Thursday, April 30, 2015

Foot Traffic Only

No horses, mules, wagons or buggies allowed
 in the 1860's Merchant Town at last week's Battle of Selma.

Foot traffic only!

Linking to Signs, Signs

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The Peeps are Here

Little PEEPS started showing up in Selma's farm and garden centers
 over the past few weeks, and here are a couple at Tractor Supply. 

It seems that chickens aren't just for farms anymore as more folks
 are raising them so they can have fresh eggs. 

Linking to ABC Wednesday (where the letter is P)

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Our World, From Tasmania to the Battle of Selma

 It's a long, long way from Tasmania to Selma, but that's how far Jenni Jago
 traveled to attend the Battle of Selma last weekend!

While on a tour of the American South,
 she and others learned about the battle
 while in Montgomery and decided to head this way.

 She met some of the Southern Belles, tried the battle cuisine
 and took pictures. From Selma, they planned to travel to Jackson, Miss.

 

Linking to Our World Tuesday

Monday, April 27, 2015

Just Sending News from the Battlefield

"Selma has fallen!" is what I imagine these Civil War Battle of Selma
 reenactors are texting to relatives or friends on their phone! 

View a video of the 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment Band 
playing "Amazing Grace" during Sunday's closing ceremony.

Linking to Blue Monday

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Union Advance


The 150th anniversary of the Battle of Selma was re-enacted Sunday
 with hundreds of reenactors and a hillside full of spectators. 

In this photo, homes north of Selma are burned by Union Gen. J.H. Wilson's
 Cavalry as they advance on Confederate forces behind the fortifications.
 In the actual battle on April 2, 1865, Wilson's Raiders 
went on to destroy Selma's arms manufacturing facilities
 and burn much of the town. 



Saturday, April 25, 2015

Battle of Selma 150th

One hundred fifty years ago, much of Selma was in ruins...

the price it paid for its part as a major weapons, munitions and warship producer
 for the Confederacy during The War Between the States.

This weekend, the Battle of Selma is commemorated by hundreds of Union 
and Confederate reenactors from around the country. But the battle is much
 more than a battle with black powder and cannons and horses and swords.
 While that is certainly the highlight, those who attend will experience
 a living-history education in the lifestyle of the 1860s via battle tactics,
 weapons, medicine, communications, apparel, cooking, music and more. 

Why remember this relatively short battle during the last days of the Civil War?

It educates our children and ourselves in a way that no history book can.
 It brings authenticity to  America's bloodiest conflict, a four-year war 
that took hundreds of thousands of lives, injured millions more
 and set the course of our nation.

Selma's battle comes near the end of the 150th anniversary reenactments.
 For more information on Civil War 150 events, click HERE.      

(Photo is from a previous Battle of Selma event.)

Friday, April 24, 2015

Tribute to Union "Unknown Soldier" at Cahaba Federal Prison

 
 Tribute to the lone unknown Union soldier still buried at Cahaba,
 site of  a federal prison during the War Between the States, was paid 
Thursday by the April 1865 Society as part of the
 150th anniversary of the Battle of Selma.
 
While a wreath was laid at the soldier's grave, the ceremony
 at Cahaba Federal Prison also memorialized the 150 Union soldiers 
who lost their lives there and those who died shortly after the war 
on their way back home while aboard the steamship Sultana.
 
  This country's worst maritime disaster occurred April 27, 1865,
 on the Mississippi River near Memphis when boilers exploded,
 killing 1600 of the 2600 men on the overcrowded ship.
 Of those, 680 were former Cahaba prisoners.
 
While prison conditions were harsh, particularly with flooding and vermin, 
Cahaba's fatality rate of less than 5 percent was attributed to good artesian
 The overall death rate for southern prisons was 15 percent 
and for Union prisons, 12 percent. Historians estimate that
 more than 8,000 Union soldiers may have been housed
 in the unfinished cotton warehouse at Cahaba through the war years.  
 
Sources: Memories of Prisoners of War (Interned at Cahaba Federal Prison)
 compiled by John Lundquist, Cahaba Federal Prison, compiled by John Lundquist
 and Cahaba Prison and The Sultana Disaster by William O. Bryant
 

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

The Old Live Oak Cemetery Spring House

Old Live Oak Cemetery is a never-ending canvas for artists and photographers,
 and its colors are most beautiful in April.

Behind drapes of Spanish Moss, you see the Spring House or Pigeon House.
 It was here that Memorial Day concerts and programs were held,
 and it is also here where pigeons used to roost in its gables,
 now closed off. Today, it serves as storage. 

Linking to ABC Wednesday where the letter is "O"
Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Our World, Highway 80 Sale

It was wet, and it was muddy.

But vendors came in trucks and trailers and vans 
and put their wares on tables and under tents.

This was part of the scene at the Angie's Auction site of the U.S. Highway 80
 World's Widest Yard Sale last weekend. It was the only site I visited,
 because I found so many bargains in such a short time,
 I had to leave before I took home MORE STUFF! 

Linking to Our World Tuesday

Monday, April 20, 2015

Library Week's Aspiring Writers

If you have ever chopped cotton, taken castor oil or eaten collard greens
 on special occasions, then you just might relate to Litric Mingo's poetry. 

The Gees Bend native and Selma resident recited poems about her childhood 
and culture at the Selma-Dallas County Public Library during 
National Library Week. She is one of several local aspiring writers
 who spent an hour presenting original works, published or not. 

