We Are Magazine

INSIDE VETERANS | 49

P R E T T Y B OY F L OY D | 1 6

R E G I O N A L FA R M S | 1 8

WE ARE Arkansas River Valley the

BASS REEVES | 24

PA R K S | 4 6

Where the unexpected is expected

Hands-on experience

Technology & innovation

Paid position

— Become an ABB apprentice

and be tomorrow’s employee - today ABB and University of Arkansas – Fort Smith have joined together to create the Youth Apprenticeship Program for Western Arkansas high school juniors and seniors enrolled in a formal UAFS advanced manufacturing career and technical education program.

Gain essential experience with ABB while expanding your knowledge of technology, personal skills, problem solving, and project management. Prepare yourself today for a career in smart manufacturing.

new.abb.com/careers

2 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

academics.uafs.edu/rwg/rwg-home

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 3

WHERE THE UNEXPECTED IS EXPECTED

BY JOHN LOVETT

From the verdant wine country and free-flowing Mulberry River to the busy downtown and modern medical college in Fort Smith, the Arkansas River Valley offers unique features, people and history. Although steeped in frontier history as home to the Western District of Arkansas court system, the River Valley has continually evolved as a distinct region rich where the unexpected is now expected.

In western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma, boots and Stetsons are as common as sport coats and loafers. A descendant of Judge Isaac C. Parker or famed Deputy U.S. Marshal Heck Thomas could easily bump into a relative of Belle Starr at the farmers market. Stories are still swapped here about local Depression-era Robin Hood, Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd, and the unwelcome visits of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Firstgeneration Vietnamese refugees who found shelter at Fort Chaffee after the fall of Saigon in 1975 still drive alongside Vietnam War veterans on U.S. 71. The founder of the U.S. Army Rangers, William O. Darby, called this home. The 188th Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard still calls this home. The U.S. Marshals Service now calls Fort Smith home with the construction of a new museum on the riverfront as an education center and hall of honor for fallen members.

The River Valley is a crossroads of America.

Here we find a place where two states share similar cultures, history and attitudes. Here, we see Arkansas license plates with diamonds among those from the Cherokee Nation and the Choctaw Nation saying “Chahte Sia Hoke!" Here, we see 100,000 bikers converge for the Steel Horse Rally in May, and hundreds of others each fall for the Unexpected murals and Peacemaker Music and Arts festivals. We gather for beer and wine festivals, peach harvests, balloon rides and yoga on the river. We visit historic downtown Van Buren for plays and fine dining, and educational tours of the Drennen-Scott House. We look for mountain bike trails in Alma and whiskey tastings at the Clayton House in Fort Smith.

We take classes at Arkansas Tech UniversityOzark and the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. We fish bass and crappie from the lakes and ponds, and hunt deer and bear in the mountains. Here, we see the Arkansas River rolling alongside Interstate 40. The River 4 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

The Park and West End in Fort Smith, featuring a 1940 Big Eli “Aristocrat” Ferris wheel, has been a Fort Smith landmark since 2005 and an iconic image for the Arkansas River Valley. [TIMES RECORD PHOTO]

Valley is where the east and west meets the north and the south.

The River Valley is where European settlers pushed western expansion in the 1800s, despite treaties with Native Americans. With casinos and healthcare facilities in Oklahoma, the Cherokee and Choctaw remain a generous and integral part of the community where they once walked a Trail of Tears. Cattle and poultry farms are common in the lands throughout the River Valley. Now, we see an increasing number of students in rural areas taking computer programming classes. And more amenities are being created to attract and retain young talent. Van Buren and Fort Smith were among the staging points for the 1849 gold rush to California. Now they are headquarters for national logistics companies

like USA Truck and ArcBest, and a growing tech sector. The natural gas and coal deposits have played important roles in the development of the area from Greenwood and Charleston to Lavaca and Coal Hill. Timber is still harvested from the rocky slopes of the Ouachita Mountains south of the river, where a roadrunner may cross paths with a coyote. And although known by name for a river, the region also holds the highest point in U.S. Interior Highlands — 2,753-foot-tall Mount Magazine — and the “tallest hill in the world,” 1,999-foot-tall Cavanal Mountain near Poteau.

We hope you enjoy reading this collection of articles on the River Valley printed in the Southwest Times Record through the fall of 2019.

BY FORT SMITH MAYOR GEORGE MCGILL

As a lifelong resident of Fort Smith, I have never been more excited for our future.

Each and every day, we continue to work hard and strive to the best possible place that we can be.

As I visit the nooks and crannies of this city, I can see that we are succeeding.

From new business to new jobs, new cultural amenities, fresh educational opportunities, and improving outdoor activities, Fort Smith gets a little better each day.

When you add in the most compassionate, open-hearted, and generous people in the USA, you begin to realize what a tremendous place this is to raise a family and make your mark as part of something greater than yourself.

Please join me in taking a good, long look at our home and in being proud that she is yours.

WE ARE ... JUDGE ISAAC C. PARKER TIMES RECORD STAFF

Although known as “The Hanging Judge,” the career of Judge Isaac Parker involved less capital punishment than this moniker would suggest.

Parker was born in Barnesville, Ohio, on Oct. 15, 1838. He liked to read growing up, with law being the main subject he liked to read. He went on to study law and eventually passed the bar exam at the age of 21.

From there, Parker went to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he practiced law with his maternal uncle, D.E. Shannon. He married Mary O’Toole in December 1861, after the start of the Civil War. In 1870, Parker was elected as a U.S. congressman for Missouri. He served two terms. During his first term, he supported legislation that would have allowed women the right to vote and hold office in the U.S. territories, Nancy Patterson, left, listens to historical facts presented by Judge Isaac C. although that did not happen.

Parker, portrayed by Floyd Robison, as Adelaide Fishback, portrayed by Bambi During his second term, Clifton, left center, and Mrs. Mary Parker, portrayed by Sue Robison, listen in from 1872-74, Parker during the “Saturday Stroll,” along the streets of downtown Fort Smith in 2013. worked with the Bureau of [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO] Indian Affairs, which got him interested in Arkansas will be located where Garrison and Rogers Frontier Marshal Bass and Oklahoma because avenues meet at 13th Street near ImmacuReeves,” Art T. Burton of the Native American late Conception Church. Other statues will states of that 79, 30 expansion. honor John Carnall and Sister of Mercy were white, 26 were Cody Faber, park ranger Mother Superior Mary Teresa Farell.

Native Americans and Judge Isaac C. Parker for the Fort Smith National Many of Parker’s trials are remem23 were black. Parker Historic Site, said when Parker applied bered as part of the “Night Court” series also tried 13,490 criminal cases and won for judgeship through President Ulysses presented by the Friends of the Fort and better than 8,500 convictions.

S. Grant, he was originally offered a job in held at the National Historic Site, 301 It has been noted that Parker did not Utah. However, Parker turned it down. He Parker Ave. Local re-enactors take part in believe in capital punishment, possibly arrived in Fort Smith in 1875 as U.S. district the events, including Floyd Robison, who because his hometown Barnesville was a judge of the U.S. District Court for the has played Judge Parker often over the Quaker society. A page on the Fort Smith Western District of Arkansas, having jurisyears. One such trial was the 1895 case of National Historic Site website titled diction over Indian Territory. He replaced Frank Carver, accused of murdering Annie “Myths and Legends Surrounding Judge William Story in the role.

Maledon, the 23-year-old daughter of the Parker” states if the jury returned a guilty “William Story had been on charges of infamous hangman George Maledon. verdict for rape or murder, the judge was bribery, embezzlement and fraudulent Faber in 2017 said he believes Parker required to hand down a death sentence. claims, and him and several of the deputy remains an important figure in the history This mandatory sentence remained federal marshals, and even the U.S. marshal at of Fort Smith because he stood up for what law until 1898. the time, were on their way out,” Faber many people think is right at the time and In September 1896, the jurisdiction would said in 2017. “They had been exposed as for what some people think is right now. be taken away from Indian Territory for the being very corrupt, and Story was facing “To some, he’s a hero; to others, he’s a Fort Smith court where Parker presided. impeachment.” villain,” Faber said in 2017. “I think what is Parker died in 1896 of Bright’s Disease, The Fort Smith National Historic Site important about him too is that he himself a kidney disorder. He is one of the notable website states Parker sentenced 160 is still a divisive character in a divisive figures buried at the Fort Smith National people to death during his 21-year tenure time. He’s misunderstood, and what that Cemetery and remains a prominent part as judge. However, Faber said only 79 does is challenges us to look back and of Fort Smith’s history. He is to be one of people were executed. In his book, “Black figure out who we think he was, how we three local figures to be honored with a Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of agree or disagree with where he stood.” statue at Fort Smith’s Gateway Park, which WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 5

WE ARE ... ARCOM MEDICAL COLLEGE

BY JADYN WATSON-FISHER

On about 350 acres at Chaffee Crossing is a medical school and source of development in the River Valley. The campus of Arkansas Colleges of Health Education, founded five years ago, sits between Fort Smith and Barling, providing economic benefits for both cities while training new osteopathic doctors through its college of osteopathic medicine, at least for now.

CEO Kyle Parker said the goal of the institution is to create health-care professions who want to work in rural and underserved communities.

The college accepted 150 students out of 5,000 applicants for its 2019 class, and Parker said why the candidates wanted to go into medicine and their willingness to serve residents through simple community outreaches were the most important part of their applications. A lot of people can become excellent healthcare professionals, but not all of them desire to work with the poor and overlooked.

The Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine was the first college to open with an inaugural class starting its education in 2017.

ARCOM and its success, becoming a nationally recognized medical education institution, is something to be proud of on its own. The college and its leadership strives to teach more. It wants students to practice safe and compassionate medicine.

Medical students are provided opportunities to learn anatomy on body donors, which they say is invaluable to their education. But ARCOM doesn’t just send a thank you card; it holds an annual memorial service recognizing the individuals, whom they know little about, and their families.

The service is a time for families to receive a memento of thanks, and honor their loved ones who didn't receive traditional services with viewings because of the body preservation process.

Students are also trained in simulation labs, giving them opportunities to practice what they learned before interacting with live patients. This allows them to make mistakes in a hospital room and in simulated appointments with community actors to work through any nerves and "freezing."

“When they go out in the real world scenario, they’ve simulated it so many 6 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

The Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine is seen on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. The college welcomed its first class in 2017. [JADYN WATSONFISHER/TIMES RECORD]

Four Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine students work together during a Simulation Lab. All medical students perform SIM labs to bridge the gap between book learning and treatment patients.

[PHOTO COURTESY OF SUSAN DEVERO]

Kyle Parker, right, CEO of the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education, speaks with Teddy Havins, the husband of an anatomical donor on Monday, March 25, 2019, at the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine memorial service for donor families. Havins’ wife gave her body to the college for students to study. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

times it becomes second nature to them, so they don’t have mishaps or missteps in the care they need to provide,” said Dr. Harvey Potts, ARCOM executive director of simulation and clinical skills. “Overall, the whole end game is to create competent physicians and provide patient safety for the individual and community as a whole.”

Another way for the college to honor the donors is through the construction of a garden and wellness park, to which Parker donated $100,000. The area will feature a space to reflect and spread ashes of the deceased, while the park will provide workout equipment, a playground, walking trail, small lake and green space.

Several residential additions are being built in the area, which were designed with the students in mind. ACHE is working on its own housing and commercial area called the “Village at Heritage.” The development includes apartments, townhomes, courtyard homes and commercial amenities such as restaurants and a fitness studio.

ACHE plans to open its College of Health Sciences for physical and occupational therapy in 2021, and it expects to have a combined total of 1,000 students by 2022.

The institution announced this year programs for medical residencies, fellowships and a master of science and biomedicine.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 7

WE ARE ... FORT CHAFFEE

During his first visit back to the area, Nghi Van Le, left, talks about the Vietnamese flag on display at the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 467 building Wednesday, June 19, 2019. His wife, Phuong Le, and daughter, Vi Le, look on. Fort Chaffee was a place for Vietnamese refugees in 1975. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

BY JADYN WATSON-FISHER

Fort Chaffee has a long history of being a training facility and place for refugees, but the former military base is now a booming area of growth for the cities of Fort Smith and Barling.

The site was established in 1941, known at the time as Camp Chaffee, and was originally a location for combat training, because the Department of War wanted to increase the United States military before World War II. Four years after its opening, it served as a German prisoner of war holding facility. It was inactive after World War II until the Korean War in 1950.

It became the U.S. Army Training Center for field artillery in 1956 and permanently named Fort Chaffee. According to the Chaffee Crossing website, it experienced multiple periods of inactivity before being reactivated.

The base was the relocation center for the Vietnamese refugee program in 1975 and Cuban refugees in 1980 until 1982. During the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, Fort Chaffee was the temporary

8 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

location for the Joint Readiness Training Center.

A little more than half a century after Camp Chaffee’s official establishment, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended its permanent closure.

The U.S. government chose to lease 65,000 acres to the Arkansas Army National Guard for training purposes, while the remaining 7,000 acres were given to area communities for redevelopment. In 1997, the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority was formed and tasked with developing the land into something else.

Now, that something else is a lot of businesses, education sites and residential sites to be proud of.

FCRA Marketing Director Lorie Robertson previously told the Times Record there has been more than $1.6 billion in capital investment poured into the area.

Just because FCRA was founded in 1997, however, doesn’t mean it’s always been a bustling area. The initial work required building demolition, environmental surveys and rezoning. It also served as a temporary site in 2005 for Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

Chaffee Crossing, as the development is now called, has seen most of its growth in the last 10 years.

Former director Ivy Owen was hired in 2007, when Chaffee Crossing was a “blank slate,” as he called it during an interview in October 2018.

“The editor of the business section came out here and interviewed me and called me the ‘Maniac from Mississippi,’” Owen said, referring to a newspaper article. “Who would come over here and try to redevelop an old Army base? But there were many nights I went home wondering if it was going to happen.”

Aside from the Janet Huckabee River Valley Nature Center, Owen was right.

There wasn’t much in the area and he had legitimate reasons to worry.

But Chaffee Crossing’s development did happen. It might’ve taken longer than some expected — Robertson previously said most of the development has taken place in the last five to six years — but it’s become a success and example for what’s possible in other areas.

The development is a lot more than a few housing developments, though. Chaffee Crossing, it’s leadership has said, thrives on its organizations buying into the vision — an area focused on community, entertainment and healthy living.

Five years ago, the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education were formed as one of the first major developments in the area.

The organization has become an elite medical institution preparing students to become doctors of osteopathic medicine, occupational therapists and physical therapists. It has also announced this year residency, fellowship and a master of science and biomedicine program.

“On behalf of the city of Fort Smith, I wish I could really tell you what it means to this city,” Mayor George McGill said at the five-year anniversary in April. “It’s incredible, and it’s the one thing I talk about very often — the impact this medical school and all its bold vision has meant to Fort Smith and all of the River Valley. We’re very blessed to have you here.”

Robertson said it was no question that ACHE’s success has been a key to Chaffee Crossing’s success, spurring residential and commercial additions to serve the students who arrive each year.

Wells Lake Road near the Janet Huckabee River Valley Nature Center and Wells Lake, left, are seen along with new housing, right, on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, at Chaffee Crossing. The area was a former military base and now a booming area of development. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

“This is a cornerstone for our development and just an amazing realization that continues to change, expand and grow into bigger and greater things for the Fort Smith Region,” Robertson said.

Chaffee Crossing is also home to Mars Petcare, Umarex, Graphic Packaging, Glatfelter and ArcBest Corp., which all have placed its headquarters or a production plant in Fort Smith.

The big businesses aren’t the only ones located at Chaffee, though. The HUB, developed by ERC, is partially finished with townhomes and apartments ready for occupants, while the shopping and dining aspects should be finished in the coming months.

One McClure Place, also by ERC, features the offices of several businesses and healthcare practices. Chaffee Bowl, Fort Smith Brewing Company, Old Fort Furniture Studio Platinum Salon and Spa, and Yogaterrium are just a few locally-owned and operated businesses.

Daniel Mann, newly hired FCRA director, said he’s been in the redevelopment industry for around 20 years. He’s watched Chaffee Crossing from a distance and is excited to continue work with current residents, while trying to add new developers.

There are about 1,500 acres of the original 7,000 left to sell.

“I would say there’s a lot more to come and we’re excited about the opportunity — we’re bullish with opportunity — and we look forward to continued success,” Mann said.

Chaffee Crossing

Experience It Today!

Chaffee Historic District • Nature Center Chaffee Barbershop Museum Museum of Chaffee History • Amphitheater Festivals • Golf • Soccer • Fishing Kayaking & Canoeing • Cycling • Hiking Walking Trails and so much more!

Fort Smith, Arkansas • (479) 452-4554 ChaffeeCrossing.com WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 9

WE ARE ... THE ARKANSAS RIVER

BY JOHN LOVETT

The Arkansas River, the longest tributary of the Mississippi-Missouri River system, is both a centerpiece and a starting point for any historical perspective of the River Valley region.

The river has been a source of life and transportation for the region. It was how Army Maj. William Bradford and his men got to the area in 1817 to set up the original Fort Smith. It provides more than 1 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually at half the cost of electricity produced by coal. It is a shipping lane for agriculture and manufacturing products, keeping about 400 semi-trucks off the roads for a typical tow of eight barges carrying 12,000 tons.

The 445-mile-long McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System from the Port of Catoosa in Oklahoma to its meeting with the Mississippi River provides a continuous 9-foot deep channel for barge traffic. According to an 2018 economic impact study conducted by MarTREC at the University of Arkansas, complete disruption of operations on the MKARNS could result in a daily loss of $23 million in gross domestic product within the state of Arkansas.

The Arkansas Waterways Commission, using numbers recorded by the Corps of Engineers, reports over 10.9 million tons were moved on barges along the Arkansas River in the state in 2018 and 11.9 million tons were moved in 2017.

Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority (WAIA) has for several years pushed to create a 12-foot channel through the river to make way for larger barges coming through an expanded Panama Canal.

Although approved by Congress, there has been no funding set aside to create the channel.

For Marty Shell, president of Five Rivers Distribution in Fort Smith and Van Buren, the Arkansas River system is a livelihood and economic generator.

