Role on Tide

We made our way back north, stopping in the Montgomery area again, this time at Maxwell Gunter AFB.

This time we decided to see a bit more of the Montgomery history, visiting Old Alabama, the Tuskegee Airmen Museum, and the home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

This is the best we could see the day we arrived, it said it was open, but it wasn't. The house itself is the parsonage for the ministers of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. The home was originally built around 1912, and had several ministers living in it that were advocates for civil rights. From 1947 to 1952, Dr. Vernon Johns, and Dr. Martin Luther King lived there from 1954 to 1960. This house had to be reconstructed after a bomb exploded in 1956, damaging part of the house. Dr. King, the man that he was, returned from a boycott meeting, and standing on the front porch calmed an angry crowd, averting violent aggression. The parsonage museum was closed as well.

We worked our way out of downtown, and headed over to Old Alabama. The property is a collection of early to mid-19th century homes and businesses. 

This is the starting point of your tour through old Alabama Town. It was known as the Lucas Tavern. The structure was built in 1818 and owned by to other families before the Lucas' bought it in 1821. It was a "dogtrot" style house used as a wayside hotel and tavern. The Lucas family once entertained the Marquis de Lafayette and his entourage as they traveled through Alabama. In case you have forgotten what a "dogtrot" style home looked liked like:

It is two separate rooms with a dog run through the middle. This is the Yancy "Dogtrot",  built circa 1850. The purpose of the opening between the rooms was to allow air flow during the summer months. This style dotted the rural landscape of Alabama. 

Another building on the property originally sat behind a prominent mansion in town, known as the Seibels-Ball-Lanier House. This carriage house is also circa 1850.

There were a few modification done to this carriage house to accommodate visitors.

The carriage is era specific, the restrooms and water fountain are new to the carriage house.

This tiny building built circa 1892 was the doctor's office for the folks living in the area. Dr. Duncan made house calls from this office, concocted medicines from this office as well. Dr. Duncan performed quite an array of duties during his tenure, which included: dentist, surgeon, pharmacist, and even veterinarian. His tenure lasted until 1938.

There is a posted tale about the yellow fever epidemic of 1897. The folks believed that the germs floated around more at night than day, so they built bonfires in the streets to stave off the germs. Mail from infected areas of the country were fumigated before they were delivered. One postal worker died from yellow fever, so people stopped touching letters from infected areas all together. How about tracking deaths for 1913:

The grounds also included a general store, print shop, a couple of homes, church, schoolhouse, and a cotton gin.

The cotton gins generally were only  operational during the cotton harvesting season, usually mid-August to mid-November. A wagon arriving at the mill generally carried about 1,500 pounds of cotton, breaking down to about 500 pounds of baled cotton lint, and 1,000 pounds of cotton seed. The gin crew consisted of 5 men plus a fireman to keep the boiler stoked, producing steam for the engine.

The gin can be broken down into 10 units, from raw product to packed product.

The wagon pulls onto the scales for weighing, a telescoping vacuum tube is used for "sucking" up the raw cotton. After the raw cotton is sucked up, it was sent to the separator.

The separator removed the cotton from the vacuum, also removed sand and large trash from the cotton, before it was sent to the distributor.

The distributor fed the seed cotton to each of the feeders equally, sending the excess to overflow.

The feeders removed sticks, small stones, and heavy foreign material. The feeders also fluffed the cotton, and fed the cotton at a controlled/adjustable rate to the full width gin.

The gin removed the hull and seeds. The hulls, or burs were part of the outer skin of the boll. or pod, which may have been caught during picking. It also passed lint to the lint flue.

The horseshoe looking section is the gin, the silver tubes are the lint flues.
The condenser removed air from the fibers and condensed the fibers into a solid "bat" of lint. This bat was sent to the press box and tamper.

The tamper keeps the lint pressed down in the press box as it arrives from the condenser. In the press box the cotton was now formed into a bale, and wire tied. From here it would have been put on ships and probably sent overseas.

The final phase in the operation is the seed handling equipment. This equipment removed the seeds from the gin house after they had been separated from the lint.

BREAK   BREAK

This next museum I was excited about, the Tuskegee Airman Museum. The last time we were through the area we did not have time to visit it. If you remember your history, these were the pilots that protected our bombers during most of WWII. 

Lets step back a few years before the the first cadets showed up. Tuskegee Institute was founded in 1881, by Booker T. Washington, operating out of a one-room church building. In 1940 Tuskegee Institute leased Kennedy Field to provide civilian pilot training (CPT), under the nationwide CPT program. Tuskegee's main campus provided all the pre-flight training. 1941 saw the first military cadets train at Kennedy Field while Moton Field was being constructed. 

