POWERGRAMS

24 D riving along Alabama Highway 5, aer miles and miles of pine trees and farmland, it is surprising when two lanes suddenly turn into three and then four and out of the middle of nowhere jumps Thomasville. "Middle of nowhere? No, we're the center of the universe," says Sheldon Day, nonstop supporter and six-term mayor of his hometown. As nearby cities struggle, Thomasville is something of a boomtown. It might take Day all night to tell you about it but he's going to try. He's proud there are things happening here that most small towns can only dream about. Founded in 1888, the town was named for U.S. Gen. Samuel Thomas, a military commander and advocate of former slaves. He became one of America's wealthiest industrialists, leading the future Southern Railroad that reached into Clarke County's crossroads. Thomas gave $500 to launch the Thomasville school system. Long before it became Thomasville, though, the land was claimed by the native Choctaw and Creek tribes. Their 1808 peace treaty line divides the town, running in front of the current City Hall. The community has grown from about 300 people in 1890, despite most everything burning to the ground in 1899, to today's population of 4,000. Thomasville's Alabama 200 celebration is a homecoming demonstration of Native American stickball, highlighted by an actual game between members of the two tribes in the high school football stadium Sept. 27-28. Much like the old tribal boundary, modern Thomasville is split between the old and the new. Highway 43 has several miles of motels, restaurants like Big Mike's Steak House (named best steak in Alabama) and Gaston's Grill, convenience stores and retailers, such as Dozier Hardware, which opened in 1903 and moved from downtown to the major thoroughfare in 1972. Slip over eastward and there is street aer street lined with old white frame houses featuring large front porches with wood columns, railings and Victorian gingerbread trim. Those streets funnel into the old downtown that is on the National Register of Historic Places and undergoing a major revitalization. A former car dealership is now the 14-apartment Maison De Ville complex, which is in front of the Community Garden. Ten restored wood coages are now offices and homes. Buildings up and down a 10-block area have been gued and rebuilt, with new businesses having some 40 upstairs los leading out to wrought iron balconies. The two-story pink Los Compadres Tex-Mex restaurant stands out on the corner of Wilson and Front streets. Just down the way is the 98-year- old Thomasville Times. Nearby, the old Bedsole Thomasville on threshold OLD, NEW ASPECTS PUT SOUTHWEST ALABAMA CITY AHEAD OF CROWD By Chuck Chandler On opposite page, from top clockwise: Downtown renovations are ongoing; Gaston's Grill is a popular stop for breakfast, lunch and dinner; John Wright practices putting at Thomasville Golf and Recreation Club; Betty James works in Community Garden; Sebastian Covel and Emerson Stinson swing at community playground. Downtown Thomasville

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