s
Heroes” was totally based on a fictional World War II
stalag, as were the characters. However, after thinking
it over for a couple of weeks in 1966, they took up Dr.
Hogan’s invitation to visit Birmingham, setting up a press
conference at the Airport Motel with Crane, Dr. Hogan
and his sons Richard and Jim. Afterward the Hogans
entertained Crane with lunch at the Country Club of
Birmingham.
No. 2
Several web sites say that a new “Hogan’s Heroes”
movie might be in the making. Actor Russell Crowe once
expressed an interest as did “A Beautiful Mind” Oscarwinning producer Brian Grazer.
Who knows? The movie could even be the true story of
the 2nd Lt. Robert Hogan who was awarded the Purple
Heart and Air Medal with two Oak Leaf clusters, as well
as the Distinguished Service Award from the Alabama
chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, which he served as
charter president.
“Dad was married to his work,” says Richard. “He never
realized he couldn’t be the best doctor, the best husband
and the best father.” Bob passed away in 1981 at age 58.
                   
James Meissner continued from page 13
one of the pallbearers at his memorial service. Meissner’s
ashes were interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
When Meissner resigned from the 106th, Sumpter
Smith then took over as commander of the 106th until
1932, when he became the Engineering Project Officer
for the Washington-National Airport.
As principal aeronautical advisor for WPA
construction, Smith drew up the plans, and helped get
funding for what is now the Birmingham International
Airport and the Air National Guard base. The original
airport and 106th Squadron hanger and operations
building was completed in 1935. Both complexes have
been enlarged many times since then. In 1943, Col.
Smith’s plane was lost over the South Atlantic on a flight
to the Casablanca Conference to help plan the Allied
European strategy for the next phase of World War II.
The base in Birmingham was then named Fort Sumpter
Smith in his honor.
                   
Moutain Brook continued from page 1
History and English from Principa College and
a Master’s in Journalism from University of Alabama, as well
as a PhD in Mass Communications from The University
of Alabama. She is the author of “Wings of Opportunity,
the Wright Brothers in Montgomery, Alabama”.
No. 2
Birmingham Ledger continued from page 5
The Ledger had a circulation of 37,888, according to an
Audit Bureau of Circulation statement. The purchase by
the News gave it a clear field in the Birmingham media
market under the direction of Victor H. Hanson, its
publisher.
Under Hanson, the News attracted advertising dollars
and prospered even as other area papers floundered.
Hanson purchased several of these failed papers,
including the Birmingham Chronicle; the Birmingham AgeHerald (which merged with the Birmingham Post to become
the Birmingham Post-Herald); and the Huntsville Times.
Birmingham Ledger delivery wagon (O.V. Hunt photograph),
c.a. 1920.
In 1927 when the Birmingham Age-Herald was sold to
Hanson, the News continued publishing both papers.
In 1950 Scripps-Howard, which already owned the
Birmingham Post bought the Age-Herald, but entered into a
joint-operating agreement that moved the new Birmingham
Post-Herald into the Birmingham News building. The News
press printed both papers and handled advertising and
subscriptions sales while the editorial and reporting
staffs remained independent. The agreement lasted until
the Post-Herald ceased publication in September, 2005,
leaving the News as Birmingham’s only daily newspaper.
In 1996, the News Company instigated a switch between
the morning and evening schedules again creating a joint
weekend edition (distributed on Saturdays). This move
reinforced The News’ pre-eminent role at a time when
morning papers were the norm. Toward the end of its
existence, the Post-Herald adopted a niche of emphasizing
more detailed local stories and featuring well-known
local columnists, including sports writer Paul Finebaum.
The long-expected closure was announced to staffers
and then to the public by E. W. Scripps executives on the
morning of September 22, 2005, the day before the final
edition. The announcement said that the Birmingham
market could simply no longer support two newspapers,
thus continuing a trend of big-city afternoon newspapers
either folding or merging with morning newspapers.
The Post-Herald’s ultimate demise was a loss of
circulation abetted by the change in publication
schedules. In 2006 the News cut the ribbon on a new $25
million headquarters building across 4th Avenue from
its 1917 plant. The old building was demolished in 2008.
In 2009, Advance Publications’ three Alabama
newspapers, The Birmingham News, Mobile Press-Register
and the Huntsville Times, were organized into the
Advance Alabama Group. Although Advance owned
the Birmingham News since 1955, the Hanson family
continued to run the business until December 1, 2009.
On May 24, 2012, Advance Publications, aware of
a move toward electronic media, announced that its
Alabama newspapers would do away with their daily
print editions and go to a three-day a week schedule on
Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.
The changes took effect on October 1, 2012, making
Birmingham the second-largest city in the United States
not to be served by a daily newspaper; New Orleans
became the largest that same day as the Times-Picayune,
also an Advance property, would undergo the same
changes.
The era of reporters fighting for news stories, paper
boys hawking the latest editions and street vendors, which
were once routine activities in Birmingham, had finally
come to an end. Maybe it’s time to bring the Birmingham
Ledger back to life.
Pa r t i c i p a te i n J C H A s p o n s o r e d e v e n t s
112 Meadow Croft Circle
Birmingham, Alabama 35242
(205) 967-1740
www.jeffcohistory.com
No. 2
NON-PROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE PAID
BIRMINGHAM, AL
PERMIT NO. 752
Page 16

History of the JCHA
The Jefferson County Historical Association is dedicated to preserving and publicizing local history through regular
meetings, publications and events. Founded in 1975 to promote historical preservation efforts, the society has grown to
more than 400 members.
Officers:
Thomas N. Carruthers
President
Craig Allen, Jr.
Vice-President
George L. Jenkins
Secretary
Harry E. Bradford
Treasurer
Founders:
Rucker Agee, Lane Carter,
Elizabeth Cooper, Chriss Doss
Paul H. Earle, Robert Montgomery
Margaret Sizemore, George Stewart
J. Morgan Smith, Richard J. Stockham,
James F. Sulzby, Jr., S. Vincent Townsend,
Henry Tuttle
Board of Directors:
Cathy Criss Adams
Craig Allen, Jr.
Thomas E. Badham
Jim Bennett
Jeanne B. Bradford
Herbert F. Griffin
Judy S. Haise
Ann B. Hillhouse
Robert R. Kracke
Carolyn H. Reich
Barbara (Babs) Simpson
Edward W. Stevenson, MD
Past Presidents:
J. Morgan Smith
Margaret D. Sizemore
Elmer C. Thuston, Jr.
Chriss Doss
Betsy Bancroft
Tillman W. Pugh
William A. Price
Thomas M. West, Jr.
Madge D. Jackson
Thad G. Long
Don G. Watkins
Fred M. Jackson III
Thomas O. Caldwell, MD
Charles A. Speir
Craig Allen, Jr.
Edward W. Stevenson, MD
Jim Bennett
Alice McSpadden Williams

The Jefferson Journal - Jefferson County Historical Association

Transcription

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