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Airing The Quilts

Being raised in South Alabama in the 1960’s quilting and quilt makers were part of my family’s life. Both of my grandmothers were very good at it. My maternal grandmother made a more traditional type of quilts that were beautiful and sought after by many who knew her. My paternal grandmother made a more artistic type of quilts that were beautiful. She was a perfectionist and she made everything on one by hand and the stitches were incredible to look at.

I said all of that to say that I understand what goes into making beautiful quilts. It is a very long and time-consuming process.

For years I have heard of the quilters at Gee’s Bend Alabama. I knew that they were known far and wide as folk artist of the highest degree. Beings I am focusing on the Historic Black Belt of Alabama I am interested in anything going on in the Black Belt. Recently I saw a brochure advertising an event called the Airing of the Quits at Gee’s Bend. I told my wife that we needed to go.

We marked the date and prepared to go. As normal I was up very early, and I sat pondering on the day to come. 

First off, I started reminiscing of quilts of the past my grandmothers had made. Then I started thinking on this thing of airing the quilts. I remembered in years past my grandmother Knight and my great aunt would air their bedding. Another term they used for this was “sunning their mattresses” or sunning their bedding. 

This served several purposes, but the fresh fall air and low humidity of this time combined with the bright sun would air anything out that was musty. It would make them feel and smell fresh. I honestly do not know if it is true or not, but they thought that the rays from the sun would kill anything that was germs ect. in the bedding as well.

I was wondering if that was why this event was called the Airing of the Quilts or if it had a different reason for the name of the event. To be honest did not talk to anybody nor find anywhere online that mentioned the reason for that name for this event.

We drove up to Gee’s Bend from Monroeville. We were going to try to catch the ferry across but realized when we got to the sign giving the time schedules of the ferry that we were not going to make the current ferry out and it would be over an hour wait till the next one. So we drove around through Alberta and went in from the other side.

As we started nearing the area, we started seeing flags standing beside the road giving the distance from the event. The closer we got to the main event the more we also started seeing quilt displays in yards of different houses.

We realized that this was a community wide event. Numerous houses had quilts in the yards hanging on racks and there were different places set up beside the road that were selling what appeared to be different food items. The closer in we got into what was the main area the more congested it was starting to get.  The traffic was not that terribly bad going in. 

Upon our arrival we were greeted by a friendly young lady who asked if we wanted to park, and she directed in to be parked. Parking was very efficient. Everything was set up like it was a well-planned event. In the parking lot were porta-lets but they were very clean and placed conveniently. 

The first thing we noticed were that there were cars there from many different states. We saw cars with tags from Minnesota, Kentucky, Florida, Texas, and others as well. There were tags from many different counties of Alabama also.

We went on in and were amazed at the beautiful handwork we saw. It was incredible. I understand why these quilts are famous worldwide. 

As I walked around and looked at the handwork I overhead different people talking. I saw different types of work. I met so many friendly faces. It is still amazing that these ladies for what is now generations have been making these quilts for decades. They have quilts hanging in some of the finest galleries throughout the Unites States. This is true folk art in my opinion. It depicts the true spirit of creating things out of necessity that shows the greatness of humanity.

These ladies of the past made quilts out of whatever they could get their hands on. Many times, it would have been scraps from clothes already worn. It might have been scraps of material that they got to for clothes they were making for themselves and their kids. These were made from necessity to keep their families warm, in shanty houses that were not sufficient to survive without such. 

As we walked around and looked, we saw so much community. There were games of various kinds. There was a Disc Jockey playing music. It was truly a grand ole time. Everything was set up perfectly. There were food booths of various types. It was obvious that this was not the first time that these people in charge had organized this event. It was like a well-oiled machine. Kudos to everyone involved who made this day happen. Well done.

We made the rounds and saw the displays actually twice. The stitch work was so nice. The colors were so vivid. Above all the people who were displaying were so nice friendly and happy. As we were leaving, we saw a steady stream of cars coming in. There was at least one charter bus we met coming in as we were leaving.

I highly recommend that anybody who is interested in this sort of thing, or likes pure beautiful folk art, take time to find the dates for this event next year. This is truly a spectacular event.

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My Sturdivant Hall Visit

As I ramble this great land we call Alabama, I am forever amazed at what we have here to see. 

Recently I was in conversation with a new friend of mine that been following me on social media. He lives in Selma, AL. We conversed several times through messages and then talked on the phone a few times. Because I am in the process of traveling and documenting The Historical Black Belt Region of Alabama and he loves history as well he invited me to come to Selma.

I had not been to Selma in many years other than just passing by the outskirts when going somewhere else. When I was a small child, we would go to Selma very regularly. It was about a 60-mile run to get there.  Back then it was the go-to place for us because there was a variety of places to shop and eat. There were numerous doctors there that our family used also. It was a place that I had lots of memories of back in the 1960’s. After the early 1970’s we moved, and I had no reason to go back.

I have always known that Selma is a place that has a tremendous amount of history associated with it. Although I have not studied Selma, nor have I taken time to document it. As I have started working through the Black Belt Region, I started to realize that Selma alone would be a place that I would need to spend a good amount of time.

This was the day my friend and I had agreed would be the day that I would ride up and have a visit. We met and talked and shared our stories. I was also privileged to get to visit others there like minded.

Then my friend asked me had I ever been to Sturdivant Hall? I had not. I did not even know about it. 

We rode over to Sturdivant Hall and parked and got out. When we drove up in front, I was amazed. 

As those who know me know I am fascinated by anything associated with history. This is a grand place. We walked to the front of the building, and he started explaining the architecture of the building. 

It was built by Colonel Edward T. Watts. It was designed by Thomas Helm Lee.

According to an online search, it is known as the Watts-Parkman-Gillman Home.

I learned that construction on this house started in 1853 and it was completed in 1856.

We went around to the back of the house where the gift shop is and went in and I got a tour of the house. It was fascinating. I started taking notes but realized in just a few minutes that there was more to this story than I could take notes on and write today. However, I did want to share about my visit, so I decided to just take what I was able to get to in a short time and share and then enjoy the tour.

I was only allowed to take photos outside and not inside for several reasons. I totally understand why but was a little disappointed. Regardless of that fact it was a privilege to visit and see.

My tour guide was a lady I would guess a few years older than me. She could literally write a book on just that house and the contents alone. She was literally a walking encyclopedia on that place. It was incredible. She told me about everything in the house in every room. It was incredible.

I highly recommend anybody in the area to take time to go and tour this house. I definitely, intend to go back. In fact, I will probably go more than once while I am on my project of traveling the Black Belt.

Steps leading upstairs from the outside used by slaves. Worn from use so many years.

I learned that Mr. Watts was a plantation owner that had a house and property at another location called Pleasant Hill. This property was just his City House. Apparently, he used it as a place to have an office that was easily accessible when he was in town. Also, it was built with entertaining guests in mind. Apparently, he and his family only stayed there on visits to town which would only have been a week or two at the time possibly. 

Mr. Watts was a businessman that owned Ferries on the river and warehouses on Water Avenue as well.

It appeared that he spared no expense. One thing that amazed me was the fact that the crown molding in the rooms downstairs was plaster poured in molds. After the house was completed, the molds were destroyed so that nobody else could copy the molding. Apparently, he was a perfectionist type guy.

