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I really enjoy staying in the Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds. The sites are spacious, the setting is serene and (with my half price senior rate) the price is right; however, there are few close enough to my tourist destinations to make them practical. I plan to use them a lot after I become less of a tourist and more of a squirrel watcher. Thus, I departed the Albany RV Resort in Albany GA on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 to move to the Gunter Hill Campground on R.E. (Bob) Woodruff Lake, a Corps of Engineers facility, near Montgomery AL (2013 Population: 201,332). The length and duration of this leg of
The Great Adventurewas more to my liking – about 180 miles and 3 ½ hours – and had no gremlins in the offing.
The hourly weather forecast for Thursday was for a 70%!c(MISSING)hance of rain pretty much the entire day, so Uncle Larry did some housekeeping. I never saw one drop fall! Friday’s forecast was for overcast with little chance of rain, so I waited for the rush hour traffic to subside and headed for the
Montgomery Area Visitor Center which is located in the former Montgomery Union Station and Trainshed. That
landmark is interesting in its own right. After getting a very nice map which could serve as a walking guide, I walked over to talk to the lady representing
Blake's Segway Tours. Normally, tours are scheduled and are 1, 2 or 3 hours in duration. She had another group scheduled but had time for a 1 or 2-hour tour. Something that’s been lingering on the old bucket list just got removed! I can’t really say it was fun, per se, but we covered as much ground in 2 hours as I could have walked in a full day. Additionally, the tour provided me with a great overview of the dozen or so attractions in the downtown area.
I had identified four attractions to visit on a “Schoolless Saturday” when parking is much less difficult and when (I learned on the Segway tour) parking meter enforcement is also suspended. My initial stop was at the
First White House of the Confederacy which was the Executive Residence of President Jefferson Davis and his family during the short period the Confederate capitol was in Montgomery – February 1861 until late May 1861. At that time, the capital was moved to Richmond VA. The 1830s attraction is completely furnished with
original period pieces from the 1850s and 1860s and includes many personal items of President and Mrs. Davis. Even without the Davis connection, this is one of the best attractions of its type I have seen in quite some time. With the Davis connection and the Davis artifacts, this attraction should make everybody’s A-list when in Montgomery.
My second stop was next door at the
Museum of Alabama – the Alabama State Museum. The building also serves as the Department of Archives and History. The first floor has the Statuary Hall with busts of some famous Alabamans, and the third floor has a gallery of Alabama Portraits; but the meat is on the second floor. Four smaller exhibits contain a hands-on area for the small children and galleries highlighting “The First Alabamans,” “The Land of Alabama” and “Alabamans in the Great War.” About half the second floor is allocated to “Alabama Voices.” Significant coverage is given to Indian removal; the era of “The Cotton State (1814-1860);” secession, the Civil War and reconstruction; and “Mines, Mills, and Mules (1871-1929).” The museum architects did not avoid unsavory aspects of Alabama’s history, such as the terrorism wrought by the Ku Klux Klan and the
The Spiral Staircase Is Pretty Cool
Alabama State Capitol - Montgomery AL passage of state and local laws to circumvent the implementation of civil rights for blacks, and did a yeoman’s job of presenting the material in a factual, straightforward manner.
Alabama has had five political capitals during its history. The first was the territorial capital in Saint Stephens in 1817, followed by the state convention in Huntsville in 1819, then the first "permanent" capital in Cahaba in 1820 after which it was moved to Tuscaloosa in 1826, and then, finally, coming to rest in Montgomery in 1846. The current structure is the state's fourth purpose-built capitol building, with the first at Cahaba, the second at Tuscaloosa, and the last two in Montgomery. The first capitol building in Montgomery, located where the current building stands, burned after only two years. The current building was completed in 1851, although additional wings were added over the course of the following 140 years. The
Alabama State Capitol, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the First Confederate Capitol, is located on Capitol Hill, originally called Goat Hill.
