Board: Ride will not visit Waterloo

FLORENCE -- City council members unanimously passed a resolution Thursday asking that the Trail of Tears motorcycle ride continue to Waterloo instead of concluding in Florence.

The 11-member Alabama-Tennessee Trail of Tears Corridor Association board decided earlier this year that it would end the official ride in Florence's McFarland Park. Traditionally, the ride has ended in Waterloo.

During the commemorative event, motorcyclists retrace the route taken by American Indians who were forced to evacuate to the Southwest. They traveled by foot and wagon from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Waterloo, where they were loaded onto boats for a final journey to reservations in Oklahoma.

Representatives from the Trail of Tears board were expected at the city council's work session Thursday, but none showed.

Instead, the board's president, Perry White, sent a letter stating: "The Trail of Tears board of directors voted unanimously to not take the escorted ride to Waterloo and we have no plans to reconsider this decision."

White states in the letter that "numerous issues" with Waterloo's town officials could not be resolved. The letter did not elaborate on the issues, but the TimesDaily previously reported that safety was a concern along with the number of unauthorized Trail of Tears mementos that were allowed to be sold in Waterloo.

There is at least some division on the Trail of Tears board, however.

Trail of Tears board member Jerry D. Davis sent an e-mail to fellow board members Monday saying the board should reconsider its decision.

"(It) is time for our officers to apologize for this mistake and for us to meet with the Waterloo town council and mayor and work this out," Davis wrote.

Councilman Sam Pendleton criticized the board during Thursday's meeting, saying he was ready to have McFarland Park barricaded for the ride to keep the event out.

"As a minority, I'm not going to perpetuate the rewriting of history," Pendleton said.

In White's letter to the council, he stated the route change does not change history.

"This event was created to commemorate and raise awareness about the Trail of Tears history as a whole, not the one time a trail stopped in Waterloo," White wrote.

White said the ride is not a recreation or a re-enactment.

"The event was not created by Waterloo or for Waterloo," he wrote.

White also lists accomplishments of the organization, such as $210,000 in scholarship funding, a $20,000 grant to a American Indian heritage and education group, and a $25,000 project to protect the point in Waterloo and a Trail of Tears River Walk project there.

Florence Mayor Bobby Irons said the resolution passed by the council sent the proper message.

Asked if the city would consider more strong-armed tactics, such as suggested by Pendleton, Irons said he would need to see what reaction the council's move receives. He said he would then think through what the city would need to do next.

Last week, Trail of Tears board member Alison Stanfield said board members had informally discussed an alternative location if the organization didn't receive support from Florence.

In other business, the council appointed Councilman Hermon Graham to the Shoals Economic Development Authority board on a 4-2 vote. Council members Scott Carrier and Angie Pickens voted against the appointment.

Pickens argued that council members should not serve on the SEDA board.

The council approved the following items unanimously: