Spring Cleaning at the Mill

A student from Illinois State University walks the fence line

 along Valley Creek at Kenan's Mill as she helps pick up limbs

 following recent storms. She was one of 40 members of Students Today

 Leaders Forever (STLF) who spent spring break traveling to several towns

 for community service.  The spring cleanup will improve the park grounds

 in advance of the 41st Historic Selma Pilgrimage March 18-19.

Linking to Good Fences

Signs, Signs, Listen & Learn

So who knew that the governor of French Louisiana came to Selma

 before Selma was Selma? 

These Listen & Learn signs are a great way to explore the town's history. 

The Bienville Monument has resided in tiny Bienville Park on Water Avenue

 for a long, long time, but it went largely unnoticed

 until this sign was installed. 

Linking to Signs, Signs

I is for ILLINOIS STATE

Forty-one students from ILLINOIS STATE University spent this morning

 cleaning the grounds of Kenan's Mill

 prior to the Selma Pilgrimage next weekend.

Afterward, they enjoyed a tour of the mill by Sylvia Smith

 of the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society. 

The students participated in a nine-day, six-city tour through

 Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF), and Selma was their fifth stop.

 Andie Williams, one of five core leaders, said STLF combines community service

 with tourism during spring break, and they chose both cities and small towns to visit.

 This year's tour included Memphis, Hattiesburg, Miss.; New Orleans,

 Navarre Beach, Fla.; Selma and Atlanta. 

While in Selma, the group visited historic sites such as Brown Chapel AME Church

 and the Pettus Bridge, then stayed at St. Paul's Episcopal Church

 where they were served breakfast this morning.   

Linking to ABC Wednesday

where the letter of the week is "I."

 

Make Way for the Arts

Selma is a great place to paint or photograph and a great place

 to display your art, especially in the Spring. 

The Alabama Artists' Roots and Wings art exhibition sponsored by ArtsRevive

 opens this weekend with a reception and continues until April 2.

 The show has temporarily moved to Charlie Lucas' art gallery

 in the former Coffee Printing building on Lauderdale Street

 while Carneal ArtsRevive undergoes renovation.

 The show will also be open during

 the Historic Selma Pilgrimage March 18-19.

Meanwhile Alabama Plein Air Artists will "paint the town" during Pilgrimage

 and sell their works at a "Wet Paint" sale at the Selma Art Guild on March 19.

 The art guild is open during Pilgrimage, and its members have set aside room

 for the display and sale of strictly Selma art.

Plus, Gallery 905 recently opened at 905 Water Ave.

 and sells spectacular regional art. 

Selma's own Peggy Allison painted the fish above,

 and it was part of the 2015 ArtsRevive show.

Linking to Monday's Mellow Yellows

Fencing at the River

When walking through Selma, particularly by the river,

 stop and notice the ornate fencing. 

This one at Bienville Park on Water Avenue is the newest addition

 to our beautifully designed "old and new" fence collections! 

Linking to Good Fences

We March with Selma

Signs all over downtown proclaim the 51st anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery 

March for voting rights. Bridge Crossing Jubilee events begin to day

 and continue through Sunday. 

Posting to Signs, Signs

House by the Hotel

 As the sun sets in the west, the little yellow Bridgetender's HOUSE,

 nestled next to the St. James HOTEL, is the HIGHLIGHT of Lafayette Park.

It's ABC Wednesday where we are featuring the letter H!

 

March Theme Day (WHERE DO I BELONG?)

 

WHERE DO I BELONG?

(This Theme Day, City Daily Photo Bloggers capture why they are 

or want to be in the city where they photoblog.)

I belong on the “high-throne” bluffs above the Alabama River

 where Selma was born 200 years ago, where Black Belt prairies grow
 cattle and catfish to our west and timber stretches to the sky to our north.

 I love our bold, sometimes volatile history in a culture so diverse
 that to a great degree, Selma was built by Jewish immigrants 
and became a beacon of both women's and minority voting rights. 
 This little town built ships, cannons and munitions
 for the Confederacy and later, it built pilots for the Air Force. 

I love our beautiful old homes, museums, art galleries and festivals.
 There is a cemetery where Spanish Moss whisks me away
 to elaborate monuments with inscriptions that honor the lives
 of those who lived here before.
 

I love the new riverfront park with its walkway, amphitheatre

 and views of the Pettus Bridge, the tiny yellow bridgetender's house 

and the big, bright-red Old Depot. 

I like the big yards, wide streets and church towers and the chimes

 that play hymns to soothe our souls and remind us of God's grace.

 

And despite what you may have read or heard, the majority of our citizens

work together to overcome our challenges and make me proud

to belong to "The Little Town that Could."   

 

 

  

Down by an Old Homestead

Except for a flock of daffodils and narcissus, it's hard to imagine

 that anyone ever lived here. But despite a broken house

and broken trees, the flowers just keep on keeping on! 

Thanks to guest photographer Doug Gresham.

Buds Against a Blustery Blue Sky

Many of our Japanese Magnolia began blooming during a warm spell 

a few weeks ago. Well, those are dead now, succumbing to February's

 inevitable quick freezes. These are just budding out and survived

 more than seven inches of rain earlier this week, two blustery days

 and now another frost. But at least the skies are blue again!

Linking to Skywatch Friday