Government and community leaders throughout the Black Belt and nation took time Monday to honor author, storyteller and friend, Kathryn Tucker Windham.

Windham was known to keep an open line with Selma city officials as well as those in Dallas County and throughout the region.

Among those she often spoke with was Selma City councilmember Bennie Ruth Crenshaw.

Crenshaw said she and Windham often had one-on-one conversations about some of Selma’s most sensitive issues.

“We talked openly about race and we didn’t ignore our differences, we embraced them so we could better understand each other,” Crenshaw said.

The two, she said, became close friends and she said Windham once gave her a gift to remind her to keep a positive attitude.

“She gave me a sugar bowl and a card that said ‘always be sweet so others can see you as I do,’” Crenshaw said. “And she told me to always keep it where I could see it and I did. I look at it every day.”

Dallas County Probate Judge Kim Ballard said he and Windham had a number of conversations about growing up in the area.

Windham, born in Selma and who is originally from Clarke County, and Ballard, who grew up in Marengo County, said they often had plenty to discuss when they got together. He also fondly recalled her 90th birthday party where all of the guests attempted to become musicians.

“I remember at her 90th birthday she handed out combs and wax paper,” he said. “There is an art to playing a comb and wax paper and we all had a lot of fun trying to play that day.”

When asked about Windham’s impact on the city of Selma, Mayor George Evans was at a loss.

“I don’t have the words to describe what she has meant to us all,” Evans said. “She is known throughout the state and throughout the nation really. She is an icon.”

Corey Bowie, Selma City councilmember Bowie agreed.

“Selma and Dallas County has truly lost a pioneer,” Bowie said. “She lived a great life. Her stories showed her strength, courage and determination.”

Windham was outspoken on her love for Selma and her desire to help make the city a place people wanted to visit. Her efforts to establish the Tale-Tellin’ Festival did just that.

Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sheryl Smedley said Windham was always a joy to work with and a true asset to the community.

“She wanted an event where everybody could come together for something good and something positive in our community. I just loved her little stories and her childhood memories growing up in the simpler times of life,” Smedley said. “We were just so blessed to have her here in Selma, in our community. She remained here in Selma and really believed in making it, promoting it as her home place, a great place for people to come together, gather together as one,”

Windham’s influence rose all the way to the nation’s capitol, where U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), a Selma native, expressed her sadness as well.

“Kathryn Tucker Windham was a steward of the community and one of Alabama’s most beloved authors and storytellers. I was deeply saddened to hear of her passing yesterday,” Sewell said. “Her spellbinding stories of life in Alabama and of true Southern culture have captivated people from around the world.”

In her hometown of Thomasville, the employees of city hall headed to work on a somber tone Monday, Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day said.

“We lost an icon. She was a true friend,” Day said. “She taught us all the things in life that were important. She taught us that you just need to be who you are and that it is okay to be from the country.”

Though they are saddened by her death, Day said they also took solace in the fact Windham made the most of her life while she was here.

“I can’t imagine anyone who had as much fun with life as Kathryn Tucker Windham,” he said.