POWERGRAMS

eeds 29 lies over the corners of Jefferson, St. Clair and Shelby counties, with quality health care providers, a top-notch school system, large parks and new recreational facilities. In the past 25 years, Leeds High School Greenwave teams have won 22 state championships, taking titles in basketball, football, soball, track and wrestling. There has been but one basketball championship, but Leeds will always have Charles Barkley, Class of 1981, whose bronze statue stands tall at the entrance of the high school. "The Wide Load from Leeds," as Barkley once said he liked to be called, is among America's most famous people, in the NBA Hall of Fame and was named one of the Top 50 players of all time. Long before Barkley emerged from the local playgrounds to star at Auburn University, Henry Erwin, Bill Lawley and Lee McLaughlin made a name for themselves through their heroics that earned the Medal of Honor. Air Force Airman "Red" Erwin picked up a prematurely ignited phosphorus bomb during a World War II mission over Japan, carried it through the Superfortress and tossed it out a cockpit window, saving the plane and entire crew while being badly burned himself. Army Air Force 1st Lt. Lawley, during a mission over Nazi territory, ordered his crew to parachute to safety, then – despite severe wounds – decided to land their burning B-17 in England because two crewmen were too badly injured to jump out. Marine Private 1st Class McLaughlin during the Korean War, despite being wounded, single-handedly held off hundreds of Chinese soldiers aempting to overrun a U.S. outpost. The Leeds Three are remembered along with hundreds of other veterans at Memorial Park, which is adjacent to Leeds Historical Park, and includes marble veterans monuments near pavilions, a large playground, walking trails and a ballpark. While West Virginia claims the legendary John Henry, some researchers believe the powerful labor and civil rights movement hero actually outperformed a steam-powered rock-drilling machine near Leeds. Folklore has said "the steel-driving man" challenged the machine and beat it, only to die with sledgehammer in hand at the end of the contest. A University of Georgia professor argues that Henry beat the machine at either the Coosa Mountain or Oak Mountain tunnel on Sept. 20, 1887. Leeds salutes Henry with a festival, and his legend is told on a historic marker alongside a vintage Southern Railway caboose at the restored 1884 train depot. Sixty-three years ago, another legendary man slipped into town for a visit that people are still talking about. It didn't take long for locals to spot Elvis Presley eating in the old Power's Cafe, and it took even less time for a deejay to convince the King of Rock 'n' Roll to move to another location for a radio interview. Elvis ended up in the living room of what today is the Leeds Area Chamber of Commerce headquarters, the historic stone-walled Imogene Wright Fallea Visitor Center. They're still trying to find the chair Presley sat in. While Power's Café long ago closed its doors, waitresses at Laney's Country Cooking have for years been taking breakfast orders beginning at 5 a.m., then switching to the lunch buffet and menu until the last diner is finished each aernoon. Just down Parkway Drive, Rusty's Bar-B-Q sees a steady stream of customers for lunch and dinner at the "Best Mom & Pop" restaurant in the 2015 Alabama Barbecue Bale. On the same main drag is Bald Rock Grill, which is gaining popularity for its burgers and sandwiches since opening last year. Closer to Interstate 20, visitors can find many well- known chain restaurants and motels, as well as most LEEDS Barkley statue in front of Leeds High School. John Henry historic marker at Depot Park. The Leeds Three exhibit in the Bass House Veterans Room.

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