February 5
Our Alabama adventures have begun. The weather has remained cloudy, cool, and showery, but today we visited three National Park sites. We began with the Little River Preserve where the recent rains have turned the river into a torrent. The canyon is about 450 feet deep and every conceivable waterfall was showing itself off. In the afternoon we visited Horseshoe Bend where, in March of 1814, Andrew Jackson and his Tennessee militia with Cherokee and Creek allies defeated over 1,000 "Red Stick" Creek warriors who, inspired by Tecumseh, were seeking to drive the white settlers out of the historic Creek homelands. The NPS movie told the story very well. We could picture the grim battle in some detail. Then we headed to the airport at Tuskegee where over 1,000 Black airmen were trained during WWII. It is a fitting place for the Monument since Macon County, Alabama, which surrounds Tuskegee, is 83% African-American. We spent the night close to Auburn University. The owner of the Outback Restaurant told us that the Alabama-Auburn rivalry is really fierce. He thinks that most of the folk who have not been to college pull for Alabama. There are a lot of Alabama souvenirs for sale in every grocery and convenience store.
February 6
We had a nice visit to the George Washington Carver museum on the Tuskegee University campus. Booker T. Washington hired Carver, and their stories are really very inspiring. This is also an NPS site, and the young ranger on duty had played football at Morningside College in Si0ux City, Iowa before transferring to Tuskegee. We took pictures of the graves of both of these great men. A quick hop to Mongomery took us to the State Capitol where Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as President of the Confederacy. He marched down Dexter Avenue to the new song, "Dixie". Ironically the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is a block from the Capitol, and it was there that the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott was organized under the leadership of its new young pastor, Martin Luther King, Jr. The Selma to Montgomery March came up the same street in 1965. We drove half way to Selma to visit the Lowndes County center where the NPS tells the story of that march. It is a grim reminder of how vicious segregation was. On that very spot a tent city was erected for sharecroppers who had been evicted by their white landowners simply because they registered to vote. In 1960 not one of the 5,000 African-Americans in that county was registered to vote.
February 7
We took advantage of the quietness of Super Bowl Sunday to go downtown to explore the neighborhoods of Mobile. It is a very Southern city with its live oaks draped in Spanish moss and great mansions a few blocks from abject poverty. We were impressed by the
quality and honesty of the Museum of the City of Mobile. It faced slavery and segregation unflinchingly. Bill went to a 5:00 service in a little storefront church being started by a former English professor who was ordained as an Amer. Baptist and called to Mobile as a Southern Baptist pastor. The Southern Baptists disfellowshipped that congregation for calling her. The congregation stood by her, but understood when she moved to the UCC to start her own congregation. She is a strong preacher and a good pastor. We went back downtown for two Mardi Gras parades and returned loaded with trinkets. The riders on the floats bombard the crowd with moon pies (a graham cracker and marshmallow treat), beads, cups, toys, and stuffed animals. Bill caught 69 necklaces. Judy got 4 stuffed animals plus cups, toys and moon pies. People here eat rice and beans and moon pies for their Super Bowl parties. Mardi Gras was actually observed here before it was observed in New Orleans. Everyone here is excited about the outcome of the Super Bowl.
Our Alabama adventures have begun. The weather has remained cloudy, cool, and showery, but today we visited three National Park sites. We began with the Little River Preserve where the recent rains have turned the river into a torrent. The canyon is about 450 feet deep and every conceivable waterfall was showing itself off. In the afternoon we visited Horseshoe Bend where, in March of 1814, Andrew Jackson and his Tennessee militia with Cherokee and Creek allies defeated over 1,000 "Red Stick" Creek warriors who, inspired by Tecumseh, were seeking to drive the white settlers out of the historic Creek homelands. The NPS movie told the story very well. We could picture the grim battle in some detail. Then we headed to the airport at Tuskegee where over 1,000 Black airmen were trained during WWII. It is a fitting place for the Monument since Macon County, Alabama, which surrounds Tuskegee, is 83% African-American. We spent the night close to Auburn University. The owner of the Outback Restaurant told us that the Alabama-Auburn rivalry is really fierce. He thinks that most of the folk who have not been to college pull for Alabama. There are a lot of Alabama souvenirs for sale in every grocery and convenience store.
February 6
We had a nice visit to the George Washington Carver museum on the Tuskegee University campus. Booker T. Washington hired Carver, and their stories are really very inspiring. This is also an NPS site, and the young ranger on duty had played football at Morningside College in Si0ux City, Iowa before transferring to Tuskegee. We took pictures of the graves of both of these great men. A quick hop to Mongomery took us to the State Capitol where Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as President of the Confederacy. He marched down Dexter Avenue to the new song, "Dixie". Ironically the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is a block from the Capitol, and it was there that the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott was organized under the leadership of its new young pastor, Martin Luther King, Jr. The Selma to Montgomery March came up the same street in 1965. We drove half way to Selma to visit the Lowndes County center where the NPS tells the story of that march. It is a grim reminder of how vicious segregation was. On that very spot a tent city was erected for sharecroppers who had been evicted by their white landowners simply because they registered to vote. In 1960 not one of the 5,000 African-Americans in that county was registered to vote.
February 7
We took advantage of the quietness of Super Bowl Sunday to go downtown to explore the neighborhoods of Mobile. It is a very Southern city with its live oaks draped in Spanish moss and great mansions a few blocks from abject poverty. We were impressed by the
quality and honesty of the Museum of the City of Mobile. It faced slavery and segregation unflinchingly. Bill went to a 5:00 service in a little storefront church being started by a former English professor who was ordained as an Amer. Baptist and called to Mobile as a Southern Baptist pastor. The Southern Baptists disfellowshipped that congregation for calling her. The congregation stood by her, but understood when she moved to the UCC to start her own congregation. She is a strong preacher and a good pastor. We went back downtown for two Mardi Gras parades and returned loaded with trinkets. The riders on the floats bombard the crowd with moon pies (a graham cracker and marshmallow treat), beads, cups, toys, and stuffed animals. Bill caught 69 necklaces. Judy got 4 stuffed animals plus cups, toys and moon pies. People here eat rice and beans and moon pies for their Super Bowl parties. Mardi Gras was actually observed here before it was observed in New Orleans. Everyone here is excited about the outcome of the Super Bowl.
February 8
Today we had more sun and the temperature hit 60 briefly. 65 is the normal high this time of year, and all the locals complain about how hard the winter has been with lots of rain and cold weather - temperatures in the 40's. We visited the Bellingrath Gardens and found them to be very lovely with lots of camillias, daffodils, pansies, etc. We also toured Dauphin Island and Fort Gaines where Admiral Farragut said, "Damn the torpedos; full speed ahead." Mostly Judy has worshipped the sun today. Rain is in tonight's forecast again.
Today we had more sun and the temperature hit 60 briefly. 65 is the normal high this time of year, and all the locals complain about how hard the winter has been with lots of rain and cold weather - temperatures in the 40's. We visited the Bellingrath Gardens and found them to be very lovely with lots of camillias, daffodils, pansies, etc. We also toured Dauphin Island and Fort Gaines where Admiral Farragut said, "Damn the torpedos; full speed ahead." Mostly Judy has worshipped the sun today. Rain is in tonight's forecast again.
1 comment:
I personally enjoy the history lessons but I presume the young ones are waiting for Grandpa to wrestle something!
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