A journey through 'Wonderland'
Everyone has a story to tell. And every story is worth telling. As a writer, I’ve had the pleasure of sharing some of those stories, getting to know and appreciate what lies behind a face and life’s complex layers.
When writing the memoir “Wonderland” for fellow Mountain Brook resident Carol Wier, I unveiled a deeply passionate, astute woman and her life’s journey to see the world, trusting her own drive and perseverance to find her way.
Our interviews took place at her one-story brick home in Crestline. When I arrived for our initial meeting, my eyes first met a tall, patriotic flagpole standing in the front yard. Approaching the front door, neatly manicured bushes and crepe myrtles stood in a perfect line, as if saluting me.
Walking into Wier’s home, I felt as though I’d stepped back in time to my own grandmother’s house. Simple, cream-colored walls, heirloom furnishings and family photos embraced the living room. Around the corner was the kitchen, where I spent many hours sitting at her small vintage table, revisiting her past, sharing the occasional slice of pie and adoring her curious cat, Luke, lovingly named after St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, where he was rescued as a stray.
Born in 1923 in Austin, Minn., Wier experienced the life of a farm girl during the Great Depression and as a Marine surviving dismal boot camps and the harsh realities of World War II. It was during her time as a Marine in San Francisco that she met Captain James Willis, who she married after the war ended. Wier catered to the responsibilities of being a Southern Bell Telephone Company wife, moving with her husband to Louisville, Charleston, Mobile and, finally, Birmingham.
After buying a three-bedroom cottage on Montevallo Lane, Wier served as the Disaster Chairman for the Greater Birmingham Region American Red Cross. Her dedication earned her the Thousand-Hour Citation honor and an Outstanding Service Award for volunteer work connected to blood drives and emergency disaster relief.
Wier also powered a passion for politics, joining the Republican Women of the South and working as the staff director of communications covering 11 states for Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign. She was selected as an Alabama delegate to attend the National Republican Convention in Miami. Her work for the political party here at home helped build the state’s Republican status, strengthening it as a serious contender for future Republican candidates.
After the passing of her husband in 1965, it took time to heal, but she eventually refocused her life, moving to Washington, D.C.
Renting a modest one-bedroom apartment across from the highly acclaimed Watergate Hotel, Wier experienced the ups and downs of living in the nation’s political hub. A demanding job placed her reporting directly to Martha Mitchell, later referred to as the “mouth of the South” by President Nixon during the Watergate scandal.
She also fell in love.
With a marriage proposal from Commander Richard Wier, she happily packed her bags and moved back to her Mountain Brook cottage. Once settled in, she and her husband attended Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church, later joining St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, where Wier served as active chairman of the Altar Guild and eventually as the church’s wedding director for more than ten years. Wier’s lighthearted stories of shoe-flinging flower girls, fainting groomsmen and mother-of-the-bride rescues could be a book all its own. Yet, when asked what she loved most about working as a wedding director, her response was always the same.
“My satisfaction wouldn’t come until 10 or 15 years later when a couple would recognize me in the community and recall how I had directed their wedding, the happiest day of their lives,” she said. “That was my reward.”
In our journey through “Wonderland,” Wier reminded me of life’s simplest lessons.
“Be the first to speak to someone,” Wier says. “You’ll make a lot more friends that way.”
“Also, don’t judge people by something you may have heard or seen,” she adds. “To get along in this harsh world, it helps to accept everyone at face value.”
Most of all, I learned that friendship has no generation gap.
Wier’s legacy will forever carry on, and I am blessed to have been the one to share her words on paper and am delighted to know that after years of searching, a young girl from Minnesota found her way back home to the welcoming arms of this community.
Lisa Milberger Moore is a professional creative writer living in Mountain Brook with her children Katherine Grace and Harrison. Wonderland–A Memoir: The Life of Carol Maxine Hewitt Wier can be found in paperback at Amazon.com.