In an effort to come up with something to write about this week, I scanned some of my columns written in 2008.

One column I recall was “Riding Backwards in an Ambulance.” In that article I wanted to create a mood of lying backwards in the ambulance as I was being transported to a hospital.

I explained the roles of the capable EMTs who cared for you during the ride. I described seeing all those familiar scenes passing away from me as I watched through the rear window.

Homes, buildings, friends and landmarks looked different as the ambulance sped forward. It was a time for reflection, moreover, a time of not sure what happens next.

That was the column that France used excerpts in one of its EMT magazines.

I have made three of those rides over the past 15 years and I am thankful for those EMTs, doctors and nurses who watched over me.

I also wrote that year that Marvin, Zelma and James Pipkin sold their Pipkin Pepsi Cola Bottling Company to Hooper Matthews and Ralph Durrett.

Will Adams, a 117-year old-resident, was feted by his friends and family with a grand birthday celebration Mr. Adams, because of his age, was known nationally for his longevity.

I wrote about having a flat tire in Jack, Alabama only to discover there was no jack in my car.

I rendered a rather lengthy story of my riding back home with J.P. Madison and Otis Miller and their wives following our participation in a Babe Ruth Regional Baseball Tournament staged at The University of Western North Carolina.

I elaborated how Otis ate up all the chicken at a café where we stopped near Atlanta. “All The Chicken You Can Eat” was displayed on the café sign. Because it was closing time the café ran out of chicken. All of us got a kick from that experience.

I remember Floyd Holk and I sometimes talked about the Lew Childre family. Floyd was raised with Lew Jr. near Foley. It was another lengthy column about the Opp, Alabama musician who moved his family to south Baldwin County where they established a nationally known fishing equipment business. Lew was a well-known artist on the Grand Ole Opry.

I explained in one column how local and area residents would stop their cars at the State Farm peach fields just to get “a whiff” of those sweet smelling peach blooms.

These and so many stories were written about the countless friends I had back then. These were friends I made while working in radio and newspaper and my 25-year involvement with our youth baseball programs. Some of these old friends are no longer here but I get sincere pleasure thinking about them.

Those were just a few stories from the past. Perhaps in the future, I will expound in more detail about these and other columns.

Incidentally, I would like to clear up two stories I wrote last week.

I mentioned that I was under the impression the Channel Five camera was situated on the United Bank building. In fact, two of my friends were under the same impression. But, talking to William Grissett I learned that the camera is on the tall metal grain bins as you enter town traveling east.

It sounds like the Channel Five weatherman is saying the camera is on the bank building. But in that photo of downtown Atmore you can see that stately United Bank building towering in the far background. In any event, it is good that Atmore is used in a favorable light by this TV station. And, it is good also that bank has a role in it.

But, I sure wish that station would add an additional sportscaster. Randy Patrick does a great job, but there is a void of sports news on some newscasts when he is not there.

About those potato sheds last week, I have now learned there were more than six sheds in operation in 1954.

There were eight sheds in Atmore, one in Canoe and one in Perdido.

The Atmore sheds were T.I. O’Farrell and son, W.J. McMurphy, William Patterson, H.H. Patterson Jr., Atmore Truckers, Diekle Potato Company, J.G. Meadows and son and L.D. Sample.

Since that article, two men told me they worked at these sheds as teens.

I also failed to mention in that column that 1954 was a record year here for shipping potatoes by rail. The Atmore Chamber of Commerce stated 1,300 iced railroad boxcars filled with Grade A potatoes were shipped to various destination across the nation. And, some farmers reported yields as high as 300 bushels per acre.

In current news, I learned that “stepped up” oil drilling can be expected here soon. It is believed that rising cost of oil per barrel is one of the reasons for this. I learned also more oil leasing is now occurring.

This will make some folks happy, especially those who call me or email me wanting to know the latest oil information. I apologize for not having written more oil news lately, but one of my sources is no longer with the firm that I obtained much of my information.

I now have some new sources that will keep me up to date on all the oil drilling activity.

Next week I will have more news from 1954.

….yes…it always whispers to me….those days of long ago….”

Lowell McGill is a historical columnist for The Atmore Advance. He can be reached at exam@frontiernet.net