“It keeps transportation costs low, and

10 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

The Garrison Avenue bridge over the Arkansas River at Fort Smith was opened on May 11, 1922, after two years of construction. At 3,173 feet long and containing over 20,000 cubic yards of concrete, it was the longest concrete structure of the Southwest. [COURTESY FORT SMITH HISTORICAL SOCIETY]

Clarence Byrns, editor of the Southwest Times Record in the 1920s, wrote editorials for four decades promoting navigation on the Arkansas River. The Interstate 540 bridge over the Arkansas River between Fort Smith and Van Buren is named for him. [COURTESY ARKANSAS RIVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY]

A JanTran tow pushes barges down the Arkansas River at Ozark.

Over 10.9 million tons were moved on barges along the river in Arkansas in 2018. An eight-barge tow keeps about 400 semitrucks off the roads carrying 12,000 tons. The Arkansas River is a central identifying feature of the River Valley. [JOHN LOVETT/ TIMES RECORD]

BELOW: A swollen Arkansas River is seen June 2, 2019, from the Garrison Avenue bridge with the U.S. Marshals Museum in the background during the historic 500-year flood. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

jobs in the River Valley. It’s a lifeline not only for manufacturing but for agricultural as well. This system moves 12 million tons of commerce per year that you never hear or see. It’s the most environmentally friendly mode of transportation and costs

less as well,” according to Shell.

Shell points out the Arkansas River is deep in history and brought city’s like Van Buren and Fort Smith to life. And it remains an economic tool to help retain and grow jobs, he adds.

com.mu.ni.ty A feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

Community.

It’s who we serve. It’s what we value. It’s where we live.

We are proud to serve our community each and every day. With real news reported by real people right here in our community. The trusted news that helps keep our friends and neighbors connected and engaged.

We’re part of the fabric of this community. All of us here share your interests and goals. That’s what community is all about.

Local. Trusted. Connected.

Join us and subscribe today.

479-785-7700, opt 1

We have you covered from Riverfront fireworks to our Monday Matters featuring local people.

Gannett Publications America’s largest publisher of community newspapers FS-SPAD0106105252

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 11

WE ARE ... FORT SMITH’S DOWNTOWN

Downtown Fort Smith is seen in 2018. [MAX BRYAN/TIMES RECORD]

BY MAX BRYAN

Conversations surrounding the future of downtown Fort Smith have come to life in recent history.

Investors, visionaries and city leaders in recent years have taken several steps to revitalize the landscape and historic buildings on and around Garrison Avenue in hopes of creating a vibrant space that both establishes quality of place and transforms the image of Fort Smith to the outside world.

They’re still taking steps — city-state partnerships for street improvement, renovation of spaces, property incentives and creation of recreational activities, to name a few — that follow projects and initiatives that have spurred momentum.

“I’m already proud of downtown, but I want it to be something I’m really proud of,” Central Business Improvement District panelist Phil White said Aug. 20.

The recent conversation around downtown revitalization was partially spurred by the creation of The Unexpected Public Arts Festival, which each year brings muralists from around the world to beautify spaces in the city. The murals have drawn interest in spaces including Fort Smith Coffee Co., storefronts on Towson Avenue and Gateway Park.

Muralists in The Unexpected this year put their art on soon-to-be-used spaces 12 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

including the silos at The Bakery District and unused spaces including a gas station at 11th Street and Grand Avenue.

“People are excited about the possibility of what rejuvenation looks like and feels like, and what their role is in that,” Unexpected Director Claire Kolberg said.

From there, investors in recent years have opened up several businesses that have drawn crowds to the downtown area. These include Bastion Gallery, Fort Smith Coffee Co. and Harry’s Downtown, which offer art, nightlife and daytime social life to the area.

Several other projects, including upscale apartments next to Garrison Commons, a green space across Garrison Avenue from First National Bank and an eatery next to Core Public House are in the works. But arguably the most prominent downtown project to be completed in the coming months is The Bakery District, which will include available spaces for businesses such as coffee shops, craft beer and catering kitchens on the inside and patio seating, a courtyard and a bocce ball court on the outside.

“It will be a fun sit-down spot,” KMW Properties Manager Griffin Hanna said of the project.

Downtown property owners are excited at the prospect of this kind of growth — so much, in fact, that some are willing to take measures to encourage others to renovate

and develop the area.

“If I have a person who comes to me and has a good business model and business plan and a good idea and I think they’re really committed and really work hard, the rent is going to shrink,” said White, who owns property in downtown Fort Smith. White in September said he has even given space away in the past year to people he believes have good business or development plans.

Government officials have also shown interest in downtown development. A resolution passed Oct. 1 ensured Towson Avenue between Garrison Avenue and Zero Street will be upgraded and then turned over to city government. Towson Avenue from Garrison Avenue to South D Street is part of the Propel Downtown Forward plan for development.

The passage of the resolution has revived conversations about development possibilities of this stretch of Towson Avenue. Some, like Keep Fort Smith Beautiful Director Andrea Beckman, said she would like to see trees planted along the avenue. Others, like tenants Janice Wade and Trevor Dean, would like the city to improve sidewalks and take other measures to increase foot traffic on the sidewalks.

“It would be inviting not only to our residents, but also tourists and potential investors,” 64.6 Downtown Director Talicia Richardson said.

The city also partnered with downtown investors Steve Clark, Bill Hanna and Sam Sicard to build the Riverfront Skate and Bike Park, which in its opening weekend drew skaters and bikers from all over Arkansas and Oklahoma to downtown Fort Smith.

City officials in conjunction with the park have also agreed to install a bike share program that will allow people to pay a small price to use bicycles from public racks.

City Building Services Department Director Jimmie Deer said the September creation of his department will help ensure residents can start a business successfully and safely.

“It’s looking at what is the best (thing) for the city?” City Administrator Carl Geffken said of the department creation.

“We have the opportunity as citizens to continue the legacy of great vision that our founders over the generations of our city have had,” Clark said.

WE ARE ... KING OPERA HOUSE

BY SCOTT SMITH

Converted from two commercial buildings into an opera house in the late 19th century, the King Opera House continues to draw respect and admiration from many area residents and visitors, according to one local historian.

Boasting Victorian-era architecture at 427 Main St. in historic Van Buren and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the King Opera House still serves as a venue for multiple performances and other communityrelated events, as well as a popular tourist attraction, said Tom Wing, author, assistant professor of history at UAFS and director for the Drennen-Scott Historic Site. The theater building has been one of the region’s “special places” for decades and decades, he said.

“The King Opera House is an incredible place,” Wing said. “The building was lovingly restored after a stint as a movie theater and years of neglect.

“Stepping into the King Opera House is literally like stepping back into time,” he added. “The seats, lighting, balcony and fine woodwork make it a special treat.”

In the 1930s, the King Opera House was remodeled and reopened by Malco Theatres as the Bob Burns Theatre in honor of Bob Burns, a nationally known radio/TV personality in the 1930s and ’40s, according to CinemaTreasures.org. Burns, who grew up in Van Buren, was credited as being the inventor of the musical instrument known as the bazooka, which was a simple device made of a whiskey funnel and spare gas fittings. The instrument eventually lent its name to the World War II, anti-tank weapon due both to its visual similarities and to Burns’ popularity with combat troops who used the weapon, according to EncyclopediaOfArkansas.net.

The history of the King Opera House is vast and important, Wing said.

“I have been fortunate to teach classes, conduct teacher workshops and even perform on stage at the King Opera House,” he said.

“One of my favorites was a Veteran’s Day program we held there and had Warren Blaylock, a D-Day and Battle of the Bulge veteran who is now deceased, tell his story on that stage.

“Every experience in the King Opera House is a special memory for me,” Wing added. “And the story of star-crossed lovers adds mystery and intrigue to the King Opera House, as well.”

Van Buren High School graduate and film director-writer Devon Parks utilized

Built in the 1880s and located at 427 Main St. in downtown Van Buren, the King Opera House has served as a movie theater and continues to host various live performance events, teacher workshops, history-based activities and more. The Victorian-style structure is also as a tourist attraction for many.

[PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKPEDIA.ORG]

the King Opera House for two of his movies, 2014’s “Step Into: the King Opera House” and 2018’s “The Riot Act.” Starring Brett Cullen (“Joker,” “The Dark Knight Rises”), Lauren Sweetser (“Winter’s Bone”), Fort Smith native Brandon Keener (“Hustlers”) and several regional residents, “The Riot Act” was released to theaters in 2018 and used part of its plot to explore the myth of the venue’s ghost.

“Devon Parks tells the story in his film about the King Opera House supposedly being haunted by the ghost of an actor,” Wing said.

In the movie, a father tries to stop his daughter from running away with the actor. This plot has been said to mirror the Van Buren legend that claimed a father shot a young man who he believed was going to run away with his daughter, according to many area residents.

“All of it is an interesting story,” Wing said.

In April, the King Opera House served as the venue for the premiere screening for area songwriter Royal Wade Kimes’ “Bittersweet” movie, which was set in the 1880s in the Fort Smith/Van Buren region and starred Kimes, Denny Flynn, Don Gregory and Leslee Martin Cullum.

The film also featured 10 songs written and performed by Kimes, who has written songs for Garth Brooks, Gene Watson, Diamond

Rio and other popular music artists.

The King Opera House also has hosted musical performances by touring acts and regional church bands, as well as local theater groups like the Young Actors Guild, the Community School of the Arts, the Wanda J. Williams Theater Co. and others. The ongoing Local Color Radio Hour music/history series, which highlights area history and the skills of area storytellers, musicians and singers, also was seen and heard on the King Opera House stage.

“We did our November 2018 show at the King Opera House ... to which we were so honored to be in that historic location and so glad to see how well it is maintained and utilized by the community,” said Kevin Jones, director, narrator and host for the Local Color Radio Hour.

When asked about the stories of an alleged ghost inside the King Opera House, Jones was quick to answer, referencing a decade-old story from people he trusts. “(They) talked of seeing a spectral man in the audience, as they were being given notes during a rehearsal with the Young Actors Guild,” he said. “I, as well, had the feeling of being watched in the wings and in the balcony areas, but overall, the Local Color Radio Hour cast and crew felt welcomed. We had a great show and we look forward to returning there in March, ghost or no ghost.”

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 13

WE ARE ... THE CENTER FOR ART & EDUCATION

BY SCOTT SMITH

Those associated with the Center for Art & Education in Van Buren are anticipating the act of continuing the facility’s rich history and popular programs, which help improve and inspire community members and visitors of all ages and multiple interests.

Jane Owen, executive director for the Center for Art & Education, is the person behind those words. She and others are vowing to continue the center’s tradition of promoting the artwork and talents of local and regional artists, among other things.

Located for years at 104 N. 13th St. and known for art exhibits, art classes, summer art camps, fundraisers, nationaltouring presentations and various other art-related events, the center has been a crucial part of Van Buren and the surrounding areas, she said.

“The Center for Art & Education has provided a way to support local artists,” Owen said. “The center also participates in numerous programs and has been involved with national-touring exhibits and activities.”

Staff members, artists and supporters of the Center for Art & Education are no 14 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

stranger to special events that simultaneously help raise funds for the center and spread awareness of the center, its artwork and mission throughout the community.

They have stated in the past they hope to continue the art programming and services when the Center for Art & Education moves into its new location at 415 Main St. in Van Buren.

Another popular activity for Center for Art & Education supporters is the Decades of Thread with a Twist of Comedy Fashion Show. The event, which sees many of the models designing their own showcase clothing, usually features 15 to 20 tables decorated in different themes, adding to the diversity and fun of the event, Owen said.

“It’s a lot of fun just to go through the tables and see the ideas and themes,” she said. “Some tables might have a patriotic theme, while others have art-related themes, florals and a lot of other things.”

Recommending that participants wear colorful, glow-in-the-dark paint, the annual Imagine 5K Glow Run and 1 Mile Fun Run event also draws attendance numbers in support of the Center for Art & Education. Started in 2018, the event is held in downtown Van Buren and includes a race, food, art demonstrations from area

artists, an awards ceremony and children’s activities.

A silent auction that featured some of the original art creations from the late Anie Fellwock was another highlight for the Center for Art & Education, Owen said.

Fellwock, a long-time patron, was known for her unique and “impressive” water colors, she said.

The Center for Art & Education also has been known for its Table Toppers and 5X5 Gala fundraisers. The former presented “tablescapes” for viewing, as well as live music, food and a celebration of health and beauty, while the latter activity involved the displaying and selling of smaller-sized art pieces.

Owen said plans called for having the 5X5 Gala continue once the new facility is completed. The center will continue to host various outreach programs, such as its art programs for seniors and its frequent presentations and activities for area school students, she said.

“With all of our outreach programs and everything, we serve more than 3,000 people each year,” Owen said. “The Center for Art & Education will tie in nicely with the other activities and events that are taking place in downtown Van Buren.”

WE ARE ... A&M EXCURSION TRAIN

BY KEVIN TAYLOR

One of the best ways to see the autumn colors in Arkansas is while aboard the A&M Excursion Train.

It’s not the only time of year you can ride the train, of course, but it’s definitely the busiest, according to volunteer conductor David Kerr. Passengers board the train in downtown Van Buren for the three-hour trip and travel up to Winslow, traveling over trestles and through a tunnel along the way while catching a view of the Boston Mountains.

Other A&M excursions take riders from Springdale to Van Buren and back on an eight-hour journey, complete with a three-hour layover in Van Buren for lunch and shopping, and Springdale to Winslow.

There’s also a trip from Seligman, Missouri, to Van Buren and a one-way trip from Van Buren to Fayetteville, among others.

Lunch, drinks, snacks and desserts are served, depending on which ticket is purchased. “Silver Feather” ticket-holders can ride in the train’s Vista Dome, which offers the best view during the excursion.

A full calendar is at amtrainrides.com.

The Old Frisco Depot, 813 Main St., has a prominent place in Van Buren’s downtown and serves as both the Van Buren Visitors Center and the boarding point for the train. It’s a spot where tourists can drop by to learn about the train during a visit to Main Street to shop, eat or explore. Tourists come from all over to take a train ride, including from places like Texas, Missouri and Louisiana.

The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad has been taking passengers up and down the mountains for more than 30 years. At Christmastime, passengers can take part in the Van Buren Holiday Express Pajama Train, which carries passengers from Van Buren to Rudy (or a longer trip) and back and includes Christmas carols, hot chocolate, cookies and greetings from Santa. Area schoolchildren often come aboard as part of field trips.

Volunteers help keep the train running and provide historic tidbits and anecdotes along the ride.

“I think people enjoy the scenery and the witty commentary from the conductors the most,” Kerr said while aboard the Holiday

ABOVE: An A&M Excursion train engine sits at the Old Frisco Depot in Van Buren after a trip to Winslow in July. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

LEFT: Fairview Elementary students, teachers and parents wave goodbye from the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad Excursion Train in 2015.

[TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

Express in 2018. “They like being entertained by the conductors.”

In May 2018, officials with the Fort Smith Marine Corps League presented Haskell Jeffries, who was then 90, with an award during a ceremony before “Troop Train” Day. Jeffries was declared the “oldest railroad conductor in the United States” at the time. The depot has given free train rides to veterans on the Saturday before Memorial Day for more than 10 years, train conductor Casey Jones said in 2018.

The restored train cars themselves have their own stories to tell. Coach No. 104, known as “Biloxi Blues,” was featured in the 1988 movie starring Matthew Broderick.

(Portions of the movie were filmed in Van Buren and in Fort Smith at Fort Chaffee.)

The No. 104, built in 1917, is the oldest car used by the A&M. Coach No. 105, the “Golden Age,” dates to 1927, while parlor car No. 107, the “Explorer,” was built between 1955-56. The “Silver Feather Premium” — which features the train’s Vista Dome — was built for the California Zephyr in 1948. The No. 109 “Spirit of Arkansas” Diner-Lounge #8322 was built in 1950 as a Southern Pacific Sunset Limited “Pride of Texas” coffee shop-lounge car and was once decorated with Texas cattle brands. The A&M purchased the 109 in 2014.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 15

PRETTY BOY FLOYD

WAS A FRIEND IN THE RIVER VALLEY

BY JOHN LOVETT

Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd is a name still remembered in the River Valley.

On Oct. 28, 1934 — 85 years ago today — the Depression-era bank robber was laid to rest at Akins Cemetery near Sallisaw with more than 20,000 people from at least 20 states attending. The funeral is still thought to be the largest in Oklahoma history.

Floyd may have been the FBI’s Public Enemy No. 1 when he was gunned down in a field near East Liverpool, Ohio, six days before, but to many in the Fort Smith area he was a trusted friend who would buy them groceries or even pay their rent if they were down and out. To them, he was a modern-day Robin Hood.

James Goddard, a 92-year-old former football coach at Roland High School, was among those in the crowd that day with his mother, father and uncle. Goddard spoke to the Times Record in early April about his experiences at the funeral of Pretty Boy Floyd.

Goddard was only about 7 years old at the time but still recalls how hot it was that day, and seeing “heavily armed men at the gate” to the cemetery. Dayle Goddard, James’ father, had been injured on the job at a Ford Motors plant and was in a wheelchair pushed by his brother, Coy Goddard.

While James stayed behind with Lena, his mother, Dayle and Coy made their way up through the crowd to the grave site.

“My mother boosted me up. I saw dad at the head of the casket with my uncle behind him,” James Goddard said.

It was an Indian summer, he said, well over 90 degrees. He remembers a woman passing out from the heat and someone hollering “make room!” for the lady as she was brought to the rear of the crowd nearby James and his mother.

People clambered to the grave site to see Floyd.

There was so much traffic that day two culverts were broken on the gravel road to Akins Cemetery, Goddard recalled. It was getting dark by the time they were able to 16 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd, wanted in connection with the killing of one policeman and the wounding of another during the hold up of the Rensselaer County Bank, is seen in this mugshot from May 29, 1933. [COURTESY BETTMANN/CORBIS]

leave. People drove their cars through a field to get around the broken culverts, he remembered.

Many people arrived and left on foot.

Some were on horseback, or in wagons.

In the 1998 book “Life and Death of Pretty Boy Floyd,” Jefferey S. King dedicates the first chapter about the funeral.

The arrival of Floyd’s casket was delayed by the traffic, he writes. The Revs. W.E. Rockett of Sallisaw Baptist Church and Owen White of the Akins Baptist Church began the final funeral services around 2:30 p.m.

