Some call it Dye Branch, others Dye Ditch, but no matter the reference used, natives of Fort Payne who grew up in the area in the 1950s and 60s know all the stories — and the secrets. Those who came along later have most certainly heard the adventurous tales that just might rival Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.
One of those natives, Bobby Welch — former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and retired pastor of First Baptist Church, Daytona Beach, Florida — has decided to take the stories to a new level with an official visual representation of those days.
“This is a heritage tribute, a tribute to the ordinary,” Welch said. “It is for the heroes of the environment — those who stayed and have been here through the thick and thin. They are producing, innovating, booming and doing what needs to be done.”
Welch has technically been gone from the area since his then pastor Dan Ireland at First Baptist Church, Fort Payne, helped him settle into New Orleans Seminary following a surrender to preach.
But despite only visiting since that time, Fort Payne will always be part of Welch. And he has actually been creating scenes from the “boom” era of Fort Payne in paper mache style since 2014.
Still the heritage piece he is now developing as a donation to the city might be his masterpiece.
Armed with stacks of old newspapers and magazines and his handy hot glue gun, Welch plans a 360-degree scene encapsulated in something similar to an upside-down aquarium.
Eight characters will represent various points of life for those growing up around Dye Branch during the boom years. But the characters are not fictitious, Welch noted. “The people who are the inspiration behind each character will see themselves but it won’t be obvious to everyone,” he said.
The heritage tribute will be his first piece designed for outdoor placement and will be in the city park or nearby, said councilwoman Lynn Brewer. “We are trying to celebrate our heritage and the people from Fort Payne, and Bobby is part of that,” she said.
Darlene Rotch, curator of Boom Town Makers Market, added that Welch’s work will remind those who see it to “never give up.”
“That’s what Fort Payne is all about,” she said, noting the city is headed into its next boom.
Welch agreed. “I smell good things here,” he said. “We’ve got enough boom spirit in us. This is a good place with good blood and Dye Ditch water in it.”
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Thank you, veterans, for your honor, sacrifice and duty.
Veterans Day is Saturday, Nov. 11.
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