To the Editor:

For years, the Civil War reenactment in Selma was the largest and oldest in the state of Alabama.

I was a participant in it on several occasions during which time I rented hotel rooms, bought meals, gas, snacks, souvenirs, etc, etc. in Selma.

Through the years, merchants in Selma made hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars from my being in Selma as a Civil War reenactor.

Multiply these numbers for all the other reenactors and spectators who came to participate in Selma’s reenactment or to watch it, and it should be obvious to the simplest of minds that Selma is losing money by letting this reenactment die.

I guess Selma does not need this annual boost in tax money.

However, Selma’s loss as the oldest and largest Civil War reenactment is another Alabama city’s gain.

You may have stopped Selma’s reenactment but, you have not stopped reenacting.

All you have done is send the money you were getting from this event to other places. Bridgeport is probably now the largest reenactment in Alabama, even though it is much younger than Selma’s.

They expect 1,500 reenactors for this year’s event and thousands more spectators to watch it.

I would bet that the other cities and towns in Alabama that hold annual Civil War reenactments are not the least bit offended by this influx of money into their city’s coffers each year.

Selma has even given its events a boost by cancelling the Battle of Selma.

Billy E. Price

Ashville, Ala.