No More Whining

Before I go off on a tangent I want to remember to tell you that I have started adding something called "hyper-links" to the blog. Don't ask me to explain them because it would be beyond the scope of my ability. BUT using them is simple enough; when you see text that is a different color than the rest of the type you can click on the text and it should take you to a website that will give you more information about the topic. Try it, you'll like it.

Last time I posted I apparently got so caught up with whining about the weather that I forgot to tell you about the fun stuff that we saw (and some that we didn't see) in Florence, Alabama.

At the top of my "things to see" list was Ivy Green, the birthplace of Helen Keller who you might remember as the blind and deaf girl who learned to sign and speak and read Braille back in 1887. The original family home was built in 1820 by Helen's grandfather and was the home to which his son Captain Arthur Keller brought his wife Kate after their marriage. Most of the furniture and objects in the home are pieces which belonged to the Keller family when they lived in the home which survived the Civil War (or the War of Northern Aggression as it is know in Alabama). Today the home is beautifully maintained by the Helen Keller Foundation.

Those who remember the movie The Miracle Worker" will be glad to know that the original pump, scene of the dramatic moment when 7 year old Helen made the connection between the finger tapping out a code for the word "water" and the sensation of the water flowing over her hand, is still standing in the yard. She must have been incredibly intelligent to have managed to put it all together at such a tender age with the limited teaching methods available in 1887.


While at Ivy Green I picked up a "tourist book" listing 10 things to do in "The Shoals" (as the towns of Florence, Tuscumbia and Muscle Shoals are known). I noticed that Florence is home to a Frank Lloyd Wright house, I have always been intrigued by photos of Wright's designs but had never visited one, so we took advantage of finding ourselves practically next door to the only Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in Alabama. Let's just say that I was underwhelmed. The home was built in 1939 for the Rosenbaum family and they are the only family to occupy it. In 1999 with Mrs Rosenbaum in failing health and unable to fine a buyer the family sold the home to the City of Florence with the proviso that it would be restored. With the extensive & lengthy restoration completed the home is now open for tours and other public events.

This home was built in the Usonian-style (whatever that means because I did not research it). The exterior was striking but once inside the front door I was amazed at how dark the interior felt despite one entire side of the home having glass walls, well really individual framed glass doors that opened out. The walls were all wood and stained a medium to dark tone, about the color of dark teak wood, the ceiling was also wood in the same tone and the floors were stained concrete in a reddish-brown tone. The ceilings were only about 7' above the floor, all in all I had the feeling of being in a cave. The docent told us that when Wright was questioned about the low ceilings he replied that he "didn't know anyone tall enough to require a higher ceiling". The kitchen was amazing; it was about the size of a powder room in a home today! I am not exaggerating, it was about 8' x 8' with a U-shaped arrangement of counters/sink/stove/icebox (yes, I do mean icebox) along 3 walls, there was almost room in the center of the "U" for one person to turn around to tend to all 3 surfaces. The 4th wall had a narrow doorway opening directly out onto the hallway that connected the living areas of the home to the bed/bath area, across the hallway from the kitchen door was a "dining room" no larger than the dinette on our boat! Actually that kitchen doorway was quite wide (maybe 30"-36", max), at least compared to the bathroom and bedroom doors which were only 24' wide. Not all was negative though; the master bedroom was a suite, not terribly common in 1939 when the house was designed, and the plumbing fixtures were surprisingly modern.

Another item on the "top 10" list was the Coon Dog Cemetery. We passed on the opportunity to check out this "monument to the breed" (their words, not mine) but we talked to some boaters who did make the trip and they said the marker stones were phenomenal. Since 1937 there have been more than 185 certified coon dogs from all over the country buried at the Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard. I know you think I make this stuff up, but really it's true.