TRAVELIN! ALABAMA

[Music] [Music] so [Music] so there's something special about an alabama morning for me it's that moment just before the sun rises when the air is crisp and nature stirs in anticipation of the new day it is the smell of newly caught fish cooking on an open fire it is walking in the forest being close to the land it's just doing what you want to with friends and loved ones [Music] it is the silent uss alabama at mobile bay a reminder of our recent past waiting proudly for the call to action history lives in alabama we remember our beginnings our heritage we protect and cherish them we learn from them we also know that today is tomorrow's yesterday that we are a vital part of our times travel with me now through time and distance come know about us as we go traveling alabama [Music] [Music] first came the indian thousands of years before columbus [Music] caves like manitoba russell de soto and sequoia still echo his memory great mounds of earth which hold ceremonial houses rise high above the ground cherokee chickasaw creek and choctaw their way of life is to change with the coming of the white men [Music] they move west on the long trail of tears but their history remains in the silent caves mounds and villages [Applause] [Music] they come to conquer to search for gold to trade to build a new life in the new world french spanish english they settle in mobile bringing with them a rich heritage from the old world planters and merchants grow wealthy as rice indigo sugar and furs are exported manpower is needed for the young territory and slaves are imported to work the fields by 1825 cotton is king and alabama supplies the world stately mansions are constructed and a style of leisure and luxury is developed to surpass anything the young nation has yet seen [Music] it is a time to laugh to sing to enjoy the good life and yet even as it is happening the end of an era is drawing near [Music] on february 4th 1861 delegates from the southern states create the provisional government of the confederate states of america and there is war with the northern states alabama supplies 65 regiments of infantry 15 regiments of cavalry and 20 batteries of artillery alabama also supplies most of the iron for cannonballs and rifles 40 000 tons a year much of it coming from the tannehill furnaces it is march 31 1865 a woman from a nearby town runs to tannehill with word of the impending attack by union raiders times running out of the young [Music] confederacy [Music] so [Music] [Music] the confederacy is lost today the statue of jefferson davis its first president stands at the steps of the capitol building in montgomery not far from the white house of the confederacy and the present day governor's mansion [Music] hey [Music] he is born in a log cabin at florence alabama in 1873 his father and grandfather are methodist ministers and it is hoped that he will be one also but william has other ideas he is interested in music he learns to play sacred music on the organ but his real interest is the preservation of the music of his people as a young man he will have many jobs but always he will return to his beloved music he composes memphis blues and st louis blues and today wc handy is remembered by the world as the father of the blues [Music] the journey of a thousand miles begins with the taking of a single step and so it was for anne sullivan that day in march 1887 when she arrives in tuscumbia alabama she is a teacher and she has come to try and teach a six-year-old girl who is blind and deaf she will succeed and her success will mark the beginning of hope and courage for millions of people around the world for generations to come [Music] for the young girl she helps will become our nation's first lady of courage helen keller since the horse and mule swapping days of decades ago scottsboro has been observing the first monday of the month as a day of trading and getting out and meeting folks [Music] interplanetary space travel may be a few years away for most of us but at the alabama space and rocket center the earth's largest space exhibit at huntsville you can fly today aboard the spaceship lunar odyssey on a trip to the moon if you're in time for the takeoff [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] on race day they're all here drivers like a.j foyt richard petty kale yarborough david pearson the allison brothers this is talladega the alabama international motor speedway fastest in the world speed is everything here on the track or in the pits three seconds in the pits equals 300 yards on the track and after 500 miles of racing the winner may win only by inches you've got to know the track and your vehicle because you're going to go 200 miles per hour with the best of them on race day [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] at point mallard at decatur there's a giant swimming pool that churns out ocean waves on command no sharks [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] do [Music] the general richard montgomery still makes its way down the river a golden memory of days gone by [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] father lambert tells the story of brother joseph a benedictine monk a hunchback who was in charge of the steam plant by day and built miniatures of religious shrines by night people would come from hundreds of miles to see his work so many came that in 1930 the old abbott called in brother joseph complaining that with all of the visitors there was no rest for the other monks so he gave him an old abandoned stone quarry and told him that if he wanted to start over this would be his place and it is still his place the ave maria [Music] grotto [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] so [Music] alabama is a state of changing times preserving the rich culture of days gone by while reaching out to the exploration of space our journey through this land of history scenic beauty southern tradition is at an end for now soon we will return to old friends and new adventures traveling alabama where the past and present meet the future [Music] bye [Music] so [Music] so [Applause] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] you