I found the Alabama State Capitol BUILDING to be quite ordinary, but the history is extraordinary. Indeed, this building has probably seen more history than any
other capitol. While serving as the Confederate Capitol in 1861, the current capitol building witnessed the drafting of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States of America, which was drawn up in the Senate Chamber by the Montgomery Convention on February 4, 1861. The convention also adopted the Permanent Constitution here on March 11, 1861. Jump ahead 100 years. Two years after Governor George Wallace had taken office, an election he won based on his racist, “Segregation yesterday, segregation today, segregation forever!” rhetoric, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "How Long, Not Long" speech on the steps of the Capitol after completion of the 54-mile Selma to Montgomery March on March 25, 1965. Our group was led by the Alabama State Historian which made for an extremely interesting tour. Highly recommended, if you can make it on a Saturday when guided tours are conducted. I will reserve comment on a self-guided tour.
‘Twas time for lunch so I made a stop at (oft mentioned by locals)
Chris' Famous Hot Dogs. On May 1, 2016, Chris’ celebrated its 99
th anniversary. According to the web site, “Founded in 1917, Chris' has served some historical and famous figures. Franklin D. Roosevelt would frequently
ask for a box of the world famous hot dogs as his train stopped in the Montgomery train station. As would Harry Truman. Both Bush presidents have been served. Every Governor since our opening. Chris' catered for Elvis, even Whoopi Goldberg has eaten at Chris' Hot Dogs.” I figured they must be doin’ something right. I eat about a dozen hot dogs every five years or so, so don’t expect any kind of a critique from me. It was a hot dog with some very different sauce on it!
After lunch, I made my way to the
Civil Rights Memorial Center, which actually is two entities - the Civil Rights Memorial and the Civil Rights Memorial Center. Yeah, I was confused also. The memorial itself is an open plaza adjacent to the memorial center, is open 24 hours a day and is inscribed with the names of individuals who lost their lives during the modern Civil Rights Movement – 1954 to 1968. The Memorial was designed by Maya Lin, the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. Water flows down a wall inscribed with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and flows across the names of the slain.
I’m sure there is a meaning behind the flowing water, but you’re on your own for that one. The Civil Rights Memorial Center has some of the history of the Civil Rights movement as well as highlights of some of the more contemporary struggles world-wide. Both are nice and should be on the list for those with 2-3 days in Montgomery.
My final stop of the day was at the
Freedom Rides Museum. This museum is in the former Greyhound Bus Station and tells the story of how 21 young people – black and white, male and female, none of whom were older than 21 – helped change our nation’s history using nonviolent protest. They knew they might be met with violence when they stepped off of a bus at this station on May 20, 1961. They were. They had written out wills and said goodbye to loved ones. On the day of my visit, they were holding, you guessed it, a hootenanny! It actually was an anniversary celebration, and I had the distinct honor of meeting and talking to five of those Freedom Riders – all of whom are now well over the age of 21!
Very few attractions
are open on Sunday and almost NOTHING is open on Sunday morning, so I set out for a drive through the Alabama countryside with stops at five historic county courthouses on the agenda, including the Lowndes County Courthouse (1858) in Hayneville AL, the Wilcox County Courthouse (1857) in Camden AL, the Perry County Courthouse (1856) in Marion AL, the Autauga County Courthouse (1906) in Prattville AL and the Elmore County Courthouse (1932) in Wetumpka AL. None of the courthouses is particularly significant architecturally, but their existence provided a great excuse to explore the Alabama countryside.
I returned in time to make a stop at the
Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery. Hiram King "Hank" Williams (1923-1953) was an American singer-songwriter and musician and was regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century. Born in Mount Olive AL, Williams moved to Georgiana AL where he met Rufus Payne, a black street performer who gave him guitar lessons in exchange for meals or money. Payne, along with Roy Acuff and Ernest Tubb, had a major influence on Williams' later musical style. It was during this time that Williams informally changed his name to Hank, as
Carver’s First Love Was Painting
George Washington Carver Museum – Tuskegee AL he had always fantasized about having the name "Hank." He moved to Montgomery where his music career began in 1937 when the producers of radio station WSFA hired him to perform and host a 15-minute program.
