Street Names

Have you ever seen a street sign and wondered how they chose the name for that road?

When I was a child we lived on the corner of Laydon and Brennan Streets. My father had built 2 houses and 2 garages on Laydon. We lived in the one on the corner and my parents rented out the other one, which was right next door. My father's large shop/barn was on Brennan St., which was just a right of way through some brush when my parents first acquired the property for $1 from someone who owed my father money. As the story goes, in order to get a permit from the city to build his shop on that right of way, my father had to show there was actually a road there. So he drove his truck up and down it until it roughly resembled a road. The city said he could choose the street name. He could have named it after himself, but my father, not one to bestow accolades on himself, named it after an old man, Mr. Brennan, who lived a bit further down on Laydon St., and had been a resident in that area for a very long time.

In Seneca, SC, other than the usual street names you might find anywhere, they seem to have adopted that same idea of naming streets after someone or something that's on them... sort of. One road is named Strawberry Farm Road because there's a strawberry farm on it, another is Cross Creek Drive - yes, it crosses a creek. Another is Sam Brown Road. I don't know for sure, but I think it's safe to say that Sam Brown once lived on that road, or maybe still does.

Most everyone who knows me knows that I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Well, if you didn't know that already, you do now. Some people refer to the church by the nickname Mormon. So imagine our delight when we saw a street sign that said "Mormon Church Rd.", and off that road is a small side street named "Mormon St." We took a drive down the road and now you can imagine our surprise to find there's no church of any kind on that road. Nor does there appear to be any building that used to be a church. And the side street is a dead end with only 1 house on it. Makes me wonder the history of the road names. 

And before you ask, no, I didn't stop to ask at the one house at the end of the dead end if they were, indeed, members!

Frampton Plantation House

The Frampton House property in Yemassee, SC, was part of an original King's Grant to the Frampton family in the 1700s. In 1865, General Sherman's troops burned the plantation house and all the farm buildings that stood on this site. In 1868, John Frampton rebuilt the present charming Lowcountry farmhouse and continued to work the land. About 1930, major renovations were made to the old house that included adding indoor plumbing and electrical wiring, and applying the first thin sheet rock or dry wall, replacing the old lath and plaster walls.

In December of 1993, Wymann Boozer, a Columbia SC developer, donated the Frampton House to the Lowcountry Tourism Commission for the creation of the Lowcountry Visitor's Center and Museum, thereby assuring restoration of the old farmhouse. The preservation of the magnificent old oaks that frame the building and the Civil War earthworks in the backyard were also guaranteed. 

The large earthwork is over 100 yards in length and was raised by General Robert E. Lee's troops about 1862. The fortification was a fall-back position from which to defend the Charleston to Savannah railroad, an important supply line for the Confederate army. The rail line is located about one mile north of the Frampton House.

Today, major renovations have taken place to prepare the Frampton House for resurrection and a new life. The Lowcountry & Resort Islands Tourism Commission has moved its offices into the upstairs of the Frampton House and the downstairs now serves as the Lowcountry Visitor's Center and Museum.

Sign on front porch

The large Live Oaks are approximately 250 years old and are cared for with pruning and periodic feeding. You can get an idea of how massive this oak tree is by looking for Jim in the lower left corner of the photo.

The tree's branches also support other plants such as the gray strands of hanging Spanish Moss (which is an epiphyte and not a parasite), and Resurrection Fern which grows along the tops of the main branches, and looks dead when dry but becomes green again after a rain.

The Lowcountry and its citizens played an important role during the final years of the struggle for American independence.

Throughout the four counties that make up the Lowcountry, there are many Revolutionary related locations: Skirmish sites and the temporary state capital in Colleton County, British Army bivouacs and a battle site in Jasper County, graveyards and encampment locations in Hampton County, forts in Beaufort County and key river crossings in all four. Connecting them are modern highways and roads that mostly follow the routes used by both American and British troops between 1779 and 1782. Ongoing archaeology works will provide more details about these places.

The trail retraces the footsteps of Dr. Uzal Johnson, a Loyalist from New Jersey, who provided medical care to the British troops here during the spring of 1780. Excerpts from his diary are included in the signs at some of the sites at this historic center. 

A display of Mourning Gowns. On the right, circa 1862, consists of a jacket and skirt with attachable sleeves and a decorative black sequined, bead color. It is complimented with lace and a satin shawl.

