Jay's Blog

Prudential in Auburn has a new broker and much more

2008-08-20T23:18:16Z

Wth the closing of Century 21 Paramount in Auburn (see previous post), Prudential Preferred Real Estate has doubled in size and added some outstanding agents as well as a new broker.

Taylor Britton, who was a top producer the last few years at C-21, is now the new broker at Prudential, which is located in the Bruno's shopping center off Glenn Avenue in Auburn, Alabama. He brought with him some good friends and fellow producers: Ryan Edwards, Jimmy DeVenny, Debbie Whitley, Bryan Huff, Annie Williams, Brian Huddleston, and Charity Edwards (who is the new office manager).

Of course, the veteran Prudential agents are still performing their best: Missy Harris Thompson, Dawn Radnitz, Wendy Hamme, Chrystal Ingram, Becca McVey, Amy Smith, Chad Williams, owner - Stacy Williams Jordan, and yours truly.

Century 21 in Auburn has closed

2008-08-20T22:51:35Z

That's right the once powerhouse of Century 21 Paramount in Auburn, Alabama has fallen.

This great company of all star real estate agents that, at one time, peppered Lee County with black and yellow arm signs is no more. Some went to Keller Williams, some went to Prestige Properties, the broker went to Weichert, but the bulk of talent moved their licenses to Prudential Preferred Real Estate on Glenn Avenue in Auburn.

Taylor Britton is now the new broker at Prudential. Following him (in no particular order) from C-21 to Prudential: Ryan Edwards, Carrie King Maurelli, Debbie Whitley, Annie Williams, Bryan Huff, Jimmy DeVenny, Brian Huddleston, and Charity Edwards.

This exodus to Prudential in Auburn has doubled the size of the brokerage overnight. And owner Stacy Williams Jordan has to be thrilled with the sudden explosion of market share. She said that,"If anyone else wants to come, we'll knock the wall down and expand into Countrywide" (which is next door in the Bruno's Shopping Center).

Tom Ferry's Success Summit '08

2008-08-18T14:39:18Z

Still fresh off the plane from Palm Desert, California where I've been for the last week with 3 of my co-workers and 1500 or so other realtors from all over the country.

The occassion was Tom Ferry's Success Summit 2008 which was held at the Desert Springs JW Marriot Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, CA. We flew from Atlanta to Phoenix, then Phoenix to Palm Springs, then took a cab ride to the resort last Monday. We flew home Saturday arriving back in Auburn, AL about Midnight local time.

What a week! The actual conference didn't begin until Tuesday afternoon but we we there for early registration to avoid the crowd and I'm glad we did! Wow, what a line of folks. I thought these people were crazy for getting in line an hour before the doors opened to get a good seat in the ballroom. It was like a rock n' roll show. Lights going everywhere, upbeat music blaring from the sound system, and 5 enormous projection screens so that everyone in the room could get a clear picture of our esteemed leader, Tom Ferry.

Let me just say, I say Tom in New Orleans this past March at the Prudential National Convention. He was, by far, my favorite speaker. After the 90 minute talk, I went home, implemented the strategies he taught me, and my business SHOT up! So when I got the opportunity to go to his 4-day Success Summit, it was an easy decision.

Tom is a world-renowned, real estate coach, speaker, and motivator. I spoke with him briefly on Tuesday night at the Prudential party and to my surprise, 2 days later, he called me by name and referenced our conversation 2 days prior. That blew me away. I've only known Southern Baptist preachers who could remember names so well.

Several successful agents from across the country who are Tom's clients spoke of their businesses and how they've achieved real estate stardom. They were equally as helpful as Tom.

On Friday, Tony Robbins spoke. If you've never heard him before, wow. We were jumping up and down, getting pumped-up and full of energy. (They even had to take some guy to the hospital.) This was an excellent closer for an awesome week. I've never felt so energized and excited about real estate. I WILL be there next year.

