Who Remember's Traveling Highway 231/431?

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

If you were a teen in Huntsville in 1964, you already know the deal: when summer hits and the mercury climbs, families across Rocket City start packing up the station wagon, loading the cooler with Cokes, and pointing the hood south toward one legendary stretch of pavement—Highway 231/431. It’s not just a road. It’s the official teen escape route to Florida. And honestly? It’s kind of mysterious how this one highway became Huntsville’s magic carpet to sunshine, surf tunes, and the bluest water you’ve ever seen. Let’s cruise through the mystery, 1964‑style.

Leaving Rocket City Behind

Huntsville is buzzing these days—NASA engineers everywhere, new neighborhoods popping up, transistor radios blasting surf rock, and teens cruising the Parkway like they own it. But when your dad says, “Kids, we’re heading to Florida,” everything changes.

You hop into the backseat, your sister hogs the window, your brother complains about the heat, and your mom reminds everyone not to spill Orange Crush on the upholstery. Then you merge onto 231/431, and suddenly the city fades behind you.

The first big moment?

The Drop Off Brindlee Mountain.

It’s the closest thing to a roller coaster Huntsville teens get without driving to Birmingham. The whole car tilts downward, the valley opens up, and you feel that whoosh in your stomach that says:

“We’re really doing it. Florida, here we come.”

Why 231/431 Is The Florida Road

Sure, there are other ways to get to Florida. But in 1963, Huntsville families don’t care about “other ways.” They care about tradition. And tradition says: You take 231. Period. Before the interstates came along, 231 was the straight shot south. It carried soldiers, farmers, families, and dreamers. And now it carries teens with beach towels, Polaroid cameras, and the latest 45s from The Beach Boys.

It’s the road your parents took when they were teens. It’s the road your friends take. It’s the road everyone in Huntsville takes. That’s how legends start.

Roadside Stops Every Teen Remembers

Half the fun of the trip is the stops along the way. And 231/431 has some classics:

• Stuckey’s — the teen paradise of pecan logs, postcards, and sunglasses that look like they belong in a Frankie Avalon movie.

• Arab’s traffic lights — every teen swears there are 200 of them.

• Fruit stands — peaches so good your dad buys a whole basket.

• Gas stations with metal coolers — grab a Coke, pop the cap, and feel like James Dean.

• Montgomery bypass — the moment you realize you’re halfway to the ocean.

Every stop feels like a chapter in the story. Every chapter feels like summer.

A Highway With Mood Swings

One of the coolest things about 231/431 is how it changes personality as you head south.

• In Huntsville: it’s busy, loud, full of rocket scientists.

• In Morgan County: it’s a mountain road with views that make you want to roll down the window and yell.

• In Arab: it’s small‑town America with diners that smell like bacon and biscuits.

• In Blount County: it’s farmland, barns, tractors, and cows that stare at your car like you’re from Mars.

• Near Montgomery: it becomes a fast, wide highway where everyone seems to be racing to the beach.

• In the panhandle: palm trees appear like magic.

It’s like the road is transforming right along with you—turning from Rocket City seriousness into pure summer freedom.

The Teen Road Trip Experience — 1964 Edition

Let’s be honest: teens have their own version of the 231/431 story.

The Music

You’ve got your portable record player or a stack of 45s ready for the motel room. Songs like:

• Surf City

• Be My Baby

• Wipe Out

• Walk Like a Man

These aren’t just songs—they’re the soundtrack of the highway.

The Snacks

Your mom packed:

• Bologna sandwiches

• Potato chips

• A thermos of sweet tea

• Homemade cookies

And you still beg your dad to stop at Stuckey’s.

The Photos

You snap pictures of:

• The mountain drop

• The fruit stands

• The “Welcome to Florida” sign

• Your siblings making goofy faces

These photos end up in the family album forever.

Here’s the real secret behind Highway 231/431:

It’s not just a road.

It’s a rite of passage.

• Every Huntsville teen travels it.

• Every family has stories about it.

• Every summer begins on it.

• The mystery isn’t supernatural. 

• It’s emotional.

Why does this road feel different? Because it carries memories. Because it carries tradition. Because it carries generations of Rocket City teens toward the same dream: Florida sunshine.

More Than a Highway

When you finally see that first palm tree, or smell the ocean, or hear the gulls, you realize something:

231/431 didn’t just take you to Florida. It took you into your own story.

It’s the road where:

• You grow up a little

• You laugh a lot

• You make memories that stick

• You feel the world get bigger

And that’s why Huntsville teens in 1963 will always say: “If you’re heading to Florida, you take 231.”

Mystery solved.

Or maybe… mystery preserved.

