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Billy Blackwood, left, R.W. Blackwood Jr., Donna Blackwood, Andrea Blackwood Carter, Terry Blackwood and Bill Lyles Jr. in front of the new Blackwood Brothers exhibit at Senior Connection in Clanton.

R.W. Blackwood Jr., left, and Bill Lyles Jr. observe the exhibit featuring their fathers inside Senior Connection in Clanton.

The exhibit at Senior Connection in Clanton that was erected in honor of the 70th anniversary of the Blackwood Brothers plane crash.

R.W. Blackwood Jr., left, Donna Blackwood, Andrea Blackwood Carter and Terry Blackwood did a musical performance during the opening of the exhibit on June 29.

R.W. Blackwood Jr., left, with Bill Lyles Jr. as they reflect on the lives of their fathers during the exhibit opening.

Bill Lyles Jr., R.W. Blackwood Jr., Donna Blackwood and Terry Blackwood on stage during the opening of the exhibit.

By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

June 30 of this year marked the 70th anniversary of one of the darkest days in Chilton County history. In 1954, two members of the widely known Blackwood Brothers Quartet lost their lives in a plane crash at the Clanton Airport while in town for the seventh annual Chilton County Peach Festival. Now, 70 years after that harrowing day, the community has not forgotten the lives that were lost that day.

In the continuing remembrance of R.W. Blackwood, Sr., Bill Lyles Sr. and Johnny Ogburn Jr., an exhibit — The Blackwood Brothers Exhibit: A 70th Anniversary Commemoration of Tragedy and Triumph, was created in Clanton to showcase never before seen photos of the group and the crash. The exhibit was made possible by Lynn Carter and Miriam Patterson in conjunction with The Friends of Alabama State Archives Fellowship.

“The City of Clanton just embraced us for this exhibit, and I cannot thank them enough for their support,” Carter said.

Members of the Blackwood family and those close to them attended the exhibit on the opening day on June 29, including Ron, Shelly, R.W. Jr., Donna, Terry and Billy Blackwood, Andrea Blackwood Carter, Bill Lyles Jr. and Charles Yates.

The exhibit will be on display at Senior Connection in Clanton throughout the month of July. More information and accounts of the Blackwood Brothers plane crash with be included in the upcoming Faces & Places 2024 magazine later in July.

Photos by HANNA PATTERSON | CONTRIBUTED

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