When the City of Bayou La Batre celebrates its 70th anniversary on June 21, they will also name their city park for former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace.
Wallace secured the funding for the park during his second term in the early 1970s. Here, 55 years later, the park will now bear his name.
The park is at Lightning Point on the waterfront in the Bayou. It has a free beach, free fishing and a gazebo for rainy days. Those amenities will continue there, free to the public.
The naming ceremony will be at 8 a.m. on June 21. It has been added to daylong activities marking the 70th anniversary of the incorporation of the City of Bayou La Batre.
Former Public Service Commissioner and State Treasurer George Wallace, Jr., will be there to accept the honor of the naming of the park on behalf of his father, who died in 1998 at age 79.
Bayou La Batre's vibrant, water-dependent community utilizes the Lightning Point area for fishing, boating and recreation. This renovated park enhances the City of Bayou La Batre's existing boat ramp and parking lot with a groomed walking path, a pavilion, benches, and a fishing access platform for community use and enjoyment by those living, working, and visiting the Bayou La Batre region.
June 21 will be 70 years since Bayou La Batre was incorporated as a municipality. The 2,000-resident fishing village had been there for two centuries or more before a municipal government was thought to be needed. In 1955, it officially became the City of Bayou La Batre.
Here is your official invitation to the anniversary of the Bayou City:
Don’t miss out on a wonderful day filled with fun and community spirit! The parade will kick off at Alba Middle School with Grand Marshal George C. Wallace, Jr., at 10 a.m. and will end at the Bayou La Batre Community Center.
Kids will enjoy the jumpy houses, while food lovers can savor delicious dishes from La Taqueria, Twist Sushi, Somo Ice, and La Fruteria food trucks. Look for updates as more food trucks may be added to the lineup!
Additionally, enjoy live music from the fantastic band Journey2Mars from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Bring your family and invite old friends to join in the celebration of the Bayou! Mark your calendars—you won’t want to miss this event!
Once the parade ends, community members may enjoy family-oriented activities and live entertainment by the band Journey to Mars, which will be at the Bayou La Batre Community Center for the remainder of the afternoon. Food Trucks will be on-site at the Center's grounds.
Gov. George Wallace was the longest-serving governor in the history of the state. He was elected governor in 1962, 1970, 1974 and 1982. After each election, he served a full four-year term in office. Also, his wife, Lurleen B. Wallace, was elected governor in 1966 when George Wallace was constitutionally barred from running for a second consecutive term. That ban was later changed.
While Bayou La Batre has been known to Alabama folks and fishermen for generations, the nation and the world got to know it in the 1994 blockbuster movie "Forrest Gump." The fictitious Gump had served in Vietnam with Bubba from Bayou La Batre, who told Gump about his shrimping business, explaining the different uses of shrimp:
"You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it."
Bubba did not make it back from Vietnam, so Forrest Gump decided to go in his stead to Bayou La Batre and operate a shrimping "bidness," as Gump pronounced it. It was wildly successful. It also provided the movie viewers more knowledge of shrimping and of "the Bayou" than all the geography classes in America.
You will learn more about the Bayou, its people and its seafood businesses on June 21 at the celebration and re-naming of the city park.
Details here.
Jim 'Zig' Zeigler's beat is the colorful and positive about Alabama -- her people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
