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

 

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 

Our World, Snow at the Museum

Winter hit hard in the Deep South last week as sleet and snow blanketed the town.

 This was the scene at the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum last Tuesday.

 Usually, a one-inch snowfall melts in a few hours, but the temps were so frigid

 that this snow took four days to melt completely!

Thanks to guest photographer Christine Weerts. 

Linking to Our World Tuesday and City Daily Photo Blogs 

Friday Fences, Vaughan-Smitherman Museum

We're looking up from the sidewalk, through the fence 

and beneath the trees at the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum. 

Built in 1847, this building has housed schools, hospitals,

 the courthouse and now a museum.

Linking to Friday Fences and City Daily Photo Blogs

Peaking

The azaleas are peaking this week, and Selma is almost at its spring garden best!

Dinnerware, Hospital Style!

So, who has been a hospital patient and had dinnerware like this?

Real china and stainless steel serving pieces haven't been around (as far as I know) for a long, long time. This dinnerware is an exhibit in the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum's hospital section and was used in the mid-20th Century.

I suppose it isn't as sanitary as paper and plastic, but it sure looks nice!

Vaughan-Smitherman Courtyard

These azaleas in the courtyard of the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum were in full bloom at last weekend's Selma Pilgrimage.

I hope to snap more spring flowers today before storms move in tomorrow and stay through the weekend! How fortunate Selma was to have had a perfect-weather weekend to showcase its homes and gardens!

Memorial to the Hotel Albert

What remains of the facade of the old Hotel Albert can be found in the courtyard behind the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum. These four columns were saved when the hotel was demolished in 1969. This brick structure also contains paintings that show some of Selma's history, including one in which the hotel is seen in the background, depicting its use as a Yankee headquarters after the Battle of Selma in 1865.

Up the Spiral Staircase

This spiral staircase serves as a fire escape at the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum. The antebellum building has been used for many purposes: schools, courthouse, hospital. It was a hospital until 1960, so many Selmians were born here. Our tour guide noted that the steps lead to a big window on the third floor where the newborn nursery was located. Since small children weren't allowed to visit, she said that sometimes the children were led up the spiral steps to view their new baby brother or sister through the window. How exciting that must have been!