Alabama Heritage team visits West Blocton: Left to right are Cindy Sanford, Rebecca Minder, Susan Reynolds, Donna Baker, and Sara Martin.
When I first started working at Alabama Heritage in 2012, I was told our team would take office “field trips” throughout the year. Once a quarter was the main goal, and sometimes it would only be twice a year, but the point was to get the Alabama Heritage team out of the office—away from computers, the mail, and phones—and actually visit the places written about within the pages of our print magazine. We have taken several trips just on our own, exploring places within a two-hour radius of our home offices in Tuscaloosa. Some trips have included folks from around the state who offered to be our tour guides. No matter where we end up, our day trip is usually chocked full of fascinating stories, interesting artifacts, lots of laughter, and great food.
It rained for several days in advance to our trip to the Cahaba River, causing it to swell and engulf all the lilies that had already bloomed. The first trip we took as a team was the week before the Cahaba Lily Festival in 2013. Each year the program begins in the morning with indoor presentations by various nature and wildflower groups. That year botanist and Alabama Heritage author Larry Davenport, an expert on the lilies, presented an informative presentation about the lilies. After the presentations, lunch is served, and attendees go to the Cahaba River for viewing of the lilies. We chose to go the week before the event, to avoid the crowds and give us more opportunity to explore at a leisurely pace.
Little did we know that after a good, long rain, the Cahaba River would swell and no lilies were in site. Although I have gone to this spot often, taking friends and family members and out-of-towners to see the flowers and swim in the crisp clear waters of the rapids, many of our team members had never gone. It was quite disappointing to not be able to see in person the lilies that we’ve often seen in the pages of our magazine, but as par for our team, we didn’t let that hamper our fun.
Little did we know that after a good, long rain, the Cahaba River would swell and no lilies were in site. Although I have gone to this spot often, taking friends and family members and out-of-towners to see the flowers and swim in the crisp clear waters of the rapids, many of our team members had never gone. It was quite disappointing to not be able to see in person the lilies that we’ve often seen in the pages of our magazine, but as par for our team, we didn’t let that hamper our fun.
Alabama Heritage students visit West Blocton: Left to right are Kristen, Sara, and Taylor. The weather was perfect on this early May day. We had three of our student workers join us on the trip as well, which made it even more enjoyable but also meant we drove a large van. Our first stop was at the “Welcome to West Blocton” sign, an obligatory photo op to prove you were actually there! Then we drove down the winding dirt path to the river until we reached the “beach” area. Not realizing the river was flooded from the earlier rains, we were saddened to see the flowers drowning with only a few tips peaking out here and there. Still, we took the opportunity to dip our toes in the crisp, cool waters and enjoy the fresh air. Navigating that van, however, on that one-lane dirt road was a bit of a challenge as we turned around to head back out whence we came. Sometimes the ride in the vehicle itself is more enjoyable than the time we spend outside of it.
Donna Baker with a statue of her great-great-grandfather, so the family legend goes, in front of the Bibb County Courthouse. We drove past the Blocton Coke Ovens, marking it down to visit on our next outing. Construction on the beehive-shaped coke ovens began in 1887. When US Steel assumed control in 1907, the ovens operated intermittently for a short time. The town of West Blocton purchased the site and now runs the West Blocton Coke Ovens Park. A quick jaunt across the road from the park was a cemetery, which always fascinates our team. We fought off mosquitoes and chiggers just to read some of the markers from the early 1900s.
Our last stop was at the Bibb County Courthouse. Following her genealogical instinct, Donna Baker had heard that the statue in front of the courthouse was of her great-great-grandfather. The Confederate monument was erected in April 1910 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The monument is topped by a Confederate soldier in his homespun uniform atop an obelisk engraved with battle flags. The pedestal is flanked by cannonballs.
Alabama Heritage fields trips are always centered on food: Where will we have lunch? Our team prefers to eat at locally owned and operated restaurants, and on this trip we had to stop at Twix-N-Tween for barbecue in Centreville. It was a fortuitous choice as the restaurant soon closed, changed hands, and became a Mexican restaurant. There’s something special about the pickle-juice barbecue, though, and is a landmark that we couldn’t pass up. I’m actually craving it right now. Suppose I’ll head over to Archibald’s for lunch. Who’s joining me?
Our last stop was at the Bibb County Courthouse. Following her genealogical instinct, Donna Baker had heard that the statue in front of the courthouse was of her great-great-grandfather. The Confederate monument was erected in April 1910 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The monument is topped by a Confederate soldier in his homespun uniform atop an obelisk engraved with battle flags. The pedestal is flanked by cannonballs.
Alabama Heritage fields trips are always centered on food: Where will we have lunch? Our team prefers to eat at locally owned and operated restaurants, and on this trip we had to stop at Twix-N-Tween for barbecue in Centreville. It was a fortuitous choice as the restaurant soon closed, changed hands, and became a Mexican restaurant. There’s something special about the pickle-juice barbecue, though, and is a landmark that we couldn’t pass up. I’m actually craving it right now. Suppose I’ll head over to Archibald’s for lunch. Who’s joining me?
Author
Rebecca Todd Minder is the digital media editor for Alabama Heritage.
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