2023 August 3, Alabama Music Hall of Fame & Railroad Museum TUSCUMBIA, AL

Our first stop was the dentist. I had two teeth pulled Friday and the dentist wanted to see how they were healing. 

We rode to Tuscumbia to tour the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Our granddaughter now loves to go to museums and I thought she would enjoy this one. 

We stopped outside the museum for a couple of pictures.

Ava at the Fountain 

Bought our tickets and the lady at the ticket counter gave Ava a Scavenger Hunt sheet.

The sheet had a list of 10 different animals to be found throughout the museum. 

She told Ava once she completed the task she would get a prize.

(Dog, fish, snake, peacock, monkey, opossum, horse, rooster, fish,? )

The ticket lady took our picture before we entered the Museum Display

As we walked through the museum we looked at the animals and well as looking at the displays.

She liked the display of Nat King Cole the Alabama Bus, and many others.

We got down to number ten the monkey on the list and walked back through the museum looking for a monkey.

We got a hint it was on a hat of Clint Eastwood and near the end of the displays.

She found it and headed to the gift shop for her surprise.

She picked a whistle and a star keychain.

Ava and the dog 

Ava and guitar entrance 

Ava and I were at the Entrance Door as we were leaving. 

Next, we rode to the Tuscumbia train Depot but it was closed. 

We did see the trains on the back side.

US TVA F2021 COLBERT STEAM PLANT Turn-about 

We rode to Florence and ate lunch at Chick-fil-A.

Ava ordered a kid's meal with chicken nuggets, waffle fries, and Chocolate milk. She also ordered ice cream but didn't eat it. I finished it off.

Once she finished eating she wanted to go play so I said go on.

Ava eating Chicken nuggets

Visiting Cemeteries

Antioch Cemetery Killen(Dec 9, 2003) June 9, 1997 

Anderson Cemetery Anderson (June 30, 2015) 

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, VA (Nov 8, 2002) 

Ashberry Shiloh Cemetery Pigeon Forge TN (Nov 17, 2009

Atlas Cemetery Killen(Aug 27, 2003)

Athens Old town Cemetery Athens(April 17, 2016)

Athens Cemetery Athens(April 17, 2016)

Barbe Cemetery Lula, MS (Jan 17, 201) 

Barton Cemetery Barton, AL(July 30, 2009) 

Barnett Cemetery Lexington, AL(Mar 13, 2009)

Canerday Cemetery Florence, AL (Jan 23, 2003)

Cedar Grove (Nov 29, 2016) AUG 8 1998

Center Hill Cemetery (Feb 12, 2009)

Chattanooga National Cemetery (Mar 22,2015)

Clemmons Cemetery (Aug 28, 2003)

Coffee Cemetery Florence(Sept 8, 2010) (April 10,2015)

Colbert Memorial Cemetery Tuscumbia(Oct 18,1997)

Coon Dog Cemetery Cherokee(July 30, 2009)

Corinth National Cemetery Corinth, MS(Sept 1, 2016) 

Cox Tidwell Killen(Feb 25, 2004 89photo)

Crowell Family Cemetery Fort Mitchell, AL (July 12, 2011)  

Demorest Cemetery Michigan(Aug 7,1998)

East Dayton Cemetery Dayton, MI(Aug 8, 1998)

Florence Cemetery (May 16, 2013)(May 14,2013)(May 3,2010)(2009 June 19) (Mar 11, 2009)(Oct 20, 2009) (June 19, 2009) (July 18, 2009) (May 3, 2014)

Fort Mitchell Fort Mitchel, Al (July 12, 2011

Forks Cypress Jackson Cemetery Florence, AL(June 7, 2009)

Glencoe Cemetery Tuscumbia, AL (June 24, 2016)

Glendale Cemetery Leighton April 3, 2008, Oct 18, 1997

Greenhill Cemetery Greenhill, AL Oct 4, 2003)

Greenview Florence, AL 

Grounds Cemetery at Hermitage, TN (Sep 25, 2010)

Hale Cemetery Killen, AL (Dec 12, 2003)

Harden Cemetery Killen, AL (Dec 6, 2006)

Harrison Cemetery Killen, AL (July 31, 2010)

Harrison Little Berry Cemetery Killen, AL 

Henry Stutts Cemetery Killen(Feb 20, 2009)

