Louisa Elisabeth Jane Bates, better known simply as “Aunt Jenny” was an important early resident of the Bankhead National Forest area. Carla Waldrep will portray the life of the Cherokee Mountain Woman at the November 4th meeting of the Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club. Aunt Jenny was born in 1826 and lived to be 98 years old. She raised many children, served as a midwife, and was considered to be a medicine woman or herb doctor. Her husband and oldest son were killed in attacks during the Civil War, and this lead to a sequence of events that ended with the deaths of many of her children. Carla Waldrep is the Librarian of the Haleyville Public Library and a member of the Haleyville Historic Society. Her presentation will be part of the Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club meeting in the Bernice Hilton Walker Building in Double Springs on Tuesday, November 4th at 7:00 p.m. The program is free, and members of the public are welcome.
The Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club completed it's regularly scheduled trail maintenance on November 8th. Present were Danny Millwood and his daughter Emily, Anthony and Jennifer Lawler, Larry and Mimi Barkey, Mike Henshaw, and Andrew Tigert. The team cleared 3.3 miles of the trail. More photos are located here.
Aunt Jenny spoke to the Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club's regular meeting in Double Springs on November 4th. Aunt Jenny is the legendary Cherokee Mountain Woman of the Black Warrior Mountains. On this evening, she was portrayed by Carla Waldrep, the Librarian of the Haleyville Public Library, and a member of the Haleyville Historical Society. Aunt Jenny spoke, in character, to the club recounting story after story from her life as an prominent resident of the area. She spoke of the cane that she carried and the meaning of the many notches in it. While her life was rife with tragedy and sadness, it was redeemed by healing as both a medicine woman and midwife. More photos from her presentation are located here.
