Pond Spring, The General Wheeler Home, Hillsboro Alabama
by Connie Pearson
General Joseph Wheeler fought in more than 300 Civil War battles, was wounded 3 times, and had 16 horses shot out from under him. Some believe that his small size may have been a contributing factor to his survival. He was only 5′ 5″ tall and never weighed more than 125 pounds.
In these days of distaste for the Confederate flag and all it represents, North Alabama continues to take great pride in preserving Pond Spring, the home of “Fightin’ Joe” Wheeler, the only former Confederate general buried in Arlington Cemetery. In truth, the Confederate flag never flew in front of Pond Spring. General Wheeler was also important in the Spanish-American War, served in the U.S. Congress, and did much to promote reconciliation of the North and South in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Joseph Wheeler was not just a Southern hero, but much more, he was an American hero.
General Wheeler married Daniella Sherrod in 1866 — after the Civil War — and they moved initially to New Orleans. But her father owned thousands of acres in Alabama and built Pond Spring as an incentive to lure the couple to the state. They accepted his offer and eventually had seven children within reach of their grandparents.
When you step onto the wide front porch of the home in Hillsboro, AL, you understand why it sits perfectly to catch the slightest breeze and provide an expansive view of the surrounding property. Walk through the front door and you are transported to the 1870’s. The home is filled with original family furniture, artifacts, period clothing, books and portraits. It is connected to Daniella’s parents’ home by a covered walkway. Today the Sherrod home contains a small gift shop.
Annie Wheeler, third child of Joseph and Daniella, showed her own patriotic dedication by serving as a Red Cross nurse in three wars She was the last family member to live in the home and was responsible for bequeathing the buildings and all of their contents to the State of Alabama for historical preservation. The 50-acre property has several outbuildings, including a dogtrot log house built around 1818, and an ice house. Delightful stories exist about the railroad track that runs near the entrance to Pond Spring.
The tallest monument, in the family cemetery several yards behind the house, adorns the grave of Daniella Wheeler. An identical obelisk sits atop General Wheeler’s grave at Arlington and is the tallest marker in the entire cemetery, standing an impressive 45 feet. After it was erected, the Arlington Committee quickly enacted a policy specifying future heights and widths of monuments. They were afraid the competition of outdoing others for “bigger and better” would get out of hand. A smart move on their part.
Ms. Kara Long is the current Site Director for Pond Spring and is an expert on “all things Wheeler.” Her narrated tours for visitors are filled with facts, anecdotes, and insights gained from obvious research and love for the history of this time period. Ms. Long’s tales about Miss Annie Wheeler add to the significance of this home and extend its story all the way to 1955, the year of her death.
Three events are special at Pond Spring every year. The Saturday after Labor Day General Joe Wheeler’s birthday is celebrated. Guests receive samples of his favorite cake, an authentic Civil War cannon is fired, and period crafts are on display. At Christmastime, the beautiful home is decorated with live greenery, and musicians perform on the wide front porch. On the last Saturday in March, Miss Annie’s Heirloom Plant Sale takes place, where baby boxwoods are a popular item. Those are in recognition of the centuries-old boxwood garden on the grounds.
If You Go:
♦ Pond Spring, the General Wheeler Home, is located at 12280 AL Highway 20 Hillsboro, AL 35643, is open for tours every Wednesday – Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. It is closed Monday, Tuesday, and for state holidays. Check the website for admission prices. School groups are allowed to tour for only $2.00 per student.
♦ During weekdays, the nearest restaurant is Dot’s Soulfood Diner. It is about 7-8 miles past Pond Spring. Other choices might be Caddo Cafeteria in Trinity (open every day except Saturday) or Western Sirloin Steakhouse in Moulton on Highway 157.
Connie Pearson is a native Alabamian, wife of 44 years, mother of 3, grandmother of 12. A retired elementary music teacher / former missionary / now budding weight-lifter, travel writer and blogger. Visit www.theregoesconnie.com
All photos are by Connie Pearson:
Sherrod home
Joseph Wheeler home
Log dogtrot house
Daniella’s grave
by Connie Pearson 
During a recent conference in Denver, my fellow attendees and I were given a 3-hour time period and told to “go out and explore Denver.” I chose to take a taxi from my downtown hotel and visit the Molly Brown House Museum. Dubbed “The House of Lions” because of the imposing lion statues the Browns purchased for the front of the house, it is located at 1340 Pennsylvania Street. Very few of the furnishings and artifacts are original to the time Molly Brown lived there, but careful study of photos made in 1910, have helped Historic Denver, Inc. with their extensive restoration efforts. Visitors have an authentic experience.
The trivial threads holding us together end at that point. Molly’s life story, as shared by the docent, unfolded as an amazing inspiration and picture of the power of what one determined woman can accomplish.
