Chris Vernon Beeker Jr. 1 2 3 4 5 6
- Born: May 1948, Eutaw, Greene, AL 7 8
- Marriage (1): Drura Teresa Inge on 22 Jan 1972 1
Another name for Chris is Chip Beeker.9
FamilySearch ID: GVBS-LZT.
Noted events in his life were:
1. Census in 1950 in Eutaw, Greene, AL. 8 The 1950 census recorded at 407 Johnson Street: Chris V. Beeker, wholesale grocery salesman, 28, living with wife Nell S., 21; daughter L. Janell, 3; and son Chris V., 1. All were born in Alabama.
2. Newspaper: Tuscaloosa News: Inge-Beeker Engaged, 5 Dec 1971, Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa, AL. (photo of Miss Inge)
EUTAW -- Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Harwood Inge announce the engagement of their daughter, Drura Teresa, to Chris Vernon Beeker Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Chris Vernon Beeker of Eutaw.
The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Mrs. Frank Irvin Eatman and the late Mr. Eatman and Mrs. Frank James Inge and the late Mr. Inge.
The bridgegroom-elect is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Stephens and the late Mr. and Mrs. Fred Robert Beeker.
Miss Inge attended Gulf Park College in Gulf Port, Miss., and is a graduate of the University of Alabama where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority. She is employed in Jasper.
Mr. Beeker is a graduate of Livingston University where he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. He is also employed in Jasper.
The wedding will be Jan. 22.
3. Residence: 325 Prairie Ave, Eutaw, AL in 1975 in Eutaw, Greene, AL. 7
4. Residence: on 7 Apr 2001 in Eutaw, Greene, AL. 4
5. Newspaper: Tuscaloosa News: This Old House on Display, 7 Oct 2007, Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa, AL. 10 Newly restored Myrtle Hall included in Eutaw's tour of historical homes
BOLIGEE
Owls roosted in the rafters, the front steps had fallen off and tangled vines engulfed the 170-year-old raised plantation home.
Its slow demise stopped one morning when Chip Beeker drove a bulldozer to the homestead's grassy knoll and began ripping out the overgrowth.
In the last two years, Beeker and his wife, Teresa, restored the three-story home referred to as Myrtle Hall. They transformed it into a family retreat where their five young grandsons run and tussle with a panoramic view of hills and meadows.
Next Saturday and Sunday, Greene County Historical Society members will stand on the white, four-columned porch and welcome sightseers inside the house as one of four on the society's annual historical homes tour. In addition to Myrtle Hall, Thornhill, which is a Greek Revival plantation home, the Attoway Davis home, two Victorian-era homes and churches in Eutaw will be featured.
For the Beekers, restoring the antebellum house made from the homestead's pines and hardwoods became a labor of love despite obstacles.
Myrtle Hall: 'Now
fixing to enjoy it'
Teresa Beeker stood near the front stairway recently, running her hand along its gleaming walnut banister. The couple farm catfish in ponds near Myrtle Hall and reside in a historical home in downtown Eutaw. A former Greene County commissioner, Chip Beeker's ancestors owned farmland near Eutaw and Boligee.
"We worked so hard on it," Teresa Beeker said, noting she hesitated to restore another old home. "But we're now fixing to enjoy it. My little grandson calls it the Big House."
She said she was inspired to make the old home beautiful after a 27-year-old family friend expressed doubt that he would see it restored in his lifetime. After the unintended nudge, she was undaunted when she had to kill snakes on the ground floor and more enthusiastic as she searched doorknobs on eBay.
"As I got involved [in] scraping paint and shooing the wildlife out, then I was in awe," she said, sitting beside her husband on the back portico wall.
"This house is such a statement all its own."
Soon after Chip Beeker purchased the home in 2005, he hired help to close a large hole that had enlarged after a tree fell on the roof several months prior. He bulldozed what he describes as an overgrown jungle for two days before he could reach the house.
"It just looked so stately and so decrepit," Chip Beeker said. "It looked like it needed a friend and was on acreage that is quiet and peaceful."
The couple restored many of the interior walls made of brick, walnut doors, 10-inch heart-pine floors and the home's 12 fireplaces. They hired subcontractors, paid for a new roof with 50-year shingles, replaced some of the 18-inch square girders, and added columns and steps on both front and back porches.
Teresa Beeker found the banister covered in cobwebs in a basement closet. With no success, the family looked nationwide for a carpenter to replace the banister's spindles for the stairway in the spacious hallway extending from the home's front to back.
Then the Beekers remembered the cradle that Eutaw native George Henson had made for his grandchild.
"He took a look at it and then said, 'Well, OK, I'll try," Chip Beeker said and smiled as he gazed at the satiny spindles.
They hosted a family wedding in early September and roasted Thanksgiving turkey last year before all the rooms were restored. In the 1800s, the large kitchen was where biscuits were beaten and now has an island that accommodates six counter stools.
"This kitchen is the big part of the day," Teresa said, as she pointed to a chocolate wraparound sofa in the adjacent family room. "We wanted the period of the house on the outside for its charm but we wanted it to be comfortable on the inside."
Community's
appreciation
Former residents of Myrtle Hall and neighbors speak of the restored home as though it were a long-lost friend.
Dennis Hearndon, former Greene County probate judge, was in college when his parents moved to Myrtle Hall in 1949. His family celebrated and grieved in the house.
Five years after his sister walked down the elegant stairs and wed her fiance in the front parlor, his father was killed as he drove the tractor. Shortly after her husband's accident in 1959, Erma Hearndon sold the house and a few adjoining acres.
