‘Jeffrey the Ghost’ appears downtown

Published 10:49 pm Friday, September 30, 2016

A sculpture of Jeffrey the Ghost will appear throughout downtown Selma in October. Main Street Selma and Queen City Market commissioned Charlie “The Tin Man” Lucas to design the sculpture for a social media contest.

A sculpture of Jeffrey the Ghost will appear throughout downtown Selma in October. Main Street Selma and Queen City Market commissioned Charlie “The Tin Man” Lucas to design the sculpture for a social media contest.

By Alaina Denean Deshazo | The Selma Times-Journal

The late Kathryn Tucker Windham’s famous Jeffery the Ghost has come to life via a sculpture made by Charlie “The Tin Man” Lucas and commissioned by Main Street Selma and Queen City Market.

Throughout the month of October, Jeffery will move to different businesses around downtown, encouraging people to visit local stores and shops.

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A.C. Reeves and Mandy Henry, owners of Queen City Market, along with store manager Laura Beth Boyd came up with the idea of Jeffery after hearing about the  similar “Nanny Goat” project in Montgomery.

“Jeffery was an idea that A.C., Laura Beth and myself came up with on the way to market, just kind of brainstorming a way to get people interested in downtown and get people going to different shops,” Henry said. “We thought it was a great idea to have downtown.”

People are not only asked to visit Jeffery at the different locations but to post a photo to social media with Jeffery with the hashtag #Jeffreytheghost, #mainstreetsema and #alwayshome.

Main Street Selma held its “Big Bang” ceremony Friday for Queen City Market’s new location on Broad Street.

Main Street Selma held its “Big Bang” ceremony Friday for Queen City Market’s new location on Broad Street.

At the end of October, there will be a drawing for a $500 gift basket from those that participated. Jeffery will move throughout the month to a new location with a clue about where he’s headed next.

“Our humble beginnings” was the first clue inside Queen City Market Friday.

Lucas made the sculpture from a washing machine donated by Windham’s daughter Dilcy Windham Hillery.

Friday was a big day for Queen City Market having Jeffery out front, but it was also their grand opening. The store moved from Lauderdale to Broad Street next to Carter Drugs.

“We’re very excited to be open,” Henry said. “We’re really glad to be on Broad Street where we have more foot traffic.”