Hartselle Historical Society (Hartselle, AL)

Home
United States
Hartselle, AL
Hartselle Historical Society (Hartselle, AL)

Directions Website Contact the organization

We document, preserve, and promote the history of Hartselle, Alabama for our future.

11/02/2026

A couple of the 1950's MCHS annuals had pictures of some Hartselle businesses in the advertising section. I have never seen any of these pictures either. Wanted to share them:

11/01/2026

The 1930 Morgan County High School annual had a page with snapshots of Hartselle. I cropped and enhanced five of them. I had not seen these pictures before.

10/29/2026

One more group of later Hartselle pictures:

10/27/2026

A Look at Television in the 1950's and 1960's:

My parents ran a radio and television shop in Hartselle. Because of this, we were fortunate to have one of the first color tv's in town. I still remember watching those early color programs on Sunday nights. Dad kept a color set in window of our shop with a timer on it and sometimes a small crowd would gather in front of it to watch an early color program. He always remarked that the tv in the window sold a lot of color tv's. Let's take a look at those golden days of television.

First, I want to mention a couple of children's programs that I remember. The first one is "Ding D**g School" with Miss Frances. Miss Frances was Dr. Frances Horwich, an educator with a doctorate degree from Northwestern. She opened each program ringing a bell. My brother and I watched it nearly every morning and wouldn't get dressed in front of the tv because we thought she could see us. Two local programs for kids were The Cousin Cliff Show and The Benny Carle Show" which was on Channel 6 from Birmingham. These programs hosted birthday parties and my brother and I got to go to a couple of shows. Now to Sunday nights:

Sunday Nights Around the Television

Do you remember Sunday nights in the 1950s and 1960s, when the family gathered around the television to watch their favorite programs?

Some of the shows I remember best are Lassie, The Ed Sullivan Show, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, and Bonanza. Each one offered something different, but together they helped make Sunday night a special time of the week.

Who could forget Lassie, the beautiful collie who always seemed to know when someone was in trouble? Her adventures began on television in 1954, and families followed her for many years. We got a collie dog from Country Evans because of the show and he grew up with my brother and me, going everywhere we went. I was surprised to learn that Lassie was a he, not a she.

Then there was The Ed Sullivan Show. You never knew who might appear on that stage. There were singers, comedians, dancers, and all kinds of performers. For many families, it was a chance to see entertainers they might never have seen otherwise. Will never forget seeing the Beatles for the first time on his show.

One of my favorite memories is watching Walt Disney’s "Wonderful World of Color." Walt introduced us to cartoons, nature programs, adventures, and stories the whole family could enjoy. When the program moved to NBC in 1961, its colorful pictures helped show viewers what the new color televisions could do. My brother and I had coonskin hats and Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett were exploring and hunting companions with us as we fought the Indians and bad guys.

And then there was Bonanza! The opening music and that burning map of the Ponderosa let us know it was time to visit Ben Cartwright and his sons, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe. Bonanza premiered on September 12, 1956 and was T.V.'s first full-length western series filmed in color. The episode "Hoss and the Leprechauns" was my favorite. I can remember our preacher on Sunday morning saying from the pulpit that, if we would come to church that night, he promised to let out in time to get home to see this episode.

The Sunday night schedules changed over the years, and sometimes we had to choose between favorite shows on different channels. But those programs gave families something to look forward to and memories that have stayed with us for more than half a century.

What do you remember about Sunday night television? Did your family watch these shows? Which was your favorite, and do you remember when you first watched television in color?

Sunday Afternoon:

Can't leave out "The Bear Bryant Show" and "The Auburn Football Review" with Shug Jordan and Carl Stephans. Coach Bryant and host John Forney or Charlie Thornton would open the show by opening a pack of Golden Flake potato chips and Coca Cola's. "Great pair says the Bear." It came on Sunday afternoons at 4 and ran from 1958 to 1982. Bear always talked about his players, often giving their hometowns. Coach Bryant got $3,000 a show. Will never forget that gravelly voice. My brother and I never missed a show. Right afterwards, Coach Jordan would come on and review the Auburn game. His program ran for 25 years and I can still hear him say: "You are so right, Carl."

