Hello friends! We’re back with a little eye candy today!
Does anyone else out there love old things like we do? Maybe that’s a redundant kind of question. ;} We received quite the history lesson on our first visit a few years ago,and then we revisited again with the kids for the field trip this past summer. So when we stumbled across this post again, we thought today was a perfect day for all things eye candy + a little re-visit in case ya missed it the first time… the old always inspires the new for us.
Though we no longer live there, the little city of Montgomery, Alabama is rich in southern history. The state capital of Alabama holds both the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement, and the First White House of the Confederacy. Like layers to a good story, beautiful treasures in historical sites are tucked away with towering buildings alongside paint encrusted structures. Their silhouettes and the stories they tell, leave a haunting impression against the modern city lights.
In the heart of downtown Montgomery you can find Old Alabama Town. Here lies six blocks of authentically restored 19th & 20th century structures juxtaposed against the fast paced world of the modern day. They were relocated, and resurrected to tell the story of days that now, no longer exist.
Always one of our favorite things.
Their beauty stands, fully intent on reminding us how things have changed. We’ve made great strides in our modern day approach to life with human rights and equality, along with medical and scientific improvements… but we also have so far left to go… It’s the places like these that are shadows of the past. They make me wonder if we’ve also lost some things with the progression of time.
A striking beauty in an old church, fully restored, reminds me of Sundays full of social gatherings, cherished families, and the general feeling that something has been lost in our modern day spin of the Sabbath.
Just the simple idea of being able to step back and be. Today, it’s almost a luxury and for then… it was the norm.
While we quickly run errands in and out of stores to pick up fast food with our grocery carts and curbside service {hello, Amazon} a little shop existed where a keeper once stood behind the counter. She knew your mother and your father and she kept a tab. And she knew your regular purchases, which consisted of Ivory soap and sugar because you grew your fresh vegetables on a farm to feed your family.
While our culture yearns for bigger and better and more and greater, chasing after the seemingly unattainable, a simple shotgun house once stood. Where a man and woman shared two rooms and raised a family. The walls were sealed with newspaper to keep them warm and they their lives were centered around their daily toils.
We work in cubicles underneath florescent lights and eat processed food. Their very survival was dependent upon what they could make or grow and while that may seem so primal, they were probably very happy and healthy. Our focus has shifted with time… to do things like decorate is certainly a generous modern day luxury. We take so much for granted.
At night, when the sun began to fade, they conversed as families. It was all they could do. We hail from a culture where we stare at our screens and our devices and our technology until our eyes are red, and we let things filter into our home that probably shouldn’t be there. We play the comparison game based on something we’ve spied on Pinterest. Or Facebook. Or fill-in-the-blank. Sometimes, we forget that there’s always more behind those pretty little perfectly procured shots and status updates.
Some nights, I know I can’t sleep. I think it’s trending upward.
I’m reminded of how much these people had… how they were probably very grateful for what we would consider to be nothing.
There’s an under appreciated beauty in that.
Their days were constructed around the tasks that are now considered our modern day conveniences. We use machines for laundry and dishes. I can’t fathom life without them.
I’m all, hello… why doesn’t my dryer fold for me? It’s 2016, inventor people.
I complain about the overwhelming task that is cooking for my family at the end of the day. They made their own butter, killed and prepped their own chickens, and grew their own fresh gardens full of snap peas and tomatoes.
While we’ve made great strides in education, maybe there’s something to be said about children in a school house with old buckets and fried chicken packed away for lunch. With one teacher, and a standard book. Having been on both sides with public education and homeschool with our own children in who knows where we’ll be in the school realm next year… I feel like we’ve left so much behind.
Its charms reach farther than the centuries that once held them there.
You just can’t imitate this beauty.
Simplicity.
There are pros and cons to each and every time period of life.
I’m thankful for indoor plumbing, that I no longer have to bite on a stick to birth children in a cotton field a-la my mamaw, and my children will probably survive if they catch the flu. I actually do get to speak my mind when I feel like it (which isn’t always a good thing, by the way)… there are things from the past I want to appreciate, adopt, and use in my own way of life. Despite the distracting modern day wonderfulness that is my ipad.
The wavy glint of old glass, the old planked out walls, and beautiful utensils that would now be considered decor in any kitchen…I think that’s what captures me at the core in these things from the past. What they meant. Their charm and ease. It’s in their simple nature that enraptures me. Something we still yearn for, even today. Integrating them in small ways in our own life.
Maybe a few of the answers to what’s really missing in our lives and in our culture can be found in the old ways.
Remember this fabulous place? The proceeds from Rescued Relics go to support Old Alabama Town. If you’re ever in the Montgomery area be sure to look them up with their great cause. They have wonderful pieces from old homes being revamped, that support inspiring ways of the past. I’m thrilled to teach my children about it, in a way they can experience. One of my very favorite places in Montgomery Alabama.
What’s something from the past you find yourself yearning for in our modern day craziness?
Have an inspired day, lovelies!
I love this. When we take road trips through Texas, and I see old abandoned homes, I wonder about the families that lived there.
I know! I totally want to bust up in there. Lest I be murdered by a chainsaw killer or a rattle snake, I’d love to just walk through. Is that weird? It’s crazy how much of history isn’t really documented. I still remember stories my grandmother told me. I feel like i need my parents to write things down, now. I’ll be grateful for it later.
I love that you think of chainsaw killers as often as I do. I started reading your blog a month ago and you have inspired a complete change in my home design strategy. Just in time for our move and a fresh start in decorating. You are always sunshine in my snot wiping, dirty diaper filled days.
