POWERGRAMS

25 and later for lunch at the nearby Anchor restaurant. The Chamber of Commerce in 2016 moved into the old Nichols Department Store downtown. Equally divided wood-walled booths where women's, men's and children's items were once sold are now filled with pamphlets, magazines and business cards about local people and places. Lifelong resident Annah Hammond works for the chamber and recommends that visitors try the ice cream at 30 Below and barbecue at Gloria's Creations. "No matter where you're from," the young marketing and project coordinator says, "when you move here, it's home." Across the street from the chamber, new businesses are sprouting up, like Philanthropic Seed, a home goods store that contributes a percentage of each sale to community causes. Next door is The Coffee House, which also serves sandwiches, wraps and breakfast bites. The Greater Escambia Council for the Arts began in 2000 as a traveling theater company but in 2008 moved into its historic building on Trammel Street alongside the railroad tracks. The council actors will present "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "A Midsummer's Night Dream" later this year. Massive murals are turning old buildings into artistic statements all around town, including alongside Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co., which opened in 1929, and the Veterans of Foreign War Post 7016 headquarters. New sights are being seen and businesses opening near established ones like the United Bank of Atmore, which was founded in 1904, and Hendrix Tractor Co., which opened in 1940. Atmore has churches seemingly on every corner, anchored by the historic trio of First United Methodist Church, established in 1886, Trinity Episcopal Church established in 1900 (and considered Atmore's oldest public building in continuous use) and First Baptist, which was built in 1917. Atmore's educational roots run deep: Escambia County High School is the oldest public county high school in Alabama, having opened in 1909. The Escambia County Training School opened in 1920 for Blacks, and the girls basketball team won the state championship in 1951. The school is listed on the Wind Creek Casino and Hotel brings 10,000 car drivers daily into Atmore to be entertained at the massive complex. Philanthropic Seed is one of many new businesses blooming downtown. PHOTO COURTESY WIND CREEK CASINO PHOTO COURTESY WIND CREEK CASINO

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