RED BAY, ALABAMA

Jane and Bill left sunny Florida on April 1, spent 1 night in Valdosta, Georgia, and then arrived in Red Bay, Alabama on April 2. They found Red Bay to be a small, rural town in the deep south with most residents working for Tiffin Motorhomes or the Sunshine Dogfood Company both of whom have large facilities in town. The check-in went smoothly, Tiffin has a large campground used mostly by RVer's waiting to have service done on their units. Due to the large migration of "snowbirds" from Florida to points north, the campground was full and Bill & Jane found themselves dry-camping for a short time until a vacancy occurred. They also discovered that it would be about one week before their number came up and they could get into one of the 50 service bays Tiffin maintains there. They busied themselves by taking several day trips to interesting places in the area.


COON DOG CEMETERY


Red Bay is the home of the only coon dog cemetery in the United States. In order to be eligible to be buried there, a dog had to be exclusively a "coon dog" and not have hunted other animals. The cemetery was quite well-maintained and had dozens of coon dog grave markers, some made of granite, some of wood, and some just cardboard. The people who buried their dogs here were good old boys who loved their dogs tremendously.























TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI




Bill and Jane made the one hour trip to Tupelo, Mississippi which is, of course, the birth place of Elvis Presley. It is a small southern city with plenty of good restaurants and a good standard of living. The local ladies garden club has restored the original two room house and made it part of a large "Elvis" complex in East Tupelo.






There is also an Elvis Presley musuem and chapel, a walk of fame area with markers denoting importants dates in Elvis' life, and a replica of the car he drove to Memphis to launch his career.








FLORENCE, ALABAMA

Right up in the northwest corner of Alabama on the border with Tennessee is the City of Florence. Bill and Jane visited Pope's Tavern,





a historical landmark and the oldest structure in the city. This was where early settlers would stay as they made their way west and it was where local and national current events were discussed and passed on. It was also the site of both Union and Confederate Hospitals during the Civil War, depending on which side was occupying the city at the time. Florence is also the home of North Alabama University, a beautiful campus whose shrubbery is just coming into full bloom. The mascot of the school is the lion, and they actually have a caged-in area where lions live right on campus.




TFFIN ASSEMBLY PLANT


Bill and Jane went on a guided tour of the Tiffin Assembly Plant which occupies most of the north side of Red Bay. It is quite an unusual tour, with the "tourees" walking right along the assembly lines among the workers. All of the workers are super-courteous and would stop whatever they were doing to answer questions or demonstrate what their job was. It was such an interesting tour that Bill went back later in the week and took the tour again. To see the RVslowly take shape starting with a bare chassis and ending with the finest motor home made is a unique experience.





Chassis being brought over to Tiffin Factory



The right side showing the insulated floor before the ceramic.

Hoses, wires, a generator - this is the front end view

The frame is welded onto the chassis in the weld shop



The Cummins diesel engine - the rear view


Paste on floor of RV for ceramic tile to be installed





Ceramic tile to be installed into RV. Made at the Belmont plant





After ceramic tile has been installed



Front of RV before front cap installed.



Side wall of RV being installed - no slideouts yet



Refrigerator being installed into RV





Washer & Dryer being installed into RV - shower on left

Right side slides out during assembly


Back panel of RV being installed




Finished product before being painted at Belmont Plant


TIFFIN PAINT COMPLEX

Just over the border in Belmont, Mississippi is the painting complex where all Tiffin motorcoaches are brought from the assembly plant to the final step in the process. This is a state-of-the-art facility and employs about 200 people. Again the people on the tour could talk to any employee who seemed to enjoy explaining the process to potential Tiffin owners. It takes one full week for each coach to undergo the entire painting process at nine different paint bays in the plant. Belmont is also the location where the ceramic tile floors are built. The completed floors are then transported to the assembly plant in Red Bay where they are lowered onto the chassis during assembly.



RV taped and ready for paint




Base coat



Inside the paint booth



Finished product


ALLEGRO CAMPGROUND



The Allegro Campground is actually an old airfield which Bob Tiffin has converted into a 140 unit campground for people who bring their coaches to Red Bay for service. Bill & Jane met loads of nice people who are fellow Tiffin owners waiting their turn for service work. Doc and Juanita are from Cleveland, Ohio. Doc is a retired vet who tended to Bailey when she suffered a sprained right-front leg.



Ron and Lilly are from Chicago,






Bill and Bonnie are from Oregon,


and Dave and Pearl are from Washington State.

While waiting they enjoyed playing cards, learned a new dice game and Jane taught everyone to play PoKeno. They also went out to dinner to a couple of local restaurants. How does "Swamp John's sound, or Oh Bryan's? Bill & Jane are looking forward to meeting these folks again somewhere down the road. They found the service received at the Red Bay Service Facility to be nothing short of outstanding - quality work done by quality people - and it was all FREE, including the two week stay at the Allegro campground!


THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE SOUTH

Bill and Jane found the Catholic faith alive and well in the deep south. Although there are not many Catholic churches in the region (compared to Baptist churches, which are on every street corner) the churches they visited in Russellville and Tupelo were modern and warm. The missalettes are printed in both English and Spanish, and both parishes had masses said in Spanish. The large influx of Mexican immigrants are almost all Catholic, and the Church is responding to their needs in a big way. The pastor of St. James Church in Tupelo is from Ireland, and he ministers to southerners and Mexicans side-by-side. Talk about a clash of cultures....

NATCHES TRACE PARKWAY


When Bill and Jane finally departed Red Bay, they decided to travel to Nashville for a visit and they drove there on the Natches Trace Parkway. This is a two lane roadway with a speed limit of 50 mph which roughly covers the route from New Orleans to Nashville. It was originally an Indian trail which was further cleared and developed by Andrew Jackson in order to facilitate trade from central Tennessee to the port of New Orleans. Now it is a national park with dozens of historic markers and scenic trails and overlooks along the way. It is closed to any commercial traffic. Jane and Bill actually saw more turkeys and bicyclists than other vehicles on the parkway as they made their way north. That's all for now. Our wayward couple plan on spending some time in Nashville as they make their way back home to New York for the summer.