“The funeral rites were simple, followed by several songs by the Akins choir and a sermon on the folly of crime by Rockett, who ended it with Christ’s last words on the cross: ‘It is finished.’”

To the family’s further dismay, the scene was far from a dignified funeral.

“It was a circus with the mob eating peanuts, drinking corn liquor, spreading picnic lunches, carrying pistols, upsetting gravestones, trampling graves, and ripping

down fences as they tried to hear the sermon and catch a glimpse of the notorious outlaw,” King writes in his book on Floyd. “Funeral wreaths were reduced to fragments by souvenir hunters.”

The crowd estimate of 20,000 was given by the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office.

People who were there that day say it was more than 20,000 people, according to Bob Needham, a local counselor who married into the Floyd family.

Goddard said his uncle Coy wrote him a short letter years later recalling the day of the funeral and seeing Floyd in repose by his ex-wife, Ruby, and their son Jackie, at the burial site. He said felt sorry for them.

Many others felt the same, despite his career as an outlaw.

Chuck Girard, director of the Fort Smith Museum of History, is among the local historians who feel Floyd, also known as “Choc” to friends, was not likely involved in many crimes. The “Kansas City Massacre,” which put Floyd in the cross-hairs of J.Edgar Hoover and the FBI? Not likely, says Girard.

“From what I’ve read and the research I’ve done it is not likely Pretty Boy Floyd was at the Kansas City Massacre,” Girard said. “He was not a model citizen by any means, but things just don’t line up for him to be there.”

Jimmy Lessley, Floyd’s nephew, told the Times Record directly his uncle was not involved in the June 17, 1933, shootout to free Frank “Jelly” Nash. Machine-gunners mowed down three policemen and one FBI agent as they attempted to return Nash, an escaped federal prisoner, to the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. Nash was caught in Hot Springs, transported to Fort Smith, then placed on a train to Kansas City, Girard noted.

Lessley also said it was untrue Floyd committed a “revenge killing” of the Floyd family patriarch, Walter Floyd. The man who shot and killed Lessley’s grandfather was Jim Mills and he returned from California an old man, Lessley said.

ABOVE: Charles Floyd is seen at his wake in Sallisaw after being killed by the FBI near East Liverpool, Ohio. His funeral was Oct. 28, 1934 at Akins Cemetery near Sallisaw.

[COURTESY EAST LIVERPOOL OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY]

LEFT: A posse from Wellsville, Ohio, ready to hunt for Pretty Boy Floyd in October 1934. The FBI's Public Enemy No. 1 was killed on Oct. 22, 1934, in Ohio while being pursued by local law officers. He was buried Oct. 28 in Akins Cemetery near Sallisaw, Oklahoma. [SHUTTERSTOCK] BELOW: A newspaper illustration describes the scene near East Liverpool, Ohio, where Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd was shot by FBI agents on Oct. 22, 1934. Floyd was buried Oct. 28, 1934, at Akins Cemetery near Sallisaw. [COURTESY EAST LIVERPOOL HISTORICAL SOCIETY]

“He had a good heart, and just got mixed up with the wrong people,” Lessley said of his uncle Charley. “He helped out a lot of people.”

Of course, Floyd also robbed numerous banks during the early Depression years, and was tied to several killings.

In a story published the day of his death, Time magazine called Floyd “a murderously cool shot, (whose) trigger finger has already accounted for at least six deaths.”

Summarizing his criminal history, the 1934 TIME piece noted Floyd robbed a neighborhood post-office of $350 in pennies when he was 18 and then did time in the Missouri State Penitentiary near Joseph City for robbing a St. Louis Kroger grocery store payroll delivery in St. Louis. In prison, he shared a cell with a baker from California named Alfred “Red” Lovett, who teamed him up with the St. Louis underworld. Floyd was released in 1929.

For the next four years he robbed rural banks, taking on new partners as old ones fell dead by the wayside.

Much of the public remembered Floyd as an Oklahoma tenant farmer beaten down by financial hardship, always looking out for the little guy. Rumors circulated that he had destroyed mortgage notes when he robbed banks, freeing struggling farmers from foreclosure.

“Everybody knew him and they

wouldn’t turn him in,” said Needham. His wife, Robyn is the great-niece of Charley Floyd. Her mother, Phyllis Hill, was the daughter of Charley’s sister, Ruth Floyd.

Needham recalls a story passed down to him through his Southside High School history teacher, Larry Loux, about Floyd being recognized by a woman while

walking into First National Bank of Fort Smith, downtown on Garrison Avenue. It was Loux’s grandmother. She clutched her purse closely as Floyd walked toward her as he was walking out of the bank.

“It’s OK ma’am, I’m not working today,” Floyd said to her, and walked on to Garrison Avenue.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 17

WE ARE ... REGIONAL FARMS

BY JOHN LOVETT

A drive down any back road or highway in the River Valley will show the area is rich in farm country. Cattle ranches and poultry farms dot the landscape from Sallisaw to Clarksville and Mountainburg to Waldron.

Small timber mills are heard from Winslow to Abbott, and a big one still runs steady in Mansfield.

Agriculture is Arkansas’ largest economic sector. It adds about $21 billion to the state’s economy annually. Most of state’s 49,346 farms are family owned, and 16 percent of Arkansas’ farms account for 92 percent of production, according to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture.

Timber, soybean, corn and rice are also a major factor in the $21 billion in agriculture products. A Only Georgia surpasses Arkansas in chicken broiler production. There are about 2,500 farms in Arkansas that grow chickens, the Ag Department records. Many farmers grow both cattle and poultry. At least one local farmer, Liz Preston of Prestonrose Farm & Brewing Co. near Subiaco, is both an organic farmer and brewer of fine ales.

Arkansas ranks 12th nationally in beef cows on farms with 1.7 million head of cattle on 28,292 farms in Arkansas producing cattle. Angus beef cows are a growing portion of that, with 3,351 registered Angus breeders in Arkansas. The state hosted 11 Angus sales last year selling a total of 929 head of registered Angus cattle for a total gross of $2.6 million to average $2,850 per animal, according to the American Angus Association.

18 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

Pork is an $80 million a year commodity in Arkansas with more than 1.8 million pigs produced in the state annually, according to the Ag department.

While rice, soybean, corn and other row crops are more common in the Delta of Arkansas, signs of a healthy timber industry can be found in Mansfield with the West Fraser sawmill and lumber manufacturer.

Arkansas’s timber industry contributes $6.4 billion to the state’s income, Gov. Asa Hutchinson pointed out in a recent weekly newsletter. The timber industry employs 28,000 people directly, and provides more than 60,000 other jobs indirectly through equipment sales and maintenance, fuel suppliers, diesel mechanics, and mill supply stores, to name a few.

Agriculture and Forestry use more than 95 percent of Arkansas’ land resources: 14.5 million acres of farmland; 6.2 million acres of crops; 8.3 million acres of livestock and hay; and 18.8 million acres of forest.

The average farm size in Arkansas is 308 acres. The average age for a farmer in Arkansas is 57. Other averages available from the Ag Department include: value of land and buildings, $658,732; average yearly farm expenses, $124,324; average yearly farm revenue, $160,270.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman recently held his annual farm tour, meeting with both farmers and corporations in Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District involved in the state’s agricultural economy.

“Farmers are the backbone of the American economy,” Westerman said in a news release.

“Everything from the cereal you eat in the

morning, the shirt you wear to work, and the table you eat dinner on can be traced back to a resource produced from the land. Arkansas is home to a variety of farms, and visiting them and meeting the men and women who manage them is always a highlight of my year.”

Westerman accepted concerns about levee damage from the Arkansas River flooding this summer, and was educated on beef cattle operations. He was also shown crop harvests and discussed with farmers some practical solutions to issues facing American farmers.

Westerman began the farm tour in Mulberry at a United States Department of Agriculture grant kickoff event. Both Waldron and Mulberry recently received USDA Rural Community Development grants.

Westerman continued his tour with stops at Ozark High School to talk to Future Farmers of America (FFA) students, a survey of flood damage at both Patterson Soybean and Corn Farm and McLean Bottom, a tour of Big River Roller and Farm Bureau meetings in Paris. Westerman also met with the Fourche River Farm and Cattle Company to talk about their beef cattle operation.

Cattle run toward Shawn Efurd at his farm in Huntington in 2014. Efurd and his family were named the Sebastian County Farm Family of the Year in 2014. Arkansas ranks 12th nationally in beef cows on farms with 1.7 million head of cattle on 28,292 farms in the state producing cattle. Angus beef cows are a growing portion of that, with 3,351 registered Angus breeders in Arkansas. [GREENWOOD DEMOCRAT FILE PHOTO]

WE ARE ... UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH TIMES RECORD STAFF

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith has a long, rich history spanning almost nine decades.

Billy Higgins, associate professor of history at UAFS, said when the university was founded in 1928, a nationwide junior college movement was underway.

“We had a school board that was just building a brand new high school, which is where Northside is now, and the school board, led by a Mr. (Grover) Hardin ... they decided it had enough space to incorporate a junior college as well, which in some circles in those days was looked at as grades 13 and 14, giving largely vocational training, but also equipping students to go on to a four-year school, namely the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville ...” Higgins said during a 2017 interview.

The history of UAFS is detailed in a book titled “The First 85 Years.” Co-written by Higgins, Stephen Husarik and Henry Rinne, the book states classes for the new junior college, named Fort Smith Junior College, first met in classrooms of what is now Darby Junior High School on Sept. 13, 1928.

The new high school building was completed about two weeks later. The junior college began with an enrollment of 34 students. J.W. Ramsey, superintendent of Fort Smith Public Schools, was its first president. Fort Smith Junior College was financed by the public schools in town. The faculty was also high school teachers, with Elmer Cook being a high school principal in addition to the dean of the college.

The book states a major change took place in 1950, when the Fort Smith School Board voted to separate Fort Smith Junior College from the public school system and set up a nonprofit benevolent corporation to take over the school’s affairs.

In 1951, members of the Sebastian County Quorum Court agreed to lease 15 acres of property on Grand Avenue and Waldron Road to Fort Smith Junior College, according to “The First 85 Years.” Classes opened in the new facility in September 1952. By this point, a board of trustees was appointed, the college was privately financed and Cook became its second president.

The 1960s were also a critical time in the school’s history. The book states Amendment 52 to the Arkansas Constitution, or the Community College Enabling Act, won passage in the general election of 1964. This allowed the state to create and fund community junior

ABOVE: A sign on campus at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith reflects its founding as a junior college in 1928. RIGHT: The Bell Tower is seen on campus at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTOS]

college districts. Enabling legislation in the form of Act 560 of 1965 was passed by the Arkansas Legislature in early 1965. Under this, one-third of the financial support for the new colleges would come from state tax revenue, another third would come from tuition and fees and another third would come from a local millage in the newly created district.

On Nov. 2, 1965, Sebastian County residents voted to pass a referendum establishing the Sebastian County Community Junior College District. One week after the election, during its last meeting, the Fort Smith Junior College board of trustees approved a proclamation assigning all assets and liabilities of the private college to the new district. The new board of trustees consisted of members who had been appointed by Gov. Orval Faubus.

In 1966, the college received its first state funds as a public institution. Its name was also changed to Westark Junior College. It went on to become Westark Community College in 1972.

The school’s name was changed again to Westark College when it was getting a system of four-year degrees through cooperation with other universities. Westark College received “unique college” status with the authority to offer bachelor’s degrees and become a hybrid college with the passing of Arkansas Act 971 in 1997, the book states. The name change took place in 1998.

Another important change took place soon after the 1990s drew to a close. Westark College became part of the University of Arkansas system, and on Jan. 1, 2002, because

the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

The merger was celebrated with an on-campus event that took place the previous night, during which the Westark flag was lowered and the UAFS flag was raised.

UAFS enrollment has grown steadily since that time. On May 11, UAFS handed out 390 certificates, 131 associate degrees, 524 baccalaureate degrees and four master's degrees during its graduation ceremony. Current Chancellor Terisa C. Riley took over the position July 1 from Paul Beran, who was chancellor from 2006-18.

“Westark Community College had been one of the best community colleges in the nation, and so it came with a great history and a great level of integrity,” Beran said prior to his departure. “But being a community college and being a university are two different things, and so my charge from Dr. Alan Sugg, who was the president of the UA System at the time, was to continue and complete the movement from the community college world into the university world.”

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 19

WE ARE ... BAPTIST HEALTH

BY JADYN WATSON-FISHER

One of Fort Smith's choices for patient care is both a long-standing institution and a new addition to the River Valley at the same time.

Baptist Health purchased Sparks Health System, which included the oldest hospital in the state, last November. The transition was announced by Baptist, based in Little Rock, on July 18, 2018.

The organization acquired the Fort Smith hospital, a 492-bed acute care facility, and the Van Buren hospital, a 103-bed acute care facility. These additions brought Baptist Health System up to 11 hospitals.

Since Sparks became Baptist, the nonprofit has brought quality health care and various forms of education to the area.

Three Fort Smith nurses were honored this year with the “DAISY” award, which recognizes “extraordinary” nurses for their skill and compassion.

The Fort Smith facility was recognized by the Arkansas Department of Health as one of the nine best hospitals in the state for stroke care.

Baptist Health Wound and Hyperbaric Center in Fort Smith also received distinction by the nation’s largest provider of advanced wound care services for 12 consecutive months of “outstanding clinical outcomes.” The center’s patient satisfaction level was higher than 92% and had a wound healing rate of at least 91% when the award was presented in March.

Not only do Baptist physicians perform their day jobs of caring for sick and injured people, they work to promote health and safety through various community projects.

Van Buren Public Schools has a partnership with Baptist Health where young students have the opportunity to meet with doctors, nurses and other medical professionals. A kindergarten class visited earlier this year and talked about bones care, X-rays and what happens if someone breaks a bone.

Baptist Health also provides summer volunteer programs for local high school students through the “Caring Teen” program.

Baptist’s community involvement doesn’t stop with children and high school students. The organization has hosted several “lunch and learn” events to discuss different diseases. Most recently, doctors talked about prostate cancer and ovarian 20 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

Baptist Health nurse practitioner Nycole Oliver, DNP, APRN, talks with a patient in 2017.

[TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

cancer, discussing with residents the risks and symptoms of each disease.

Physicians also regularly participate in the Times Record’s Local Health Question and Answer columns, sharing advice and information about relevant medical

concerns.

Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce President Tim Allen said the quality of medical providers is a major factor in economic development and thanked the organization for its investment in the city.

WE ARE ... MERCY

BY JADYN WATSON-FISHER

In just the past seven months, Mercy Hospital Fort Smith has made several moves that will impact residents for years to come.

Announced just recently, the Arkansas Colleges of Health Educated donated four acres of land to Mercy for a 49,000-squarefoot rehabilitation hospital.

Mercy and Kindred Healthcare LLC said in June they were partnering to establish a 40-bed rehab hospital, with Kindred managing the daily operations. The new facility will be located on the ACHE campus at Chaffee Crossing.

The hospital will care for adults recovering from stroke, neurological disease, spinal cord or brain injuries and other major illnesses or injuries. Students in the ACHE occupational and physical therapy programs, set to begin in 2021, will use the facility as a learning site.

“We are so thankful to ACHE for their generous gift and their support in bringing additional inpatient rehabilitation services to our community,” Ryan Gehrig, president of Mercy Hospital Fort Smith, said in the news release. “We’ve had a strong relationship with ACHE for many years and we look forward to more opportunities to partner in the future.”

Construction is expected to begin in early 2020 and take 12 months to complete.

This is yet another facet of the partnership between Mercy and ACHE. Some osteopathic medicine students have done clinicals at Mercy, while some third-year students are doing their on-site rotations at the various facilities in Arkansas. Mercy Clinic Chaffee Crossing is also a primary care clinic on the ACHE campus where students go to learn.

“Our partnership with Mercy has been a critical element in fulfilling our mission to improve lives in our community,” ACHE CEO Kyle Parker said in a release. “Through these cooperative efforts, we are excited to expand health care and provide learning environments for our students.”

At the hospital itself, Mercy completed this summer a renovation of its general surgery wing. It includes 22 exam rooms and three operating rooms.

The clinic, which combined two general surgery clinics within the Mercy healthcare system at the main hospital, will provide general or vascular surgeries. These include, but are not limited to, procedures on gallbladders, hernias, breasts and biopsies.

Other accommodations for wheelchair

Mercy Fort Smith’s main location is at 7301 Rogers Ave. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

and bariatric patients, such as electronic doors and wider entrances to exam rooms, have been added.

Also at the hospital is a new obstetrics emergency room in the Labor and Delivery building for pregnant woman of any stage.

Pregnancies less than 20 weeks were previously sent to the main ER, but they are now being seen in Labor and Delivery.

Dr. Andrew Riché, Mercy Hospital Fort Smith chief of staff, previously told the Times Record this has reduced the number of patients in the main ER. It’s also given women an opportunity to be seen by a board-certified obstetrician, which are more readily available through a partnership with OB Hospitalist Group.

There are eight OBs working the center to provide 24-hour care every day. It is just the second obstetrics ER with contracted hospitalists in the state.

It has worked with the Sebastian and Crawford County health departments, its clinic at the Riverview Hope Campus and 1st Choice River Valley Pregnancy Medical Clinic to provide all women prenatal care.

Those who visit the ER and do not have an OB or limited access to prenatal care are connected with the Mercy McAuley Family Medicine Clinic for additional services and follow ups.

“Regardless of pay source, with or without insurance, we won’t turn anybody away,” Riché said.

Another addition to Mercy Hospital-Fort Smith is neurosurgery. Duo Drs. Kenneth and Kate Foxx, bring renewed 24-hour neuro care.

The married doctors had already performed about 30 surgeries in the first few weeks since their August arrival. In the last several years, those would have likely been transferred to other hospitals.

Mercy offered around-the-clock neurological services from 1962 to 2016, but the

influx of new surgeons has not been enough to meet the need nationwide.

Ryan Gehrig, Mercy Fort Smith president, said before the Foxxes arrived that roughly 2,200 neurological cases alone left the Fort Smith area annually. He said more than 700 neuro trauma patients were transferred, as were more than 1,500 spinal cases annually.

“We’re not planning on sending any cases out,” Kenneth Foxx said last month.