Another interesting thing about this house is that the front windows are made so that they raise high. Then there is a door underneath the window so that it could be walked through. In the hot summer weather, the windows would be raised and the windows on the cupola on top of the house would be opened. The staircases which were in the middle of the house would serve as a place for updraft, working as a chimney effect to draw air through the house. At night or if privacy was needed in the daytime there were shutters with louvers on them that could be shut and still allow air flow.

Out back of the house was a two-story structure that served as a kitchen and also a quarters for the slaves that tended the house. Apparently, the slaves lived there permanently even though Mr. Watts and his family did not.

Another interesting thing I was told was that the house was made of red bricks, but Mr. Watts thought that it would make it look more expensive if he had it covered in a thick coat of a cement substance and painted white, so it was done that way.

Mr. Watts apparently sold everything there in 1864 and received Confederate Money for it. He then moved his family and his slaves to Texas thinking apparently that he would be able to retain his slaves and continue with business as usual. 

Unfortunately, a year later the war ended, and the Confederate Money was useless. Then his slaves were freed, and he had nothing and no way of recouping with his fortunes gone.

The house was sold to a Mr. Parkman who was a banker. Supposedly his bank was funded with Federal Money and not Confederate Money. From “MY UNDERSTANDING” and if I misunderstood comment in the comments section of my blog and I will correct it. Mr. Parkman was using bank funds to speculate on cotton futures or the equivalent. Meaning a different name or terminology for what he was buying. Anyway, the cotton crop was bad one year and he came up very short. Although he had not taken any of the profits of the years before for himself but had put them all in the bank, he was charged for taking the money. 

Supposedly he was sent to jail down around Cahaba. He proclaimed all the way that he was innocent of any wrongdoing. According to my guide, some of his friends dressed up in attire as Mardi Gras costumes and went down and acted as if they were drunk and distracted the guards who oversaw securing him. This enabled him to escape. She said that there were two stories on what happened. 1. That he hit his head escaping and drowned in the river. 2. The other was that he was shot by guards, and this caused him to drown. Regardless of that fact he died. Then supposedly he came back as a ghost and waved from the front room of the house to his kids and others saw him as well.

Rear view from garden

My guide said that many years ago that the fence in front of the house was white picket. There were ladies in their 80’s and 90’s that would tell stories of them as kids passing the house as kids at night and daring one another to slip up to the front of the house and knock on the door and run without getting caught.

Supposedly to my understanding it cost sixty-nine thousand dollars to build the house in the beginning. The first time it sold it sold for sixty-five thousand dollars. After the war I understood that it sold for twelve thousand dollars.

The third owner was a Mr. Gillman. The Gillman family lived there till 1947 and they left Selma in 1947.

Visiting this house in my opinion was a highlight. As I said earlier, I would definitely recommend anybody in the area to visit for a tour. Again, I definitely intend to go back again and look at it. 

As I walked through and looked and listened to my tour guide explain it all, my mind would at times drift. I could see in my mind’s eye the grand ladies and gentlemen coming and going. I could visualize the businessmen coming and going or doing business in the front office. I could only imagine how grand the gatherings would have been. I am sure that there would be no expense spared on foods or decorations for these events. 

This was a grand time in America. These were wealthy people of that grand time we call the Antebellum. Grand mansions, grand balls, incredible wealth. Regardless of what one’s beliefs on history it is a time that needs to be preserved and learned. It was a pleasure to be able to for a short time visit this grand mansion and peek into that time.

As with most of the places I am privileged to visit in our beautiful Black Belt I can only imagine where the next beautiful surprise will be. I can’t wait and I hope it is soon.

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Bees of Cornwallis

One of the joys of blogging and photography is the opportunities that are presented. As I have stated earlier, I have been invited to be a part of Cornwallis 1828 recently. Part of that opportunity gets me involved with the sometimes day to day operations. Last week I was talking to Demp Bell the manager of Cornwallis. I was setting up my next visit to photograph some of the flowers that are starting to bloom. He asked me to come and document the Beekeepers managing the hives at Cornwallis.

That leads to today. This morning I arrived early and met Demp and we waited on the Beekeepers. A short time later a couple arrived, and I was introduced to Ralph and Kate Pugh, the owners of Sweet Gum Ridge Apiaries.

After a short introduction they left heading to the beehives, and I followed behind.

When I got there, they were already getting started. They were suited up in bee suits and had one for me as well. After a short discussion I decided that I would not be able to photograph with a bee suit on so I put my zoom lens on my camera and backed out so that I could photograph and not be in where the bees were swarming.

I had never seen anybody work a beehive before. It was a very interesting thing to watch. It was obvious that these two had done this a time or two or a thousand maybe. I watched as they worked. They described it all to me as they worked. 

They separated the different parts of the hive slowly and smoothly. One piece at a time like they could have done it blindfolded. Ralph would explain what he was doing and then Kate would explain what she was doing. It was truly a fascinating experience to watch. 

Kate was separating and scraping a yellow substance. Ralph explained that it was called Propolis. He explained that the bees produced it and that they literally sealed the hive with it. He also explained that it was a purifier and it had numerous health benefits for humans as well. 

Here Ralph shows some Propolis.

Next, he held up a frame and showed me what he called the Brood on it. It was a large number of young bees that were growing to become replacements for the rest of those that die off in the hive.

As they were working, they slowly used the smoker and Ralph explained that the smoke pushed the bees back up into the hive and kept them docile.

Another thing I learned was that there was only one queen in the hive. She laid all the eggs. That is her sole purpose is to lay eggs. There is one queen and can be as many as 60 to 80 thousand bees in one hive. That was hard for me to even comprehend. 

Here Kate points out the queen she has located.

Another interesting thing that they both explained to me was that to procreate a hive that a new queen would be hatched and there would be a swarm and half of the hive would leave with the old queen and half would stay with the new queen.

Another interesting fact is that the honey kind of ebbs and flows with the nectar as different plants bloom.

Most of the honey we have in our part of the world that is made locally is wildflower honey. Two popular flowers are Clover and Goldenrod. Kate explained that Clover Honey is normally light in color, while Golden Rod Honey is normally darker in color. Ralph went on to say that the hives will have a different smell as well with different kinds of nectar. He laughed and said that Golden Rod Honey would have the hives smelling almost like dirty socks.

After they finished we visited a few more minutes and then we all went on our way. 

This was as I said more than once a fascinating experience. 

Their website is https://www.buysweetgumridgehoney.com. You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sweetgumridgehoneybees. Check them out. 

They know their bees and honey. A quick glance at their Facebook page shows that they have some award-winning honey.

As with so many interesting people and places I get to go, and interesting things I get to do as I travel Alabama this was a wonderful day and, it was a pleasure to meet this couple.

I can only imagine what my next adventure holds but I don’t think it will be long before I find out. Until then have a great day.

 Jackson

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Corn Maze

I hear it said on a daily basis, that there is nothing here for the kids to do. Well Laurie Farms has solved that dilemma for folks in this part of the world. For the next few weekends there is indeed something for them to do.

Laurie Farms will be hosting a Corn Maze and much more.

Starting September 30, and every Saturday from 10:00 AM till 6:00 PM, and every Sunday from 1:00 PM till 6:00 they will be open. There are also some spaces open for school field trips as well during the week.