From his farmland, where he raises catfish and cattle, Dennis Hearndon can see the big house he feared was destined to ruin.
"I was thrilled to see them restore it," he said. "They did a beautiful job."
He recalled sagas of the Hays family, who moved to the plantation in the 1860s and changed its first name, Boligee Hill, to Myrtle Hall. He said that rumors of ghosts may persist from accounts that Gen. Charles Hays took refuge in the big bedrooms from the Ku Klux Klan, who sought him out as a scalawag congressman that sided with the Union during Reconstruction.
Kathleen Banks, a longtime Greene County Historical Society member, said she's glad the home has been preserved. She said that, tall tales aside, the stories of families who loved living in the old home make it rich in history.
"I've watched so many people try to restore it," said Banks, who has lived near Boligee for more than 50 years. "It was absolutely delightful to see the work done. And the view is just magnificent."
Auburn University instructor Richard Hudgens concurred. He and architectural students from the Auburn Rural Studio in Hale County visited the site and drew elevations while repairs were being made.
Hudgens, who owns an architectural firm in Selma, said that Myrtle Hall has one of the three best views of historical homes statewide.
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6. Occupation: Owner, Beeker Catfish and Cattle Farms in 2014 in Eutaw, Greene, AL. 9
7. He was elected as Commissioner of Alabama Public Service Commission in Nov 2014 in Montgomery, Montgomery, AL. 11 Commissioner Chris "Chip" Beeker
Commissioner Beeker was elected to Place 2 of the Alabama Public Service Commission in November of 2014. From 1986 to 2006, Chip Beeker served on the Greene County Commission, and was a rare Republican officeholder in an area of the state historically dominated by Democrats. For a decade ranging from 1996 to 2006, Beeker chaired the commission and is credited with creating economic development opportunities during his tenure.
Beeker previously ran as a Public Service Commission candidate in the 2010 Republican primary, and has served as a member of the State Executive Committee of the Alabama Republican Party.
Prior to his election, he owned and operated Beeker Catfish and Cattle Farms in Eutaw.
Born and raised in Greene County, he has been married to Teresa Inge Beeker, an educator, for 45 years. They have three children, Diana Browning, Inge, and Chris, and also have eleven grandchildren.
Beeker is an Elder and Sunday school teacher at the First Presbyterian Church of Eutaw. He graduated from the University of West Alabama with a degree in Commerce and Business Administration.
8. LifeSketch: Biography from Chip Beeker's campaign site for Public Service Commision, on 30 May 2015, in Eutaw, Greene, AL. 9 From 1986 to 2006, Chip Beeker served on the Greene County Commission, and was a rare Republican officeholder in an area of the state historically dominated by Democrats. For a decade ranging from 1996 to 2006, Beeker chaired the commission and is credited with creating economic development opportunities during his tenure.
Beeker previously ran as a Public Service Commission candidate in the 2010 Republican primary, and has served as a member of the State Executive Committee of the Alabama Republican Party.
He currently owns and operates Beeker Catfish and Cattle Farms in Eutaw.
Born and raised in Greene County, he has been married to Teresa Inge Beeker, an educator, for 41 years. They have three children, Diana Browning, Inge, and Chris, and also have nine grandchildren.
Beeker is an Elder and Sunday school teacher at the First Presbyterian Church of Eutaw. He graduated from the University of West Alabama with a degree in Commerce and Business Administration.
9. Residence: 325 Prairie Ave, Eutaw, AL in 2020 in Eutaw, Greene, AL. 7
10. Newspaper: The Outlook: Chris Beeker, III, appointed to Alabama Public Service Commission, 24 Sep 2024, Alexander City, Tallapoosa, AL. 12 Governor Kay Ivey announced on Monday that she is appointing Chris Beeker, III, to serve on the Alabama Public Service Commission, Place 2. Beeker will finish the unexpired term of his father, Chris "Chip" Beeker, Jr., who announced his decision to step down from his seat on the Public Service Commission due to health challenges.
Chris Beeker, III, served for four years as USDA Rural Development Director for the state of Alabama under President Donald Trump. Additionally, his background includes over a dozen years' experience in banking, finance, budgeting, sales and marketing in the state.
"Chris Beeker, III, possesses an excellent record of governmental and business experience, including heading the Alabama branch of a major federal agency through which he directed significant investments in economic development and water and sewer infrastructure improvements literally all across our state," said Governor Ivey. "Chris understands first-hand the needs of Alabama communities and our citizens, and he will hit the ground running as public service commissioner."
Governor Ivey informed Beeker of his appointment today, and his term of office will begin immediately.
"It is with a humble heart that I accept the appointment to finish out my father's term as Commissioner, Place 2, for the Alabama Public Service Commission," said Chris Beeker, III. "My father's decision did not come lightly, and I am fully aware of the great responsibility I now have to fulfill my obligations to the people of Alabama. I look forward to working with the Alabama Public Service Commission staff and meeting citizens throughout our great state as we can continue to advance Alabama to be one of the most competitive states in the nation."
A Greene County native and resident of Tuscaloosa, Chris Beeker, III, is a graduate of The University of Mississippi at Oxford, and is married with three children.
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Chris married Drura Teresa Inge, daughter of Bernard Harwood Inge and Mary Patton Eatman, on 22 Jan 1972.1 (Drura Teresa Inge was born on 22 Aug 1949 in Eutaw, Greene, AL 13.)
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