The seniors in the picture above, at one time, were young people. The adventure known as life was just beginning. Each day young people make decisions, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Circumstances sometimes make decisions for them.
Nuggets of knowledge and wisdom are added to their treasure chest as they travel on their journey through life. Along with these are the skills and experiences they have acquired.
What great lessons and insight into life can we gain when seniors share their stories!
Welcome to North Alabama’s treasure trove of wisdom, where folks aged 60 and above come together. By simply being here and weathering life’s journey, we’ve become writers, poets, and storytellers—some of us with a knack for spinning tales.
Among us are veterans of World War II, sharing vivid memories of being foot soldiers in the Battle of the Bulge. Others have accumulated a wealth of knowledge from years on the job and are eager to share those experiences.
We’ve also got a talent for poetry that not only rhymes but is a delight to read. Expect diverse perspectives that may differ from your own.
Use our Contact page to reach out to the family members of seniors who have shared their stories here and to the contributing seniors who are still living.
If you are 60 or older and live in the north central Alabama area, we invite you to join us and contribute your own experiences. If you are acting on behalf of someone, please feel welcomed. Please go to our Submit Your Story page and you will find several ways to submit your story. If none of these ways are convenient for you, contact us and we will try very hard to accommodate you.
Select a Senior to Read Their Story
That’s where I saw my biggest snake. We run into a big snake up there, twenty-seven feet long. That thing was about that big around. Somebody just had killed it. They had crews there to unload (the ship). We didn’t have to touch any of it.
During a revival we were asked to visit a man at Gadsden who was very sick. Upon arriving at his home we found him to be very, very sick. He was using oxygen; he could not live without it. He was a lost man and we failed . . .
Way back in the fall of 1948 when people, and not machines, still picked cotton, I found out how wonderful it is to do a good turn for someone less fortunate. If you were less fortunate . . .
How my dad’s folks came to this area is interesting. My great grandfathers Mr. John Dahlke and Mr. Albert Look had jobs in Columbus, Ohio, having come from Germany in 1885. Two years later they read a paper written by Col. Cullman . . .
When the Depression started you would have been in your twenties. I guess you remember the Depression pretty well.
Well you couldn’t hardly buy anything.
Living on the farm you had enough to eat I guess?
I can’t say I’m any wiser than when I was 12, but I have tasted a lot of life. It has both knocked me down and lifted me up. All in all life has been wonderful – better than I deserve. When I hear form some of the other well preserved citizens . . .
A car couldn’t get in there course there wasn’t many cars around at that time. That was in ‘29 when I started to school, something like that. I was seven years old and born in ‘22 so it would be right.. . .
What do you remember when you were a little girl growing up?
Well, I remember the first airplanes, the first cars. Back then it was hard work. Soon as I got big enough to work, I started working in the fields after school. Just stayed busy. There were six of us children. .
