The Legend Lives

A keen RICKA Rule acquisition, James Conner has been a beast for the Sloth Monsters this season

 The Legend of Shades Creek strikes again

HOOVER, AL - Shades Creek, sometimes called Mountain Brook, is a small 56.4 mile-long stream that runs southwest from Irondale through Shades Valley to the Cahaba River near the Shelby/Bibb county line. The creek winds through Birmingham, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Hoover and Bessemer among some other municipalities. Shades Creek acted as the border between Jefferson and Shelby counties until sometime between 1880 and 1890, when the border was moved south to its current location. From 1915 to the mid 1940s, Shades Creek was dammed at Columbiana Road, just downstream of Griffin Creek to form Edgewood Lake, a popular recreational site during the 1920s and 30s in what is now the Lakeshore area of Homewood. According to eyewitness accounts, the dam was busted in 1946 by an eight-foot tall, hairy, raging biped. Legend has it, the humanoid monster has roamed the creek's swampy basin ever since. Known for its loud bellowing roar, there have been sightings and loud sounds (guttural grunts, howls and growls) heard in the area over the years that have been attributed to the creature. "The Legend of Shades Creek" as it is known in these parts of Alabama is reported to smell awful and has been credited for killing chickens and livestock along the creek for years and for mauling dogs. The anomalous beast has been compared to Bigfoot, Sasquatch and other Yeti type creatures, however, the Shades Creek species is unique since its large (2.5') footprints only show three toes per foot. The latest evidence of "The Legend" was on Sunday when the Altadena Dorians' campsite along Shades Creek was ransacked and their food and beer was consumed in mass. The only things left behind was an old-fashioned A.W. and the beast's patented three-toed footprints. The Legend of Wooley Swamp by The Charlie Daniels Band (1980)