City walking tours set up

Published 12:11 am Saturday, May 28, 2011

By Alison McFerrin

The Selma Times-Journal

Selma is a city full of history and charm, but some people may not know the significance and stories behind sites they pass by every day. For an in-depth look at historic Selma, consider a June walking tour.

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“Join us any Saturday in June to get in a little exercise while visiting with your neighbors and city leaders, and possibly make a new friend or two,” Candace Johnson said. Johnson is the Selma tourism director.

The walking tour features such sites as the Selma City Hall, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the Breslin-Williams home and Leika’s playground.

But this tour isn’t a boring history lesson. One description of the event published through the Alabama Tourism Department reads, “Community leaders will escort you through the historic districts or courthouse squares of their hometowns, sharing their personal remembrances and some tall tales from the old days.”

Selma is one of 27 towns in Alabama that is featuring walking tours throughout June.

“If you grew up here or have anything to add while taking the tour, we’d love to hear about your memories of Selma,” Johnson said. “As Kathryn Tucker Windham always says, in the South, we are all natural storytellers and everyone has something to share.”

Selma walking tours will take place every Saturday in June at 10 a.m., weather permitting. The one-mile long tours will begin and end at the Selma-Dallas County Public Library, and will last 45 minutes to one hour.