Me and My Shadow?

It’s nearly October and time to think about some haunted history and ghost stories. I pulled a skeleton (story) out of my closet that just might make the hair on your arms stand up on ends. On a past press trip to Foley, Alabama, myself along with ten travel writers took a tour of the Holmes Medical Museum. And the rest is, well, history.

During the trip to the small charming town, something unexplainable happened. Look closely at the photos and what appears to be a shadowy figure next to me. Was it some sort of energy? A ghost?

The museum is housed in a former hospital that was built in the 1930’s and closed sometime during the 1960’s. Many babies were birthed in the hospital, in fact, the docent giving the tour was born in the hospital. Doctors also performed surgery and took care of whatever ailed the townspeople. The equipment looks medieval compared to today’s standards.

As I was walked up the stairs to the second floor of the hospital, I began to feel a little uneasy. It was dark, the stairs creaked, and the antiquated medical items on display made me feel a bit nervous. I eyed long needles sitting next to a needle sharpener. They didn’t have disposable needles in those days, so they used the same needle over and over while sharpening it from time to time.

When I walked into a second-floor room filled with antique medicine bottles on display, my eyes caught the site of a skeleton hanging at the far corner. A professional photographer on the trip, Patrice Raplee, asked me to stand next to the skeleton to have my photo taken. As I neared the skeleton it appeared to be R-E-A-L! Yikes! Afterwards, the docent said it was a real human skeleton. I let out a shriek once I saw up close that this was not one of the plaster ones from our childhood teachings of the human body.

Before I go on, keep in mind that this was a cloudy day. There was only one window at the opposite corner of an approx. 200 square foot room, no other people were in the room, no shadows to cast, and no flash was used. Patrice had a long lens on her camera (about 10 inches). I leaned in toward the skeleton to make it appear that I was touching it when in actuality I was slightly behind it.

I posed smiling while Patrice snapped my photo letting out a gasp, “OH MY!” I asked what was wrong. She said, “I’ll show you in a minute …let me take another photo.” She snapped another photo immediately. Then others began coming into the room to find out what happened. Upon showing me the first photo I too gasped! Yikes! I could not believe my eyes. The photo showed me standing next to the skeleton, and appearing in front of me was a black, wispy, transparent, apparition (for lack of a better description). It looks like a person standing with their arms in the air. No, this was not Patrice’s hand or fingers. She was holding a long telephoto lens and I saw her take the photo.

So I leave it to your eyes. View the photos, the first with the black, transparent figure in the dark corner compared to the photo taken immediately after. Keep in mind there was nothing to cast shadows, no flash, no one else standing in the room.

Skeleton Holems Medical Museum photo2 — *Photos by © Patrice Raplee – Second photo*

Skeleton at Medical Museum- 2 — *Photos by © Patrice Raplee – Second photo*

Upon her return to Seattle, Patrice took the photos to the University of Washington to show it to a few professionals. She explained to me that the consensus among the professionals was that the shadowy figure had nothing to do with the camera and it could not be explained.

The museum’s docent had told us that other visitors have reported seeing apparitions and hearing strange moans. And she left it at that.

So I ask, does the Medical Museum in Foley have ghosts? You may have to visit to see for yourself.

###

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE

This story appeared in B’ham Biz

written by: Edith Parten

Birmingham couple David and Andrea Snyder had dreams of becoming entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry since college, and what better place to make that start than in Alabama’s culinary capital?

The two began their journey together as students at the University of Alabama where they were⎯inspired by renowned chefs, professors and other entrepreneurs. Since then, the couple has been on fire developing a business plan—initially using their college textbooks for guidance. They’ve now opened four Urban Cookhouse restaurants in six years.

The latest Urban Cookhouse opened in February in Birmingham’s central business district in the historic former Federal Reserve Bank building.

“I’m very intrigued by and have always loved history,” David says. “And I always wanted to have a store in the business district. With this location, I get both.”

It’s their third restaurant in Birmingham and their fourth in Alabama since they set their entrepreneurial plan in motion more than six years ago. They opened their first in Homewood in 2010, then the Summit in 2011, and Tuscaloosa in 2016. And they don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

“We are always looking for new locations,” David says. “I would love to open a restaurant in Hoover or Trussville. I’m also not ruling out the possibility of another Tuscaloosa restaurant.”

