The Dirigible Came to Vredenburgh

I was born in 1957. Growing up in Monroe County Alabama was indeed incredible. When I was born my parents lived with my grandparents. When I was three years old, my mother went to work at the Vanity Fair Mill in Monroeville. I stayed with my great aunt while my mother worked. I also was blessed to spend a lot of time with my grandparents. Because of that fact I was blessed to hear hundreds if not thousands of stories. What would I give now to be able to go back and rehear those stories again.

My great aunt was born in 1896. My grandfather was born in 1906. My grandmother was born in 1908. My grandfather and great aunt were born and raised up at Sedan which was a community located a short distance above Vredenburgh, in Southern Wilcox County.

My grandmother was born in Clarke County, in the area called Cane Creek, which was in the vicinity of Chance, Syrene, and Lower Peach Tree. I am not sure what went on with her family, but her mother and the children moved to Monroe County in approximately 1916. She always told me it was when she was 8 is where I draw that conclusion. 

Between the three of them there were literally thousands of stories. So many of them I remember bits and pieces of but do not know enough of facts in them to retell them accurately. That is something that I totally regret and wish so desperately that I could.

One story that I remember was of the dirigible.  My grandfather always told a story of the time that the Hindenburg flew over Vredenburgh. Now I honestly do not think it was the Hindenburg because I find no record of the Hindenburg flying in this part of the world. I do indeed believe that there was a airship of that type that did. The reason being that there were so many people that saw it. Therefore, I do not believe he was imagining things.

Looking online I found that the Hindenburg was slightly over 800 feet long. That was huge. I can imagine that the one that they saw was quite possibly something close to that in size. The Hindenburg crashed in May of 1937. By him thinking it was the Hindenburg I assume that this would have been very close in that time frame. In fact, I am thinking that this was just a very short time before it crashed that he saw it. He seemed to think that it had passed over and then crashed like within a day or two. 

This thing whatever it was came over at night. Supposedly there were lights all over it. Or it was well lit.  Apparently, it caused quite as stir in Vredenburgh. From what I can determine it was not running very fast. Also, from the information I can remember it was not flying very high. 

Think about it being 1937 in the town of Vredenburgh. It is night, and this huge thing comes flying over. I don’t know if they had ever even seen an airplane although I would have thought that they would have. Regardless of what they had seen or not seen; this thing definitely caused a stir. Apparently, many were terrified. My grandfather always said that one older woman came running in at the commissary screaming at the top of her lungs. She was screaming over and over, “Lord have mercy, that Frisco has done left the rails.” It had to have been pretty large for her to associate it with a train from the Frisco Railroad. Also for her to associate it with the Frisco Railroad it would have come from the West heading East, since the L&N RR. serviced Vredenburgh from the east side.

Now almost a century later, I have not found anybody else that tells that story. I have not heard it recapped in decades. I just know that from all appearances it really happened.  Like so many other stories that have been told it is one that definitely deserves to be written down and passed on to the future generations.

For those that lived it, this was an experience that they remembered till the day they died. 

The night that the dirigible came to Vredenburgh was definitely a historic event.