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Homestead Hollow

Chris November 2nd, 2008

Homestead Hollow
Springville, Alabama
By: Christie Bohorfoush, Senior Staff Writer

Homestead Hollow 2008 festivals feature fine arts, unique – one of a kind hand-made crafts, pioneer demonstrations of the old time days… see wood carving, iron work, blacksmithing, smoke house cooking, gardening, quilting, whiskey making at their own original working still. Tour the original cabins as they were built by the early settlers. Relax by one of the many streams and listen to LIVE local entertainment all day. Enjoy GREAT food that makes your mouth scream for more (including hand churned ice cream and home-made fudge.)

There is plenty of children’s activities, to include: pony rides and wagon rides. Jump in the moon walk or climb the rock wall. Kids and adults all enjoy the petting zoo. Visit and talk with the Herbalist and find out more about grandma’s remedies or those nature produces naturally.

Homestead Hollow’s General Store is open for you to visit as well… shop for those home-made fried pies and other great items all day during the show dates.

This year is the first year that I have attended what was Homestead Hollow’s Fall Festival… In fact, my family and I enjoyed it so much that we went on two separate occasions. For those of you who missed their Fall Festival, you missed a great time; but do not despair… Homestead Hollow will be doing their CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY on November 7th, 8th, and 9th. Here is your chance to partake in a wonderful day of activities/ food/ fun/ and shopping for those unique one of a kind Christmas items and gifts.

What makes Homestead Hollow such a wonderful experience is that they provide a wide arrange of activities to delight every member of the family. For the children, there is pony rides and a chance to pet zoo animals, as well as partake in many crafts. Everyone will enjoy the many food vendors on hand who provide everything from home-made soups to corn on the cob to bakery delights. Besides the numerous crafters who will thrill the shopper with their one of a kind – unique goods, you cannot over-look the original cabins and demonstrations from days gone by. It is difficult to take it all in, in one day (which is why my family and I returned a second time.) We purchased many fantastic items from a hand-made iron lizard to Native American jewelry to fudge (a pumpkin pie fudge that we had never experienced before; and boy is it GOOD!)

I would encourage anyone to come out for Homestead Hollow’s CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY… I guarantee that you will have a wonderful experience and walk away with a full belly of delicious food and a handful of unique shopping items for Christmas. And I cannot wait to discover what unique items will be presented for the Christmas season… who does not like to give that one unique gift to a loved one or a friend? You will find it here.

See you there!

Ave Maria Grotto/ Saint Bernard Abbey

Chris October 14th, 2008

Ave Maria Grotto/ Saint Bernard Abbey
Cullman, Alabama
By: Christie Bohorfoush, Senior Staff Writer

The Ave Maria Grotto, know throughout the world as “Jerusalem in Miniature,” is a beautifully landscaped, four-acre park designed to provide a natural setting for the 125 miniature reproductions of some of the most famous historic buildings and shines known to man.

The builder of the miniatures at the Ave Maria Grotto was a Benedictine Monk, Brother Joseph Zoetti, O.S.B. Born in Landshut, Bavaria in 1878, he came to Saint Bernard Abbey at the age of fourteen to attend school with the intention of becoming a monk. After being admitted as a Brother in the Abbey he was appointed to the power plant, and while there developed his hobby of building miniatures.

The first replicas were erected on the monastery recreation grounds; but due to the numerous visitors who came to view “Little Jerusalem,” it was decided to move the miniatures to the present site which originally served as a rock quarry for the Abbey. On May 17, 1934 the Ave Maria Grotto was dedicated. Brother Joseph continued his labor of love for over forty years, using materials sent from all over the world. In 1958, at the age of eighty he built his last model, the Basilica at Lourdes.

Beginning on a gently sloped paved path, you will be greeted by several miniature building clusters and junk-bejeweled shines. Standing like sentries of time are Castle Trausnitz, where the local baron broke his promise of protection to the local people of Landshut, Bavaria; Saint Martin’s Church, which has the tallest brick tower in the world; and the Montserrat Abbey, Spain’s pilgrimage site of the famous “Black Madonna.”

Round a bend and you will see it… an entire hillside packed in urban splendor with cathedrals and famous buildings. One half of the flowered hillside depicts the buildings and scenes of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, familiar to all from the Holy Bible; classic Roman landmarks, such as Saint Peter’s, the Colosseum, and catacombs; European wayside shines; the famous Spanish Missions of Florida and the American Southwest, and replicas of the famous Shines of Our Lady at Fatima and Lourdes. The focal point is a central “cave” covered with artificial stalagmites and stalactites – the Ave Maria Grotto.

While I was most impressed with the miniatures that Brother Joseph created on the quarry land, what most took my breath away is the Abbey itself – Saint Bernard Abbey. Begun in the 1950s, monks and other workers spent almost ten years on construction of the Abbey church using four kinds of stone and pine boards cut by the monks from the Abbey forests. The focal point of the church is the 10-foot long GREAT CROSS which hangs over a massive granite alter. Interior features include ten hand-carved, 12-foot tall stone figures of saints, stone parabolic arches and a 44-rank organ of approximately 2,400 pipes. Using a traditional Latin cross floor plan, the church can seat more than 500.
For a Catholic like myself, I have been in some beautiful churches of the Boston and New England area; but none were as impressive as Saint Bernard Abbey. From the moment that I stepped through the Abbey’s front doors, I felt a complete peace come over me. I stopped, in fact, at the front entrance to light a candle in memory of my father, something I had not yet gotten to do, since my father’s passing. Here again, however, I simply could not get past the sense of love and well being that I felt within the walls of the Abbey. It is something that visitors to the Abbey must experience for themselves.

NOTE: The Ave Maria Grotto and Saint Bernard’s Abbey are open daily from April to September 8am to 6pm and from October to March from 8am to 5pm.

View our Gallery from the Grotto