Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Pratt City - It will always be home!


An interview with Lisa


This was written about a family’s history discovered when talking to a member of the Fraternal, Greenwood, Foley Cemetery Preservation Society.  The Society has been established by family and friends of those buried at the three cemeteries in Pratt City, Alabama. The Society is forming a non-profit organization that will arrange to maintain and care these cemeteries on an on-going basis. The second clean-up day is scheduled for Saturday, March 23rd, next Saturday starting at 9 AM.

As I have been exploring the many burials at this group of unkempt cemeteries, I realize that there are many stories that tell the history of those dearly beloved parents, grandparents, great grandparents and other family members that lie at rest under the lovely oaks in Pratt City, Alabama just outside of Birmingham.  Recently while chatting with Lisa, one of the members of the newly forming Preservation Society, something Lisa said gripped my heart and squeezed ever so gently, bringing tears to my eyes.  I knew at that moment that I needed to tell her story so that the community might better understand why we so desperately want to make things right again…


That being said.... I want to introduce you to Lisa F.


Penny:  “Lisa, thank you for talking with me about how Fraternal Cemetery, in particular, has come to mean so much to you and your family!  Please tell me about your earliest memories of Pratt City....”


Lisa: “I grew up on Trilby Street in Pratt City. My grandparents lived on one side of us and my aunt, uncle and cousins lived on the other side.  Our house was built by my dad, a fireman, with the help of his co-workers.  I remember how great it was to have family near.  My cousins taught me how to throw a football, ride a bike, play with Barbie dolls and just be a kid.  We had a cool basement den where all of the kids would come to play.  A friend messaged me not long ago, ours was one of the first houses with an electric garage door opener.  Memories!”

Penny:  “Did you ever live anywhere else before Trilby St?”


Lisa: “No that was the first place I lived, until I was ten when we moved to Forestdale.  We went to St. Catherine's Church across the street from Fraternal Cemetery.  We used to have Easter Egg hunts on the church grounds.... it was a very special place.  As a kid I remember the mausoleum in the cemetery scared me.  My mom has told me stories of when she was young and looking across the street at it from the school at St. Catherine’s.”


Penny: “You bring up Fraternal Cemetery and St. Catherine’s Church.  How close did you live to them?”


Lisa: “A half mile at the most.”

Penny:  “When we have talked earlier you mentioned to me that you recall an early experience when a tornado hit the area near St. Catherine’s.  What difficult task did you have to perform after the tornado?”

Lisa:  “My grandparents, Fenton Burns and Mae Belle Hannigan are buried in the Fraternal Cemetery.  For many years we went to the cemetery to keep their graves and the Hannigan plot behind it, clean.  My dad would then go clean the Dugan’s plot and use his lawnmower and weed eater to clean near the road and keep a path for people to walk.  Back then there were quite a few people who went regularly to Fraternal.  Two older women kept the graves near the entrance to the right cleaned.  After the tornado, we went to clean and found a lot of the amber glass that had come from St. Catherine's Church which was damaged by the tornado.  The April 27th, 2011 tornado was a lot more devastating.  A huge tree covered my grandparents’ grave.  A very nice man from St. Patrick’s Church, Donnie Shober, took it upon himself to cut up the tree and clear it off because he knew my parents were unable to do that anymore.  He did a great job.  Then later a neighbor in the adjoining house cut down a tree and dumped it on the plot behind them.  You cannot even see the huge Hannigan stone now.”

Penny:  “Am I correct that these were your maternal grandparents buried there?  When did they pass and what did your grandfather do for a living?”

Lisa:  “They were my maternal grandparents.   My granddad died in 1968.  I think my grandmother died in 1998.”

“My granddad worked for TCI and my grandmother was a homemaker.  My dad being a fireman worked 24 hours and was off 48. The days he worked, my grandmother would cook for all of us including my cousins, aunt and uncle, my Mom and I.”

Penny: “Do you think your great grandparents came to the area first?”

Lisa:  “My grandfather immigrated from England and worked in the coal mines.  That may have been the reason they moved to Pratt City.   His name was Daniel Hannigan.  That is the grave I so desperately want to clear.”

