Off the Trail

I've been known to go wandering and I don't deny the lure of a winding road. This post roams a bit, too, as I introduce Lewellyn Shaver's sister, Emma, good friend of the Bibbs in Montgomery. Emma's letters to Lou and Martha Dandridge Bibb came from her new home in Woodlawn, a suburb of  budding Birmingham. 
Excerpts from Emma Shaver's  handwritten letter dated 1892 to Louisa S. Bibb:

"Woodlawn is a very quiet place, in spite of its proximity to Birmingham. There are no mines, plants, nor any other interests here to attract the rougher elements. People who live here are generally those, whose business interests are in Birmingham and who do not feel financially able to reside in the city. The gentlemen are in Bham all day... Mrs. Cameron from Montgomery, lives not far from us. Mrs. Pearsall and her brothers run a market garden a little off in the country. They are doing nicely and Mrs. Pearsall seems busy and happy. Woodlawn is a city of about 2500 or 3000 inhabitants. The Democratic Mayor was nominated last week with every certainty of election. We live on a dummy line and can go into B. and return at any time, for .10. The distance is (six) correction four miles, and we go through another village before we reach East B(irmingham). It is a convenient place to live. All the marketing is brought right to the door, even oranges, kerosene oil, etc., and the cost is very reasonable. We live in walking distance of two churches, and the post office is not a quarter of a mile distant. You see we have a happy blending of the quiet of a country, and conveniences of a city home."

In another letter to Lou, written in 1896, Emma mentions the politics and news of the times:

"If one believed the belligerent spirit of the papers, one would dread the coming of December. Kolb certainly ought to be called Cobb for no matter how often you down him, he will not sink to the bottom, but because of sheer lightness of weight is ever bobbing up again. Local politics are running riot in Bham but very fortunately we only hear their buzz. It all disgusts me so that I scarcely care to read a paper. Oh! "the tempests that disturb the tea-pot!”

I cannot help but notice the many similarities that can be drawn over the past and present. Even the reference to "tea-pot" reminds me of the present "tea party", with its fervent and perhaps tempestuous stirrings. Ironically, the "Kolb" mentioned was a Commissioner of Agriculture, Rueben Kolb, who ran for Governor in 1892, 1894, and again, made a bid in 1896. He certainly did keep "popping up". After losing on the Democratic ticket, he branched into his own brand, Jeffersonian Democrats, who in essence aligned too closely with the Populist's views and candidates to hold any distinction on their own.

So much for my detour. Well, maybe.