February 25

Ocmulgee Mounds NHP is prime real estate for alligators. A portion of the park is a wetlands area. One of the rangers said one of the resident ancients was muddling along on one of the trials a couple days ago. Signs tell visitors to let them be. I do not think I need a sign to tell me that. But I have seen people in Yellowstone get within an arm’s reach of bison. Go figure. Artifacts at this park date back to 17,000 B.C.E. Arrow heads and other details indicate the people were hunting Columbian Mammoths. Then about 900 CE, the Mississippian Period began and the residents built the mounds which we see today. The Earthen Lodge is closest to the VC, and is the one mound which has had an opening created so visitors can go inside. The “tunnel” is only about 4-feet high, so I had to bend down a good bit to make the five yard walk. This is the oldest ceremonial mound in what today is the United States. The biggest mound is about 1/2 mile away. It is called the Great Temple Mound. Stairs have been built on one side to allow access to the top. Signs on all the mounds ask people not to walk on the sides. In 1843, the Central Railroad and Canal Company cut a pathway through these mounds, to lay track. They repeated this destruction in 1873. Stories abound of the artifacts which appeared out of the ground. Thankfully, folks today realize we should not be destroying such history. But there was little self-discipline amongst most businesses back then. The VC is one of the most unique in the National Park System. Glass blocks create the entry way (and to make the “top hat”), while the white concrete/plaster exterior has brown colored symbols which look like native peoples’ designers. On a side note, I saw my first Pileated Woodpecker. This guy was huge. Turns out this species is the largest extant woodpecker in North America. I can vouch for that.

Andersonville NHS is one of the most poignant horror stories of war. Over 13,000 Union POWs in the Civil War died within the walls of this fort. The Park Service has erected stone markers for the four corners of the stockade. Inside this invisible line are monuments from the various northern states who had their soldiers trapped in hell. A stone covering was placed over Providence Spring, the sole water source for the prison. Legend has it a lightning bolt struct the ground at this spot, and water gushed forth. Multiple men say they witnessed this act of heavenly kindness. A more plausible explanation is that when the Confederates were building trenches in this area to support the prison walls, they inadvertently piled dirt on the spring’s outlet, plugging it, and then when a Union prisoner was digging at this spot on that one rainy night, he reopened the spring. Many of the men who died at Andersonville are buried in the National Cemetery which is adjacent to the park. Active burials are still held to this day, for any veteran. The National POW Museum serves as the VC for the park. Photos in the museum show Union soldiers returning to Andersonville 40+ years after their internment. God now only knows the hell they survived.

It is interesting to note that the expansive Macon State Prison is just four miles up the road from Andersonville. How ironic.

22 miles down the road from Andersonville is Jimmy Carter NHS, in Plains. In the last week word spread that Mr. Carter had been admitted to hospice. People from around the country would be coming to Plains to pay their respects to whom I feel was the best “people President” of all-time. Sure enough, there were many more folks walking the one street in town, and at the school which Jimmy and Rosalyn attended in their youth. Almost everyone on the city street had an ice cream cone in their hand. I could not quickly tell which store was providing the treat. Most of the stores were advertising Carter memorabilia. Since Plains is small, it is easy for one to walk to any point within a few minutes. The school has many posters and photos, chronicling the Carters’ lives. Mr. Carter’s Nobel Peace Prize is on display. Jimmy’s boyhood home was closed to the public, so I was unable to tour that part of the park. The train depot still operates today. This is where Carter began his presidential bid, like the days of old when candidates and Presidents would use railcars to travel and reach the people. A ranger I met at Cowpens NB the other day said he grew up in the area. A couple of decades ago Mr. Carter would teach Sunday School at his church. The ranger’s mom thought it would be a wonderful idea if her son could attend one of Carter’s classes. He said they asked the church if the public was allowed to do so. The answer was “yes”, but it was first-come-first-serve. The ranger said his mom indicated that would not be a problem and asked what time should they arrive. The reply was the line usually begins to form at 2 AM in the morning. In short, the ranger never made it to one of Carter’s lessons. President Carter will be missed when he passes from this earth.

While at the train depot a question came from behind me as to the current record for the Fastest Time to Visit America’s National Parks. The voice was that of Art’s. He had noticed my Quest tee-shirt. He and his wife Madeliene are residents in the area. Madeliene said they were aware of the opportunity to attend Carter’s Sunday School lessons but did not get around to doing so. Instead, one time when Carter was having a book signing in Plains (I counted 53 books which he has penned), Madeliene was able to meet him and obtain an autographed book. How cool is that!

One of Carter’s friends was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. How appropriate my next stop was the MLK Jr NHS in Atlanta. His birthhome is on Auburn Street. This avenue has its own historical significance for the black community in Atlanta. Tours of the home are by first-come-first-serve tickets. The VC opens at 9 AM, and a ranger told me that by 9:30 AM all the tickets for the day, including the 4 PM tour, are gone. And this happens every day. The complex was swarming with people today, a majority being 18 years of age or younger. That was great to see. People were standing in line to be able to go up on the birthhome porch for a photo op. A 1927 fire engine was in the Firehouse #6 building. The tires were Goodyear “Cord”, all-weather tires. I have never seen those in any of Goodyear’s history books in the Akron HQ buildings (remember, I worked at Goodyear from 1982 to 2022). It is easy to lose history… just see what happened with Ocmulgee. King’s wife, Coretta Scott King, helped develop the King Center, which is across the street from the VC, and one block down from the birthhome. Both Martin and Coretta are laid to rest here, on an island surrounded by water, encased in a marble sarcophagus. Audio recordings of Dr. King are played over loudspeakers across the long plaza. King’s Nobel Peace Prize is on display in the Center.

NPS’s next activity with this park is to prepare three “shotgun houses” (also known as “alley houses”) for visitors. These are located two lots west of the birthhome, so the backyard of King’s home easily accesses them. They were built in 1911, after the 1906 Atlanta Race Riots. Trades people rented these houses over the decades. In 2008, the buildings were stabilized by the NPS, and are currently under rehabilitation.

The displays in the VC and the surrounding grounds are too numerous to discuss. One must make this park a priority on any visit to Atlanta.