If It Ain't Fixed Don't Break It

Gentrification, a suspicious state rep, and a mayor's livestream make an appearance on the final part of Welcome to Camp Hill. It's a ride y'all!

Please support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ItAintFixedPod

SOURCES

• Joshua Dairen. “Benson—the Historic Town under Alabama’s Lake Martin #Alabama #LakeMartin #LakeLanier #History.” YouTube, 26 Dec. 2024
• “FROM THE VAULT: William Benson and the Kowaliga School - Alabama Heritage.” Alabama Heritage, 17 Feb. 2025
• "Dadeville, AL Housing Market: 2025 Home Prices & Trends ” Zillow, 2025
• Brandt, Libertina, and Sarah Paynter. “Wealthy Vacationers Flock to a Man-Made Lake in Alabama.” WSJ, Wall Street Journal, 26 Sept. 2023
• "Trash cans disappear from town." Mobile Register (AL), 01 ed., sec. B, 8 Dec. 2000, p. 02.
• Williams, Cliff. “Town of Camp Hill Facing $64K Question about Water.” Alex City Outlook, 19 Sept. 2019
• Marlow, William. “Camp Hill Owes Nearly $70,000 in Water Bills.” Alex City Outlook, 9 Mar. 2023
• Hedgepeth, Lee. “In Majority-Black Camp Hill, a Young Mayor Fights for Water ” Inside Climate News, 12 June 2025
• Marlow, William. “Camp Hill Forgoes $17 Million in Grants.” TPI Media Group, Alexander City Outlook, 26 July 2023
• Murphy, Abigail. “Camp Hill Hashes out Plans for the Town’s Water.” TPI Media Group, Alexander City Outlook, 24 Aug. 2023
• Mayor Williams-Cole Livestream Discussing Dadeville Water Issues.” Youtube.com, 11 June 2025, youtu.be/Bf-slt2YMmw
• Schuessler, Simon. “Camp Hill Mayor Alleges Dadeville Is Illegally Ripping Them off for Water.” WSFA, 22 May 2025
• Arbogast, Lizi. “Details Emerge about Dadeville, Camp Hill Water in Court.” TPI Media Group, Alexander City Outlook, 27 May 2025
• Siri Hedreen. “Camp Hill Fights to Uplift Black Communist Legacy Buried by Racism and Red Scare.” Alex City Outlook, 6 Apr. 2022

Want to understand Alabama? Start in Camp Hill. This is a story about radical legacies intertwined with faith, chronic disinvestment, climate crisis, and the future of Alabama. 

Please support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ItAintFixedPod

SOURCES

• Kelley, Robin D. G. _Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists during the Great Depression_. Chapel Hill, The University Of North Carolina Press, 2015
• Dilawar, Arvind. “A More Perfect Union.” Lapham’s Quarterly, 16 Apr. 2020
• Wilson, Claire M. “Camp Hill - Encyclopedia of Alabama.” Encyclopedia of Alabama, 20 Mar. 2024
• Siri Hedreen. “Camp Hill Fights to Uplift Black Communist Legacy Buried by Racism and Red Scare.” Alex City Outlook, 6 Apr. 2022
• Marlow, William. “Camp Hill Fire Station, 100-Year-Old Church Damaged in Storms.” Alex City Outlook, 30 Mar. 2023
• West, John.  'An Invisible Disaster' - Camp Hill Needs Your Help after Hailstorm Damages over 400 Houses.” Opelika-Auburn News, 7 Apr. 2023
• Hedgepeth, Lee. “Camp Hill, Alabama, Faced an Undeclared Disaster. Then Came the Dadeville Shooting”, Tread by Lee Hedgepeth, 20 Apr. 2023
• Cason, Mike. “Dadeville Reacts to Arrests in Deadly Shooting: “Children Killing Children.” Al.com, 19 Apr. 2023
• Chapoco, Ralph. “Investigator: Guns Drawn at Dadeville Party after Speaker Fell to Floor ” Alabama Reflector, 25 Apr. 2023
• West, John. “Camp Hill Residents Plead for Help after FEMA Denies Them Assistance.” Opelika-Auburn News, 18 May 2023
• Stephenson, Jemma. “One Year Later: Dadeville and Camp Hill Still Recovering from Storm, Mass Shooting” Alabama Reflector, 15 Apr. 2024
• Murphy, Abigail. “First Lynching Memorial Established for Tallapoosa County.” Alex City Outlook, 29 June 2024

LEARN MORE

EJI National Memorial for Peace and Justice 

Phil Dowdell Legacy Foundation 

Video interviews with residents:

• Visiting Camp Hill  by Alabama Values  
• From Resilience to Restoration: Camp Hill by the People's Justice Council 

What happens when one of the structural issues in Alabama is a physical building? Meet the dysfunctional Alabama State House. Unlike every other state, Alabama lawmakers do not meet in the capitol building. Instead, they use the State House: a moldy leaking thorn in the side of lawmakers, activists, and the general public. Is there any hope of fixing it? 

Please support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ItAintFixedPod

SOURCES:

 https://web.archive.org/web/20080111045310/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=75&ResourceType=Building

https://web.archive.org/web/20121001053217/http://www.archives.state.al.us/capital/capitals.html

 https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/onthisday-bloody-sunday

 https://aldailynews.com/new-state-house-larger-committee-rooms-more-live-streaming/

https://ahc.alabama.gov/AlabamaStateCapitolHistoryFacts.aspx#:~:text=The%20legislature%20continued%20to%20meet,officers%20returned%20to%20the%20capitol.

 https://www.al.com/news/2024/12/crazy-things-can-happen-bronner-warns-of-alabama-state-house-construction-delays-trump-tariffs-raising-costs.html

https://alabamareflector.com/2023/07/11/alabama-pursuing-nations-first-new-statehouse-in-nearly-five-decades/

What happens when the people in power double down on breaking things instead of fixing them? Introducing "If It Ain't Fixed, Don't Break It", a podcast about people, politics, and Alabama.

Hosts Zephyr Scalzetti and Faye Hobbes take listeners on a journey each week to humorously break down the structures, the policies, and the people in power who’ve made Alabama the way it is today. 

Along the way we'll be interviewing Alabamians, discussing current news in the state, and opening the door a little wider to the weird insular world of Alabama politics. 

So grab your favorite seat, make sure your tea is sweet, and tune in to "If It Ain't Fixed, Don't Break It". 

This podcast is ad free and entirely supported by our listeners. Please support us at patreon.com/ItAintFixedPod to get bonus episodes and other perks.