Not to give away all the secrets I learned from traveling across country, but here's Tom's vision: to make 1,000,000 people millionaires and to make their respective businesses simple, fun, and profitable.

House Values - Lead Generation

2008-05-01T09:17:01Z

What's the deal with this group?

Is their pricing fair?

Is there anyone out there who has used them and gotten good results?

Seems to be a little on the expensive side. I'm curious if it's worth it. What are the ratios of leads to closed sales? I have had success with one other company that I won't talk about in this blog because I really want to discover more about House Values and their company.

People always say that if you get one closed sale, that the money spent is all worth it. But should we waste all that time chasing bad leads that we're paying for or use good old fashioned shoe leather to get leads?

2008 Auburn University Football Schedule

2008-04-28T11:53:25Z

2008 Auburn Football Schedule

Date	Opponent / Event	Location

08/30/08	vs. Louisiana-Monroe	Auburn, Ala.
09/06/08	vs. Southern Miss	Auburn, Ala.
09/13/08	at Mississippi State	Starkville, Miss.
09/20/08	vs. LSU	Auburn, Ala.
09/27/08	vs. Tennessee	Auburn, Ala.
10/04/08	at Vanderbilt	Nashville, Tenn.
10/11/08	vs. Arkansas	Auburn, Ala.
10/23/08	at West Virginia	Morgantown, W.V.
11/01/08	at Mississippi	Oxford, Miss.
11/08/08	vs. Tennessee-Martin (HC)	Auburn, Ala.
11/15/08	vs. Georgia	Auburn, Ala.
11/29/08	at Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Ala.

WAR EAGLE!!!

Not too long before football season is back. If you've never been to an Auburn football game at Jordan Hare Stadium, it's a treat. Our little town of 55,000 people grows to about 200,000 on game days. Football is almost like a religion in the south. The tailgating experience alone is worth the trip even if you don't go to the game. The southern charm of Auburn fans really shines before the games at tailgates spread out all over campus. The smell of barbecues and fried chicken is everywhere!

Prudential Auburn: A Machine Full of Talent

2008-04-28T11:31:35Z

Prudential Auburn, otherwise known as Prudential Preferred Real Estate located in Auburn, Alabama is a fast-growing, thriving real estate company, full of allstars of Lee County Alabama's real estate industry.

I often tell people that with all of the negative media attention in the national real estate market, that Lee County is in the Twilight Zone! The rules don't apply. The numbers are not negative the way they are in Florida, California, and the other hurting areas of the country. We have excellent school systems and thriving industry.It is a GREAT time to buy here.

At the forefront of the Lee County Association of Realtors is Prudential Preferred Real Estate, a quasi-bolier room of good agents with an excellent support staff, a broker with a Ceasar-like persona, and a state-of-the-art office like no other in our area.

Stacy Williams Jordan, my broker, is a demigod in the real estate business in Auburn and Opelika. The walls in her office are adorned with numerous plaques, awards, and pictures that look like the gold records that hang on the walls of the Motown record label's lobby. I feel fortunate and privileged to be under the tutelage of such a giant in the industry.

When you walk in the front door of Prudential, you're greeted by the sweetest of souls, Nancy Blanchard, a former shaper of young minds, now retired and faithfully giving her smiles to each visitor who graces our lobby. The pretty fliers that are placed in front of all our listings are all designed by her. She's also recently organized a scholarship program to a deserving high school senior who will use the funds to attend college this fall. And most of the time, when you call the office, she answers and directs the phone traffic.

You'll then see our large confence room off to the right that holds a large table with leather chairs, with a contemporary chandelier above it and on the wall a large, flat screen for viewing video and presentations. There's another smaller conference room built for privacy immediately behind the larger one where many contracts and deals come together. We also have a large media/file room that holds cabinets full of paperwork, mailboxes, the copier/network printer and office supplies... first class and professionally functional.

