Stillman College

I went on a day trip with friends down to Tuscaloosa for lunch at Cypress Inn. At least that’s what I thought. We left about 1 pm from Birmingham. I was thinking we were leaving at that time to avoid the lunch crowd. I’d had one slice of 40 calorie toast and a small scrambled egg for breakfast. I wanted to have room for the fantastic lunch I was told about at the Inn.

After arriving in Tuscaloosa I began wondering why we were still driving around and not headed toward the focused eatery. Well, apparently moi didn’t listen closely because our driving hostess informed us that she said dinner not lunch.

I was sitting in back and the other rider, (C.M.) was in the passenger seat up front. We both exclaimed, “Dinner! I thought you said lunch!”


CM quickly followed up with, “Well, I’m going to need a milkshake to tide (no pun intended Alabama fans ) me over till then.”

We began to poke good-natured fun at our driving hostess (JF).
“We’d like to kick you out of the car, but, you’re driving.”
“You may find yourself sitting on the side of the road on the way back to Birmingham.”

Be that as it may we stopped at Stillman College for a mini tour of the campus.
Stillman College was founded in 1876 by a group of Presbyterians who wanted to establish a school to train Black ministers. This group was headed by Rev. Charles Allen Stillman for whom the college is named.
Stillman is a small, neat, beautiful campus. The grounds and buildings are immaculate. With this being summer not all buildings were accessible.

We began our stroll down Greek Lane. Each fraternity and sorority is represented here with their shield on a pedestal. Some had outdoor cookery and seating. I’m sure it’s pretty busy during pledge season.

Stepping into the William H. Sheppard Library was a welcomed relief from the outdoor heat. The library appeared to have much of its original architecture all very well kept. I just adore old buildings. I was impressed with the vintage light fixtures. I’m not sure if they were original or reproductions. Dr. William H. Sheppard trained for the ministry at Stillman College in 1887. He became part of a missionary group for the Presbyterian Church in what is present day Zaire.

The Myrtle Williamson Memorial Prayer Chapel was named after a member of the Bible Faculty. The light emitted from the colored blocks inside the chapel was calmly alluring. While enjoying the tranquil peace of the prayer chapel, my stomach began to growl which revisited my thoughts of, “When do we eat?”


It was now about 3:00 p.m. JF decided we would head toward Cypress Inn to see what time they opened for dinner.

Arriving on Cypress Inn premises we saw a member of the wait staff reporting for duty. We asked this nice young man what time the Inn opened for dinner.

We were told, 5:30 p.m.!

I think all three of us bellowed a collective, “WHAT!”

Seeing our famished faces, the young man cautiously took a step away from the car and in a soothing voice said, “…but, you can sit at the bar.” (Never upset hungry, middle aged, menopausal women)
So, what did we do?
I’ll let you know.
THAT'S IT***