Friday, April 26, 2019

Sweet Home Alabama

Our stay in New Mexico was terrific, but we then headed back to Florida to see my mom. Mom was living in independent living and in fact, stayed that way until three months before her passing this February at the age of 97. She was a strong, independent little woman until the end. 

Driving through New Mexico, we pulled over in a little town called Cuervo just to check the car. The town itself isn't a ghost town, but this little section was.





I felt like I was in an old TV western.

Moving east, our only stop was in Montgomery, AL. I had been to Birmingham before and it is a pretty sophisticated city, but had never been to the state capital. We had started visiting state capitol buildings and wanted to add this one to our visit. By the way, we have now visited 18 capitol buildings. It was a strange feeling to be in Alabama at that time as it was during the senatorial race involving Roy Moore. The signs and rhetoric was pretty uncomfortable for bleeding heart liberals. But, off we went to the capitol.

The present capitol dates to 1850-1851 and replaced the original building that had burned. The building is Greek Revival and was seen twice on the international news scene. The Confederate States was born in the senate chamber where delegates from the Southern States voted to establish their own country. And, in 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King led the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March that ended on the street in front of the capitol building. To be honest, driving from Selma to Montgomery was pretty sad. It didn't look like much had changed since 1965. Every little town was boarded up with no commercial businesses and tons of people just sitting on their front porches. The Alabama legislature and supreme court no longer meet in the building so it has become a national landmark and museum. I know it might seem strange, but after the tour and movie and so forth, it just felt like everything had stopped at the Civil War. There was very little discussed about the 20th century. Although pretty, this capitol left us cold.











Okay, so my favorite part was lunch (big surprise). How could we not go to Chris' Hot Dogs. A 100 year old institution that had some of the best hot dogs we have had. 


If you find yourself in Montgomery, make sure you stop. It is a gem and a bargain!

Our visit didn't stop at the capitol. We drove out to Tuskegee to visit the Tuskegee Institute (University) and and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. 

The University was originally established in 1881 by the Alabama State Legislature as Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers. Booker T., Washington met with his first class of only 30 men and women essentially in a shed. Washington had been born a slave but still helped build a world famous institution. Students produced the bricks and then the labor to build most of the early buildings including "The Oaks" that served as Washington's family residence. He recruited academics that in addition to traditional education, could provide training in carpentry, brick laying, printing and many other trades. Farming, however, was where the early direction went. George Washington Carver joined the faculty and most people are familiar with his accomplishments. There is now a George Washington Carver museum on campus operated by the National Park Service. 

If you are interested, here are the points of distinction for Tuskegee University

  • Number one producer of African-American aerospace science engineers in the nation.
  • A leading producer in the country of African-American engineering graduates in chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering.
  • The top producer of African-American Ph.D. holders in Materials Science and Engineering in the U.S.
  • Produced more African-American general officers in the military than any other institution, including the service academies.
  • The largest producer of African-Americans with baccalaureate degrees in Math, Science and Engineering in Alabama.
  • The only historically black college or university (HBCU) with a fully accredited College of Veterinary Medicine that offers the Doctoral Degree, and produces over 75% of the African-American veterinarians in the world.
  • The only historically black college or university (HBCU) in the nation designated as the location for National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care.
  • The first nursing baccalaureate program in Alabama and one of the oldest in the United States.
  • Originator and producer of the famous "Tuskegee Airmen," in partnership with the U.S. Army Air Corps.
  • Producer of the first African-American four-star general: General Daniel "Chappie" James.
  • The producer of the first African-American winner of the National Book Award, Ralph Ellison for his book, Invisible Man.
  • The only college or university campus in the nation to be designated a National Historic Site by the U.S. Congress.
  • A center for Plant Biotechnology Research which is training U.S. Scientists and students as well as scientists from Ghana, China, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Egypt, and Tanzania to continue work of Dr. George Washington Carver in today's cutting edge science and technology.
  • One of two centers funded by NASA to develop a technology for growing food in space during human space missions.
  • The only historically black college or university, and one of only 11 universities in the world funded and authorized by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to establish and operate a Kellogg Conference Center, which is the technologically sophisticated hub of Continuing Education and Hospitality/Tourism Management Training.
  • The offspring of two American giants, Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver.
  • The only historically black college or university to maintain academic excellence while supporting a football program exceeding a 611-win career record and many conference titles including 4 consecutive SIAC Conference Football Championships.

I don't usually cut and paste, but that is a pretty impressive list.

Here are photos of the Oaks, Booker T Washington's residence, built by students from bricks made by students.