Hickory Flats Cemetery Lexington(Feb 2, 2004)

Hill Cemetery Killen(Jan 25, 2004)

Hugh McVay Moore Cemetery Florence(Sept 8, 2010)

Hunts Hill Cemetery, MS 17, 2012 

Jackson Tennessee Cemetery Wayne Co TN(Mar 12, 2003)

Jacksonburg Cemetery Florence(Oct 5, 2005)

JOE Wheeler Cemetery Pond Springs, AL(April 17, 2013)

Killen Baptist Church Cemetery Killen April 11, 1999 

Killen Cemetery Killen(Jan 30, 2009)

LaGrange Cemetery LaGrange, AL (Nov 21, 2009)

Lone Cedar Cemetery Florence(Jan 12, 2009)

Loretta Cemetery Loretta, TN(Aug 21, 2003 7photo)

Maple Hill Cemetery Huntsville, AL (Oct 17, 2010) (May 4, 2010)(Oct 18, 2009) (2009 Aug 25) (Oct 13, 2013)

Maple Hill Cemetery Helena, AR (Jan 17,2012) 

Mimosa Cemetery Lawrenceburg, TN (Oct 22,2016)

Mt Hermon Savannah, Tn (June 22, 1997)

Mt Pleasant Tn 

Mt Zion Cemetery Florence, AL(Aug 13, 2003,) (Sept 6, 1997)

North Carolina Cemetery Killen Sept 21, 2003, May 31, 1997, July 11, 1998

Oak Grove Paducah, KY (Sept 14, 2011)

Oakwood Cemetery Montgomery, AL (Oct 11, 2013) 

Oakwood Annex Montgomery, AL (Oct 11, 2013)

Oakwood Sheffield Cemetery, AL (Sept 6, 2010)(July 27, 2009)(Mar 12,2003)

Oakwood Tuscumbia Cemetery(May 14, 2013)(Oct 21, 2009)(July 27, 2009),(April 25, 2015)(Oct 18, 1997)

Peck Cemetery Killen(Dec 12, 2003)

Pettus Cemetery Lexington, AL 

Piney Grove Cemetery Hardin County, TN June 22, 1997

Rogers Chapel Zip City, AL 

Rogers Williams Cemetery Providence, RI (July 20, 2014) 

Sadler Cemetery Russellville, Al (Oct 1, 2013)

Saint Margaret’s Cemetery Montgomery, Al (Oct 11, 2013)

Shaw Cemetery Leighton, AL(Oct 18, 1997)

Shiloh National Cemetery Shiloh, TN (Sept 1, 2009)

Tabernacle Cemetery Greenhill, Al(Aug 24, 2003) (Aug 2003)

Union Springs, Ga Cemetery (April 22, 2007)

Wade Cemetery (Mar 21, 2003) (Sept 24, 2009), (June 22, 1997)

Wesley Cemetery Central, Al(Feb 26, 2004) (June 9, 1997)

Winston Cemetery Tuscumbia, AL(July 27, 2009) 

Wilson Cemetery St Florian, Al (Oct 21, 2009)

Food & Drink Factory /MUSEUM Tours South

1. Golden Flake Tour  #1 Golden Flake Drive  Birmingham, Alabama 35205
Company Store Hours M-T 8-4:30PM Friday 7-2PM Closed Holidays
Phone 1-800-239-2447
Must follow Rules 1-14
Must request and fill out a form for tour date and time
9:30, 11, or 12:30PM
Tour last about 45 minutes FREE
https://goldenflake.com/tours/

2. Bush's Beans Best 3901 US -411 Dandridge, TN 37725
The Museum Bush's Story
865-509-3077 -FREE
https://www.bushbeans.com/en_US/visitors-center

3. OLIVE and Sinclair Chocolate Company
1628 Fatherland St Nashville, TN 37206
tours are offered Saturdays only from 10-5PM and last 30-40 minutes.
Tickets are $5 per person and include samples, as well as a complimentary hairnet.
Tickets sold on-line no cash.
https://www.oliveandsinclair.com/factory-tours/

