One of the most successful businessmen to come out of Clarke County was also keen on public service and philanthropy. A foundation that bears his name continues to contribute generously to a variety of causes in southwest Alabama — student scholarships, civic, cultural, artistic and economic development projects. Joseph Linyer Bedsole, or J. L. Bedsole, was born in Mitcham Beat, in the New Prospect community, at Bedsole’s Store on Aug. 7, 1881. He was the oldest of six siblings. At a young age he and his family moved to nearby Tallahatta Springs and still later to Thomasville. Bedsole would eventually...

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