Alabama state historian lauded for 30 years of service

Ed Bridges, director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History for the past 30 years, has announced plans to retire as the state’s top historian.

Bridges, 66, informed the department’s board of trustees of his retirement decision last week and made it official Monday, citing several reasons, including stamina.

“Physically, I can no longer maintain the pace of work that the job requires,” he said, in a letter to George Evans, chairman of the department’s board of trustees. “It seems a little ironic that what on the surface may appear to be a quiet, easy job is, in fact, a very demanding one.”

The trustees are expected to have a successor in place by Oct. 1, as Bridges completes his fifth six-year term....