For the next three weeks, organizations from all over Pell City are dedicating their Saturdays to providing residents with a unique experience. Spearheaded by the Heart of Pell City Downtown Revitalization and the Greater Pell City Chamber of Commerce, taking a Downtown Historic Walking Tour can provide you with serious insight into the people and events that shaped the city over the previous century.

But there are a few things you should know about your trip before you take it, and we strolled the streets of downtown last weekend to provide some insight. Here’s what we came up with.

1. Every tour will be different

As our tour was getting started, Pell City Players Director Kathy McCoy, dressed as infamous educator Iola Roberts, walked right up to us waving a golden ruler. “A lot of people knew me, but most remembered me because of this,” she said.

Getting into character gave Kathy and Brenda McKay, playing Martin Hospital’s matriarch Elsie Dunn, a chance to tell stories from their perspectives. Brenda, or Elsie rather, had a connection to the building on the corner of 19th Street and 1st Avenue, as it was where she earned her titles as “one of the meanest people in town.”

Overall, when you take the tour, talk to your guide – a lot. They’re volunteering time to show you around, so be prepared to be engaged. It was also amazing to watch Kathy and Brenda learn new things as they went along. One of the exquisite, well-placed informative flyers would catch their eye, and they’d make sure you got a look at it what they found interesting.

Next weekend, CASPIR Paranormal Research Team is leading, so you can bet there will be some stellar ghost trivia in the mix. You might not hear as much about the Iola and Elsie as we did, but if anyone can tell you about what’s lurking in Pell City’s dark alleys, it’s Frank Lee and his team.

2. “Make sure you check out the air holes”

You’ll know what that statement means when you take the tour, but the point is there is some interesting stuff in the corners of our old buildings. For example, the front wall of Lily Designs has a six-foot crack running through it. Ask Urainah Glidewell or Renee Lily why – because the story is, well, explosive.

In another building, and we won’t tell you which, once sized children’s feet using an X-ray machine. Seriously, in Pell City it was once standard practice to irradiate kids in order to see if their shoes fit. “They didn’t know it was bad for you!” Kathy said.

One iconic building in Pell City is sitting on the foundation for a beautiful bank we never knew existed. It doesn’t anymore – and Kathy voiced some sincere disappointment – which made us feel the same way.

Oh, and the air holes. Definitely check them out. Super creepy.

3. Spend some time with the research material

People in this town have definitively proven they care about its history. From the intricate Smithsonian Institute project earlier this decade to the seemingly infinite depth local historian Jerry Smith has obtained through the years, the specifics are all available for the items that fascinate you on your tour.

And honestly, if you can spare an extra 30 minutes, show up early and talk Susan Mann at the Pell City Public Library into playing the 1990 video produced for the City’s 100th anniversary. You’ll recognize familiar faces, hear from a few leaders you might have never had the chance to meet, and get a thorough understanding of the area you’re about to tour.

But even if you’re not one to flip through the photo library in the Old Grey Barn, the tour’s digestible version was assembled largely by Urainah and can be found labeling the doors and windows of most downtown buildings. These flyers provide a crash course on both the integral and odd that melded Pell City into what it is today. Stop and read a few, even if your guide is poking her golden ruler into your kidneys to get you to keep moving.

4. Make time to meet the owners

We walked through Ami’s of Pell City to the back room where Gail Benefield appeared in front of Iola and Elsie holding an enormous red brick made by the Ragland Brick Company – a turn of the century operation that produced the bricks for the building Ami’s is located in.

Gail served tea, Renee served coffee and fresh lemonade. Beth Hoyle Waggoner at Antebellum Anne’s had sangria. Everyone had a snack spread like a French picnic. I literally, to the chagrin of my mother’s ageless advice, spoiled my lunch.

It’s a chance to find out how we currently compare to what you learn on the tour; how we’ve adapted over 100 years of world wars, market collapses pivotal movements. Once, these buildings housed the skeleton of Pell City’s economy. Now, they’re full of people that are finding ways to make its heart beat again. They’re worth talking to.

Tours run every Saturday in April and kick off from the Pell City Library, located next to City Hall on 1st Avenue. The first begins at 9 a.m., and the last starts at 2 p.m. Take an hour out of your weekend to help celebrate the hard work that’s gone into this project, if not the hard work that built this city into what it is today.

It’s a lot of fun, and truly fascinating.