MAGICAL
DECEMBER 2014 DoSouthMagazine.com
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CONTENTS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Catherine Frederick MANAGING EDITOR Marla Cantrell CONTRIBUTING WRITERS / PHOTOGRAPHERS Marla Cantrell Thomas Cochran Marcus Coker Ree Drummond Catherine Frederick Anita Paddock Yvonne Pratt Jessica Sowards Stoney Stamper Janna Wilson Graphic Design Artifex 323 PROOFREADER Charity Chambers
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PUBLISHER Read Chair Publishing, LLC
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INSIDE 42 46
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HOME FOR CHRISTMAS Want your holiday table to command attention? We reveal everything you need to know to impress your guests and have them talking about more than the mimosas.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ALTAR By all accounts, Jack Sidler, Sr. had lived a full life. One full of joy, and sadness, but always sustained by faith. Find out what happened when his faith called him to travel down an unconventional path.
SPICE UP YOUR HOLIDAY Handmade, tasty, and full of Christmas cheer. Our DIY is all that, and easy to make. Holiday gift giving is about to get a whole lot easier.
QUAIL AND BOOZE (BREAD PUDDING) The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, shares her recipes for Fried Quail, Quail Gravy, and a decadent Boozy Bread Pudding. You're mighty welcome.
ADVERTISING INFORMATION Catherine Frederick 479.782.1500 Catherine@DoSouthMagazine.com EDITORIAL INFORMATION Marla Cantrell 479.831.9116 Marla@DoSouthMagazine.com Š2014 Read Chair Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. The opinions contained in Do South are exclusively those of the writers and do not represent those of Read Chair Publishing, LLC. as a whole or its affiliates. Any correspondence to Do South or Read Chair Publishing, LLC., including photography becomes the property of Read Chair Publishing, LLC. Do South reserves the right to edit content and images.
FOLLOW US Subscribe to Do South! 12 issues per year for only $30, within the contiguous United States. Subscribe online at DoSouthMagazine.com, or mail check to 7030 Taylor Avenue, Suite 5, Fort Smith, AR 72916.
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letter from Catherine
I
I’m dreaming of a white Christmas. With every little word I write…
05
some fabulous gifts for everyone on your list.
Can’t you just hear that Christmas tune? I can. And I am dreaming of a white Christmas. Not just a dusting. I’m talking big, huge
Speaking of support, please consider supporting something near
flakes. A sky full of cascading powder puffs, gently falling to the
and dear to our hearts here at Do South. We love our four-legged
ground, layering themselves one on top of another until every-
furry friends, and we discovered someone who’s just as passionate
thing is blanketed in glistening fluff. A white out.
as we are. Read “Collars for Christmas,” page 34, and consider donating to this worthy cause. And, if you’re looking for a for-
I’ve seen the Farmer’s Almanac and the spoons in
ever friend, be sure to check out our local animal
the persimmons. It’s coming, and I can’t wait! You
shelters!
snow haters go ahead and send the hate mail, I can take it. I’ve been singing Christmas songs since
This month, we’re delivering not one, but two
before Halloween. And you know what Buddy the
DIY gift ideas. A fabulous deer pillow brought
Elf says? He says, “The best way to spread Christ-
to us by the even more fabulous Yvonne Pratt of
mas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” Too bad
StoneGable.com, and and another from our very
I’m not a better singer. (If you don’t know where
own crafter extraordinaire, Janna Wilson!
that quote came from, we need to have a serious Know who else is delivering this year? Mr. and Mrs.
discussion about your movie watching habits). I’m not alone in my Christmas craziness. Nope.
Photo by Kat Hardin
Claus – right here in Fort Smith, Arkansas! Meet them on page 12. They’ve been entertaining chil-
Our very own contributing writer Jessica Sowards is with me
dren in our area for years and have no plans of stopping the tradition
100%, she may even be one notch ahead of me on the crazy
anytime soon.
meter – be sure to read her story, Christmas in My Bones, page 38. Cut us a little slack though – it’s hard not to get a little ahead
We’ve also got a review of the new Johnny Cash album, recom-
of ourselves – we finalized this gorgeous Christmas issue in the
mendations on the best books to give this season, and so much
month of October!
more. So bundle up, dive right in to this divine issue, and start planning your month of cheer.
