Written by Susan McCalla
I called him Bill. Siblings called him Billy. Many called him teacher and friend.
William Daniel Hubbard grew up in Birmingham, with frequent visits to family in Bibb County. As early as third grade, Bill loved and collected rocks. Upon his graduation from Ensley High School, he attended The University of Alabama, graduating in 1965 with a degree in Geology.
Bill began his career with Texaco Oil Company as a Geophysicist/Exploration Geologist. Although he spent some time in New York City, for most of his career Texas was home. Before retiring, he had been involved with 6 other oil companies. But that retirement didn’t last long. He received a call from a Texas colleague to join him and others in establishing a company of their own. That collaboration marked the birth of Spinnaker Explorations. When the time came to retire the second time, he began to seek opportunities to embrace nature. Always infatuated with Schultz Creek and the Cahaba River, Bill knew that he wanted to acquire land in the vicinity of those 2 waterways. So, just prior to moving from Texas, he began the process of piecing together in excess of 2000 acres with 4 miles of river frontage on the Cahaba River.
In 1999, at a craft show, lathe turned objects caught his eye, and Bill soon became fully immersed in the art of woodturning. His passion for the artform developed rapidly, as is the case for many woodturners. It wasn’t long before his artistic ability and expertise became highly revered and respected among woodturners all over the state of Alabama and beyond. Many are fortunate to have been gifted pieces from his creations, as Bill was always eager to share with others. It may have been a beautiful bowl, vessel or Christmas ornament or a simple polished stone. He never stopped loving those rocks and his collection spanned a lifetime, beginning with that 3rd grade rock collection.
Heart for Nature
The Alabama/Georgia Land Trust collaborated with Bill to develop a Conservation Easement in order to provide protection in perpetuity of his stand of 440 acres of the rare Alabama Croton, one of the rarest shrubs in North America. A second Conservation Easement was later created to provide an added measure of protection to the property in its entirety.
The Walking Trail on the east side of the Cahaba River is a valuable asset to the Cahaba River National Wildlife Reserve. Instrumental in the establishment and construction of this Walking Trail was Bill Hubbard.
Graciously offering his home and property to host numerous seminars and meetings came easy for Bill. Organizations taking part in those opportunities include various school faculty groups, local high school groups, and post-secondary students such as biology classes from The University of Alabama. Additionally, gatherings included Treasure Forest Landowners’ Tour, Wildflower Society, the national leadership of the American Forest Foundation for a tour of a Southern working tree farm, Shelton State Community College Birding Group, and numerous church and civic groups. These groups included Brent Study Club, Bibb County School Nurses, Bibb County Chamber of Commerce, Bigbee Valley Chapter DAR and senior citizen groups from churches including Centreville Baptist, First Baptist and First Presbyterian of Tuscaloosa, and First Presbyterian of Livingston. One such hosting offered a Landowner Tour for the Bibb County Forest Planning Committee. This full day offered sessions in wild hog trapping, a portable sawmill, Chronic Waisting Disease in the deer population, Land Conservation Easements from the Alabama/Georgia Land Trust, tours of forest land management activities, and cave tours.
Heart for Education
Countless opportunities were provided for young people when Bill employed students with after school jobs as well as through co-op programs. While Bill provided support to fund post-secondary education for many in his family, his support went far beyond family to countless others. Working anonymously through local school administrators, he provided college opportunities to local high school students who never knew the source of the funding. The Bibb County Schools Foundation was able to provide more classroom grants to teachers, not only through his direct donations, but also from all proceeds generated from the sale of bowls and Christmas ornaments Bill made from the 1927 Deodar Cedar that had to be taken down at what is now the Bibb County Board of Education. The Bibb County Auntie Litter Program and the Bibb County Children’s Theater were additional programs benefitting from Bill’s support and advocacy.
Heart for Woodturning and Carving
Evidence of the artist gifts possessed by Bill Hubbard was clear when he was the Featured Artist at Harrison Art Gallery in Tuscaloosa in November 2018.
Instrumental in the project to decorate a Christmas tree each year at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, Bill encouraged woodturners statewide to provide the 250-300 wooden ornaments needed to complete the project. The tree and ornaments would be sold to benefit the hospital.
Bill remained fully active in state and national woodturning and woodworking organizations, serving in roles of leadership for many years. Included in these organizations are West Alabama Woodworkers’ Association, Black Warrior Woodturners, Alabama Association of Woodturners, and American Association of Woodturners. Hosting nationally known woodturners to allow them to provide teaching demonstration programs at club meetings was a highlight in Bill’s club memberships. Treating friends to lunch after meetings was another such highlight.
Teaching the art of woodworking brought Bill great joy and he was willing to teach anyone who was interested. He taught numerous local people how to become woodturners and turners from around the state would come to learn from him.
