The beginning of US Hwy 45 in Mobile Alabama.I was born and raised during the '50's and '60's in the small south-Alabama town of Citronelle, a sleepy place with a population at the time of about 2,000.
There are five roads that lead into and out of Citronelle: Celeste Road that leads southeast to Saraland, a town only slightly larger than my hometown; Route 96, now know as the Coy Smith Highway that leads east to Mt. Vernon; Prine Road leading west to Leakesville Mississippi; Odom Road leading north to McIntosh. Then there is US highway 45, leading south to the big city of Mobile. It leads north also but more on that later.
When my family traveled one of those secondary roads it was usually for a Sunday afternoon visit to family or if we traveled to Leakesville, it was to see Dr. Faulk. That meant someone was sick or it was time for a vaccination, neither of which was pleasant!
But trips south on 45 were a big deal! It was usually to downtown Mobile where I would sit with my Daddy in Bienville Square, feeding peanuts to the pigeons and squirrels while Mama and my sisters shopped in Gayfer's or Kress'. For a small child, that was big time excitement.
I also remember trips down 45 to take my older brother Joe to the airport. He was in the Navy and would come home on leave. I would go with Daddy to take him so he could fly to San Diego where he would board a ship and go to Japan, Hong Kong and other exotic far-eastern countries.
I remember trips both north and south with Mr. G, the coach of football and baseball for youth in our town. We would load onto the back of his pick-up truck where he had benches made of wood so he could carry the team to play. Imagine 10 or 12 boys, aged 10 to 12 on the back of a truck for at 30-mile trip! We would go to places like Alabama Village where they made fun of us because we played bare-footed. Today I wouldn't go into Alabama Village in an armored-personnel carrier but back in the day it was a big time experience!
In the summer, I would lie awake at night with the windows open and could hear the traffic on 45, the rumble of the big trucks carrying their cargo and the whine of the tires on cars as they passed through town. I would wonder who they were, where were they going and for what purpose? I know what was south but what was to the north? I heard of places like Chicago, I studied about them in school and saw their ball teams playing on tv but I would never get to go there! I understood that 45 led to Chicago and Milwaukee but they were as alien as London or Paris.
But I always wanted to go. Now, I'm going.
US Highway 45 begins at what is called Five Points, near downtown Mobile, Alabama. If runs north through seven states to its northern terminus in the city of Ontonagon, Michigan, on the shores of Lake Superior, some 1,300 miles later.
My wife, Mary (Alice) retires on September 30. The next morning, we will load into our car, drive to Five Points and point the car north! If all goes according to plan, four leisurely driving days later, we will take a selfie (with two people in the picture should that be a selfies?) on the shore of Lake Superior. I will have fulfilled a goal held since about 1960. One less item on the bucket list!
Along the way, there are a lot of small towns and open country, at least as best I can tell from the Google maps but that's what I want to see. I've been to Chicago and enjoyed the stays but now this boy from the small town wants to see the other small towns.
Watch for updates as we go!
