Food World and Burns Cox Interview

JAMIE STONEY: Yeah. Could you start back about which end was built during the war?

BURNS COX: The new building was built in-- in, during World War II. The new building. The old building, what's called the old mill, was built in -- started up in 18 something, 1895. Then on this side of the old mill, we had the additional plant. And over here, we built another weave shop down on the lower end of this mill. Number five weave shop, number four and number five weave shop. We had number one, number two, number three, number four, number five weave shops. The card room occupied the top floor. Spinning department occupied the second floor. The weave shop occupied the other floor. And then you had your spooler room, spooler room, the twisters. And uh, everything, and the cloth room was in the new part of the building until that was closed down. 00:01:00It was down on the lower end of the mill, down there with all the old buildings. But they moved it from there up to there as the war was over, but it was in the new building.

GEORGE STONEY: OK. I think that pretty well covers --

(break in audio)

COX: If I had known it uh--Summerworth Avenue-- the train runs right straight up this street here. This was a railroad crossing right here, the railroad track come down here. And it forked, and went that way. But the railroad track would come down from up yonder -- right down through that grass there. It got down here and it split one way, and this side of the mill, and the other went in the other side of the mill.

GEORGE STONEY: But this wasn't where the fellow sat down?

COX: Huh? No, it was down there, where the mill train went into the shop, into the mill yard, at the gate down there, the railroad gates is where they sat down on the track.

GEORGE STONEY: Where was the mill pasture?

COX: Who?

GEORGE STONEY: The place where you kept your cows?

COX: Down on the lower end of town. They built buildings down there now. They tore them -- they got it all tore up, except you know where the boy club's at now?

GEORGE STONEY: Mm-hmm.

COX: That's where that part of the old pasture -- company pasture down there. The boys club.

GEORGE STONEY: Did you have a cow?

COX: My father and mother had one when I was a little one. We kept our own hog, we raised our own hog down in the pasture. My father slaughtered him down there, we had our own milk cows there in the yard, and milked them and all. You can see them right there, you have to look close. You see that railroad gate 00:03:00right there?

GEORGE STONEY: Mm-hmm.

COX: That little railroad gate over there. All right, this is a road coming here, this is where they sat down on the railroad tracks right here. And right here. See, the railroad went down one side, and the other side. You can see it over here, and over here. Railroad went down one side, went down the other side.

GEORGE STONEY: OK, I think we can go home then.

JAMIE STONEY: OK.

COX: Now the biggest part of the mill, see from this corner here, when they had the mill built, it was built back over there, I guess 50 -- 50 or more feet in front of that building over there, and carried up here to about 50 foot, and this space up here has got this -- got about 50 foot from this building here down to where the mill started.

JAMIE STONEY: Uh, which way do I go?

COX: Straight on.

JAMIE STONEY: Straight on, OK.

COX: That's the old Nickel library there now. Where they added a little room on, but it's a -- it's a sight. The place they put -- put up to uh, 00:04:00survivors, whatever -- whatever it is.

JAMIE STONEY: We're back.

(break in audio)

JAMIE STONEY: OK, we're passing a big B store where one of the rail tracks split up. Train tracks split right here.

M1: It's where they laid out in front of the train.

JAMIE STONEY: Yeah, this is right where they laid out in front of a train. Now we're turning onto -- parallel to Meegan, this was Kyle Avenue. (pause)

(SILENCE)

M1: Ready or not?

JAMIE STONEY: Yeah.

M1: Speed OK?

JAMIE STONEY: Yeah.

M1: Now right up around here was one of the factory gates. I believe this was right around where the home gate was. There's still a piece of the original sidewalk out there. Turning right here just ahead of us, dead center screen, is where one of the gates was. The area, a large mound directly ahead was where 00:06:00the lake was, we're going to move towards it. That's where the lack and the drainage area was.

JAMIE STONEY: (inaudible).

