Paper clips and unclaimed baggage

Today we went straight to Whitwell Middle School to see the Children’s Holocaust Memorial. This is an actual train car that was used to transport prisoners to camps during World War II. It was brought over to TN and now it displays eleven million paper clips that the students collected to represent the victims of the Holocaust.

First we went to the school office, where we picked up a tape recorder with an audio tour. The documentary “Paper Clips” describes this project in which paper clips were received as donations from all 50 states and from more than 50 countries. The school also received over 30,000 related documents and letters. www.paperclipsmovie.com

Next we visited the Holocaust Room, the school library, where we saw many more paper clips in different sizes and shapes. This is a very moving exhibit, a great educational experience, and a unique way to revisit history. www.whitwellmiddleschool.org

Then we got gas on our way out of town for $1.81 a gallon and we drove southwest for about an hour to Scottsboro AL.

Once in Scottsboro we went to the Unclaimed Baggage Center. This is the only store in the county that sells unclaimed baggage. The store is the size of a city block, it has very diverse merchandise, and they stock over 7,000 items daily.

We spent a couple of hours there today and didn’t get to see half the store. We didn’t buy anything so we may just have to go back tomorrow for another look. www.unclaimedbaggage.com

Next we went to Walmart to get distilled water for the batteries. There we rented a movie from RedBox. Today we wanted to see “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” to go with our visit to the Paper Clip Project. It is an excellent movie and we highly recommend it.

Tonight we wanted to park near the post office because Mar is waiting for her mail and they close at noon tomorrow. We saw that the Goodwill nearby had a big parking lot, so we went there to park there for the night.