POWERGRAMS

20 get enough of waking up to the cock-a-doodle-do of a rooster, or sitting beneath pecan trees as the sun sets over a fire pit and pasture where the horizon is highlighted by a big red barn. Three small cabins await the Airbnb crowd on the outskirts of Haleyville, each neatly themed in llama, peacock or old country decor. There are paintings, porches and pantries enough to entice even the most cityfied visitors. It's no coincidence that the cabins are artsy: the Carters have been creating artwork together for 35 years, which is most of their 39 years as a couple. They travel the U.S. offering everything from $25 carpenter bee traps and $59 fancy bird feeders to $800 elaborate driftwood fountains and chandeliers. This day they've worked early to late preparing for the Peter Anderson Festival in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Steve has packed every inch of an 18-foot-long trailer that will be pulled by their Concord camper. Sometimes a guest will simply beg they be sold something they've loved inside their cabin. "Over the past couple of years, they've bought lots of things," says Mechele, noting that prior to the pandemic she and Steve never conceived that they could bring outsiders into Haleyville to stay overnight or buy art. The Carters moved to their 13-acre plot in 1989 after their house in town burned down. They are used to adapting, so it wasn't out of the question to remodel her "she-shed" into a place for visitors when she and Steve were suddenly out of their dependable festival income. With COVID-19 gripping the world, organizers of a cancelled show in South Carolina asked if they could come to Alabama to purchase the Carters' artwork, but also wondered if there was anything worth checking out while in town. Natural Bridge, Sipsey Wilderness, Dismals Canyon, Bear Creek Lake, Bankhead Forest and other places admired by outdoorsmen are all within about 20 miles, so the Carters thought their farm might be a good refuge for weary hikers, hunters or art lovers. "That's when I looked at Steve and said, 'Now that we don't have anything to do, let's try to use our farm to make up the difference,'" Mechele says. "We thought we'd get someone from somewhere every once in a while." Doing most of the work themselves, the Carters built and decorated the cabins, using doors, windows and other materials from a century-old building, as well as antique pieces Steve had saved through the years. They repurposed a peacock house for one cabin, used old brick from Muscle Shoals homes for walkways, driftwood for archways and set up their new she-shed- sharing business, which has been booked solid since early 2021. "We've had guests from Washington state to New Hampshire, it's just amazing," says Mechele. "We've been very blessed." KITH KITCHENS Twenty-five years ago, Bo Knight figured if his family cabinet business could ever reach $25 million in sales, they'd have made the big time. Now, as Haleyville's biggest employer, Kith Kitchens' annual sales have reached nearly 10 times Knight's early dreams. A majority stake in the business was acquired in 2016 by Pfingsten Partners but Knight remains on the board of directors and his sons Bret, Tyler and Brad, are vice presidents of Kith Kitchens, handling the day-to-day operations. Strategic Accounts Manager Brian "Thumper" Vickery has also been with the company since its beginning. "I consider myself another son with a different name," says Vickery, a Virginia native who as a child began visiting his grandparents in Haleyville. He later graduated from the University of Alabama and now is a member of the Haleyville School Board. The Knights' company is, depending on the source, the fourth- or fifth-largest cabinet company in America. It has moved from primarily supplying the local mobile home industry to now mostly providing residential cabinetry to kitchen and bath dealers through the eastern United States. During their 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekday shifts, more than 700 workers turn maple, oak, cherry and plywood pieces into Rustic accommodations await guests at Carter Cabins and Farm. These cabins can comfortably sleep from three to five people.

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