Soda pop and Dixie

Vicksburg, MS – One of the neatest parts about traveling is discovering the answer to questions you never really asked, but always wondered about.  Today we learned two such answers!

Our first visit of the morning was to the Museum of Coca-Cola History and Memorabilia. One of Vicksburg’s native sons got the bright idea, in 1894, of putting this new soda fountain confection into individual bottles so that people in the country didn’t have to drive into town for a taste.  Up to that moment, Coca-Cola – and any other soda fountain drink – was only available on tap.  Joseph A. Biedenharn changed the soft drink industry forever.

The first bottles our friend Joseph used were sealed with a plug with a metal rod looped through it.  When drawing on the loop, the stopper would come out with a popping sound.  And that, dear readers, is where the term “soda pop” first originated!  Isn’t that wonderful?

The museum had samples of that first bottle, as well as a number of other designs before the iconic “Mae West” shape came into use.  Wooden machinery for bottle-washing was also on display, as well as every ping-pong paddle, tray, lunch box, ashtray or other doo-dad with the famous logo that was ever made.  One of Joseph’s friends hand-lettered the first Coca-Cola logo, with its two swirling C’s, and it hasn’t changed from that day to this.

Joseph not only came up with a unique distribution idea, but he also insisted that advertising would be essential to keep the product going, despite the large public appetite.  Others said Coca-Cola would sell itself, but Joseph was ahead of his time.

Vicksburg has two scenic routes which bring tourists to all the main points of interest throughout the town, so we followed both.  We passed gracious antebellum mansions, railway yards, and less affluent parts of town.  We stopped to visit the Old Court House Museum, where a fascinating collection of items from the earliest times are on display, many donated by local families. Confederate President Jefferson Davis launched his political career from this building.

In one display case were examples of paper money, including bank notes from Louisiana printed in English on one side and in French on the other.  The ten-dollar note, on the French side, says “dix”, and in Mississippi, when the merchants would sail north from New Orleans, it was said they had their pockets full of “dixies”.  In time, the people and the region all acquired that name as well.  Something else I never knew and often wondered about!

We visited the cemeteries of Confederate and Union soldiers – where a total of 20,000 Civil War soldiers, known and unknown, have been laid to rest – more than in any other place in the US.  Next, we stopped at the Cedar Grove Mansion, a grand house built in 1840 which is used today as an inn and restaurant.  The self-guided tour gave glimpses of the genteel lifestyle of some of Vicksburg’s more affluent residents.

Hallowed ground

Vicksburg, MS – The stained glass windows at the Church of the Holy Trinity, where I went to the early service today, depict beautiful scenes from the Bible, such as the story of the Good Samaritan, which was the one across from my pew.  Six of the windows were crafted by Tiffany’s of New York. But the most unusual display was along the church’s back wall, where those who died on both sides of the Civil War are honoured.  It’s the only known windows to bring Union and Confederate emblems and flags together.

Our tour today of the Vicksburg National Military Park filled us in on many of the dramatic events that took place here in the closing years of the Civil War.  We arranged for a guide, Morgan, to ride with us in our car through the winding roads of the park and explain what happened in the spring and summer of 1863.  Describing these events to tourists is Morgan’s avocation; in real life he’s an elementary school administrator.  He’s also writing a book and running a business of ghost tours among the city’s old haunts.  He certainly had a wealth of information to share with us!

Simple geography is one of the most important elements in the outcomes of the siege of Vicksburg.  The town is on a high point of land, with steep banks overlooking the Mississippi River to the west, and hills and deep ravines providing natural protection to the east.  Union troops spent months devising a variety of approaches, by river and overland, to take the city, while the Confederates fought long and hard to resist the attacks.  Citizens dug trenches and caves to escape bombardments through the night during the weeks-long siege until both sides had reached a state of exhaustion.

Thousands of soldiers died on both sides, and thousands who survived sustained terrible injuries, starvation and disease.  Brothers fought brothers; troops from one state were divided against each other in war but are memorialized today on either side of a single monument. There are more than 1,400 different monuments throughout the park, some the size of large gravestones, and others as big as buildings with heroic statues, marble columns and symbolic figures.

The names of 36,000 soldiers line the inner walls of the Illinois monument (shown here), the most ornate and largest in the park, some of whom died and some who lived.  It was staggering to see them all, each in raised brass letters about a quarter of an inch high, covering the high walls of a space the size of a gymnasium.