As I ramble across this country, I run into some of all kinds of interesting things and people. I am forever amazed at the ingenuity of the people around us. It seems like around every turn there is something new and exciting to see and another encounter that is better than the last.

I see all kinds of things out there to look at and experience. Today I encountered something new and fresh for the area of Monroe County, Alabama. 

I drove down to below Uriah, Alabama and visited Laurie Farms. I had communicated with George Laurie concerning him putting on a Corn Maze this year. Immediately when he told me what he was planning I had to see for myself. As always nosey me had to know what, when, why, and how. 

I scheduled with George to be there this afternoon to get a grand tour. I was literally awestruck when I saw. I almost, could not, believe what I was looking at. I honestly do not know what I was expecting but I sure wasn’t expecting what I found. All I could say was WOW.

George told me when we talked earlier in the week that he was hosting a Corn Maze. I had heard of a Corn Maze before, but I thought of a Corn Maze as something that somebody had gone out in a cornfield and pulled up corn plants in a certain pattern or something. I had no clue even how you made such a thing.

George explained to me that they had been able to get a precision planter that they found a corn maze somewhere and downloaded it and took it to a chemical company and they made a program and put it on an SD Card and then put that in the controller for the planter and it planted the seed where they needed to be planted to make the maze. They had to double plant so that the rows were at different angles.

That alone intrigued me. But then we went on past the field and lo and behold I saw this incredible amount of different stuff out there. Most of it hand built, but with incredible workmanship. There are games and rides and so many things to do.

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Under the shed there are these large tubes that will be a slide into a pit of shelled corn. There are these wooden sawhorses with a wooden cow head on them that the kids can throw a hula hoop over the head like a cowboy ropes a cow. There are these hand pumps with a white trough that travels a distance that will be a duck race.

There are these large round tubes out there that are called Human Hamster Wheels. There are Tether Ball games. Tug of War Games and Basketball Throw games are there. There is a Barrell Train ride, and a Hayride.

There will be sodas, and hamburgers, and hotdogs, and sausage dogs.

There is a dozen or so picnic tables, but seating will be limited so folks will need to bring lawn chairs to sit in.

There will be no coolers allowed and there will be no pets allowed.

There are pallets of pumpkins for sale also of various sizes and colors.

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There is a probably a whole lot more that I didn’t even pick up on and ask about.

I came down to see Laurie Farms Corn Maze expecting to just see a field of corn with a maze through it. I left shaking my head at how nice all the stuff they had looked. George said that they had been working on this project since last December. It is amazing how much stuff they have built and the quality of workmanship in the things they have.

All I can say is there is now something for your kids to do here for the next few weeks so do not hesitate to support these folks who have gone to great lengths to bring this to this area.

Laurie Farms

3331 Jeddo Road

Uriah, AL 36480

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Cornwallis 1828

A few months ago, I friended a guy by the name of Demp Bell on Facebook. I started to notice him always mentioning something called Cornwallis 1828 at Braggs, AL. The more I saw him share the more intrigued I became with this place. I was having trouble figuring out exactly what did he have going on there. 

A few days ago, I finally messaged him and got him to tell me about this place. The more he shared the more intrigued I became. I knew that I had to see this place and learn about it. 

First off, anybody that knows me, and anything about me, knows that if it has anything to do with history and photography, I am all in. My passions in life are photography, history, and traveling. Normally I end up tying the three together into one package. This place from what I could ascertain talking to Demp had it all.

I was obligated last week to go out on one more of my Ramblings over in the Eastern part of the state. We decided that I would visit this week. I got up bright and early this morning and headed to Braggs, AL. to meet Demp and see this place called Cornwallis 1828.

I met Demp and he gave me the tour. It is a fascinating, magical, beautiful place. 

So, exactly what is Cornwallis 1828 you are asking by now, I am sure.

It was the homestead of Peter N. Bragg who was a Revolutionary War Soldier.

A complete history can be found at https://historicalcornwallis.com

It is a place that is a work in progress to start off with. It is being set up to have an authentic 1828 homestead to be toured. It will have trails for kids on field trips to visit and have reenactors in the dress of the period who will tell stories of how thigs were and about the characters they portray. A place where teachers can bring kids and they can get their hands dirty.

It is also a place with an incredible amount of wildlife of the native species of the area. It has birds, birds, birds. Because of that fact there will be Birding tours offered to groups. That will be an opportunity to photograph some incredible species of birds. Depending on the season there will be opportunities that will put a bird photographer in hog heaven. Or should I say in birdie heaven maybe.

The photo opportunities here are limitless, depending on the season. Flowers of numerous varieties grow wild. Various other plants that are not flowering but are beautiful are here. Maybe even some varieties that have not even been named or in colors that are not anywhere else. It appears to be that special.

Then on top of that there is this beautiful creek that flows through the property that has incredible numbers of fossils in it. There will be tours for that also. Groups will be able to come in and look for fossils and photograph them also.

There are lakes for fishing, and trails for hiking. There are numerous other opportunities for one to see and there are other additions on the way to continue to make Cornwallis 1828 an even more fun and magical place to visit. 

I absolutely know that I will visit this place many times in the future and share the experience of the incredible things it has to offer for years to come.

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I have been to Smut Eye, Alabama

The U.S. has a lot of little, small towns with really, unusual names. Some of them even border on the bizarre I would guess you would say. I have been through a few in my time and have heard of many more that I honestly have not taken time to research to see if they really exist. I know in Northern Monroe County, AL. there is Hybart which is named after the family who was the first postmaster there. Then there is Scratch Ankle, it is out from Franklin, AL. There is also Burnt Corn which is on the Old Federal Road on the Eastern Side of Monroe County and is also the County Line. Burnt Corn actually is divided by the road. One side is in Monroe County and one side of the road is Conecuh County.

I have written blogs on Franklin, Burnt Corn, and on Hybart. At some time in the future, I will probably write one on Scratch Ankle.

I have heard of a town named Smut Eye for years but honestly, I never took time to see if it actually did exist, and I surely had never been there that I remember anyway. 

As I was planning out a trip a month or so ago, I ran across the name on the map. Immediately I was enthused. I marked that one on my list. I just had to go to Smut Eye. I was not sure what I would find. Pretty much any of these little towns that I visit is a surprise. “Kind of like a box of chocolates.” You never know till you get there and see. I just had to go to Smut Eye if for no other reason than to say, “Hey I have been to Smut Eye, Alabama before.

According to various sources online it is an unincorporated community in Bullock County, Alabama. Various sources say that it got its name from the soot on people’s faces that hung around the Blacksmith Shop. I am sure there are several renditions of that story concerning the Blacksmith Shop. There is an in-depth story or two on that subject and much more information online at http://www.smuteye.com/history-smuteye.htm.

As with most very small communities scattered across the country, time has not been good to the structures there. It was getting on over in the afternoon when I got there, and it was going to be the last stop for me for the afternoon. I had dawdled for too long in other places. I was staying the night all the way over at Bluff Creek on the Georgia line. I was not nearly as far East as I had intended to be by that time of the afternoon.

I did not have time to look for long, but I did see a couple of old buildings and I took a few pictures.

