Ram Headed Storyteller - Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is a city in the central region of Alabama, and is the county seat of Jefferson County. Birmingham has begun to experience something of a rebirth, as New resources have been dedicated in reconstructing the downtown area into a 24-hour mixed-use district, becoming a truly diverse city. Along with diversity comes interesting art pieces, those hidden obscurities, like the ram headed storyteller fountain at five points south. What are its origins? why was this local landmark created? as many in the Birmingham community believe the statutes to be Satanic or Pagan, which is not the truth.

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Researched was used for this episode of Southern Oddities, and we couldn't have made it possible without the journalism and dedication from these awesome sources of information:

Roadside America [Tip 3133] - John Katopodis Woodpress [Cecil Roberts and the Statue from Hell] - Roadside America [Story 17168] - Bham Wiki [Storyteller Fountain] - Atlas Obscura [The Storyteller Fountain] - AL.com [Birmingham Artist Frank Fleming] - Wikipedia [Birmingham, Alabama]

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
The South is full of history,tells of the strange creatures that defy logic,
outlaws who took towns and roadside curiositiesthat cause in tree. Grab your
sweet tea, gather around, andlet spin a yarn. Welcome to Southern
Oidies. Birmingham is a city inthe central region of Alabama and is the

(00:27):
county seat of Jefferson County. Beehamis the largest metropolitan area in Alabama,
as well as the fifieth most populousin the United States, and serves as
an important regional hub as it's associatedwith the Deep South, Piedmont, and
Appalachian regions of the nation. Birminghamwas founded in eighteen seventy one during the

(00:51):
post Civil War reconstruction period, throughthe merger of three pre existing farm towns,
notably former Elton. It grew fromthere, annexing many more of its
smaller neighbors into an industrial and railroadtransportation center with a focus on mining,
the iron and steel industry, andrailroading. Today, Birmingham has begun to

(01:18):
experience something of a rebirth as newresources have been dedicated in reconstructing the downtown
area into a twenty four hour mixedused district. The market for downtown lofts
and condominiums has increased, while restaurant, retail and cultural options are also beginning
to expand, becoming a truly diversecity. And along with diversity comes interesting

(01:45):
our pieces, those hidden obscurities,like the Ramheaded Storyteller Fountain at five Points
South. The Storyteller Fountain is asculptural fountain located in front of the Highlands
United Methodist Church with its realistically depictedfairytale creatures gathered around the ramheaded Storyteller.

(02:07):
But what are its origins? Whywas this local landmark created as many in
the Birmingham community believed the statues tobe satanic or pagan, But that's not
the truth. The original conception innineteen eighty three was for a piece of

(02:28):
art to be commissioned in Southside asa memorial to murdered art dealer Malcolm mcbray,
who operated the Signature House gallery inthe Haskins Williams residence. McRae was
known in the south Side community forhis home that he transformed into an art
gallery by day. He was listedas a missing person for six weeks until

(02:52):
his body was found in the woodsof Helena McRae's mother, Jane, envisioned
a time old border around a gardenat five points, and with the encouragement
of Cecil Roberts and Mayor Richard Arrington, that idea blossomed into a commission of
a sculptural fountain. Robert's thought ofa work is a way to create a

(03:15):
place from which a picture could betaken that would immediately be identified as Birmingham,
Alabama. The design was commissioned fromsculptor Frank Fleming through the Birmingham Art
Association, and he originally planned butthe central figure representing McRae to be a
lion, but as he worked,he changed the figure to a ram.

