April 30, 2009
Added a wonderful look back at the
Little Rock Police Department
during the 1930's.
April 28, 2009
Can you imagine what an exciting thing
this must have been in 1860? High-flying Ballon, Circuses,
Menageries, Prizes! I can only imagine the kids that saved
their money and begged their parents to go. Maybe even trying to
sneak in and get a peek!
Added the following miscellaneous
items:
April 27, 2009
Added the
1914
Arkansas Red Book & Credit Guide. There are
5,489 people listed by town with some addresses and account
information. This is a new format for me, so if it works
out, I may use it a little more often.
Also, I received the following letter:
"I represent the Swift Boat Sailors
Association and we are trying to locate all our FALLEN Shipmates
grave sites that was KIA in Vietnam. We are trying to locate
their grave site to place one of our Swiftboat Pins on their
Head Stone or Foot Stone. Billy Stanley Armstrong was
Killed in action on 6/16/1968 and laid to rest somewhere in
West Helena, Arkansas. Any help locating his grave site or a
family member would help me a lot. Thank You for your help,
Tommy Francis (GMG2) MSG E-8 RET
swiftboat_13@hotmail.com
If you can help Mr. Franics out, please
drop him a line.
April 26, 2009
Yesterday was a busy day in Arkansas
with several things going on. The big thing was the Marks
Mill re-enactment and hopefully some one will share
some pics with us as I was not able to attend. I did make
it to the Col. Allen R. Witt graveside memorial in Conway that
was sponsored by the Col. Allen R. Witt Camp #615 and members of
the 10th Arkansas and NW 15th Arkansas Re-enactors.
Colonel Allen Rufus Witt Memorial -
One
| Two
Thanks to Polly and Desmond for helping
me take pics and a special thanks to all the men and women who
work hard to keep our history alive and put on these events.
Many of these events would not even be attended if there were
not re-enactors, everyone loves seeing them, so be sure and show
your support!
---------------------
Robert has been kind enough to share
some more pics with us...the
Hydrick Family and some from
the Wisner - Curtner Families from Cross County. If
you have more info on any of the pics, drop him a line at
rlstroupe@gmail.com.
April 25, 2009
Robert Stroupe has donated some
photographs of volunteers from the 1936 St. Francis River Flood
that was in Cross, Crittenden, Greene, Craighead Counties.
Most of these photographs were taken in the Cross County (Wynne
& Parking) area but I have added a couple of interesting links
to some work by Tina Easley. Thanks Robert!
1936 St.
Francis River Flood Thanks Tina for taking the
time to transcribe and do what you do!
April 24, 2009
I have added a new feature to the
website - an
Arkansas History events Calendar. This can
and will include...meetings, speakers, writers, exhibits,
cemetery decoration days, re-enactments, anything to do with
history in Arkansas. It is viewable to the public and if
you would like to join and add your events to the calendar, drop
me a line and I will add you to the management list. The
only requirement to add to the calendar is that you have a
google account. If you would like to use this calendar on
your website where it automatically updates, drop me a line and
I will give you the info. You can also find the Calendar
link at the bottom of any page on this website.
April 22, 2009
Time sure does fly when it is allergy
season! I guess I have been doing more updates on the
Civilwarbuff website than here. We shall
have to fix that!
Also, today is National Chicky
Administrative Assistant Day, don't forget the people
who back you up!
April 14, 2009
On a serious note....
Our friends in Mena (Howard, Polk,
Sevier, Miller and Ashley counties) have taken a serious
hit...over a thousand homes destroyed with an average of 2 - 4
people in each home. They don't need clothes, but they
will have other needs that you can help with, and of course,
money will always be appreciated. Even 10 bucks.
Salvation Army
Red Cross
These are the local chapter numbers:
- American Red Cross of Greater Arkansas 501-748-1004
- Diamond Valley Chapter 870-246-2682
- North Central Arkansas Chapter 501.268.2691
- Northeast Arkansas Chapter 870-763-4481
- Northwest Arkansas Chapter 479-306-4688
- Ouachita Valley Area Chapter 501-623-9321
- South Arkansas Chapter 870-863-8196
- Southeast Arkansas Chapter 870-534-7312
Channels 4 and 11 have online
coverage was www.kthv.com &
www.kark.com KARK has
teamed with Clear Channel and has posted the following:
KARK is teaming up with Clear Channel
Radio for a Tornado Relief Drive to benefit victims of
tornadoes. Starting Thursday, you can drop off the items listed
below at the Clear Channel radio stations at 10800 Colonel Glenn
Road in Little Rock. Needed Items: Canned Goods Non-perishable
Food, Water, Tarps, Ice Chests, Cleaning Supplies.
