SHORELINES

12 Shor e l i n e S | 2015 Vol :1 After being regaled with stories of the Kowaliga Indian tribe that once lived in the area, Williams would spend his nights writing the song that, after some tinkering in the studio with co-writer Fred Rose, would become his novelty hit "Kaw-Liga." A framed copy of the record hangs on the wall inside the two- bedroom cabin, perfectly at home with the 1952-era décor. The unvarnished version of the story has Williams staying at the cabin only after spending a night in the Alexander City Jail sleeping off one of his infamous drinking binges. The cabin was a needed respite not just for Williams, but for his pregnant girlfriend, Bobbie Jett. Mythology has a way of existing between the polished fable and the messier truth. "Both versions about Hank and the cabin are true," said David Mitchell, a Hank Williams researcher and historian, in addition to being a Realtor on Lake Martin. "Both happened in mid-August of 1952 after he was let go from the Opry. His mother wanted him to come to the lake for some R&R, but it turned into a whirlwind and continued until his death." Mitchell said there is no doubt that Williams did stay at the cabin and write the bones of the song "Kaw-Liga" there. Some believe he may even have written or at least started what became his classic hit "Your Cheatin' Heart" while staying at the cabin. As Mitchell noted, Williams' time in the cabin was sandwiched between two seminal events in the Hank Williams mythos. It would have been a few days after the Grand Ole Opry fired Williams for "habitual drunkenness" and a few months before he died in the back seat of a Cadillac in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 1953, at the age of 29, on his way to play a show in Canton, Ohio. Mitchell said what makes the Hank Williams legend so lasting is the fact that nearly everything you've heard about him is true. "About the mythology of Hank, well actually it's not myth," he said. "His life was a lived out movie script that couldn't have been written even if someone was paid to do so. It's really a fascinating journey. I think that is what pulls people still to him today. They keep searching for the mythical Hank Williams but he never will be found because he's not there. His life is really an open book and laid out for all to read, but people will see what they want to see and think what they want to think." Today, the Hank Williams Cabin is part of the Children's Harbor grounds on Lake Martin. Children's Harbor serves as a camp for sick and disabled children and their families with ties to Birmingham's Children's Hospital of Alabama and other child-centered organizations. At a cost of $250 per night, visitors can stay in the cabin in much the same way Williams did more than 60 years ago. From the old metal table to the kitschy curtains and the Coca-Cola Above: Photo by mike tomBerlin — Signed sheet music is on display at the cabin.

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