It was difficult for me to watch the 20-minute film at the visitor center, which described and re-enacted the battle and siege from the point of view of local citizens, footsoldiers and military leaders, without being brought to tears.  The depth of sorrow and pain and the amount of bloodshed that marked the United States’ formative years is difficult to comprehend.

We were able to lighten the mood later today when we went to Rowdy’s Family Catfish Shack for dinner, where we ate pond-raised fried catfish, black-eyed peas, and corn bread, followed by a dessert of Mississippi Mud Pie, probably the most sugar-dense confection I’ve ever ingested!  I’ve checked that one off my list permanently.

Traces of history

Vicksburg, MS – For the first time this trip, we actually propped the RV door open for some fresh air!  We hit 60 degrees today, with sunshine, and it sure felt good.  Of course, it has since dipped back, but we are taking it as a sign of warmth to come.

The majority of our travel today was along the Natchez Trace Parkway, with just 30 miles at the end on Interstate 20 to take us to the western edge of the state, about two thirds down from its northern state line.  Vicksburg sits on the shore of the Mississippi River, a city of 50,000 and the site of the largest Civil War cemetery in the country – some 17,000 graves of Union soldiers.

It was a gorgeous day for a leisurely trip along the parkway, with its rolling terrain, tall trees and small streams.  Not having to contend with commercial traffic meant we saw very few other travelers in either direction, and allowed us glimpses of deer, herons and even a turtle basking in the sun as we passed by.  The forest this time of year is a lot less lush than it will be in a couple of months, but we could see much further into it as a result.  When everything is in full leaf, the greenery is spectacular, though; we saw it in a short film about the Trace a couple of days ago.

At lunchtime we stopped at the French Camp, a site where a stand, or inn, was built in 1812.  It was converted into a school which has been running since 1822.  Today it’s run as a Christian academy for kids from troubled homes.  We didn’t see any students, but we strolled along the boardwalk to look at some of the historic wooden buildings on the site.  There was a little café serving soup and sandwiches, but we discovered it after we had already eaten in the RV, and we decided eating double meals would only be an occasional indulgence.

For several miles the Trace took us alongside the Ross R. Barnett Reservoir, a large section of the Pearl River that sparkled in the sun. It was the most water we’d seen since Lake Ontario – if you don’t count all the stuff that fell out of the sky a few days ago.

Further down the road, we turned off to look at an ancient burial mound, built between 750 and 1,250 years ago.  The remains of some 41 people were located in the mound, buried in three different time periods, according to the historical plaque.  It was a beautifully peaceful spot.

Not long after, we left the Trace and joined the I-20 toward Vicksburg.  It was a bit windy to begin with, but we really felt the rush of wind with every transport truck that whizzed by!  And there were quite a few!  It made the miles along today’s pleasant country road all the sweeter by contrast.

Elvis has left the building

Friday, January 17, 2014
Tupelo, MS – In the mid-1930s there were probably lots of boys being raised by dirt-poor parents living on the wrong side of the tracks.  Only one became the biggest name in rock-n-roll, with revenues in the millions even years after his death.  Today we visited the humble two-room house where Elvis Presley was born, as well as the little wooden church where he sang and worshiped in his early years.

The house, with its bedroom and kitchen, still stands where it was built by Vernon Presley, Elvis’s father, with the help of his brother and father, using wood and nails and other materials bought with a $180 loan from Vernon’s boss.  In 1957 Elvis came back to his home town for a benefit concert, and he used the proceeds to buy the property around his little house to build a park for the less affluent children of Tupelo.

As a kid from the wrong side of town, the boy Elvis had no park or playground to play in with his friends, and when they tried to use the facilities in the fancier part of town, they were run off.  At age 21, Elvis thought it was time to make things right for the next generation of kids from his part of town.

This was one of the many stories we learned about the King of Rock-n-Roll as we strolled around the property.  In addition to the house, there is a large building that houses a museum, gift shop and event centre, plus a small chapel built by Elvis fans.  Nearby is the Assembly of God Church that Elvis attended with his parents.  The wooden building used to stand a couple of blocks away.  When it closed, a local citizen bought it and converted it into a two-bedroom home.  Later it was purchased for the Elvis birthplace property and transported by truck to the site, where it was restored to its original appearance.  Elvis sang his first solo, “Jesus Loves Me”, in the church when he was eight years old.