Penny:  Penny:  Ah!  So your great grandfather is buried at Fraternal too!  Lisa, what about your great grandmother, Daniel’s wife?   Was she buried with him at Fraternal?”

Lisa:  Yes Daniel’s wife is buried next to him... I think her name was Rose.”

Penny:  “So that is how your grandparents came to be buried at Fraternal.  It could be the TCI connection.   But it was probably the earlier coal mining connection for sure.  I think I read somewhere that Pratt Mining Company was later bought by TCI.  So it’s all closely connected for sure.   Since your great grandparents were buried there first,  that’s going aways back in the Pratt City history.”

“You have talked about your Mom as a young girl, staring into Fraternal Cemetery and how the Mausoleum frightening her.  Did you say she went to school at St Catherine’s?   She must have lived in the neighborhood for a long time too?”

Lisa:  “Yes, she lived there as a child and went to St Catherine’s.  All of my cousins went to school there, too.”

Penny:  “What about your dad?  Where did he attend school?”

Lisa:  “Not sure of the name of the elementary school, but he went to Ensley High School.”

Penny:  “So he was a long time resident of the general area.  You mentioned that your dad was with the local fire department?  Tell me a bit about that experience.”

Lisa:  “My Dad was a fireman in the Birmingham area for 47 years.  He was always a hard worker.   He worked at Station 3 for his whole career, on Highland Avenue.  It was great going there as a kid and wearing the fireman's helmet.”

Penny:  “When did he retire and was that when he started taking care of the family plots over at Fraternal?”

Lisa:  “My dad retired in 1998.  They (the family) had been taking care of the cemetery  plots since I was a kid.”

Penny:  “Who had been caring for the plots before the family started?”

Lisa:  I never saw anyone else...it was always individuals.”

Penny:  “Wow that is quite an undertaking for so many years.  How old are your parents now?  Do they still try to take care of the sites?”

Lisa:  “They are 87 and 86.  They are unable to work at the cemetery anymore but they worry about how it will be cared for in the future.  They have been to visit although I don’t want them to go up there alone.  They think they are bulletproof, but I have heard enough stories to be cautious.   Over the years there have been rituals performed there and gas stolen from vehicles.   I am always cautions and never go alone.”

Penny:  “It pays to be cautious!  No need to take chances!   At their age, what are their wishes and concerns regarding Fraternal Cemetery now?”

Lisa:  “They want it the way it used to be…. it is our family.  Our houses may be gone but the memories and the cemetery are still there.   Loved ones are buried there.  They (my parents) will be buried there.  Their old neighbor Marie Mackinaw was recently buried there (in February).  It is home.  It always will be, no matter what the tornado or vandals took away.  It is still home.”

Penny:  “You’ve told me that they are worried about how the cemetery is going to be cared for in the future.  Why should the people of Jefferson County care about conditions and trying to salvaging these cemeteries today?”

Lisa:  “These cemeteries are a part of our history.  They should be preserved like any other treasure.  These are our ancestors, our history and our families.  They deserve to be honored and remembered much like the 16th Street Baptist Church.  These places are all a part of what makes us- US!”

Penny:  “What can the community do to help out?”

Lisa:  “The community needs to get involved…churches, groups, individuals.   It takes all of us to accomplish miracles… and it can happen.  Just think.  This could be YOUR relatives who have been forgotten.  They all deserve respect and dignity.   I think it can happen.  We have looked for someone for years to help and Eddie Bratton is now the leader.  He is making it happen.”

Penny:  “What can people do at the clean up on March 23rd at Fraternal Cemetery?

Lisa:  “I hope people show up to help at the cleanup.  There are many of us who have a personal interest because of family plots.   There are many who just want to help.  We need to continue to reach out to people - near and far - to spread the word. This won’t be solved in one cleanup... so it takes commitment and working together to make it happen.  If not for us, then for those who are there in their final resting place, won’t you help?”

Thank you for sharing your story, Lisa.  It sounds like a miracle is about to happen!  Lots of hands are needed to get this project really rolling.  If you would like to help out, take route 78 to Pratt City and turn left on Hibernian Street to find the cemeteries back on Logan at Sheridan Road.  Hope to see you all on Saturday March 23, 2013 at 9 AM.

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