4.Jack Daniel's Distillery Tours 133 Lynchburg Highway  Lynchburg, TN
Tours daily 9AM-4:30PM
A. Dry County Tour 1 hour 10 minutes cost $15.00
b. The Flight of Jack Daniel's Tour 1 hour 30 minutes where you'll sip a flight of five Jack products $20
c.The Angel's Share tour 1 hr 30 min cost $25 Tour and Barrelhouse 1-14 and taste whiskey drawn from individual barrels.d. The Taste of Lynch burg two-course experience includes the standard tour and distillery and whiskey tasting and down-home meal at Miss Mary Bobo's. Length 3 hours cost $100 person
https://www.jackdaniels.com/en-us/visit-distillery

5. George A Dickel Distillery 1950 Cascade Hollow Rd  Normandy, TN 37360
Tours Tuesday-Saturday 9-4PM the last tour starts at 3:30PM
931-857-3124
Learn how George Dickel Tennessee Whisky is Handmade the hard way on this one hour tour through a fully operational distillery and barrelhouse. Cost $12
https://www.georgedickel.com/distillery-tour-information


6.Mayfield Dairy Farms 4 Mayfield Lane, Athens, TN 37303
1-423-649-2653  
Tour hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday - 9am to 5pm. The first tour at 10 is, the last tour at 4pm. With tours every hour.
Saturday - 9am to 2pm. The first tour at 10 is, the last tour at 1pm. With tours every hour.
Wednesday* - 9am to 5pm (*Ice cream and gift shop only – no tours)
Sunday – Closed
http://www.mayfielddairy.com/about-us/take-a-tour#visit-us-in-athens-tn

7.Bud's Best Little Cookie 2070 Parkway Office circle Birmingham, Al 205-987-4840
Pardon our Progress….we are working on some exciting projects in our plant so that we can produce more yummy cookies than ever. Please check back with us in the spring to see when we will start booking tours.
http://www.budsbestcookies.com/tours.html

8. Belle Chevre's Creamery 18849 Upper Fort Hampton Rd Elkmont, Al 35620
Tasting Samples at a tasting bar, 9-minute Documentary film
cost $12 person
Tour times: Friday 10 and 1PM
Saturday 11m 1 & 3PM
No tours Sunday-Thursday but visit their Cheese Shop and Tasting Room
256-732-4801
http://www.bellechevre.com/creamery-tours-events/tours/

2018 Shoals Front Porch Storytelling Festival

I spent the last three days attending different functions of the Storytelling Festival.
May 17,18,19, 2018

Thursday I attended the free concert at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame by Kate Campbell. 

Kate played guitar sang and told stories. (3:00-4:30PM)

One of the story/songs was about Tomatoes and Jesus Coming Soon. 

The special guest was Spooner Oldham. Kate has made many recordings with Spooner. 

Later that day at Florence Library,  I enjoyed listing to Josh Goforth tell stories about his tobacco-chewing PawPaw. 

Josh played a banjo, fiddle, and guitar. He can play as many as ten instruments. Very talented young man. (5-6PM)

Josh Goforth playing the banjo 

Friday I was joined by three friends at the storytelling festival held at the Shoals Theater from 9-5PM. 

Movie Projector at Shoals Theater displayed in the lobby

We enjoyed lunch at Legends which is located across the street from the theater.
We listened to Bil Lepp tell funny stories. 

Josh Goforth sings, tells stories, and plays the banjo, guitar, and Fiddle. 

Tim Lowry's long program he was dressed as a southern gentleman of South Carolina. 

After lunch, we listened to Donald Davis, Dolores Hydock, Bill Lepp, and Josh Goforth. 

There was a dinner break and we all went home. 

Saturday I was joined by one friend and we listened to Tim Lowry tell a story about attending an AME church in a Confederate Soldier Uniform. 

We listened to Donald Davis, Kate Campbell, & Josh Goforth.

Delores Hydock's long program was about a woman that worked for Loveman's Department Store "In her own fashion." 

Bobby Horton playing guitar while Dolores told the story of Ninette Griffith & Loveman's Department store 

My friend and I enjoyed a meal at City Hardware. I ordered a red, white, and blue salad with chicken. 

Red, White, and Blue Chicken Salad 

At 5PM the storytelling telling stopped for a dinner break.
My friend and I both went home. I would love to have stayed until 9PM for the rest of the show but I was just too tired.