As I sat back for the night after I had been there, I could only think what Smut Eye might have been like a hundred years ago. Although I have not seen pictures of it, nor do I know where it was located, in my mind’s eye I started to visualize what the blacksmith shop might have looked like. I pondered on the mental picture that I painted of it. The horses and mules that would come in to be shod. Quite possibly there would be oxen that would be shod as well. There would have been wagons quite possibly that would have had to have wheels repaired on. There would have been plows to sharpen and possibly other things needing repaired on the plow stocks. I stopped and focused on the shop itself. There would have been a forge to heat metal with. There would have been an anvil to hammer out things on to shape them. There would have been a vise mounted on a post somewhere most likely in an open area of the shop. There would have been numerous other tools sitting around as well.

Because of writings I read about the place I stopped and started thinking about the people coming in and hanging out. It quite possibly would have been a gathering place that the men of the community would have used when they were not working in the fields or, doing other farm work. Possibly a place that they might gather if they brought their wives and daughters to the store. The men and boys might have meandered over to there to wait and socialize.

Too many years have come and gone. For those that are associated with the place locally there are I am sure, some memories that have been handed down by the generations. In the not-too-distant future, even the numbers of those that have heard the stories will dwindle down, until they are remembered no more.

Smut Eye Alabama, another small town in the U. S. that has been bypassed with progress, or from the perspective of some like myself destroyed by a false progress that so many deem as good. 

One thing is for sure. I can truthfully say. I have been to Smut Eye, Alabama.

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Perfecting Van Camping

Traveling to do this blogging and photography is a learning experience for me. I have always loved to travel but, to try to cover the state in a methodical way is new to me. It is a total learning experience.

A major obstacle I needed to overcome was a cost-effective way to spend the night. Since covering the distance, I need to cover on a trip entails one or more nights away from home at the time. I needed something cheap and comfortable. Because of the heat and eventually the cold, I really do not want to camp in my tent and sleep on the ground, in a sleeping bag, on an air mattress. If my wife goes with me that is a strict NO on her part as well.

I have researched the possibility of getting a smaller motorhome. We have a Class A motorhome that is very comfortable but for the purpose I have currently, it is not practical. It is just too big and expensive to operate. 

I am researching buying a smaller motorhome and might soon go to that method of traveling. The small motorhome will be more comfortable and is not off the table in the future.

This has all led me to research taking a minivan and modifying the inside to make it comfortable to sleep in. I chose the Dodge Caravan because it comes with a well recommended history of reliability and economy compared to some others. Because of the Stow and Go seating it is easier to set up than some of the others.

I will say in my opinion, now that I have been using it, I think it is awesome. Again staying with it is still a study in action.

The reflectix insulation material that I cut to fit the windows gives incredible insulation and privacy. I installed a bed that the frame slides in and out and a tri-fold foam mattress thus the bed can slide in together and make a couch if need be. Most of the time however I never fold it.

The bed is high enough off the floor that it allows storage underneath it. The reflectix panels cut to fit the windows and windshield tuck underneath the mattress when not needed and for travel. 

The Air Conditioner I installed keeps it comfortable to sleep on the hottest of nights. What I did for AC was to purchase a 110-volt portable stand-alone AC unit. After researching I figured out that there are two different ones. One has just an exhaust hose for the hot air off the condenser to be exhausted. There is another one that has two hoses. On that type of unit one hose brings in outside air to the condenser coil and the other one blows the hot air back out. Then the air inside is circulated by a fan inside the unit. Doing that the hot air is removed. With the single hose unit the air is pulled from inside the room or in this case the van, and if you remove the air it has to be replaced some way so that means it pulls air in from the outside through whatever cracks or holes you have that it can get in. The information I found said the single hose was not nearly as efficient as the dual hose unit. That is why I went with the dual hose unit. I made a transition piece that the hoses attach to that fits in the driver’s side back window which raises and lowers by a switch in the drivers door on my Caravan. 

When I park for the night, it takes a few minutes to set up but no longer really than to set up a tent or even another kind of camper and, it works really well. I move both front seats completely forward. Then turn the AC unit around and connect the hoses which store under the bed along with the transition piece for travel. Then I connect them to the transition piece. Then close the side door, pull the transition piece into the window where it fits in the top. Raise the window up to make it tight and the AC is ready to turn on. 

A large power cord runs inside the van from the rear underneath the tailgate that supplies power for whatever needs power inside. I then plug that cord into a multi outlet plug on a large cord that plugs into the power outlet supplying shore power to the van, normally at a campground. The other outlets work for appliances to make coffee or what ever else.

I use a small rechargeable lantern that hangs in the coat hook on either side of the van for a light and it works perfect. It can be moved from side if needed and has three different light levels. 

If I choose to sit inside which, I have been doing as hot as it has been. I can sit on the bed and place pillows behind my back and use my computer to type or sort pictures, or read, very comfortably. 

One issue I faced has been keeping things cool like food and water. With everything in the van there is no room for a large cooler. The first trip I tried two small coolers with Frozen Ice Packs that you put in the freezer and then after they freeze you put them in the cooler. In the other cooler we froze some water bottles and put in it. This worked somewhat but by the second day it was not working so well. 

Next trip we tried freezing several more water bottles and putting them in one cooler and just using some frozen bottles in the other one as well. This worked pretty good, but it still entailed dealing with having to freezing water. Freeze too much of it and it does not thaw out quick enough to drink. Freeze not enough and you have hot water or other stuff spoiling in the coolers.

A few weeks ago while surfing the web I happened up on a small 12 volt refrigerator. Now first off, I thought it was a 12-volt cooler of the type that heat or cool. Normally they are called thermoelectric coolers which are capable of cooling 40 degrees below the ambient temperature. I guess under ideal conditions this might be a good deal. I had tried a couple of different ones of that type in the past, for different applications, and they did not work for me.

As I continued to read, I discovered this one was a true refrigerator with a compressor. The more I read the more interested I became.

One more thing I will interject here is that I have a power station. It is a rechargeable device that is about the size of a car battery. It is made by a company called Bluetti. It is the model EB3A. This little rechargeable box has 12-volt power outlets on it. It has USB outlets on it to charge devices. It has a wireless phone charger on top so you can lay a phone on top of it and charge it. It also has 2, 110-volt power outlets on it. I have a small coffee maker and have used it to make two pots of coffee on a charge believe it or not. It has a USB-C plug that I can charge my laptop from without the 110-volt power cord and it will charge my drone controller as well. It is not powerful enough on the 110-volt to run the AC unit but does many other things.

The little refrigerator will plug into the power station and run about 5 to 6 hours continuously. With the compressor cycling off and on it could run 8 to 12 hours or more easily if the refrigerator is where it is relatively cool so that it does not cycle on much, I don’t know how long it could run on a charge but quite a while. 

The power station will charge from a cigarette lighter power port in the van when the van is running, as well as from a 110-volt cord when plugged into shore power. It also has the capability of charging from solar panels if I needed it to. Utilizing solar it would literally run the little fridge indefinitely I honestly believe. 

On the last trip I ran, I had 36° water and food the entire trip. The power station never pulled down. In fact it was at 100% charge when I stopped for the night to camp. I just connected the refrigerator to 110-volts for the night and reconnected to the power station the next morning.

