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Page THE HERALD OUTLOOK Saturday April 1989 A new generation will soon be Gone with the Wind By VINCENT EG AN Travel Columnist Thomson Newi Service A new generation is on the verge of learning about the colorful and absorbing history of the S Deep South with the latest revival of the 1939 film masterpiece Gone With The Wind For the anniversary of the original showing of what has become one of the most popular movies ever made the film and its sound track have been enhanced by means of todays advanced techniques Younger moviegoers will pro bably be surprised at the depiction of the opulence of Southern planta tion society around the time of the U S Civil War to 1865 the setting of Gone With The Wind But its no surprise to those who may have visited any of the remarkably large number of 19th- century mansions that have sur vived until the present Many are still privately occupied and can therefore be observed only from a distance but a substantial number of the mansions welcome fee- paying visitors and even over night guests In certain cases the make- believe elements such as young ladies in hoopskirts and the hard sell of souvenirs may be a bit ing but probably excusable on the grounds of economic need BY THE RIVER The biggest concentration of plantations is along the banks of the Mississippi River in the states of Mississippi 2nd Louisiana They seem to be strung like pearls along the River Road ideal ly situated for sightseeing by car or from the last two paddlewheel steamships still plying the length of the Mississippi the Delta Queen 176 passengers and the Mississippi Queen both bas ed in New Orleans The continued existence of these stately plantation homes is a testa ment to the wealth of this section of he Deep South Some historians say that the economic power of the Mississippi Delta from Natchez Miss to New Orleans La was greater than the combined wealth of the rest of the U S Just before the Civil War The region owed its prosperity in targe part to the rich alluvian soil in which cotton and sugarcane grow so well to the mild climate and to the mighty river that car ried those commodities downriver to New Orleans there to be ship ped to world markets Many of the plantationowners seem to have been blessed as well with a good sense of esthetics or at least the name of a good architect The predominant plantation style is Greek Revival and the color of choice is gleaming white HISTORICAL SITES Here is a sampling of some of the stately old homes and other historical sites worth seeing on a down the lower Mississippi whether by leisurely paddlewheel steamboat or by driving down the River Road- Vicksburg Miss was a major CRAFT SHOP MAIN STREET SOUTH ACTON 8533949 Sears Agency 8531 31 0 EVENING SPECIAL After Daily On Premises OPEN 24 HOURS 306 St Georgetown 8731211 battleground in the Civil War fiercely defended by Confederate southern troops until it fell to Union northern armies alter a 47day siege in 1863 Today a road winds through the bat tleground now a pristine national park and the burial grounds of 17000 Union soldiers who dies battle The Confederate dead considered to have been rebels were denied bunal in the national cemetery The museums of Vicksburg in clude one in the former court house that is largely devoted to the local history of the Civil War and Reconstruction era another in the building where Coca Cola was first bottled in 1894 is rich in memorabilia of that beverage and still another displays 26000 model soldiers and other toys of the past Southern mansions include Balfour House and Anchuca 1830 but the one that must be seen is Cedar Grove 1840 overlooking the Mississippi from a height and filled with a far greater number of period furnishings than most sur viving ante bellum homes CANADIAN POUNDER Natchez Miss has grown from the original settlement found ed in 1698 by Davion a French priest who had come from what is now Montreal Unlike Vicksburg Natchez saw little fighting during the Civil War so it still has hundreds of fine homes from the pre1861 period Largest is Stanton Hall 1857 a huge white showplace that is unusual in that it is located near the centre of a busy city which probably ex plains why it draws the most visitors Longwood another popular and romantic Natchez mansion has an interesting eight- sided design its construction begun in i860 and interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil War was never completed St La is a typical small Deep South town that incongruously became the capital of the shortlived in dependent republic of West in 1810 a stage in the transition of the territory from Spanish colony to Amencan statehood The pride of the sleepy town is a twostorey colonnaded mansion with wide verandas set in acres of carefully landscaped gardens and greenery Built in 1835 at a cost of and meticulously restored beginning in 1956 still contains many of its original furnishings HOME OF AUDUBON Virginia House built in 1817 by a merchant from Philadelphia and now open only to passengers of the Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen is probably the oldest in St Francisville the town in which famed naturalist James Audubon lived in the 1820s and painted many of his bird studies Baton Rouge Louisianas capital and second largest city is the site of Mount Hope a mansion built in by a German planter Its 3 8metre 12 5foot ceilings are considered typical of early 19thcentury plantation homes New Orleans La is today a big and busy port city but it re tains reminders of its romantic past Canada Post Corporation Keeping our commitment in rural Canada One of the most important parts of our commitment to rural Canadians is making postal products and services more accessible To help us do this we draw on the resources and the expertise of local busi ness Where practical we are approaching business people in communities across the country and offering them the opportunity to provide you with postal products and services As a result you can now buy postal products or services in more locations at convenient hours often including evenings and weekends More The objective is to increase the number of rural locations where you can access postal products or services from 5000 to 7000 More Convenience Retail postal outlets are conveniently located in businesses close to other services in communities across Canada Longer business hours give you even more accessibility to postal products More business for local merchants Local merchants are being given an opportunity to provide postal products or services This strengthens their business through increased customer traffic and maintains the business base of the community More efficient Service With local merchants retailing postal products and services Canada Post Corporation is able to concentrate on reliable pickup processing and delivery of mail to Canadians Canada Post Corporation is delivering on its promise Were in rural Canada to stay Our commitment better service for you