By BY LYDIA GRIMES – Features Reporter
Bill Henderson is getting ready for this week's football game between Alabama and Auburn. His mind is set on who he wants to be the winner of the game.
He is an Alabama fan through and through. And well he should be. He was born and grew up in Tuscaloosa. He graduated from Tuscaloosa High School (now-Central) in 1973 and went to the University of Alabama on an athletic scholarship to play football. It is sort of unique that his father also attended Tuscaloosa High School and both of them went to All-state. Later Henderson's son would also go to All-state from T.R. Miller High School.
There had been some lean years for the Tide in the early 1970s. In fact, there was some talk of Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant leaving and going to coach with the Miami Dolphins. But instead, Coach Bryant took the whole coaching staff to the University of Texas to learn how to play the "wishbone." They came back and put the play into practice. That season they won the first game against Southern California using the play.
The Henderson household will watch the game with much anticipation on Saturday. They certainly hope that Alabama wins the game. Not only is Henderson an alumnus of the University of Alabama, but both of his children are attending school there now.
He married while he was at college to a Brewton native, Paula Nordmeyer, and they had their first child, Phillip. Henderson left college before graduation and they moved to Brewton where he went to work with his father-in-law, Jim Nordmeyer at Nordmeyer's Tire Company. It was only later that he went back to get his bachelor's degree in science.
In 1982 the Hendersons had a daughter, Koster.
After working with his father-in-law for about five years, Henderson went to work with Gas and Oil Separation Plants. He later worked with Conecuh-Monroe Gas and then to the city of Brewton as the public works director where he worked for about eight years.
He also started a little business on the side to raise extra money. His wife had complained about not being able to get someone reliable to take care of the yard, to mow the lawn, trim the bushes and keep everything cut the right way. He realized that others felt the same way and that businesses needed a good yard service.
His business took off and pretty soon he had more work than he could keep up with on his own. He started doing more and more work, both residential and commercial. The business was so successful that about four years ago, he went full-time with it and hired a staff of five people to work with him. At the present time, he and his staff are taking care of lawns all over town, including both commercial and residential properties.
Henderson never lost his interest in football. Today he and Doug Prater are the announcers of the T.R. Miller Tiger games on Friday nights. In 1989 or 1990 he was allowed to broadcast the play-off games through a deal with WKNU Radio. They soon started announcing all of the games and today they are on the radio station WPGG announcing Miller football for those who don't make it to the game.
What free time Henderson has, he loves to spend outdoors. He likes to hunt, fish and play golf where he says he is "average." He speaks with a slow southern drawl and is quite proud of his two children, Phillip and Koster, and his wife, Paula, who teaches school at Flomaton Elementary School where she has taught for a long while.
Although Henderson never played football professionally, he did enjoy his time with "The Bear" and credits him with being a great influence on his life. Today he is still tied to the game through the Miller Tigers and his love of the game.
You can bet he will be very interested in the game on Saturday and will be rooting for the Alabama Crimson Tide.