I have been staying at campgrounds where I have power. A senior citizen with the Senior Card can stay at the Government campgrounds for half price. In most places in Alabama that ends up being $13 to $14 a night. That is not a bad deal beings you have electricity, a clean nice place to take a shower, and it is normally peaceful and safe.

 I normally just use a small coffee maker to make coffee. I have not been cooking because I have been on a diet (I was able to lose 60 pounds) but will probably either put in a very small microwave or a small toaster oven or griddle or both that will store underneath the bed.

My goal with this setup is not for a camping experience so much as a comfortable place to sleep, get something simple and fast to eat, and then be able to breakdown and leave as fast and easy, and economical, as possible.

As I continue with my projects, I will need to travel further distances from home and stay away longer. Traveling alone the van is great. Traveling with two of us it will be crowded for several days at the time.

I am sure that there are numerous things I will still learn on this little setup. I have stayed several nights in the van now and hope to continue to stay in it a while yet anyway. 

I see people on YouTube that live in them lengthy amounts of time but don’t think I want to go to that level. It is however a great way to do my thing documenting these places in our great and beautiful land. 

As I have said already, I have thought seriously about staying with the van and I have weighted getting a Class B or Class C motorhome. There are pros and cons to all. Time will tell as to whether I stay with the minivan or go to a motorhome. Regardless of the fact. The minivan is a good way of traveling.

If anybody has any questions leave me a message or comment and I will gladly answer you back.

Thanks.

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Chilly’s ICE Cool Band

The day started out as normal for me. This was going to be my fourth trip out in my quest to visit all 67 counties in my 67th year. This time I went north up I-65 and got off at Ft. Deposit and then worked north before I started East towards the Georgia line.

I made several stops and looked at various things and took numerous photos. Just like a normal day out there doing what I do. Searching, always searching. Most times not sure what for but I guess anybody that likes photography and writing blogs they are looking and might be uncertain on what they are looking for but when they see it they know. 

Today it was getting up in the day when I made it to Union Springs AL. As I normally do when I get to a town like that I ride through and look to try to form a game plan on which direction I want to go on foot. I made a pass through and then parked on one end of the main drag and poured a cup of coffee out of my thermos and reached in my little refrigerator and got a half of a foot long sandwich that my wife and made for me and ate lunch. After I finished my coffee and most of the sandwich, I put the rest in the fridge and got my camera and my phone and set out.

Normally I walk and look and take photos. I kind of get in my own world and although I normally am very situationally aware of what is going on around me, I rarely interact with anybody. 

I do this for several reasons. First of all, in today’s society it seems that if you speak to the wrong stranger first to open a conversation many times folks will look at you like you are weird. Many go so far as to describe you as being creepy. Secondly if you know me, you know, that I could get into a conversation with a total stranger at a gas pump 500 miles from home and talk 30 minutes.

Trying to cover as much ground as is needed with no more time than can be allotted that takes too much time. I normally eat on the go, and don’t stop for much. Walk through, look at the angles on buildings and take my shots. Sometimes the buildings across the street are ideal to photograph and numerous things are better on the side I am on. When I get to one end I turn around cross the street and do it again coming back.

I normally do not take photos with people or cars in them if possible. In fact, sometimes I have waited several minutes to take a photo or even passed on one and came back to keep from it. 

Stan “Chilly Cooks”

An inspiration.

Here is one that is doing something about the issues at hand in this world by mentoring young people in his community.

As I walked up one side, I noticed a building across the street that had writing at the top that said Chilly’s ICE Cool Band. It was a neat building with a porch cover out over the sidewalk. Sitting under the cover was a guy. I wanted to take a photo of it but I would not take the shot because there was a guy there.

As I walked to the other end of town and crossed the street. I was walking back towards that building. I was taking different shots of the buildings and trying to stay focused. When I got back to that building the guy was still there. As I was walking by, I nodded, and he was smiling. 

As I approached I had noticed a School Bus with Chilly’s ICE COOL Band painted on the side.

That was this man. Then and there is where I met Stan “Chilly” Cooks. Immediately I had to know what Chilly’s ICE Cool Band was all about. He asked me where I was from, and I told him. He said I know where that is. I have played music there.

He said come in and let me show you what I have here. I walked in the door not having a clue what I was about to see.

That is when I realized for sure that this was special.

You see there are people all over that complain about the issues they see in the world but never do anything about them. Chilly is one of those people that sees an issue and instead of complaining about it he is doing something about it.

Chili’s ICE Cool Band is a free after school program for kids. He has music instruments of numerous kinds in this room. He has a full sixed school bus, that has Chilly’s ICE Cool Band on the side.

Here is a man that brings kids from 6 to 18 years old in the afternoon and does a free music program with them with instruments provided. 

The interesting thing thought is he is not just teaching them music. He is teaching them so much more. The music is from what I see just a tool to get them to come with excitement. He has rules that they are expected to adhere to.

Even ICE has meaning. ICE is a acronym for Integrity, Communication, ad Execution. 

He even has them recite a pledge. I was blown away.

Chili’s Pledge goes like this.

I pledge to honor and uphold all rules of Chilly ICE Cool Band. To always give my best effort everything I do. To study hard, to play hard, exercise hard, perform hard, to respect my elders at home, and when out and about, and to always remain ICE Cool throughout.

We visited for a few minutes after he showed me the place and told me about it. I left and went on my way. To be honest he made my day. He was so uplifting and positive to talk to.

I can see how he would be a magnate to young people and definitely appeared to me to be a positive influence to the kids of his community.

I would say that Chilly’s ICE Cool Band would definitely be a game changer for many kids in Union Springs, AL.

Here is a man that takes music and uses it to be a role model to youth. I can’t say enough. I definitely will not forget this man nor this program any time soon.

Chilly Cook it was definitely a pleasure to meet you. I pray that your program touches the lives of thousands of children and makes a ripple effect on your community.

God Bless you.

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Clayton, Alabama

As I keep repeating over and over again, I feel an overwhelming desire to visit all 67 counties of our beloved state of Alabama. 

On one of my recent trips out I had the pleasure of visiting a little town in Barbour County named Clayton.

According to Encyclopedia of Alabama https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/clayton/

Clayton has been the county seat of Barbour County since 1834. Barbour County was created from parts of Pike County and Louisville was chosen as the county seat. One year later an 11-member commission was formed to determine a new site for the county seat. After selecting a site in the geographic center of the county in 1834, county leaders christened the town Clayton in honor of Judge Augustine Smith Clayton, a U.S. representative from Athens, Georgia. The town was incorporated by an act of the Alabama Legislature on December 21, 1841.

Like I do on almost every little town I have had opportunity to visit I drove into town and passed through looking to see where I wanted to start. I do this because there are normally so many options to look at and I am normally limited. I normally leave home and try to take a swath across the state from wherever on I-65 East to the Georgia State Line. I have on the past three trips across spent a night in a campground in the area. Then I covered more area the next day and then went home. On this particular afternoon, I arrived in Clayton around 1:30 PM. Knowing I had a lot to see and a short time to see it I parked my van and hit the streets with my camera.

I had seen pictures of things in Clayton and had people on my Social Media group that had shared about it.

I had also read that it had once been a flourishing town with many stores and various other businesses over the decades past.

One of the first and more impressive things I saw as I walked along was an impressive mural. It clearly depicted much of the beauty and history of Clayton. It was, in my opinion well thought out. The designers and artist involved did a great job making a positive influence on this historic little Southern Town.

