LEAD the Way

A young father LEADS his LITTLE one

 across the narrow swinging bridge at Kenan's Mill.

Linking to ABC Wednesday

 (depicting the Letter L)

Across the Creek

Here is a look at the back of Kenan's Mill. The 1860's gristmill 

sits above Valley Creek, and this view is from the bank

 by the swinging bridge near the charcoal kiln. 

The mill operated until the 1970s, then was restored 

years later and is operated by the Selma-Dallas County

 Historic Preservation Society. Cornmeal was ground here

 during the recent Selma Pilgrimage. 

Linking to Our World Tuesday and Tuesday's Treasures

Watching the Waterfall

My three-year-old grandson was fascinated by the waterfall at Kenan's Mill.

 Recent rains power-pushed Valley Creek over the spillway,

 creating a great roar as the water headed toward the Alabama River. 

 The 1860's working gristmill was open during Selma's Historic Pilgrimage, and

visitors could purchase fresh cornmeal and tour the rest of the park.

Linking to Our World Tuesday

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!"

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 

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

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.  

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

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

K is for Kenan's Mill Painting

Alabama Plein Air artists painted scenes at KENAN'S MILL 

during the Selma Historic Pilgrimage this past weekend,

 and here is a beauty by Jack Kidd. 

Many plein air paintings sold at the Selma Art Guild's

 Wet Paint Sale Saturday, but some are still available 

this Friday and Saturday from 12-4.

Kenan's Mill is an 1860's gristmill that stayed in business more than a century,

 producing stone-ground grits and cornmeal. The mill is open to the public

 during Selma's Historic Pilgrimage in March and for the Kenan's Mill Festival

 in early November.

 The Kenan's Mill park can be rented for special occasions.

 It includes the mill, mill house, covered stage, swinging bridge

 across Valley Creek, brick charcoal kiln and barn area with restrooms. 

Linking to ABC Wednesday where the Letter of the Week is "K"

and City Daily Photo Blogs    

Our World, Colors of Spring

Selma welcomed Spring with its 40th annual Pilgrimage, and on Friday night,

 these lovely young ladies greeted guests on the front porch

 of the Evening House Tour and Reception. 

To see more Pilgrimage photos, visit Selma's Historic Pilgrimage Facebook page.

Linking to City Daily Photo Blogs

and Our World Tuesday

The Jordan House Parlor

The light and colors and curves of this exquisite Italianate home are a work 

of architectural art. I just love that the residents have furnished

 it with period antiques, even the chairs and couches,

 and kept its interior simple yet elegant. 

 

The home was built in 1869 for Gus Jordan (related to the famous Auburn Coach

 Ralph "Shug" Jordan). Coach Jordan grew up in Selma, and locals

 remember him visiting here and playing catch in the yard!

 

 The home remained in the Jordan family until 1978. 

You can tour this home today from 1-5 p.m. on Selma's Historic Pilgrimage.

 

Linking to City Daily Photo Blogs

The Next Big Thing...Pilgrimage!

The next big thing in Our World is the 40th Historic Selma Pilgrimage this weekend!

This file photo shows a tour of the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum,

 which is Pilgrimage Headquarters where visitors can purchase tickets,

 have refreshments and tour the building. 

The 2015 tour features homes, churches and museums that chronicle

 our Civil War to Civil Rights history. After all, this is the 50th anniversary

 of the Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches and the 150th anniversary

 of the Battle of Selma. Visit the Selma Pilgrimage website for more information!

 

Linking to Our World Tuesday

and City Daily Photo Blogs 

March Theme Day: People on the Street

March Theme Day is here for City Daily Photo Bloggers,

 and we're posting "People on the Street."

Visitors to last year's Spring Pilgrimage enjoyed horse and buggy rides

 throughout the downtown venues, and it looks like they had fun!

Linking to City Daily Photo Blogs March Theme Day

Opening Next Week!

 

Opening night for the annual ArtsRevive Juried Art Exhibition and Sale

 is coming up March 8, and it promises to be another great showing of works

 from talented Alabama artists. The show will feature 130 pieces 

from 260 submissions and 60 artists.

 Held at Carneal ArtsRevive in an historic building 

by the Alabama River, the show re-opens free to the public from 11-4

 every Thursday - Saturday, March 13-29 and from 1-4 on Sunday, March 16.

 Works include 3-D, photography, oil, acrylic, mixed media and works on paper.

Pretty Puffs

"Pretty Puffs," a colorful acrylic painted by Judith Kaiser, was among artwork

 for sale at last year's Selma Art Guild Show during the Selma Pilgrimage.

 The show is free to the public during Pilgrimage Weekend March 14-15. 

Linking to Blue Monday and Monday Mellow Yellows

City Daily Photo Blog

Back in the Day

Back in the day, downtown Selma's retail stores included Tissier Hardware,

 Boston Bargain Store, Barton's, Benderskys, Eagles and more.

This display of old Selma photographs was set up at the Walton Theatre 

during the recent Pilgrimage.

Linking to Our World Tuesday and City Daily Photo Blogs

The Table of Shewbread

 A replica of The Table of Shewbread was part of the Old Testament Tabernacle

 display last weekend at the Selma Pilgrimage. Tabernacle Ministries of Mobile 

 brought the exhibit to Selma. "Shewbread" or "showbread" means "bread of the face"

 or set out before the face and presence of God.

 

Exodus 25:23-30 "You shall also make a table of acacia wood; two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, and make a molding of gold all around. You shall make for it a frame of a handbreadth all around, and you shall make a gold molding for the frame all around. And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that are at its four legs. The rings shall be close to the frame, as holders for the poles to bear the table. And you shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be carried with them. You shall make its dishes, its pans, its pitchers, and its bowls for pouring.

 You shall make them of pure gold. And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always."

Linking to Weekend Reflections and City Daily Photo Blogs