Angela Sheflin, who holds a real estate license, is our office manager. She's so important and so integral that she has two offices from which she "holds down the fort" from. I say that she holds a license to let you know that she does a whole lot more than just shuffle paperwork. She's the glue that binds us all together. Angela keeps us compliant and up-to-date with the many responsibilites that is required of a real estate company in today's world.

We have a full kitchen in the back that stays full of groceries for us to offer our clients, nice restroom facilities and a large sign shop for our many incoming and outgoing listings.

Then there is the talent. The agents. I couldn't ask for a better team of agents to work with. For a diverse market such as ours, you need a diverse group of realtors to handle all of the different cultures, ages, and backgrounds of people who are moving into the Auburn area.

We have Dawn Radnitz, Missy Harris Thompson, Wendy Hamme, Chad Williams, Becca McVey, Amy Smith, Christal Ingram, and Stephanie Truett. There's room for more, but we're very selective on who we have working with us. Other offices (and I'm not going to name any names) around our area are filled with drama and inexperience. At Prudential, we don't tolerate it. The biggest argument you might ever hear in our office is where we're going to eat lunch when we have a company gathering.

I could go on, but I hate to brag. If you're ever in Auburn, stop by our office located on Glenn Avenue next to Countrywide Home Loans in the Bruno's Shopping Center. You're sure to be greated with a smile.

Auburn Academy of Martial Arts

2008-02-28T09:25:30Z

My son has been enrolled at the Auburn Academy of Martial Arts for a few months now. Wow! What an improvement. You can see the confidence in his face, his walk, his talk, and his general persona. It is a Tae Kwon Do school which is a Korean form of karate.

I love this logo!

Tae kwon do is more on the mind, body, exercise and defense as opposed to more offensive forms or karate. We go twice per week to the school which is located at 323 Airport Road, in Auburn. I wish we had the time to attend more! My son speaks to every adult now with a clear and concise, "yes sir" or "yes ma'am." And though I tried and failed before, he has learned to respect adults as well as his peers from Patrick Baeder, the owner/instructor (that's him in the picture) for the Auburn Academy of Martial Arts. We've been so excited about karate, neither he nor I can hardly wait to go back each week.

Patrick offers a 2 week $24.95 trial that includes a uniform just to try out the classes to see if your child will like it or not. Of course, after our 2 weeks, we were hooked! This is just one more place that makes Auburn, Alabama a great place to live.

My son's first baseball game

2008-02-27T20:59:30Z

I just posted the schedule for Auburn University Baseball's 2008 season. It brought up a memory that I'd like to share. He's 6 now, but when my son, Landon was slightly over a year old, I took him to his first baseball game. Now, I'm not an idiot. I know that a baseball game is no place for a one-year-old. But I was running out of ideas for distractions for this screaming child and thought, "what's the harm, we'll sit behind the barricade."

Well, we got behind the net along the first base line above the visitor's dugout. However, we couldn't get close enough to home plate where the top, above-us was netted because the ballpark was packed. It was an SEC game against Florida. Beautiful day, 80 degrees, mostly sunny and a late afternoon game with the sun behind us. I had gone to J & M bookstore earlier in the week and bought matching AU hats for Landon and me. Hey, I bleed orange and blue and my son will be raised an Auburn Tiger just as I was.

3rd inning, and Landon is in my lap, quiet as a church mouse just taking-in all the noise, movement, and excitement. TING! Batter hits a foul ball......

I've been to thousands of baseball games and never caught a homerun or foul ball. This time, the one time a ball is hit seemingly straight to me, I have my one-year-old son in my lap. In a split second, just as if I had done it a million times before, I took my cap off my head, and caught the ball 2 feet from Landon's head. YES!

I calmly, as cool as I could be, held up the ball to the small cheering crowd around me. It was one of those great father/son moments that I'll take to my grave. We go to as many games we can every since.

