Got to Columbus, Georgia and stopped for some milk. On our way-passed a big cotton mill. Crossed a bridge and on the other side to Phenix City, Alabama. Headed for Mobile, Alabama. 6:30 EST. We're having difficulty keeping time despite the fact we have three watches. Again, looking for a beach. (12:20 EST) Puff Springs, on to Pensacola, Florida. Wanted to go swimming but a Navy ship ran into the bridge and cut away 500 feet so we had to go to Gulf Stream 17 miles further. Couldn't visit the Naval Base. Only ones allowed are those who have someone stationed here or a guest of an officer. Hal got a visitor's pass after telling the officer who we were. We rode around the Naval Base and saw all kinds of amphibious, single-motor, pursuit flyers, larger type amphibious, trainer, and carrier planes. We went aboard the Ranger and a sailor, Bob Green from the Bronx was assigned to a tour of the carrier. We went from bottom to top. Explained in detail how the planes came aboard and where the captain stands. The carrier was leaving for New York in a week and had been stripped of most of the guns. This ship was one of the first carriers, since then, he said, "they improved."

Vought F4U

Ref: Wikipedia, USS Ranger and Wikipedia, Vought F4U Corsair. The USS Ranger was scrapped shortly after my folks took their tour: "USS Ranger (CV-4), the first U.S. Navy ship originally designed to be an aircraft carrier, was commissioned in 1934, operated in the Atlantic during World War II, and was sold for scrapping in 1947." The description on the back of the above postcard reads: "Three Types of U.S. Navy Warships: Cruiser, Destroyer, Aircraft Carrier. One of the Navy's growing fleet of aircraft carriers is the Ranger CV-4, commissioned in 1934, carrying scores of fast deadly planes." During WWII, U.S. Army fighter aircraft were categorized with the letter "F" followed by a number to identify the specific aircraft. Pursuit-fighters were designed solely for air combat, and dual-purpose fighter-bombers and strike-fighters attacked ground targets. According to Wikipedia: "The Vought F4U Corsair fighter-bomber became the most capable carrier-based fighter-bomber of World War II." Equipped with three .50 caliber machine guns on each wing, it was the first single-engine U.S. fighter to fly faster than 400 mph.[28][29]

My parents would often drive into New York City. One time, a limousine cut off their car so closely that Mom's young cousin Joseph hit his head. When Dad and Mom confronted the driver, a woman sitting inside the limo rolled down her window and announced, "Do you know who my husband is?" Mom answered, "No, but my husband is a veteran of the United States Army!" Mom's esteem for WWII veterans is shared by all Americans to this day. This is not the case for U.S. veterans of subsequent wars. Described as a "police action" by President Harry Truman (1884-1972), the Korean War is referred to as the "Forgotten War" or "The Unknown War" even though over 300,000 Americans were deployed and nearly 45,000 of them were killed or declared missing in action. The Vietnam War sparked protests that tore our country apart. Anti-war sentiment was so intense that soldiers returning from Vietnam were advised not to wear their uniforms. Like the Vietnam War, the Iraq War was controversial from the start and by war end the reasons for the invasion were proven untrue. Ironically, the wartime policies of the Bush administration were the complete opposite of those in effect during World War II: rather than raising taxes, the government lowered them; rather than conserving resources, Americans were encouraged to double down on spending. These disastrous policies not only added trillions to the national debt but also eroded trust in our government.

After my folks' visit to Washington D.C. in 1946, four memorials were erected just west of 14th Street honoring the memory of the men and women who fought and died for our country: the National World War II Memorial, theNational Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Womens Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial supplemented by the Three Soldiers Statue. Memorials for the two Iraq Wars and the Afganistan War will be erected one day. Hopefully, they will be our last.

Phenix City Ref: Wikipedia, Phenix City, Alabama and maxshores.com/phenixcity. During the 1940s and 1950s, Phenix City, Alabama, was known as "Sin City, USA." Run by a crime syndicate, the city was filled with prostitution, gambling, and drugs. So many soldiers from nearby Fort Benning were routinely robbed, beaten and even murdered that the Commander of the base, WWII General George S. Patton (1885-1945), threatened to take his tanks into the city and clean it up himself. The state government finally imposed martial law on the city in 1954 after the newly elected Attorney General Albert Patterson was gunned down in front of his office. The Alabama National Guard destroyed the casinos and 600-700 people were prosecuted. A documentary titled Up From the Ashes: The Rebirth of Phenix City produced by Max Shores (dates n/a), Media Producer at the University of Alabama Center for Public Television and Radio describes the city's reformation after the purge. A summation of the film can be found here.[30][31]

After leaving we continued onto Gulf Beach (off a peninsula off Mexico) We hated to leave the water was so tepid. Although the waves knocked me down on my buns, it was an enjoyable day. The beach was beautiful. The sand was like white powder. We had some hot dogs and the fellow who owned it was an ex-officer, who told us this was the first year the beach would be open since the war. The Coast guard was stationed there during the war. We picked some shells for souvenirs.

