EPISODES

These are the episodes from the podcast.
There is additional content and an audio player to listen to the episode.

Time For A New Shades Cahaba

Time For A New Shades Cahaba

In 1942, with the country fighting wars in Europe and the pacific, Homewood could no longer ignore the fact that Shades Cahaba was getting a little old in the tooth and it would have to be replaced in the next decade. Not to mention that it was very crowded. It was...

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Shades Cahaba Athletics

Shades Cahaba Athletics

As soon as the school was built, teams were formed and Shades Cahaba entered into competition with other Birmingham area high schools, which had already been competing for a number of years. This was no small feat, you only need to listen to the episode with Michael...

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Social Distancing in Homewood

Social Distancing in Homewood

It is the second day that Shades Cahaba and other schools around the state have been shut down due to the state of emergency declared by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. Coronavirus COVID-19 has been quickly spreading around the world and is now in our community. To help...

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Homewood Elementary Schools

Homewood Elementary Schools

We talk about Shades Cahaba a lot on this podcast for obvious reasons. With a school that taught grades 1-12 you get a little tunnel vision and start to think this is all there was in Homewood. Not true. There were other schools and we are going to talk about a few of...

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The Building

The Building

This episode is about the Shades Cahaba building. How it grew over the years. What changed and why. This podcast is audio-only but there is a version with pictures and an overhead view of the building to better illustrate what I am talking about. You can watch it on...

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The Underpass

The Underpass

This episode is about the Shades Cahaba Underpass. Some of you may call it the tunnel but from the time it was conceived in the early 1950s and for the next 40 or 50 years it was called the underpass. I had actually forgotten it was called the underpass until a school...

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Michael Gross and Homewood High Athletics

Michael Gross and Homewood High Athletics

This is the second episode of my conversation with former Homewood High School Principal and Superintendent Michael Gross. In the first episode we talked about the beginning of the school system, opening of the high school and the unique challenges he faced.  We...

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Wade Kirkpatrick, Fighting Patriots – Special Edition

Wade Kirkpatrick, Fighting Patriots – Special Edition

The Shades Cahaba Oral History Project is going to publish some special edition episodes this year to celebrate other Homewood schools, the beginnings of the Homewood Board of Education and other events. We still have other Shades Cahaba stories to tell as well. On...

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The 2019 Year In Review

The 2019 Year In Review

If you have been a listener to the podcast then you know this is the 100th Anniversary of Shades Cahaba as a school. The first day of school was September 19, 1920. There was a dedication held a few days before and It was on that day that the two large bronze plaques...

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All About The Shades Cahaba Owl

All About The Shades Cahaba Owl

The Shades Cahaba Owl has had a very interesting life. It first appeared when Shades Cahaba High School was built in 1920. It stood watch over the front entrance as “a symbol of learning to all who enter here.” It stayed there until the end of high school in 1949 and...

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Sheryl Summe – Author of “Homewood: A Life of a City”

Sheryl Summe – Author of “Homewood: A Life of a City”

When I decided to start an oral history of Shades Cahaba I knew it would be difficult. Luckily I was able to find people that I could interview and I have others who have become valuable resources for me.  What really turned things around for me and helped me...

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A Thanksgiving story with Principal Sue Grogan

A Thanksgiving story with Principal Sue Grogan

I spoke with former Shades Cahaba Principal Sue Grogan in episode 5 of the podcast. She shared with me a Thanksgiving story that I saved to share with you during this Thanksgiving season. A Thanksgiving Story with Principal Sue Grogan | Shades Cahaba Oral History...

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Honoring our Veterans at Shades Cahaba and beyond

Honoring our Veterans at Shades Cahaba and beyond

When Shades Cahaba High School was built, honoring veterans was a high priority. Shades Cahaba was dedicated on Labor Day, Monday, September 6, 1920. That afternoon, after the formal addresses and a picnic dinner on the grounds, Mrs. Floribel Brown Ohme, unveiled the...

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Herman Maxwell – Integrating Shades Cahaba in the 1960s

Herman Maxwell – Integrating Shades Cahaba in the 1960s

Herman Maxwell has a special place in the history of Shades Cahaba. He was one of the first children to integrate Shades Cahaba Elementary School during the 1967-1968 school year. This didn't just happen overnight and Herman tells the story about how his parents...

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Lunchroom Ladies Special Edition

Lunchroom Ladies Special Edition

Today's edition of the podcast is dedicated to the school lunchroom and to everyone who has worked there. I have known my guest, Ken Kirk, for many years. We attended the same church, junior high and high school and both were members of Troop 97 in Homewood. We have...

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Laura Estes – Kindergarten Teacher

Laura Estes – Kindergarten Teacher

Today’s episode features former Shades Cahaba teacher Laure Estes. She started her career as a first-grade teacher but quickly switched to kindergarten, where she spent the rest of her career. If you went to Shades Cahaba when she taught there, you would know her as...

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Herb Griffin – Class of 1948

Herb Griffin – Class of 1948

I have probably known Herb Griffin for most of my life. We attend the same church and I am around the same age as his children. If you have spent any time in Homewood you probably heard about his accident with a streetcar when he was in 8th grade. He was featured in...

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Principal Sue Grogan and a visit to the 1940s

Principal Sue Grogan and a visit to the 1940s

Sue Grogan was principal at Shades Cahaba from 2000 until her retirement in 2013. She is the first person I met when my oldest son started Shades Cahaba in 2008 and she made a big impression on me and my family. Sue is probably best known for helping establish the...

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Don Harbor – Alumnus

Don Harbor – Alumnus

On this episode of the Shades Cahaba Oral History Project, I interview alumnus Don Harbor who attended elementary school at Shades Cahaba starting in 1948 in the second grade. He was in the last 8th-grade class at Shades Cahaba before they moved that grade to Homewood...

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Alexa McElroy and the 1920s

Alexa McElroy and the 1920s

On this episode we talk with current Shades Cahaba PTO President Alexa McElroy. We talk about what the PTO is currently doing at Shades Cahaba. We also talk about how Shades Cahaba grew during it’s first decade in existence, the 1920s. Shades Cahaba would not have...

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Principal John Lowry – Episode 1

Principal John Lowry – Episode 1

In this inaugural episode, we sit down with Shades Cahaba Elementary School Principal Dr. John Lowry. He lets us know what has been happening at Shade Cahaba. Then we take him to school and learn about the principals who served before him. We also talk about Shades...

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