Auburn University Baseball Schedule 2008

2008-02-27T20:30:14Z

The Tigers are back in full swing (pun intended) for their 2008 season at Plainsman Park in Auburn. They completed a 4-game sweep against East Tennessee State on Monday. Billy Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park may be the most gorgeous diamond not only in the Southeastern Conference but the NCAA. If you haven't been, take a child out to the ole ballgame. Tickets are only $5 and you're sure to enjoy even if you're not an Auburn Tiger fan.

2008 Schedule

Date	Opponent / Event	Location	Time/Result

02/22/08	vs. East Tennessee State	Auburn, Ala.	W, 6-3
02/23/08	vs. East Tennessee State	Auburn, Ala.	W, 12-1
02/24/08	vs. East Tennessee State	Auburn, Ala.	W, 12-4
02/25/08	vs. East Tennessee State	Auburn, Ala.	W, 12-2
02/28/08	vs. Florida State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
02/29/08	vs. Florida State	Auburn, Ala.	3:00 p.m. CT
03/01/08	at Florida State	Tallahassee, Fla.	2:00 p.m. ET
03/02/08	at Florida State	Tallahassee, Fla.	2:00 p.m. ET
03/04/08	vs. Davidson	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/05/08	vs. Davidson	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/06/08	vs. VMI	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/07/08	vs. VMI	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/08/08	vs. VMI	Auburn, Ala.	3:00 p.m. CT
03/09/08	vs. VMI	Auburn, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
03/11/08	vs. Appalachian State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/12/08	vs. Appalachian State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/14/08	at Florida	Gainesville, Fla.	6:30 p.m. ET
03/15/08	at Florida	Gainesville, Fla.	4:00 p.m. ET
03/16/08	at Florida	Gainesville, Fla.	1:00 p.m. ET
03/18/08	at Troy	Troy, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/21/08	vs. Kentucky	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/22/08	vs. Kentucky	Auburn, Ala.	3:00 p.m. CT
03/23/08	vs. Kentucky	Auburn, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
03/25/08	vs. Mercer	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/26/08	vs. Samford	Hoover, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/28/08	vs. Tennessee	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
03/29/08	vs. Tennessee	Auburn, Ala.	3:00 p.m. CT
03/30/08	vs. Tennessee	Auburn, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
04/01/08	at South Alabama	Mobile, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/04/08	at Arkansas	Fayetteville, Ark.	6:30 p.m. CT
04/05/08	at Arkansas	Fayetteville, Ark.	2:00 p.m. CT
04/06/08	at Arkansas	Fayetteville, Ark.	1:00 p.m. CT
04/08/08	vs. Georgia State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/09/08	vs. Mississippi Valley State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/11/08	vs. South Carolina	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/12/08	vs. South Carolina	Auburn, Ala.	3:00 p.m. CT
04/13/08	vs. South Carolina	Auburn, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
04/16/08	vs. South Alabama	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/18/08	at Vanderbilt	Nashville, Tenn.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/19/08	at Vanderbilt	Nashville, Tenn.	2:00 p.m. CT
04/20/08	at Vanderbilt	Nashville, Tenn.	1:00 p.m. CT
04/22/08	vs. Samford	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
04/25/08	at Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	6:30 p.m. CT
04/26/08	at Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	3:00 p.m. CT
04/27/08	at Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
04/29/08	vs. Troy	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
05/02/08	vs. Mississippi State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
05/03/08	vs. Mississippi State	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
05/04/08	vs. Mississippi State	Auburn, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
05/09/08	at Mississippi	Oxford, Miss.	6:30 p.m. CT
05/10/08	at Mississippi	Oxford, Miss.	4:00 p.m. CT
05/11/08	at Mississippi	Oxford, Miss.	1:30 p.m. CT
05/13/08	at Mercer	Macon, Ga.	6:00 p.m. ET
05/15/08	vs. LSU	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
05/16/08	vs. LSU	Auburn, Ala.	6:00 p.m. CT
05/17/08	vs. LSU	Auburn, Ala.	2:00 p.m. CT
05/21/08	SEC Tournament	Hoover, Ala.	TBA
05/22/08	SEC Tournament	Hoover, Ala.	TBA
05/23/08	SEC Tournament	Hoover, Ala.	TBA
05/24/08	SEC Tournament	Hoover, Ala.	TBA
05/25/08	SEC Tournament	Hoover, Ala.	TBA
05/29/08	NCAA Regionals	TBA	TBA
05/30/08	NCAA Regionals	TBA	TBA
05/31/08	NCAA Regionals	TBA	TBA
06/01/08	NCAA Regionals	TBA	TBA
06/06/08	NCAA Super Regionals	TBA	TBA
06/07/08	NCAA Super Regionals	TBA	TBA
06/08/08	NCAA Super Regionals	TBA	TBA
06/14/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/15/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/16/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/17/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/18/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/19/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/20/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/21/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/23/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/24/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA
06/25/08	College World Series	Omaha, Neb.	TBA