Another interesting sight was the Octagon House. 

According to the historical marker beside the house, between 1859-1861. It was built by Benjamin Franklin Petty who was a carriage and furniture merchant. Mr. Petty was a native of New York and was a pioneer settler of Clayton. The Octagon House was patterned after the design made popular by Orson S. Fowler’s Book, A Home For All.

This is indeed a beautiful house that has stood the test of time. It is beautiful and definitely a show piece. Thankfully it appears to be well preserved and can be admired by future generations.

Another interesting find in Clayton was the Clayton Presbyterian Church. The sign out front stated that it was built in 1871. This is indeed a beautiful old building that has stood the test of time. It appears to be fairly well, maintained outside. I am sure that when it was built that it was a marvel of its time in this part of the world. As I stood in front of it, questions came to mind. I wondered how long it had been active? I wondered how many people had attended church services there when it was in its prime? I wondered how many years it had been since it was filled? I also wondered if it was active in some way even to this date?

One more treasure of the past of this like thousands of others in small towns in America struggling to just survive from being reclaimed by nature, wondering how many more generations will care to keep it maintained and standing.

As I always do I search for old churches, particularly those built either pre-1900 or early 1900’s. There is just something about then that intrigues me. I see them all over the Southland as I travel.

Another beautiful one is in Clayton. It is the Grace Episcopal Church. This old church according to the historical marker out front was completed on February 26, 1876. It is a Gothic Revival Style building

There are numerous other buildings left in Clayton that are kept up better or should I say have been freshly had a face lift of some sort. Such as the blue building here. I was told on social media that the right side of this one was the Ford Tractor Dealer.

Now as to every other small town I have been in on this journey across our beautiful state I want to bring this to attention. Actually, for me any ways it is the most important. It is one of the primary purposes of this endeavor. This part is not to bring shame or bring condemnation on Clayton nor any other small town I visit. It is to bring front and center the plight that Rural America is in.

Clayton, like all that I have been in has suffered. It has lost so much. Like every small town I know of there are empty buildings that are literally deteriorating around us. They all have a story. Many served for decades. Many were dreams that lived a lifetime and the proprietors’ retired or passed away. They all tell a story.

As with many of the small towns that I visit and share photos of on social media, Clayton has had and I hope continues to have many others that reminisce of times past. It warms my heart to see people share their stories of growing up there and of the thigns of the past the bring good memories to them. It does sadden me however many times when others that have not been to these towns see photos of them and it hurts them like it does me to see what has happened to the small towns of our childhoods.

As always, thank you for reading and following my ramblings and please feel free to leave comments.

Jackson

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I Just Wound Up At Burnt Corn, Alabama

Now Saturday is a rest day for me at this point in my life. I always joke and tell people since I am pretty much retired that, “I’m so lazy that if I got an award for being lazy, I would have to send somebody after it.”

My wife wasn’t feeling well because of a tooth situation so we had been hanging out at the house all day. She is like me in a sense. She can only sit in the house and do nothing for so long. Then, she has got to get up and get out and do something.

Finally, I asked her, did she want to go take a ride in the Jeep. She said well I don’t think my tooth will hurt any worse riding than it will sitting so I got my camera, a bottle of water, and a cup of coffee, and out the door we headed.

Just me my wife and our dog. We loaded in the Jeep and rode out and filled up with gas and headed out.

Now you have to understand something. Going for a ride in the Jeep in our part of the world is not a hard decision. Where, we end up going however, can be kind of a challenge. It is kind of like a couple that has been married for a lot of years trying to figure out where to eat supper. It is all good but where we want to go is just an elusive idea. 

I started making my way out of Monroeville and for whatever I headed out towards Drewery AL. There are many dirt roads out that way and many times when we go ride on a whim we go out that way and hit the dirt roads. 

For whatever reason I did not take one of the dirt roads but kept riding on the pavement. I was about halfway between Bermuda, and Burnt Corn when it hit me. I want to go to Burnt corn and take some photos. I haven’t taken any photos there in quite some time.

For whatever reason, Burnt Corn is one of those places that folks never get tired of taking pictures at. I honestly don’t remember the first time I took photos there, but I know that there are pictures hanging on people’s walls of the Methodist Church there that I took with a Canon AE-1 back in the 1980’s. I have taken photos there numerous times since. 

Burnt Corn Methodist Church, an Icon of South Alabama.

Sadly, I don’t have many of the photos left that I took so many years ago with 35mm film cameras. I took hundreds if not thousands of them. I honesty do not know how many times I took photos of the churches and such at Burnt Corn.

Today however, is a new day and I decided that today was the day I was going to go back in and shoot some photos of Burnt Corn again, like I have done numerous times before.

We drove up in front of the Bethany Baptist Church and I parked off the side of the road and got out. There is normally not a major traffic congestion issue in Burnt Corn so as long as you are not parked in the road you are good to go.

Historic Bethany Baptist Church Built in 1874.

I took several shots of Bethany Baptist from several directions. As I was standing there taking photos and admiring it and how nice the paint looked, my mind went back to some time ago. I remembered another time I was taking photos of it and it had gotten in bad condition and needed painting. I had shared the photos on social media, not even thinking about how it looked.

I guess I have taken so many photos of so many little towns with buildings in bad shape that it just didn’t make much of an impression on me. The reason I didn’t think is I take photos by the hundreds of things that are in bad condition, and personally I had no ties to it other than I went to a few services there in the late 1970’s.

It did however cause a lot of people who saw it to take notice real fast. Before long there were numerous people contacting me and wanting to look at more of my pictures of it. Then a group got together and started raising funds and within weeks it was being painted. 

It actually felt good to stand there and look at it and make photos of it with a nice paint job on it. The cemetery did need some attention but everything else was in great shape as far as I was concerned.

I then walked down the road with my camera and took a few shots of the Methodist Church. I have never been inside of the Methodist Church. I know that it has been an icon of our part of the world as with most things in Burnt Corn for decades. I know that like I mentioned early on I took photos of it in the 1980’s and enlarged some of them to 11X14’s and sold several of them. 

I have heard many stories of that church, and how it came to be there, and how it came close to being torn down years ago, and so forth. What the stories are, and how they go, I am not sure, so I am not going to try to share them today, but it is a beautiful old church, and is a land mark that is recognized by many people all over the country.

Then I walked back and got in the Jeep with my wife and our little dog who were patiently waiting on me to do what I was doing.

I pulled up and parked the Jeep at the edge of the road near the Big Store. It was there that I remembered the house that sits out in the woods beside the Big Store.  I shot a few photos of it. As I stood there wondering the history of that house. I honestly do not remember anything about it. In fact, I honestly for whatever reason, did not even realize it was there until a year or so ago. I had passed it hundreds, if not thousands of times, and for whatever reason had not paid it attention. I guess my attention had always been focused on the store or other buildings.

I then backed up and shot a few shots of the Big Store from different angles. Yet again I started to reminisce. I remember when I was probably seven or eight years old my father and I went in the store. That would have been there first time I remembered going in. I remembered it like it was yesterday. I remembered that my father had a horse that Mr. Lowery had used. Now I do not know the story as to details but, I know he used him more than one time. I think that they had horses and might have had folks from out of town come in and needed an extra horse to ride. Anyway, he had a horse that was an excellent saddle horse, and Mr. Lowery had used him more than once. I know one time they came over to Hybart and got him and one time we carried him over.