Awe. I’m covered in snot and poo, too. ;} Avoiding chainsaw killers. We’re soul sisters. ;} Congratulations on the move and fresh start!
I absolutely love Alabama..actually all of the south. We live in central Arkansas and I joke with my husband all the time about moving into an old house in Alabama and remodeling. A prerequisite? Moss covered trees of course 🙂 Loved this post.
Awe. Let’s be neighbors! ;} I also love moss on the ground. It reminds me of my childhood.
I love this. Very charming and very true.
I live in MA and grew up visiting Old Sturbridge Village as a youngster with my family. We’d go at least once or twice a summer, using the passes we received at Christmastime as a gift from my GeeGee (great-grandma). If you and your family ever get a chance to come North, you’ve got to check it out, you’d love it! Haven’t been in years, but I’m thinking my husband and I ought to introduce our daughters sometime soon. Those were wonderful day trips and cherished memories now and it helps to reinforce how much we do have, even if we don’t think it’s that much based on some silly ideal about “keeping up with the Joneses.” Thanks for sharing those photos and the story Ashley!
Love old homes and old buildings – we live in a 160 year old home in middle Georgia. (love/hate is more like it!)
-Trish
I grew up in Montgomery and so enjoyed reading your thoughts on its history and simplicity of older days. Thanks for sharing!
I love the eye candy! We lived in Louisiana for several years while I did my internship and residency (Geux Tulane!). I miss it so bad, I also ask if I could reallybe homesick for a place I wasn’t born. We were out every weekend looking at the wonders of the South!
Thank you so much for showing such a beautiful place in my home state. I did not know about Old Alabama Town, but the next time we are headed home (Dothan area) we will most definitely stop and take a tour. I want my 2 little angels to see this.
Love this post so much! I’m from a very small town in rural NY , now living in the suburbs of Houston TX. I love the conveniences of suburbia but I so miss the simple, slow pace of my small town childhood. Country store, apple orchards, gardens in every back yard, and going into town for gas . Those were the days, I yearn for them more and more the older I get. As a young mom of 4 kids, (I’m 34, is that considered young?, lol, I think it is!), I really crave simplicity and a more meaningful life for my family. Thanks for the post, love it!
I miss the absence of technology. The fact we grew up OUTSIDE PLAYING WITH FRIENDS and not texting or snap chatting them! I also miss the more laid back lifestyle like visiting grandma’s house EVERY Sunday for dinner…..I hope to keep that tradition alive with my own children when they are grown, God willing! ~Kim
Beautiful town! I love the school and the church. Thank you for sharing!
I loved this post so much. When I taught first grade, we always took them to a field trip there. They still go every year. So eye opening. I had one kid ask me where the “Promethean Board” was (like a smart board). I tried so hard not to chuckle.
But really. We are losing so much in our modern day culture. each year I teach, the worse the general ingratitude of the children gets. There are very much exceptions to this, but as a whole, it seems like what used to surprise my students (cupcakes just because, making dirt cups for Earth Day, sidewalk chalk for recess etc)….just doesn’t anymore. 🙁
Thank you for this post.
Lauren Mask
First time comment! I have been reading for a few months now, but I still qualify as new I guess. I didn’t realize you were an Alabamian!!! I live in Huntsville, Alabama, and I love finding other Alabama bloggers as well.
Such wise words, and I agree with everyone! Every word beautifully said 🙂 Have a good weekend!
Brittney
I miss the summers that seemed as though they stretched on forever. Lazy summer days! Now….summers are so short for children due to school ending late and starting in the beginning of August! I homeschooled my children and we were together 24/7 and after each of the 4 older ones graduated and went on to college or careers….I felt as if I never had enough time with them as they grew up! We’ve raised our family on a small 40 acre farm so we’ve had more of a “simple” life than most. We’ve always had large gardens, eat and can what we raise, raise animals for food, make our bread and eat simple foods. Life can be stressful and hectic….but it’s how we react to everything in our lives. Trying to live a simple life while putting the Lord first is key to true Joy!
Oh, wow, I love every single one of those pictures!! Thanks for sharing them!
I daydream about small towns where families have roots and the economy is always local. I love old stuff and imagining its former life.
Have you watched Lark Rise to Candleford on Amazon? It’s set in a small hamlet in the 19th century. Less drama than Downton, but characters just as personal. Mr. Bates is in it too. 3 season to watch if you haven’t seen it : )
Love this post. I have always been drawn to things and stories of the past and what seems like simpler times. I ma truly grateful for our modern convinces but like you I’m think we have lost some things in the name of progress. Thank you for sharing.
I used to live in Montgomery, in Cloverdale, and love Old Alabama town! That’s actually where the puppy that is now mine was found by a friend of a friend who works there. So much history in that town. I ended up moving away, but it will always have a place in my heart. Beautiful pictures!
Love this post! I wish we were still in the days where neighbors relaxed on their front porches to escape the heat and talk the night away and what I would give to have a small market shop down the road where I could pick up the necessities. And thank you for the reminder about childbirth. Every time I find myself being super unhappy with the time I was born in, I am going to remind myself of that! Thank you modern epidurals, you make life in this fast paced technology crazed world worth it!!!!
Right? I’m pretty sure my great grandmother was in the middle of a cotton field. Just right there. She probably got right back up with that baby in a sling and kept going. I would have died. Killed over and died. It’s the truth. But sleeping porches and sweet tea and fried chicken and long {exhaustive} church Sundays are oh so appealing!
Loved your story. We live in Anniston, AL about 2 hours from Montgomery between Birmingham and Atlanta I love Alabama and our beautiful history and scenery.