Still cleaning "house".
April 13, 2009
Cleaning house and sending some
odd-ball stuff your way.
April 12, 2009
April 9, 2009
It is amazing how little some things
change.
Hot Springs National Park which includes
the Hot Springs Country Club, Arlington Hotel, and Eastman
Hotel.
University of Arkansas - 1936
Blackwood Plantation of Desha County,
Arkansas
Paula Waller sent me an old obit for
her great (several times) grandmother,
Mary
(Graham) McGarrah, early pioneer of Fayetteville.
Thanks Paula!
April 8, 2009
How about a
little Brooks-Baxter War?
Ever wonder what you could do with all
those Arkansas rocks in your yard? Vicky Henson sent me a link for
Arkansas artist Lin Wellford -
http://www.linwellford.com/ A few months ago, the
idea of painting rocks intrigued me, so maybe it will benefit
someone else and she is VERY good. She also has a very
active yahoo group (3084 members) you can join with thousands of
pictures at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rockpainting/
April 7, 2009
I have occasionally photographed
something and forgot I photographed it.
From Yell County:
April 6, 2009
I lucked upon a friend with an old pic
from the
1930's with a working moonshine still.
The woman was his grandmother Evelyn Basel. Thanks Scott!
April 5, 2009
Danny Honnoll has sent us the
information from the Pocahontas Riverwalk Historical Markers.
Some very interesting short stories here. Thanks Danny!
Swapping subjects here...it is hard to
find basic information on women in early Arkansas much less info
on their personalities, but it can be done. Here is a
newspaper article which listed all of the student class winners
at St. Joseph's Female Academy here in Little Rock.
St. Joseph's Female Academy
Some more South Dakota pics:
Pierre, South Dakota (the capital)
And finally,
Devil's Tower in Wyoming, which
concludes my vacation trip photographs.
My favorites - the
Prairie Dogs &
Mt. Rushmore
April 3, 2009
With a digital camera you can certainly
take a lot of pictures but with two, wow! It really takes
some work to sift through hundreds of pictures and catalog them.
With that said here are the pictures for Deadwood, South Dakota.
April 2, 2009
Bayou Meto Cemetery Association has
announced their plans for the 2009 Decoration Day at Bayou Meto
Cemetery in Jacksonville. Come on out if you have family
and if you can't make, please try and drop a donation off to
them. They have worked really hard to make this a nice
cemetery again.
Decoration Day 2009 (May 2 & 3, 2009)
March 30, 2009
Added the following from my trip to
South Dakota.
Crazy
Horse Memorial | Custer State Park
|
Antelope |
Buffalo |
Elk
March 28, 2009
Today I attended a Living History
Workshop, co-sponsored by the Powhatan Historic State Park, the
Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Arkansas Women's History
Institute, and learned how to tat and watch a demonstration on
basket weaving. This was my first time attending one of
these workshops and hopefully it won't be my last. The
ladies Kristyn Watts, Julie Stow, Julian and Heather Zbinden
were wonderful to learn from and VERY knowledgeable. I
also toured the new Cultural Center and it was very nice.
Admission free and well worth dropping in to visit.
Mosaic Templars Cultural Center -
One |
Two |
Three
Workshop -
One |
Two
March 27, 2009
I have a special request. As you
know, I have donated all 26,000 photographs of the Little Rock
National Cemetery to the ArkanasGravestone.org group. They
have now transcribed and placed online 12,265 grave markers,
which is just a little under the half-way point. If you
have time will YOU drop the coordinator and founder Tootie
Dennis a note with a little note of motivation & inspiration
letting them know how much we appreciate their hard work?
This is a very important project and with your help, maybe we
can see all of the National Cemetery graves online by the end of
the year. Her email address is: tootied@suddenlink.net.
Nick Lafton sent us photographs of the
Clinton - Van Buren county Vietnam
Memorial. Thanks Nick!
March 24, 2009
The Laman Library has announced the
following exhibit that some of you may be interested in:
World War II Watercolors of Robert
Andrew Parker
On display at the William F. Laman Public Library
Exhibit Hall
2801 Orange Street
North Little Rock, Arkansas
April 4, 2009 – May 30, 2009
This is a traveling exhibition from The Arkansas Arts Center,
Little Rock, Arkansas
Free and Open to the Public - Exhibit Sponsored by Twin City
Bank
For more information call 758-1720 or visit www.laman.net
March 22, 2009
I didn't get as many photographs last
as I would have liked but thankfully Desmond brought along Dr.
