Hollis Hughes
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On a cold February day in 1928, Hollis Hughes was born in a ramshackle house in an isolated rural area with no insulation, plumbing, or electricity. Like so many others during those years, the Hughes family depended on a woodburning fireplace for most of their heat. As a youngster, age nine, Hollis was responsible for milking and feeding a cow and occasionally tended other livestock before and after school. Since most of their food was farm grown, the Hughes family ate well and didn’t suffer as much as others, even in the midst of their poverty throughout the Great Depression.
In September of 1946, eighteen-year-old Hollis arrived at Athens College with a cardboard suitcase and navy duffel bag with $10.00 in his pocket. He paid room, board, and tuition by working in the college library 20 to 30 hours a week. Finishing his coursework by the end of February 1950, Hollis had already been teaching school three months prior to graduation. Three years later, he was both a teacher and a counselor at a high school and continued there as a counselor until 1988. For nine years, Hollis taught night classes at a community college. When his wife dropped out of teaching to have children, Hollis operated a successful rhododendron nursery for many years in an effort to make ends meet. In 1988, Hollis’ wife, Janett, was struck down with Alzheimer's disease; he spent the next twelve years taking care of Janett, as the disease took its toll. It was during this time Hollis finally found time to write.
Today, Hollis is retired from education. He is an avid fly fisherman, hiker, and gardener. He is a current member of the American Camellia Society, a lifetime member of the Birmingham Botanical Society, a former member of the American Rhododendron Society, and is in the process of registering a cold-hardy hybrid camellia. Hollis and his second wife, Lera, attend Mount Zion Baptist Church and make their home in Alabama where he has lived for the past 51 years.
In September of 1946, eighteen-year-old Hollis arrived at Athens College with a cardboard suitcase and navy duffel bag with $10.00 in his pocket. He paid room, board, and tuition by working in the college library 20 to 30 hours a week. Finishing his coursework by the end of February 1950, Hollis had already been teaching school three months prior to graduation. Three years later, he was both a teacher and a counselor at a high school and continued there as a counselor until 1988. For nine years, Hollis taught night classes at a community college. When his wife dropped out of teaching to have children, Hollis operated a successful rhododendron nursery for many years in an effort to make ends meet. In 1988, Hollis’ wife, Janett, was struck down with Alzheimer's disease; he spent the next twelve years taking care of Janett, as the disease took its toll. It was during this time Hollis finally found time to write.
Today, Hollis is retired from education. He is an avid fly fisherman, hiker, and gardener. He is a current member of the American Camellia Society, a lifetime member of the Birmingham Botanical Society, a former member of the American Rhododendron Society, and is in the process of registering a cold-hardy hybrid camellia. Hollis and his second wife, Lera, attend Mount Zion Baptist Church and make their home in Alabama where he has lived for the past 51 years.