M1: Yeah, this was the uh, I believe this was the lake bank, over here. This right here was where the lake was, this mound area here. This little runoff, still the same runoff that was there at the same time. (pause) (inaudible). 00:07:00You might want to take a drive down that little street. Yeah, right back here was another -- back end of the lake, just past these bushes here, there was a bathhouse where we all learned how to swim, you're seeing this area pretty much is the way it was, except just the little houses are a little nicer now. (inaudible) make the right on that street, (inaudible). Yeah, speed's all right.

JAMIE STONEY: Okay?

M1: Yeah. Yeah, we're going to come up on uh, some of the buildings here, the -- the station. This building we're passing right now was the drugstore building, it was built after the other one burned down. Pull up here to the corner for a second.

JAMIE STONEY: Now, we were told the building right in front of us, the empty spot there was, I believe, a drugstore, (inaudible). (inaudible) drugstore.

(break in audio)

M1: And down this street, this is Oak, this is Oak Street, which was right 00:10:00near uh, one of the -- one of the gates. And right down here is where they had the picket line. And just beyond these trees was the lake. This is right along where they were running their picket line, you can still see some sort of a -- it's like an old sidewalk area underneath this.

(break in audio)

M1: (inaudible). Parallel, the buildings dead ahead were about where the mill 00:11:00was, almost where the car park and the foreground were. Still a piece of the original sidewalk up on the far end that we're going to be passing. So, as we get to the corner, look right up in the foreground here, that is a piece of the original sidewalk we just passed, it used to run all the way down to the station. Running right about where the original fence line was, right about here was where the railroad track went in. (inaudible).

JAMIE STONEY: Back on the track.

M1: I know, I just wanted to show him how crazy you drive. OK.

JAMIE STONEY: Are you ready for that?

M1: Yeah, let's go. OK, we're now -- we're right about where the mill was. The main part of the mill building. We're here looking at the finest supermarket shopping and plaza in the city of Gadsden/Alabama City.

M1: That's the Radio Shack where we bought some connectors.

JAMIE STONEY: Yes, that's the Radio Shack where we bought some connectors, the Food World where didn't shop, and the dollar general store where we did buy a cooler, the receipt is in the envelope. Anyway.

M1: There's a van just like ours. (inaudible).

M1: So let's go in. There's a medical center here that's coming up, 00:13:00that's where the second train run split down to the lower end of the mill, I think. This is about where the other train line came in through a gate, a railroad gate, and split. You can see the village adjacent directly to it. Again here, there was a picket fence line running along here, there was a gate right about here to get into the mill. (pause) And this is coming up about 00:14:00where I believe the mill back gate was. The rear part of the present day mall. See down, back in there where the uh-- one more pass up close to the stores.

GEORGE STONEY: Uh, I thought we'd get a static shot.

M1: Yeah.

(break in audio)

JAMIE STONEY: Ready? Queue it.

M1: Okay, one.

(SILENCE)

(SILENCE)

JAMIE STONEY: And for all you people that are left-handed.

M1: Let's do it. You're going to do it again.

JAMIE STONEY: Yeah, step out.

(SILENCE)

M1: We're fine.

JAMIE STONEY: And that? How about that?

M1: Right. Yeah, this is where the uh, one of the railroad tracks split off and went from across the screen, from right to left down into the mill, which would be over there. Here's a nifty mobile handheld version. Training (inaudible) up over there, past here, down into there. The train also, tracks split, came 00:18:00right here by Big B drugstores, and down into the mill to right here. In front of you here is a large view of where the mill was. The train tracks (inaudible) here. Right there. (inaudible). Where I'm standing would have been the mill gate in front of me, the empty space in front of me was where the mill was. To the left and behind is where the pond was. Here's our intrepid driver with the van, he's living. Oh no, he is coming back. Sir, do you know that there was once a mill upon this site?

M1: That's what I've heard. Did you hear you're going to get lost, or you're going to get left, rather? Bye!