Me in between Dolores Hydock and Tim Lowery at intermission 

🚗 2009 ~Sunday August 9, Fort Payne Historic Markers, Alabama Museum, Ruby Falls

We started the day by eating breakfast at Steak & Shake in Huntsville. We were on our way to Fort Payne, we stopped along the side of the road to take pictures of Historic sites and markers.

Alabama's Music Fan Club & Museum which houses memorable items once owned by Randy Owens, Teddy Gentry, Jeff Cook, and Mark Herndon

Crow Town in Stevenson
One of the Five Lower Towns was established by the Chickamauga Cherokees in 1782 under the leadership of Dragging Canoe. Territorial Governor William Blount reported to the Secretary of War in 1792 that: “Crow Town lies on the north side of the Tennessee (River), half a mile from the river, up Crow Creek, 30 miles below the Suck. (It) is the lowest town in the Cherokee Nation and contained 30 huts in 1790. The Creeks and Northward tribes cross (the river) here.” 
All of the Five Lower Towns were on the extreme Cherokee frontier. Running Water was near Chattanooga and Nickajack was near Haletown, Tennessee. Long Island Town was twenty miles below the Suck, east of Bridgeport, Alabama. Lookout Mountain Town was near Trenton, Georgia.
(Continued on another side)

Crow Town in Stevenson
Crow Town encompassed an area of several miles by the early 1800s as increasing numbers of Cherokee families settled here. With the creation of Jackson County in 1819, many of the Cherokees moved to the south side of the river – some 19th-century maps placed Crow Town near the southeast end of Snodgrass Bridge which takes Highway 117 across the Tennessee River east of Stevenson. The 1782 site of Crow Town, one-half mile from the confluence of Crow Creek and the original channel of the Tennessee River, was flooded with the closing of the spillway gates at Guntersville Dam in 1939.

Trail of Tears Bridgeport
In May 1838 soldiers, under the command of U.S. Army General Winfield Scott, began rounding up Cherokee Indians in this area who had refused to move to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. About 16,000 Cherokees were placed in stockades in Tennessee and Alabama until their removal. Roughly 3,000 were sent by boat down the Tennessee River and the rest were marched overland in the fall and winter of 1838-1839. This forced removal under harsh conditions resulted in the deaths of about 4,000 Cherokees.
In late June of 1838, a party of 1,070 poorly equipped Indians was marched overland from Ross' Landing at Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Waterloo, Alabama, because of low water in the upper Tennessee River. Following the general route of present-day U.S. Highway 72, they camped at Bellefonte, where about 300 escaped between Bellefonte and Woodville. On June 26, the remainder refused to proceed. Consequently, the militia, under the command of Army Captain G.S. Drane was tasked to mobilize the group and escort them to Waterloo. Arriving in miserable condition on July 10, 1838, the Cherokee were placed on a boat to continue their journey West.
The "Trail of Tears" which resulted from the Indian Removal Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1830, is one of the darkest chapters in American history.

Alabama Welcomes You the Union 22 State

Alabama's Fan Club and Museum, Randy Owens and Teddy Wayne Gentry

Alabama's Fan Club and Museum Mark Joel Herndon & Jeffrey Alan Cook

Alabama's Fan Club and Museum 

Alabama's Fan Club and Museum 

Fort Payne City Park

In Fort Payne City Park we saw several historical markers and the individual statues of Teddy Wayne Gentry, Jeffery Alan Cook, Randy Yeuell Owen, and Mark Joel Herndon of the group Alabama.

Fort Payne's Fort
The fort, consisting of a log house and large stockade, was built in 1838 by order of General Winfield Scott, commander of military forces responsible for the removal of Cherokee Indians.
Soldiers occupying the fort were commanded by Captain John C. Payne, for whom the fort was named.
Indians in the DeKalb County area who refused to move westward voluntarily were gathered and held in the stockade pending their forceful removal to the Indian territory.

Willis Town Mission
The mission was established in 1823 by the American Board of Missions to further education and Christianity among the Cherokee Indians. The mission operated until the Indian removal in 1838. 
Gravesite of Reverend Ard Hoyt, the first superintendent, marks the location of the mission near the corner of 38th Street and Godfrey Avenue.