Then I backed out and started taking photos of the other buildings one by one. They are like stepping back in time. The histories of the rest I do not know. I know one is known as the old Barber Shop Building. There are others that are identified by many for the purposes they served over the years. Since I do not remember on some and on others, I never knew to start with. I won’t even try to define them nor their purposes throughout the decades.

Then there is the Coca-Cola advertisement building. Over the years since it was painted, I honestly think that Burnt Corn is known more for that building than even the Methodist Church. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen photos of that building. I am not sure when the advertisement was painted nor who painted it but I know it is a well-known sight in the South.

I walked the street and took photos one at the time and then proceeded to walk back to the Jeep once again. As I was walking back to the Jeep I thought about the fact that one more unique thing about Burnt Corn is that it is on the Monroe, Conecuh, County line. The Big Store, and the Bethany Baptist Church, The Barber Shop, and the building with the Coke sign are in Monroe County. The Methodist Church and the other buildings on that side of the road are in Conecuh County. The road dividing the counties here is actually the Old Federal Road.

With that thought sliding around in my mind I got in the Jeep, and we drove on. 

Burnt Corn is a town full of history. It is much the same it has been for the last century, and hopefully it will continue to be maintained and remain the same for another century. There will always be those like me to walk through on a lazy Saturday afternoon and take photos of and reminisce and wonder about it. If it is not maintained, at least myself and many like me will have photo records of it for the decades to come.

If you have not been there you need to go. It is a magical special place.

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Fort Deposit, Alabama

As those of you that have followed me on Facebook and other means know that I am working on several projects. One being get a drone video of as many standing Forest Fire Lookout Towers that are still standing in Alabama as I can. Another project that I want to accomplish is to visit all 67 counties in Alabama. In those counties I like to document the buildings left standing that probably won’t be a decade from now. I also like to document as many churches as I can that I see. Most times it is the old country whitewashed ones standing out and away, but many of the others as well. Of course, I will photograph anything interesting, different, or historical.

As I say more times than not when I write, I photograph the decay of our beloved Southland not to point an accusing finger nor degrade any local areas but rather to bring awareness to what has happened, and the damage done. 

As is true with many I run into it bothers me to see what has happened to our great beautiful land. I try to shy away from politics and finger pointing as to the issues and rather to just show what has happened and allow those that see to make their own determinations. 

I know all of this sounds redundant, but I feel that it needs to be said over and over. 

Another decade and much of what we see in whatever forms of decay won’t be standing at all.

On this particular, trip my goal as to travel East from I-65 to the Georgia state line taking a zig zagging route pretty much North of Al. Hwy 10. This was to be my third trip across on this venture. The previous two trips had been across at lower levels with me working across one day, spending the night on the East side and working back West the second day. 

As I was planning a recent Ramble, I was looking at my maps. I was trying to make a determination on what route I wanted to take. As the paths across move northward it requires more driving over the same areas already covered to get to the starting point so to speak.

For whatever reason my eyes settled on Fort Deposit. I have been through what we all know as Fort Deposit on I-65 hundreds of times in my lifetime. I however, cannot say that I have ever visited the town of Fort Deposit other than many years ago I went to the Calico Fort Arts and Craft show a couple of different times. 

For whatever reason I honestly thought the town itself was on the East side of I-65 and not the West. 

As my eyes settled on Ft. Deposit I started to settle on a route there taking the back roads. On this route I found Mt. Willing where a Fire Tower is still standing that I did not have photos of, so I could check something else off the list of things I Was working on. I actually wrote about that in an earlier post. https://jacksonsramblings.com/mt-willing-lookout-tower/.

Now as I drove the route up, and shot photos of various things, primarily old churches on the way up, and got the Fire Tower shots done, I made it to Fort Deposit.

According to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Deposit,_Alabama

Since 1890 it has been the largest town in Lowndes County, AL. According to the information on Wikipedia it grew from 2000 to 2010 but then declined between 2010 and 2020. I would venture to say from the appearance I saw it is declining sharply since 2020. I have no way of knowing that for sure and I honestly hope something changes to reverse that.

Reportedly the town sits on 5.6 square miles.

Fort Deposit was named for the fort built there under orders of General Andrew Jackson. It was a supply fort that was built to supply soldiers during the times of the Creek Indian Wars. It was incorporated February 13, 1891. It also is supposed to be the highest point between Montgomery, AL. and New Orleans, LA.

Again this information came from Wikipedia and is referenced there is anybody chooses to source it all out.

Now as I arrived in Fort Deposit I was not certain what I would see. From experience of traveling small old towns, I figured there would be some buildings that were vacant and in various stages of decay. Sadly, very seldom do I visit an older Southern Town do I not see that.

The very first thing I saw upon entering town was a gathering of people. Curious I slowed down and realized that it was a food giveaway. There were trailers with pallets of food that was being distributed. There was a line of cars with folks waiting in line to get food. This is a sight that is all too common across the country. I did not take time to even estimate how many cars there were nor how many people but I know that the length of the line was incredible to me. This added to my thoughts of how depressed our beloved Southland has become.

I rode around and took various pictures of the various places in town. This is a town that has suffered immensely. A once bustling beautiful town that is like hundreds if not thousands more across America that are nothing more than rotting down buildings. 

I say it every time I go into a town like this it breaks my heart. As I have seen on the various trips I have taken in the past and would see on this trip these towns are everywhere as I will write in blog posts to come.

Stores, post office buildings, doctor’s offices, churches, and many homes. So many times just sitting there deteriorating.

Many times, you can identify the place by the sign or remnants of a sign that is there still. Other times there is no sign and if a local does not fill you in you have no way of knowing what was there. Clothing stores, mom and pop grocery stores, all closed up. 

Overlooking the town there was a beautiful painted water tank. That is a sign of hope. It is a thing of beauty. As always that is still a sign of the future. I also saw numerous houses well kept up in the residential areas of town. That is a positive as well. Although the businesses were forced to close fortunately people are still able to. Live there. 

One beautiful thing to me was this beautiful church building. I hope somebody will chime and with comments and tell me all about it. It looks to me like it is going through some sort of renovation, which I think is awesome.

I saw other positive things here. There were other churches that were still kept. Even though there were many buildings that were empty or just there, there was life still in this town which I am glad to see.

Like so many of our southern neighbors this town will most probably be here many years to come and somehow I would not doubt it coming back to something of its former glory one day.

As always it was a pleasure to visit Fort Deposit, Alabama and hopefully I will see it again in the not too distant future and hopefully there will be signs of growth and comeback that are evident to all. 

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Mt. Willing Lookout Tower.

As most people know Forest Fire Lookouts is actually what got all of this started. Sort of.

I have been working on getting drone videos and pictures of them for years now. As most of you know it is my desire to document every one left standing in the State of Alabama. From the best of my estimation there are about 75 left.

Also to the best of my knowledge there have been only 4 that are South of US hwy 80 and West of I-65 that I have not been able to get to.

Two of those are behind gates and I have not successfully gotten the opportunity to get them. I just found out about one only a few weeks ago. That one is actually in the very Southern and Western most part of Mobile County. The fourth one has been up at Mt. Willing in Southern Lowndes County.