Perdido Key Ref: Wikipedia, Perdido Key, Florida. Gulf Beach is on the barrier island of Perdido (English: lost or stolen) Key in the extreme northwest corner of Florida. Perdido Key, about three football fields wide in most places, stretches 16 miles along the Florida Gulf coast from Perdido Pass Bridge near Orange Beach, Alabama, to just across from Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida. It is the site of a pass from the Gulf of Mexico to an inland bay discovered by cartographer and scientist Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora in 1693. Sigüenza (1645-1700) found the pass with the help of an Indian chief who spotted Sigüenza and his crew attempting to reef their sails (reducing the wind surface of the sails) during a storm. He guided them to a deep water channel into the bay.

Most beaches in Florida were "whites only" before the Civil Rights movement. However, the Gulf Islands National Seashore was one of the few areas that allowed blacks. In 1950, the county-owned recreational area was renamed the Rosamond Johnson Beach in honor of Army Private Rosamond Johnson Jr., the first Escambia County resident to die in the Korean War. He died on July 26, 1950, at the age of seventeen saving the lives of wounded soldiers on the battlefield. According to the Perdido Key Wikipedia website: "He posthumously received the Purple Heart August 21, 1950, and several veteran groups are still working to see if Johnson deserved additional military honors." [32]

Continued our journey and Walter noticed the bark on the trees. We stopped after a little bit of bickering we decided to investigate. We thought at first it was the sap of the tree they made syrup from. Hal & Walt tried some and said it tastes like wax. When my honey wiped his hands he said it smelled like turpentine. I said well they make turpentine from trees. We asked some men down the road, and they told us they were Pine trees and they also get turpentine from these trees. W&H didn't feel good when they heard that since they thought it was sugar they licked. One never knows what one is going to come across. Hal noticed cucumbers all over the road. We soon found out when he noticed 3 kids throwing them off a truck. By this time his mouth was watering and his heart breaking. We decided to pass and open the window. As we did the kids caught on and threw seven big cukes into the car. They were very good, especially since it was for free. Crossed a bridge over a bay and thru a tunnel which led us to Mobile, Alabama. We're going to see the park Mobile is famous per Hal. Startled residents never heard of it - so we continued our journey and we soon were in Mississippi. Shopped a while here, ate, sent cards. Heard about the Singing Bridge, went over it, but did not hear any singing.

Bankhead Tunnel
Public Domain Work

Ref: Wikipedia, Bankhead Tunnel. From the description on the Bankhead Tunnel postcard: "Bankhead Tunnel, named after a distinguished Alabama statesman is the first engineering feat of its kind in the deep South. A $4 million, self-liquidating traffic artery under Mobile River, which reduces by seven and one-half miles the distance between the city and points north and east on the Old Spanish Trail. Opened to traffic February 20, 1941." Designed by Wayne Palmer (dates n/a), the two-lane tunnel was built in sections that were sunk, cemented, pumped dry, and then finished. With a maximum clearance of 40 feet, large trucks and hazardous cargo must be rerouted. No pedestrian or non-motorized vehicle is permitted. The eastern end of the Bankhead Tunnel features a large flood door that can be closed to prevent water from Mobile Bay flooding the tunnel during surges from hurricanes or tropical storms.

The statesman, U.S. Senator John Hollis Bankhead (1842-1920), was instrumental in enacting the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916, which became the first federal highway funding legislation. He is the grandfather of the actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968). Flamboyant and outspoken, Tallulah supported liberal causes in contrast to a conservative agenda of most Southern Democrats at the time. She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1981.[33]

Singing River Bridge

Pascagoula Ref: Wikipedia, Pascagoula. The description on the Singing River Bridge postcard reads: "Singing River Bridge, Pascagoula, Mississippi. This River is famous for the weird singing music which has fooled Scientists who have sought to explain the river's humming music." The legend of Singing River Bridge is a story about Anola, an Indian princess of the Biloxi tribe who fell in love with Altama, Chief of the Pascagoula tribe. The affair enraged the Biloxi chief with whom she was already betrothed. When he declared war on the much smaller Pascagoula tribe, they decided to commit mass suicide and walked single file holding hands into the river. They chanted a song of death until the last voice faded into silence in the dark depths of the river. The "singing" is described as the sound of swarming bees rising up from the bridge gradually coming closer until it feels like the sound is underfoot.

Pascagoula gained notoriety on October 11, 1973, when two local fishermen, Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker, claimed to have been abducted by aliens from a Pascagoula pier. It touched off a media frenzy and renewed interest in UFO/Roswell mysteries. In 1983, Hickson wrote a book about his ordeal entitled UFO Contact In Pascagoula.