“We can take care of everything right here.

Mercy’s been a fantastic partner in that, and given us the tools to provide that high level of care right here in Fort Smith.”

Dr. Webster Pilcher, chairman of the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Department of Neurosurgery, where they performed their residencies, called them an “extraordinary team.”

Both were chief neuro residents at Strong Memorial Hospital, the university’s flagship facility, and presided over more than 2,000 surgical cases each year, Pilcher told the Times Record.

“The breadth of their surgical skills is impressive. We were proud to have them on our team and will follow their careers in Fort Smith with interest,” Pilcher said. “Their talent, their compassion for the patients they serve and their desire to make a difference, will make them a wonderful asset to the Fort Smith community.”

Mercy Fort Smith, like Baptist Health, works with the community to promote proactive care. It has partnered with Future School of Fort Smith to develop curriculum for a class that teaches skills such as yoga, meditation, food shopping and reading nutrition labels. It also participates in the Times Record regular Local Heath Q&A program and hosts community events to discuss health, wellness and symptoms of common diseases.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 21

WE ARE ... LOCAL NONPROFITS AND VOLUNTEERS

Charolette Tidwell, left, is founder of Antioch for Youth & Family in Fort Smith. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

BY MAX BRYAN

From fighting hunger to giving the homeless a warm place to stay for the night, the Fort Smith region wouldn’t be the same without its nonprofits. These include food pantries, homeless shelters, addiction recovery centers and just about everything in between. Each one fills a need for services in the region — so much so, they have gained recognition from officials for their work.

Fort Smith City Administrator Carl Geffken in May 2019 said nonprofits such as Riverview Hope Campus, Next Step Day Room, Salvation Army and Community Rescue Mission provide nearly all of the city’s homeless services.

Hope Campus, which opened in 2017, has 100 beds for homeless. It has also served hundreds of thousands of meals to residents and visitors and helped hundreds transition into their own apartment or home.

“Homelessness is all among us, and we need to figure out the best way to address it so we’re helping those who want to help themselves get out of homelessness while at the same time not being a magnet for more 22 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

people to come here,” Geffken said. “This is a giving, volunteer-oriented city that will provide help.”

For those who need nutritious food in the region, Fort Smith has Antioch for Youth and Family. Run by Charolette Tidwell, the food pantry is expected to give 1 million pounds of food to area residents in need.

Antioch has addressed food shortages in Fort Smith Public Schools and in communities including Mulberry, Hackett and Greenwood. As Tidwell pushes to get Antioch’s new pantry open, she hopes to instill healthy eating habits and volunteerism in children.

United Way of the Fort Smith Area assisted city officials to appropriate funds and donations in their relief efforts from the flood of 2019. As the river began to swell into the city, the nonprofit set up a textto-give number to direct donations to flood relief. After the flood, United Way sought money to fund its relief efforts in the area.

The nonprofit at the beginning of August 2019 had raised $266,000 to help the estimated 305 families affected by the natural disaster. Director Eddie Lee Herndon said

the money would fund the purchase of supplies such as sheet rock, tape, carpet and nails to help restore homes that were submerged.

The Fort Smith Police Department uses a local nonprofit for forensic interviews in child abuse investigations. Operated by Jackie Hamilton out of a space in Mercy Hospital, Hamilton House interviews and advocates for more than 800 children a year from all over western Arkansas.

Humans aren’t the only ones who receive help from Fort Smith nonprofits. The concept of Jen’s Kitty Rehab on Jenny Lind Road is moving forward with the goal of getting Fort Smith’s cats into homes and reduce the city’s cat population. They are currently working with University of Arkansas Fort Smith to count the number of free-roaming cats in Fort Smith.

Myriad other organizations in the area fill needs in other areas, too. Project Compassion seeks to bring joy to assisted living residents with Alzheimer’s Disease. Girls Inc. teaches girls in the area to be strong, smart and bold. And 64.6 Downtown pushes for revitalization in downtown Fort Smith.

WE ARE ... FORT SMITH NATIONAL CEMETERY

Nikki Gish of Sallisaw helps her sons Lincoln, 5, and Noble, 2, place American flags on the headstones at the U.S. National Cemetery in May ahead of the annual Memorial Day service. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

TIMES RECORD STAFF

The U.S. National Cemetery in Fort Smith dates back to the 1800s, yet it remains a place of honor for the families of those interred there.

The cemetery is at 522 Garland Ave. and South Sixth Street and totals 32 acres after several expansions over the years. It is the oldest of the three national cemeteries in Arkansas, with others in Fayetteville and Little Rock. The Fort Smith National Cemetery has been on the National Register of Historic Places since May 1999. Visitation hours for the cemetery are 7:30 a.m. to sunset daily.

The cemetery's history can be traced to Fort Smith's early days. The Army reestablished Fort Smith in 1838 (after the original fort was closed in 1824), and the original cemetery most likely was included as part of a new cemetery at this time. The first recorded burial was surgeon Thomas Russell in 1819. The cemetery was designated a national cemetery in 1867.

“In 1867, the old post burial ground was elevated to a national cemetery consisting of about five acres enclosed by a whitewashed fence. Many military dead were removed from battlefields and private

cemeteries and reinterred here. So many, in fact, that when the Fort Smith military reservation closed in 1871, President Grant ordered that Fort Smith National Cemetery be reactivated by the War Department and remain open for the purpose of future military burials,” the cemetery's website reads.

One of the most famous Americans to have died in combat is buried at the Fort Smith National Cemetery: Gen. William O. Darby, the Fort Smith native who organized the first U.S. Army Rangers commando unit in 1942 during World War II. Darby died April 30, 1945, in the northern Italy town of Torbole, two days before German forces surrendered. According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas entry on Darby, “he was in the process of outlining plans for the next day when a German shell exploded near his location. A piece of shrapnel hit him, and he was dead within minutes.”

Judge Isaac C. Parker, also known as "The Hanging Judge," is buried at the cemetery as well. Parker was an Ohio native appointed U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas in 1875. Other notable figures buried at the cemetery include Civil War brigadier generals Richard Gatlin, Alexander Steen and James McIntosh, golfer Jack Fleck, former St. Louis Cardinal and

Pittsburgh Pirate Hal Smith and Joel R. Stubblefield, the first chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

The cemetery was run by the Army until 1973, when the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs began managing it. Now, the cemetery has 14 staff members onsite daily to care for the cemetery in Fort Smith as well as the National Cemetery in Little Rock. Director Marshall B. Murphy began working at the cemetery in early 2018.

Monuments and memorials at Fort Smith National Cemetery include a carillon donated by the American Veterans in 1986, a marble memorial to the Unknown Confederate Dead, a granite and bronze memorial honoring Vietnam veterans dedicated in 1998 and a Pearl Harbor memorial dedicated Dec. 7, 1997.

Events throughout the year help residents and families honor and remember those buried at the cemetery. Each year around Christmas, volunteers place wreaths on each grave at the National Cemetery during the Christmas Honors program, which was established in 2009. A workshop is held in the days prior to the ceremony to prepare as many as 17,000 wreaths that are laid at each gravesite at the National Cemetery. The program is part of Wreaths Across America, a group that coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at more than 1,600 cemeteries in all 50 states. Families are given time to lay wreaths at their loved one's grave, with the public providing assistance afterward. A ceremony takes place after the wreaths are laid.

Each Memorial Day, the National Cemetery plays host to a ceremony to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Guest speakers, choir groups and others gather to recognize those buried at the cemetery and put proper recognition on Memorial Day as a whole.

The Fort Smith group that puts on the annual Christmas Honors program at the cemetery is in the process of coordinating a campaign to raise funds that will be used to purchase land behind the cemetery for future growth. With an average of 500 burials per year, and 22,000 buried at the cemetery, there is currently only about 10 years of space left in the Fort Smith National Cemetery, Murphy said in May. The goal is to buy enough land that will allow the Fort Smith National Cemetery to stay open for burials for another 100 years, he said.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 23

WE ARE ... BASS REEVES AND THE OLD WEST

BY SCOTT CUTLIP

Bass Reeves has quietly worked his way into current pop culture, more than 110 years after his death.

He was seen on the first episode of HBO’s “The Watchmen,” his life story portrayed in a silent film being watched by a young boy during the Tulsa Race Riots in 1921. Biopics are in the works at Amazon Studios and HBO (co-produced by Morgan Freeman).

“Cowboy,” a play about Reeves, was introduced this year at the National Black Theatre Festival.

His actual life already seems like a movie, albeit one that seems almost implausible, and one in which myth and reality mix with little way to untangle the two.

According to the Fort Smith National Historic Site, it is believed that Reeves was born in July 1838 in Crawford County (which at the time also included part of current Sebastian County). He was born into a family of slaves owned by William Reeves. Bass asked to learn to read, but was not allowed.

However, he did learn to shoot and became a crack shot, and he would enter competitions

24 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

and win.

The owner’s son, George Reeves, and Bass appeared to have a close relationship for a master and slave. George took Bass with him when he joined the Confederate Army in 1861. Although it cannot be substantiated, it

was rumored that sometime during the Civil War, Bass and George had an argument over a card game, which resulted in Bass giving George a severe beating. Fearing repercussions, Bass ran and ended up in Indian Territory.

According to Jim Spears, a member of the U.S. Marshals Museum Foundation board and retired Sebastian County circuit judge, Reeves also took George’s watch, a repeating rifle, and other items. While he was in the Indian Territory, Reeves learned the languages and customs of many of the tribes there.

After the Civil War, Reeves moved back to Crawford County, married and started a horse breeding business. He and his wife, Jennie, had 10 children, five boys and five girls. During this time, Bass would also earn extra money as a scout and tracker in the Indian territory.

In 1875, Bass was asked to be a deputy marshal.

“Because of his race and because of his abilities,” Spears said, “he was able to blend in, and people would not suspect him. He used disguises a lot. It was quite effective with bringing in outlaws.”

According to the National Historic Site, one of Reeves’ disguises was pretending he was on the run from the law himself (even shooting holes in his hat and saying a posse had done it) to talk two outlaw brothers into running with him. While the two were sleeping, Reeves handcuffed them and took them away, while their mother cursed at him.

Spears said that most of the crimes committed involved introducing liquor into the territory, horse thieving, larceny and murder. One of Reeves’ captures was Belle Starr, who knew Cole Younger of the JamesYounger Gang. Younger was known to sometimes hide on her family’s farm. Reeves arrested her for horse thievery, and she was imprisoned for nine months. She was a model prisoner, but returned to the outlaw life after getting out. She died at the age of 40, shot in the back. Her killer is unknown to this day.

Reeves himself was charged with murder once. In 1884, Reeves shot and killed a posse cook. Spears suggests that Reeves was cleaning his gun and it went off. Other accounts suggest that Reeves and the cook argued, and Reeves shot the cook after he had poured hot grease down the throat of a puppy Reeves had in camp. Or maybe the puppy belonged to the cook. Regardless, Reeves was not charged until 1886. He was unable to make bond and spent months in prison. He appeared before Judge Isaac Parker and was defended by William Henry Harrison Clayton. Reeves was acquitted and returned to his marshaling.

Reeves had to bring in his own son,

Bennie, after he was charged with murdering his wife. Bennie Reeves was convicted and served 11 years at Fort Leavenworth.

It is estimated that during his career, Bass captured 3,000 people or more. Spears believes that number is exaggerated, but he does not doubt that the number of men Reeves killed during that time to be 14 (although there are also estimates of 12 and 20). Another bit of mythology Spears disagrees with is that Bass is the model for the Lone Ranger, a suggestion that has come up in Art Burton’s 2006 book about the lawman and has also been promoted by Bill O’Reilly.

After the Indian Territory officially became Oklahoma in 1907, Reeves became a federal marshal before eventually joining the Muskogee police force. He worked that job for a few years before poor health forced him to stop. He died Jan. 12, 1910, of Bright’s disease (inflammation of the kidney), the same disease that ended the life of Judge Isaac C. Parker.

“He was one of the first, if not the first, black deputy marshals west of the Mississippi River,” Spears said. “He’s a legitimate American hero.”

Bass Reeves will be featured prominently at the U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith when it opens. Some of the artifacts include the watch and rifle Bass took from George Reeves, as well as a badge that is believed to have belonged to Reeves.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 25

WE ARE ... MANUFACTURING/JOBS An advertisement for Edward Ballman Furniture is seen in Vol. 38 of the Fort Smith Historical Society Journal. The Arkansas River Valley’s roots in manufacturing are with furniture and wagon manufacturing. [COURTESY UAFS]

BY JOHN LOVETT

Although more high-tech and diverse these days, the Arkansas River Valley’s manufacturing base is historically tied to its natural resources in coal and timber that fueled wagon and furniture manufacturing.

In the first half of the 20th century, Fort Smith was known as the home of numerous furniture companies. Then, in the 1970s, manufacturing giants like Whirlpool and Rheem moved to the area. But long before that, the town had a reputation as the frontier to the old West and prompted the manufacturing of items needed for the journey like wagons and wagon wheels. Because of the Arkansas River, frontiersmen in the late 1840s and early 1850s used Fort Smith as a jumping-off point to travel to California during the Gold Rush. Settlers moving West helped start the manufacturing boom in the River Valley, according to Billy Higgins, professor of history at UAFS. Manufacturers in Fort Smith were producing 26 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

10,000 wagons a year just prior to the Civil War. Wagon and supply manufacturing in Fort Smith diverted to furniture manufacturing during the Civil War, when fewer people were moving out West. Higgins said manufacturers particularly focused on producing ornate furniture during this time; and from the furniture manufacturing came support industries.

Furniture was Fort Smith’s largest and most important industry and job provider in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Higgins said the town was once considered one of three furniture hubs in the United States.

In conjunction with its status as a furniture manufacturing hub, Fort Smith also drew industry because it grew around the time railroad transportation became popular. Fort Smith manufacturing also grew because of its proximity to natural resources. These aspects of Fort Smith drew industrialists like Edward Ballman to the town. Ballman, of Indianapolis, came to Fort Smith in the late 1800s and was dubbed by the Historical Society Journal as “the king”

of Fort Smith furniture. An elementary school in Fort Smith is named for Ballman.

Higgins said the furniture industry in Fort Smith peaked for several years in the late 1950s and early 1960s before it largely faded out. Riverside Furniture in Fort Smith, which has been in business for about 70 years in Fort Smith, manufactured furniture until just a few years ago. Now it is a distribution point for the company. A row of furniture manufacturers were once set up along what is now Riverfront Drive in Fort Smith.

The River Valley now contains dozens of manufacturing companies that are the backbone of the economy and job creation in the area — from Rockline Industries in Booneville and Big River Roller Manufacturing in Paris to ABB, GP-Dixie Cup, FFO Home, Rheem, Ingersol Rand, PRADCO, MARS Petcare, Silgan Plastics, General Pallets, Gerdau Mac Steel and Glatfelter in Fort Smith and Bekaert in Van Buren, Yoderbilt Greenhouses in Abbot and Affordable Buildings in Roland.

WE ARE ... ST. SCHOLASTICA

BY JADYN WATSON-FISHER

Surrounded by trees and green space at Rogers and Albert Pike avenues sits St. Scholastica Monastery, a piece of Fort Smith history.

The sisters haven't always been in Fort Smith, though. Four Benedictine sisters moved in 1897 from Indiana to Shoal Creek in Logan County to teach railroad workers’ children. Sister Maria DeAngeli said the sisters started a school in their house, and as it grew, so did the Arkansas Catholic population. The sisters moved to Fort Smith in 1924, and the six-story monastery was under construction from their arrival until its completion five years later. It was the motherhouse for roughly 375 sisters at its peak during the 1960s.

Trinity Junior High School was established in 1986 based on the rich Catholic heritage founded by the Sisters of Mercy and Benedictine Sisters. The school was held at Immaculate Conception until 1996, according to the school's website, when it moved to its current location on the St. Scholastica Property.

Since the ‘90s, there has been a declining population with aging sisters and few new members. The sisters dedicated a new one-story monastery in 2019, which was not only necessary because of old infrastructure, but to downsize — the community, as of May 2019, had shrunk to 23 sisters and two postulants. The 30,000-square-foot facility became home to most members in November 2019 and contains a chapel, 26 bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, meeting

Sisters Pat Bolling, front row from left, Alice O’Brien, Kimberly Rose Prohaska, Magdalen Stanton and Therese Moreno sing at St. Scholastic monastery in 2014 after being honored to their years of service.

rooms, offices, a library and gift shop.

Just because the monastery doesn’t have hundreds of residents anymore, however, doesn’t mean the ones who remain aren’t busy.

Most sisters have light household duties, like cooking and baking or gardening. They frequently dine together and stay civically engaged by attending town hall meetings.

Sister Barbara Bock moved to Fort Smith in 2010 after spending 40 years in Missouri.

She has driven her fellow sisters to doctor’s appointments, helps with laundry and plays the organ.

“When I came here (to St. Scholastica), it was kind of like similarities with my own family,” Bock previously said. “I came from

a large family, and so here, I came with a bigger ‘family.’”

One sister is attending the University of Arkansas studying student placement and marketing. Another sister is based at the original Shoal Creek location, overseeing the house of prayer and retreat with four cabins.

“They’ve made a real difference in that place up there,” DeAngeli said. “I said your mission is to bring joy and Benedictine peace to the place and I think they’ve really done that in many ways.”

St. Scholastica also sponsors a scholarship program for girls in Guatemala, where women and children remain subject to high levels of violence.

The original St. Scholastica monastery is seen in 2015. It has been a piece of Fort Smith history since 1924 after four Benedictine sisters moved in 1897 from Indiana to Shoal Creek in Logan County to teach railroad workers’ children. The monastery in Fort Smith was the motherhouse for roughly 375 sisters at the peak during the 1960s. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTOS]

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 27

WE ARE ... ARKANSAS OKLAHOMA STATE FAIR TIMES RECORD STAFF

The Arkansas Oklahoma State Fair has been a staple of Fort Smith for more than a century. The fair originally started in 1901.

The official title of the Arkansas Oklahoma State Fair was adopted in 1934, when Fort Smith officials organized the event as entertainment for the Highway Commission, which was having a meeting about building a highway from Alma to Fayetteville, said Janie Glover, who serves on the Arkansas Oklahoma Regional Education Foundation.

