Hazel Green, Alabama, 35750

Walnut Grove Rd. New Market, AL, but so close to Hazel Green that we always felt like residents of HG. Now after 18 years in this home, we moved to a home in Hazel Green on Joe Quick Rd.

See the Lens for Jim's early stories about his birth and raising in Alabama. Great short stories about growing up in Alabama in the 30's:
http://www.squidoo.com/DixieLand

Also, many of our stories about Alabama and Alaska can be found on our website:
http://www.JimAndKathysCorner.com

We moved back to Alabama in 1987 after spending years in Alaska. At first for me it was a huge cultural shock. Life in Alabama is so different. The Southern Drawls, and life in general was so different to what I was used to in the North.

We quickly adapted and fell in love with our new home. We settled in a little old farm house that had been recently remodeled. Part of the home was over 100 years old. It was on Walnut Grove rd., right on the edge of New Market and Hazel Green. I felt like I lived in Hazel Green as we had a Hazel Green phone number and did much of our shopping in Hazel Green.

Griners Foodland is the local Grocery Store and has the best meats in the area. It is so convenient for shopping between our trips to the Redstone Arsenal Commissary where we do our main grocery shopping.

Hazel Green has grown so much since we first moved here 21 years ago. Now we actually have a McDonalds's and a Sonic Drive In. We also have two traffic lights. No longer is it just a wide place in the road. Many people are moving into this community to get out of the bigger city environment and have their kids grow up in a more rural setting.

This area is still dominated by large cotton farms and lots of cattle and sheep ranches.

My allergies really flare during the cotton season. The farmers are constantly spraying something on them, then the pollen flies during harvesting. You will find several Cotton Gins in this area.

Another thing you will find lots of are churches; all varieties. You will find Baptists, Presbyterian, and Holiness Churches throught the area.

Hazel Green is about 25 miles North of Huntsville and 25 miles South of Fayetteville, TN. So we can take our pick of where to go shopping.

We are also 2 hours south of Nashville and 2 hours north of Birmingham. This is why I love it here, it is centrally located. In Alaska, I felt much more isolated; you had to drive a long ways or take a plane to visit another State. Here in Alabama, we get in the car and drive whereever we want. This is a very liberating feeling.

Oh, by the way the Beach (the beautiful Alabama Beaches) are only a 6 hour drive away. What more could we ask for.

One thing that took us a little while to get used to was the summer "Heat". Whew. That was tough. Thank goodness for AirConditioning. We came south to get warm, but that was a little hard for us to adapt to. Eventually, though, our blood has started to thin out and it doesn't bother us as much.

What I didn't count on was the Winters in Alabama. I didn't want to ever see another snowflake and was surprised by the cold winters here. Although much shorter winters than Alaska, the winters here can be very chilly and even a sprinkling of snow.

We do get glorious Springs and Fall here. So really enjoy having 4 distinct seasons to enjoy.

Every place you travel to has its pluses and minuses, but I feel we have the best of it all here in Lovely Hazel Green, Alabama.