Due in part to my holiday obsession, I must admit I’m slightly jealous of Ree Drummond, you know, The Pioneer Woman? She has
I’ve got some planning of my own to do. My design classes are
three delicious recipes in this month’s issue! She recently pub-
wrapping up at UAFS so I’m on the hunt for something new to
lished her third cookbook, The Pioneer Woman: A Year of Holi-
learn. I’d love to play guitar. I guess if I keep singing these Christ-
days. How great is that? A cookbook packed with Ree's charm,
mas songs out loud, I may need to consider voice lessons!
mouth-watering recipes for every holiday, and gorgeous step-bystep photos. Swoon! (Her cookbook would make a great Christ-
I wish you a holiday filled with blessings, love, laughter, and so
mas present, just sayin’.)
much good food that the buttons almost pop off your shirt! Have
~Catherine
a very merry Christmas. See you in January! Need more holiday gift ideas? Be sure to check out our shop local section this month on page 16. Show them your support and grab
To reserve this free space for your charitable non-profit organization, email: Editors@DoSouthMagazine.com
06 poetry
Before Entering the Hospice Where an Old Friend Is Dying LINES Thomas Cochran
When I heard the news that he’d made this call I felt uncertain and thought briefly of staying away, as I have from his porch and table these past few years. But we’d had no falling out, only a change in our routes. Passing, we always waved, hello and see you later in a single gesture— no need, until now, for good-bye.
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• TAKE CHALLENGING CLASSES Participate in the “Smart Core” curriculum
• FINISH HIGH SCHOOL In 4 years
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DO SOUTH: DECEMBER 2014 SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
SATURDAY
01 02 03 04 05 06 UAFS Season’s Greetings Concert, 7pm, Fort Smith. Rogers Christmas Parade, 7pm, Rogers.
Giving Tuesday, givingtuesday.org.
Find the perfect holiday cocktail, page 56.
Westwood Elementary Christmas Concert, 7pm, Greenwood.
Project Compassion Hearts of Gold, 11:30am-1pm, St. Scholastica, Fort Smith.
Alma Christmas Parade, 7pm. The Second City’s Nut-Cracking Holiday Revue, Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville. (12/5 – 12/6)
Taste of Trinity, Trinity Jr. High, 6:30pm, Fort Smith. Fort Smith Symphony Presents Spontaneous Christmas, 7:30pm.
07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Holiday Art Sale, The Shirkey House, Fayetteville. (12/5 – 12/7)
Make a Christmas pillow, page 30.
Ideas for your Christmas table, page 42.
The Future of Frank Lloyd Wright, Crystal Bridges, 6:30pm, Bentonville.
Fort Smith Girls Shelter Open House & Bake Sale, 11am.
Amish Farms: Lighting up the Season, UAFS, 10am, Fort Smith.
Christmas Open House, Fort Smith Museum of History, 2-5pm.
Winter Campfire Fun, Nature Center, 5:30pm, Fort Smith.
Fort Smith Christmas Parade, 1pm. Van Buren Parade, 6:30pm.
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Western Arkansas Ballet, The Nutcracker, 7:30pm Saturday, 2:30pm Sunday, Fort Smith.
Annual Live Nativity Scene, Greenwood. (12/15 – 12/18)
Find the perfect book for Christmas giving, page 28.
Need a fun hostess gift? See page 52.
Shop local for everyone on your list, page 16.
Cook like The Pioneer Woman, page 58.
Santa’s Workshop, Greenwood Pavilion, Greenwood. Frosty Flicks: The Santa Clause, Lawrence Park, Bentonville.
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Caroling in the Caverns, Mountain View.
Hayrides & S’mores by Campfire, Greenwood. (weather permitting)
Try our "Can't Be Crabby Canapes", page 57.
1st Presbyterian Christmas Eve service, 5:00pm, Fort Smith.
Merry Christmas!
Get ready for New Year's, check out our beauty favorites on page 55.
28 29 30 31 Welcome in the New Year with a furry friend, page 37.
Read "We Live for Yesterday, We Live for Tomorrow", page 62.
Mayor’s Countdown to 2015, Fort Smith Convention Center, 8pm-Midnight.
Find out how bluegrass music is settling down in Alma on page 18.
Last Night Fayetteville, on The Square.
We hope you enjoy this issue.
CHRISTMAS MOVIE CHECKLIST:
Don’t miss anything on our website or Facebook!
