First Impact Award Winners

DEKALB COUNTY - Tourists and locals alike enjoy the beauty of the 11-mile-long, 600-foot-deep canyon known as Little River Canyon. The 22-mile drive along the rim is impressive. Visitors admire the Little River Falls as it cascades over a 45-foot drop. The canyon offers varied recreational opportunities, from hiking and biking to kayaking and fishing.

The canyon is also a sanctuary for flora and fauna which include rare and endangered species such as the bald eagle, the green salamander, and the mountain laurel. The river is said to be among the cleanest and wildest waterways in the South, undammed aside from a small deserted hydroelectric project at DeSoto Falls on the West Fork near Mentone.

However, in addition to enjoying the scenic value consideration to the footsteps that are being traced sheds new light on the surroundings. The canyon has been the home to Native

Public Meeting

The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) will conduct a public involvement meeting on March 28 from 5-7 p.m. at the Fort Payne City Hall Auditorium to discuss a proposed runaway truck ramp at the bottom of Hwy. 35 downtown.

Collinsville Drugs

“Caring for you like family”

March 25, Storytellers TourMentone AL. 7PM cantral time. Moon Lake Village Presents performers Time Jackson, Dan Smalley, and Mother Tupelo. $20 door charge.

March 31, Games at Granna’s Goodies - Board Gamers hobbyist or casual players, all are welcome. Come play for an hour or stay until we shut it down.

Friends and family community event.

Location: Granna’s Goodies in Rainsville AL. Along with board games there will be snacks and drinks ready to purchase from Granna’s. 7PM - 11PM

$5 PARTICIPATION fee, bring a game to play and get a participation fee waived. Preregister and find out more information on the website. www. boardtogether.info

Find

Master Gardenerswill have their Annual Spring Plant and Vegetable Plant Sale at the VFW Fairgrounds located at 151 18th Street NE Fort Payne AL. The sale will include hundreds of heirloom and hybrid vegetable plants, herbs, native and evergreen azaleas, rhododendrons, ferns, hydrangeas, hollies, buckeyes, magnolias, purple beauty berry, perennials, annuals, and many more plants. Proceeds from the plant sale go toward community projects. Bring your boxes and containers to fill them up at great prices. The sale will be on Saturday, April 8th, starting at 7:00 am –12:00 pm. Cash and/or check with ID ONLY.

April 15, Meet

A Machine - Meet a Machine is designed to provide the public with the opportunity to see, touch and learn about vehicles used by public service agencies and local businesses. These vehicles include emergency response vehicles, planes, aircraft equipment, construction equipment, etc. Food will be available for purchase.

All proceeds will benefit the DeKalb County Children’s Advocacy Center. Adult tickets are $5. Children are free. Tickets are available at https:// meetamachinefp. ticketleap.com/ meetamachinefp/ details.

April 22, Alabama

Federation of Garden Clubs - NE Alabama

Federation of Garden Clubs is having its yearly Spring plant sale on Saturday, April 22 from 9am-12pm at the community center in Henegar City Park, Located on Hwy 75, just South of its junction with Hwy 40.

April 27, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical at Northeast Alabama Community College - Packed with high-energy dance numbers, catchy songs and an unforgettable star turn for a young actress, Matilda is a joyous girl power romp. Children and adults alike will be thrilled and delighted by the story of the special little girl with an extraordinary imagination.. Visit nacc.edu for tickets!

April 27Family Services of North AlabamaStrengthening Families and Communities

Americans, Civil War soldiers, and railroad builders, all of which left behind traces of their history and culture. When standing on the rim of the canyon many visitors are unaware of the steps they are tracing.

Little River falls resides on the line that divides Fort Payne from Gaylesville. In 1864, after General

W.T. Sherman claimed Atlanta, he fought with Hood’s forces across Little River. Sherman eventually arrived in Gaylesville on October 21, 1864, and reported he had about 60,000 men in the Little River-Gaylesville area.

Sherman’s force withdrew from the Little River area on October 29, 1864. It was here that Sherman finalized his plans for a march through Georgia.

In 1890 Colonel Woolsey Finnell, in charge of a surveying party laying out the railroad through Shinbone Valley, visited the Little River Canyon and remarked, “Why go to Colorado to see the Royal Gorge? Little River Gorge is far more scenic.”

Railroad spur lines connected Lookout

Mountain ore mines to valley furnaces. The railroad was eventually known as the Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia Rail Line (TAG Rail Lines).

Colonel Finnell ran the railroad about a mile from the southern end of the canyon. The scenic route ran the length of Lookout Mountain from Chattanooga to Gadsden.

The line went bankrupt and was reorganized in 1895 and again in 1902. Sometime between 1930 and 1951, the TAG Rail Line discontinued passenger service. In 1971, the line was purchased by the Southern Railway System and segments were abandoned in the 1980s.

Whenever visiting an area take the time to look up the history of the area. Print it whenever possible and carry it along on the trip and relive and track the steps of those who went beforehand. Seeing whose steps are being traced gives new meaning to the path being taken.

For information on the Native Americans that lived along the canyon go online to Trail of Tears, Little River Canyon National Preserve.