Oct 12, 2024 – Where the Eighth Wonder of the World was Born

Like most people my age, I heard Lynyrd Skynyrd’s song “Sweet Home Alabama” a hundred times or more during my high school years. And like most people that listened to popular rock songs, I didn’t understand the words to most songs. To wit, I had no idea what to make of the line “Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers”.

Eventually, I figured it out and more recently, we thought it would be interesting to visit Muscle Shoals where music was made famous by the four studio musicians known as ‘The Swampers”.

Vivian and I are not Swampers groupies, nor are we devoted fans of the Rolling Stones or Cher. So the Muscle Shoals Studio holds no nostalgic memories for us. Therefore, I took a picture of the austere building and moved on. Unfortunately, the little town of Muscle Shoals is not one that invites you to walk around and explore it. So, can I offer another reason to visit Muscle Shoals? Yes I can!

Within an old Muscle Shoals neighborhood is a modest house where a very famous woman was born on June 27, 1880. Fourteen years later she befriended Mark Twain who referred to her as “the eighth wonder of the world”. And in turn, she wrote of Twain “I can feel the twinkle of his eye in his handshake”.

On the grounds near the house (which is now a museum) is a very famous water pump where the residents collected their drinking water. Due to the exceptional mind of a blind and deaf 7-yr old girl that made the connection between her teacher’s finger spelling and water, a miracle occurred at that pump.

Like most, Vivian and I knew some things about Helen Keller and both of us are old enough to have seen the original film “The Miracle Worker” starring Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft. Until we took the tour of Keller’s house, our understanding of her hardly went beyond feelings of sorrow.

The life of Helen Keller was told to us by our tour guide in the house where she was born. So many photos brought her life into focus as the tour guide related many of them with stories of Helen, her family and her remarkable teacher and companion, Anne Sullivan Macy.

At once, we were blown away by Keller’s remarkable ability to learn how to ‘see’ and ‘hear’. Not to be funny, but that she would never have achieved this without the patience and brilliance of Anne Sullivan left us speechless. Keller went on to make history, dedicating her life to improving the conditions of the visually and hearing impaired around the world. She helped create the American Civil Liberties Union, earned an Oscar, was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize (why she did not win is beyond me), and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Across the Tennessee River from Muscle Shoals is Florence, another small town where we took another tour of a house – this time the home of Stanley and Mildred Rosenbaum and their four sons. It’s not so much the Rosenbaum family that draws us to the house, but rather its architect.

On the tour, we learned a lot about the Usonian designed house and stories of FLW that confirmed our dislike of the man and the fact that ‘the comforts of home’ or concern for leaking roofs did not hinder his designs. The Rosenbaums raised four boys in this house and as I toured their home, I had a difficult time imagining children playing here. Later, I was glad to learn that the boys loved the house because it provided so many ways for them to sneak out and wander off to town or some other place – or simply get away from the house.

After our house tours, an Alabama BBQ lunch, and an afternoon ice cream, we had one more stop, for curiosity’s sake and maybe a drink. About 22 miles from Florence and off the beaten path is the Rattlesnake Saloon. Google Maps directed us to a horse stable/RV campground, nothing resembling a saloon. We parked on an open grassy lot alongside many other vehicles and walked over to a rickety shelter with a ‘Saloon Taxi Pickup’ sign.

After a few minutes, a white Ford pickup loaded with people in the back pulled up. An older gentleman got out and began helping people out of the truck bed. He then signaled for us to get on. With homemade wooden benches lining either side of the bed, we had plenty of room for about 10-12 people. The truck pulled away and proceeded down a very steep and narrow one-way road that led to the saloon.

The saloon itself is built under a hanging cliff that was once a shelter for a hog pen. Later, the owners had a new vision for their farmland and built a hunting lodge. The logical companion to that was a saloon. The Rattlesnake Saloon was built in 2009 in place of the hog pen and today, it is a popular attraction with a guestbook signed by visitors from all 50 states and over 30 other countries.

We arrived at the saloon about 3:30 PM. I’ll admit, that is a bit early for our typical happy hour, but it’s a saloon where happy hour most likely begins in the morning. And what’s the harm, a taxi picks us up anyway! When we told the saloon host to point us toward the bar, she informed us that alcohol was not served until 5 PM. Go figure. Still feeling our BBQ and ice cream indulgence, we passed up Rattlesnake Saloon and got back in line for the taxi pick up. Consequently, happy hour was happily spent at our home on wheels.

Stay tuned for the final blog of our 2024 travels where give you a unusual glimpse of Florida from one of its popular state parks before heading back to Chokoloskee Island.