Mingo recited poems from a collection she plans to self publish.While she
 has written many poems,  it was her very first one, "Freedom Movement," 
that propelled her to prominence at her school in Boykin.  
Eventually, because her writing expressed the emotions of young people
 so well during a time of social change, she was chosen as one
 of 17 minority youth for a two-week trip to France. 

Many of Mingo's poems are humorous, but others, such as "Morning Glory"
 and "Today," reflect her positive outlook. Still others convey determination
 to rise above the circumstances of her Civil Rights Era youth. 

More about Litric Mingo can be found HERE. 

Friday, April 17, 2015

Good Fences, Sturdivant Hall

Here is a "low-level" look through the iron gates at Sturdivant Hall,
 an antebellum house museum that is open to the public and often the scene
 of many events such as weddings, receptions

Linking to Good Fences

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Signs, Signs (Let the Words of My Mouth)

Posted on a building on Martin Luther King Jr. Street:

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
 be acceptable in they sight, oh God!" 

The verse is from Psalms 19:14 which ends, "...oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer."

Oh, if only!

Linking to Signs, Signs



Wednesday, April 15, 2015

The Gardens on Church Street

Most azaleas peaked last week ahead of this week's rain, and not many
 are more showy than the ones in this garden on Church Street. 

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Our World (Bulls at Play, or NOT!)

Give a little camera to your husband to take to the pasture,
 and you get action shots, sometimes!

He caught these bulls playing "King of the Hill" in the mud
 and atop a pile of gravel. That sideways glance from the bull on the left
 tells us he won the game, or at least he is warning the other bull 
to stay away.  That is what I think!

Linking to Our World Tuesday

Monday, April 13, 2015

Spring in Fairoaks

Spring is always pretty in Fairoaks Square with plenty of foliage
 backed by charming Victorian cottages painted in pastels. 

Friday, April 10, 2015

Skywatch (Partly Cloudy with Snowballs)

It's partly cloudy with snowballs!

Southern Living Magazine calls the snowball bush "spring's
 most elegant flowering shrub"  and all a yard needs "to make a statement."
 So I guess quite a few yards over in Old Town are making statements
 right now, because the snowballs are definitely showy!

Linking to Skywatch Friday


Thursday, April 9, 2015

Signs, Signs (150th Battle of Selma)

Signs promoting the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Selma are everywhere,
 even hanging from this balcony at the St. James Hotel
 during last week's Alabama River Chili Cookoff. 

Battle Weekend begins with living history tours for school children April 23 and 24
 and continues with a writers' forum, pre-battle skirmish, sutler settlement,
 Battle of Selma Ball and the main battle re-enactment on Sunday, the 25th.

Linking to Signs, Signs

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Moss at the Mausoleum

 Selma's Spanish MOSS is quite an attraction but nowhere better
 than the deep canopies it creates in Old Live Oak Cemetery, 

In Spring, it is even more beautiful as azalea blossoms are drenched 
with its tendrils. Here, the moss hangs over the MAUSOLEUM 

Linking to ABC Wednesday where the letter this week is "M," 

 

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Our World, Back to Boating

Boating is back now that the weather has warmed and the river is not too high
 and not too swift. This boater took advantage of good conditions 
one evening last week as the sun was lowering in the western sky. 

Linking to Our World

Monday, April 6, 2015

Blue Monday, "Frozen" Chili

I think it's fair to say that the "Frozen" booth at the Alabama River Chili Cookoff
 was a favorite of children. Olaf and Elsa were there to pose for pictures,
 and the chili was sure to keep them warm!

Linking to Blue Monday
 

Sunday, April 5, 2015

He is Risen!


1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
 In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope
 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... (NIV)

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Firing the Cannon for the 150th

April 2 was the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Selma, and members 
of the Jeff Davis Artillery fired a cannon across the Alabama River
 at the 3 p.m. battle time as part of the official commemoration.

The small, six-pound experimental Brooke cannon was made in Selma in 1864 
and used to designed the steel versions. After the War Between the States
 was over, the cannon was shipped to a warehouse in Virginia but returned 
to the city in the 1930s.  It was placed with another one
 at the Selma Waterworks until one was stolen. 
Then, this one was moved to safekeeping.

Thanks to guest photographer Christine Weerts for the photo!

Friday, April 3, 2015

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Signs, Signs (The 150-Year Anniversary)


Today marks 150 years since Selma fell to Union Gen. J.H. Wilson
 near the end of the War Between the States. 

The historic markers near the Riverside Park entrance show the city's fortifications
 and tell how the brief battle ended.  Selma was a major producer of supplies
 and munitions, including Confederate warships. Its naval foundry, army arsenal,
 shipyard and powder works were destroyed by the Union soldiers after the battle.
 Much of the town was also burned. 

Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest defended Selma for the Confederacy, but despite
 his success in many other battles, he was unable to save the city
 with men and supplies so depleted in the final days of the war. 

Another marker will be unveiled at Arsenal Place this afternoon,
 and a Brooke Cannon that was manufactured here during the war
 will be fired at the same time the battle began.

Linking to Signs, Signs

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

April Theme Day (My Camera-Shy Self Portrait)

It's April Theme Day for the City Daily Photo Blogs,
 and we are posting "My Camera-Shy Self Portrait."

So here I am. Yes, I am there reflected in the window of Pringle Petals 
where you see the flower arrangement and the chandelier,
 but across the street is Alley-oup. 

And for the record, this selfie was taken quite by accident! 
I really dislike selfies!