In 1901, she attempted to win a seat in the state senate, in spite of a popular saying of the day (one that was strongly supported by her husband): “A woman’s name should appear in the newspaper only 3 times: at her birth, when she gets married, and at her death.” The pressure must have been tremendous, because she withdrew from the race before Election Day. It was no surprise to learn that she was active in the women’s suffrage movement.
Molly Brown was practically thrown into lifeboat #6 as the Titanic was sinking. Immediately after the Carpathia picked up all of the survivors they could find, Molly started helping fellow survivors, some of whom had lost everything. She raised $10,000 from Carpathia passengers before the ship reached New York. A couple of years later, she was helping in relief efforts during World War I.
You will see colorful stained glass windows, ornately-carved woodwork, and anaglypta wall coverings. You will learn that this house had indoor plumbing, electricity, central heat and a telephone long before other homes had these conveniences. But, most of all, you will leave wanting to know more about Margaret Tobin Brown and her indomitable – yes, unsinkable – compassion for others and zeal for life.
The town provides a relaxed atmosphere with a creative flair. The soothing terracotta buildings blend in perfectly with the surroundings. The town centre displays samples of local paintings, sculptures and carvings. We enjoy the delightful mama javalina (a wild pig-like animal) sculptures in colourful print dresses, with their babies beside them. Wandering the streets of Sedona is like walking through an outdoor art gallery. There are many impressive inside galleries to visit, such as the Sedona Arts Centre. The numerous shops make it difficult not to come away with a special treasure to take home. I can´t resist purchasing a Snoopy Rock T-shirt for my grandson.
The Church of the Holly Cross built high amongst the bluffs overlooking Sedona is a remarkable work of art. Designed by architect and sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude in memory of her parents, it was completed in 1956 and is open to people of all faiths. The view through the picture window, divided in four by an enormous cross, is spectacular. Outside the chapel are perfect photographic opportunities of the area’s stunning rock formations and the valley 200 feet below. An appropriate configuration nearby resembles the Madonna and child and surrounding it are three rock figures that remind you of praying nuns.
On another day we visit the Palatki Red Cliffs Heritage Site to view pictographs and visit cliff dwellings built by the Sinagua Indians 900 years ago. Walking sticks are provided to get to the sites situated on the steep sides of the cliffs. Due to their location, the well preserved dwellings have not been touched by rain. The masonry blends well with the red sandstone providing security to the dwellers. No one knows what eventually happened to the inhabitants, but the sense of family can be felt as we peer into the rooms where people carried out their day to day activities. The finger prints remain, if not to the human eye. This is not a place to wear white as I soon learn. The iron oxide that makes the sandstone red leaves evidence of your visit. We are also careful to dodge the Costco sized prickly-pear cacti that are everywhere.
Sedona has a unique blend of history and new ageism. The area is well known for the energy originating from its many vortexes. My daughter finds the vortex sights fascinating. She visits the Boynton Canyon vortex and discovers a positive magnetic energy near a tall majestic rock called Kachina Woman. She comes away feeling energized and contented. There are many vortex tours available, but you can wander the sites yourself as well.
A short drive takes us to Jerome, an old mining town built on a hill. Home to many brothels in its day, these former houses of ill repute now house unique shops displaying artists’ wares, next to clothing and odds and ends. We chat with a nonchalant painter perched by her easel on the sidewalk, painting a gnarled old tree overlooking the russet cliffs.
I had visited Ek Balam for the first time in 1995. I was on the way to Chichen Itza from Coba, on the old road. After passing the town of Valladolid, a dirt road led to this small site. It was called Ek Balam, Night Jaguar. I ended up there about midday when it was hot and humid, with no breeze at all. However, after driving all morning on a dirt road that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere and leading to nowhere, I spotted a small palapa hut. It was the ticket booth, and it looked deserted, just like everything else around us. When I stopped, an old Mayan man came out to the front of the hut. He was the caretaker of the site, or the ticket agent. I wished that I could speak Mayan, and his Spanish wasn’t much better than mine, so I felt like it was a missed opportunity to get to know someone interesting and to learn more about the place I was visiting from a local. I purchased my ticket from him and he pointed me in the right direction and I set off to see this little-known site.
I realized that the tallest pile of rubble, overgrown with trees, was a good sized pyramid. Although steep, with a barely visible trail on it, I climbed to its top. It was a real challenge for me since there were not even tall enough trees growing on it to shade me from the scorching sun. In spite of it, I still made it to the top and was rewarded with a great view. I could only guess how important this site would have been with a structure this big. I fantasized on seeing the pyramid and its features, wondering what they were like. I noticed big pieces of cut stones, that I recognized as part of a building. As I learned in later years, I had been standing on top of the Acropolis, indeed the biggest structure at the site.