Pascagoula has inspired many artists, musicians and writers. Born in Pascagoula on December 25, 1946, American singer and songwriter James William "Jimmy" Buffett wrote a song about his home town called Pascagoula Run. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is said to have penned The Building of a Ship while in Pascagoula (although his stay is more local folklore than truth). Nobel Laureate in literature William Faulkner is believed to have written Mosquitoes while summering in Pascagoula. The world renowned rhythm and blues band, The Nite Riders, got their start in Pascagoula in the 1950s. In 1980, singer/songwriter Ray Stevens featured the town in his hit, Mississippi Squirrel Revival. Other famous or infamous people who have resided in or visited Pascagoula are the pirate Jean Lafitte, the notorious Copeland Gang, (Old Hickory) President Andrew Jackson, General and later President Zachary Taylor, Admiral David Farragut, and former Senator Trent Lott.[34]

Arrived in 1 re T Bale Depot, stopped to have some watermelon at a carnival. Fellow at gas station said town was only noted for its resorts. Rode a few blocks and came to the Resort and what a place. The Hotels looked like elaborate movie settings. They were magnificent - We just gaped at them. Each hotel was massive and exquisite. Hal went in one and said all the elevator doors were mirrors. We wished we weren't so travel worn and dirty and would have visited all of them inside. We continued on wishing we could have spent a night there. We rode along the Gulf of Mexico, crossed the Gov. Huey Long Bridge and arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana at 2:15. We found a tourist camp with a cabin available. Walt & Hal went to a clinic since Hal's poison ivy looked infected. (Blasted rooster is waking all the others, which we would like to strangle.)

Sunset Limited
Creative Commons

Ref: Wikipedia, Sunset Limited. I was unable to find any depot called "T Bale." It was probably one of the southern coastal stations like Pascagoula Railroad Depot once served by Amtrak's transcontinental Sunset Limited. When Amtrak suspended service indefinitely between Orlando and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the building became the Old Depot Art Center and Gallery, home of the Singing River Art Association. Built in 1904 by the L&N railroad, Pascagoula Railroad Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 27, 1974.

On September 22, 1993, the deadliest train wreck in Amtrak history occurred at Big Bayou Canot, northeast of Mobile, Alabama. A high speed Sunset Limited train derailed crossing the spring bridge over the bayou. Its sleeper cars plunged into the thirty-foot-deep waters. Forty-seven people died, mostly by drowning. Like the Pascagoula tribe, their lives ended in the dark depths of a Florida bayou.[35]

Gov. Huey P. Long Bridge

Ref: Huey Long Website. From the description on the Huey P. Long Bridge postcard: The oldest bridge crossing the Mississippi, Governor Huey P. Long Bridge is a cantilever truss bridge sitting 135 feet above the Mississippi River. Erected at a cost of $13,000,000. The total length from railroad approach to end is four and one-half miles. The channel span over the navigation channel of the river is 790 feet. The longest free bridge in America and one of today's greatest engineering feats has two 18-foot-wide auto roadways, one on each side. Time in erecting about three years." The American Society of Civil Engineers named the Governor Huey P. Long Bridge a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark on February 2, 2012.

Governor Long was assassinated on September 8, 1935, just three months prior to the opening of the bridge that bears his name. He was a transformational populist leader who championed the redistribution of wealth for the benefit of the whole of society. Long's progressive Share the Wealth program published in 1934 was far left of President Roosevelt's first New Deal. His popularity is credited with Roosevelt's Second New Deal that included many of the most liberal reforms such as Social Security, the 40-hour work week, and the progressive income tax. As governor of Louisiana, Long's administration put 22,000 men to work building infrastructure, expanded public education and public health, repealed the poll tax giving one-quarter million citizens the opportunity to vote, piped a cheap supply of natural gas into New Orleans, and built a modern airport. Governor Long's record of reforms in one four year term is remarkable.[36]

Jackson Square New Orleans

Thursday, May 23:New Orleans After a well needed shower, we started out on a tour of the city. Walter met a Mr. Walker at the Canal Street Dock who lived in New Orleans all of his 86 years. After chatting with him they invited him along and he was very obliging. We went through the French Quarter, showed us the statue of Andrew Jackson, and an interesting story about the property around the statue. Showed us the old U.S. Mint, took us through the parks. Looks like paradise, beautiful palm trees, shrubs, all kinds of lagoons, flowers. He told us many a time he lost his way and couldn't find a way out. The Park also boasted a golf course, baseball fields, stadium, and an Art Gallery. Showed us a house on the property which belongs to an Irishman who started out with nothing and used to fish on the lake. At the time there was a boom in real estate and he bought a few acres. He struck oil and made over $3 million. He said he would sometimes stand outside and if he saw anyone he'd invite them in for a drink and talk. His main diversion was booze. After he died, his money went to the state and some to the municipality since he had no living relatives.

