District 2, theatre’s organ, Allison’s victory: In Alabama

Good morning everyone. It’s Monday, so your Alabama News Quiz answers are at the bottom.

Thanks for reading,

Ike

Alabama 2

The campaign for Republican Caroleene Dobson in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District sought to portray Democratic challenger Shomari Figures as too much of a Washington insider. But the figures do not attempt to hide national connections.

Numbers comes from a political family and worked in the Obama and Biden administrations.

Expect Democrats to flock to the state this week as the national party hopes to flip Alabama 2 for the first time in 14 years. AL.com’s John Sharp reports.

You have to go back to 2010 when Martha Roby defeated Bobby Bright to flip the seat into the red. Figures’ victory will give Alabama two of its seven lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives who are Democrats.

Texas Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett was in Montgomery over the weekend to hold a church roundtable and meet with students at Alabama State.

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will follow suit today by campaigning with Figures in Mobile. Then later in the week, House Minority Leader and New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries will be in Montgomery.

Dear Wurlitzer

After being offline for eight months, the big pipe organ is back in action at Birmingham’s Alabama Theatre. AL.com’s Mary Colurso reports.

The Mighty Wurlitzer organ was built in 1927. This was the year Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs, and it was also the year the Alabama Theater opened on Christmas Day. People in the theater that day, and many others for nearly a century, watched as the great pipe organ rose from under the stage to perform.

Along the way, she earned the nickname “Big Bertha.”

In fact, most of the instrument is hidden in some parts of the building. But the console you see rising is the one that underwent several months of repair and maintenance at AE Schlueter Pipe Organ Co. in Lithonia, Georgia. This is the first major study on the organ since 1998.

He returned to Alabama in time for a screening of the 1925 silent film “The Phantom of the Opera” this past weekend.

delayed gratification

NASCAR officially recognized Hueytown’s Bobby Allison as the winner of the 1971 Myers Brothers Memorial.

Whether he finished first in the race ahead of Richard Petty was never disputed. But there was a problem because both the Grand American and the Grand National Series were running together at the track at the same time, an occasional practice at the time, and Allison was driving the Grand American car.

So when he won the race, it wasn’t like he had a win in the Grand National, which was NASCAR’s top series at the time.

Mark Inabinett of AL.com reports that NASCAR has fixed this after 53 years.

And this is actually a bigger deal than it seems. While Allison was tied for fourth place with Darrell Waltrip in career wins, he now sits alone in fourth place.

The top 5 in all-time wins are Petty (200), David Pearson (105), Jeff Gordon (93), Allison (85) and Waltrip (84).

(Sorry, DW)

imagine this

don’t quote

“What you’ll find is that you don’t know as much as you think you know. You’ll find that no matter how smart you think you are, you’ll be shocked by how much you don’t know.”

rapper Doug E. FreshWe’re talking to AH Parker High School students about something most of us find true.

By Numbers

2

That’s how long it took for Morgan Wallen’s “Sand in My Boots” music festival to sell out.

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