Selma Spring

This is Spring in Selma.

No other words necessary!

The Red Hat Ladies

The Red Hat Society LADIES from Choctaw County spent two days in Selma

 during the Historic Pilgrimage, and I do believe Selma enjoyed them

 as much as they appeared to enjoy Selma! 

Here they are in line at the Selma Art Guild waiting

 for the Alabama Plein Air "Wet Paint Sale" to open. 

Linking to ABC Wednesday where the Letter of the Week is "L!"

Spring at the Museum

Spring is at peak in Selma, and the azaleas are certainly showing

 their color at the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum!

Linking to Our World Tuesday

 

How She Saved the Jewels

When the Yankees came back in April 1865, Selma residents had to figure

 out ways to save their things of value. For the Hobbs family,

 that meant securing the silver and fine jewelry from their downtown store.

 Before Wilson's Raiders arrived on April 2, Mrs. Hobbs spent many evenings 

sewing the good jewelry into her petticoats and hid the silver

 in her home's weatherboarding. 

Then when the invaders came knocking on her door in search of valuables,

 she cooperated....serving plenty of costume jewelry upon a platter! 

Hear her story and many more from the residents of Old Live Oak Cemetery

 next March at the 2017 Historic Selma Pilgrimage!

Linking to 

Blue Monday 

Roses by the River

The Lady Banks roses are beginning to bloom

 across an ornate fence by the Alabama River.

 The shrub bears dainty blossoms without thorns and can be seen

 in many Selma yards as well as the municipal park by City Hall

 and the courtyard at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. 

Linking to Good Fences

 

 

508

I recently spotted this mosaic sign somewhere in Selma. 

Can you name the place?

Linking to Signs, Signs

Painting en Plein Air

Robin Roberts was back in Selma last weekend for a Pilgrimage Paint-Out. 

 Two dozen plein air artists arrived to "paint the town' in two days!

 They painted pictures of historic houses, junior hostesses, an old mill,

 the river and cemetery monuments, then sold them in a "Wet Paint" sale

 Saturday evening. 

It's really amazing how these outdoor artists work so quickly to create

 such exquisite art, and folks line up at the Selma Art Guild waiting

 for the doors to open so they can purchase a beautiful keepsake. 

Linking to Outdoor Wednesday

Windswept

When Saturday's showers moved out, the wind moved in,

 and those who attended the Old Live Oak Cemetery "Ghost Tour"

had a hauntingly beautiful setting to hear the tales

 of some of Selma's most famous residents. 

Linking to Our World Tuesday

Field of Blue

These little blue wildflowers are carpeting yards around Selma these days.

 I'm so glad that homeowners are letting them stay awhile!

Linking to Blue Monday

and in honor of Smiling Sally

who hosted the Blue Monday meme until

she recently went to Heaven. 

You can read her touching farewell HERE.

 

A Blue-Sky Week

Selma has enjoyed mostly blue skies this week, and they make

 a splendid background for the Bradford pear and Spanish Moss

 in Old Live Oak Cemetery. The cemetery will be the site Saturday evening

 for a "Ghost Walk" during the Selma Pilgrimage. Guests get to "meet"

 and hear the stories of the cemetery's famous residents. 

Linking to Skywatch Friday 

Come for the History

The Old Depot Museum easily fulfills Selma's slogan,

 "Come for the history. Stay for the hospitality!"

It contains relics of days gone by in Selma and the Black Belt,

 including antebellum, women's suffrage, Depression era,

 black voting rights, agricultural, firefighters' museum, railroad,

 area industries, education and much, much more!

The museum is one of several that will be open during this weekend's

 41st Historic Selma Pilgrimage. Hours are 9 a.m. til 4 p.m.

 both Friday and Saturday. Museum tours are included in the daytime 

and package tickets or can be toured separately for only $5.  

Paths through the Park

There are several paths through Riverfront Park, and they all direct you

 to the river or the amphitheatre with a beautiful view of the Pettus Bridge.

And how about those witch hazels? Their magenta blossoms 

are just luxurious all over town!

Linking to Outdoor Wednesday

 

 

Bowtie Man

I was glad to see that the man with the fashionable bowtie

 won a prize at the ArtsRevive Roots and Wings Art Show!

Linking to Our World Tuesday 

 

The Tin Man's Dragon

A highlight of this year's Roots & Wings Art Exhibition is the location

 at Charlie Lucas' (The Tin Man) art studio! 

So, art enthusiasts not only see the works of almost 50 Alabama artists,

 but they can view The Tin Man's many trash-to-treasure sculptures,

 including this dragon, an early piece that once stood guard 

over Charlie's backyard!

The show will be open (free to the public) this Friday and Saturday,

 March 18-19 from 11 a.m. til 4 p.m.

 during the Historic Selma Pilgrimage.

 Many works that range from 3-D sculptures to works on paper

 and photography are for sale.  

Linking to Through My Lens

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."