|
|
|
|
|
|
AVA
Home Page Redstone Wanderers is a non-profit organization dedicated to easy exercise and family fun. We are located on beautiful Redstone Arsenal adjacent to Huntsville, Alabama and the Tennessee River.
Special thanks to Lockheed
Martin for Sponsoring our Our Next Walking EventsOUR SISTER CLUB HOSTS AN EVENT 22 SEP 2001 Join us for our second annual Volksmarch, Sat, Sept 22 in Elkton, TN. On Saturday, September 22, there’s something special taking place in the tiny middle Tennessee town of Elkton. That’s the day the Elkton Historical Society is hosting its second annual Elkton Historical Festival. Lots of arts and crafts and food vendors will be set up to offer their wares to festival guests for this one day event, as well as special attractions which are planned to entice visitors to the Festival located in Elkton’s City Park on Baugh Road. Among those attractions will be an Antique Tractor Show where participants will carry out a “Parade of Power” during the day. There will also be an Antique Car Show with “Viewers Choice” 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies to be awarded and later guests can take a ride in replicas of the very first automobiles that traveled the land in the late 1800’s. Many historical exhibits and demonstrations will enlighten folks to the historical aspect of this once flourishing river town. Making their second appearance at Elkton’s festival will be the 50th Alabama Infantry Regiment, Company E, Limestone Rebels (Civil War Re-enactors). Hailing from the Athens, Alabama area, they were a big hit at last year’s festival and will once again be “skirmishing” around the city park area. They will give live equipment demonstrations and tell stories about the life of a soldier during the Civil War. That should be enough to keep festival-goers busy for the day, but the historical society along with local business supporters are also offering visitors a free afternoon concert featuring Travis Wammack from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Travis has been described by Rolling Stone Magazine as “the fastest guitar player in the South” and has appeared on many hit recordings with such famous artists as Aretha Franklin, Tony Joe White, Percy Sledge, The Jackson’s, Little Richard and many more. Travis has a huge following and his Snake, Rattle, and Roll and Keep On Running – A Tribute To Dale Earnhardt CD’s will be on sale at the stage area. His stage show, packed with energy and excitement, is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Also on that Saturday, starting and finishing from the Historical Festival grounds at City Park, will be the Elkton Trail of Tears Club’s second annual Volksmarch. Volksmarching got its name from its origins in Europe and when translated from German, it simply means 'People’s Walk'. It is a non-competitive 6-mile (10 kilometer) walk and a fun activity you do with a club, with your family, with your pet, with a friend, or all by yourself. There are thousands of Volkssport clubs around the world and over 500 Volkssport clubs throughout the USA. Local clubs, such as Elkton’s Trail of Tears Club, host the walking events and club members select a trail for safety, scenic interest, historic areas, and walkability. Located on historic Benge’s Route, Elkton named their Volksmarch Club and their event, Trail of Tears, in honor of the more than 4000 Cherokee Indians who died along that infamous march. In the summer of 1838, over 1200 Cherokees were removed by force from their homes and restrained at a stockade in Fort Payne, Alabama. The commanding officer at the stockade informed the Cherokees that on October 1 distribution of rations would cease and they must leave. This group under the leadership of John Benge (Benge’s Route) and George Lowery, second chief of the Cherokee Nation, left Fort Payne on September 29, 1838 even though two-thirds of the detachment was in destitute condition. William S. Coodey, the contractor for the detachment would write, “The day was bright and beautiful, but a gloomy thoughtfulness was strongly depicted in the lineaments of every face. In all the bustle of preparation there was a silence and stillness of the heart. At length the word was given to move on.” The group passed through present day Elkton in Giles County, Tennessee on this forced march from their homelands to reservations in Oklahoma. (Benge’s Route and Bell’s Route crisscrossed at Pulaski, the only location along the trail where land routes intersect.) Elkton’s event is one of only four sanctioned in the state of Tennessee by the American Volkssport Association (AVA) for 2001 and walkers will pass by some of the town’s most historic places including the site where Union General William Tecumseh Sherman spent the night on his way to Chattanooga before his destructive march to Atlanta. You’ll also see the Tennessee State Champion Black Oak tree located on the Painted Lady Farm. Walk through 200-year-old cemeteries and by stately antebellum homes including one of the county’s oldest built in 1830. On the old iron bridge, built in 1922, visit with Native American storytellers dressed in full regalia as they retell the infamous story of the Trail of Tears. You’ll be traveling the same path (old stage road) that the Cherokee took on the Trail of Tears as you cross Elk River on this old iron bridge to visit the home of a former slave, Matt Gardner. Matt started the first school for Blacks in Giles County after the Civil War and his home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. His descendents will be there to tell his amazing story. We are rich with history, both past and present. There’s something special taking place in Elkton on Saturday, September 22 …a fun for all festival and an interesting people’s walk (Volksmarch) through historic small town USA and we want you to come be a part of it! We think you’ll agree, “There’s a lot to love in Elkton, Tennessee!” If you’d like more information on Volksmarching go to http://www.ava.org Get more festival information at http://www.elktonhistory.org Vendor space is still available or if you have an antique car or antique tractor or historical items you’d like to display, please contact Carolyn Thompson at 931-468-0668 or e-mail her at thompsonc@igiles.net Hope you can join us.
Redstone Arsenal
Mayfest Volksmarch 2002
also... next fall Redstone Arsenal Oktoberfest Volksmarch 2002
Our MissionWe want you and your family to get together and have fun. We charge nominal fees ($2 for everyone!) to keep the walks going but the emphasis is on nature, easy exercise, and family fun. Club ProfileRedstone Wanderers is a non-profit organization sponsored primarily by the Redstone Chapter of the U.S. Army Warrant Officers Association. Redstone Wanderers, and all its events, are sanctioned by the American Volkssport Association (AVA) which is a member of the International Federation of Popular Sports (IVV). Our goal is bigger and better Walking Events and all funds raised are concentrated to that end. Excess funds are directed to the two organizations listed above who perform Community Events and disperse funds for charity events in the Northern Alabama area. Scouting Badges and InfoScouts can earn credit toward the following Merit Badges by participating in a Volksmarch Event. HIKING Merit
Badge Walking Hints and TipsWalking Tips by Jimmie Eisen. Reprinted from Texas Wanderers Newsletter (AVA 006) Dec 1997 - Jan 1998 The 13 Most Useful Things You Can Have In Your Fanny Pack by Carolyn Bradley. Reprinted from The American Wanderer Dec 1998 - Jan 1999. A Walking Stick by Jimmie Eisen. Reprinted from Texas Wanderers Newsletter (AVA 006) Feb 1998 - Mar 1998 Athlete's Foot by Linda Goodman. Reprinted from Tex's Trail Talk: The Newsletter of the Texas Wanderers (AVA 006) Feb 1999 - Mar 1999. Trails Illustrated - need a map? Backpacking and Hiking TrailHead - links to more resources Peak to Peak Trail and Wilderness Links Contact InformationThis website should have all the info you need but if you need to contact someone, see our contacts below: Local President |
|
Send mail to maxcbennet@aol.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