4 bed, 3 bath in Sweet-as-Candy Solamere Subdivision in Auburn, AL

2008-02-27T17:51:23Z

This home is in popular Solamere Subdivision which is 1 mile from downtown Auburn and off of Martin Luther King Drive (Al Highway 14) not far from Shug Jordan Parkway which is the road that encircles Auburn. It is convenient to the Industrial Park as well as West-faring commuters. The home is new construction built by Strother & White and is tennant occupied at the moment so please give at least 24 hours notice before viewing.

4 bed, 2 bath in Centrally Located on East University Drive in Auburn, AL

2008-02-27T17:47:16Z

You can't beat the price on this conveniently located, chocked full-of-charm, gem that boasts 4 beds, 2 baths and comes with ALL APPLIANCES. That's right. This house is walking distance to Auburn Early Education Center, Auburn's school for all kindergarteners. The original artwork found on a few of the walls can be touched-up if a buyer would like or can be painted over. The owner is offering to repaint any walls the color of the buyer's choosing. The entry-way in the front has a brand new door and new hardiplank.

3 bed 2 bath in University Estates in Auburn, AL

2008-02-27T16:54:51Z

This home would be great for first-time homebuyers or perhaps newcomers to the Auburn area. Quiet neighbors, many of them teachers, and a good family setting for children who like to play outside are just a few reasons why this house stands out from the rest. The great room has a tray ceiling as well as plenty of space and a fireplace. It is a split-floorplan, so you can get away from the kids when you need to. Bring all offers!

4 bed, 2 bath in Centrally Located Gardens at Gatewood in Auburn, AL

2008-02-27T16:36:21Z

This home in the Gardens at Gatewood a popular, varietal, and convenient development conveniently located in Auburn is close to the Village Mall and some good restaurants as well as walking distance to Lee Scott Academy, the private school. The seller has a sauna that she is willing to part with that is currently at the negotiating price of $2000. The privacy-fenced backyard would be perfect for pets as well as the 2400 plus square feet of living space.

The Alabama Aquarium possibly coming to Auburn

2008-02-27T14:52:30Z

There's a good chance that the 6-million gallon Alabama Aquarium may soon be constructed off of North College Street in Auburn, Alabama. Of course, there is still much negotiating to be done between Auburn University who owns the land and would need to partner with the non-profit group that wants to build it. Currently, the E.W. Shell Fisheries, owned by the university, sits on the 100- acre site where the world's 3rd largest aquarium would be built. The main purpose would be not just a tourist attraction, but an educational tool for Auburn's already healthy Fisheries Program.

With the exponential growth that Lee County is already experiencing, this attraction would be a welcome addition to the area and the college if the $120 million deal can be reached. A survey is soon to be underway to detemine the feasibility of the City of Auburn as well as Lee County. The OA News reported that a county commissioner has already met with and discussed the possibility with the Alabama Aquarium group whose board includes an attorney, a judge, and a few educators.