In 1934, organizers charged 65 cents for entry to the fair. A group of Native Americans performed along with Pawnee Bill at the event. The early fair struggled monetarily but returned each year, even in 1942 when people debated whether to have the fair in light of World War II. That year also saw the first accident of the fair, when a Texarkana man left the gate to the bulls open, allowing four bulls to escape and injure 16 people, Fair Chairman Kelly Clark said.

The location of the fair changed throughout the decades, Former Chairman Mike Glover said. It initially took place at the site of Ramsey Junior High. It later moved to Andrew’s Field. In the 1940s, it eventually moved to what was then known as Electric Park. Today, Electric Park is Kay Rodgers Park, the present-day home to the fair.

In 1949, Fort Smith came together to create Harper Stadium, which is still used today. The stadium cost $53,500, Clark said.

“A lot of Fort Smith businesses really put a lot of money in that,” Glover said.

As organizers move forward, they hope to use the event as a way to educate children about agriculture. Clark said his vision is to eventually create exhibits that would inform people about different aspects of agriculture, showing kids where food comes from. He would model the exhibits after the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He said in Houston, the exhibits include chicks hatching, animals being born and bees making honey. Looper said that educating children about agriculture separates the fair from competing events.

“We’ve had to reinvent what the Arkansas Oklahoma State Fair is all about,” Looper said.

Looper said children’s involvement in the fair is crucial. He said children who compete in the livestock show learn valuable lessons, such as the merit of competition and that

28 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

Tay Clements, from right, Dante McGhee, Damarius Davis and Ate T, spin upside down as they ride Xtreme 2, part of the Mighty Thomas Carnival, at the Arkansas Oklahoma State Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019 at Kay Rodgers Park. [BRIAN D. SANDERFORD/TIMES RECORD]

ABOVE: Fair goers stroll through the midway area of the Mighty Thomas Carnival, at the Arkansas Oklahoma State Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019 at Kay Rodgers Park. RIGHT: Fair goers circle high above the midway of the Mighty Thomas Carnival.

they can’t always win.

Having a successful fair is dependent on multiple factors, Looper said.

“You know it’s the perfect recipe of the right entertainment inside and the perfect weather,” Looper said.

This puts part of the fair’s success out of organizers’ control.

People involved with the fair agree that the event provides a source of education and entertainment to the community.

“I think that this fair is a lot to this River Valley area,” Looper said.

WE ARE ... THE NATURE CENTER

Richard Falkner of Fort Smith fishes in Wells Lake at the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center.

Kaia Shields and Ansel Gerard get a bird’s-eye view from inside an oversized bluebird box in June at the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTOS]

TIMES RECORD STAFF

On the last day of August 2006, butterflies were released into rays of sunshine as part of the dedication and grand opening of the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center in Fort Smith. Since that time, the center has been a destination for children, adults, nature-lovers and others who have taken advantage of the programs, exhibits and activities the facility has to offer Then-Gov. Mike Huckabee and first lady Janet Huckabee were on hand during the dedication in 2006, offering their thanks and support for the $5.7 million facility at 8300 Wells Lake Road, near the Fort SmithBarling city line. The nature center sits on 170 acres of land that previously was part of Fort Chaffee.

Funded by the one-eighth-cent sales conservation tax and operating under the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, the 14,000-square-foot nature center has grown over the years and includes numerous exhibits, aquariums and educational rooms

Kendra Ingle, left, program educator at the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, talks to students from Beard Elementary in 2015. The class was on a nature walk around the lake before it was ended by a rain shower.

designed to promote nature and the conservation of the area’s natural resources.

The center's exhibits help tell the story of the River Valley's wildlife, ranging from deer to bears to various species of fish. Visitors can walk the trails around Wells Lake or try their hand at fishing or canoeing on the lake.

The fishing room allows visitors to catch a play fish and learn about that fish, as well as fishing limits and other facts, via a computer program. The adjacent bird room teaches people about birds, their flight patterns and their choice of food. A 1,700-gallon aquarium sits prominently inside the center and features fish native to the Arkansas River.

Outside the center, visitors can make their way back into the woods surrounding the building on one of six trails that circle from the center in all directions. The trails range in distance from one-quarter of a mile to more than one mile, round-trip. According to the center, more than 140 species of bird have been spotted along the trails.

The nature center has been a popular destination for school field trips over the years.

An estimated 80,000 visitors come to the nature center each year.

Among the regular programs at the center are a daily "Critter Crunch" animal feeding, "Nature Break" for children, guided hikes, canoeing, kayaking and archery. Visitors can check out binoculars, hiking bags, canoes and kayaks and more for use while visiting the center.

The center also hosts other special programs, including a wide variety of programs for children during summer months, including crafts and animal education events, in an interactive classroom. Adults can take advantage of programs such as a hunter education course, storm spotter class, boater education, "Using Apps with Maps" and more. Programs for the whole family include live snake demonstrations and family fun days, as well as "free fishing weekend" during the summer.

"Nature Night" programs allow families to spend time learning about wildlife after hours. Local wildlife experts often offer presentations.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 29

WE ARE ... STEEL HORSE RALLY

Motorcycles line the center of Garrison Avenue in 2017 during the third annual Steel Horse Rally in Fort Smith. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTOS]

TIMES RECORD STAFF

The Steel Horse Rally roared into Fort Smith for the first time in 2015 and became an instant favorite for residents and visitors of the River Valley. Its impact on the community has been felt since the event first began May 1, 2015.

The inaugural Steel Horse Rally had an estimated $4.2 million economic impact on the Fort Smith region, according to the Fort Smith Convention & Visitor's Bureau. The event attracted between 8,000 and 10,000 bikers with a two-day attendance of about 25,000 people.

"We made history," Steel Horse Rally President Dennis Snow said following the 2015 event. "It's never been done on this scale here. ‌ For a first-year rally this is better than I've ever seen."

Since that first rally, the event has grown by leaps and bounds, attracting more than 100,000 people to downtown Fort Smith each year and increasing its economic

30 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

Kenneth Shelton, from left, Waylon Davis and Melissa Horsey look at motorcycles May 3 during the opening day of the fifth annual Steel Horse Rally in downtown Fort Smith.

impact year after year. The 2018 Steel Horse Rally was estimated to have a local impact of more than $17.8 million, according to rally officials. The rally expanded into Oklahoma beginning in 2018.

“It’s hard to believe it’s only five years old," Snow said during this year's event, held May 3-4. "Everybody’s having a good time. It’s amazing when you stay positive and believe in your city what can happen.”

One appealing aspect of the Steel Horse Rally is that you don't have to be a biker to enjoy the event. This year's rally featured a live performance by the rock band Fuel at Harry E. Kelley/Riverfront Park, as well as a motorcycle parade, vendors and food trucks, all congregating on Garrison Avenue. Other events have included the Steel Horse Pro and Am Motorcycle Racing Shootout, the Vendor

Village and Old West-style re-enactments, information booths, the Birds of Prey Show and the Miss Steel Horse Rally Bikini Contest.

“It’s phenomenal for bringing people together over one common interest from all over,” said Rachel Nipper, who at the rally each year holds a motorcycle giveaway with Students Against Drugs and Alcohol. “It’s surprising it’s not just our neighborhood itself.

You get to mingle together and have some camaraderie.”

The Law Enforcement Fun Run made its debut in 2017, with Maj. Dean Pitts of the Fort Smith Police Department saying, “We wanted to do something that would give people a chance to interact with law enforcement officers in a different environment, as everyday people and fellow riders."

Proceeds from the rally over the years have benefited a variety of local nonprofits, including the Fort Smith Museum of History, the Gregory Kistler Treatment Center, Antioch for Youth & Family, the Children's Service League and many others.

Volunteers have helped make the Steel Horse Rally a successful event year after year.

Organizers have expressed their appreciation for them, as well as the Fort Smith police and sanitation departments who help make each year go smoothly.

Every year, the sight of motorcycles lined up along Garrison Avenue during the rally is among the most rewarding aspects for Snow.

“If you look at downtown areas in other towns, and then look at Fort Smith, Garrison Avenue is this wide, beautiful street,” he said before this year's event.

Hayden Schultz, left, and Ian Washburn race through a turn May 4 during the second annual Steel Horse Rally Shootout in Pocola.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 31

WE ARE ... FORT SMITH NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE TIMES RECORD STAFF

The Fort Smith National Historic Site offers a wide look at the early days of the city’s history and helps to confirm its place in Old West folklore. The park is 35 acres that stretch from Third Street to the Arkansas River. It opened in 1961 after being designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960.

Exhibits at the site, 301 Parker Ave., dive into the early days of Fort Smith. Although no buildings survive from the first fort established in 1817, visitors to the site can see the building that once served as Judge Isaac Parker’s courthouse as well as Civil War barracks and a frontier jail. The building, constructed in 1838, originally was used as an enlisted men’s barracks for the second fort in the area.

In 1872, the federal court system took over the building and converted it into a courthouse with a two-cell-block jail in the basement.

In 1890, the court moved into a new federal building on Sixth Street, and the old building eventually was converted into a federal prison. That jail closed in 1917, and in 1920, the city of Fort Smith converted it into city welfare offices, only later to be used in the 1940s and ‘50s for public and civic activities and offices. In 1957, Public Histories Restoration Inc. restored the courtroom part of the building, and in 1961, it was turned over to the National Parks System.

Another original building from the second Fort Smith is the Commissary, constructed in 1846. The building is made of stone quarried from Belle Point and hand-hewn timbers. The first floor served as a food warehouse, while the second contained office space and soldier barracks. During the Civil War, the building was believed to have been used by both Confederate and Union troops.

The building did not stay empty long when the Army abandoned Fort Smith in 1871. By 1872, it became the living quarters for federal court personnel; Judge Parker used the building for his private chambers for a time.

The building was saved from demolition around 1910 when the Federated Women’s Club of Fort Smith raised $500 and turned it into the Old Commissary Museum. It was later relinquished to the city, which eventually gave the building to the National Park Service to be part of the 32 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

TOP: Rain begins to fall as clouds blow into Fort Smith in 2015 at the Fort Smith National Historic Site.

MIDDLE: Jose Uris, from left, checks out the Commissary building along with his daughters, Katie and Rosa, and his wife Ellse while visiting the Fort Smith National Historic Site in 2017. According to the site, the Commissary is the oldest standing building in Fort Smith.

BOTTOM: A visitor reads about Fort Smith’s history at the Fort Smith Historic Site in 2016. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTOS]

National Historic Site.

A reproduction of the gallows where Judge Parker sentenced 79 people to die is at the Historic Site as well.

Visitors can walk along the river on a walkway that leads to Riverfront Park and Miss Laura’s Visitor Center downtown.

An overlook commemorates the Native American experience during the Trail of Tears forced relocation. Fort Smith served as the last stop on the trail before entering Indian Territory.

The Historic Site closed in October 1998 in order to undergo a $7.5 million federal renovation project. It reopened in June 2000 with much fanfare; festivities included a dedication of the Trail of Tears overlook and exhibit, grand reopening ceremony at the barracks/courthouse/ jail building, speeches by former U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers, then-U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson and Fort Smith Mayor Ray Baker, and a walking tour of the Belle Grove Historic District.

WE ARE ... BUTTERFIELD TRAIL HISTORY

Historian Ken O’Donnell discusses the history of the Butterfield Overland Trail and its route through Crawford County during a program at the Drennen-Scott House in Van Buren in 2014. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

TIMES RECORD STAFF

From 1858-61, Fort Smith was the junction point for the Butterfield Overland Trail, which branched west from St. Louis and Memphis to San Francisco. Though shortlived, the stagecoach line helped bring about the development of the western United States.

The Butterfield Overland Trail, the first transcontinental route for mail delivery by stagecoach in the mid-1800s, was approved for recognition by the National Park Service as a national historic trail in 2018. U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., announced in 2018 that the National Park Service had finally determined the Butterfield Overland Trail “meets the requirements to become a national historic trail.”

A plaque can be found at the Fort Smith Museum of History downtown commemorating the stage’s first stop. Fort Smith's residents in 1958 marked the 100th anniversary of the stage's arrival in the city with a parade, banquet and ball. Butterfield Trail Middle School in Van Buren is named for the famed endeavor. The Butterfield Trail

District is part of the Westark Area Council of Boy Scouts.

The River Valley was very much a central connecting point for the trail. The first Butterfield stage entered Fort Smith at 2 a.m.

Sunday, Sept. 19, 1858, at John Rogers City Hotel at North Second and A streets. The route took it across the Arkansas River by ferry from Van Buren and down what is now Midland Boulevard, through Second Street by the old John Rogers Inn and skirted the fort before crossing the Poteau River 100 yards south of the Historic Site’s boundary.

The trail then traveled on the south side of the Arkansas River to Skullyville.

There were seven route divisions of the Buttefield Overland Mail route. Fort Smith was involved with two of the divisions: Division 7, a 192-mile, 38-hour route from Colbert's Ferry, a crossing between Texas and Indian Territory near present-day Denison Texas, to Fort Smith, and Division 8, a Fort Smith to Tipton, Missouri, route that required about 318 miles and 48.5 hours.

John Butterfield, a former stage driver from New York, established the Butterfield Overland stage service. He received

a six-year, $600,000 federal contract to create 2,812-mile-long mail delivery service because demand for mail delivery in California was so high in the mid-1850s following the 1849 gold rush. The state threatened to secede if a faster mail service was not established, according to an Encyclopedia of Arkansas entry on the Butterfield Overland Trail. Congress voted in 1857 to subsidize a mail run from the Mississippi River to San Francisco.

The Pony Express, the Western Union telegraph and the transcontinental railroad eventually put the Butterfield Overland Express out of business.

Several segments of the roads that Butterfield’s Overland Mail Company traveled over in Arkansas have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including two near Cedarville: The Lucian Wood Road Segment on Lucian Wood Road between the junction of Armer Lane and Cedarville Road and Arkansas 220 and the Lee Creek Road Segment on Lee Creek Road west of Arkansas 220. Old Cove City Road north of Chester in Crawford County is also listed on the register.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 33

WE ARE ... DRENNEN SCOTT HOUSE

Caroline Bercher, the great-great-greatgranddaughter of John Drennen, gardens at the Drennen-Scott House recently. [ALEX GLADDEN/ The Drennen-Scott house at 324 N. Third St. in Van Buren is seen in 2014. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

BY ALEX GLADDEN

The long white house is clad with green shutters and a gray front porch. Just through the treeline, the Arkansas River runs underneath a rusting railroad bridge. The house has stood guard above the river since 1838.

Caroline Bercher is the great-great-greatgranddaughter of John Drennen, who built the house at 324 N. Third St. in Van Buren. Five generations of her family lived in the home.

But since 2005, when she and her two brothers sold the home, known as the Drennen-Scott House, to the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, she’s volunteered there, giving tours and gardening.

Bercher works in the garden every Thursday morning. She recently stood in the garden, pointing out different types of flowers. Periwinkle, lantana and climbing roses are among the flowers.

The garden is designed in a Victorian style and only contains plants that would have appeared in gardens of the era, Bercher said.

She spent a year helping research the type of plants to grow and creating the layout of the garden.

Growing up, Bercher used to visit her aunts who lived at the Drennen Scott House.

“I never really thought about it,” Bercher said about the house. “It was just part of my life. “It wasn’t anything special.”

Bercher’s brother, Scott Bulloch, also volunteers at the property and gives tours of the home. He remembers celebrating Christmas and the Fourth of July at the house.

Bercher said she didn’t begin learning about her family history until the university began conducting research on the house.

34 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

“Well you know the thing of it is, our mother never really talked about the history up there,” Bercher said.

Bercher said it was heartwarming to begin learning about her in-depth family history, starting with John Drennen.

Drennen, originally from Pennsylvania, moved to Arkansas from Tennessee in the 1820s, said Tom Wing, assistant professor of history and director of Drennen Scott historic site for the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. He first settled in Little Rock and eventually moved to the area that is now Van Buren, helping to found the town.

“John Drennen was also into anything that made money,” said Barbara Jacobson, who volunteers at the house.

Drennen bought the almost 600 acres that makes up most of Van Buren’s downtown, Wing said. He donated the land for the courthouse and Fairview Cemetery, where the family was later buried.

“It was not only picturesque, it was healthy for raising families,” Jackson said about Van Buren.

He bought and sold real estate, owned mercantile stores and grew cotton, Wing said.

Drennen remained politically active throughout his life and played a role in helping Arkansas become a state.

Wing said Drennen represented Crawford County in the 1836 Constitutional Convention.

In those days, Crawford County included Fort Smith and Fayetteville as well.

Sam Houston, Albert Pike, Zachary Taylor and James Polk were all friends of Drennen’s.

Taylor appointed him to be a Choctaw agent, eventually promoting him to superintendent, which gave him authority over the Cherokees.

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES RECORD]

In this position, he was responsible for paying the Cherokees whose land was taken during the Trail of Tears.

Wing said it is important to remember that Drennen’s success was partially because of his use of slave labor.

“A lot of his money was made on the backs of slaves,” Wing said.

Angela Walton-Raji is the descendent of Patrick, one of Drennen’s slaves who was buried with the family.

“He was a man with dreams and feelings, and he died young in 1858. He was never able to see freedom,” Walton-Raji said about Patrick.

Walton-Raji, who is a genealogist, discovered her connection to Patrick through his son, Samual Walton. She found Walton’s mother Lydia Talkington listed in the family Bible but did not realize who she was until she read Talkington’s account of her life as a part of her Civil War Pension that she filed to receive money after her husband’s death in the war.

Walton-Raji then connected that Talkington was Walton’s mother.

In the account, Talkington also made reference to Patrick, who, as a slave, she was never allowed to marry and was Walton’s father.

“Any genealogist will tell you that feeling of euphoria when you discover another ancestor,” Walton-Raji said about finding Patrick.

Walton-Raji connected with Wing and attended the house’s dedication, representing Patrick at the event, where she met Drennen’s descendants.

Today, the Drennen Scott House averages between 2,500 and 3,000 guests a year. The home opened for tours in 2011 after a period of restoration from 2005 to 2010, Wing said.

“We set the house up to last the next hundred years, a lot longer,” Wing said.

WE ARE ... CLAYTON HOUSE

TIMES RECORD STAFF

Few houses in Fort Smith have contributed more to historic and present-day Fort Smith than Clayton House.

