River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1906-03-15
From Dixie Land.
KALMIA, ALA, March 2, 1906.

To THE JoURNAL:-Once a week
there comes to my table in my
room at the house." as the ne
groes of the plantation call the
home of the white folks" here, a
welcome visitor, well wrapped, and
travelling expenses paid. When the
wraps are taken off the familiar face
of the JOURNAL" greets me, and
| somehow makes the distance be-
tween home and my present 1oca-
ton seem less. Often as / have
read the items Of news from the
part of the country that l call home
have thought that | would again
write to those in the north who read
what this visitor of mine has to say,
but as often l have laid the paper
down after having read it, patent
insides" and all, and another week
has passed and the visitor comes
again, as was the case this week.
When l left River Falls on the 7th
of November for the South to at
tend to the Farmers Institute work
under my care, had little thought
but what should return in time
to take my Thanksgiving dinner at
home, but fate, or something else,
seemed to rule otherwise, and here
| seem to be fixed as a part of the
Industrial Missionary Association,
in it's southern work in the Black
Belt" of Alabama.
My readers will look in vain for
the name of our little post Office on
one of the maps of the day, for,
while it is listed among the regular
post offices at the government de-
partment, it is of too recent origin
to be on any of the maps of 1905 at
least. l have been asked where
Mrs. Curtis, our President and Gen
eral Manager got the name for our
post office. Kalmia is the name of
a shrub that belongs to the laurel
class and in various forms is found
in this country from the New Eng
land states to the Rocky Mountains.
In the New England States and
some other parts it is known as
Mountain Laurel and Sheep Laurel.
Here it retains it's full green foliage
for the entire year and helps to
brighten up the waste places and
break the monotony of the winters
dulness. In this respect it is little
different from it's relative, the sheep
laurel of the north.
You may ask, where is Ka1mia
P. or" 1t occupies space of 8 fit.
9 inches by ft. inches, with all
rights reserved from the floor to the
ceiling (Which is 9 #. 4 inches from
the f1oor) in one corner of the di-
ming room of the aforementioned
house." and the "house" is 1oca-
ted in the hills of Autauga county,
seven miles back north from Ben
ton, a small station across the Ala
bama River on the west of the At
lanta and West Point r. r., about
33 miles west of Montgomery. The
river approaches the Hall Planta-
tion (Hall being the party from
whom the place was purchased) to
within about mile but Benton is
our nearest railway station. How
ever we do our shipping and trad
ing mostly at Selma, town of 8 1000,
% miles from us.
Selma has large cotton and oil
mills and does a large amount of
wholesale and retail business; is
quite an important r. R. center; it
ships great quantities of cotton and
does large banking business. 1t
is also an educational center. l
have never been in Selma over Sun
day so as to attend any of the
churches, but Judging from the ap-
| pearence of the church edifces
would say that there is good con-
stituency there of both races.
The Reformed Presbyterians, the
Baptists and the Methodists (South)
each have quite important educa-
tional institutions here. Property
sells and rents as high as in any
similar town in the north. On the
other hand there are opportunities
to buy lands both improved and un-
improved few miles back in the
country at comparatively low figures.
The buildings and other improve
ments upon these plantations are
not very attractive, however, to one
who has been accustomed to the
picturesqueness of the farms of the
west, with the array of nice painted
houses, barns and granaries.
A great deal has been said at
times, about the New South" 1t is
true there is new south but one
| need not travel far into the country