Double Your Pleasure...
Our morning began with a little frost on the pumpkin... and on our significant others, too. Oh well, at least it wasn't hot!!! Man, this past summer had seemed unusually hot to this tender rider, and I was having many second thoughts about my ability to continue the 'long ride’... Nah, that final day is definitely out there and coming at me fast, but not this day nor any very soon! And, with summer finally over, better days lie just ahead!
At least it wasn't hot!!!
It was a mite coolish to be comfortably venturing very far, so we decided to dine first and allow the atmospheric BTUs to increase a bit. Besides, devouring an order of bacon while sipping hot coffee, in my view, is never a hardship! Ross conjured up one of his smartphone apps and found us a nearby cafe that appeared perfect for our humble needs... only a block or so from our motel. Now ain't that downright handy!
Our pleasant server began to take our order, then she 'clarified' my additional request for a glass of water... "A glass of chilled earth juice?" she remarked... Well, yeah, I reckon... A couple more cute quips and quotes from her, and I admiringly declared, "You're a trip, gal!" She immediately responded with, "Without luggage, too!" Things only got better from there...
Sign hanging in the cafe...
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As conversations progressed, we learned that ownership of that cafe was in transition, and that our server was actually becoming the new owner. Well, one thing led to another, and I made a promise I do intend to keep... that I would return sometime in the future... Unlike the implied 'proposal' to the waitress in Town Creek, I will try to make this one happen.
Following our breakfast adventure, we moseyed towards Natural Bridge Park, and our next revelations...
Natural Bridge, AL…
‘Indian Face’ rock formation at Natural Bridge... Would that be a poker face pose or an indication of serious constipation?
Story of Natural Bridge…
Natural Bridge a bit more recently…
Then it was time for the main event of the day... The Free State of Winston... Winston County is in the hills of north central AL, northwest of Birmingham and northeast of Tuscaloosa, southeast of Florence but slightly southwest of Decatur and almost due west of Cullman. The town of Double Springs is the county seat, and therefore the most likely place to seek information in person.
On previous visits I’d stumbled across a few signs and other information about that unusual place, but this time I didn't see anything. We came to the courthouse in the middle of that small town, so I decided a stop there might prove productive... and it truly did!
A genuinely nice lady in the County Clerk's office gave us just enough information to really whet our appetites, then she suggested we go across the street to the 'Archives' building and see another lady... a local historian of sorts. We did, and that really worked out to our liking! I bought a book on local history, Ross and I then had an enjoyable conversation with the really nice lady there, then we topped all that off with a fascinating time listening to a local Army veteran of the Korean War!
We then stopped at the statue in front of the courthouse to read plaques and brochures, take some pictures, and then... While seated on one of the benches taking all of that in, a local banker happened by and offered to answer our questions... What an unexpected but interesting bonus to an already amazing stop!
'Dual Destiny' statue in front of the courthouse…
It’s hard to see in this shot, but there is an American flag to the viewer’s left crossed with the Confederate flag. The ‘soldier’ is clothed in distinctive apparel items resembling both a Union and a Confederate uniform. The soldier holds the hilt of a saber, while his foot is on the broken-off blade. The 'Dual Destiny' statue was to symbolize the end of bitter division, the coming together of the two factions and to represent a step forward in healing the deep wounds caused by that tragic conflict…
Winston County had symbolically voted to secede from the state of Alabama, thereby earning the distinction as ‘The Free State of Winston’. The vote was taken immediately after the state had actually voted to secede from the Union, citing the same reasons, justifications, and legal foundations the state had used in its own proclamation of secession.
Locals wanted more than anything to avoid participation in a war they saw no reason for nor had any reason to participate. They were strongly opposed to dissolving the Union most of all, but also since virtually all of the locals owned no slaves (subsistence farmers and small merchants), they wanted no part in a 'Rich man's war, but a poor man's fight."
Those inclinations led to bitter local feelings by 'one group' towards the ‘other’, and those wounds were long in healing. Despite local wishes, the war did come to Winston County, and many did wind up serving, the majority of those in the Union Army. That statue was one of the many steps taken to try to overcome the strong feelings generated by the events associated with that terrible war that also visited Winston County along with the rest of the south.
Following a most rewarding day in Winston County, we rode to the Natchez Trace for a nice glide down to Kosciusko, MS. Dinner at a decent Mexican Restaurant next door to our motel, then lots of time to compare notes on what all had happened during that very full day! I concluded that we'd more than doubled our pleasure by venturing to Double Springs... and sharing a slice of life with several incredible folks!
This post is an abbreviated 'rewrite' of our time that day and of the lessons learned by this writer then and throughout his lifelong study of that calamity known as the American Civil War. The other 'story' had become quite long and had touched on some sensitive topics even to this day, so I decided not to post it after all.
DDT
