In an era when local department stores still thrived, Birmingham shoppers had different stores from which to choose. But when customers sought more than bargain prices, when they demanded unparalleled quality and outright luxury, they chose Loveman's. The first store opened in Birmingham in 1887, and the chain eventually grew to include locations in Huntsville and Montgomery, embracing those from throughout the state who valued an upscale shopping experience. Weathering the Great Depressio...

Every living American adult likely prized one childhood toy that featured the happy image of an animated cartoon or comic strip character. There is an ever-growing market for these collectibles, and stacks of books pose as pricing guides. Yet Tim Hollis is the first to examine the entire story of character licensing and merchandising from a historical view.Toons in Toyland focuses mainly on the post-World War II years, circa 1946-1980, when the last baby boomers were in hi...

Most people do not stop to realize how many of their fond memories involve advertising signs. Although these neon spectaculars, billboards, and even signs painted directly onto brick walls were created expressly to persuade customers to buy products or patronize businesses, many such signs remained in place for so long that they became beloved landmarks in their own right. For Images of America: Vintage Birmingham Signs, Tim Hollis has scoured the archives of Birmingham�s former sign compa...

From the 1890s to the 1970s, the thriving area of Birmingham between Eighteenth and Twenty-first Streets along First, Second, and Third Avenues was the bustling heart of this quickly growing city. Before the age of the shopping mall, the downtown was the center of retail and entertainment in Birmingham. Along these streets, entrepreneurial immigrants built department stores�including Pizitz and Loveman, Joseph, and Loeb�while the marquees of the Alabama, Ritz, and Lyric theaters, among oth...

Whatever happened to Bozo the Clown, to Aunt Norma, to Solomon C. Whiskers, those television celebrities who hammed it up between cartoons and contests during local kids' shows?In Hi There, Boys and Girls! America's Local Children's TV Programs, Tim Hollis tracks down the story of every known local children's TV show from markets across the United States.There have been many books about children's television on the networks, and such shows as Captain Kangaroo

FinnI came home to forget the ocean. To forget what it took from me. Surfing used to be everything, until it became the thing I couldn't survive. Now, I'm stuck in my hometown, dodging questions, helping my twin sister by looking after my niece. All the while, pretending I've got a plan. A hookup app was supposed to be just a distraction. Nothing serious. But then I met Foxx. He's smart, serious, and hot as hell. I swiped right without knowing he'd wreck me in the ...

Tourism in the Southeast is often associated with Florida--a state that essentially defined the industry in America. Yet Alabama has a fascinating history of tourism all its own. It all began with an enterprising politician. In 1916, John Hollis Bankhead went to great lengths to ensure that one of America's first transcontinental highways went directly through Alabama. Though it was a less efficient route for highway travelers, it marked the birth of Alabama's fledgling tourism industry, w...

Since World War II, tourists have flocked to Florida's northwest Gulf Coast and sun-and-fun spots at Panama City Beach, Fort Walton Beach, and Pensacola Beach. Every year those visitors number in the millions.For those who long to recall how the vacationland appeared thirty, forty, or even fifty years ago, Tim Hollis has written Florida's Miracle Strip: From Redneck Riviera to Emerald Coast.In a style that informs and entertains, Hollis describes the rise of early ...

There was a time when rural comedians drew most of their humor from tales of farmers' daughters, hogs, hens, and hill country high jinks. Lum and Abner and Ma and Pa Kettle might not have toured happily under the "Redneck" marquee, but they were its precursors.In Ain't That a Knee-Slapper: Rural Comedy in the Twentieth Century, author Tim Hollis traces the evolution of this classic American form of humor in the mass media, beginning with the golden age of radio, when such ...

For nearly ninety years, Pizitz offered Birmingham residents and Alabamans across the state a one-of-a-kind shopping experience. From the Enchanted Forest that sprung up every Christmas to in-store fashion shows, visiting Pizitz wasn't just a trip to the store, it was an event. Yet Pizitz was more than just a department store--it was a Birmingham institution. When Louis Pizitz opened up his first dry goods store in downtown Birmingham in 1899, he began a career as a successful businessman ...

When Six Flags Over Georgia opened in June 1967, it became the first theme park in the Southeast. Although the park is best known today for its high-speed roller coasters, this book recaptures its earlier years when it was devoted to the various periods of Georgia�s history. Six Flags Over Georgia revisits such classic rides and attractions as the Log Jamboree, Tales of the Okefenokee, Jean Ribaut�sAdventure, the Krofft Puppet Theater, the Happy Motoring Freeway, and many others. It also e...

Whatever happened to Bozo the Clown, to Aunt Norma, to Solomon C. Whiskers, those television celebrities who hammed it up between cartoons and contests during local kids' shows?In Hi There, Boys and Girls! America's Local Children's TV Programs, Tim Hollis tracks down the story of every known local children's TV show from markets across the United States.There have been many books about children's television on the networks, and such shows as Captain Kangaroo