David’s former business partner, Will Gillespie, has opened Urban Cookhouse restaurants in Nashville, Charleston, Atlanta, Montgomery, and Columbia, South Carolina⎯with one opening soon in Huntsville.

The power couple graduated from the University of Alabama’s business school, the Culverhouse College of Commerce. David earned his undergraduate degree in 2002 and MBA in 2003 at Culverhouse while Andrea earned her degree in marketing in 2004.

Andrea proudly says the two relied on their textbooks from college and notes from favorite professors Dr. Lonnie Strickland and Dr. Ron Dulek when the time came to take the first step to becoming entrepreneurs.

“We saved our textbook from GBA 490 (Strategic Management) and used it to create the first business plan for Urban Cookhouse,” says Andrea, smiling.

“Dr. Strickland and Dr. Dulek’s ability to actually teach the subject matter made the textbook come to life,” adds David. “And the case studies they put us through inspired me to look at that textbook and say, ‘This is gold.’ I still have it, and I make sure that I go back to it. It guides my decisions a lot of the time.”

Upon graduating from UA, David went to work for Zoe’s Kitchen, a restaurant chain created by another Culverhouse alumnus, John Cassimus.

“I went straight to work for Zoe’s Kitchen right out of college and I moved to Birmingham,” says David. “At the time, there were only about five Zoe’s Kitchens. I was with them from mid-2003 to 2009. In that time period, I helped open 13 restaurants for the Cassimus family.”

David also worked with Birmingham’s renowned chef Chris Hastings. “Chef Hastings inspired me,” says David. “People don’t understand the detail that goes into preparing food until they have worked in a five-star kitchen like (Hastings’) Hot and Hot Fish Club. I’ve seen and been a part of a process where it took 12 hours just to make a sauce. It’s that level of detail that inspired me to not overlook anything when I’m preparing a meal.”

It’s that same level of commitment and attention to detail that David took to create the menu for Urban Cookhouse. From 2004 to 2008 David traveled the U.S. collecting menus from the restaurants he

visited.

“I wanted fresh food and I wanted to smoke the meats,” David explains. “I got a good idea for combinations of food that were popular in all the places I visited. I would circle things on menus that interested me. My wife and I took all the menus we collected, and on the way to the National Restaurant Association Expo in Chicago in 2009, I wrote out the Urban Cookhouse menu.

“While I worked for Chris Hastings during the day, at night I would go home and make the food that became the Urban Cookhouse menu,” adds David.

David reveals the secret to their menu—smoking everything on a Green Egg grill. Whether it’s the pork on the El Cubano sandwich, the Urban Cowboy’s lime marinated steak or the smoked turkey on the Turkey Crunch sandwich, all the meat goes through the smoking process.

“I really wanted to combine my knowledge and ability to run a quick-service casual restaurant with that idea,” explains David. “Let’s get the freshest food we can, let’s cook it over hickory wood and charcoal and let’s do it in a setting that’s modern and urban.”

The process took about a year to get the business plan and design together prior to opening their first restaurant in downtown Homewood in May of 2010. The restaurants continue to see great success thanks to a simple concept.

“It’s local and we buy from local farmers and the food is handmade,” says David. “We also do all that we can to make sure that our customer service is the best in our segment of the restaurant industry.”

Since opening in downtown Birmingham in February of this year, David feels confident he made the right decision to locate in the business district.

“We’ve seen growth every week that we’ve been open downtown. The success of Urban Cookhouse has exceeded our expectations and we couldn’t be happier,” he says.

Although they’ve had great success as entrepreneurs, David and Andrea still remain humble and give credit to those who have helped and inspired them along the way, including their hometown of Birmingham.

“None of our success would have been possible without Birmingham and its rise as a culinary destination,” says David. “Also, without the Cassimus family, and Chef Hastings allowing me to work in his kitchen for a year, I would have never learned the culinary side like I have.”

“Without Birmingham, there would be no Urban Cookhouse,” he adds.

What’s in a Name?

Andrea, with her marketing background, came up with the name.