Tupelo is a fairly large town, with wide streets and lots of businesses and shopping centres.  It has an airport and two Wal-Marts, and on the sidewalks of Main Street a number of large guitar sculptures remind visitors of its native son.  The Tupelo Hardware Company is still open for business; that’s where 10-year-old Elvis got his first guitar, a birthday present from his parents that he settled for when his mother refused to buy him his first choice, a .22 rifle.

My own memories of Elvis aren’t those of an avid fan.  He was at the height of his career before I was old enough to be drawn in to the mania he generated with his sex appeal and unique melding of country, blues and rock.  And his beach bikini movies seemed just silly to me!  But visiting Graceland in Memphis in 2011 opened my eyes to his many kind and often extremely generous gestures, and the charities he supported. Last week (January 8) would have been his 79^th birthday, though he died at age 42.  In those short years, and from the very humble beginnings that we saw today, Elvis Presley used his gift and talents to make a huge difference to thousands of people’s lives.

[Posted a day later. No wi-fi at our RV park.]

Armadillo sighting!

Thursday, January 16, 2014
Tupelo, MS – Today was the complete antithesis of yesterday’s highways and turnpikes.  A beautiful ribbon of parkway through forests and fields carried us southward from the Music City through Tennessee, a 30-mile stretch across the northwest corner of Alabama and into Mississippi.  Not a sign of a transport truck, interchange cloverleaf, golden arches, or four-lane madness!

The Natchez Trace, as this parkway is called, follows a transportation corridor that has existed from the time of the early natives and the animals they hunted. It connects the Mississippi town of Natchez, near the Louisiana state line, at the south end, with Nashville at the north end. Mile markers along its 444-mile length highlight historic events, such as battlefields or native ceremonial mounds, or natural features, such as waterfalls or panoramic views.  The winding road is only two lanes wide, and the speed is limited to 50 miles an hour, so it was a wonderfully peaceful trip today.

Our first stop this morning, after our trek through the turnpike insanity around the heart of Nashville, and before entering the Trace, was at the Loveless Café, an iconic restaurant where the stars of TV, movies and country music have come to eat the country ham and heavenly biscuits since the early 1950s.  The entrance area walls are plastered with autographed photos.  We recognized Ernest Borgnine and Robert Ulrich among the many.  Our plan had been to have a quick coffee, but the tasty aromas and tempting menu persuaded us to go whole hog, so to speak, and try some of the tasty fare with a second breakfast!  It was worth it!

We enjoyed reading about the Trace’s milestones in our guide, including stories of Davy Crockett, and descriptions of the hundreds of species of birds and wildlife.  Five deer grazing on a grassy knoll perked up their ears and turned tail and ran as we approached, and we caught sight of a couple of others loping across the highway a few yards ahead of us further down the road.  There were very few cars in either direction.

When we entered Alabama, I said to Val that this would be where we’d see the armadillos that were mentioned in the list of wildlife.  Sure enough, a mile or so further along, we saw a little grey mound on a hillside – a real, live armadillo!  Later on I spotted a second one nibbling the grass on my side of the highway.  I couldn’t believe our luck!

Just on the outskirts of Tupelo, the birthplace of Elvis Presley, we turned off to see the Parkway Visitor Center, where there were displays of the flora, fauna and Trace history, as well as a little gift shop.  We struck up a conversation with a gift shop volunteer, who told us she went to grade school with Elvis Presley.  Her name was Shirley Hubanks (before she married) and she told us about signing Elvis’s school yearbook and getting him to sign hers.  She told us about what Elvis was like, and about seeing him perform at Lake Tahoe when he got famous. It was great hearing her stories, told in a wonderful southern accent!

[Posted a day late. No wi-fi at our RV park!]

Life in the olden days

Nashville, TN – Today was a day for high collars and cravats, and hoop skirts and bonnets. Actually, fleeces, gloves, and parkas were more like it to ward off the very chilly temperatures that descended on us overnight.

We had booked a bus tour with Peter, the GrayLine rep, yesterday – remember how thrilled he was to have customers?  Well, last night we had a call to tell us the tour was off, because we were the only ones who’d signed up.  The plan had been to visit the Hermitage, President Andrew Jackson’s estate, and BelleMeade Plantation, as part of a six-and-a-half hour bus tour. Fortunately, we had what we needed to take the tours anyway – on our own.  It was a very worthwhile day.

