Dec. 15—Peggy Towns, a Decatur historian who before her retirement worked for two members of Congress, on Wednesday received the Athena Leadership Award for women in business.

Growing up in Decatur's Old Town and attending a segregated school, Towns has embraced Decatur's history and authored three books on the subject since she retired.

Her 30 years of public service and her books on local history were among the reasons the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce cited for presenting her with the Athena Award at the chamber's 13th annual Women in Business Celebration luncheon.

"The Athena Award honors a woman who demonstrates excellence, creativity and initiative in her business profession; provides valuable service by contributing time and energy to improving the quality of life for others in the community; and actively assists women in realizing their full leadership potential," according to the chamber.

Towns grew up on Church Street in Old Town and attended the segregated Lakeside High School. She then attended integrated Decatur High School her junior and senior years.

Towns said she grew up in a Christian home and certain things have stuck with her all her life.

"To love the Lord, to treat others as you would want to be treated, and my mother had a mantra: 'If you don't know where you've been you'll never know where you're going.' And what she was trying to teach us is the power of knowledge of who we are and what our challenges are, what our differences are and to work hard to make a difference," she said.

Towns said her mother taught her that knowledge leads to vision, courage, determination and commitment.

"When we were children, my mother used to walk us to the library," she said. "We would get a book that we wanted to read and one that she wanted us to read and actually have to write a paper on it in the summer," she said.

Towns received an associate's degree in secretarial science from Calhoun Community College and bachelor's in theology from Alabama A&M. She worked over 13 years for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Towns worked as the community liaison for U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer for 18 years and two years for U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith.

Towns retired in 2011 and started writing her first book, which she had spent years researching. The book, "Duty Driven," was published in 2012. It is about African American soldiers during the Civil War.

The second book, "Scottsboro Unmasked: Decatur's Story," Towns published in 2018. It discusses the impact the Scottsboro Boys' trial had on Decatur citizens.

Towns' third book, "Scapegoat: The Tommy Lee Hines Story," was published in 2020.

Towns said her hope is that the books will inspire readers and make an impact.

John Allison, director of the Morgan County Archives, said Towns frequented the Archives to do her research even before she retired.

"It's been remarkable to work with her, to see her passion for the topic and what she's been able to accomplish," he said. "Sort of covering some of these stories that hadn't always gotten the attention they should've in the past."

Towns has shed light on Decatur's history, Allison said, by "correcting some of the misconceptions that people have about our past. She feels that's important."

The Rev. Wylheme Ragland said he has worked on many historic Old Town projects with Towns.

"Her books have added additional fabrics to Morgan County and Alabama and Decatur history that were either not known or not written about or not spoken about," he said. "Anybody that's taken Alabama history would realize that what she's written about would add to the richness of Alabama history."

Towns said she is "trying to make our community more aware of who we are. And my hope is that what I've done is actually to inspire and that it will be impactful while educating and engaging us as a community."

Towns said people should make a difference, embrace one another, embrace their differences and challenges, and work together.

Towns is on the boards of several organizations, including Celebrating Early Old Town with Art, Alabama Center for the Arts and Decatur Morgan County Tourism.

The Athena award was presented at at the Doubletree by Hilton Decatur Riverfront.

—erica.smith@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2460.