Teddy Bears, Churches and Ruins

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We followed the Great River Road all the way down into Louisiana, stopping at a few interesting (and sometimes peculiar) sights. First, Onward, Mississippi. Onward is a corner store. We actually missed it and had to turn around. There's nothing remarkable on the inside: just chips, candy, beer and the like. But, Onward has a claim to fame. It was here that the story originated of the Teddy Bear. It is fabled that Teddy Roosevelt was hunting here when his hunting party came upon a baby bear. The guide lassooed the bear, but Roosevelt declined on shooting it. The party set him free, and Rossevelt's attidtude toward the bear caused a great many cartoons to be printed about it. Then a stuffed animal company wrote to the president requesting that they be able to name their stuffed bears after him. This, they say, is how the Teddy Bear came to be...but the funny thign its, the true story of that day is supposedly that the president was tired from not finding any game, went to rest, and while he was away the hunting guide roped an old and greying bear not worth keeping as a trophy on the hunt. Before Roosevelt even heard about it, they set him free, and the whole thing never even involved him. Interesting, huh?

Next, in a little town still in Mississippi there's a church with a tall steeple. On thop of this spire, there's a golden hand. This hand is pointing up, as if toward heaven. Just in case you weren't sure of the direction, I suppose. Funny...even funny enough that Monty Python used it in one of their movies. Yes, the church really does exist!

Lastly, driving on a windy road called the Natchez Trace alongside the river we came upon the Ruins of Windsor. These "ruins" are from a mansion built in the 1850s that burned down in 1890. It was a greek revival mansion that was reduced down to its stone columns in the fire...and most of the columns are still standing today. Back when the whole mansion was standing, and even after when it was only those columns, it was a landmark for the rafts and shipping vessels along the Mississippi. It was crazy to walk around and stare at the columns, still standing there...yet so much younger than the ones that still stand in Greece.

One last thing that's interesting about that Natchez Trace we drove on for a bit, other than the fact that it drives along beside the river: It was a road that for a period of time most men walked on, and only in one direction. It was the path back from Natchez, and even New Orleans, that men took back home after ferrying their goods down the Mississippi. At one time, it was home to a great many inns for them to stay at. Before that, it was an Indian trail. It's covered in tons of points of interest, as well as old courses of the river now filled with vines choking all other vegetation, though we only stopped at the ruins. Cool, huh?

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Comments

[Linda]

Oh wow!
So interesting, huh? That's so cool! Great pics! Love, Linda