Moton Field became the primary training for the African American

cadets on their way to service in the Army Air Corp (AAC).

As you can see from the map, the first 100 cadets came from all over the United States.

While these cadets were training at Moton Field, the AAC was building the new Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF). In November of 1941 the field saw its first cadets for primary flight training. This is what the airfield looks like today.

We walked from the parking area, down the path to the hangers. This is one of the FREE museums worth visiting. At the starting point there is a sign with approximately 60 names of African American inventors. Some of the inventions may not seem like much, but most of us use them today:

Door knob - Osbourne Dorsey - 1878

Breathing device/gas mask - Garrett Morgan - 1914

Egg Beater - Willis Johnson - 1884

Folding bed - Leonard C. Bailey  - 1899

Folding chair - Purdy & Sadgwar - 1889

Almanac - Benjamin Banneker - 1792

Air conditioning - Frederick M. Jones - 1942.

For those of us that have seen what racial prejudice looks like, it ain't nothing compared to the 1940s. The following was a statement made regarding black pilots: 

"The negro type has not the proper reflexes to make a first-class, fighter pilot... it is recommended that if and when a colored group is formed in the United States, it be retained for [coastal patrol] and a white fighter group be released for movement overseas". This statement was made regarding the efficiency of the 99th Fighter Squadron, in September 1943, by Maj. Gen. Edwin J. House, 12th Air Support Command.

These were just a few of the pilots that flew air support for our bombers. From May 1943 to July 1944 the 99th Fighter Squadron completed missions over North African, Sicily, and Italy. As a black squadron in a white command, they could only be replaced by another black squadron, creating morale issues. Despite morale issues, the 99th Fighter Squadron was awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations, and achieved a historical first, the surrender of an island solely through air power.

How did they accomplish their missions?

What did they accomplish once they climbed into their shiny aircraft:

This museum is interactive as well. In one of the hangers is the opportunity to pack a parachute. In 1941, parachute packing was

the responsibility of one woman, Alice Dungey Gray. The table was a special table with a smooth surface, so as not to damage the silk. As the cadet numbers grew, Alice required more assistance, and was provided two assistants. In the picture you see two parachutes, one packed, the other is for visitors to try and pack just like the sample.

Back to the the training of these future pilots. 

This would have been the office of the General Manager, George L. Washington. It was George's determination and vision that brought the Primary Flight Training program to Tuskegee. As the General Manager Mr. Washington hired and supervised flight instructors, airplane maintenance personnel, and other personnel required to ensure the cadets were properly housed and fed.

From this office, the Army Supervisor commanded Army operations at Moton Field. He supervised the performance of the contractor (Tuskegee Institute), and conducted flight checks which determined if a cadet would graduate.

The Army couldn't have functioned without those willing to push the papers. It is hard to see in any of the photos the fact that they accomplished their jobs without computers, printers, or cell phones. These folks made it all work by sharing phones, making copies using a mimeograph, and the use of typewriters.

While the cadets were in training, they were kept abreast of the war's progress. This is the War Room, where they were filled in on the war, and taught how to recognize various aircraft and ships. Because of the classified information, this room was locked during times it was not being used.

 This was the Cadet Waiting Room, where cadets waited for their opportunity to fly.

Like most machines, there is always a requirement for records. The Maintenance Record Room. The purpose of the records was to ensure that the planes were in proper working order for flying. This office was filled with women and enlisted men maintaining all the records. This was one of the offices where women were in charge. Mrs. George Allen was in charge of airplane maintenance records, and Registrar Ruby Washington maintained the records for cadet flying times.

A plane can't fly if it doesn't have the necessary parts, hence, the Supply Room. Originally Mr. Washington allocated 600 square feet for the supply room, but with such rapid growth in aircraft, a new building was constructed to house supplies.

Like any military installation, they all pretty much run on the stomachs of the workers, here was no different. In 1942 the Tea Room was constructed to service the civilians, military, and cadets.

 

Think you need a bag a chips to go, pull it off the rack. One of the cadets remembered seeing a young freckled girl in the Tea Room, it turned out to be a young Lena Horne.

The question is: who are the Tuskegee Airmen? Here is a quote from Col. Charles E. McGee, pilot, Tuskegee Airman, "They said we didn't have the intelligence, the demeanor, the courage to be combat pilots. They learned different. All we needed was a chance and training."

This was definitely a museum full of learning, and I would do it again. Now it's time prep for Huntsville, AL.