Center is a typical mourning outfit which a lady would have worn in the early nineteen hundreds, 1912 - 1920. This beautiful old costume was generously donated to the Lowcountry Visitor's Center by Mrs. Penny Mont Utecht. It belonged to her great-great grandmother, Helen Von Wender.

The Mourning Gown on the left was donated by Mrs. Donna Starkey. This dress, which is from 1900 - 1920, consists of a cotton lace over gown with a taffeta silk underskirt. Around the neckline and down the center back is a decoration of small silk bows. At one stage in its life time the sleeves and neck line were trimmed with a colored ribbon, unfortunately time has degraded and discolored what now remains.

Early weapons on display

(Most of the above information is from the self-guided tour and information signs around the property.)

Jimmy Carter Boyhood Farm

We stopped briefly in Plains, GA, to visit the Jimmy Carter Boyhood Farm, which was owned by Earl Carter, Jimmy's father, from 1928 until 1949. Jimmy Carter, who became the 39th president of the United States, lived here from the age of 4 until he departed for college in 1941. The farm was restored to its appearance before electricity was installed in 1938, and is part of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site. A stroll along the walking path passes wayside exhibits at various locations with audio stations to listen to Jimmy Carter share stories about his childhood.

Carter remembers the day when the family moved here in 1938. His father had forgotten his house key and had four-year old Jimmy crawl through a window to open the front door. On this 360-acre farm, the Carters raised cotton, peanuts, and corn to sell, and vegetables and livestock for their own use. In 1938, "an almost unbelievable change took place in our lives when electricity came to the farm," he recalls. East of the house is the commissary building where Earl Carter sold seeds and supplies to farmworkers and neighbors.

Farm animals included cows, guinea hens, ducks, geese, and pigs. Jimmy also had pets to take care of such as dogs, Shetland ponies, and occasional calves and pigs for Future Farmer of America projects. Dogs were constant companions as they were used for playmates and also for hunting squirrels, rabbits, coons, possums, and other small game.

(Information from self-guided tour.)

United States Army Aviation Museum

The United States Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker, Alabama, has the largest collection of helicopters held by a museum in the world and features some 50 aircraft on public display with aviation artifacts ranging from a replica of the Wright brothers' Model B military biplane to an AH-64 Apache from Operation Desert Storm. The museum has over 160 aircraft in its collection and holds 3,000 historical items.

Greeting you as you enter the front door, these proud representatives of Army Aviation welcome you to the Museum. Each statue represents an era in U.S. Army Aviation history.

CH-47A

The CH-47A designed by Boeing Vertol was selected by the Army in 1959 to fill the need for a transport helicopter. The tandem rotor "Chinook" has a dead-lift capability in excess of 15,000 pounds of external cargo and is designed to transport a 33 man platoon and their equipment. The cargo bay is also capable of carrying light vehicles, and can be configured to provide medical transport of up to 24 stretchers. The Chinook flight crew consists of a pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer. The reliability of this design and the service proven dependability have given the CH-47 the distinction of being a world standard for medium-lift helicopters. Currently being fielded as the CH-47F model, it remains as the workhorse of Army Aviation today. It has a range of 230 miles and a speed of 178 mph.

Inside the CH-47A

Cockpit of the CH-47A

Opened in June 1995, the Vietnam Memorial exhibit offers visitors a chance to absorb the human cost of war. This memorial room contains the name, rank, and date of fatality of all known Army Aviation personnel who suffered combat related aviation fatalities, in airplanes and helicopters, during the Vietnam conflict from 1962 - 1975. The 4,347 names represent pilots, co-pilots, crew chiefs, crew members, door gunners and medics, to include 1,889 who were never recovered.

A statue of an Army Aviator with helmet in hand stands as a monument to those who died in service to their nation. The body of the statue was sculpted and the hands, arms, and head are the cast of a real person. The helmet, flight suit, flak jacket and combat boots were worn in Vietnam. The conventions are the same down to the dogtag tied on the lace of the boot in addition to the dogtags worn around his neck.

The memorial exhibit is marked with a map of Vietnam superimposed with a silhouette of a UH-1 Huey. The Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association provided a master list and sent a member to program the sign-making machine for all the names. The Dust Off Association, Vietnam Helicopter Crewmembers Association, and Otter Caribou Association also assisted in providing information to the museum.

