Vacation time finds my wife and I in Charlotte, North Carolina. My wife is attending the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly. Made the front page of the Charlotte Observer yesterday.
I helped my wife by providing transportation - driving ten hours to Charlotte from the Poconos would be a bit much. While I am a member of the UU's, I am not nearly as active as my wife.
I had some time the other day to see a minor league baseball game in Asheville, North Carolina. I had some time to take some pictures before the game started, so took a little walk. I was taken aback by a couple of memorials I saw in Asheville. More below.
The first memorial is a large obelisk dedicate to Zebulon Baird Vance. Two time governor of North Carolina and U.S. Senator, he was also in the Confederacy.
The plaque is below -
I noticed that it first mentions that he was a "Confederate Soldier," with his other public service following. The plaque was placed by the UDC - United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1935. 70 years after the end of the Civil War, it was still more important to be listed first as a soldier in the Confederate army than as a governor or U.S. Senator.
Right below the Vance memorial was another much smaller marker - this one dedicated to Robert E. Lee.
Placed in 1926, again by the UDC, I was also curious to match the date of the marker with events of the time.
A quick search on Google found this - a KKK march in Washington, DC in 1926.
Surrounded by a very pretty town, I was reminded that not too long ago, this part of the South was not a great place to be if you happened to be anything but a white person.
I walked away feeling that there is still much to be done. I'm not advocating that memorials from another time be removed, but possibly there needs to be markers next to these - pointing out that the Civil War was not a noble cause to be celebrated endlessly as it was this year with re-enactment battles, but a dark time when the rights of human beings were being repressed by slavery.
Some other pictures from my time in Asheville and Charlotte can be found at the links below.
An interesting window in Asheville.
The Green Sage Cafe in Asheville - the turkey club on sourdough bread was awesome!
Solar Power in the bathroom of the Green Sage!
Coolest bathroom mirror ever?
Mural in Asheville.
At McCormick Field (Tourists lost - 9 -6 to the Rome Braves)
The Tourists needed this bat! (gave up three HR's to the Braves)
Well, I have to start packing - checkout time is 12:00 noon. I will answer all comments when I get to the hotel in Virginia tonight.