I have actually left home to get to Mt. Willing and for whatever reason never got there. You might say for me it has been elusive. I could not figure out exactly how to get to it even from the road. Now days so many roads that are few years ago were considered public roads are no longer open.

This morning I was coming across the area heading to Ft. Deposit and lo and behold I looked at my map and there was the pin for Mt. Willing Lookout Tower. I was going to be the closest to it I remember being.

I started looking at the maps as best I could trying to figure it out. Obviously when I needed it the most I did not have enough cell signal to figure it all out on the maps. I could figure out that I was not too far from it but could not figure out how to get to it.

Then all of a sudden as I was looking off in the distance I could see it. There was a short distance across a clear cut but was like a window I would say that the tree line broke and I could see it off in the distance from the road.

Now I hold a current FAA Part 107 certificate to fly drones. I knew I could fly it but I needed to be able to maintain visual line of sight. I stood there and looked and looked trying to decide. Finally I decided to give it a try. I knew it was a stretch but if I could not hold sight I could just return the drone and give up till I figure out a better way.

I parked beside the road. Laid the landing pad out, started the drone and controller, and calibrated the compass on it, and took off. It was bright. It was hard to see the controller in the sunlight. I could see the drone all the way. 

One issue you have flying towers that far out is determining how close to the tower you really are. You are looking at a tiny screen in bright sunlight. Looking at the drone itself that far away it is just a dot basically and it is hard to look at two objects and determine exactly how far apart the really are.

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At a thousand feet out or so it is hard to determine if. You are 50 feet away or you are about to hit it. My drone has obstacle avoidance in it. I brought it in to where the obstacle avoidance started reading the distance. I was able to get some decent photos and a short video of it. 

Because of fear of losing sight of my drone I was not able to get as clear nor crisp pictures nor video as I do most towers. I was thankful though to get that one in the books as done.

The following information comes from the National Historical Lookout Registry:

The Mount Willing Lookout Tower in Lowndes County dates to 1936. The 100′ Aermotor MC-39 steel tower with 7’x7′ cab was built by CCC Company 4434, which was also a junior African-American unit.

Mt. Willing is: # 857 on the US Registry and #36 on the Alabama Registry.

It is located:

32°04’22.5″N 86°43’07.1″W

32.072903, -86.718627

I am thankful that I finally found it and got to take some pictures of it. I like to get closer and I like to make better photos. I will make a video when I get time. I actually have several I need to make videos of that I have taken the videos but not taken time to edit and put them up.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy.

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Rambling The Southland

As many of you know that follow me on Facebook, and other sources online and even in person, I travel a lot. In fact, I have made it my mission to visit all 67 counties in Alabama within the next year. Somewhere in that timeframe I intend to visit a lot more of Mississippi as well.

More than one person has asked me why, are you doing that?

Well, it goes like this. As many who know me know, I have a fascination for history. Now at different times I have interest in different things. Plus, I have an overwhelming interest in photography. Now, put the two together and guess what you come up with? I have an almost unquenchable interest in taking photographs of things from the past.

Living in Monroe County, Alabama I have seen the towns of Frisco City, Repton, Peterman, Tunnel Springs, Beatrice and so forth pretty much dry up in my lifetime. I mean there are still people there but there are basically just rows of rotting down buildings that are for the most part falling in. I guess it had never even dawned on me that this was a problem in other places. Not sure why, but it just never seemed to really click.

As many know I also fly drones and love old Fire Towers. A couple of years ago I started on a project to locate and do a drone video of as many of those old Fire Towers as I could find. I don’t know why but even with that I had no clue as to how many were standing still in the State of Alabama nor the condition, they were in.

New Hope Church Natchez AL.
Bull Slough Bridge
Coaling Tower

As I started to travel and get photos of those towers. I also started to notice how many old churches that there are standing that are abandoned or are on the verge of being abandoned. It was like a light bulb went off in my head I guess you could say. It is like most small towns you go into there is one or two old churches normally that were founded in the mid to late 1800’s that are just sitting there.

Then as I rode through the towns, I was familiar with and for some reason I started to really notice how many buildings were vacant and rotting down it really started to hit me. These are going away fast. The buildings, the churches, and the fire towers. They are all going away at an alarming rate. 

That is when my mission I guess you would call it became clear to me. I am retired. I have less and less responsibilities. I have my health. I have decent vehicles, and I have decent equipment to document this stuff with. I am not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination but by managing reasonably well I have the resources to travel and do it. 

Here is my Dodge Caravan that is converted into a sleeper van. It has AC and an almost full sized bed so that I can sleep comfortably. I also have a small cooler sized refrigerator. It is quite comfortable and is ideal for most excursions.

So that leads me to where I am now. I am on a mission to travel our beloved Southland and document as much of it as I can. Churches, fire towers, stores, water towers, other places of business and anything else interesting I see along the way.

As many know I am the founder and moderator of the group “The Good Ole Days of Monroe County Al.”.  I love that group. It is a great group, and it has done well. It however as was created is for Monroe County Alabama and thus I wanted it to remain that way.

I quickly realized that doing what I wanted to do was going to cause me to do a lot out of Monroe County. One visit to Mississippi made me realize that it was going to be more than just Alabama. Thus, Jackson’s Ramblings came into being. Then my slogan, “Rambling the Southland and Beyond.” Well, that seemed to get it going. Then when I hit on a slogan, immediately I thought Facebook group. So, I named the Facebook Group, “Rambling the Southland and Beyond.” That way anything documented would fit the category.

There have been many contributors who have a like desire of photographing old, unusual, and or interesting things, that have shared and continue to share on the group. I hope that as time goes on that those and more will continue to share. If you area reading this and are one of those you are greatly appreciated.

At the time of this writing the group has 2740 or so members and is growing many weeks at the rate of 50 to 100 a week. It was created in June of 2022. My only hope is to see the group grow to how ever big it can grow. Tens of thousands would be incredible.

I also love to write. As those who take time to read my writing can readily see I have a lacking in writing skills. I aways joke and say that they only thing that kept me from doing great in high school was elementary school. I am the first to admit that I have issues with grammar and punctuation. However, I like to feel like that I make up for that with desire and determination.

With all of that said, there is a wealth of places, buildings, and other things that are standing today that in a very few years will no longer be standing. For the years I have left, and I hope it is a lot, I intend to take photos of those things, document them as best I can, and write about them as time allows. 

It would be incredible to be able to fund the travel, and equipment, to do this in some way while doing it. I do not have a large enough audience for any business or group to pay me sponsorship. My viewership on my blog is too small for the ads associated with it to make me money, or at least for this time. I have not updated my Youtube channel in a while as well. It takes a lot of time and effort to keep it all up. Some weeks I drive 500 plus miles or more. Sometimes I spend a night in my van some place to keep from having to stay in a hotel or drive home. Then there are hundreds of photos to look at figure out where they were taken, organize them and then file. It is a labor of love but also almost a full time job.

Hopefully in the future this can change. I plan to try to write more blog posts as I travel and interact more that way. Hopefully I can go back to doing more videos as well.

Thanks, to all who have supported me in this endeavor, and I look forward to meeting others along the way who have like interests.

Come join me as I Ramble the Southland and Beyond.