Coalfire Creek, Coalfire, Al..
Posted by Pete | Posted in News | Posted on 23-11-2012
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Coalfire Creek is just a small stream in Western Alabama and close to where U. S. Highway 82 crosses over Coalfire Creek and is where I was raised…Coalfire, Al….Now most folks will not know about this old creek, yet it has endeared itself to many folks….Folks who have swam in it, waded it, washed cars in it, driven over it, fished in it, been baptised in it and a host of other things in and around it will tell you it is special. It warms my heart to look at the pictures taken by my no. 2 grand daughter during our 2011 reunion. I introduced her to Coalfire Creek at that time. I would like to hear from those of you who find this old stream as heart warming as I do and lets tell folks around the world what a special little creek it is. Thank you for sharing your thoughts…..Pete Hester update 12/23/2012 Ps….I just remembered something. Just north of where this picure was taken on Coalfire Creek is that round hole with the cyprus stump out in the middle of it and that particular hole is where the biggest ole aligator gar hung out….Wonder if he’s still there. If one of you fishermen see that sucker or some of its offspring, would you let me know. Surely he is dead and gone by now..Reckon?
I remember that creek. Some of my fondest memories are of Coalfire, that creek, Noet’s swinging chair, lightning bugs and Mama’s cooking. Boy oh boy, do I miss it. I hope to get back there sometime and although there will be many changes, I still hope that creek looks the same. Thanks for posting the picture. Phyllis
Thanks…I appreciate the comments.
All the things you said about Coalfire Creek goes for me,I have swam in it, washed cars in it, fished in it & I was baptised in it. And I think about all the good times I’ve had a lot… Thanks Uncle
I can’t resist the opportunity to write about Coal Fire Creek; however, you have the name wrong. The real name is the Jordan River of West Alabama. It is my Jordan River anyway, and it is probably the only Jordan River that I will ever see first hand. We all know the Jordan River as the river in Palestine where Jesus was baptized and where he walked, taught, and preached. Who knows? He may have walked and talked along this one in West Alabama too because this was once Choctaw country, and it is known that the Choctaw had a distinct Hebrew background both in terms of the origin of their language as well as influences in their religion. They weren’t Christian, but a casual study of the language and religion of the Choctaw will indicate a definite Hebrew influence. Who knows? The resurrected Christ may have walked and taught along the banks of Coal Fire Creek also. Nevertheless, it is my Jordan River, it will forever be.
Never thought of it that way but I agree that it is a specal stream….
Uncle Buck’s coon dogs chased many a coon down through that swamp, huh. I remember him cussing when the dogs started chasing a rabbit. I don”t know how he knew they were after a rabbit, but he swore that he did know…..And I imagine he was right…Did you ever coon hunt with them Dan or Errol? Lots of fun.
Who? Me! I was scared of the darkness. I loved a warm, dry bed too much by night. I’d much rather hunt daylight animals, like squirrels, rabbits, birds, and those “normal” animals that sleep by night and hunt by day. I do remember the coon and possum hunting tales, though, especially those told by Uncle Lloyd, the biggest possum hunter I knew. With Uncle buck, I could never be sure of the truthfulness of his tales, but Uncle Lloyd’s, although stretched a little out of proportion, always had a central core of “honest-to-God” truth about them.
Uncle Buck was honest, though he too may have embellished the stories somewhat….but really, what does truth have to do with a good story, huh?….
Uncle Buck shared his coon hunting and many other stories with myself and my boys. We loved them true or false. He told stories even after he went in the nursing home at the VA Hospital in Tuscaloosa. He loved to share his stories. Never heard Uncle Lloyd’s stories, but I am sure they were very interesting too.
I never swam, washed a car, or anything at that particular stop of Coalfire creek, but I did swim in the creek at McShan. I am sure it was just as cold.
Uncle Buck’s stories were all true…Always were, always will be…I loved him so much…I think I get my story telling from them all…Sweetie says I get of lot of it from Uncle Shorty….What a family they all were, huh? I am proud to be Pickens County born Hester and Bonner….Pete
I have ancestors buried in the Funderburk and Cardin cemeteries as well as Antioch Church, all near Coalfire. I grew up visiting it to swim and to walk it’s banks bass fishing with my grandpa. Although I never lived in the immediate vicinity I will forever feel that I am a product of it’s cold clear waters. Almost two hundred years ago my family came to this little stream and many will remain till the Lord returns. That creek is as much apart of my genealogy as the family names, Vail, Funderburk, Brown, Carden, Sanders…….Originally the community of Coalfire was known as “FunDee”, a conglomeration of the family names, Funerburk and Deloach……
Harry, I appreciate you coming by and commenting. Yes, the names you mentioned are certainly familiar to most folks from Coalfire. My Uncle Roy married a Carden and a family of Funerburk’s was spoken of by my dad several times I recall. But Coalfire Creek is something that is very special to me and when I have
occasion to be there with kinfolks I make a point to go by and take pictures of the creek. For about 17 summers of my life that creek was almost lived in….at about 15 or 20 minutes at a time, when my lips turned blue or my shivering became to bad, I would then exit the creek for a few minutes, only to return a few minutes later. I hope you will come back to visit this site as often as you can. Thanks again…