Three Caves

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

Sixty-one years ago, back in 1964, I recorded my day's activities in my journal. The entry for March 18th included these events, and 25 years later I reviewed the journal and recorded my memories of the day.

My Journal Entry in 1964:

Wednesday, March 18, 1964

78th Day - 288 days to follow

Clear

Got up around 10:00 A.M., a few minutes before Paul came over.  Aunt Helen came over so Paul and I went riding.  We went up town then came back and took his sister to the show.  Then we went over to Three Caves.  It was the first time I'd been there in years.....

Reflections 25 years later, in 1989, and published in "A Million Tomorrows...Memories of the Class of '64".

Somewhere up behind Maple Hill Cemetery is a group of large, man-made caves.  I think the caves were actually part of a quarry at one time.  The locals simply called them Three Caves.  The caves always reminded me of the ones used in all the "B" grade science fiction movies that were popular in the Fifties.  It was like the cave in the movie where the bear, or gorilla, or whatever it was that wore the fish bowl on his head, had the bubble machine in the background.  The Hollywood caves have been used in hundreds of pictures.

There's something about caves that fascinates boys, and in my youth, I was no exception.  I suppose it was another chance to prove manhood.  No mere boy would dare to go into the big black hole inside the mountain.  It took someone brave to go boldly inside and face whatever might be there, even a bear wearing a fishbowl and carrying an antiquated boom box.  There are bats in caves, maybe even vampire bats.  Those were the kinds of things boys liked about caves.  I first became aware of the cave through the Scouts and went there many times with my patrol during that period of my life.  It was up near William's house, so the two of us rode our bicycles.

The last time I heard anything about it, it was going to be turned into a giant fallout shelter for the city, and civil defense items were going to be stored there.  That was all in preparation for the big bomb that my generation was sure would fall before the end of our childhood.  I heard the city put big fences up to keep people out, probably more for the people's safety than to protect the caves.  Maybe the fence was designed to keep the fish-bowled bear inside the hole.  The city would hate to be responsible for letting that thing get loose inside one of its neighborhoods.  I can't really say what is going on with the cave now, for I haven't even thought of it for a long time.  It may still house the civil defense items, or a large supply of fishbowls.  I don't know.

The Wayback Machine

Three Caves

Just two miles from downtown Huntsville, tucked inside a residential area, you’ll find an interesting remnant of local history. Three Caves sits among the trees on Land Trust of North Alabama’s Monte Sano Nature Preserve. Despite its name, it’s actually not a cave at all but a former limestone mine, originally known as Hermitage Quarry.

Beginning in spring 1945, Madison County leased the site to the Madison Limestone Company. For the next seven years, limestone harvested from the ground paved many of Huntsville’s streets and parking lots as the surrounding area quickly grew. To more easily access the higher quality limestone located further underground, a method of mining called “room and pillar” was used. This created the three cave-like openings that give the site its current name. There is also a maze of connecting caverns that extend approximately 6 acres underground.

In 1952, the quarry operation was closed due to skyrocketing costs and growth of the City of Huntsville that encroached closer and closer to the mine. The quarry site remained unused for the next several years with a couple of exceptions. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, officials designated it as a fallout shelter. It has served as a film site for movies and even a music video. (“The Ravagers” in 1978, “What Waits Below” in 1984, and Kansas’ “Reason to Be” in the early eighties).

The Land Trust received the property in 1989 as a donation. It was an 80 acre addition to Monte Sano Nature Preserve. The Land Trust opened Three Caves for public access and offered cave tours as the man-made caverns slowly developed some natural geological formations such as flowstone, cave pearls, stalactites, and stalagmites.

However, rock fall issues were discovered in 2006 and a structural inspection indicated that significant portions of the ceiling were unstable and could create a dangerous hazard for visitors. As a result, Three Caves closed for visitors but continues to offer a unique venue for Land Trust special events.

This is a video about Three Caves that is posted on Youtube. Credits for the production are found in the video.

Robot Monster

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

I was seven years old when this movie was released and I know I saw it in one of the Huntsville theaters. I think it was much scarier to a seven-year-old than it is to an adult. And in retrospect, I think the Robot Monster was more a gorilla than a big black bear. The gorilla costume looks like one featured in one of the Three Stooges movies.

Robot Monster (or Monster from Mars) is a 1953 independently made American black-and-white 3D science fiction horror film, remembered in later decades as one of the worst movies ever made. It was produced and directed by Phil Tucker, written by Wyott Ordung, and stars George Nader, Claudia Barrett, and George Barrows. The production company was Three Dimensional Pictures, Inc. The film was distributed by Astor Pictures.

Robot Monster tells the story of the alien robot Ro-Man's mission to Earth to destroy humanity. He manages to kill all but eight survivors, who have become immune to his death ray. Ro-Man runs afoul of the Great Guidance, his leader, when he becomes attracted to the human Alice. She is the eldest daughter of a surviving scientist, and he refuses to harm her. The Great Guidance must now come to Earth and finish what the Moon robot started.

If you would like to see this movie, it can be found on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnzqFLifYWk

Even though it is not in the Lee district, I am sure many of you have visited Three Caves. I know that it is still used sometimes for concerts and other events, but is not open for people to just wander into. Back in my Boy Scout days was when I remember visiting Three Caves the most. I also had a Huntsville Junior High friend that lived about a mile from there and we would ride our bicycles up there often.

LEE LUNCH BUNCH

Classes of ’64, ’65, ‘66

Thursday, April 24, 2025 11:00 a.m.

Carrabbas’s Italian Grill

(Upper parking deck at Parkway Place Mall)

Classmates from ‘64, ’65, and ’66, please mark your calendars for the next Lee Lunch Bunch. This begins the 15th year of our lunches together. This is also the 60th year from graduation for the Class of 1965. Hopefully, many of this group will be able to come on this date, share all of the latest from our daily lives, and have a good meal together.

Please do let me know if you are planning to come. I will need to let the manager know how many no later than a couple of days before. Thanks and hope to see you in April.

Patsy Hughes Oldroyd ‘65

304 Wellington Rd.

Athens, AL 35613

H (256) 232-7583

C (256) 432-3396

keithandpatsy@att.net

Last Week's Questions, Answers, And Comments

Darla Steinberg, LHS ‘66, "I thoroughly enjoyed the video about the cotton mills. My Dad’s family all worked in Dallas Mill and lived in Dallas village. His mom started working in the mill when she was only 9 years old. Dad grew up in the village and went to Rison School and so did I. This brought back many old memories."

Jim Bannister, LHS ‘66, "I didn't move to Huntsville until the 10th grade but I was a "Lint Head". Growing up in Gadsden, AL where most of my family worked in the Cone Mills cotton mill. We lived in the mill village with all the other mill workers. Both of my maternal grandparents worked in the cotton mill until it closed. My Grandfather was a card setter (grinder) and lost three fingers on the job. I remember the magnificent red brick building that was demolished years ago to be replaced by a shopping center. I have a lot of the same experiences as the mill kids in Huntsville."