The university-




The George Washington Carver museum-






Our trip to Alabama was completed with a visit to Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. Located at Moton Field, this memorial to the first black military pilots was part of Tuskegee's Civilian Pilot Training program. There were no black pilots in the military until 1941. The selective training and service act of 1940 prohibited discrimination in training for military service. This act and pressure from the press, civil rights organizations, and Eleanor Roosevelt led to the formation of the 99th Pursuit Squadron. This was an all black, segregated squadron. Remember it wasn't until 1948 that Harry Truman integrated the military. Fighting not only the enemy but racial hatred and discrimination, the first class of pilots graduated and were given wings and commissions as officers. Many followed and by the end of the war, 994 pilots had been trained. The squadron was sent to North Africa and began flying missions of primarily bomber support. 66 pilots died during the war, but Tuskegee airmen, known as "The Red Tail Angels" never lost a bomber in 180 missions. Despite this incredible record, discrimination continued after the war as there were separate officer's clubs for white and blacks. Watching the introductory movie brought tears to your eyes. 

The site contains two hangers with truly exceptional exhibits, interactive displays and more. 









This is a must see if you are ever in the area.

Next time...Louisiana and Texas.

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Northern New Mexico

We left Denver and headed south to Northern New Mexico. But first, we had to drive over the Raton Pass between Trinidad, Colorado and Raton, New Mexico. We were on Interstate 25 and as you approach the pass, you note the signs for the steep road ahead. It is 7,834 to the top and we couldn't get much over 50 miles per hour. The pass is famous enough to have had a movie that took place there in 1951. Of course, going up wasn't the hardest part, coming down was. The trucks with smoking brakes lined the side of the road. We did what we were supposed to and safely arrived at the bottom (Raton, New Mexico) without a problem.







Our experiences in Southern New Mexico hadn't been all that exciting when we were there. Carlsbad, of course and the Guadalupe Mountains were good but the area itself was pretty sad. Unfortunately, Raton was pretty much the same. You wonder how people make a living there. We didn't stay long and mounted up for a drive further south. Heading towards Santa Fe, we noticed signs for Fort Union National Monument.  Five miles off Interstate 25, down a twisting two lane highway through some beautiful ranch land, we arrived at the site.  There was just enough space for the RV and tow in the parking lot. A great visitor center and movie told us the history of the fort and surrounding area. 

When New Mexico became a U.S. territory after the Mexican American War, the army set up garrisons scattered along the Rio Grande. It didn't work out and the Army reorganized establishing larger forts closer to the Indians. The army commander who was responsible for the area, moved his command center and supply depot from Santa Fe which he described as, "that sink of vice and extravagance", to the area that would become Ft. Union. The first fort at this location was built in 1851 and the second built in 1861. Designed to stop a Confederate advance from Texas to the California gold fields, it never saw action. The Confederates were stopped at the battle of Glorietta Pass about 20 miles south of Santa Fe and the the civil war was essentially over for the Southwest. The third fort was started in 1863 and took six years to complete. The fort eventually became the largest supply depot for the Santa Fe Trail wagon trains and served until the railroads displaced it. The sprawling fort where thousands lived and served closed in 1891 and was abandoned. The fort has been preserved as it was left.






Continuing south, we arrived in Santa Fe. Overpriced and somewhat touristy but simply beautiful and cultured. The city has been continuously occupied for over 400 years under the flag of many countries. The Spanish influence is what overshadows everything. Exceptional colonial buildings mixed with public art and warm sunshine.











Obviously the center square of town is loaded with overpriced jewelry stores, expensive restaurants and more. But there are also, neighborhoods with great Mexican restaurants, locally made ice cream and an actual artist's community. And the museums! Our first visit was to the Georgia O'keefe Museum that was so much more than just paintings on a wall. Splendid movies, incredible displays about her life made her more of person. What an incredible life! Her art is also so much more than those few paintings most people are familiar with. 




You might think the colors are not life like, but they are. Santa Fe is a riot of pastel colors of pinks, greens, blues, and purples. 

Next stop, The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. The museum was founded in 1937 by Mary Cabot Wheelwright who was a Bostonian who became enamored with the Navajo religion as one of many religions she studied. She collaborated with a  Navajo "singer" or medicine man. What they developed is an amazing museum of all Indian art, including an exceptional jewelry collection.











While in the oldest capital, we visited the newest state capitol. The building is a pantheon of art. Three stories of New Mexican artists work. Simply beautiful. 











Our last stop in the area was to me the best, Los Alamos. One of the newest national monuments, established in 2015, Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The Manhattan Project was an unprecedented, top-secret program to design and build an atomic bomb. Los Alamos was so secret that an entire city was built with everyone having the same address in Santa Fe. Husbands and wives weren't able to share the details of the jobs. But it was all compartmentalized so that no one really knew more than what they were specifically working on. The exception was J. Robert Oppenheimer. It was so divided that there were numerous other facilities, each working on the their own part of the project. I really like this quote from Journalist William Lawrence in 1945, The Atomic Age began at exactly 5:30 Mountain War Time on the morning of July 16, 1945, on a stretch of semi-desert land about 50 airline miles from Alamogordo, New Mexico. And just at that instance there rose from the bowels of the earth a light not of this world,  the light of many suns in one". Exhibits, homes and more in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable.

Even the ride to the site was beautiful. Can you imagine the drive in the 1940's?







The ride back to Santa Fe.

Next time heading East.


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