Family Weekend at Fort Rucker + a stop in Meridian

It was family weekend for the Army aviation school at Fort Rucker, AL and we were invited to go and check out what our guy does. We drove the 13 hours to Enterprise, Alabama with a stop on the way. Here's what happened.

We decided to break up the drive on the way so we stopped in Meridian, Mississippi. It was a little more than halfway.

 

It's a really cool little town that was once the largest city in Mississippi. It was founded in 1831 and there were two main guys that were considered the founding fathers: John T. Ball and Louis Ragsdale. They both had different ideas about how things should go. Ball wanted to name the town Meridian and he wanted the city to be laid out in a grid parallel to the railroad. Ragsdale wanted to name the town Sowashee and use true compass headings to lay out the streets. Ball put up his town name sign at the railroad station and the next day, Ragsdale would take it down and put up his sign. Everyday, back and forth. Finally, the railroad guys were like, "Enough! The sign that's there, stays!" I'm paraphrasing, of course but the town's name is Meridian.

This is the hotel that we stayed at. Threefoot Hotel. It was built in 1929 by a German settler as an office building. For a long time it was the tallest building in Mississippi. Unfortunately, right after the building was erected, the Great Depression hit and the family lost all their money. The office building survived for a while but then by the 1990s was abandoned. Marriott renovated it and opened the Threefoot Hotel in 2021. It's named for the original owners of the building. Their name in German was Dreyfus which translated to English as Threefoot. It was a cool hotel.

This is Merrehope. It started as a small cottage in 1858 and was added on to over the years. During the Civil War it was used as a Confederate HQ for a while. Then General Sherman came to town and the Battle of Merridian ensued. Sherman's soldiers took shelter here during that time. It's only one of 6 homes that Sherman spared during that battle. In the 1930s, it became apartments. Then in the 1960s it was a boarding house. When we were there, they were decorating for Christmas. There were so many Christmas trees in that house it looked like a forest! The name came from the foundation that restored it. It's a combination of Meridian and hope - I guess in hopes they could raise the money to restore it? It's worth a visit.

In this lot used to stand the E.F. Young, Jr. Hotel. In the 1960s, there weren't many places African American citizens could stay while traveling through the south. This hotel was the only hotel within 90 miles where they were welcome. There was a thing called the "Green Book" which was a list of hotels in the south that were for African Americans. There's a movie called "The Green Book". It's quite good and interesting. This hotel was in the Green Book. 

According to what I've read, it was quite a showplace. It had a barbershop and beauty salon on the first floor and was considered the premier place to stay. I found this photo on the internet of the actual hotel. It opened in 1946. By 1978, it ceased operating as a hotel. For a while it was used as an office building but then the upkeep was just too much. It was torn down in 2023 even though it was on the National Register of Historical Places as the owners couldn't afford the cost to renovate it.

This is a view of downtown Meridian at night from the rooftop bar of our hotel. We enjoyed out visit and if you're in the area, it's worth a stop. 

When we got to Enterprise the next day we got to have dinner with James, which was a nice treat. The next day was family day so we all went to Fort Rucker to see the types of helicopters that James is learning to fly. This is a Lakota. 

James was originally in this photo but I didn't want it to ever be used against him if he was ever captured in enemy territory so I cropped him out.

They were supposed to fly that morning but the fog was crazy! James said it was the first time since he'd been there that they hadn't been able to fly. This is a medical helicopter but you can barely see the marking because of the fog. I felt bad for the guys because I know they were disappointed.

John wearing James's headgear.

Mark in the vest they have to wear with all their gear.

Later we went to a park to walk. This is Donaldson Park in Enterprise, Alabama. It's a cute little town. 

It was so pretty and peaceful at this park! There were also tons of geese so we had to watch our step.

This is the Army Aviation museum at Fort Rucker. It's really cool. They have all the different types of planes and helicopters the Army has used over the years.

This is the Boeing Vertol CH-47 which is used as a transport helicopter.

This is Mark giving us a demonstration on how his other son, Brendan, has to run and jump out of helicopters like this. To be clear, Brendan is also in the Army. He's not just some nut that jumps out of planes. 

While in Enterprise, John, Mom and I did a little sightseeing in downtown. This is the Enterprise Depot. The Alabama Midland Railroad came through here in 1898 and the people needed a stopping place so the Depot was built in 1903. It has since become a museum but it's only open until noon. Next time, we'll get up early...

This is a mural downtown of a boll weevil. It's a thing here.

This memorial (that's right! It's a memorial!) to the boll weevil is in the middle of an intersection downtown. So here's the scoop. Enterprise's main crop was cotton. In 1915, they had a serious boll weevil infestation that decimated the crops. They were forced to rethink what they planted. They decided on peanuts and within two years, they were leading producer of peanuts in the United States. So, in 1919, they erected this memorial to the boll weevil for making them a prosperous.

I love these city murals. This one isn't a painted mural but still.

I get that Enterprise is grateful to the boll weevil for helping them see the light of diversification in their agricultural crops but a boll weevil wearing a dentist coat holding a toothbrush is too much. It's funny but too much.

We had a fun time hanging out with James and seeing what he does all day. I'm glad we got to go along. Next time, I hope we get to see him fly.