(03:40):
Artist Frank Fleming, originally from BearCreek, Alabama, didn't dabble in art
in his younger years, as accordingto Frank, his family were poor farmers.
They didn't have time for art.It's just not something you did.
Later, he went to Florence StateCollege, which is now the University of

(04:00):
North Alabama and graduated with a degreein art after switching from a major in
biology. After working for large companieslike Boeing and NASA and Huntsville, Fleming
in advertently discovered his talent he coulddraw and paint. Soon, he became
disenchanted with the mundane work of aregular job and decided to pursue art as

(04:25):
a career. He went to theUniversity of Alabama and received his Masters of
Fine Art. He then went toMadison County and set up elementary art programs
and taught school. The schools atthe time didn't have much funding for the
art department, so Fleming quickly grewfrustrated with the lack of supplies. He

(04:47):
continued to teach around the state,even teaching at the University of Alabama at
Birmingham for one semester. But itwasn't until nineteen eighty three, when he
was commissioned to make the Storyteller Fountainthat his life changed. During the late
nineteen eighties to the early nineties,funds were raised through special events, including

(05:10):
a dinner hosted by Frank Stitt atHighlands Bar and Grill. Unfortunately, Cecil
Roberts died in nineteen ninety before shewas able to raise enough money to complete
the installation. Her friend and JeffersonCounty Commission President John Catapotas took up the
project and her memory. After fiveyears of work. The city agreed to

(05:33):
install the base in front of theHighlands Methodist Church. The county paid for
the casting of the statue in TheNew York Times made a donation to the
Birmingham Museum of Art for the perpetualcare of the statue. All seemed to
be going well until a picture ofthe statue of a man with a ram's

(05:55):
head reading to a collection of smallanimals leaked to the Birmingham News. It
was supposed to be Fleming's interpretation ofUncle Remus and the art of Southern storytelling,
with an obvious allusion to the notionof the Peaceable Kingdom. Protesters claimed
the statue was satanic and the ram'shead on a man was a biblical symbol

(06:17):
of the devil, and if youconnected the small pedestals on which the five
frogs, turtles, dogs and rabbitsset listening to him, it formed a
pentagram, a sure sign of demonicpossession. Fleming denied any such association in
an interview for Fun and Stuff,saying that he intended the figure to have

(06:40):
a gentle, peaceful attitude. Thecontroversy was at an all time high that
even Mayor Richard Arrington running for afourth term in the nineteen ninety one Birmingham
Municipal election, delayed the unveiling ofthe fountain until after election day on October
eighth, an entire year later.When the day finally arrived in nineteen ninety

(07:04):
two to unveil and dedicate the fountain, Reverend Bell and Friday open the dedication
ceremony with a prayer, after whicha man stood up in the audience yelling,
don't do it in the name ofJesus, this is the work of
the devil. John Catapotas stood upimmediately and screamed at the man to sit

(07:28):
down and shut up, and statedthis we invited the devil, but he
was busy and could not come.And if you say one more word to
disrupt this ceremony, I'm going tohave your ass thrown in jail. The
dedication was allowed to continue and wasnever interrupted again. So the question is

(07:50):
are the five frogs listening to GoatGuy really arranged at the points of a
Satanic pentagram? The answer to thisis no. The sculpture Satanic connection is
an urban legend. Even the homelesscommunity which sometimes gathers at five Points South,
has christened the figure as bomb andconsiders him a kindred spirit. Today,

(08:16):
the storyteller still sits on his stump, reading to his animal pals from
an open book, holding a tallstaff topped with an owl, as the
audience animal sits on circular platforms,a hair rides on the back of a
tortoise, and five frogs spit waterfrom their mouths. Nothing satanic about this

(08:37):
wonderful and whimsical fountain, just imagination. I hope you enjoyed this unusual tale.
To find out more about the showand keep up with what we are
doing, follows Southern Oddities on Twitterand Instagram by searching at Southern iPod.

(09:03):
Make sure to subscribe for free onSpotify, Apple podcast Stitcher, or your
favorite podcast listing app. This showwas created by me Jared Ortists and as
part of the Ortist Studios podcast network. You can learn more about this show
and more shows on the network byvisiting ortist Studios dot com. And until

(09:26):
the next time we spend a yarn, don't let the door hit you where
the Good Lord split you.