Standing tall on North Sixth Street the center of Belle Grove Historic District, the home received its name after U.S. Attorney William Henry Harrison Clayton purchased it following the Civil War. Since then, the house has served Fort Smith as a space for those who visit to learn about local history.

“The Clayton House has served the community so well, and it really completes our downtown historic attraction quadrangle really well,” said House Director Julie Moncrief. “We have the Fort Smith National Historic Site, the Fort Smith Museum of History, the U.S. Marshals Museum, and we have a home of a community leader, William Henry Harrison Clayton, and it’s an authentic restoration of a Victorian-era home.”

Built in 1852, Clayton House during the Civil War served as a Union Army hospital.

Clayton, who served as a prosecutor under famed judge Isaac C. Parker, doubled its size and remodeled the home to reflect the

Victorian Style, according to Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

The house was first used for events in the late 19th century after it was leased to the Fort Smith Military Social and Athletic Club in 1897. It housed concerts and later served as a boarding house, according to Encyclopedia.

It operated as a boarding house through the 1960s. It would have been demolished at the end of the decade by the city if not for Julia Yadon, who took it upon herself to speak out against the loss of Victorian homes in the Belle Grove District.

“Mrs. Yadon was the primary mover and shaker, along with her eight patriots, in helping preserve the Clayton House,” former At-Large City Director Tracy Pennartz said. Pennartz in a 40th anniversary celebration of Clayton House in 2017 played Yadon in a reenactment.

The house in 1977 was opened as a historic house museum after seven years of restoration work, according to Encyclopedia. It still serves that purpose today, hosting events and speeches centered around the history of the house and the city.

“We are celebrating Julia Yadon and all of the people who have helped during those

first seven years as the Clayton House was restored,” Moncrief said at the 2017 event. “And we’re celebrating the people who have helped throughout the following decades up to today.”

A running event at the house is Clayton Conversations, which feature topical addresses and presentations about Fort Smith history. They have included a film screening about famed Fort Smith trumpet player Alphonso Trent and the novel True Grit and the two movies made from the book.

“Occasionally, we have a special opportunity to share something that we think is important, like today’s speaker, that still helps us understand our heritage,” Moncrief said at a Clayton Conversation in 2016. “We call Clayton House, ‘The Home of Our Heritage,’ and so the monthly programs are to gather people together, to let them see the Clayton House if they haven’t, and for us all to learn together pieces of our heritage.”

It also features events such as the one Pennartz played Yadon in. Other events have included Civil War reenactments, Downtown Business Association meetings and fundraisers.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 35

WE ARE ... MISS LAURA’S

Laura Zeiglar built Miss Laura’s Social Club at the turn of the century. She paid $600 for the land and borrowed $3,000 to construct the building. The building now serves as the Fort Smith Visitors Center.

[TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

BY ALEX GLADDEN

Laura Zeiglar became infamous for establishing Fort Smith’s most successful bordello, which now operates as Miss Laura’s Visitors Center, making it the only one of its kind in the nation, according to Carolyn Joyce, the tour and travel sales director of the Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The olive green house sits along the Arkansas River in an area that once made up the city’s red light district, where it was one of seven businesses that practiced prostitution. Zeiglar built the house at the turn of the century, Joyce said. She paid $600 for the land and borrowed $3,000 to construct the building. Miss Laura’s opened its doors in 1903. The business flourished.

Zeiglar sold the business in 1911 for $47,000 to Bertha Gale Dean, who was a working girl in the house. Dean became known as Big Bertha. She was a stout and loud woman, Joyce said. In 1924, Fort Smith passed an ordinance outlawing prostitution.

Dean continued operating Miss Laura’s as a bordello for a few years after the new law and then continued the business as a boarding house. She died in 1948 and left the house to Jules Bartholemew after none of her family would take it because of its history associated with prostitution. Bartholemew died a few years later, and the house eventually became 36 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

vacant. By 1963, the city developed a plan to destroy Miss Laura’s if a buyer could not be found by September. Donald Reynolds bought the house before the deadline, saving it from demolition.

“He recognized it as a piece of our history and wanted to save the building,” Joyce said.

Reynolds began efforts to get Miss Laura’s on the National Register of Historic Places.

He succeeded in 1973. It was the first bordello on the register. After restoring the building, Reynolds opened it as a restaurant, calling it Miss Laura’s Social Club. Joyce said the restaurant went out of business in 1990. But in 1992, the Convention & Visitor Bureau moved the city’s first Visitors Center into the building. Today, Miss Laura’s is open for tours. It’s furnished in its original style, and Joyce graces its halls as Miss Laura.

“You know Miss Laura’s is a spice of the Old West we’ve retained and cherished, and it’s legendary,” McGill said.

Miss Laura’s is among several bordellos, such as The Birdcage Theatre, that have been preserved since the Old West, said Chuck Girard, interim director of the Fort Smith Museum of History. The Advertising and Promotions Commission oversees Miss Laura’s, said Claude Legris, the commission’s executive director. The center is supported by the city’s hotel, motel lodging tax. The commission granted Miss Laura’s around

Carolyn Joyce portrays Miss Laura, madame of the famed bordello in downtown Fort Smith.

Miss Laura’s is the only brothel on the National Register of Historic Places. [ALEX GLADDEN/ SPECIAL TO THE TIMES RECORD]

$950,000 in 2019. Legris said this sum is markedly lower than most cities because the city does not have a prepared food tax, which would contribute to the center as well.

In 2018, 11,774 people visited Miss Laura’s, Legris said. About 70 volunteers keep the center running.

A documentary, “Step Into: Miss Laura’s” made its debut in early 2019 on AETN. Writer, actor and producer Chuck King recently received the Mid America Emmy for Writer: Arts and Entertainment Program Feature. While accepting the award, King thanked Joyce for helping keep Miss Laura's legacy alive.

WE ARE ... RIVER VALLEY LIBRARIES

BY SCOTT CUTLIP

The libraries of the River Valley serve thousands of people each year, offering roughly 600,000 books and other material, as well as other services. The libraries that are now part of the Fort Smith Public Library System, the Crawford County Library System and the Scott-Sebastian Regional Library System began simply and with far fewer options.

The Fort Smith Public Library’s origin was in 1888 with a group of Fort Smith women establishing the Fortnightly Club, a social and literary club, which included Mary Parker, wife of Judge Isaac Parker. One club topic was the need for a public library, and they opened one in 1892. By 1902, it was the largest public library in Arkansas. In 1906, a grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation was secured, and a new library in Fort Smith, the Carnegie City Library, built at 318 N. 13th Street, was opened. There were 3,200 books on the shelves. The librarian, Miss Starr Weaver, was paid $500 a year.

In 2000, three new branches — on Dallas Street, S. 28th Street and Windsor Drive — were opened. In 2001, the main library was opened and at 67,000 square feet, it was nearly twice as large as the previous building.

Combined, the four branches house nearly 300,000 books and other materials. In addition to books and computer access, the library plays an important role as a community space. Throughout the four branches, there are seven meeting rooms, available to anyone.

FSPL also offers classes in technology, and staff members will assist people on how to use devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Additionally, the library offers digital books which can be checked out on Kindles and other reading devices; Mango, which helps people learn foreign languages; and Tumble books, digital books which include sound and animation; and Kanopy, a free streaming video program.

The Crawford County Library System opened in 1999. Before that, the libraries in Alma, Cedarville, Mountainburg, Mulberry and Van Buren were part of the Ozarks Regional Library System. Then there were around 60,000 books and other materials in the libraries, along with eight employees.

Now, there are nearly 200,000 books and other materials, as well as 29 employees.

Most of the libraries in the CCLS have new buildings: Mulberry in 2008, Van Buren and Cedarville in 2011, and Mountainburg in 2018.

While the Alma library has expanded, there

Melanie Arnold reads “Leonardo The Terrible Monster” to children gathered for story time in 2017 at the Miller Branch Library, 8701 S. 28th St. in Fort Smith. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

The Main Branch of the Fort Smith Public Library is at 3201 Rogers Ave. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

The Scott-Sebastian Regional Library location in Greenwood, 18 S. Adair, is open at least eight hours a day on weekdays and three hours on Saturday. [SCOTT CUTLIP/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES RECORD]

are plans for a new building, although there has been no timeline set for this.

Like the FSPL, CCLS offers digital access, audiobooks, study rooms and meeting rooms, as well as programs like story time for children and summer reading programs.

Additionally, adults can participate in exercise programs, health seminars, craft and art classes, and book clubs, among others. Genealogy searches and foreign language studies are also available for patrons.

The Scott-Sebastian Regional Library System covers all of Scott County and South Sebastian County. Libraries are in Greenwood, Lavaca, Hartford, Mansfield and Waldron. Greenwood’s library was founded

The Van Buren Public Library is at 1409 Main St. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

The Scott-Sebastian Regional Library location in Greenwood is at 18 S. Adair. [SCOTT CUTLIP/ SPECIAL TO THE TIMES RECORD]

in 1944, in the basement of the old courthouse. The Scott-Sebastian Regional Library System was formed in 1954. The libraries have around 111,000 books and other materials.

The library system has 10 employees in total.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 37

WE ARE ... WINE COUNTRY

Muscadine grapes by the ton are seen on Tuesday at Post Winery vineyards near Altus. The wet summer made a more bountiful harvest for the native grape, which is made into both wine and non-alcoholic juice by Post Winery in Arkansas wine country. [COURTESY POST WINERY]

BY JOHN LOVETT

Arkansas wine country in the River Valley has become a respite from the hustle and bustle of city life for both travelers and locals.

Settled by Swiss and German immigrants in the late 1800s, the area has become a defining characteristic of the River Valley region and produces thousands of tons of grapes per year for a wide variety of award-winning wines.

Native grapes like Cynthiana, Vignole, Ives, Seyval, Chambourcin, Niagara and Delaware can be found growing in the scenic Arkansas wine country alongside Old World vitis vinifera grapes like Cabernet and Zinfandel.

What makes it work? Cool air sinks to the river valley and moist warm air rises to the mountain topped with linker sandy loam soil.

It’s ideal for grape growing, and settlers from Europe knew it.

“The soil and micro-climate is perfect for growing grapes,” says Audrey House, founder of Chateau Aux Arc near Altus. “There are 38 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

over 100 wines made within a five-mile radius.

You’re going to find something you like, guaranteed. Even if you don’t drink wine, you’ll find something for yourself or a friend who does.”

Non-alcoholic grape juices from grapes like Muscadine and Elderberry are also produced locally. And low-alcohol wines are up for grabs with a popular new option from Post Winery called Parachute made with Muscadine grapes.

“Blue Parachute is one of Post’s most popular wines,” says Joseph Post of Post Winery. “It has half the alcohol of most table wines and a slightly bubbly finish. Lots of folks who would normally think wine is too ‘hot’ seem to love this light wine.”

Although many may find it a folksy grape, Muscadines are nothing to shake a stick at.

Joseph Post regularly points out their high antioxidant levels. The Post family members often live to ripe old ages and attest to the value of the Muscadine. Matthew Joseph Post Sr., a fourth-generation grape grower and the Post Winery patriarch, calls the plum-sized jumbo

Muscadine his favorite of the bunch.

Although some high winds created havoc on many vintners and grape growers in Arkansas wine country this year, the wet summer of 2019 also created a more bountiful crop for a grape that can take on the water without bursting: The Muscadine.

“Post Winery’s ‘bunch grapes’ suffered from a wet August and September harvest season, but the Muscadine crop was incredibly bountiful,” Joseph Post said.

With help from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, new varieties of grapes are being developed that grow better in the Arkansas climate. Although steeped in wine making history, more education on wine making and grape growing in recent years through UA and Arkansas Tech UniversityOzark has also led to better wines being made in the River Valley.

More advanced levels of wine making, such as blending varieties, is also practiced in Arkansas wine country. Dragonfly Red at Chatau aux

Arc, for example, is made with nine varieties of vitis vinifera.

“This is the wine capital of Arkansas,” says Altus Mayor Veronica Post. “Before Prohibition, there were over 50 bonded wineries here.”

For the Post and Weiderkehr families, their descendants still carry on the family tradition and grow most of the grapes for their wines on St. Mary Mountain next to Altus. Even the mayor of Altus comes from grape growers and winemakers. Her mother’s parents, the Joergers, had a bonded winery many years ago. But her father’s family, the Rinkes, just made it for home use.

“Many families here had bonded wineries, and a lot of them also just grew grapes and made wine for themselves,” Veronica Post said.

Survival for many Arkansas wineries during Prohibition, she added, was possible when they were allowed to keep making sacrament wine used by the Catholic churches.

Inspired by a slogan used years ago in Altus, Post said the Altus Rotary Club proudly proclaims on its flags and banners “Altus: Where the grapes grow best.” The city of Altus hosted its 35th annual Grape Festival in July at Altus City Park.

And the 56th annual Wiederkehr Village Weinfest will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today at Wiederkehr Wine Cellars, 3324 Swiss Family Drive in Weiderkehr Village. It is south of Interstate 40 and northwest of Coal Hill.

Weinkeller Restaurant at Wiederkerh Village is where many go to dine while visiting Arkansas wine country. The free-flowing Mulberry River nearby also offers a scenic place to cool off on warm days.

Harvest season Now at the peak of harvest season for Muscadine grapes, a visit to Altus this week would have found tractors hauling tons of fruit for crushing into juice.

In addition to many local wineries like Post, Weiderkehr, Chateau aux Arc, St. John’s, Mount Bethel and Dionysus — there are also local farmers who only grow grapes for production wineries. James Dahlem, Ed Faye, and the Albert Leding family are a few of those grape farmers.

Dahlem’s Red by Chateau aux Arc is made with Cynthiana grapes grown by her neighbor: James Dahlem.

As noted in a mid-harvest report Aug. 3, grapes like Cynthiana for dry reds and Vignoles for dry whites are expected to offer more

Matthew Joseph Post, a fourth-generation winemaker and patriarch of Post Winery in Altus, is seen Tuesday holding a jumbo Muscadine grape, his favorite variety. The Post family has been a central part of the winemaking community of the River Valley since the late 1800s. [COURTESY POST WINERY]

complexity this year with the cooler nights on the vine. There were fewer days over 95 degrees. However, that created challenges for powdery mildew and black rot.

House estimated a loss of 50 percent of her crop following a storm with high winds. It was followed by an invasion of insects and animals from the flooded Arkansas River basin.

“You just keep going,” House says of the challenges. “Mother Nature is throwing us a curve ball. You just have to run with it.”

Staying there People who visit Arkansas wine country can find places to stay and enjoy the slower pace of life of Arkansas wine country through websites including Arkansas.com. There are RV and campsites available in the area such as Aux Arc Recreation Area & Campground at Ozark.

Chateau aux Arc also has an RV park and campground a mile from the tasting room.

Post Winery’s website, postfamilie.com, also offers contacts for several local lodgings including The Magnolia Bed & Breakfast, 712 N. Third St., in Ozark; St. Mary’s Mountain Guest Inn, 2121 St. Mary’s Mountain Road, in Altus, the Wine Country Cottage,107 Skillern

St. in Altus; and the 1879 Family Homestead, in Altus.

River Valley wineries • Chateau aux Arc Winery, 8045 Highway 186, Altus.

• Cowie Wine Cellars & Vineyards, 101 N. Carbon City Road, near Paris.

• Dionysus Winery & Brew, 9017 Highway 186, Altus.

•JKC Cellars, 7709 Ellis St., in Fort Smith’s Chaffee Crossing.

• Mount Bethel Winery, 5014 Mount Bethel Drive, Altus.

• Neumeier Winery, 3406 Highway 186, Wiederkehr Village.

• Post Winery, 1700 Saint Mary’s Mountain Road, Altus.

• Sax Winery, 1604 Saint Mary’s Mountain, Altus • Wiederkehr Wine Cellars & Vineyards, 3324 Swiss Family Drive, Wiederkehr Village, Altus.

In all, there are 25 licensed wineries in Arkansas, according to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 39

WE ARE ... POTEAU BALLOON FEST

BY SCOTT SMITH

The annual Poteau Balloon Festival has been drawing individuals, families and groups since its inception back in 2006.

Named the No. 3 event in Okiescentric magazine's "Top 40 Things to Do in Oklahoma" in 2014 and operating under the umbrella of the Poteau Chamber of Commerce, the Poteau Balloon Festival has become an event cherished by many due to the colorful sights and sounds of the hot-air balloons and numerous other family-themed activities, said Karen Wages, president/CEO for the chamber and the producer for the festival.

Other attractions at the Poteau Balloon Festival include the Pumpkin Mud Run, the Belly Flop, carnival rides, the Balloon Glow, the Great American Kites presentation, helicopter rides and more.

"The Balloon Glow starts at dusk, or dark, each night, and you get to talk and visit with balloon pilots and walk among the balloons," Wages said. "It is a balloon experience, especially if you've never experienced it before. You get to feel the heat and as the balloon warms, it starts to rise.

"It takes a big crew to keep that balloon down, so they will also let spectators stand inside the basket to help out," she added.

"The fire that they shoot up into the envelope in the night sky is so beautiful."

Like Wages, Sara Powell anticipates the Poteau Balloon Festival each year.

"We have so many things going on — interactive things and other great family activities — that it makes it so exciting," said Powell, who is an event coordinator

The annual Poteau Balloon Fest features a balloon glow as well as helicopter rides and other activities. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

for the Poteau Chamber of Commerce.

"We have Andmore Theatre Co. doing a theatrical show for the community."

According to Wages, the Poteau Balloon Festival has expanded through the years, transforming from "an impressive" festival during its debut at the Poteau Airport in 2006 to one that has gained popularity with each passing year.

"The festival was started by a group of community people, and the

Chamber of Commerce actually helped out," she said. "The Chamber then took over the festival and moved it to the fairgrounds in 2011. When it moved, it really did explode with people. We had 20,000 people that first year we moved, as opposed to the 3,000 or 4,000 who would attend at the old location."

"I'd say 90 percent of our contact with people is because of the balloons," she said. "People like the uniqueness of the Poteau Balloon Festival because people don't see balloons every night."

Propane burners illuminate some of the 21 hot air balloons taking part in a balloon glow at Robert S. Kerr Airport in Poteau during the annual Poteau Balloon Fest.

