Jun 30, 2009

Hidden Alabama History

If you watched many FTR episodes during my tenure there, you know Alabama History was one of my favorite topics. It still is, and that's why a story in this morning's N.Y. Times caught my attention. Read the story, visit the site and then ask yourself...where are the places in our state that are not commemorated by an historic marker, but should be. (I especially love the story in the article of the brother of John Wilkes Booth saving Lincoln's son's life!) For example:
It was an Alabama woman, Mary Anderson who invented the windshield wiper after visiting New York City and seeing how much trouble streetcar drivers had in the rain. She lived at 1211 21st Street South in Birmingham. Is the address marked? She died in June of 1953. Also in Birmingham, the location of the Aeromarine gun shop where James Earl Ray bought the rifle he used to kill Rev. Martin Luther King, or the apartment on Highland Ave. where he lived before traveling to Memphis. The head of the project told me by email this morning: "I don't have my Alabama story settled yet, so any more ideas would be great, and that's the best way people can help!!" What about other places in Alabama that aren't marked, but should be? The website of the "Here is Where" project offers a way to contribute ideas, but please share them with me too!

2 comments:

  1. i've been wanting to do a show about sites like these throughout the state.
    -justin gaar @apt

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  2. gee...let me know if you need a host.

    ReplyDelete