The Hermitage wasn’t far from the KOA campground, so we went there first.  We were met at the front door of the mansion by Jim, dressed with a collar, cravat, caped black coat and….earmuffs!  Not quite vintage garb, at least from the chin upwards, but essential on a day that hovered around freezing.

The gracious rooms inside gave us a glimpse into the lifestyle of the 7^th US president in the years after his retirement. He was in poor health, we learned, from a bullet that lodged near his heart following a duel when he was 39 and remained there till his death at age 78.  We were amazed at how many things he accomplished throughout his life, especially considering this major challenge.

We strolled along the pathways of the estate, and saw examples of buildings where Jackson’s many slaves lived, plus the garden where the president and his wife are buried.  The Hermitage was a large and busy farm in his day, but now the fields have been replaced by huge expanses of lawn which, in warmer weather, will most likely be beautifully green.

After a quick lunch, we set off for BelleMeade Plantation, to the south and west of the city.  We would never have found it without the GPS, which took us on so many twists, turns, pikes, parkways and interstates that it made our heads spin!

As we waited for our guide to show us through the mansion, we chatted with the only other couple in our little tour group.  They were the Olsons from Olympia, Washington, and they told us they’d come to Nashville to see their two sons perform the song they had composed.  “Sunrise”, by the Olson Bros Band, had won a national songwriting contest, and the boys won $5,000 and a trip to Nashville to perform it and meet with some agents.  They were clearly very proud parents.

Inside the BelleMeade mansion were large rooms with high ceilings, opulently decorated with brocades and crystal chandeliers, carved wooden furniture, ornate ceramic vases, and silver tea services.  We were allowed to walk right into each room (instead of peeking in the doorways, as we did at the Hermitage) and examine the everyday objects of their lives, such as quill pens, leather-bound books and bone china teacups.  It was quite an eyeful, but afterward Val declared he was “plantation-ed out” for the time being!  So we’ll check that off the list for a while.

Music in the streets

Nashville, TN – A misty, fresh-washed morning greeted us today with a clear, peach-coloured sky and not a trace of rain.  While Val went for his shower, I strolled over to the office to find out about things to see in Nashville.  I was introduced to Peter, the GrayLine bus tour representative, at his little desk.  I guess bus tour organizers don’t have a lot to do on a Tuesday in early January, because he nearly fell over himself with delight at having a customer to serve.  It was a bit of a challenge for him, because we had hit the high points on our last visit in 2011, but he had some good suggestions.

For today, we decided to drive downtown and stroll along Broadway Street, where we could stop in at the restaurants and bars that offer live musicians throughout the day.  It was a bit early for lunch, so we headed north toward the State Capitol building, and went inside to see about a guided tour.  Crowds of men and women in business suits were flowing through the doors as the guard checked our ID, greeting each other like it was the first day of school, so as we waited with them to catch the elevator up to the main floor, we asked a woman next to us what was happening.

She told us it was the opening day of the legislature, and she was an aide for Dr. Joe DiPietro, the president of the University of Tennessee, who was standing next to her.  She graciously introduced us, and he told us he was there to find out about funding for his institution.  We felt a bit like party crashers in our casual clothes but no one gave us any sense that we were not welcome.  It was kind of exciting to see state representatives in their finery, all set to start a new year. 

The building itself was quite grand, with paintings of previous governors on the walls, and sculptures of President Andrew Jackson and President James Polk set into niches near the large marble staircases.  We learned that slaves and convicts quarried, shaped and transported the limestone blocks that went into the building’s construction in 1845.

Just a block or so from the capitol building was the Tennessee Museum – and admission was free!  So we spent an interesting hour looking at artifacts from prehistoric times through to pioneer days and the antebellum era.  There were exhibits about US territorial expansion, Davy Crockett, and early lifestyles.

Music was spilling out of the restaurants back on Broadway when we got back, and we stopped at Rippey’s BBQ restaurant for a pulled pork sandwich.  A girl band was just packing up on the small stage when we got there, and another started to set up while we ate.  By the time we finished, they were just starting up, but we were not inclined to linger for too long.  Not every performing group skyrockets to the top from their first gig!

Back at the Nashville KOA, one of us made use of the laundry facilities and the other opted for a siesta, followed by a map-and-computer session to figure out the next couple of waypoints on our journey. With brochures, guidebooks and the internet, it’s not hard to assemble all the information we need!