40 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

WE ARE ... TRUE GRIT

BY MAX BRYAN

Even for those who have never visited Fort Smith, the town has been immortalized through a movie and two books that secured its reputation as the rough-andtumble frontier to the Old West.

Written in 1968 by Charles Portis, "True Grit" tells the story of Arkansas farm girl Mattie Ross avenging her father's murder with the help of Deputy U.S. Marshal Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn and Texas Ranger LaBoeuf. The story, which is set in 1873 in Fort Smith and Oklahoma, captured public imagination when it was made into a movie in 1969 and again in 2010.

The novel has left its mark on Fort Smith as well — it can be seen in businesses like True Grit Tattooing and True Grit Running and in public debate over its historical accuracy. The novel even describes parts of the town, such as the gallows, that are preserved at the Fort Smith National Historic Site.

Charles Portis’ brother, Jonathan Portis, said Charles spent considerable time in Fort Smith researching the town and its events for the novel. Charles Portis in a letter to the Fort Smith National Historic Site in 2000 explained that his research included reading newspaper accounts of Judge Isaac Parker’s public trials, looking through books and pamphlets that detailed the time period and visiting sites where he envisioned the story’s events taking place.

Charles Portis in his letter said many events in his story, including a rattlesnake biting Ross after she falls into a pit, were based off similar historic events that occurred in the city. He also said his inspiration for Cogburn — arguably the novel's most prominent figure — came through firsthand research.And if he was unable to find the facts, he would make something up."I wasn’t writing a treatise, only a novel," he said in his letter. "Still, you like to get things right."

Historic Site Park Ranger Cody Faber pointed out that Charles Portis' portrayal of Judge Isaac Parker, known as "The Hanging Judge," was not historically accurate. He said Parker did not watch executions and was actually against the death penalty. This historical inaccuracy was depicted in both the book and the movies, Faber said.

However, Faber said Cogburn was a fictional character likely based on real people

Lawbreakers & Peacemakers, a local nonprofit re-enactment group, was the recipient of a 2017 Fort Smith GRIT Award. [COURTESY PHOTO] LEFT: Sue Robinson, left, and Roger Carter talk with John Wayne’s granddaughter, Anita La Cava Swift, during a reception in July at Darby Junior High in Fort Smith. Swift was in town to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of the movie version of “True Grit” and took part in a Q&A session. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

and events. Akins said several "'Rooster' Cogburns" served in the Western District of Arkansas, which oversaw the western district of Arkansas and what is now Oklahoma. Cogburn in the novel is described as "a pitiless man, double-tough," and an abuser of those he arrested.

While Ross was likely a fictional character, Faber said, Fort Smith nonetheless has a history of prominent women. One such woman he mentioned in light of Ross was Mary Rutherford Cravens, who was stationed in Fort Smith with her family prior to the Civil War. Her letters have provided historians insight into how the fort looked in the 19th century, Faber said.

Despite the success of "True Grit,"

Charles Portis said he never imagined his work taking off like it did.

He said the national Part of Charles Portis’ success of his novel, novel “True Grit” is set which he called "a in Fort Smith. very regional story" in his letter to the Historic Site, took him by surprise."You write what interests you, without looking over your shoulder, and sometimes the thing appeals to others," he says in his letter.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 41

WE ARE ... THE 188TH WING

Brig. Gen. Thomas D. Crimmins, Arkansas National Guard air component commander, left, passes the guidon flag of the 188th Wing to the unit’s new commander, Col. Leon J. Dodroe, during a change of command ceremony at the Fort Smith Convention Center in August. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

LEFT: Master Sgts.

Twila Costiloe and Jefferey Ames, 188th UPAD analysts, prepare information products in the 188th Unclassified Processing, Assessment and Sissemination element at Ebbing Air National Guard Base during Hurricane Florence response efforts in 2018. [PHOTO

The 188th Wing at Ebbing National Guard Base in Fort Smith. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

BY SCOTT CUTLIP

The 188th Wing at Ebbing Air National Guard Base has been a part of Fort Smith since 1953, when the 184th Technical Reconnaissance Squadron was organized.

At the time, it consisted of 18 officers and 93 enlisted personnel. In 1962, it was redesignated as the 188th Tactical Reconnaissance Group.

It has gone through multiple changes since then, from acquiring its current designation as the 188th Wing to changing its nickname of “Rick’s Rippers” — named for Arkansas native Maj. Gen. Earl T. Ricks — to its current tag the “Fighting Razorbacks.” During that time, the 188th featured many different aircraft models, from the RB-26, a twin-engine modified bomber, to the F-100 and the F-16C. The F-100 changed the wing’s mission from reconnaissance to a fighter wing.

In 2005, as part of a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision, the F-16 squadron was removed and the wing began to work with A-10s. The wing’s last change was in 2015, when its aircraft became the MQ-9 Reaper, a remotely piloted aircraft.

Col. Leon Dodroe, who assumed the role of Wing Commander in August 2019, said the MQ-9 provides the military with unique capability.

“We’ve provided combat capability to 42 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

COURTESY OF STAFF SGT. MATTHEW MATLOCK]

the combatant commanders overseas, from here in Arkansas,” he said. “We fly it via a remote split ops. There is a unit over in the area of operation that refuels, does maintenance, and arms the aircraft. They launch it, and then we remotely grab it via satellite and fly it from stateside to provide real-time imagery, as well as weapons effect on the battlefield.”

In addition, the 188th provides distributed ground system, which takes imagery the MQ-9 provides, collects it, reviews and processes it, and then provides decision analysis for the ground commander.

The wing’s third mission is space-focused targeting.

Dodroe, who has 4,000 hours of flight time, said it’s an intense endeavor for pilots of the MQ-9. While they are operating it in the safety of a room in Arkansas, they also have to interact with 18 different computer screens, as well as communication through telephones and radio. There will be an operations supervisor, who assists the pilot and controls the mission, as well as an intelligence operations

specialist who provides backup and continuity to the mission.

Beyond its three main missions, the 188th Wing is also an Air Force National Guard base. In addition to the 300 active duty enlisted and officers, there are about 700 National Guard members. The base has a RED HORSE (Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operation Repair Squadron Engineer) training center, which can be used to train personnel in heavy repair, including runway repair. There is even a truck driving school on base for military and Department of Defense personnel.

The concept of the citizen airman is alive at the 188th Wing. Personnel responded during 2019’s flood, spending more than four days filling 120,000 pounds of sandbags. Even the distributed ground system was implemented, assisting in attaining real-time information for decision making at the operation center in Little Rock. They have also provided support for up to 150 personnel in the Virgin Islands during the recent hurricane.

WE ARE ... U.S. MARSHALS MUSEUM

BY JADYN WATSON-FISHER

The partially completed U.S. Marshals Museum, despite construction delays and fundraising lulls, remains a top project for Fort Smith and the region. The museum is more than a place to learn about American history and the Constitution — it's a place to honor fallen U.S. Marshals and deputies.

The Samuel M. Sicard Hall of Honor was dedicated with the rest of the facility on Sept. 24, 2019. It shares stories of the Marshals Service men and women who died since the oldest federal law enforcement service was founded on that day in 1789.

U.S. Marshals Service Director Donald W. Washington said Fort Smith is “the perfect place” for the museum, because of its significance in the agency’s history. He said more U.S. Marshals and deputies from the Arkansas Western District have died in the line of duty than any other district.

Fort Smith was also the final stop of “law and order” before entering Indian Territory, the Marshals Museum website said.

Jim Dunn, former president of the U.S. Marshals Museum Foundation, said the Marshals worked with Native American law enforcement and helped “pave the way for statehood.” Representatives from the Five Civilized Tribes were invited to work on the museum board of directors and committed to having a piece that honors tribal law enforcement.

U.S. Marshals annually arrest about 100,000 fugitives and 11,000 sex offenders. They have recovered 1,500 endangered children in conjunction with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children since 2005. The agency has 94 district offices, 218 sub-offices and four foreign offices.

Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin of Arkansas said the Marshals tracked down spies during the Civil War and World War II, protected black students when schools were integrated and have been in charge of the U.S. Census.

Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost and Gail Etienne Stripling, the first three black students to integrate in 1954 the all-white McDonogh High School in New Orleans, attended the dedication alongside Deputy U.S. Marshal Herschel Garner. He was with them that day.

Family members of fallen U.S. Marshals and Deputy U.S. Marshals are seen at the Samuel M. Sicard Hall of Honor in the U.S. Marshals Museum Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, during a dedication of the building. It was also the 230th anniversary of the service’s inception. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTOS]

Despite some negativity because of a failed 1% sales tax, residents have called the museum a “treasure,” “landmark,” “great addition,” “longtime benefit” and a project that has “a good chance of becoming a world-class beacon” for visitors across the country and the world.

The museum needs another $7.75 million of the $15 million goal, which has decreased from the original amount because of cost-cutting measures. In March 2019, voters denied the museum’s request for the nine-month, 1% tax that was expected to raise about $16 million.

Marshals Museum President Patrick Weeks previously told the Times Record that once the remaining money is received, it can “pull the trigger” to order the hightech interactive exhibits. The foundation has focused on seeking donations from regional and national donors. Fort Smith

David Kennedy, curator for the U.S. Marshals Museum, shows museum board members a 1973 map of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota during a meeting in June.

and Van Buren residents have already provided most of the $33.5 million in cash and pledges, and $3.5 million in land and in-kind donations.

Wells Fargo has donated $50,000 toward the project, bringing its total contributions to more than $90,000, including grants from the company’s community affairs program.

The museum is also allowing individuals and organizations to purchase bricks for a walkway at $250 and $500, depending on the brick size.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 43

WE ARE ... LAKE FORT SMITH STATE PARK

BY MAX BRYAN

Lake Fort Smith has far exceeded its purpose as a water source for its namesake.

Located just north of Mountainburg in the Boston Mountain Valley of the Ozarks, Lake Fort Smith was designated in the 1930s as the water source for the city of Fort Smith. The state park constructed around the lake now features amenities like campsites, picnic sites, cabins and rentable kayaks and canoes as well as events held on site throughout the year.

Now on the banks of a reservoir of more than 1,300 surface acres combined with Lake Shepherd Springs, the area around Lake Fort Smith was originally developed in the 1930s by Fort Smith city officials.

They developed the area around the lake as a recreational park at the same time they and Crawford County officials constructed a water plant at the lake. Both the recreational area and the lake itself were a works progress administration project, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

44 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

[COURTESY ARKANSAS STATE PARKS]

The original facilities at the park consisted of a wading pool, a swimming pool, cottages, a bathhouse, fish ponds and landscaping. Workers also constructed barbecue pits, tables and shelters for visitors, according to Encyclopedia.

The state parks system took over the recreational area in 1967. They

constructed playground equipment, fireplace grills and a small campground inside the park.

The Fort Smith Board of Directors in August 1999 voted to enlarge the dam again to expand the region’s water supply, according to the encyclopedia entry. In 2002, the lake was enlarged with Lake

Shepherd Springs into a single reservoir to meet the city’s water demands. The lake with Lake Shepherd Springs form a reservoir of 1,390 surface acres.

“The expansion of the reservoir is expected to satisfy the area’s anticipated water demands through the year 2050,” according to Encyclopedia.

When the park reopened in 2008, the state park’s amenities had been replaced at its current location thanks to $12 million pledged from Fort Smith and $10 million from the state parks system. These facilities included an 8,000-square-foot visitor center, a group lodge, 30 campsites, a playground, a boat ramp, a marina and a lakeside pavilion with picnic tables.

Lake Fort Smith State Park is also the western terminus for the 240-mile Ozark Highlands Trail, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. There are also several trails for hiking within the park.

Visitors who come to the lake expecting to swim will be disappointed — it’s prohibited to preserve the quality of the water for those who will eventually drink it. But opportunities for camping, kayaking, and boating are plentiful.

Park faculty also make a point to host workshops and events throughout the year — “Dutch Oven Cooking 101” was held on

Saturday, followed by “Monarch Migration” on Friday. The park in May hosted “Backpacking 101,” in which experienced hiker Jim Warnock shared tips for preparing for a long-distance hike. Other workshops held that same day included “Leave No Trace — When Nature Calls” and “Respecting Wildlife.”

The Fort Smith Noon Day Kiwanis Club also holds its annual boys’ camp at the park each year. Established in 1937, the camp was previously held at other sites including Sallisaw and Fort Chaffee before moving to Lake Fort Smith. The camp brings Fort Smith-area boys ages 9 to 11 to the state park for a week.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 45

WE ARE ... FORT SMITH AREA PARKS

Frankie Schneider gives her Elsa dolla swing in Fort Smith’s Creekmore Park.

[TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

BY JADYN WATSON-FISHER

This iconic landscape of Creekmore Park was founded 70 years ago after two land donations and residents’ financial support. E.F. Creekmore donated to the city 23 acres of land on Dec. 23, 1943. Leigh Kelley, a real-estate mogul, donated 15 acres and residents contributed to the purchase of 10 more acres. The park officially opened on June 4, 1949. More than 10,000 people attended the 12-hour celebration, the Times Record reported, and included the dedication of the miniature railroad, which was created to “foster goodwill,” said Cyndi Pence Glidewell. Glidwell’s grandfather Eldon Pence Sr. worked for Kansas City Southern and helped get the company to lay about half a mile of railroad tracks for the small train. The original steam engine was built by Sam Skidmore of Paris, Texas, who sold it to the city for $5,000. There was a time when the train was expensive and the city considered getting rid of it, Glidewell said, but several residents started a trust fund in honor of her grandfather to help with operational costs. The train is now electric and Exide Technologies donated a new battery 46 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

system in 2019.

Nestled in the middle of Fort Smith is Carol Ann Cross Park, a stunning 61-acre landscape with geese, a fishing pond, walking trail and playground. It was named after the late Carol Ann Cross, a 12-year-old girl who who spent a large portion of time on the property before her unexpected death in 1967. Suesann Viguet, Cross’ cousin, speculates Cross died of spinal meningitis. The area was previously called Wildcat Mountain but was developed into a city park in 1974. Viguet’s family was active in the city, and she recalled conversations about turning the mountain into a park and collecting donations for its development. When Cross died, Viguet said, it made sense to name the park after someone who loved the area.

In September 2006, the park was closed until October 2007 for a $2.7 million revitalization project. Bill Hanna, president of Hanna Oil and Gas, then donated six years later 10 acres at the bottom of the hill for a total park acreage of 61. The city gave Hanna 8.5 acres at the top, which was not easily accessible for park goers.

Land for Harry E. Kelley Park, located along the Fort Smith riverfront, was

donated by heiress Gordon Kelley in 1984.

She wanted the land to be a free picnic park that wasn’t “set aside for the use of any person or organization.” Kelley also requested nothing be sold or fees charged for services or facilities, according to a letter to former Fort Smith Mayor William Vines. After working with Kelley’s heirs, however, the city can now lease the park to nonprofit organizations and for-profit promoters with no restriction on the number of lease days. It features an amphitheater, known as the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Pavilion, walking trails, event center and the glass pavilion.

Land for Tilles Park was conveyed to the city in 1925 by C.A. Tilles. His brother George Tilles Sr. was a major developer in Fort Smith. The park features a splash pad with ground-level sprayers and a fill-n-dump bucket, a disc golf course, playground, small walking trail and pavilions.

Fort Smith Parks and Recreation manages more than 30 parks, trails and facilities. These include the Park at West End, Martin Luther King Jr. community park, the Fort Smith dog park and Riverfront Glass Pavilion.

WE ARE ... GEN. WILLIAM O. DARBY

The statue of William O. Darby at Cisterna Park in Fort Smith was unveiled in 2016. [JOHN LOVETT/TIMES RECORD]

Participants in the Darby Legacy Project are recognized at the statue at Cisterna Park in Fort Smith. [JOHN LOVETT/TIMES RECORD]

TIMES RECORD STAFF

A statue of Gen. William O. Darby sits prominently in downtown Fort Smith, paying tribute to one of the River Valley's most famous native sons.

The statue, unveiled in 2016 on the 71st anniversary of his death, honors Darby, the founder of Darby's Rangers — later the U.S. Army Rangers — and sits as a reminder of his legacy as well as his role in helping to drive the Nazis out of Cisterna, Italy, during World War II. During his career, Darby received three Purple Hearts, two Distinguished Service Crosses, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Russian Order of Kutuzov and the French Croix de Guerre.

Darby was born Feb. 8, 1911, in Fort Smith. He graduated from Fort Smith High School in 1929, after attending Belle Grove School through the sixth grade. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1933. He was assigned to Fort Bliss, Texas, after being commissioned as a second lieutenant and was later deployed with the 34th Infantry Division to northern Ireland after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He served with a unit in north

Africa during World War II before he and his Rangers landed in Italy.

He was killed in action on April 30, 1945, at Torbole, Italy, when an artillery shell burst while he and other officers were planning an attack, only days before the Germans surrendered in Italy. Darby was buried in Cisterna but was reinterred in 1949 at the U.S. National Cemetery in Fort Smith. He posthumously received a promotion to brigadier general.

The statue is not the only way Darby is honored throughout Fort Smith. Fort Smith Junior High was renamed William O. Darby Junior High School in 1955 and the school's mascot later became the Rangers. The Darby House sits at 311 General Darby St. in Fort Smith and serves

ABOVE: The Darby House sits at 311 General Darby St. in Fort Smith. [JOHN LOVETT/TIMES RECORD]

LEFT: Gen William O. Darby in an undated photo. [COURTESY PHOTO]

as a museum of military memorabilia and artifacts. The area still recognizes Darby's birthday with programs every February.

There are several signs at the entrance to Fort Smith's city limits proclaiming Cisterna as its sister city. Cisterna Plaza sits downtown with the statue of Darby. There are also new housing developments and streets in Fort Smith’s Chaffee Crossing named in honor of Cisterna di Latina, Italy.

U.S. Army Rangers and the Fort Smith community helped welcome Darby's statue to Cisterna Park in 2016, where Darby was praised by a parade of speakers before his 7-foot tall, 1,300-pound bronze statue was uncovered for the public.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 47

WE ARE ... VAN BUREN DOWNTOWN HISTORY An early 1900s-era bank was refurbished into The Vault Sports Grill in downtown Van Buren. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

BY MAX BRYAN

Spaces in downtown Van Buren that are now being filled with new businesses hold century-old stories inside them.