The streets in New Orleans are nice & wide & in the middle of them have shrubs, trees & grass. The width of the street is a good walk. Visited Hotel St. Francis which is quaint in its structure, also visited St. Louis Cathedral which is beautiful. Services for the month of May were going on, we stayed for the Rosary. Went to the movies, looked over the French Quarter, stopped in the Royal Casino, had a drink, saw the floor show. Everything is taxed in New Orleans. Took a picture in the French Quarter & after a terrible meal, went back to the cottage.

"JACKSON SQUARE, originally known as the Place D'Armes is a monument to Don Andres Almonester y Roxas, whose funds built the Saint Louis Cathedral in 1794, and Pontalba Apartments, flanking the Square. The building to the left of the religious edifice is the Calbido, best known monument to the age of Spanish domination, and storehouse of historic treasures. The building on the right of the church is the Presbytere, housing the Natural Science Division of the Louisiana State Museum. In the center of the square is the Jackson Monument unveiled in 1856. Jackson Square has been well preserved and is under excellent care."

~ Description on the Jackson Square postcard

Car greased before continuing tour of city. Visited Sugar Bowl and Tulane University. Took pictures and visited another beautiful park across from the university. Then we went to the museum at City Park. Saw statues and busts of famous people. The ones that impressed me the most were the Three Graces by Antonio Canova. It was a beautiful work of sculpture of three women. Museum also had Indian Pottery & paintings, papooses, idols, furniture of the period all hand carved, hundreds of years old. Most life like painting was two Cardinals. Title of the painting was The Cardinals Friendly Chat by Jehan Georges Vidert (1840-1902). After an interesting two hours our tour took us to Lake Pontchartrain. We were very sorry we didn't visit this place sooner as it offered so much in the line of entertainment. The Lake was wonderful. Could walk a mile and wouldn't go over your head. This is where we found most New Orleanians went.

Ref: New Orleans City Park. New Orleans City Park offers the visitor not only a relaxing stroll through botanical gardens featuring Art Deco structures and a forest of tall oak trees, but an array of activities such as bird watching, fishing, boating as well as recreational sports such as soccer, softball, football, and tennis. There are playgrounds, bike paths, an equestrian center as well as plans for a golf course. According to the New Orleans City Park website: The New Orleans Museum of Art that my folks found so impressive "has a magnificent permanent collection of more than 40,000 objects. The collection, noted for its extraordinary strengths in French and American art, photography, glass, African and Japanese works, has works from ancient to modern times." The five-acre Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden located to the rear of the museum and adjacent to the botanical gardens features 60 sculptures by major 20th century European, American, Israeli and Japanese artists. Major development of the park was done during the 1930s under the supervision of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). According to the New Orleans City Park website: "Most of the existing brick cottage-style outbuildings and art deco sculpture came into the Park during this time."[37]

The Three Graces
Creative Commons

Antoine's Restaurant
New Orleans

Mom told me a funny story about their visit to the very swank Antoine's Restaurant in New Orleans. They entered and were shown to a table. A waiter, with a napkin on his forearm, asked if they were comfortable, another poured water, and another brought the menu. Dad looked the menu over and whispered to Mom, "If we eat here, we will have to cut our trip short by three days. Go to the ladies room and when you come out walk out of the restaurant." Years later, an Avon executive explained to Mom that he had eaten at Antoine's in New Orleans and was submitting a copy of the menu to verify his expense report. Mom said, "Oh, yes, my husband and I were there some years back." He seemed impressed. Way to go Mom!

Ref: Source Watch and Wikipedia, Hurricane Katrina On Monday, August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit southeast Louisiana. The fifth deadliest storm in the history of the United States flooded approximately 80% of the city of New Orleans. The first storm surge inundated the parishes around Lake Pontchartrain, the second surge pushed flooding further inland, and other areas such as St. Bernard parish flooded when the levee system failed. Still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, disaster struck again on April 20, 2010, when the Deep Water Horizon oil rig owned by BP exploded in the Gulf of Mexico killing eleven workers and spewing 4.9 million barrels (210 million U.S. gallons) of crude oil over 60,000 square miles. The spill killed wildlife, ruined the beaches along the Southeastern seashore, devastated the fishing industry, and exposed residents to health problems. BP pleaded guilty to eleven counts of manslaughter and paid $4.525 billion in fines and other payments. In addition, BP, contractor Halliburton, and rig operator Transocean face billions in fines and lawsuits. The consequences of the disaster are still being assessed to this day.[38][39]

The Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1 est. in 1788 New Orleans, Louisiana
Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana

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