8136 7th Ave N
8136 7th Ave N
I moved into this house on October 15, 2005 after it sat empty for over a year. According to the realty ad, it was built in 1940 & is obviously a Sears kit house.
The next weekend Shela Pope came to visit & told me she felt the presence of an old man in the back yard. She felt he was benign & that he was glad to have some one living here who cared about the place. This neighborhood was once a settled middle class place that has been in decline since the seventies. Hopefully it's now on its way back.
There's a sign under the house for James M. Cash, Attorney At Law & Notary Public. I figured that must be who the old man was & I usually acknowledge "Papaw" whenever I go out back. Until last week I'd never seen anything unusual or felt his presence. A few weeks ago Dan Moon felt a brush on his cheek while sitting in the living room watching TV. It really freaked him out & he hasn't been back since. Last Sunday (Jan 29) I was placing moss at the southwest corner of the house & a sudden sensation of incredible well-being came over me. My 1st thought was it had to be the spirit of the old man Shela felt.
From the time I moved in until a couple of weeks ago something frightened Yao every time he went outside & he spent the 1st six months of his life as a yard cat. He'd be eager to go out but ended up at the door wailing to go back inside within a couple of minutes. Bud & Shug had no problems (Dax & Be rarely go out). He's now come to terms with whatever it is or was & has become quite a yard cat. All of this happening within a few days made me realize it was time to find out more about the spirit in the back yard.
On Saturday morning, Feb 4, 2006, I went across the street & asked Gladys, an old lady who's lived here for 40 years, about the people who used to live in my house. Come to find out, she & her family moved onto 7th Ave North in 1961, the same year I started 1st grade while living at 1917 Alabama Ave in West End. She knew nothing about Robert M Cash but there were some Cash's who lived around the corner on 82nd St. The Pamplins lived in this house. She asked why I was wanting to know & I hesitated before telling her the truth; I was trying to identify a spirit in my backyard. She put her hands over her ears & said, "Oh, don't tell me that! It has to be Old Lady Pamplin." It's a man, I told her. "Then it's Old Man Pamplin."
Well, that completely changed the house history I'd constructed. Today I went to the Birmingham Public Library & looked through City Directories to get as much as much info as possible. The collection wasn't complete but I learned a lot
Oddly enough, there was no house listed at this address until 1952 & it was for James M Reeves. Lee F. Pamplin moved in in 1958 or 59. There were gaps in the directories but Mildred M. Pamplin was listed as the owner from 1978 until 1994. So this was the Pamplin place for about 36 years. The 1996 directory was "not verified" & there were no listings beyond that. I guess searching the tax records for this plot would provide a more complete ownership history but at least now I feel I have a handle on this house. I now feel the spirit is Lee Pamplin.
The house fell into disrepair probably after Mildred died (or was moved into a nursing home) in the nineties because I can tell the bathroom floor has been replaced, as well as the dinning room & kitchen ceilings. Poison ivy covered the back of the house up to the eaves at some point because the tendrils are still visible, though painted over.
I moved into this house on October 15, 2005 after it sat empty for over a year. According to the realty ad, it was built in 1940 & is obviously a Sears kit house.
The next weekend Shela Pope came to visit & told me she felt the presence of an old man in the back yard. She felt he was benign & that he was glad to have some one living here who cared about the place. This neighborhood was once a settled middle class place that has been in decline since the seventies. Hopefully it's now on its way back.
There's a sign under the house for James M. Cash, Attorney At Law & Notary Public. I figured that must be who the old man was & I usually acknowledge "Papaw" whenever I go out back. Until last week I'd never seen anything unusual or felt his presence. A few weeks ago Dan Moon felt a brush on his cheek while sitting in the living room watching TV. It really freaked him out & he hasn't been back since. Last Sunday (Jan 29) I was placing moss at the southwest corner of the house & a sudden sensation of incredible well-being came over me. My 1st thought was it had to be the spirit of the old man Shela felt.
From the time I moved in until a couple of weeks ago something frightened Yao every time he went outside & he spent the 1st six months of his life as a yard cat. He'd be eager to go out but ended up at the door wailing to go back inside within a couple of minutes. Bud & Shug had no problems (Dax & Be rarely go out). He's now come to terms with whatever it is or was & has become quite a yard cat. All of this happening within a few days made me realize it was time to find out more about the spirit in the back yard.
On Saturday morning, Feb 4, 2006, I went across the street & asked Gladys, an old lady who's lived here for 40 years, about the people who used to live in my house. Come to find out, she & her family moved onto 7th Ave North in 1961, the same year I started 1st grade while living at 1917 Alabama Ave in West End. She knew nothing about Robert M Cash but there were some Cash's who lived around the corner on 82nd St. The Pamplins lived in this house. She asked why I was wanting to know & I hesitated before telling her the truth; I was trying to identify a spirit in my backyard. She put her hands over her ears & said, "Oh, don't tell me that! It has to be Old Lady Pamplin." It's a man, I told her. "Then it's Old Man Pamplin."
Well, that completely changed the house history I'd constructed. Today I went to the Birmingham Public Library & looked through City Directories to get as much as much info as possible. The collection wasn't complete but I learned a lot
Oddly enough, there was no house listed at this address until 1952 & it was for James M Reeves. Lee F. Pamplin moved in in 1958 or 59. There were gaps in the directories but Mildred M. Pamplin was listed as the owner from 1978 until 1994. So this was the Pamplin place for about 36 years. The 1996 directory was "not verified" & there were no listings beyond that. I guess searching the tax records for this plot would provide a more complete ownership history but at least now I feel I have a handle on this house. I now feel the spirit is Lee Pamplin.
The house fell into disrepair probably after Mildred died (or was moved into a nursing home) in the nineties because I can tell the bathroom floor has been replaced, as well as the dinning room & kitchen ceilings. Poison ivy covered the back of the house up to the eaves at some point because the tendrils are still visible, though painted over.