Polly Walter, who was glad to take over the camera and get us a
few pics. I would have been really upset if I had missed
the pics of Bill Clinton. Thanks Polly!
If you missed the event, here is the
brochure and a few pics for you to enjoy.
Photographs
One |
Two
Brochure
Brochure One |
Two |
Three
|
Four |
Five |
Six | |
Seven |
Eight |
Next
March 22, 2009
I hope you will indulge me today.
Peachy passed away last night, or this morning. It was
exactly on the stroke of 12 Saturday night, so I thought I would
sit down and finally give
her the page she deserves on this website since she has
been my sidekick, pretty much from the start.
I knew it was going to be hard when
Peachy went so I adopted a new doggie back in December to help
ease the pain. Peachy had just enough time to teach him
how to wrap me around his finger. His name is Walter and I
will introduce him in a few weeks. I am going to miss
Peachy LouLou very much!
----------------
On a lighter note...tonight was the
opening night for the Arkansas Studies Institute and guess who
was there?
Stayed tuned...more on this tomorrow.
March 21, 2009
The Corn Palace is a South Dakota area
legend somewhat like the Arkansas Booger Hollow stop except that
it has been going for over 100 years and is a thriving free
tourist stop. Located in Mitchell, South Dakota and
strategically where you are ready to get out of the vehicle and
"see something, or do something" on your way to Mt. Rushmore.
Cabela's has even jumped on the publicity and hype and placed a
store there. So if the Corn Palace doesn't lure you to
take a break, Cabela's will. The
pictures should give you an idea of what
you will see - 2009 version.
March 20, 2009
Added our
Sioux Falls, Iowa pictures.
No memorials, just a lot of snow.
March 18, 2009
Rob Hopper, whose son Lance Cpl. Brian
C. Hopper was a casualty, has developed a beautiful tribute
website to honor those fallen from Arkansas in the Iraq War.
While you are checking out the website, be sure to check out the
g o o g l e ads where each click donates a little to this cause.
Arkansas Wall of Honor
March 16, 2009
I am back from vacation and can't wait
to upload my pics but first I have to get caught up on email.
Mount Rushmore in South Dakota
The Devil's Tower in Wyoming.
This shot was taken from 20 miles away. See all the black
looking trees? The area from there over into South Dakota
is known as the Black Hills because when you see them from a
distance they look black.
This "little" guy probably weighed
about 100 pounds and looked like a beaver in the tree but is
actually a Woodchuck and boy, was he chucking some wood!
March 11, 2009
Just wanted to say Hello from sunny
South Dakota! I am on vacation for the next few days and
thought I would share the north part of the country with you.
Mark and I left Offutt Air Force Base yesterday and hit Sioux
Falls where it was cold, cold, cold!
These are the falls at Sioux Falls.
It was 3 degrees actual, not "feels like". Trust me, it
was so cold you felt like your face was on fire!
Then we moved on to Mitchell, South
Dakota where we saw the Corn Palace.
To give you an idea of the
construction...
Then we traveled to Chamberlain and
stopped at the Lakota Cultural Museum.
First we saw one duck....
Then we saw a whole lot of ducks...more
than you could count as far as you can see. I want to know
who said birds fly south for the winter? They must have
been from Alaska and South Dakota was their "South". They
were awesome to watch and we could have sit there all day.
After that we moved on to Pierre, the
capitol of South Dakota.
We drove over there to see one of the
best War Memorials I have ever seen. I won't post the
photographs for this 'til I get back, but to show you the
detail.
Finally we moved on down the road.
It was getting late at night we saw a deer....
then we saw whole herds of deer.
where they came from, I don't know,
because you could see for mile in the daytime and it just looked
like empty rolling hills. We saw a few pheasant but
decided we would catch them in the next few days.
Today we are off hunting Buffalo at
Custer State Park and Mt. Rushmore and I can't wait. Hope
everyone is safe and sound, love you all!
March 6, 2009
I received the following letter from
Jimmy. Looks like I need to get on over there and take
pictures soon.
"Dear Friends and Family:
Here is an article on the condition of the Selma Methodist
Church right beside of the house in which I was born. An attempt
is being made to restore and preserve the historic building (see
article and photos below).
