Annie Oakley on Talladega Creek

[jaybird]

A really strange event happened Saturday on the Pinhoti as the 30 challenge hikers were passing.  In the past, I’ve talked to the nice couple (Trig and Alice) that live on Talladega Creek where the trail crosses the bridge.  The man had a distinct accent, and in our talks, I knew that he was from one of the Scandinavian countries.  They own 40 acres bordering both sides of the creek and had grand plans to build a lodge for hikers.  They’d already converted one of the best flat spots on the far side of the bridge into a hiker campsite (Alice Springs) complete with a composting privy.  

It has been a couple of years since I caught up with Trig and Alice.  As we passed their “house,” which looked more run down than usual, I saw a homemade “for sale” sign out front.  The aggressive dogs were more docile than usual.  We continued across the railroad tracks and onto the Talladega Creek bridge, where we stopped to wait for the rest of the group.  Coming up out of the campground on the right was a lady.  She did not look familiar.  She said to us, “Hi, welcome to Alice Springs – I’m Alice.”  I spoke up and said, “oh, yes, I met you a few years ago, along with your husband Tr--”  Before I could get his name out, she interrupted me and said, “the devil.”  

She continued, “he’s a devil worshipper now, and has tried to kill me twice, and he’s coming back here with the cult to try again any moment now.”  It was at this point that I noticed she was packing heat.  Her gun, holstered at her side, was complete with a pink pistol grip.  She continued on, “he hates guns, so I carry this like Annie Oakley, and I also have a shotgun in the house.”  I honestly didn’t know what to say, so I humored her by asking where he was.  She responded by saying that he was on the run, and that she could not serve him with papers as nobody knew where he was.  She must’ve been referring to restraining order papers, as she volunteered that, “we were going to be married on the creek, and I paid cash for this property, and he just turned 67 and got his first check from Norway (the equivalent of Social Security) and took off and left her with no running water, no toilets, no heat, and now he’s trying to kill me.”  In other words, they were never married.  She finished by saying that "the 40 acres was for sale for $295,000 and that she needed to go because she might have to get out of there at any moment."

The funny thing is having talked to them both, I don't know who to believe.  She is either dilusional and he had to leave, or he's a really good con-man.  Or, he could be buried in the back yard....  It's one of the more bizzare tales of the Pinhoti that I will tell for years to come.  And, it's still ongoing.

[weathermansam]

One of the most random stories I've heard in a long time.  I think I'll keep my distance from there. 

[dogwood]

One word, Jay - YIKES!

[jedbear]

This is just too good to let drop! This story is what legends are made of. Inquiring minds
want to know. More spice, please!

                     jedbear

[jaybird]

Alice, Get Your Gun

The devil went down to Bammer, he was lookin’ for some land to steal,

He was runnin’ blind cause no worshippers could he find, and he was willing to make a steal.

When came across this Norwegian sawing on a shack in the middle of the woods,

And the devil jumped up on the creek bridge rail and said Trig we’re gonna take these goods.

“I bet you didn’t know it, but I play the real estate market too – and if you care to take this dare I’ll flip this puppy with you.”

“Now you’ve got a pretty good setup here, but Alice has got to go,

Take her out and throw her in the creek -- no one will have to know.”

“Devil, I like your style, and I’ve been your follower for many years,

I’ll take your bet -- together with the cult, we’ll throw Alice out on her ears.”

Alice, you polish up your gun and get a pink pistol grip,

‘Cause hell’s broke loose on Talladega Creek, and Trig is bout to flip,

And if you win you get this purty land on the railroad line,

But if you lose, the devil’s gonna dine…

The devil opened up his satchel and said he’d provide the flow,

And fire flew from his fingertips as he removed articles of amazing show.

Rat poison, heavy metals, and arsenic were among items for a cake.

It would be up to Trig to add his special touches to this most unique bake.

A special party to celebrate Trig’s 67th would provide the day,

How he would get the cake down Alice’s throat would have to find its way.

Fire in the gut girl, run Alice run, the devil’s in the house with the risin’ sun.

Copper Penny hens in the breadpan pickin’ out dough,

Alice, do your dogs bite? “No, hikers, no.”

On that special day, Alice greeted Trig with a special breakfast of ham and her copper penny’s finest,

Trig thought the eggs a bit old and tasting of eggs with flavor minus.

You see he wasn’t the only one with tricks up his sleeves,

At Alice Springs, there is a Norwegian flavor now feeding the trees.

Alice, you polish up your gun and get a pink pistol grip,

‘Cause hell’s broke loose on Talladega Creek, and Trig is bout to flip,

And if you win you get this purty land on the railroad line,

But if you lose, the devil’s gonna dine…

 

[squidbilly]

There's probably three sides to this story: hers, his, and the truth.  Unless of course he is buried on the property.

[Firedog]

I was there in late Sept. last year. We paddled the creek and I talked to Trig for a while when we put in. A few weeks later I saw them at Lowes in Oxford. We talked then as well. They seemed as normal as they could be I guess. That spot of land woudl be nice but the RR woudl be the pitts.

[crowculbertson]

Thanks for the information. Second event in the area that is somewhat disturbing!

[jaybird]

CrowCulbertson, what was the first one?

On another note, an eerie story was relayed to me about this very same area from someone who once lived nearby.  It goes something like this:

"50+ years ago a family came by our house at night on old HWY 77 with a bunch of black hair. They had carried to law officials that day and were told it was human hair. They were fishing Talladega Creek close to the bridge you will cross when one of the boys snagged something.  When he retrieved his line, the hair was on the hook.  Law officials used drags starting the next day but never found anything.  The theory was a woman had been pushed off the bridge and because the creek was up, the body was further down the creek than they searched -- or body was under a rock.  Being close to Halloween, be on the lookout for the ghost of dead lady with a patch of hair missing."

[dogwood]

Back in the 90's, they found a man hanging from a tree pretty far into the woods, somewhere near there.  I believe that it was told that this couldn't have been suicide, due to the height, or something like that. 

[grayw0lf]

There's probably three sides to this story: hers, his, and the truth.  Unless of course he is buried on the property.

I've always said there are 5 sides to every story....
1.  What he said
2.  What she said
3.  What he knows really happened
4.  What she knows really happened
5.  What (God knows) REALLY happened!