Remembering Dolly Parton

I had most of this issue finished when I got the word about the loss of Dolly Parton, but felt something must be noted. It is sad to once again loose a superstar such as she was. It hits tI went online to see if Dolly ever recorded one of our classmate Jim McBride’s songs and was informed she did not. I never personally saw her in concert, but I did see her in person one time. When I was living in Ft. Worth, Texas, I had an occasion to go to the Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport and while I was there I witnessed a crowd of people hovering around one area. I walked over there and Dolly Parton was coming off of an airplane and everyone was cheering her. There was no mistake it was Dolly, and she had the biggest smile for the crowd.

My local Golden-Oldies radio station plays religious/gospel music ever Sunday during the period Sue and I drive to church, and no Sunday goes by without the station including at least one song sung by her. 

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a beloved early‑literacy program that mails free, high‑quality books each month to children from birth to age five, no matter a family’s income. Founded in 1995 as a tribute to her father’s inability to read, the program has grown into a worldwide effort that fosters a love of reading and gives every child a personal library of their own. Today, millions of kids receive books chosen by experts to support curiosity, confidence, and early learning — a simple idea that’s become one of the most successful literacy initiatives in the world.

My two grandkids took advantage of the free book program she started and they loved getting the books each month. It is sad to once again loose someone who was so thoughtful.

I am looking for some comments from some of you who may have seen Dolly, either in a concert or some other situation. Please use the comment form to tell us your experience.

The History of Highway 231/431

Willard Finkbinder

Highway 231/431 has a surprisingly layered history, shaped by early auto‑era “Good Roads” activism, the 1926 U.S. Highway numbering plan, and mid‑20th‑century extensions that tied Huntsville, Montgomery, Dothan, and the Tennessee Valley into one continuous north–south corridor. 

Origins (1920s–1930s)

U.S. 231 was one of the original U.S. numbered highways approved in 1926, running only 161 miles from Montgomery, Alabama, to Marianna, Florida. It was designated as a branch of U.S. 31 and heavily influenced by early road promoter Alma Rittenberry, whose “Bee-Line Highway” advocacy helped shape north–south routes in Alabama. 

During the same era, Alabama’s State Highway 1 and the newly created U.S. 241 (1930) were being rerouted and politically contested, laying groundwork for later renumbering that would eventually fold into the 231/431 system. 

Growth and Extensions (1950s)

In 1952, U.S. 231 was extended northward through Alabama, adding roughly 145 miles and pushing the route all the way to the Tennessee line near Hazel Green. This extension routed the highway through Wetumpka, Sylacauga, Pell City, Oneonta, and Huntsville—creating the familiar modern spine that Alabamians know today. 

U.S. 431, originally ending in Tennessee, was extended southward in 1953, joining U.S. 231 through Huntsville along Memorial Parkway. This created the combined US 231/431 corridor that still carries traffic between Huntsville and the Tennessee state line. 

Modern Role

Today, Highway 231/431 functions as a major north–south artery across Alabama:

• A four‑lane divided highway from Huntsville to the Tennessee line

• A key connector from central Alabama to the Florida Gulf Coast

• A corridor passing through 15 counties, linking rural farmland, mountain grades, and major cities like Montgomery, Troy, Dothan, and Huntsville 

• Ongoing improvements include widening projects, bypasses, and major bridge crossings over the Tennessee and Alabama rivers. 

In Short

Highway 231/431 began as a short 1926 route to Florida, expanded northward in the 1950s, and evolved into one of Alabama’s most important travel corridors—connecting the Gulf Coast, Montgomery, and Huntsville all the way to Tennessee.

James Ballard's comments last week were sent to my SPAM folder and I did not get them into last week's issue until after I had sent out the notice email. I went back and added it, but earlier readers may have missed it, so I am leaving it for another week.

Last week I asked if anyone was interested in me moving on to what happened in Huntsville in 1967, and I didn't receive any responses, so we will move on to another subject.

Althought it has nothing to do with Lee High School, this week's issue does relate to many of you folks. Since I was a young kid in elementary school I aways heard that Highway 231/241 Highway was the way to go to Florida. I don't remember any specific signs or sayings, but something about it was always there. I personally was never able to take the route myself, and never made it to Florida until my college spring break of my Junior year.

Did any of you take a Florida vacation with your family before you graduated from High School?