Sequoyah 1760-1843
Born in Tennessee, Sequoyah moved to the Wills Town (DeKalb County, Alabama) area of the Cherokee Nation in 1818.
Here, in 1821, he invented an 86-symbol alphabet providing the Cherokees with the only written Indian language in the United States.
(Sequoyah, Maker Cherokee Alphabet)

Confederate War Marker

Fort Payne's Train Museum.
The Fort Payne Depot Museum was erected in 1891. 
It is housed in a unique Richardsonian Romanesque building of locally quarried pink and white sandstone. It served as a depot for the Alabama-Great Southern Railroad for approximately 85 years. The Gussie Killian Collection contains extensive examples of Native American basketry, pottery, and artifacts housed in the north room. Our south room displays the L.A. Dobbs exhibit along with memorabilia from the Civil War, World War I and II, as well as the Vietnam War. 

Boom Town Historic District
Around 1889-1891 Fort Payne experienced a great industrial boom due to promotion by New England investors who speculated greatly on the area’s mineral deposits. During this period several highly ornate commercial and civic buildings, along with the planned park, were constructed along Gault Avenue. The Fort Payne Opera House and other buildings in the same block constructed by the Fort Payne Coal & Iron Co., together with the Sawyer Building, the Alabama Great Southern Railroad Depot & Union Park retain the integrity of the boomtown era and comprise a historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, the year of Fort Payne’s centennial.

Fort Payne Train Museum.

Lookout Mountain Ruby Falls

Lookout Mountain Ruby Falls

Inside Ruby Falls we saw Potato Chips

Ruby Falls

Inside Ruby Falls we saw Steak and Potatoes

Lookout Mountain Ruby Falls

Relaxing after the long trip into the cave

My trip to Ruby Falls

My trip to Ruby Falls

Our last stop was in Chattanooga at Ruby Falls in Lookout Mountain. 

We watched a movie, went down an elevator, and then were taken on a guided tour through the caverns to a thundering underground waterfall 

Cost $18.95 each 

Lookout Mountain Welcome to Ruby Falls

Lookout Mountain
The Chattanooga area was firmly controlled by the Chickamauga Indians at the time of The American Revolution. The Cherokee Indian chiefs had signed peace and land treaties with the Colonial settlers. However, a small group of rebellious Cherokees were not in accord with these treaties and continued unabated warfare with the expanding settlers. They were called the Chickamauga's and were led by Chief Dragging Canoe. They were actively supported by the British through local agents and traders. The Government of North Carolina authorized a Military Campaign against them in the summer of 1782, pledging Continental Congressional support. Colonel John Sevier organized a force of some 250 "Nolichucky Riflemen" to pursue the Chickamauga and to rescue captives. On September 20, 1782, after several minor encounters, Sevier and his men engaged the Chickamauga's in a battle high in the Palisades at the north end of Lookout Mountain. The Frontiersmen's accurate rifle fire soon overcame their foes. This was an official Revolutionary War engagement and is considered by many to be the LAST “OVER-MOUNTAIN” BATTLE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
The preliminary signing of the peace treaty ending the Revolution was on November 30, 1782.

Lookout Mountain 

We rode to Fort Payne Alabama to visit the Group Alabama Museum, and Train Depot Museum, and to the city park to see the statues of Teddy Wayne Gentry, Jeffery Alan Cook, Randy Yeuell Owen, and Mark Joel Herndon of the Group Alabama.

The historic markers that I took a picture of were Fort Payne’s Fort, Battle of Wauhatchie, Boom Town, Crown Town in Stevenson, Decatur County, Fort Payne City Park, Sequoyah Marker, The Trail of Tears at Bridgeport, and Willis Town Marker.

We ate lunch at Cracker Barrel in South Pittsburg, we rode over to Chattanooga and we went down into the cave to see Ruby Falls. 

Ruby Falls is 145 feet high underground waterfall, that has been named one of the most Incredible Cave Waterfalls on Earth.

It is America's deepest commercial cave and largest underground waterfall.

We went down an elevator shaft to the floor of the cave, where we were taken on a tour, we talked about the formations of the rocks and the grand fanatically was the colorful ruby falls which was small hole where water was coming out.

Some of the rock formations that we saw were Totem Pole, Crystal Chandelier, Donkey Formation, 

tobacco leaves, elephant's foot, Steak and Potatoes, Potato Chips, Leaning tower, Dragon's foot, Beehives, Angle's Wings, Niagara Falls, Weight Watchers Lane, and Leo's passage.

Another great day of sightseeing!