The Alexander City Outlook

Why I love Alexander City | Elizabeth Stark McCoy

I was born and raised in the New Site and Daviston area from birth to 10 years old.

My daddy died when I was just 2 years old, leaving my mother, brother and myself with no way to survive in those days except to move in with our grandparents. There was no money so we lived with them part of about eight years.

When I turned 10 years old, my mother, brothers and I caught a bus and came to what I referred to as the big city, Alexander City, only about 20 plus minutes away. My mother and brothers got jobs at Russell Corporation and we lived in Russell Village. I can remember so many wonderful things about that time, although it was very hard on us.

My brother made enough money to buy me a bicycle and I rode it all over Russell Village with my new friends. We had a really great movie theater and I got to go when I had enough money.

In our beautiful little downtown area, we had every building full of merchants. It was a busy, bustling town.

Most of the time we walked where we went but we also had taxi cabs. I loved so much living in Alexander City and still do.

Russell Corporation was always such a huge part of Alexander City with many thousands of people working there. In fact, my husband and I worked over 43 years each there.

We had nice swimming pools and places to play together during those years growing up. Back in those days (around 1945) my friends and I could walk anywhere together and never even thought about someone harming us. Those were some of the most wonderful times for all of us.

Alexander City was a perfect place for all of us to grow up in. I loved it so much then and still do today. I would never trade my growing up years in Alexander City for anywhere else. It was a wonderful town and community with great schools and people and I am glad to have gotten a chance to live in this wonderful city.

I have been married for 55 years to Tom McCoy, who grew up in the Dadeville area, and we have one daughter, Lisa Flournoy and her husband Marvin and grandson, Jason Flournoy, who live in Alexander City, and one granddaughter, Rachel Flournoy who graduated from Troy University last May and still lives and works there.

My mother passed away in January 1993 at the age of 87. She was the oldest of 10 children and always lived with us. I thank God for having my wonderful mother that long and also my aunts, uncles and grandparents who stepped into my life when I was only 2 years old and helped to raise my brother and me.