2015 ~ Saturday April 14, Walking Tour, Car Show, Tuscumbia, Al, Grand Opening at CE Pools, & Krisby Kreme Treats

We cooked pancakes and eggs for breakfast, then everyone got ready, and we rode to Rogers High School for the car show.
I thought it started at 8 A.M., but it started at 10 A.M., so we rode to Tuscumbia, where we rode through the park, stopping to visit with Bobbie and Sherry, who always walk in Spring Park.
We were still too early for the walk, so we rode to the Round House and Train Depot.

We saw this rock face at Cold Water Book Store.

I parked and we walked to Cold Water Book Store, where the boys bought a coffee, a cookie, and a brownie.

We left on our Civil War tour at 10 A.M., walking up Main Street to the courthouse, where our guide, Buddy Whitlock, spoke about the Civil War, the Colbert County Courthouse, and the brick house across the street.
He said it was now owned by the adjoining church, and it has an underground tunnel leading into the kitchen from the attached outhouse, which is still standing.

He also mentioned the Deshler family, the loss of Mrs. Deshler, the loss of his young daughter from an unknown illness, the drowning of one son while attending a military college, West Point, and the other son killed during the Civil War; both sons attended West Point.
Mr. Deshler built a girls' school, with no heir; everything he owned he left to the city of Tuscumbia.
There was no room for expansion, so the school was moved up the street to the Winston Family homeplace, and land was donated to the school.
The school name remained the same, "DESHLER".

Picture of Deshler School I took in 2009
This is the Winston House 
We walked to The First Presbyterian Church, built in 1827 and Alabama's oldest house of continuous worship in the Georgian Gothic style.

Helen Keller was baptized in this church in 1880.
The former slave gallery is preserved and offers balcony seating.

Mr. Whitlock talked about the church's history, and afterward we listened to a local artist play "Lorena" on the banjo.

Lorena is a song loved by both Union and Confederate Soldiers.
Oh, the years creep slowly by, Lorena,
The snow is on the ground again.
The sun's low down in the sky, Lorena,
The frost gleams where the flowers have been.
But the heart beats on as warmly now,
As the summer days were nigh.
Oh, the sun can never dip so low
A-down affection's cloudless sky.
A hundred months have passed, Lorena,
Since last, I held that hand in mine,
And felt the pulse beat fast, Lorena,
Though mine beat faster far than thine.
A hundred months, 'twas flowery May,
When up the hilly slope we climbed,
To watch the dying of the day,
And hear the distant church bells chime.
We loved each other then, Lorena,
Far more than we ever dared to tell;
And what we might have been, Lorena,
Had but our loving prospered well --
But then, 'tis past, the years are gone,
I'll not call up their shadowy forms;
I'll say to them, "Lost years, sleep on!
Sleep on! Nor heed life's pelting storms."
The story of that past, Lorena,
Alas! I care not to repeat,
The hopes that could not last, Lorena,
They lived, but only lived to cheat.
I would not cause e'en one regret
To rankle in your bosom now;
For "if we try we may forget,"
Were words of thine long years ago.
Yes, these were words of thine, Lorena,
They burn within my memory yet;
They touched some tender chords, Lorena,
Which thrill and tremble with regret.
'Twas not thy woman's heart that spoke;
Thy heart was always true to me:
A duty, stern, and pressing broke
The tie which linked my soul with thee.
It matters little now, Lorena,
The past is in the eternal past.
Our heads will soon lie low, Lorena,
Life's tide is ebbing out so fast.
There is a Future! OH, thank God!
Of life, this is so small a part!
'Tis dust to dust beneath the sod;
But there, up there, 'tis heart to heart.
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When the music ended, everyone walked inside to take a look at the interior.
A woman was playing the piano, and all I could see was the top of her head.
We were told that the pipe organs above us are still used today.

Pipe Organs

Playing the piano

walking down the steps from the balcony

We were allowed to walk up the stairs to the balcony.

In the 1800s, Tuscumbia was a thriving town with at least three hotels.
The Pink Palace Restaurant was one of the old hotels that people enjoyed in the 1800s.

The Pink Palace Restaurant was once a hotel where visitors to Tuscumbia stayed.

 We stopped at Krispy Cream for donuts and on to CE Pools for their grand opening, where we enjoyed hamburgers, Cokes, chips, and Dianne's famous banana pudding. 

Donuts from Krispy Kreme 

Then onto the car show at Rogers High School, which ended at 2 P.M., and I thought it ended at 3 P.M. Several cars had already left, but we still saw quite a few. 

Montana in the MG

Nevada in the MG

Nevada and Montana got to sit in an MG Sports Car owned by Linda and John McCoy. Thanks, Linda and John, for letting the boy sit in your car. After a long, fun day, we came home, the boys on one computer and me on another. 

We had a great day.