Many times as a great player’s career comes to a close, they manage to do something very significant to put the final stamp of greatness on a long career. Our mayor has followed that pattern with a most needed and meaningful assist to the citizens who regularly travel the Franklin Drive area.

The intersection of Franklin Drive and U.S. 231 for many years has been a bottleneck because of cars in the left t urn lane blocking the through traffic and those desiring to make a right turn. I am sure this has resulted in a lot of ugly words and stress on many drivers. A request was put forth to the councilman of that district and also at the public hearing for the city’s master plan. Neither resulted in any action.

In a casual conversation with Mayor Lunsford, he was asked to look into this matter and give it due consideration. Within a week this party was informed that the mayor had looked into this problem and had no idea of its severity. He made contact with Alabama DOT Division Engineer Mike Griffin who pledged his full cooperation to design and provide the the DOT’s assistance.

Within a few weeks construction was underway, and today the project is a reality.

With the new design and addition of what I fondly refer to as the “Lunsford Lane,” the easter part of the city using Franklin Drive should forever be grateful. Mayor Lunsford, with the blessing of the City Council, really hit a home run with this one. It would be very fitting for those benefitting from this improvement to give both Mayor Lunsford and Division Engineer Mike Griffin a call to express their gratitude.

I applaud Jimmy Lunsford for all the great leadership he has provided over the years in helping our city grow to its potential.

May your retirement years be fruitful and for your service to the public – thank you from an old friend.

 

W.W. Tatom

Troy

Historical society seeks info on unmarked graves

The Pike County Historical and Genealogy Society is developing a new comprehensive Tomb Record book for all the people buried in Pike County. There are over 200 known cemeteries located in Pike County with many unmarked and unidentified graves. We would appreciate help in identifying these graves so these family members and friends can be remembered forever.

The unidentified graves include ones which have rock markers, concrete slabs, broken markers, mounds of dirt, brick vaults, wooden stakes, and other such types of markers which have no inscription. The unmarked graves are the ones that never had a marker or the marker has disappeared.

There are many sources of information to which we do not have access such as family Bibles, stories passed down from one family member to another, old pictures of grave markers/cemeteries, letters, etc., that contain information about burials in Pike County.

Please contact the Historical Society at pike countyhistoricalsociety@hotmail.com or 334-372-3529 if you know the names, dates of birth and deaths, and/or locations of any of the many unknown and unmarked graves in Pike County. In addition to the new book the Society will take pictures of all grave markers and will develop a map of many of the cemeteries as part of our series of publications on each individual cemetery. If possible, please include directions so we can locate each specific grave that you know about. If a specific location is not known, we will indicate that the person is known to be buried in a cemetery but the location is not known or the approximate location of the cemetery if that is known. It would be helpful if you can also provide the source of any information you share with us.

Charles Nunnelee

John Phil McLaney

Pike County Historical and Genealogy Society