In 1928, Carl Lee Flock passed away.
His wife, Maudie, thus found herself with the task of raising 8 children alone — which is when the Great Depression hit. It’s fair to assume that most folks would buckle under the circumstances. But the Flock family weren’t most folks.
Rather, their daughter Reo began traveling the country as an airshow wing walker. Her brother Carl opted for bootlegging in Georgia and also, somehow, professional speedboat racing. Bob, Fonty, Ethel, and Tim all threw their lot in with stock car racing and became pioneers of NASCAR, with Tim nabbing 40 wins and two Grand National titles. To this day, he remains the NASCAR driver with the highest winning percentage.
“I have no experiences that can compare with trying to control a car at 100 mph while a terrified monkey claws at my face.“
Tim even briefly adopted a gimmick in which he competed with a rhesus monkey (which he lovingly named “Jocko Flocko”) strapped in next to him. Unfortunately, and he probably should have seen this one coming, a few races in the primate got loose. I have felt panic many times in my life, but I have no experiences that can compare with trying to control a car at 100 mph while a terrified monkey claws at my face.
…at this point, you’re probably wondering what in the world any of this has to do with Fort Payne.
Well, you may have guessed the Flock family’s hometown: none other than our own Fort Payne. But more pertinently, little could better demonstrate the spirit of the city than this fascinating family.
Much like the Flock family, Fort Payne has had to endure tremendous hardship. But through every struggle, the people have proved themselves resilient, creative and unafraid to do things their way. And much like the Flocks, the city has many unexpected claims to fame. And just like the Flocks and Fort Payne, they all start with…the letter “F”? Well, why not? We’ll call them the “other F-words”: the Fan Club, the Feline and the Footwear.
So, venture with me to the foot of Lookout Mountain, one of the more picturesque places in our fair state, where we’ll get the inside tour from the locals — just don’t forget to strap in your monkey.
Skip Ahead
The Fan Club (aka “the Alabama Museum”)
The Feline (aka “Pete the Cat”)
The Footwear (the “Sock Capital of the World”)
Parting Thoughts
The Fan Club (aka “the Alabama Museum”)?
Let us begin our merry, wayward adventures by answering a question asked by every person who has exited the highway at Fort Payne: “what’s the story with that big white building called the ‘Alabama Fan Club’”?
Isn’t “Alabama” that country band? Or is this some sort of fan club for the state? And, most pressingly if you’ve been on the road awhile, do they have a bathroom?
Come, come. Answers (and a restroom, presumably) await.
It’s Alabama the band, people!
Not familiar? Here are a few stats: Alabama has sold over 70 million records, released 43 number-one country singles and won far more awards than I could possibly list here. Oh, and along the way, they became the bestselling country band of all time.
For context, that means that Alabama has sold more albums than Nirvana, Bob Marley and The Police. They’ve sold about 15 million more than Aretha Franklin and Kiss combined.
Not bad for a few Fort Payne high schoolers who, in 1969, had to borrow a drum set for their first show.
55 years later now, it’s been quite the ride. And the Alabama Fan Club and Museum has anything and everything one could possibly ask for.
But I admit to being partial to this piece of memorabilia. Indeed, it would require a cold, jaded soul not to appreciate a shark electric guitar.
See? Even The Bear loved Alabama.
And, in my estimation, we all should. No, not because of the music — although that’s great.
Rather, here’s why I back Alabama: when it was all said and done, guess where the guys settled? Malibu? An oceanfront mansion on Maui? Perhaps a yacht off the Amalfi coast?
Nope, the boys came back to Fort Payne. While founding member Jeff Cook passed away in 2022, the others still live here. And for decades now, they’ve thrown the annual June Jam, drawing crowds as big as 75,000 — the proceeds of which they donate entirely to local charities.
And speaking of doing some good in the world, let’s check out that second F-word…
The Feline (aka “Pete the Cat”)
Specifically, this guy: Pete the Cat. Once you start looking for him in Fort Payne, you’ll find that he’s most everywhere. See? He even has a star of fame. And he’s a cat! And not even a real one!
The author, James Dean (yep, same name as the actor), is Fort Payne born and bred. An engineer by trade, he began selling paintings at festivals and self-publishing books — all based around an unfailingly optimistic blue cat named “Pete”. 15 or so years later now, he has published over 100 books.
I have no idea how many he has sold, but I can safely declare this: if you have a young child, then you already know and love Pete the Cat.
The hub for all things Pete the Cat is Katherine’s Gallery & Custom Framing. There’s plenty of that little blue feline here to go around, including some of Dean’s original artwork.
Worth noting: James Dean comes back to Fort Payne the first Saturday of every August to meet the kids and sign books. Tickets are first come, first served. Keep up here.
