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Wednesday I drove by the entrance of McFarland Park and did not see any signs designating the city of Florence's version, of the Trail of Tears Ride from Chattanooga. I never understood why Florence got involved, in the dispute between the founding members over Route the trail took. The first or second year of the City of Florence's version of the Trail of Tears Ride, I had some friends who trailered their bikes to Chattanooga to hook up with other friends and ride back to Waterloo. They told me that when they got to Hwy 20, the Florence police cars had blocked off highway 20 to Waterloo and was forcing all the riders to enter McFarland Park, telling riders it was the End of the Ride and you had to go into the Park. As my friends described to me, there were a lot of PO Bikers who had previously been riding to Waterloo and was blocked by the City of Florence Police Dept. & State Troopers. As soon as the ride had entered the park, there was a mass Exit from the Park to Waterloo. Was it all about seeing all those $$$$'s of  Tourist Revenue going to Waterloo or lack of capitalization there of. I think the Backlash to the acceptance of Florence event by the bikers, was you just Don't Tell Bikers, You Must Go into McFarland - End of the Ride...Police told my friends and other bikers, there nothing going on in Waterloo this year. But of Course Waterloo had always sponsored the "End of the Ride" since its founding by the original members. That year, Waterloo had their lowest turnout in years, with only 60,000 vs the previous 100,000 plus the previous years before Florence wanted to get involved. To further the decline of the event, beginning of the Recession 2008. Maybe the event can be restored to the True meaning of "The Trail of Tears".

My grandson went, with a friend and his dad, to the Trail of Tears ride at Waterloo.  While there they chose to eat and ordered three chicken finger baskets, two corn dogs, and two drinks and for this they were charged $47.00.

This is robbery and for my part I would have checked the prices before ordering.  I don't know where they purchased these from, whether it was a roadside vendor that set up shop somewhere along the route, in Waterloo or whether it was a business that opened for the ride but gouging like that should be illegal. 

Maybe that's a little of what's running people off from the ride also.  I remember how years ago you couldn't find a motel room anywhere around on this weekend and today it seems an afterthought, or so it seems.  Then too the weather wasn't the best for a motorcycle ride today.

 

Could be political correctness has run head on into political correctness pushed forward by historical fact.

The iconic tragedy of Indian Removal: the Cherokee Trail of Tears that relocated thousands of Cherokees to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), was also a Black migration. Slaves of Cherokees walked this trail along with their Indian owners.

http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com...as-native-americans/

1842 Slave Revolt in the Cherokee Nation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/..._the_Cherokee_Nation

Won't be long before the flag of the Cherokee Nation

takes it's place alongside

And that will give new meaning to the "Trail of Tears."

 

jtdavis posted:

River Runner, I sort of thought Florence might be the real reason that the ride is sort of ignored. 

How do you mean Florence might be the real reason the ride is ignored?

Like in, Going to the horse races and betting on the wrong horse, for all the wrong reasons?

I have no way of knowing the Thoughts of the Florence Counsel members and the North Alabama Tourism board, regarding being a participant host of events sponsoring the "End of the Trail" activities at McFarland Park. Plus, I don't think Florence would put up with a few Bikers walking around with Beer in Koozies or doing Burn Outs in the parking lots at McFarland.

riverzurinsky posted:

I didn't know the ride was yesterday until last night.  Last year at least by the morning of the ride I knew when it was. Glad/Sorry to hear it wasn't just me. I do feel better knowing that other people didn't know either.  Did they just really slack in the news this year or is there more to it?

I'm like you, I only saw it on Channel 19, where they were talking about the route and the time the bikers would becoming through Huntsville. The day of the ride.. 

I guess Waterloo doesn't have a Radio/TV Station or News Paper to announce the route or promote events affecting Waterloo & Lauderdale county. (with tongue in cheek), but I think Florence has a TV station that no one watches..

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