This memorial is a wonderful addition to the museum and definitely fitting to remind us of our lost loved ones.

In 1993, Super 68 participated in Operation Gothic Serpent and was one of three Blackhawk helicopters to be shot down during the incident known as The Battle of Mogadishu. Initially, the story was recounted in the Philadelphia Inquirer as a news story by reporter Mark Bowden entitled "Blackhawk Down" which later became a book, followed by a movie with the same title.

Tail #340, "Miss Clawd IV", is one of the aircraft on display that has an actual, documented combat history in Vietnam. It bears the same paint scheme as it wore the day it was shot down.

The centerpiece of the exhibit floor depicts a well-publicized photograph from the Vietnam Conflict. It appeared in the 1st Cavalry Division yearbook, and shows an air assault landing of the "Bravo Blues", 1st of the 9th Cavalry.

The ability of the helicopter to evacuate wounded soldiers from the front lines in a timely manner during the Korean Conflict helped to solidify the use of vertical flight technology for the U.S. Army.

(Information provided by U.S. Army Aviation Museum website)

Ave Maria Grotto

The Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, AL, is located on the grounds of St. Bernard Abbey, the only Benedictine monastery of men in the State of Alabama. The Abbey was founded in 1891. The Grotto consists of a landscaped hillside of 125 small stone and cement structures, the handiwork of the creative genius of Brother Joseph Zoetl, a monk of the Abbey for almost 70 years.

A pleasant two-block pathway winds beside these miniature buildings, passing in front of a large cavern-like grotto (Italian word for cave) on the lower level of the hillside. Opened in 1934 on the site of a former stone quarry used by the Abbey, the Grotto was a continuation of the work of Brother Joseph, who built his first replicas in about 1912 and his last, the miniature of the beautiful Lourdes Basilica Church, in 1958. It was constructed when he was 80 years old.

Brother Joseph Zoetl was born in 1878 in the town of Landshut, Bavaria. In 1892 he came to the newly founded St. Bernard Abbey where his monastic life was spent in prayer and in laboring in the Abbey power house. When not busy shoveling coal into the furnaces, Brother Joseph took time to construct some miniature buildings using stone, concrete, and unwanted donated materials, e.g., broken plates, costume jewelry, ceramic tile, beads, marbles, seashells, etc.

Originally Brother Joseph placed his creations in the gardens near the monastery, but due to the large number of visitors coming to see them, they were moved to the present site in 1934.

Brother Joseph gathered ideas for his work from extensive readings of history and the Bible - and from his wonderful imagination. Of all the factual replicas constructed, he had seen only about six: those in his home town of Landshut and those at St. Bernard Abbey. All the others were constructed from photographs or from printed descriptions.

Brother Joseph, who died in 1961, is buried in the Abbey Cemetery, final resting place of the monks of the Abbey.

Tower of Babel

The Ave Maria Grotto stands 27 feet high, 27 feet wide, and 27 feet deep. The structure was decorated by Br. Joseph with countless pieces of colored stone and glass. He built the alter using bits of crushed glass, stone and cement. He also made the stalactites which hang from the ceiling. Standing in the center is the Virgin Mary, with the Child Jesus in her arms. Standing on the left is St. Benedict of Nursia, founder of Benedictine monasticism. On the right is his twin sister, St. Scholastica.

Benedictine Shrine: Br. Joseph's tribute to Benedictine monks

Pyramid: an example of the tombs of the pharaohs

Great Wall of China

(Information from self-guided walking tour.)

Crooked Creek Civil War Museum

A gem of the area we were in is the Crooked Creek Civil War Museum in Vinemont, AL. Fred Wise, the owner, purchased 400 +/- acres for $500 an acre back in 1981. He later had it surveyed and found he had 600 acres.

As he worked to clean up the property he began finding bullet holes in rocks and cannon balls in the stone walls. It turns out his property is the site of a Civil War battle where Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and Union Colonel Abel Streight fought for several hours at Crooked Creek, then went on to engage in the Battles of Hog Mountain and Day's Gap in April 1863.

He says "I didn't know this was an actual battle site when my wife, Brenda, and I bought the land in 1981, but learned about it after four years here. The hillsides were all grown up, thick with weeds under the trees, and we didn't know that beneath the brush was proof a battle had happened here. But once we started clearing off the hills, we found concave holes where soldiers had entrenched themselves for protection during battle and bullet holes in big rocks."

