The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1949-01-06
Leitersburg News

1 IlO1tlC dlLC1 OH C1CNCLl~0G1y 4lAOLO1
trip through the south, and since she
was unable to keep in touch with
the Leitersburg news during that
time, she has written, in place of
her usual column, an account of
her vacation trip, which will appear
in two installments, And here is
the first one: ~
We left Emmitsburg on Thursday,
December %, following pre-
Christmas dinner given by Mr.. and
Mrs. John Kerr, with whom l made
the trip. Our first stop was at Ma
tural Bridge, Va, where we ate
lunch. We journeyed for the great
er part of the day through the
beautiful State of Virginia, reach
ing the Tennessee line about three
O'Clock in the afternoon. The wealth
er was delightful, as the cold wave
had not yet struck the eastern
states.
We drove through part of Ten
nessee and spent the first night at
Tourist Court on the outskirts of
Knoxville. The next morning the
weather had changed, and we had
rain to start out, but we were for
tunate enough to run out of it be-
fore the morning was over.
The scenery in Tennessee resem-
bles that of Virginia, but the negro
population becomes more pro-
nounced as you journey through the
state southwark. We were head
ed for Montgomery, Ala, where we
had planned to spend Christmas Eve
and Christmas Night Some of the
Southern states do not operate on
Eastern Standard Time, and most
every place we went we found the
time an hour slower than our time.
We reached Montgomery, Ala, at
five o'clock in the evening and reg
istered at the Greystone Hotel in
the heart of the city. Montgomery
is beautiful city, and a visitor is
impressed with the fine buildings
and especially the cleanliness of the
city streets. The numerous banks
indicate the wealth of the city.
We celebrated Christmas in Mont
gomery fer the Kerr's five-year-old
daughter, Mary 10 Ann, who proved
to be a good little traveller for one
SO young in years In Montgom-
cry, on Christmas Eve, a gentleman
approached Mr. Kerr and said,
Hello, Chief Kerr!" It proved to
be a Mr.. Cannon whom the Chief
had trained in one of his numerous
companies at Great Lakes. Mr.. Can
non soon dispatched the word
around to all the other men in the
city, and the Chief" as they call
ed him, was given quite a reception
the next day at the Greystone.
Christmas Day the cold wave
struck Alabama, but fortunately we
had plenty of heat at the hotel We
ate our Christmas Dinner at the.I
Hotel Whitney, another excellent.
hotel in the city.
3 We departed for Florida the next
morning and soon ran into the Sec
ton where the Spanish Moss hangs
from the trees. Where it hung from
the evergreens, it was especially
beautiful. We headed down the
Swanee Jungle Drive, which is bea-
utiful, but dangerous, in different
ways. Both sides of the, road are
skirted with marshy or swampy
land, and it would be sad story if
the car ever left the road bed. An
other hazard on this highway was
the herds of cattle wandering or
grazing along the side of the road.
This was especially dangerous at
night, as it was difficult to see them,
as they were all dark colored.
We decided to stop at a cabin
along the river. By this time the
temperature had gone down, and
the small gas heaters that the cab
ms had were unable to heat the
rooms. We were compelled to use
blankets from the car and our
coats on the beds to keep us warm.
We left early in the morning,
trying to find the Sunny South"
The trip had been thoroughly
planned before we left home, and
we journeyed down the West coast
of Florida. During the day the
weather began to warm up, and by
the time we reached Bradenton
Fla, where we decided to spend the
night, the weather was delightful.
We registered at a popular place
called Burgers Cafeteria" which
had very modern cafeteria on the
lower floor and numerous guest
rooms on the second. Also cabins
were built around the main build
ing, but they were all filed, so we
had to take guest rooms, which