National Lampoon’s
How the Grinch
It’s a Wonderful Life
Christmas Vacation
Stole Christmas
Miracle on 34th
A Charlie Brown
Rudolph the Red-
Street
Christmas
Nosed Reindeer
Home Alone
Elf
Frosty the Snowman
A Christmas Carol
Polar Express
The Santa Clause
A Christmas Story
Read Do South's digital edition at DoSouthMagazine.com Get one year of Do South for just $30. Subscribe online at DoSouthMagazine.com, or send a check to: Read Chair Publishing, LLC 7030 Taylor Ave, Ste 5 Fort Smith, AR 72916
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Lose yourself in Johnny Cash's long lost music, page 22.
Make Your Holidays Majestic
3011 Stat e Lin e Ro ad, Fo rt Smit h, Ar k ans as
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4 79 . 7 83 . 0 06 0
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Lik e u s o n
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UPCLOSE&PERSONAL
Rodney Shepard President & CEO Arvest Bank
Fort Smith - River Valley 5000 Rogers Avenue • Fort Smith, Arkansas 479.573.1100 • arvest.com
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
UPCLOSE&PERSONAL
It (life, work, family, your attitude, faith) is what you make of it. About Arvest Bank I am continually impressed by the amount of “heart” that our associates demonstrate. Arvest is truly a community bank committed to making the communities we serve a better place to live, both for individuals and businesses.
It wouldn't be Christmas without? Christ, family and friends, apple pie and vanilla ice cream. Best Christmas memory as a kid? Not sleeping the night before. Last goodies you left for Santa and his reindeer? Cookies and milk. Where did you grow up? Roland, Oklahoma.
We just wrapped up our fourth year of 1 Million Meals, an initiative to raise food and funds for local food banks. Our associates really got behind it and gave so much of their own time and money,
What do you miss the most about being a kid? Playing sports and hanging with friends every day. First car? 1978 Chevrolet Caprice Classic, sky blue with a white vinyl top.
care about our neighbors in need.
First job? Mowing lawns at Westark (now UAFS) in Fort Smith, when I was sixteen.
We are entering the holiday season, and Arvest
What’s the one thing you want to do before you die? Travel and camp in each state.
associates love “paying it forward.” Many go
Favorite song in high school? “When Doves Cry,” by Prince.
and they get nothing in return! They genuinely
out to local stores, gas stations, restaurants and randomly surprise people by paying for things. Several also adopt angels off the Salvation Army Angel Trees. They also give donations so that each child at our Partner in Education school in the communities we serve can have a present to open for Christmas. We have some of the most caring, compassionate individuals working at Arvest that you will ever find! Arvest Bank is community and customer service focused.
What surprises people about you? That I’m a candy addict. If you could learn anything, what would it be? To learn a martial art. What makes you grateful? The many blessings God has provided me, opportunities I’ve been given, and family and friends. Name three songs on your playlist. “Weathered” by Creed, “Just a Fool” by Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton, and “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars. Favorite meal of all time? Steak, potatoes, salad, and bread. What did your mama cook better than anybody? Beans and cornbread. Do you have a pet? Emma, a small but cute Yorkie.
3 things Rodney can’t live without:
What makes you happy? Helping others. Name three things you think about every day. How can I improve? Did I contribute? I also think about my family and friends. Nickname? Shep. Favorite color? Blue (and that was even before I started working at Arvest).
Skittles
Petit Jean Bacon
Realtree
What do you enjoy outside of your job? Exercising, hunting, camping, and old autos.
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Christmas with the Clauses Charlie and Jeri Moffett
WORDS Marla Cantrell images Catherine Frederick
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
people
I
It has been a long time since Charlie Moffett first donned
visits to nursing homes, to veterans hospitals, and how the joy of
his Santa suit and listened as children, dressed in their holiday
Christmas unites all of us, no matter how old we get.
best, told him what they wanted for Christmas. In fact, it was during the last century, way back in the 1990s. But even that long
They have no website, no Facebook page, nothing that makes
ago his wife Jeri was at his side, dressed in her bright red dress,
them easy to find. But year after year, through word of mouth,
a basket of candy canes at her side, quick with laughter that was
organizations find them and ask them to visit. They attend the
equally as cheerful as her husband's Ho-Ho-Ho.
Fort Smith Junior League's Holiday Market in November, and they show up at various churches, schools, office parties, even
"She's just perfect," Charlie says, and then he pats
big family gatherings.
