Twenty-five years, in 1991, there were those who were out to make a buck off of those who are most vulnerable, the elderly.

Residents of the Brewton-East Brewton area were warned that a scam artist was plying his wares in the county. The crook would knock on doors and tell people they needed his services to see if their septic tank was working right. They would tell their victims that the tank was full and needed to be emptied. He charged one unlucky victim $1500 and made off with the money as soon as he could.

There are new tricks every year trying to get some poor soul to part with his money. The moral to this story is “Be Careful.”

I noticed in each Brewton Standard newspaper, that Lewis Grizzard wrote a column. I don’t know if you know who he was, but he told the funniest stories I ever heard. He died several years ago, but I really enjoyed the things he wrote.

I found a write-up about the former newspaper columnist with the Chicago Sun Times who was writing the book that featured Brewton being named as “One of the Best Small Towns in America.” I know you have heard Brewton being called that, but never knew just where it came from.

We had a story in The Brewton Standard about the arrival of Amtrak.

At the time, as it is now, the train just speeds on through Brewton, but there was a time when it stopped on its way between Birmingham and Mobile.

I remember going down to stand and see that train come in. I was not alone. There were lots of others doing the same thing. It always tickles my fancy to think what a dull place Brewton must have seemed to those train passengers that day.

We had nothing else to do but stand and wave our flags at the train. Mayor Ted Jennings and others went to Evergreen to ride the train to Brewton. Those that did think it was strange, they just didn’t know the history of the train in this area.

There was a time that the railroad and trains were one of the most important activities around. They stopped in Brewton and other small towns along the way. Not only did merchants ship merchandise for their stores, they were available to take a trip north or south. Every little child is tickled to see the train come through. They were years ago and they still are.

Do you remember the Budweiser Clydesdales in commercials? Well in 1992 those horses actually came to town. They stopped for a short visit in the old K-Mart Shopping Center and then they paraded downtown. Those are some huge animals. I haven’t seen them in a commercial lately and maybe Budweiser doesn’t have them anymore.

Brewton Policeman Patrick Howell was shot in the hand when he tried to make a bank deposit for the American Legion Club. The police department was looking for a suspect.

A new mini mall was opened inside the old Robbins McGowin store downtown. I don’t know what happened to it, but it didn’t last long.

An article about the Brewton Airport raised the hair of some folks in town. It seems that new managers at the airport had given it a lot of bad reports and it made some people very upset.

The Brewton Civic League celebrated its 75th anniversary.

Flaudie Mize celebrated her 100th birthday.