Four hours in a car is a long time for anyone….especially a
one year old….but Major was a total champ and as we pulled into the parking lot
of the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, I was excited that
he and Amber were both there with me and was anxious to get inside and take in
the life and career of our 39th President.
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| After the trip to see Santa, Major was ready to get out of town for a while as well |
A few days before, Amber and I had decided that we needed to
get away for a day. We both had time off over the holidays and, as you tend to
do when you have time off, we had filled the bulk of it with the mundane tasks
of home ownership and the joyous to and fro of Christmas, both of which had left
us completely tired. Christmas with
Major was absolutely fantastic and we decided that the good times needed to
continue rolling and what better way to do that than with a last minute, ill
conceived, poorly planned road trip?!
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| IKEA Atlanta |
Living in Nashville, we are with-in easy driving distance of
Memphis, Atlanta, Louisville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville but only one of these
has the ultimate draw for Amber, IKEA.
So with little discussion, I was online booking a hotel in Atlanta. Being a tad bit into History, I, of course,
knew that not only was Jimmy Carter’s Library located in Downtown Atlanta but
that the Martin Luther King tomb, museum and Ebenezer Baptist Church were all
there as well, and after just a minute of research I discovered that they were
located less than two miles apart. I
also began looking at Tennessee’s Governors that might be buried along our path
and discovered one in Chattanooga, which you pass through on your way to
Atlanta. So between my history sites and Amber’s trip to IKEA and the hotel booked
we were ready to roll…….until Major came down with a little bug and we had to
cancel the hotel and instead make a trip to the pediatrician’s office. Four
days later, with Major fully recovered and ready to rock again we rebooked our
hotel and we were on our way….
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| Major and I outside of the Carter Library & Museum |
The Jimmy Carter Library and Museum is located just outside
of downtown Atlanta in what appears to be a quiet little neighborhood. Having visited 4 other Presidential Libraries
and Museums, I have to say that the Carter location is a bit underwhelming, not
to say it isn’t good, but Carter’s administration in comparisons to those of
Truman, Eisenhower, Regan and even Nixon, just isn’t that interesting. Having
said that I would highly recommend anyone visit that might be in the area or
interested in the lives and/or careers of the Presidents. A large percentage of the Museum is dedicated
to Carter’s post-presidency life, which has been, arguably, much more
impressive than his political career and has seen him win the Nobel Peace Prize,
which is on display at the end of the museum tour. You walk away from the library with a deep
sense that Carter is, as he portrayed himself in his campaigns, a fine, decent,
admirable and honest man.
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| Tomb of Martin Luther King, Jr, and Coretta Scott King |
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Historical Sites are a very
short drive from the Carter Museum and include a Museum, Birth Home, Center for
Non-Violent Social Change, Ebenezer Baptist Church and the final resting place
of King and his wife, Coretta Scott King.
Being short on time we decided to head straight for the tombs, in order
to insure that we had time to take it in properly. Having been to the final
resting places of many of this nation’s greatest leaders, I have to say that
standing at the tomb of Martin Luther King, a feeling of standing near
greatness came over me that I have rarely felt before. The same can be said for
the very well preserved Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King ‘s father was
pastor and where he was baptized, preached his first sermon and was, until his death,
co-pastor.
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| Eternal Flame located near the King Tomb |
After a trip to IKEA and a good night’s sleep we were up and
ready to head home the next day. For the
trip home I had planned two stops:
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| View from the top at Myrtle Hill Cemetery, Rome, GA |
The first was in Rome, GA, to visit Myrtle Hill Cemetery,
which is the final resting place of Woodrow Wilson’s first wife and for a little over a year of his term the First Lady of the United States, Ellen
Wilson. Of all of the cemeteries I have
ever visited, Myrtle Hill is easily one of the most amazing as the whole of the
cemetery sits on a very steep hill. While Woodrow is buried in D.C. with his
second wife, Ellen rests next to her father and other kin in a very serene
peaceful plot.
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| Ellen Wilson's Grave |
The last stop on our journey was to Forest Hills Cemetery
located just outside of downtown Chattanooga and is the final resting place of
James B. Frazier, the 33rd Governor of Tennessee, and my 24th
Governor visit of the year. Interestingly,
I had been to Forest Hills Cemetery just four years earlier when my great
uncle, Dudley Merritt, was laid to rest there.
#33
Name: James Beriah Frazier
Birth: 18 October 1856
Death:
28 March 1937
Age at Death: 80
years, 5 months and 10 days old
Interment:
Forest Hills Cemetery, Chattanooga,
TN
Term
in Office: January 19, 1903 – March 21, 1905
Political
Party: Democrat
James Beriah Frazier was born on October 18, 1956 in
Bledsoe County, TN. Graduating from the
University of Tennessee at the age of 21, he would be admitted into the bar in
1881, and open a law practice in Chattanooga.
In 1902, he was elected Governor, and would be greatly admired for the
strides he would make in improving education and for working to regulate mining
in order to make it safer for workers. Reelected in 1904, he would only serve a
few months of his second term before the death of former Governor, William Bate,
who would leave an open seat in the United States Senate, where he was serving
at the time of his death. Frazier would retire the governorship in order to
take this vacated seat and would serve there until 1911. Following his time in the senate, he returned
to Chattanooga where he would continue to practice law until his death in 1937.
John Price Buchanan was born on October 24, 1847 in
Williamson County. Following the Civil
War, during which Buchanan fought on the side of the Confederacy, he would move
to Rutherford County and operate a large farm there. Holding public office in the
House or Representatives he would also serve as the President of the Tennessee
Farmer’s Alliance and Laborer’s Union. It was based on connections made through
this position that Buchanan would be able to propel himself into the State’s
highest office in 1890. Entering office
hoping to bring relief to Farmers, Buchanan would instead spend much of his
Governorship dealing with armed uprising of Coal Miners in East Tennessee, who
were upset over the prisoner work release program , which they saw as a threat
to their jobs. Struggling between his support of Labor and his job to enforce
Government contracts, Buchanan would lose the support of the Labor Unions and of the Democratic Party, who would nominate Peter Turney in
the 1892 election. Buchanan would run as
a third party candidate but only garner 10% of the vote. Under his tenure,
however, the state would implement a Confederate Pension Program, as well as,
state-supported secondary schools. Following his time in office, he would
return to his farm and spend the rest of his life there dying on May 14, 1930.
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