“I know we called the shed at my dad’s hunting camp a cookhouse. It was a separate, covered, portable detached building for cooking and smoking meats. So, the word ‘cookhouse’ was going to be part of our concept. I thought that was a perfect name,” she says.

But Andrea adds that there was a slight problem with just calling it Cookhouse. “We didn’t want people to think it was country food,” she says. “It’s a little bit more progressive than that, and we were definitely going to be opening locations in urban areas. So, I thought Urban Cookhouse had a nice ring to it, and we stuck with it.”

###

Iceland…Where Time Begins

Its landscape is rugged with dramatic scenery that will take your breath away. From its lava caves, hot springs and geysers below, to its volcanoes, waterfalls and glaciers above, Iceland is more than the land of fire and ice. It’s where time begins.

Just ask master watchmaker Gilbert O. Gudjonsson (aka Gilbertson). He’s been repairing, designing and crafting watches in his 200 square foot shop in the capital of Reykjavik for more than 50 years.

You might miss the small shop on Reykjavik’s Laugavegur Street if you’re not looking. While window-shopping with my husband on the main drag, I caught a glimpse of a crimson faced watch sitting in the window display of the JS Watch Company. I couldn’t resist stepping into this quaint shop. The watch drew me in.

Once inside I sensed a special place…one where time seems to stand still. The left wall dons photographs of the celebrities who have purchased watches from Gilbertson—from movie stars to rock stars, and political figures…even the Dalai Lama.

As I walked in to inquire about the crimson-faced watch, a man with a loupe (a single magnifying glass) over one eye greets me. I knew that I had stumbled upon something amazing. Gilbertson was so friendly and entertaining. He took the time to tell me about the watchmaking process and he told stories about the photographs and the stars who visited his shop.

He pointed to the photo of the Dalai Lama, whom Gilbertson reveals is a huge fan and collector of watches.

Then he pointed to a photo with actor Tom Cruise. Cruise bought one of Gilberston’s most expensive watches for his 50th birthday. The cost? $500,000. Giblertson’s watches sell for $2,500 to $500,000 (1.8 million króna.)

He says Cruise was so thrilled with his watch that he wrote Gilbertson a handwritten thank you letter.

Tom Cruise photo donning the wall of Gilbertson’s watch shop

“He didn’t have to do that, but he did and that just shows me what kind of thoughtful person he is,” Gilbertson says. “For him to take the time to sit down and hand write a letter to a small businessman like me says a lot.”

Gilbertson had created just over 2,500 timepieces in 10 years when I visited. He started out at a young age repairing watches and clocks before he discovered his passion for watchmaking.

“I don’t produce a lot of watches like Rolex does, although the quality of my watches are just as good or better,” says Gilbertson. “I make each one by hand and take my time. A lot of passion and personal care goes into each watch. I love what I’m doing,” he adds with passion.

Gilbertson went on to tell me that he gets the parts for building his time-pieces from Sweden and Germany. “They make the best there is,” according to Gilbertson. For the intricate detail on the bodies and bezels of the watches, he sends them to a custom engraver in New Zealand. When the watch is sent back, he then assembles all the intricate pieces together in his small shop.

“Each watch is designed here, tested, assembled and tested again,” says Gilbertson.

When you see the intricate detail in each timepiece you understand that this watchmaker has a passion for a centuries-old profession. From the intricate hand carvings representing the Viking culture of Iceland to the faces made of volcanic ash from the 2011 eruption, the details are sights to behold.

His watches are worn by some of the most famous people from around the world from the Dalai Lama and Tom Cruise as we mentioned. Then there’s Jude Law, Katie Couric, Quentin Tarantino and Ian Anderson of the Jethro Tull band, who, by-the-way, gave Gilbertson a flute from his personal collection.

Flute from Jethro Tull — Flute from Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

“A friend told me I could sell the flute on e-Bay for a million dollars, but I said no way, I’m keeping it in my family.”

Speaking of family, his son is responsible for the marketing and promotion of the business to include writing copy and designing the ads that appear in some high-end publications as well as on their website. He also helps design the watches and always has a new design coming down the pipeline.

“Maybe the next volcano eruption will play into the next watch design,” says Gilbertson with a smile.

Visit the JS Watch Company website.

###