Issue link: https://alabamapower.uberflip.com/i/1294339
19 APSO On the second Monday of every month the past 24 years, St. Mary's Children's Home in Mobile was sure to overflow with love, laughter – and birthday cake. At the center of the dining room table, a decorated sheet cake or cupcakes got lots of "oohs and aahs" from youngsters and teenagers. Members of the Plant Barry Chapter of the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO) added to the joy by serving ice cream and fruit juice amid colorful decorations. "It was the first birthday celebration some of our kids have ever had," said Andy Rehm, director of volunteer services at St. Mary's Home. "I remember one teenage girl – it was her first birthday party ever, and she was amazed. People didn't realize what some of these kids went through." "Barry APSO let kids be kids for the first time," said Rehm, who served St. Mary's Home nearly 26 years. "They came in style. One year, they had a girl dress like Barbie, and some were superheroes, like Spiderman." The tradition was started by Tami Williams Tami Williams, the wife of Ken Williams Ken Williams, an instrumentation and controls specialist at Barry. Since the late 1990s, she made sure the monthly birthday parties were part of the chapter's repertoire of community service to St. Mary's Home. Since 1996, Barry APSO members hosted birthday parties for about 1,000 children. APSO members mourned the end of spending time with the children, as the Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile announced it had "prayerfully determined to retire St. Mary's Home, a residential treatment facility for young people." The transition to retirement was completed Sept. 30, when contracts with the Alabama Department of Human Resources expired. The home operated for 182 years after its founding by women in the Catholic Charitable Society during a yellow fever epidemic in 1838. On July 30, Barry APSO held a drive-by parade as a combination birthday party and a final good- bye to St. Mary's Home children and staff. It was a difficult moment for APSO's longtime volunteers, who'd become friends with many of the kids. The closing was heartbreaking for the Williamses and others who poured their hearts into making life a little better for the children. Tami Williams' grandmother had grown up at St. Mary's. The parties and all the efforts Tami had made were in honor of all the youngsters who depended on St. Mary's Home for care. "You don't get to see the kids, and having that presence in your life, and you don't have it anymore," said Barry Employee Development Coordinator Stacy Stacy Walley Walley, who helped with the birthday parties for 10 years. "It's going to be really hard." Friends for the ages Barry APSO members Amanda Lofton Amanda Lofton, Cherie Cherie Gatlin Gatlin, Walley and the Williamses were among many volunteers who rarely missed the monthly celebrations. Ken Williams and Walley enjoyed putting together photo albums for each child's birthday, giving them the booklet the following month. Because the children were in protective custody, Barry APSO members took pains to maintain privacy. Barry APSO's gift of service extended far beyond monthly parties. Members sponsored annual fundraisers, such as the Michael Perkins Bushy Creek Clay Shoot, the E.R. Covington Golf Tournament and their holiday Contributions Breakfast. For years, Walley and other members delivered 10 holiday dinners – with turkey, dressing, vegetables, bread and dessert – to St. End of era for celebrations with children at Mobile home