And if you’re wondering why in the world there are so many Pete the Cat socks…well, that brings us to our final F-word. Come, say it with me, “FFFFFF—
The Footwear (aka the “Sock Capital of the World”)
While I’m being silly with this F-word business, I could not be more serious in saying that this may be the most important thing to know about Fort Payne: the footwear, specifically socks. No, really. At one point, Fort Payne produced a full 50% of the socks in the US. The city justifiably referred to itself as the “Sock Capital of the World”. One cannot begin to understand Fort Payne without first considering its once-mighty sock industry.
And if you’re starting to get hungry: it just so happens that our first footwear stop, an enormous decommissioned sock factory named “The Big Mill”, houses a restaurant.
Let’s take a stroll inside, where you’ll quickly discover…
It also houses a massive antique mall that spans the entire factory. This photo shows perhaps 10% of it.
As for the food…
It’s easy to call a restaurant “one-of-a-kind”, but surely Vintage 1889 fits the description. Aside from Fort Payne, where else can you dine in a sock mill?
Hold up. Is that Pete the Cat?!
And if that’s not enough, notice anything in the back of the adjoining room?
That’s the front end of an old fire truck, sawed off and attached to create a stage. We visited during lunch for a sandwich, but stop by in the evenings as well for live local music, a beer or two, and a variety of homemade American food with Southern flare.
And really, who wouldn’t appreciate the decor?
Bellies full, let’s go for a walk…where, if we look closely, we’ll find the sock industry’s thumbprint all over town. Note the sign in front of this local coffee shop, The Spot.
(Note: that bacon turkey sandwich is on the state’s list of “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama”.)
Or how about this mailbox, made from a vintage sock knitter?
But this paper mâché sculpture of a band of merry children playing is my favorite.
It’s a tribute to a bygone Fort Payne era when, in an environmental practice that may not make its way onto an EPA poster anytime soon, the town’s largest sock mill used to dump its excess sock dye into a nearby ditch.
The signage here is full of choice description: “the water level in the ditch increased quickly…being very hot, smoking and brightly colored until it was joined by other drainage from rain, muddy streets, trash and other drainage ditches flowing into it including railroad and train expulsions of all sorts.”
Upon witnessing the “kaleidoscopic run-away of mixed colors”, local children did what any children would: hang out there. After all, what better way to while away a lazy afternoon than by jumping the local Superfund site?
But what do I know? Maybe there was something good in that water, toxic waste aside. As the sign notes, many of the kiddos who inspired this sculpture grew up to be model citizens. And just look at how many famous people came from Fort Payne.
So what happened to all the socks?
To get answers, I met up with Glenn Horton, whose grandmother Ida Goza is a Fort Payne legend. An entrepreneurial trailblazer and local philanthropist, she owned 8 local sock mills — no small feat for anyone, particularly a woman in the mid-20th century.
Inspired by his grandmother and childhood memories of the mills, Glenn keeps and maintains a small, fully functional vintage sock mill from those days.
Want to see those knitting machines in action? Check it out.
Once the socks were spun, factory workers across town collected them in these bundles, and they got paid good money to do so.
But then CAFTA and NAFTA hit.
As tariff reduction gradually shifted textile production overseas, domestic sock companies couldn’t afford to stay competitive. Before the fallout, about half of the city’s residents worked in the sock mills. I suspect it is difficult to overstate how dramatically and abruptly people’s lives were changed here.
But the sock industry isn’t gone, not entirely. While the scale here may not be what it once was, clothing companies need diversified supply chains (remember what happened during Covid?).
That’s Oscar Gonzalez in the photo. He’s a programmer for these knitting machines of a more modern, digital variety. Although you might never know it while visiting, many folks still head to the mills every day.
If you’d like to visit an active mill, then I recommend Zkano’s Mill Shop.
About 15 years ago, when they were inches from shuttering, the company made a pivot to eco-friendly, American-made (entirely in the South, actually) socks. They also took a more aesthetic approach, spinning out socks featuring everything from Sasquatch to ‘80s stripes to, my favorite, mushrooms. They have since been recognized by folks like Martha Stewart, and The New York Times even dubbed Gina Locklear, Zkano’s owner, “The Sock Queen of Alabama”.
The mill itself is fully operational, so the folks here can’t offer a tour when you visit. But you can get a glimpse through the window and show some love to a business that’s proud to be from Alabama.
Everywhere I went in Fort Payne, people gave me socks. At the end of the first day…well, take a look at my haul.
As I was saying goodbye to Glenn, I remarked on all things Fort Payne: the scenery, the children’s books, the music, and especially my new sock collection.
He looked at me — and paused. “You know why everyone here keeps giving you socks, don’t you?” he said. “That’s pride.”
Parting Thoughts
Photos: Wesley Miller and Ashley Goode
Ask Glenn for a tour of the vintage mill: Glenn Horton
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