August 11, 2022

Four weeks ago, Downtown Florence Alliance officially hired Chris Stangel as the new Executive Director. A native-born and raised Florence resident, Chris returned to the area five years ago to help his mother with a historic home renovation. During his early years as a world traveler, he has always been an ambassador for Florence sharing his love of the area. Since returning home, he has been active in the DFA organization and the community. His experience and education in Political Science and English make him an excellent fit for this opportunity.

The Florence Parks & Recreation Department, UNA College of Arts, Sciences, & Engineering, UNA Police Department, and Listerhill Credit Union have joined forces to build community at the Handy Recreation Center in Florence, Alabama.

UNA's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) and the U.S. Army are integral to building trust and achieving this overall mission accomplishment of the Students and Soldiers.

The vintage photograph from the early 1940’s that accompanies this week’s “Then and Now” entry shows a portion of North Seminary Street across from the Post Office. From right to left are: Jitney Jungle, one of the businesses in that chain of grocery stores; Tap’s Auto Supply; and Roberts’ Hardware. Today, in the same order, are: Spinning Spoke, a bicycle shop; Ye Olde General Store with an eclectic collection of interesting merchandise that, indeed, lives up to its name; and Renovation Brands which specializes in various products in the field of home and building renovation projects. To the left of Renovation Brands today is a large parking lot, with Lost Pizza on the corner of Seminary and Mobile Streets. It’s heartening to know that, though some of the fine old buildings that were in downtown Florence no longer exist, there is still a sizeable collection still in use – adding their wonderful variety of architectural styles to the ambience of Florence’s venerable downtown.

--Billy Warren, City Historian

UPCOMING EVENTS (click images for more information)

Collections Clerk Part Time

Part Time - $15.60 Hourly

Firefighter EMT PS8

Full Time - $35,541.93 Annually

Laborer Recycling Part Time

Part Time - $11.08 Hourly

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• Send your information to rmansell@florenceal.org or call Rachel Koonce with questions at 256-760-6494.