As succesful as the Georgia Aquarium has been for Atlanta, the prospect that it might be coming to Auburn has people overjoyed.

Creative Caravaning

2008-01-08T16:43:15Z

In our area, Auburn/Opelika AL we have Agent Caravan every Wednesday. Because of this, Wednesday is my favorite day o the week. Every Wednesday morning, I get to the office slightly before 8:00 and get the list for what's on tour that day. I get out my highlighter and mark the good food houses and the good drawings, and print out the MLS sheets for the ones I need directions to. Occasionaly, I'll see one that I need to preview for a buyer, but mostly my colleaugues and I just hit the houses that are offering something. I can't tell you how many times I've been to one of these drawings where no agent is present and you are asked to leave your business card in a fish bowl for the winner to be drawn later. I'll be walking around looking in a bedroom or something and hear an agent walk in, go straight to the fish bowl and drop in several cards just to dash out the door and get back in the car with the other agents he or she is caravaning with and go to the next drawing. This is such a horrible practice and I just wish there were a better way to draw agents out to your house when on tour and have them actually view it.

Anyone have any creative ideas?

Best web hosting for a Mortgage Pro

2008-01-03T18:00:47Z

Alright Rainers, I have a friend, who I will soon introduce to this site who is (first thing's first) shopping around for a web host to carefully hold his name .com. He is a mortgage professional and is looking for functionality, best ease-of-use, and decent search engine optimization. I would love to say that money is no object but he doesn't want to break the bank as he is just transferring to a new company and will have to spend plenty for new marketing materials. Please help. I am a real estate agent and my host doesn't take care of mortgage professionals.

Using sex to sell real estate?

2007-11-29T15:13:01Z

I'm still speechless over this video on YouTube made by a real estate company entitled,"Does Sex Sell?" I've embedded it here so if anyone is easliy offended I suggest you don't hit play. "Changing the way you look at real estate..." You betcha. Or on the other side of the country is the bikini-clad agent who has a billboard. I believe that has already been addressed here on A.R. so I don't need to bring it up again. But has our industry really gotten that desperate? I'll let you Rainers decide for yourselves.

41st Annual CMA awards

2007-11-04T08:28:18Z

Has anyone noticed the logo for the 41st Annual CMA awards?

Take a look: http://www.cmaawards.com/2007/

Now check this out: http://www.jograham.com/strekins.htm

That's right. They stole it from Star Trek. The symbol in the background looks identical to a Star Trek Starfleet insignia. Could there be some Trekies in Country Music? It's likely that whomever designed the CMA logo was probably a computer nerd, who is perhaps a Star Trek fan. The similarities are too close. Do they have copyright infringement in the 25th Century?

St. Joseph Helped Sell a House

2007-11-03T12:47:25Z

Maybe you've heard of Saint Joseph as being the patron saint of real estate. Now, I'm not Catholic but I am a Christian. We protestants don't necessarily know a whole lot about saints as this is only really prevalant in Catholicism. But one such tradition that I've come to learn more about recently is burying a statue of St. Joseph upside-down in the yard of a house that is on the market and he'll help sell the house.

There are many variations of this tradition: bury him upside-down, right-side-up, facing away from the house, facing towards the house, front yard, backyard. Whatever. The first I had heard of this was on the Bravo TV Show, Flipping Out, starring the eccentric Jeff Lewis and his cast of followers that, for some strange reason, put up with his over-obsessive-compulsiveness as he subjects them to his dramatic torture of words and strange actions. This guy has house blessings complete with candles and a psychic. Not surprising that he would bury a statue of St. Joseph in the front yard of one of his renovated investments in hopes of selling it. Little did I know that this was a long-standing, Catholic tradition that some sources say goes back 1000 years.