Once the focal point of a town with close ties to the Civil War, the California Gold Rush and 19th-century commerce, downtown Van Buren today boasts historic buildings and tourist attractions that showcase the town’s past. The spaces that occupied the area in its heyday are still there — some are filled with other businesses, while others serve the same purpose they did more than 100 years ago to new crowds.

“It’s the heart of the city,” Van Buren Advertising & Promotion Commissioner Maryl Purvis said in 2018. “These areas need to be saved and revitalized.”

First founded as a port from a land claim on the Arkansas River in the 1820s, Van Buren in the first half of the 19th century served traders bound for Santa Fe, N.M. Some of the town’s first businesses, including a fuel depot and wood 48 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

yard, centered industry directly around the river.

With Main Street as its backbone, downtown Van Buren sits perpendicular to the Arkansas River and leads motorists directly to the city’s levees. Main Street is lined with historic buildings that, while now filled with restaurants and coffee shops, pay homage to the region’s era as the frontier to the Old West in the latter half of the 1800s.

Investors who have poured new life into the insides of these buildings have uncovered nuggets of downtown Van Buren history. Renovators of The Vault sports bar at the corner of Main and Seventh Streets uncovered furnishings of “Old Reliable Citizen’s Bank” and a building attached to it once known as Hinkle Hall in the 113-year-old structure. Thought to be the oldest commercial building in Van Buren, Hinkle Hall housed a barber shop for 85 years downstairs and the Van Buren Argus newspaper operations upstairs.

The practice of converting oncecommercial space into amenities isn’t a

new one in downtown Van Buren — King Opera House was formed from two commercial buildings on Main Street into a performance space. Constructed at the end of the 19th century, the Opera House was originally opened as the Bob Burns Theatre. The Opera House now serves as a popular tourist attraction and location for other community-related events, said UAFS Assistant History Professor and Drennen-Scott Historic Site Director Tom Wing.

A few blocks over from the Opera House is the Drennen Scott House — a focal point in Downtown Van Buren history although not on Main Street. John Drennen after moving to Arkansas from Tennessee in the 1820s purchased the almost 600 acres that today makes up most of Van Buren’s downtown and donated the land for the Crawford County Courthouse and Fairview Cemetery. Drennen also owned mercantile stores and bought and sold real estate, according to Wing.

The Drennen Scott House today averages between 2,500-3,000 guests a year.

WE ARE ... VETERANS

The annual Veterans Day Parade at Chaffee Crossing has become one of the biggest celebrations of the River Valley area’s veterans. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

BY JOHN LOVETT

The military has been an integral part of the River Valley since the founding of the first Fort Smith in 1817 at Belle Point, and military veterans continue to provide a strong social fabric network of support to the region.

There are an estimated 20,000 military veterans in Sebastian County and another 10,000 or so in Crawford County who are eligible for veterans benefits. About 100,000 military veterans are estimated to be in the west central and northwest Arkansas regions.

From volunteering to support of local nonprofits and good causes, to running successful businesses and serving as mentors to today’s youth, veterans offer a wide variety of skills backed by military precision and discipline.

U.S. Sen. John Boozman pointed out there is a need for an expanded VA Clinic in Fort Smith. Boozman told the Times Record in August 2019 at the Fort Smith VA Outpatient Clinic the need for more space is long overdue. While many veterans in the area make the drive to the VA facility in Fayetteville for certain care,

there are thousands of veterans in Crawford, Sebastian and Franklin counties eligible to use the Fort Smith facility.

Area veterans are celebrated with the annual Veterans Day Parade at Chaffee Crossing on former Fort Chaffee land. A medals presentation and veterans honors ceremony is part of the event, said Lorie Robertson, director of marketing for the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority/ Chaffee Crossing.

“This is a regional parade; it’s not a Fort Smith parade,” she told the Times Record. in 2018, Robert Jack VFW Post 1322 celebrated the 100th anniversary of Robert Jack, one of the first residents of Crawford County killed in action during WWI. He died Sept. 22, 1918. Matt Hicks, quartermaster for Van Buren’s Robert Jack VFW Post 1322 dispels perceptions of a VFW post “just being a bar for vets to tell old war stories.” The post doesn’t have a bar.

“We do everything we can for our community,” Hicks says. “We teach a lot of classes in schools about patriotism, flag etiquette, and what it means to be an American.”

Hicks noted the Van Buren VFW has 212 members with an average attendance of

40 to 50 per meeting. It also has an active VFW Auxiliary.

Increasing activity for military veterans and supporters can be seen with the formation of a new VFW Auxiliary at Fort Smith VFW Post 8845 at 3005 Tilles Ave., in February 2019. Male and female relatives of those who served in overseas combat are invited to join the auxiliary to help improve the lives of veterans and their families in the community. The group meets at the post.

The VFW Auxiliary has served veterans, active-duty military and their families for more than 100 years. Members provide assistance to veterans and their families, work to instill patriotism in youth, provide hours of service in the VA and other medical facilities and make sure their support of veterans issues is heard on Capitol Hill.

According to a May 2019 report from the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, the Veteran Population Projection Model (VetPop) shows a veteran population that is both declining in number and becoming more evenly distributed in age. The total veteran population is predicted to decline from 20.8 million in 2015 to 12.0 million in 2045. The total annual change is minus 1.8%, the report states.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 49

WE ARE ... FORT SMITH REGIONAL ART MUSEUM STORY AND PHOTOS BY SCOTT SMITH

Local artwork, traveling exhibits, educational classes and a $12 million endowment are just some of the many facets of the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum.

The Fort Smith Regional Art Museum offers free admission and features various art exhibits, education programs for art experts, semi-experienced artists, beginner artists and casual viewers alike. The 16,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility features nationally and internationally recognized traveling exhibits, rotating exhibits of art by local and regional artists, classes for adults and children, lectures, special events, free Saturday programming, opening receptions and more, said Louis "Lou" Meluso, executive director for the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum.

In January 2019, FSRAM was awarded a $12 million endowment by the Windgate Foundation to be used to support the museum's general operations and allow the facility to continue offering various programs and events free for visitors. The endowment, which is being professionally managed, is helping the museum offer "diverse exhibitions," educational programs and more via "a quarterly stipend from the invested assets," Meluso said.

Also setting FSRAM apart from other art-related facilities is the William E. Knight Porcelain/Boehm Gallery, which is set to boast the largest collection of Boehm porcelain in Arkansas. The collection was donated to FSRAM by Dr. and Mrs. W.E. Knight in 1981 and contains some of the finest pieces ever assembled. Each piece in the Knight collection showcases exquisite detail and took months to perfect while following a 2,000-year, porcelain-making tradition that originated in China.

Opened in the spring of 2018, the Touch Gallery features several art pieces that can be touched by guests. This interactive exhibit was designed to promote art while attracting more area residents and visitors to the museum. Among the pieces featured in FSRAM's Touch Gallery were a bronze bust of Franklin Delano Roosevelt from an artist identified as "M. Kary. M"; Zutz's framed cast resin piece, "My Son Watching TV"; the wood-based "American Primitive Parrot" from an unknown artist; and a spring-themed, acrylic-on-canvas painting

by FSRAM director of education Deleana Vaughan, among other artistic creations.

50 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

The Fort Smith Regional Art Museum is located at 1601 Rogers Ave. and offers nationally and internationally recognized traveling exhibits, rotating exhibits of art by local and regional artists, lectures, classes, opening receptions and more. The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and from 1-5 p.m.

Sundays.

Fort Smith Regional Art Museum executive director Louis “Lou” Meluso, right, discusses part of the museum’s Touch Gallery with Casey Seamans.

The gallery is one of numerous free exhibits and programs offered at the facility, which is located at 1601 Rogers Ave.

FSRAM's popularity has been a longrunning tradition, with the museum originally known as the Arkansas Association of University Women (AAUW) in 1948, according to EncyclopediaOfArkansas.net. AAUW's first exhibition was held in September 1950 at the KFPW Studios Fine Art Gallery in Fort Smith. AAUW also formed a sketch class at Fort Smith Junior College, which now is known as the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

In 1951, AAUW became the Associated Artists of Fort Smith and in 1960 it received tax-exempt status and purchased the Vaughn-Schaap House, a Victorian Second Empire-style structure in Fort

Smith's Belle Grove District. The purchase was motivated by the Junior League of Fort Smith's $3,000 donation, according to EncyclopediaOfArkansas.net. Restoration of the home was completed in 1985.

The organization was renamed the Fort Smith Art Center in 1968, and the museum's Friends of the Arts organization was founded in the early 1970s; the Photographic Alliance, another museum affiliate, hosted its premiere show and sale in 1977. In 2010, the Fort Smith Art Center became known as the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum and, made possible by a 2009 donation from Arvest Bank, began occupying its current location.

WE ARE ... MUSEUMS

ABOVE: An artist’s rendering of an exhibit for the U.S. Marshals Museum.

TIMES RECORD STAFF

Spearheaded by the state-of-the-art U.S. Marshals Museum and the National Historic Site on either side of Garrison Avenue, Fort Smith is not shorthanded when it comes to commemorating the past for visitors and residents alike. Even still, other museums — including two former homes of high-ranking officials and the Regional Art Museum — offer educational value to anyone who sets foot inside.

Some of the exhibits at the Fort Smith National Historic Site are inside the building that once served as Judge Isaac Parker’s courthouse, a Civil War barracks and a frontier jail. The Site also has a reproduction of the gallows where Judge Parker sentenced 79 people to die. Exhibits at the site give the history of Parker, the U.S. Marshals, Fort Smith’s founding and how the former military base was involved in the Civil War. Visitors may enjoy a stroll on trails along the Arkansas River that run from just outside the old courthouse north to the Riverfront Amphitheater.

When opened, the U.S. Marshals Museum will tell the story of the country’s oldest federal law enforcement agency. It will also be a place to learn more about the U.S. Constitution, said former Marshals Museum president Jim Dunn. Sitting just north of the Riverfront Skate & Bike Park, the museum is constructed in the shape of a star resembling the agency’s emblem.

When completed, the museum will hold exhibits that tell the story of the agency’s involvement in Indian Territory (now

[COURTESY USMM]

Visitors to the Fort Smith National Historic Site during a Fort Smith bicentennial celebration in 2018. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

Oklahoma), the Civil Rights era and other events in U.S. history. One part of the museum — the Hall of Honor, which pays homage to the more than 350 fallen deputy U.S. marshals — has already opened.

A few blocks east of the Marshals Museum sits Clayton House, which serves Fort Smith as a space for those who visit to learn about the history of the town. Named for the late homeowner and U.S. Attorney William Henry Harrison Clayton, the house was used as a Union Army hospital in the Civil War and then as a boarding house in the 20th century, before it was converted into a museum. The house now holds Clayton Conversations, which feature topical speeches and presentations about Fort Smith history and events.

The Drennen-Scott House has as much historical significance in Van Buren as the Clayton House does in Fort Smith.

Standing at 324 Third St. in Van Buren, the house was home to prominent Van Buren businessman John Drennen. The house, which averages between 2,500 and 3,000 guests a year, opened for tours in 2011.

A pocket-sized museum in the region is the Chaffee Barbershop Museum, which showcases where Elvis Presley in March 1958 had his hair cut after he decided to suspend his music career to serve in the U.S. Army. Presley, the day after his haircut, made international headlines for “the haircut heard ’round the world,” which cost him his famous sideburns.

Surrounded on all sides by these history museums is the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, which boasts 16,000 square feet of space for art by local and regional artists and internationally-recognized traveling exhibits. It also holds space for classes, lectures, special events, programming and receptions.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 51

WE ARE ... THE UNEXPECTED PROJECT

Tourists visiting Fort Smith during the 2018 Steel Horse Rally stand in front of a mural that was painted as part of The Unexpected Project. [TIMES RECORD STAFF]

BY MARDI TAYLOR

The Unexpected Project is wrapping up just its fifth year in Fort Smith, yet the annual arts event continues to leave a long-lasting impression on the River Valley.

The event was meant to bring pride of place to Fort Smith, help establish it as a leader in the genre of urban contemporary art and create vibrant spaces and drive-to traffic to the downtown area, among other objectives. But when the The Unexpected began in 2015, organizers weren't sure what to expect. The project's "unwritten mission" was to help inspire and enlighten community members on the growing artistic and social merits of mural artwork, Claire Kolberg, festival director, said at the time. Artists arrived in Fort Smith from all over the globe to paint murals on local buildings throughout the week, first held 52 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

Sept. 3-12, 2015, and this year held Oct. 7-13. Artists weren't on a specific schedule, allowing local residents and tourists the opportunity to observe the artists at work.

Any trip through downtown Fort Smith and other parts of town provides visitors a glimpse of what The Unexpected is all about. Many murals touch on Fort Smith's history as an Old West town, and others touch on its Native American roots. Another offers a look at native son Alphonso Trent. Others are full of whimpsy and open to the observer's own interpretation.

Organized by 64.6 Downtown, the first festival featured artists Roa, Ben Eine, Ana Maria and Bicicleta Sem Freio that first year, who painted murals on the outside walls of downtown buildings. Other participating artists have included Maser of Ireland, Guido Van Helten of Australia, D*FACE of the United Kingdom, Askew

Vehicles pass by OK Feed Mill on Wheeler Avenue in Fort Smith as artwork by artist Guido Van Helten nears completion in 2016. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO]

RIGHT: “Rapto Divino” by Jaz & Pastel decorates a parking lot in Fort Smith.

BELOW: A mural on a wall facing the 800 Block of Garrison Avenue in downtown Fort Smith was created by artist Ana Maria. [TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTOS]

of New Zealand, VHILS of Portugal and Bicicleta Sem Freio of Brazil.

The first Unexpected also included events such as Spoken Word Night with Chicago poet-activist Malcolm London and the Art in the Park event at Ross Pendergraft Park, which featured the artwork of 15 area artists. The Unexpected Project has expanded each year since its inception.

More artists are now participating, and local students interested in art are taking advantage of opportunities to be involved.

A pop-up skate park in downtown Fort Smith was part of the festival in 2017.

This years festivities included a kickoff block party featuring a live concert with National Park Radio, food trucks, the Artisan Market, Yoga in the Park events, art activities with the Fort Smith Regional Art

Museum, a break dance contest and more; a joint exhibition at Bation Gallery featuring works by Northside and Southside high school students; concerts by the Escape Tones and various bands along Garrison Avenue; and today's keynote presentations by Alexandre Bavard and Jia Jiang; Art Feeds and Wheel Mobile with activities for all ages.

It didn't take long for Fort Smith's Unexpected Project to make a name for itself. In 2017, it was named winner of the 2017 Henry Award for Community Tourism Development at the 43rd annual Arkansas Governor’s Conference on Tourism. It also has served to inspire other communities, including Decatur, Alabama, to work toward beginning their own version of the festival. Kolberg said in 2018

that local leaders regularly receive calls and emails from people in other towns who would like to duplicate the festival in their own community. Within Arkansas, Little Rock officials in 2016 reached out to Unexpected directors to inquire about the festival, Clark said. Muralist Alexis Diaz in 2016 completed a satellite Unexpected mural in Fayetteville that became internationally acclaimed, according to a news release from The Unexpected.

Locator maps for the murals — which now number in the dozens — are available at Miss Laura's Visitors Center in downtown Fort Smith. An UnexpectedFS smartphone app is now available to download as well.

It's safe to say not everyone likes the particular artwork left behind each year in Fort Smith once The Unexpected is over, but that was never the goal, organizers say. It's more about bringing artists, volunteers, students and tourists together each year in a positive atmosphere in Fort Smith. And to get people talking about art.

"Not everyone will love everything, but it allows you to go to a corner of your mind and talk about art," Kolberg said in 2015.

"It will expand what people think of art.

Experiencing this festival will be a good way to engage on a level that is so much more than just saying, ‘Ahh, that's a pretty picture.'"

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 53

WE ARE ... NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY

The Trail of Tears Overlook is seen at the National Historic Site. [PHOTO COURTESY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE]

BY SCOTT CUTLIP

The goal of the Trail of Tears overlook at the Fort Smith National Historic Site is to improve the public’s understanding and knowledge of the major tribes that came through the area.

The Trail of Tears occurred because of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, engineered by President Andrew Jackson. The act moved members of the Five Civilized Tribes — Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee Creek, and Seminole — in addition to multiple other smaller tribes. The term “Trail of Tears” is originally the term for the Cherokee removal of 1838-39, which resulted in approximately 4,000 deaths, most from disease; the term is generally applied now to the removal of any Native Americans in the time after the Indian Removal Act. Native Americans were being removed nearly 50 years later. According to Park Ranger Loren McLane, more than 50 Native American groups were moved into the new territory over the course of the 19th century. It is estimated that 15,000 Native Americans died during the removal, often as a result of exposure, disease, or 54 WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY

starvation. The Trail of Tears crossed nine states and its different routes add up to more than 5,000 miles.

Because of the location of the Arkansas River, many of the Native Americans were not actually walking if they came through Fort Smith. Most likely, they were either traveling by water or crossing the river by ferry in one of two locations, one where the Midland Avenue bridge is now located.

The first Fort Smith, the military installation, was built in 1817 to keep peace between the Osage and Cherokee. By 1824, it was abandoned, as the military moved west. During the time of the Trail of Tears, Fort Smith was largely inactive, although a second Fort Smith was built because of unfounded fears of Native Americans in the Indian Territory. John Rogers, considered the founder of the city of Fort Smith, was one of those men.

Frost has been superintendent of the Fort Smith National Historic Site for the past six years. She is also a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. She feels that the site assists in helping Arkansans and Native Americans remember what led to the foundation of Fort Smith and the history of Native Americans.

Exhibits at the Fort Smith Historic Site illustrate the history of Native Americans in Arkansas and Oklahoma. [SCOTT CUTLIP/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES RECORD]

“It’s very important, because of the site’s history and federal Indian policy, and the fact all of the stories that affect tribes today are intertwined through our site in some way, shape, or form,” said Frost. “What I think is significant here is this is the first area, especially along the corridor of the Arkansas River, that tribes who were removed saw their new home for the first time.”

According to Frost, the site is working with tribes on possible new exhibits, as well as reaching out to them about the possibilities for a new Trail of Tears overlook.

WE ARE THE RIVER VALLEY 55