POWERGRAMS

27 The annual Jasper Special Olympics, hosting more than 150 athletes from across Alabama, is among the most popular meets in the state. Yet, Smothers says saving lives is the most important mission of the Natatorium. The No. 1 cause of death for children under 4 is drowning. That problem is addressed through swimming classes beginning at 9 months. Smothers saw a similar need in 2016 when she started a program for grownups. More than 60 adults, up to age 84, learned to swim at the Natatorium last year. Smothers walks around the pool watching Whitney Dyer swimming fast laps. The next lane over, Brenda Arnold is keeping pace. Not long ago, neither woman could swim. Now they swim competitively. "When I first started, I was terrified of deep water," says Dyer, an aorney in Corner, located between Birmingham and Jasper. "It became a self-esteem issue. As a child, my family didn't swim. I didn't know what a natatorium was. We didn't have that where I grew up in Tennessee." An accomplished athlete and sprinter at Miles College, Dyer "always wanted to swim." Her three children, ages 11, 8 and 4, learned at the Natatorium, which encouraged Dyer to take the leap. She met Arnold, who started teaching beginning swimmers four years ago aer progressing herself from dog- paddling. The teacher and the student have become one another's biggest cheerleader. "I can't say enough about the adult swim program," Arnold says. "We're having fun and saving lives." BERNARD'S AN INSTITUTION ON THE SQUARE It's a walk through time traversing the narrow aisles of Bernard's Store for Men, where mementos of simpler days are as prominent as the familiar names on the merchandise labels. Old Stetson hat boxes are stacked near Hart Schaffner & Marx suits; a vintage adding machine rests on the floor alongside Johnston & Murphy shoes; old Coke boles press against Patagonia pullovers. The walls of the 123-year-old beautifully restored building are lined with wooden chests, old desks, an ox yoke, a stuffed bobcat and pheasants, while Elvis Presley's "Peace in the Valley" LP forever is cued to play on a Decca suitcase stereo in the entrance window. A naily aired man approaches a boy in his mother's arms as they await a tuxedo for the dad. "You're a good- looking guy," Rusty Richardson says with a broad smile, which elicits the same from the boy. The owner of Bernard's isn't giving special treatment to this family: it's the standard at one of Jasper's oldest businesses. "People like old-fashioned things," says Richardson, who bought the business in 1988, not too long aer having worked there part-time in his high school years. "Bernard Weinstein believed in top-notch customer service, in carrying top-quality lines and standing behind them. We're carrying on that tradition." Nowadays a man off the street will be greeted with an ice-cold 8-ounce bole of Coca-Cola, or a cup of coffee, and invited to take his time looking through the jam-packed rows of shirts, socks, slacks, suits and shoes. "Our mission is to make people feel comfortable when they walk in the door," Richardson says. "I try to remember people's names, keep a list of their sizes, their kids' sizes. And we'd love to help them buy something." Bernard's Store for Men has been open nearly 70 years because exceptional service and selection "pays off," Richardson says. Anything less than the best of each could not be competitive with nationally known clothing or chain stores. Richardson provides free alterations, gi wrapping and delivery. "The other thing is we're good listeners," he says. "People just come here and hang out. They vent and I let them, and they know I won't repeat what they Table covered in circle of neckties on sales floor at Bernard's Store for Men. Richardson writes receipt for gift-wrapped purchase.

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