I have a fellow real estate friend who is Catholic and had her house listed for about 9 months with little to no activity. After a Catholic friend of her told her about the St. Jospeh legend, she promptly purchased a small statue and buried it in her front yard, upside-down, facing away from the house. She sold the house less than a week later for full price.

I've seen other blogs about this subject even on this site. But I've yet to try this out on my own. I'm curious to know if this has worked for anyone that is not Catholic.

Spring Villa in Opelika Haunted?

2007-10-30T11:24:21Z

It's that time of year. Pumpkins adorn neighborhood front porches, the air is getting colder, soon there will be masses of children parading the streets with bags searching for treats. That's right, Halloween! Of course, the scary movies on TV, haunted houses, and general evil folklore seem to arrive hand-in-hand with this holiday. Being a native of Opelika, I was born there in '75 and lived there until 10 years if age (I live in Auburn now), I grew up listening to Kathryn Tucker Windham's scary stories about our area. She wrote several books about a ghost named Jeffrey and penned a handful of stories about fictional ghosts haunting real Lee County landmarks. Everyone should check out her material.

One such landmark she wrote about was the legend of Spring Villa. I'll never forget the story of the hated slave-owner who lived there in the late 1800's and was killed by one of his slaves on the thirteenth step of the spiral staircase. Growing up in Opelika, I took several trips with either a church group or the Opelika Parks and Recreation, who now maintains Spring Villa, to this place to swim in the freezing-cold pool that is fed by an underground spring. (Thus the name, Spring Villa.) The City of Opelika holds picnics and events there year- round. Every Halloween the former plantation is transformed into a haunted house and they offer hayrides around the property.

According to local legend, a man named William Penn Yonge built the house for his family and owned many slaves who he treated horribly before being murdered by one of them on the thirteenth step inside. For many years, a red stain covered the supposed spot said to be where Yonge drew his final breath. Now, the steps have been refinished and the house remodeled but visitors are cautioned not to pause but to skip the step in question. If so, it has been said that one can hear or catch a glimpse of the doomed ghost of Mr. Yonge who floats past, forever imprisoned in the house he built. I get chills just thinking about it. As a kid, it was all matter-of-fact. I believed it to be true. But no one will confirm or deny the existence of any ghost or that Mr. Yonge was murdered there.

According to http://opelika.org/:

"Today, Spring Villa is 325-acre park that continues to attract large family and community gatherings and events. In addition to the historic house, Spring Villa Park contains a picnic shelter, spring-fed swimming pool, concession area, outdoor volleyball court, horseshoe pit, day camp compound, restrooms, walking trails and a well-maintained campground. The campground has electrical hook-ups, a dumping station and restrooms. The main house, shelter and campgrounds can be rented year-round through Opelika Parks and Recreation at 334-705-5560 for reunions, parties and other social functions. A full-time resident manager lives on the grounds."

I encourage any and all to visit Spring Villa Park especially this time of year. Who knows? You may see the ghost of William Yonge.

Hank Snow or Johnny Cash Been to Opelika?

2007-10-30T09:11:47Z

I'm sure most are familiar with the song, "I've Been Everywhere." It was written by an Australian songwriter named Geoff Mack in 1959, sung by Aussie singer Lucky Starr and listed several Australian boonies you've never heard of such as: Bambaroo, Toowoomba, Gunnedah, Caringbah, and Woolloomoolo.
A few years later, Hank Snow recorded his North American version which included cities and states in the U.S. and South America. The tune topped the charts at #1 in 1962 for 3 weeks. In the fourth verse he sings ..."Nebraska, Alaska, OPELIKA, Baraboo, Waterloo..."
Most folks have heard Johnny Cash's version which is a straight cover of Snow's arrangement. It was played during the opening credits of the 2004 movie Flight of the Phoenix and has been used in a Choice Hotels commercial on television.
So my question is this: Have either Hank Snow or Johnny Cash been to Opelika?
I've contacted the Museum of East Alabama and they couldn't find any evidence.

I'll do some digging and report back my findings.