One other favorite program from these years was "The Fugitive." The final two-part episode of this series gathered 72 % of the television audience when it showed. That was 78 million people. Here is the plot summary from the show:

"The name: Dr. Richard Kimble. The destination: Death Row, State Prison. The irony: Richard Kimble is innocent. Proved guilty, what Richard Kimble could not prove was that moments before discovering his murdered wife's body, he saw a one-armed man running from the vicinity of his home. Richard Kimble ponders his fate as he looks at the world for the last time, and sees only darkness. But in that darkness, Fate moves its huge hand."

Pursued by Lt. Phillip Gerard, Kimble moves across the country in pursuit of the one-armed man.

10/25/2026

Several people have requested some pictures of a more current Hartselle. Old, but not too old. These are mainly from 1950 on up.

10/23/2026

Martha Witt Burleson Goes Viral

The term "going viral" wasn't in use back when Matha Witt Burleson was a cheerleader at the University of Alabama, but that is what happened with Martha Witt. Many terms could describe this remarkable lady: groundbreaking, ahead of her time, pioneering, trailblazing, gregarious, vibrant, spirited, and perky. She became famous as a cheerleader for the University of Alabama, but that is getting ahead of her story. Let's take a look at the life of this remarkable lady from Hartselle.+

Martha was born in 1916 to Howard and Nell Burleson. Her sister Elizabeth married Horace Roberts. Martha's dad had six brothers. She was the first child of any of the brothers and they expected her to be a boy and an athlete. They adjusted to a girl and said she would be a cheerleader. Martha was enrolled in acrobatic dancing lessons Their plan worked out as she was a cheerleader at MCHS for three years as well as a talented athlete. Martha was involved in a number of activities at Morgan County High School. She was president of her senior class, editor of the annual, voted "Most Intellectual" for the Senior Who's Who, girls' basketball team for 4 years, National Honor Society, editor-in-chief of the Riddle, president of the girls' athletic club, a member of the glee club and school reporter for three years to name a few of her activities and honors. I forgot to mention she was valedictorian of her senior class.

After graduating from MCHS, Martha went to the University of Alabama to study journalism. At UA she had the unusual honor of being selected cheerleader as a freshman. She was to become an All-American cheerleader and was elected co-head cheerleader in 1938. Martha was the first woman elected to the A Club at Alabama, up until that time, only for male athletes that had lettered in a sport.

Martha went viral when Alabama was to play the University of California in the 1938 Rose Bowl between the number 2 ranked University of California and the number 4 ranked Crimson Tide. California won 13-0. The Birmingham Chamber of Commerce had put together a magazine, "Cheers for Alabama," as a promotional for our state. Martha was on the cover. Her picture circulated nationally in most newspapers across the land. Martha was an instant celebrity when the team arrived in Pasadena. She received movie offers which she turned down because she wanted to become a journalist. Grantland Rice asked her to be a guest writer for his syndicated column. I will put some information on Rice at the bottom. The attention Martha got from the press and the local community and Rose Ball activities was phenomenal. At the game, in the third quarter, the California fans began to chant "We want Martha." Martha ran around the stadium to their side and led them in a yell. One paper said for a year she was perhaps the best known college girl in the country.

After graduating from Alabama, Martha came home to Hartselle. She worked on her dad's farm for a short while and then began teaching at Cotaco. She organized and coached a boys' boxing team there. Later she became a writer for the Huntsville Times. She was active in politics and a good friend of George Wallace. Martha was involved in civic and charitable activities. What phenomenal life she led.

If you aren't familiar with Grantland Rice:
Henry Grantland Rice (November 1, 1880 – July 13, 1954) was a sportswriter, columnist, and poet from Tennessee known as the "Dean of American Sports Writers". He published three books of poetry, and coined the famous phrase that it was not important whether you “won or lost, but how you played the game.” His writing was known for its elegance and published in newspapers around the country, and broadcast on the radio. He and his writing are among the reasons that the roaring 1920s in the United States are sometimes referred to as the "Golden Age of Sports".

In 1924, he nicknamed the Notre Dame backfield the "Four Horsemen". In 1925 he replaced Walter Camp in selecting college football All-America teams. Rice set out to make heroes of sports figures who impressed him, most notably in baseball Babe Ruth, in boxing Jack Dempsey, in football Red Grange and Knute Rockne, in golf Bobby Jones and Babe Didrikson, and in tennis Bill Tilden.

