We left Sikesville, MO. on
Friday, Sept. 21. It was very early in the morning and the sun was just coming up and there was some ground fog which made for a beautiful morning drive across the countryside. We drove from Missouri, across Illinois, into Kentucky and on into Tennessee. Yes, four states in about 15 minutes or so.
John wanted to stop in Lebanon, Tn. as he had attended High School at Castle Heights in Lebanon. We found that the school has been closed since 1986. The school, however is on the National Register of Historical Places, no, not because John went there!!! Anyway, many of the buildings have been torn down, but several are still there. They have turned the main building/dormitory into the new City Hall. John tried to see his old dorm but it had become and office and they would not let him in there. (He tells me that he wanted to go and see if the bottle of Gin that he had hidden in a place where there were some loose bricks just under and outside of the window in his room was still there! From the outside you could see where the new bricks had been placed so we do not know if the bottle of gin was still there or not!) He was just glad that some of the old buildings were still there. They do have a museum in the basement along with many old records. The old Commandants Quarters were still there, that had been turned into a restaurant. Inside they had a great many of the old photos on the walls. We ate lunch there and Johnny walked around and found his graduating class in one of the rooms! He even had to show it to our waitress.
From there we drove to the Hermitage, the old homestead of Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States. It was a very interesting place. Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachael lived there and had a cotton plantation with many slaves to help run the place. (I have to admit that I really did not know much about the man himself.) Andrew Jackson ran for the president in 1824, he won the popular vote but not a majority of the electoral college (some things never change!!??!!) His second campaign in 1828 sent him to the White House and re-election kept him there until 1937. His wife, Rachael, however never got to live in the White House, she died on the eve of their departure for Washington in 1828.
One of the slaves that lived on the place was named Alfred. He stayed with Andrew Jackson until Jackson's death even after he was given his freedom. Alfred lived to be 101 years old. He is the only former slave to be buried on the grounds near Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachael.
The Hermitage has been preserved by the Ladies Hermitage Association since 1889. It was going to be torn down and sold. It is so sad that it takes a group of people to save so many of our heritage places.
That is all for now. Until later, Candy and Johnny