Heart for Helping Those in Need
Bill knew he was blessed financially but he was never boastful or proud about it. He had a tender heart for those who struggled financially and freely used his resources to assist them, whether it was a church struggling to expand or a soup kitchen meeting needs with limited resources. When hurricane Katrina hit, he went to a motel where numerous displaced families were housed to pass out money to those in need. I found, among his papers, a thank you note from a family who traveled to New Jersey to be with family and then back to Biloxi, Mississippi. I feel sure this is one of those cases. The media caught wind of Bill Hubbard as evidenced in published articles. Conservationist magazine featured him in the fall/winter 2015 edition. The article by Larry Wills is titled, “Cahaba River Homecoming”. Bill was featured again in a 2018 article in Woodland Magazine, a national publication. The title of the article is “Your Legacy, Your Conservation Easement”. Most recently, Fred Hunter, of WBRC Television, spent some time on the property to introduce Bill and The University of West Alabama’s Cahaba Biodiversity Center on an Absolutely Alabama segment. That segment is titled, “A Gift for the Ages”. Saddened by the news of Bill’s passing, Fred said that he would be sure to include the segment in the Absolutely Alabama Christmas Special this year.
His Legacy
I believe that Bill considered the relationship he developed with the University of West Alabama to be one of his strongest. Soon after meeting with administration and staff from UWA, he was convinced that they have passion equal to his for studying and protecting the biodiversity found so prolifically on his acreage. That relationship led to his gift of his entire property to the University of West Alabama to establish a program for research, outreach, and educational opportunities for students. Bill was fully convinced that his dream of keeping his 2000+ acres intact would be fulfilled through the University of West Alabama’s Cahaba Biodiversity Center. Future generations would have opportunities to enjoy, study, conserve and preserve this land he loved. He called it “His Legacy”. I’m so thankful that he lived to see the beginnings of the program: the construction of a dormitory which sleeps 22, overnight stays in that dorm for students to conduct their research, results of that research on water, trees, and plants (several of which are rare species), the establishment of trails, and purchases of additional vehicles to assist in the research.
A Heart Like Bill Hubbard’s
Few people knew all of these things about Bill because he was both generous and humble and didn’t do anything for recognition. I learned about much of his giving after his death.
If you spoke with Bill up to a few days before his death, you know that he was still as sharp as ever mentally. But Parkinson’s Disease had taken a heavy toll on him physically, limiting his mobility and his ability to continue to do the work he loved at the pace he would have preferred. Additionally, his heart became extremely weak in his last few years. But, for a man to have such a weak physical heart muscle, the spirit of Bill Hubbard’s heart was the biggest and strongest I’ve ever seen in any one person. After his death, I found, among his papers, numerous notes of thanks including “thanks for sharing your talents and teaching me”, “thanks for supporting my education”, “thanks for your passion for protecting the biodiversity”, “thanks for instilling in others -young and old – your passion for these things”, “thanks for making life better for all who knew you”.
Oh, to have a heart like Bill Hubbard’s!
Lovingly submitted,
Susan McCalla
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Bill Hubbard passed away in Bibb County, Alabama on January , 2022. His thoughtful and well-planned gift to the University of West Alabama of over 2,000 acres of pristine land along the Cahaba River established a remarkable learning laboratory that will be enjoyed by students of nature for generations to come.
When the gift was publicy announced in 2019 Mr. Hubbard said: “I know that UWA will provide millions of teachable moments here. Land utilization and biological conservation need not be exclusive of each other. I am confident that UWA will fulfill my dream and vision for the property.”
“This is a visionary gift that will benefit countless generations to come,” said Dr. Chris Thomason, vice president for institutional advancement at UWA.
“We are excited to receive this potentially transformative donation, and are very grateful to Mr. Hubbard for his vision and generosity,” said UWA President Ken Tucker.
“The primary purpose and use of the property will be for education and conservation. The opportunities for hands-on experience in biology, conservation, and environmental sciences on the Hubbard property will be invaluable in the continuing development of our undergraduate degrees in Conservation and Field Biology and Environmental Sciences, and our new Master of Science in Conservation Biology.”
The water-side property overlooks the resource-rich Cahaba River, and in its banks are countless native species of flora and fauna. Its center is seven miles downstream from the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge.
Hubbard has built a friendship with Dr. Brian Keener, professor of biological sciences and assistant dean of graduate studies at UWA. Keener is also coordinator of the Alabama Plant Atlas and curator of the UWA Herbarium. Hubbard’s friendship and trust in Keener, he said, made the difference in his decision to donate the natural treasure to UWA.
“Mr. Hubbard’s gift and his vision for this property will make a tremendous impact on our students and their education,” Keener said. “The biodiversity here is unrivaled in the country. Exposed limestone, the geology, hydrology, caves, rocks, plants—it’s not some of the young cretaceous stuff. When we study biodiversity, the older it is, the better, and this is old and virtually untouched.”
Hubbard’s gift also stirred interest in local TV station outlets and a special aired with well known host Fred Hunter from the Absolutely Alabama series on WBRC Channel 6. If you would like to view the video in its entirely you will find a link to the WBRC video site below.
https://www.wbrc.com/video/2021/04/18/absolutely-alabama-/