After getting off that mound, I kept walking through the small site. I noticed a pile of rectangular stones, cleaned and gleaming in the bright sun. Most of the stones were numbered, like pieces of a puzzle. It was such an exciting discovery for me, a sign of the work of archeologists. I knew now that they were in the process of reconstructing the site, or at least some of the buildings. I also knew that I would return to see it excavated and rebuilt.
Years later, there I was standing on top of the same tall mound, but this time I had climbed it on a stairway, stopping along the way to marvel at the statues on its sides. The view from the top was pretty much the same though there were a lot more structures standing.
Ek Balam is a very compact site. Although it was a larger city, only the center of it, the main plaza has been excavated, which covers about one square mile. This makes it very easy to walk, though. A large arch stands at the entrance of the city, with the remains of a sac-be going through it. The sac-be, or ancient Mayan road (translated as “white road”, due to the color of the limestone that it had been constructed from), connected Ek Balam to other sites, like Coba and Chichen Itza. When I passed through the arch, I felt like I had entered the ancient city.
The Acropolis is definitely one of the most impressive structure in all of the Yucatan, a palace and pyramid in one. Though not as tall as Nohuch Mul in Coba, it is much larger overall, measuring 480 ft in length, 180 ft in width and 96 ft in height. Since it has been excavated, it is definitely the most spectacular, with all of the intricately carved figures, unlike any other we’ve seen in all of Yucatan, standing on its walls. The palace has six levels, and at the entrance a monster-like figure, possibly a jaguar, with huge carved teeth is guarding the entrance to the Underworld, the place the Ancient Maya went after death.
Inside the pyramid is the tomb of a great ruler, Ukit Kan Le’k Tok’. Other than the jaguar, many other carved figures, some of the warriors, decorate the walls.
There is no Mayan site without at least one stelae, a large standing stone, filled with drawing and writing, and Ek Balam is no exception. The one here depicts a ruler, with the hieroglyphic writing around his figure, erected in honor of Ukit Kan Le’k Tok’. Writing in stone was very important to the Maya. They have erected stelae in every known site. It was a way for them to record history and preserve their past. They have also written codices or books, however, most of those didn’t survive, burned by the Spaniards or just disappeared in the jungle, so stelae are very important for the study the Mayan writing and history. They were usually erected to commemorate a moment in history, a moment important to someone, mostly to the rulers of the cities. Because of this, stelae have a figure of the ruler they are talking about, with the important dates in his life. They have the date of his birth, of his accession as a ruler, some important dates of his rule, and finally the date of his death or descend into the Underworld.
All photos by Jeff Fromm:
The Spa is part of the resort and offers a tranquil setting for spa treatments and a large outdoor swimming pool that even in the Spring season was warm enough to enjoy. The spa treatment was a highlight of my stay there, a great way to relax after a long journey or a busy week in the city. If you make physical fitness part of your day, the resort has an excellent fully equipped Fitness Centre ringed by an indoor running track.
There are many things to enjoy at Semiahmoo and in the Watcom Country area. If you’re a golfer you can enjoy a day on the two golf courses at the Semiahomoo Gold & Country Club. The resort is surrounded by nature so whether it’s a walk on the beach or on a forest trail, exploring the historic outlying buildings, a picnic at Peace Arch State Park or an afternoon of gambling at a nearby casino, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Boat cruises are available as well as whale watching, sea kayaking, scuba diving or fishing. We enjoyed wandering around the resort area exploring the old boat sheds and waterfront area where they have signs posted with bits of local history or of ecological interest.
Several miles south, located just a few minutes east of the 1-5 exit 201, an hour north of Seattle, is the newly refurbished Angel of the Winds Casino Hotel in Arlington. It is owned by the Stillaguamish Tribe which has operated the casino since 2004 on their lands. The new hotel just opened in December 2014 and has 125 guestrooms as well as gift shops, dining and entertainment.
Our first stop for the morning was Tulip Town The landmark windmill was built by owner Tom de Goede, a replica of his family’s windmill in Holland. We enjoyed an hour of browsing among the gorgeous varieties of tulips still blooming In the vast fields as well as displayed in the beautifully decorated gallery where there are landscape murals depicting various scenes in Holland . We were greeted by the owner’s wife, Jeanette Boudreau, who happens to be originally from French Canada. She explained the various species of tulips and told us about the operation of the farm. There is entertainment for children at Tulip Town too, with face painting and a kite flying display every weekend.
Next on the road trip was RoozenGaarde, another lovely tulip farm near Mount Vernon Wa. Where the flower fields were still blooming. I was especially impressed by the wide yellow fields of daffodils. There were flower beds and a picturesque park area to browse through. The founder, William Roozen emigrated from Holland in 2947 and started a bulb farm on five acres of land which has now grown to be the largest tulip-bulb grower In the country. Roozen Gaarde was established in 1985 by the Roozen family (the name means ‘rose’) and is an official sponsor of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.
