Joe Watts: January 2009 Archives
Not all the locations mentioned in this article are located in the Black Belt (just the best ones!).
The feature travel article in the Sunday edition of The Washington Post by writer Clay Risen described the trek he took through the "back roads" of Alabama. His recent trip to the state included the cities of Fairhope, Coden, Dauphin Island, Demopolis, Newbern, Thomaston, Forkland, Florence, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. Highlighted in the article were Fairhope's downtown area, Fort Gaines, the Rural Heritage Center, Trowbridge's Restaurant, Billy Reid Designs, the Rosenbaum House, W.C. Handy Museum, Ivy Green, Muscle Shoal Sound Studio, and the Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard.
From the introduction to the feature article "Let Us Now Praise the Back Roads of Alabama" by Clay Risen in the Sunday, Jan. 25 edition of The Washington Post:
It's true: Even the Birmingham airport smells like barbecue. And it's true that there is no better football than November's Auburn-Alabama game, a.k.a. the Iron Bowl. And of course it's true that the state is bounded, at its northern and southern edges, by two great tourist draws: the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, just below the Tennessee border, and the USS Alabama, docked permanently in Mobile Bay. But there is a lot more to Alabama than pork and pigskins. Despite the proliferation of suburbs and highways, vast pockets of the state have managed to hold onto their roots, and even develop new ones. Such appreciation doesn't come naturally to me as a Tennessean. In the same way Northerners look down on Southerners, as a general rule northern Southerners (we call it the "Mid-South") look disparagingly at our lower-state neighbors. But my attitude changed a few years ago, when I ventured down to Fairhope, a small town on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. In what has become an annual pilgrimage, I was there for Southern Writers Reading, a pre-Thanksgiving literary festival that draws heavily on the local arts community. Downtown Fairhope, just a few blocks in from a bluff that offers striking views of the bay, is a warren of boutiques and cafes, galleries and restaurants......
For the complete article see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/23/AR2009012301957.html.
The feature travel article in the Sunday edition of The Washington Post by writer Clay Risen described the trek he took through the "back roads" of Alabama. His recent trip to the state included the cities of Fairhope, Coden, Dauphin Island, Demopolis, Newbern, Thomaston, Forkland, Florence, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. Highlighted in the article were Fairhope's downtown area, Fort Gaines, the Rural Heritage Center, Trowbridge's Restaurant, Billy Reid Designs, the Rosenbaum House, W.C. Handy Museum, Ivy Green, Muscle Shoal Sound Studio, and the Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard.
From the introduction to the feature article "Let Us Now Praise the Back Roads of Alabama" by Clay Risen in the Sunday, Jan. 25 edition of The Washington Post:
It's true: Even the Birmingham airport smells like barbecue. And it's true that there is no better football than November's Auburn-Alabama game, a.k.a. the Iron Bowl. And of course it's true that the state is bounded, at its northern and southern edges, by two great tourist draws: the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, just below the Tennessee border, and the USS Alabama, docked permanently in Mobile Bay. But there is a lot more to Alabama than pork and pigskins. Despite the proliferation of suburbs and highways, vast pockets of the state have managed to hold onto their roots, and even develop new ones. Such appreciation doesn't come naturally to me as a Tennessean. In the same way Northerners look down on Southerners, as a general rule northern Southerners (we call it the "Mid-South") look disparagingly at our lower-state neighbors. But my attitude changed a few years ago, when I ventured down to Fairhope, a small town on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. In what has become an annual pilgrimage, I was there for Southern Writers Reading, a pre-Thanksgiving literary festival that draws heavily on the local arts community. Downtown Fairhope, just a few blocks in from a bluff that offers striking views of the bay, is a warren of boutiques and cafes, galleries and restaurants......
For the complete article see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/23/AR2009012301957.html.
In "Off the Porch" we'll be
looking at all the fantastic outdoor adventures that you can enjoy
right off of the front porch. So come on down to Alabama's southwestern
region and let us show you some of the finest hiking, biking,
birdwatching adventures you can handle!
Keep watching for new content as the site grows and changes.
http://www.alabamafrontporches.com/outside/blog/
Keep watching for new content as the site grows and changes.
http://www.alabamafrontporches.com/outside/blog/
February 7, 2009. Monroeville
251-575-7433. www.tokillamockingbird.com.
Old Courthouse Museum and Claiborne Masonic Lodge
$30. "Using Different Threads to Weave your Ancestral Tapestry"
Including cemetery records, church records, Masonic records, County records, Newspapers, Maps and other sources.
