Former Eufaulians gather in Connecticut

By A.P. STEADHAM
Published: September 10, 2008

Four decades ago, opportunity was scarce for some ambitious citizens from the small southeastern Alabama town of Eufaula. The bridge of hope pointed the pilgrimage for prosperity north to a community along the Connecticut River called Middletown. Employment options were abundant as newcomers with the spirit of industriousness pumping through their veins flocked to answer the call.
New England’s penchant for ingenuity symmetrically merged with the Alabamians hunger for more than mere existence. Word of mouth trumpeting favorable economic prospects spread among family and friends, becoming the catalytic communication initiating the migration from Barbour County.
Forty years later and 1,200 miles from their birthplace, those transplanted Southerners gathered on Aug. 16 for the fourth annual Alabama Family and Friends Picnic at Veterans Memorial Park in Middletown to renew the bonds.
More than 100 people, representing four generations, delighted in fellowship and food. Part of the regional cuisine served that afternoon included ribs, black-eyed peas, collard greens and “some of the best barbecued chicken you ever placed between your teeth,” according to Eddie C. Thornton.
The organization originated as a group in 1991, when Ozella Conner Wilborn and Bill Oliver decided to form their own entity after being associated with an Alabama club in New Britain, Conn., since 1981. For the last four years, the late-summer picnic became a joint reunion with alternate years of travel by chartered bus as Eufaula residents ventured north and the Middletown contingent returned the favor by journeying south.
T-shirts are printed to commemorate the day. Exorbitant gas prices discouraged the Eufaula group from attending this year.
The essence of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes statement, “family values are practiced, not preached,” is personified with their humble tales of relocation. A friend of Jesse Ricks told him about the tobacco farms hiring around Hartford, which led him to a sneaker factory in Middletown. Mrs. Wilborn, with the permission of her parents, came north at the behest of her good friend Hester (Oliver) Bradley, who housed her for two years before she became self-sufficient.
Marie Anderson moved in with her brother, Mose Peterson, then later found an apartment and got a job at the Russell Company before retiring from Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. Every person that afternoon reiterated similar accounts of a family member or friend encouraging and assisting their venture north for, as Mary Marshall said, “a better way of life.”
Conversations flowed easily that day as the enduring tap root of origin and upbringing provided the common branch. K. C. Hall, living in the Nutmeg state since 1962, but originally from neighboring Pittsview, Ala., in Russell County, said, “Everyone understands each other. It’s the same way down south.
“You can go down there and meet people and talk all day if you want. They don’t mind.”
In many parts of the country, inquiring about a stranger’s birthplace might lead to a person recoiling in fear of the questionnaire’s motive, but in Alabama an impromptu extended discussion searching for common family and friends may ensue. The ingratiating mannerisms are evidenced by the informality between friends, as Mr. Thornton recalled his early years in the heart of Dixie. “You could go to your neighbor’s door and say, ‘how are y’all doing?’” Such openness might be foreign in Connecticut, a state known as “The Land of Steady Habits.”
But the years north have been kind to most, as they have raised their families, sent children to college, and reaped the rewards of all their hard work. “I’m so happy about being in Connecticut and living in Connecticut all these years. It’s a good state to live in, although it’s very expensive,” said Mrs. Marshall. “The jobs that we’ve had, we’ve been able to survive. One thing about us Alabamians, we’ve always been survivors.”
During the day, many spoke about the property they inherited, own or bought around Eufaula, along with desires to retire to the land of their birth. Some people might not understand the incongruity of yearning to return after all these years to the motherland which lacked sustenance during the prime earning years of their life, but as Mrs. Marshall enthusiastically declared, “Alabama is embedded in us. That’s where we came from and we can’t ever forget it and we don’t want to forget it.”
Carol Jones echoed those endearing sentiments about the group as she said, “We are a strong family and we love each other and we like to get together and celebrate who we are. You can take us out of Alabama, but you can’t take the Alabama out of us.”
Alabama songstress Allison Moorer sings the lyric, “Are you going to Alabama where the folks say how do you do?”
If you ask the folks from Alabama, they are doing quite well, thank you, even when they’re in Middletown.