Williams was born with spina bifida occulta, a disorder of the spinal column, which gave him lifelong pain – a factor in his later abuse of alcohol and drugs. One placard in the museum suggests he might have been the victim of Marfan syndrome (MFS), a genetic disorder of connective tissue. People with Marfan syndrome tend to be tall and thin with long arms, legs, fingers and toes; and to have flexible joints and scoliosis. The most serious complications involve heart anomalies. Several years of alcoholism and prescription drug abuse led to his dismissal by WSFA and, later, by the Grand Ole Opry and severely damaged Williams' health. While being driven to a performance (the weather prevented air travel), Williams died in the back seat of his 1952 Baby Blue Cadillac on January 1, 1953 at the age of 29, from heart failure exacerbated by pills and alcohol.
In addition to Hank's 1952 Baby Blue Cadillac, there are over 35 showcases filled
Some Of Carver’s Laboratory Equipment
George Washington Carver Museum – Tuskegee AL with personal artifacts including clothing, portraits, musical equipment, sheet music and song books, platinum and sterling records and awards and proclamations. For those who have been to the
Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville TN; well, let’s be nice and warn you – don’t expect the same caliber attraction. This museum, essentially, is an artifact warehouse. Given that those who were alive when Williams was at his best are now in their eighties, I can only recommend this museum to the most diehard country music fan. Oh yes, you’ll have to take my word for it because photography is not allowed.
I had allocated an entire day to two attractions about a half hour from Montgomery. The first,
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site, is an icon in the annals of American education and was founded by Booker T. Washington and had George Washington Carver on its staff. Among its alumni is General Daniel "Chappie" James, America's first black four-star general. Two men, one dressed to the nines in a suit and tie while the other was dressed nicely in more casual clothes, were talking just outside the George Washington Carver Museum. I inquired whether my location was a legal parking spot. Assured that it was, I
parked the truck and headed for the museum. As I approached the museum (which doubles as the National Park Service Visitor Center), a conversation ensued – go figure! A long story made short, I learned that the more casually dressed man works in the Tuskegee University admissions office and was giving the other man a tour of the campus. Spotting my “Vietnam Veteran” baseball cap, he asked when I was in country. I asked if he had been to the party whereupon he said not technically but asked if I had ever heard of an arc light.
">Operation Arc Light was the deployment of B-52 Stratofortresses as conventional bombers from bases in Guam to support ground combat operations in Vietnam. The B-52s were commonly flown in three-plane formations known as "cells." The full bomb load varied depending on the B-52 model, but the typical load amounted to ONE HUNDRED EIGHT 500 lb. bombs – yup, that’s 27 tons of “what did I do to deserve this” in each of the three B-52s. Releasing their bombs from high in the stratosphere, the B-52s could neither be seen nor heard from the ground. There is no way to describe it from miles away,
except to say it sounds like the rumbling of thunder in the distance. Having seen the aftermath, I can only imagine what it’s like up close and personal. The more casually dressed man confided that he had been an ordinance officer (or whatever those fellas who press the “bombs away” button are called) on a B-52 during most of the time I was in country and was always in fear of making an error and dropping the ordinance on friendly forces. I had never thought of it before, but that’s not the neurosurgeon making a mistake folks, that’s the neurosurgeon making 500 mistakes simultaneously. I was invited to join them for a museum tour. The George Washington Carver Museum is a nice overview of this phenomenal scientist’s accomplishments. Much of his research, including that on peanuts and sweet potatoes, is ongoing at Tuskegee University.
ASIDE: Most of my geriatric contemporaries have heard of Khe Sanh, a U.S. military post in the northwestern portion of Quảng Trị Province in South Vietnam. From January 21, 1968 – July 9, 1968, Khe Sanh was under siege by forces of the North Vietnamese Army. During that time period, the U.S.A.F. used B-52s to
run arc light operations in support of the Marines at Khe Sanh. While I was Googling information on Operation Arc Light, I found an interesting video, the