The pistol I'm holding has 10 notches in the wooden handle. Couldn't do that today as the evidence would be held against you!

He said the worst thing he did was destroying a pile of rotted logs across the creek. "At the time, when we first bought this place, I thought the debris was jamming the creek. Little did I know those logs were probably a part of history," he said, shaking his head. "I've regretted doing that ever since I found out what I destroyed." The logs were actually part of a bridge that the Union Army used to move their cannons and equipment across the creek.

Wise had been a Civil War buff and collector before he bought the land, but once he realized the historic significance of his property, he made plans to preserve the area. Today he hosts visitors at the museum housed in the old Vinemont Stagecoach Inn, which he bought and moved years ago to preserve a piece of Cullman, AL history.

Confederate flag, complete with bullet holes

The museum has had visitors from foreign countries including New Zealand, Denmark, South Africa and about every state in the USA. One visitor said her great-grandfather, who was with the 1st Alabama Calvary, was captured in the battle at Crooked Creek. He had passed along valued historic documents, which she donated to the museum. 

Wise is a great story teller and makes the battle come alive as he explains the drama which occurred so long ago. "You have to imagine what this place looked like back then, and from historic records I've studied, it says these hillsides were covered with thick pines and provided cover for advancing soldiers." A book for sale in the museum, The Lightning Mule Brigade - Abel Steight's 1863 Raid into Alabama, gives some insight into what happened at Crooked Creek, with a personal account by a Sergeant from the 3rd Ohio Union Calvary. "After sundown we came to Crooked Creek, the crossing of which was found tedious owing to the delay in doing so to allow the thirsty animals to drink. The enemy pressed us severely, and came near cutting off the Third Ohio, which was bringing up the rear. After crossing, Colonel Hathaway took the Seventy-third into position, where it dismounted, formed into line, advanced a short distance, ranks, stopping them long enough for the Third Ohio to cross."

In another passage, one of the Confederate soldiers writes about the Battle of Hog Mountain, two miles past Crooked Creek. "The pine trees were very tall, and the darkness of their shade was intense, the mountain where the enemy was posted was steep, and as we charged again and again, under Forrest's own lead it was a grand spectacle. It seemed that the fires which blazed from their muskets were almost long enough to reach our faces. There was one advantage in being below them; they often fired above our heads in the darkness."

Wise knows the details of each item displayed, which includes a rare 1863 cooking pot, unit insignias, an authentic 1862 Allegheny Arsenal saddle, as well as other Civil War saddles; a Confederate Lorenz-Jager .72 carbine, modified by Indians, and other weapons. He has unearthed bullets, a brass cannon ball, belt buckles and other artifacts on his property. Some Civil War collectors have donated cherished items.

Fred Wise

Also on the property is an 1830s cabin originally from Somerville, near Decatur, which was re-assembled at the museum site. It serves as a bed and breakfast, although you "have to make your own bed, and your own breakfast."

Wise says you can't put a price on the history of this place. "I even discovered that Davy Crockett and the Tennessee Volunteers passed through here on their way to join Andrew Jackson in the fight against Creek Indians."

The museum is also the burial site of about 80 Confederate soldiers, although there are no markers or records. After the war, the Union Army retrieved the bodies of their fallen soldiers, moving them to a military cemetery. But the Confederate soldiers remained in their unmarked graves.

All of this history is priceless. But the real gem is Fred Wise himself, a treasure of information who gives you a personal tour and stories about the items in the museum, as well as the ghost hunters that have come to investigate reports of paranormal activity. He has pictures of apparitions that are very hard to dispute.

Photo of ghost soldier

(Some of the above information is from my own conversation with Fred Wise, and some is from the Alabama Tourism website.)

Clarkson Covered Bridge

The Clarkson Covered Bridge in Vinemont, AL, spans Crooked Creek in Cullman County, AL. It was originally built in 1904, destroyed by a flood in 1901 and rebuilt the following year. The only remaining covered bridge in Cullman County, it was restored by the Cullman County Commission in 1975 as an American Revolution Bicentennial Project. The 250-foot bridge is a Town's Lattice truss construction over four spans. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on 6/25/74 and is currently the second-longest existing covered bridge in AL and one of the longest in the United States.

Clarkson Covered Bridge

One of the massive stone supports

Grist mill from the bridge

Grist mill

Picnic tables in the park are made of stone