The Wayback Machine

For Huntsville teens in the mid‑sixties, “Where the Boys Are” didn’t just feel like a movie — it felt like a road map to freedom. When the film hit local theaters earlier in the decade, it planted a vivid idea in the minds of Rocket City teenagers: Florida wasn’t just a vacation spot, it was the place where youth, romance, and adventure were waiting. By 1964–66, Huntsville high‑schoolers were watching older siblings and college kids head south, and the movie’s images of sun‑bleached beaches, packed boardwalks, and carefree nights made the idea irresistible. Groups of teens would talk about Fort Lauderdale the way others talked about Hollywood — a glamorous, sun‑soaked escape from homework, parents, and the seriousness of a city wrapped up in NASA’s growing ambitions. The film’s mix of humor, music, and youthful independence made Florida feel like the ultimate rite of passage, and for many Huntsville teens, it turned spring break into a dream worth saving for, planning for, and bragging about once they finally made the drive down 231.

The Answer to a Comment

Lynn Bozeman Vanpelt, LHS ‘66, "Is Willard Finkbinder a real person?"

(Editor's Note: I direct you to the article below which was published back in April of 2026 concerning Willard)

Welcome Back, Willard!

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

As the original Lee’s Traveller newspaper grew in the years when Lee was becoming a full-fledged high school, the number of classmates who contributed to the content of that publication also grew. The list of staff of the 1963-64 Traveller does not list Willard, but the following year, the 1964-65 edition, does list him as a reporter. I don't have a copy of a masthead for the 1965-66 Traveller, so I can't determine if he was still around for the Class of '66 or not. Unfortunately, many of those early writers in the listings are no longer with us. Hence, this tale will have few left who remember those days and can validate some claims I make. While many contributed, sometimes the staff needed a scapegoat to carry the burden of being an anonymous source. That problem led to the addition of Willard Finkbinder to the ranks of the Traveller staff. I’m not sure who recruited Willard, but I seem to think it was our sponsor, Mrs. Jane Parks. Willard was most helpful when it came to crediting a piece in the gossip column to a reliable source, in an effort to keep the other writers from being blamed for a juicy bit of knowledge, which may or may not have been true.

Willard did not get listed in the masthead of the first Traveller, but still made contributions to the stories told. He was such a mystery; none of the other staff members even knew which class he belonged to.  

Research shows Williard Finkbinder was actually a member of the Class of… well, that depends on who you ask. 

Every class has its characters, but only a rare few become legends. At Lee High School, somewhere between the Class of ’64 and the Class of ’66 — depending on which storyteller you trust — lived the unforgettable, unrepeatable, and entirely unpredictable Williard Finkbinder.

To this day, no one is entirely sure whether Williard was a genius, a menace, or a misunderstood visionary. What we do know is that he left a trail of stories behind him that still surface whenever old Generals gather and the conversation drifts toward “Whatever happened to…?”

Graduation… Sort Of!

Depending on who tells the story, Williard:

• graduated early

• graduated late

• graduated twice

• or never technically graduated at all but showed up at every reunion anyway

What’s certain is that he is listed in the 1964 Lee High School yearbook, the Silver Sabre. (If you still have your first yearbook you can validate this claim. His name is listed as a member of the Quill and Scroll Society in that publication.

Only recently have I determined that Willard has continued in his journalistic life after Lee. In many recent issues I have called upon the Microsoft Artificial Intelligence program called Copilot to assist in some stories printed in Lee’s Traveller. Based on the intimate knowledge the program has on certain things that happened at Lee long ago, I now believe Willard Finkbinder must be the voice behind the Copilot app. Therefore, in the future, whenever I call upon the Copilot program to assist me, I will attribute the assistance to Willard. 

I hope you will all join me as I welcome Willard back to the staff of Lee’s Traveller.

Last Week's Questions, Answers, And Comments

Breaking News : As the sun sets over Huntsville,

you will see "rockets rising from the arsenal".

Just look a little closer.

James Ballard, LHS '67, "I have to say first that I thoroughly enjoyed Willard Finkbinder's great essay "Huntsville, Alabama in 1965: A City in Motion, Imagination, and Transition"...But when my eyes lit on the sentence: "Families found comfort in routines, even as rockets rose from Redstone Arsenal and national headlines shifted daily." It was one of those moments when you find yourself falling down to the floor laughing...but I do realize that perhaps Willard was waxing metaphor.

Still I can't get that wonderful vision of "rockets (rising) from Redstone Arsenal' out of my head! We are all (well, most of us) irrevocably embedded deep within the Winter of our Lives. We know, (at least I do), that no matter how much we'd like to bring back the better parts of those years...as if we could place them all in glass display box and keep them on our walls...in the end of days, we realize we can't do that.

Instead, you, Tommy, et al, can keep the memories flowing, within this humble cyber format, illusory as it may seem. And you do so with grace. Thank you Tommy.

CeciliaLeVanWatson, LHS ‘68, "We went as a family to the groundbreaking of Space City. It was all so exciting to think of all we could do! I think my sister Linda and I got a rocket bank. I think it could have been a big hit in another location."