As the year winds down, The News Courier is preparing to review its top stories involving crimes, business development, education and, of course, the election. Following are some of the human interest pieces that readers enjoyed to break up the stream of sometimes discouraging headlines.

 

West teen performed in last season of “Idol”

West Limestone High School junior Lillian Glanton took destiny into her own hands and turned her love of music into opportunity. In late 2015, Glanton traveled to Atlanta, where she auditioned to appear on the final season of Fox’s “American Idol.”

Glanton appeared before celebrity judges Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban. With her guitar, the daughter of a Lester poultry farmer talked about living in a rural South and her dreams of being a singer-songwriter. She followed up with a performance of an original song titled “Country Boyfriend.” Urban and Lopez liked the audition, but Connick threw in a dissenting vote. It wasn’t enough to disqualify Glanton, however, and she won a golden ticket to Hollywood.

“It was crazy,” the Lester teen said about her audition experience in a previous interview with The News Courier. “It was really cool. I’m just going to see where ‘American Idol’ takes me.”

Unfortunately, Glanton didn’t make it to the top 50. She returned to Limestone County to continue singing and songwriting for her family, friends and fans. Glanton and her band, The Elk River Boys, often perform at community events and still travel to do shows.

Unlike past contestants, Glanton wasn’t banking her entire future on her “Idol” appearance, but is using it as a networking tool to expand her name in the country music industry. No matter how far she goes, though, she plans to remain true to Limestone County.

“I’ve got really cool stuff happening,” she said. “I’m excited that Athens is kind of opening up for artists like me … because you’ve got to get your hometown behind you.”

Arise & Build

Trinity School is an important piece of Limestone County history. As the only all-black school in county records, the site is hallowed ground for generations of families in not just Athens, but also other cities in the U.S.

In February, local theater buff and now District 3 City Councilmen Frank Travis, premiered his full-length stage version of the history of Trinity School. “Arise & Build,” written by Travis and local historian Charlotte Fulton, centers around the fictional Fletcher family and their trip to Athens for the 150th anniversary celebration of the school.

Trinity alumnus James Fletcher brings his daughter and two grandchildren to the ceremonies and, through the re-telling of the school’s past, they gain a deeper understanding and compassion for Trinity.

Most of the characters in the play were based in history: Trinity founder Mary Wells, principal Louise Allyn, teacher Mary Emma Perkins, students Alice Vassar Lacour, Patti Malone, Lavinia Harris Williams, Robert Penn, Robert Eugene Pincham, Charles Eric Lincoln, members of the Trinity School Society (which made bricks by hand for the school built in 1882), and others.

Most of the actors were either graduates of Trinity, or had some family connection to the school. One cast member, Kenneth Bridgeforth, portrayed his great-uncle, George Ruffin Bridgeforth, who graduated from Trinity in the 1890s and became a noted educator and agriculturist.

The show played to sold-out audiences and benefitted the operations of the Pincham-Lincoln Community Center, which stands on the former Trinity site.

 

Scout House comes alive again

To celebrate the musical talent that’s originated in Limestone County, Athens community organizers leased property from the Athens City Council in March to turn a historic meeting house that once acted as the Athens City Schools central office into a state-of-the-art school of music.

The Scout House Project is underway, restoring the building at the corner of Washington and East streets. Organizers of the project, calling themselves Friends of the Scout House, say the work will come in three phases, with Phase I currently in progress.

First the exterior and landscaping will be repaired, followed by the interior of the building, followed by the installation of music and music production equipment. More than $20,000 has been donated to the work through grants from Lowe’s home improvement stores and State Sen. Arthur Orr.

The Spirit of Athens board recently approved the lease and established an exploratory committee to look at the feasibility of using the Scout House/Little Red School House to have small concerts, music lessons, a museum to house memorabilia from Limestone County’s musical talent and a recording studio to offer students training in record production.

Athens native and award-winning songwriter Roger Murrah, who held a benefit concert for the arts in October in Athens, toured the building during a recent visit to his home town. Murrah, who wrote 10 No. 1 hits for artists such as Alabama and Alan Jackson, is looking for a location in Athens to permanently display some of his music memorabilia and encourage music education for those seeking music industry careers.

“It is very encouraging to me to hear that the Spirit of Athens board has the vision to honor Limestone County’s musical heritage and also provide educational opportunities for artistic talent of all kinds,” Murrah said. “I believe it takes this kind of leadership for communities to thrive and for legacies to be kept alive.”

The structure served as a social gathering spot for local Scouts and then became one of the offices for the Athens City Board of Education. Serving in both these roles led to the site having two names among the community, so Mayor Ronnie Marks dubbed the project as Red Scout House Music.