Preservation group formed to save historic Selma Methodist
Church
There is a historic landmark in Drew County that faces a dire
situation in the aftermath of last year's turbulent winds from
hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The unique 1874 Selma Methodist
Church located in eastern Drew County now stands in great peril
and can only be saved by immediate action!
Before further explanation, we should reflect on the history of
the beautiful building.
For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:
Monticello News
Jimmy"
More information can be found here:
http://backwardbranch.com/ardrew/dcselma.html
March 5, 2009
Mrs. Shirley Smith sent the following
photographs of Crockett and Haywood School in Clay County, circa
1920 - 1921 that were found in her grandmother's possession.
Thanks Shirley!
March 4, 2009
Added a History of the
Arkansas Gazette (1819 - 1919) written by Dallas T.
Herndon in 1919. -
One |
Two |
Three |
Four |
Five
March 2, 2009
I am getting a lot of requests for
articles that have been transcribed. I have completed the
articles through August 1839. You can find them here:
http://www.arkansasties.com/Gazette/NewsIndex.htm
Also, I can't help you with your taxes,
tickets, marriage, divorce, or birth certificates. I also
can't help you with mineral rights, land rights or selling old
cemetery plots. Also, if you are looking for someone in
Colorado or Hawaii...sorry can't help you there either.
Oh, and I can't renew your driver's license or voter
registration. However, if you have a Arkansas or military
worthy cause, I just might jump on your bandwagon, so please
feel free to drop me a line. - Pris
-----------
Events coming up:
From Desmond & the AGS
AGS and Greene County Historical &
Genealogical Society are co-sponsoring a spring event, “Arkansas
Genealogy Road Show,” to be held at the Paragould Community
Center, 3404Linwood Drive, Hwy 49 S, in Paragould, on Saturday,
March 28, 2009, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. In addition to speakers
and presentations, a panel of experts will be on hand to answer
questions. And there’ll be exhibits by other genealogical and
historical societies, museums, and vendors. And the price is
right! Admission is FREE. This is your chance to get out
from behind your computer monitor and interact with living
people who are as nutty about genealogy as you are. Or almost as
nutty. Gasoline prices are down, the weather is warming up, and
it’s time to see a beautiful corner of Arkansas
---------------
From the Paula and the FGS:
End of Summer Plans?
Come to the FGS/AGS Genealogy Conference.
Mark your calendars for
this coming 2-5 September 2009 and plan to be in Little Rock for
a fantastic genealogy extravaganza. The Federation of
Genealogical Societies and the local sponsor, The Arkansas
Genealogical Society, are hosting this event. Almost 200
lectures, workshops, special events, and meals with a speaker
that are of interest to family historians, writer, editors,
professional genealogists, lecturers, librarians, archivists,
historians, columnists, booksellers, bloggers, and others are
being offered. For one conference fee you can attend sessions
for four days straight plus a few on Tuesday, the 1st. Wednesday
offers many sessions designed to help genealogy society
volunteers with different aspects of running a genealogical
society, seminars, publications and board meetings. One of that
day's luncheons is a great place to learn more for your society
and to share info on your group.
A huge Exhibit Hall
will be filled with booth after booth of vendors and exhibitors
of genealogical software, books (new, old, rare), charts, maps,
databases, CDs, DVDs, gadgets, services, memberships, research
assistance, and more. The presenters and exhibitors will be from
all over the U.S. and from Canada. The Exhibit Hall is open to
anyone, even if you are not registered for the conference.
Luncheons, breakfasts,
and a banquet are an important part of these conferences and,
for a reasonable extra fee, anyone can attend these. (It's a
good way to be sure you have a plan and a guaranteed seat for
lunch!)
It is easy to join in
on this event by checking out the FGS Conference Website at www.FGSConference.org with
secure online registration to make it fast and easy for you. For
continuing conference details, go to www.FGSConferenceBlog.org to
see the frequent updates provided by the conference committee,
area record custodians, speakers, seasoned conference goers,
lovers of Little Rock and Arkansas, and other contributors. The
blog has covered the hotel, local transportation, convention
center, tourism links, extended info on lecturers and their
topics, and meal events. This is the place to check for
additional info, last minute details, and so much more. The blog
will contain details of other conference special events as they
are finalized.
A special hint: If you
register by June 2d, 2009 (postmark date or online) you can save
$50.00 ($175.00 fee vs. $225.00 after that date). That pays for
four full days of lectures and some special events.
