‘Lighting the Way’ gift to be unveiled

Published 10:38 pm Saturday, September 14, 2013

Selma will receive a commemorative gaslight from Alagasco to recognize the city’s historical significance in the fight for civil rights.

The gaslight will be at the entrance to the city’s Riverwalk Park on Water Street, blocks away from the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Alagasco President and Chief Operating Officer Dudley Reynolds will unveil the “Lighting the Way” gaslight Thursday at 11 a.m.

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“Selma will forever be remembered for events that illuminated for the rest of the nation the significance of the civil rights movement,” Reynolds said in a press release. “This presents our respect for the lessons of history, and our hopes and dreams for tomorrow.”

Selma Mayor George Evans will also be at the ceremony, along with other Selma city leaders.

“We are thankful that Selma is one of the cities selected to receive this distinguished honor from Alagasco,” Evans said in a press release. “This gaslight is such an eloquent lamp to commemorate our place in the state’s history and will be a valued tourist attraction to everyone who visits Selma for its rich history.”

Selma will pay the monthly bill to keep the gas light running, which Lynn Harris, Algasco manager of external affairs, estimated would cost less than $200 per year.

“We believe these gas lights will serve as a point of interest that will bring people near and far to come and see them,” Harris said in a previous interview with the Times-Journal. “We also feel that this project will spur tourism and serve as an education component for each of the cities that receive these gas lamps.”

The gaslight is the last of five unveiled by Alagasco across the state of Alabama.

Alagasco employees were asked to vote for locations that have held significant historical events. Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery and Anniston have already received their gaslights.

The first commemorative gaslight was unveiled in April at Regions Field. Tuscaloosa’s gaslight was unveiled in April in honor of the tornado victims who lost their lives in 2011.

In August, Anniston’s gaslight was placed near the Freedom Riders mural and Montgomery’s was placed in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.