POWERGRAMS

34 Photo by Meg McKinney It's no secret they weren't close, likely stemming from his alcoholism that began when her mother died soon after Tallulah's birth. As Medders guides one visitor, a couple from New York asks about Tallulah. Upstairs, they find her silky red dress and mink stole hanging on a mannequin. There's a pair of lamps and bed headboard from Tallulah's New York City apartment. There's her mother's 1900 white wedding gown and Tallulah's last will and testament, in which she left her godchildren $10,000 each, as well as money for six other close friends. Visitors enjoy the relics of politicians, yet they are enamored with Tallulah minutia, more than a half-century after her last on-screen performance as Black Widow on television's "Batman." They delight in the details of her autobiography that has sold more than 10 million copies. "She was liberal before people knew what liberal was," Medders says with a laugh. Tallulah graced the covers of Time, Life and many other magazines and playbills. Some of her escapades are revealed in the exhibit at her father's former house, from the masquerade mask she wore accompanying Truman Capote to a 1966 party in the Big Apple, to the pink cashmere sweater so often seen draped over her shoulder, to her little black book with the phone numbers of Lucille Ball, Yul Brynner, Hitchcock and "all of the big stars." Students of history are attracted to the former master bedroom that is now devoted to military veterans from Walker County, from the Revolutionary War through the current battle against terrorism. There are 11 uniforms going back to the Civil War, including POW "pajamas" from North Vietnam. Sgt. Schyler Ratliff of Cordova donated the Purple Heart he was awarded after being wounded in Afghanistan. "I want young people to know we're still fighting for the freedom of Americans," he told Medders. The Walker County Room is where Tallulah often slept when she visited as an adult. It includes a Sea Scout uniform worn by a boy standing guard at her father's funeral 78 years ago. There's a dress from a local contestant on "The Voice." There's a photo of Colonel Harlan Sanders and his wife, whom he met in Jasper. Actors Polly Holliday and George Lindsey are featured near a 310-million-year-old coalfield fossil. "Not only do the people of Walker County appreciate us but the family sees us as the real deal," Medders says. "Bankhead family members still visit the house. We want to be the keeper of Walker County's history. Visitors tell us what we have here is fabulous." The upstairs room dedicated to Tallulah Bankhead is popular with visitors. Tallulah was a fixture in local, state, national and international publications. Open Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and the third Saturday of each month 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

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