Field Experience: Platting the Claiborne Cemetery and proper restoration of damaged monuments. Admission includes a box lunch at the Masonic Lodge.
The afternoon session is a hands-on workshop at the Old Claiborne Cemetery. Registration 8:30 a.m.. Program from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Dora Bullard at (251) 575-7433
251-575-7433. www.tokillamockingbird.com.
Old Courthouse Museum and Claiborne Masonic Lodge
$30. "Using Different Threads to Weave your Ancestral Tapestry"
Including cemetery records, church records, Masonic records, County records, Newspapers, Maps and other sources.
Field Experience: Platting the Claiborne Cemetery and proper restoration of damaged monuments. Admission includes a box lunch at the Masonic Lodge.
The afternoon session is a hands-on workshop at the Old Claiborne Cemetery. Registration 8:30 a.m.. Program from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Dora Bullard at (251) 575-7433
On March 12, 13, and 14, enter a late 1700s/early 1800s camp on the bank of the Alabama River at the Claiborne Lock and Dam. Witness first-hand the lifestyles of the first inhabitants of Monroe County, when the area was filled with Creek Indians, European traders, travelers, American settlers, and militiamen. Walk around the typical river campsite and talk to the demonstrators. Join Creek Indians in a traditional game of "stick ball" and dance the traditional "stomp dance." This living history event is ideal for school groups on Thursday and Friday from 9:00-2:00. Teachers, contact in advance. The festivities will continue through to Saturday, open to the general public, from 9:00-4:00.
Over 30 demonstrators and living history reenactors will be in costume to depict the characters from Alabama's colonial era. The 1814 militiamen of Fort Toulouse (north of Montgomery) portray the frontiersmen of the time. Native American lifestyles are portrayed by "Blue Heron," reenactor from Florida, among others. Watch stone points, arrowheads and spearheads being made. John Hall, a retired University of Alabama professor, portrays William Bartram, a naturalist who traveled this area in the 1700's. Pat Meyers, a Satsuma tugboat pilot, will display replicas of riverboats. The Hvsosv Tallvhassee (Ha - so - sa Tallahassee) Stomp Dancers from the Poarch Creek Band of Indians, of Atmore, Alabama, demonstrate the traditional dance of the Creek Indian People called stomp dance. Trade or buy items from the Painted Bear Trading Company. Listen to authentic River Music by Riverboat John. Handmade crafts will be available for sale to the public, for young and old alike. Concessions will be available. Ideal learning environment for school field trips, contact Kevin Mannix at (251) 575-7433 or mchm@frontiernet.net.
All made possible by an education grant from the J.L. Bedsole Foundation of Mobile, Alabama.
Location: Alabama River Museum, Claiborne Lock & Dam, Franklin, Alabama
Date: March 12-14, 2009
Time: 9:00-2:00
Admission: $7.00 adults, $5.00 students/seniors
For more information contact: Monroe County Heritage Museums (251) 575-7433 or email mchm@frontiernet.net
Over 30 demonstrators and living history reenactors will be in costume to depict the characters from Alabama's colonial era. The 1814 militiamen of Fort Toulouse (north of Montgomery) portray the frontiersmen of the time. Native American lifestyles are portrayed by "Blue Heron," reenactor from Florida, among others. Watch stone points, arrowheads and spearheads being made. John Hall, a retired University of Alabama professor, portrays William Bartram, a naturalist who traveled this area in the 1700's. Pat Meyers, a Satsuma tugboat pilot, will display replicas of riverboats. The Hvsosv Tallvhassee (Ha - so - sa Tallahassee) Stomp Dancers from the Poarch Creek Band of Indians, of Atmore, Alabama, demonstrate the traditional dance of the Creek Indian People called stomp dance. Trade or buy items from the Painted Bear Trading Company. Listen to authentic River Music by Riverboat John. Handmade crafts will be available for sale to the public, for young and old alike. Concessions will be available. Ideal learning environment for school field trips, contact Kevin Mannix at (251) 575-7433 or mchm@frontiernet.net.
All made possible by an education grant from the J.L. Bedsole Foundation of Mobile, Alabama.
Location: Alabama River Museum, Claiborne Lock & Dam, Franklin, Alabama
Date: March 12-14, 2009
Time: 9:00-2:00
Admission: $7.00 adults, $5.00 students/seniors
For more information contact: Monroe County Heritage Museums (251) 575-7433 or email mchm@frontiernet.net