10/22/2026

From 1963-66 John Knox wrote a weekly series of history articles about events and places in North Alabama. These were very interesting and informative. Knox also authored "A History of Morgan County." I wanted to share this one. If you will take the time to read it, there is some interesting early Hartselle history. At the least, read the last 3 columns and notice the comments about road conditions in early downtown Hartselle. The Vest, Craft and Puckett families are all mentioned, plus some others. The pictures in the newspaper scan of the article were of poor quality and I had Chat try to restore them, but ads from the back page bled through. The next time I go to the Morgan County Archives, I will copy the original article. Use the plus button to enlarge.

10/20/2026

To go along with the Fletcher's Ferry Road post, I wanted to do one on Bethel Road. The road didn't go all the way to Main Steet until 1914. David Burleson has commented to me about how bad the early roads were. Fessor had to come to town and live in the winter because Indian Hills Road got so bad. These roads were just dirt with a little gravel.

In 1972, Bethel Road from the church to Main Street was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage. It was the first rural residential area to be added to the Register. A historic marker was placed on the road.

10/20/2026

Where was Fletcher's Ferry Road?

Going through old newspapers and pictures, I have seen the name Fletcher's Ferry Road mentioned a couple of times. I was not familiar with this road and wondered where it was. Since the word Ferry was in the name, I thought it had to be connected with the Tennessee River. Then, in the last week, the name has popped up 3 times, so, I did some research. Two of those times, Fletcher Ferry Road was mentioned with Bethel Road. I wondered if it was an earlier name for Bethel Road, back before the church? There is not a lot of information about the road, but let me share what I have found.

John Knox in his book, "A History of Alabama," has a section on "Early Ferries and Landings." He mentions a ferry at Bluff City called "Crabb's Ferry." Thomas Crabb was an early settler of Cotaco (Morgan) County and owned the ferry. A small settlement named Monroe was established at this location by 1818 and it was renamed Bluff City by 1874. Monroe had a post office as did Bluff City. By 1881, Bluff City as a town no longer existed. Today there is a boat launch there. An 1837 map by John LaTourrette names the ferry as "Botcher's Ferry." I have also seen it as Boteler's Ferry (1847-48). By 1857, the road was named Fletcher's Ferry Road. . The Morgan County, Alabama Commissioner's Court Minutes have several mentions of Fletcher's Ferry Road from 1853-1960. There actually was a small Civil War battle fought there.

From what I can tell from early maps, Fletcher's Ferry Road followed the current path of Bethel Road today from Priceville until just south of Bethel Church where it turned southwest and followed the path of Bethel St. N. E. Bethel Road didn't exist from Bethel St. N.E. to Main Street unitl 1914 (read the Historical District sign). I will show this with maps.

10/19/2026

Today, over at the old Burleson in one of our Historical Society rooms, I found some neat old ads for the Strand Theater. They were in a small plastic pouch. I will show the front, back and the inside of the foldout ad. Based on the movies, it looks like late 1945 and 1946 releases. These two years have been ranked as Hollywood's two best years. Weekly, 80 to 90 million Americans went to a movie. Our population was 140 million. There were 19 different ads in the pouch and I will show several. Here is part of an article about these two years and Hollywood:

The Hollywood Two: 1945 and 1946 as Filmgoing's Best Years"
reviewed by Catherine Clepper

Best Years: Going to the Movies, 1945-1946 by Charles Affron and Mirella Jona Affron (Rutgers University Press, 2009), 341 pages, $32.50.

Depending on whom you ask, the Golden Age of Hollywood lasted from the beginning of the sound period (1927) through to the late 1950s. The so-called Classical Hollywood period is characterized by a set of studio-dominated industrial practices, or alternately by a style of audio-visual techniques associated with the Hollywood assembly line, i.e. the “classical look.” The years 1945 and 1946 fall squarely within each of these well-worn historical designations. However, in their latest collaborative work, Best Years: Going to the Movies, 1945-1946, Charles and Mirella Affron are specifically interested in calling these years Hollywood’s “best.”

The best years? 1945, of course, marked the end of the Second World War and the beginning of the United States’ reign as global taskmaster. Within U.S. film history, 1946 holds the distinction of being the peak year of movie attendance, impressively claiming more than 90 million weekly admissions (or 60 percent of the population). These bits of information weigh heavily upon Best Years’ moniker, but as the Affrons explain in their book’s introduction, this period was richer than ticket sales and national pride."

Address

307 College Street NE
Hartselle, AL
35640

Website

http://HartselleHistory.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Hartselle Historical Society (Hartselle, AL) posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.