Talladega County, Ala. - Ronald Reagan and Michael Jackson walk into a bar ... A pub, actually.
Old Tom's Pub, in the newly opened Inn at Pursell Farms, boasts a most unique vintage pool table. Photos on the wall show some of the celebs who racked 'em up on the famous felt over the years: President Ronald Reagan (during his movie-star days), members of the Jackson 5, Dolly Parton, Carol Burnett and Frank Sinatra among them. The table was a gift from late "Gomer Pyle" star Jim Nabors, who made it big in Hollywood but never forgot his tiny Alabama hometown, and was a lifelong friend of businessman and civic leader Jimmy Pursell.
"If you ever had to have one friend in your life, Jimmy Pursell would be the man," Nabors, who died last year at 87 , once wrote. "I've never had a better friend."
Pursell's family was in the fertilizer business for decades before selling the business assets in 2006. Today the family's 3,200-acre patch of heaven is home to Pursell Farms, a resort with a golf course hailed as Alabama's best, an Orvis facility offering sporting clay and fly casting lessons, a spa, wedding and meeting venue and more. Best of all, the storied resort is just over two hours from metro Atlanta. Read more here.
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