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Tom McGehee

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Ask McGehee: What was the Hannan Home for the Aged?

In 1901, Major Patrick C. Hannan funded the creation of a “Home for the Aged and Infirm in charge of the Little Sisters of the Poor.” A historic home on Monterey Street termed “the old Roberts homestead” was purchased along with 15 acres of land.

Ask McGehee: I read that plans call for the demolition of the R. V....

He was general manager of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, a member of the Interstate Commerce Commissioner, a three-term city commissioner and mayor of Mobile.

Ask McGehee: Who was the Saenger behind Mobile’s Saenger Theatre?

Brothers Julian and Abe Saenger established the Saenger Amusement Company in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1910.

Ask McGehee: Wasn’t an earlier U.S. battleship named Alabama?

The USS Alabama, which has been a popular tourist draw since 1965, was not the first military vessel to bear that name but was the second battleship so named.

Ask McGehee: Did actor Chuck Connors once live in Mobile?

According to the 1947 Mobile city directory, Kevin Connors (who got the nickname of Chuck while playing college baseball) was residing at 1221 Texas Street.

Ask McGehee: I enjoyed the recent article about prohibition in Mobile. Wasn’t a civic...

Discover the amusing tale of the Rotary Club of Mobile's epic Prohibition-era prank in 1915 that made national headlines.

Ask McGehee: What is the history of the Waterman Building in downtown Mobile?

The Waterman Building was built in 1947 as a home for the largest privately owned shipping company in the world.

Ask McGehee: What is the history of Hammel’s Department Store?

Every major American city was once defined by its fine department stores.  Mobile originally had two: Gayfer’s and Hammel’s.

Ask McGehee: Who was the British nobleman who served as king of Mobile’s Mardi...

The only British-born monarch of Mobile’s Mardi Gras was Arthur Shirley Benn. The year was 1896, but he served under the name of “Emperor of Joy” rather than King Felix.

Ask McGehee: The banking crisis in California made me wonder: has Mobile ever experienced...

In the history of local banks, there is a remarkable number of them that arrived with great fanfare and vanished within a short period. Others, which had been around for decades, shocked the community when they failed.

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