167 pages, hardcover, 6"x9"

Discover the rich tapestry of Arab's history through the lives of those who rest in its old downtown cemetery.
In 2007, the City of Arab commissioned Angie Hunkeapillar to conduct a comprehensive survey of the 1883 cemetery, a crucial step for its inclusion in the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register and the acquisition of a historical marker. Hunkeapillar's detailed map plots all graves, marked and unmarked, and identifies depressions that may indicate relocated or unmarked graves.

The first edition of Voices From the Past (2010) was a pioneering effort by Janet Calhoun, affectionately known as "Ms. History," to compile historical information for the "Voices From the Past" Cemetery Walk, presented by the Arab Historical Society. This text-only edition spanned 57 pages, offering a glimpse into the lives of the individuals interred there.

Now, the Second Edition of Voices From the Past delves deeper, providing expanded and meticulously researched biographical sketches of the cemetery's residents. This edition is enriched with photographs of the individuals and their grave markers, bringing their stories to life. Through extensive research using the latest online and print resources, several previously unidentified individuals have been definitively linked to their families.

Voices From the Past is more than a book; it's a bridge to the past, honoring the memories and legacies of Arab's forebears.

440 pages, hardcover, 8.25"x11"
This book's inside content is a complete reprint of the original book, published in 1992 by The Arab Historical Society as part of Arab's Centennial Celebration. Only the cover and title page were updated in 2023.

Arab, Alabama. Questions arose while pausing to look around and reflect on the place we call home. Has it always been this way? How long has it been this way? Was there a time when there were no people here? Where did these people come from, and who were they? Did someone else own this place before them? What did they do while they lived here? How many communities existed here long ago? This book attempts to answer some of these questions.

From the beginning of writing the history of Arab, concerns were raised about which subjects were to be covered in the book. The question then arose, "What was to be our coverage area?" We decided it would be Arab's history, for it was Arab that was 100 years old.

Right after beginning our research, however, we found that the development of Arab was not confined to what is known as Arab. Through the years people lived in a hundred or more small communities around Arab. Some lived on the mountain, and some lived down the mountain. Together, through interdependence, these people developed the town. All of their stories needed to be included.
Even though transportation was less developed, people traveled from one community to another. They attended each other's singings, played ball together, attended picnics and farmers’ meetings, and intermarried. Development, while started at various times in the different communities, usually paralleled each other. Each community shared some common history, and each had their own unique history.

Some of the communities have vanished. Their "Main Street" no longer offered things people needed. Other places did the job better and lured the people away, so the community gradually dissolved. Many communities are gone almost without a trace. Those "places" are included as much as possible in this book.

When the final coverage area was determined, it generally contained the area serviced by Arab and mostly the area covered in the Arab phone book. The people shop in Arab, their doctors are in Arab, most of their bills are paid in Arab, and Arab offers most of their utilities. Surprisingly they call Arab “home.”

No attempt has been made to include the many communities as part of Arab. Each remains their own self-contained “place.” However, some of the closer communities have already been absorbed as a part of Arab and are no longer called by the community name, except by the really old-timers. One of the goals of this book is to record these separate communities’ histories so they will not pass away.