Jeri's hand. "Sometimes the really little kids are afraid of Santa." He touches his chin. "This
Some of what they've seen touches them
big beard is a lot to take in. If that happens
deeply, like the year they visited a children's
they'll go to Jeri instead, they'll go sit on
shelter and passed out presents. The older
Mrs. Claus' lap. She's just wonderful."
folks in nursing homes whose eyes grow bright, remembering the Christmases of
Jeri's smile is brighter than any Christmas
their childhood, reinforce the couple's
star. "I can't tell you how much joy it brings
belief that what they do matters, that it
us," she says. "There is nothing as sweet as
brings happiness at a time when we're all
these little children. One boy poked Charlie's
looking for just that.
tummy, and his eyes got big and then he said, 'It's real. You are Santa!' Well, that just made us
The Moffetts repeatedly have their faith in humanity
laugh so much."
strengthened. Charlie says, "When we walk in the kids will just holler. Sometimes it sounds like the house is going to
Charlie takes off his Santa hat and sets it down on an end table
come down. I've had a kid that left me a letter with a dollar bill in it
in the living room of the couple's Fort Smith, Arkansas home. The
for Santa. I had one boy who told me he didn't want anything for
house, well over a century old, with gingerbread trim and touches
himself for Christmas, he just wanted me to heal his baby brother.
of stain glass, fits the Moffetts perfectly. Jeri points to a spot in
Talk about the meaning of Christmas, that little boy had it. He had
the entryway. "That's where we'll put the tree, right where you
the biggest heart."
can see it when you come in. Oh, how we do love Christmas!" Jeri says. "And I know how lucky I am, because not just any man
Seeing the children, dressed in red and green, alight in the
would put on a Santa suit and volunteer the way Charlie does.
anticipation of the holiday, is always one of the highlights of
Sometimes he'll tell people I get him into a lot of things. He'll say,
the Moffetts' year. What they've noticed is that kids don't tend
'She's my Lucy Ricardo. I never know what to expect.'"
to ask for outrageous gifts. For a while, the Dora doll was a top contender, and Barbie dolls are still in the running. Fire trucks and
Jeri tugs at the Santa-face necklace she's wearing. It was a gift
dump trucks make the lists, and anything that's connected with a
from a dear friend, years ago, and every Christmas season she
popular movie shows up.
wears it. "I've had such wonderful friends in my life," she says. There is something about the way she speaks. She'll call you
Charlie and Jeri have been in the Santa business so long, they've
sweetheart. She'll call you kid. She'll ask you again and again if
seen a few kids grow up. "We just love it when moms bring up
there's anything she can get you. The offerings get sweeter and
their little babies and have their pictures made with us," Jeri says.
sweeter, until finally she suggests a root beer float, and you realize
"A lot of kids we'll see year after year. You just love them, you
there's nothing in the world you could ever want more.
just do! And it's not only little kids. We were at a party last year and a lot of the teenagers came and talked to Santa and had their
Within minutes of meeting the Moffetts, it's hard not to see them
picture made with him. It's not called the most wonderful time of
as Mr. and Mrs. Claus. They laugh regularly. They talk about their
the year for nothing!"
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lifestyle
Each time they leave an event, they end by singing "Jingle Bells." Inevitably, all those in attendance will join in, their voices rising. The song, like the Moffetts, makes the crowd happy, and Jeri believes singing together is just another way to show love. She reaches out and pats Charlie's hand. It is such a grand life, and one she's never taken for granted. As a survivor of ovarian cancer, she's been keenly aware of what a gift each day is. She takes off her glasses, she rubs her eyes, and then she says, "I'll tell you what a great man Charlie's been to me. I had a second cancer scare one time. The nurse had called and left a message on our phone for me to come in right away for more tests. I was lying on that table in the doctor's office, and I was thinking, This can't be happening. And then the door opened, and I thought it was the doctor, but it was Charlie. He'd come home and played the message and he'd rushed out of the house to find me, to make sure I was all right." Charlie is holding Jeri's hand in a way that suggests he might never let it go. "She was fine, though. It was just a false alarm." In the background, classical music is playing. Light streams through the high windows, surrounding Mr. and Mrs. Claus in a circle of sun. Tears rise to the surface of Jeri's eyes, and she says, "Isn't he just the greatest?" Before you have a chance to answer, you realize it's one of those questions that doesn't need an answer at all. Everything you need to know is sitting right in front of you.
Their reputation has grown so much, they've begun to get outof-the-ordinary requests, such as the time they were asked to show up as Mr. and Mrs. Claus at a wedding. "We were in the wedding pictures," Charlie says. "It was so much fun. Doing this gives us so much. We'll come home and be energized, and we'll stay up talking about something cute someone said, or the look on a child's face. It just brings the best out in everybody, no matter what your age." "You learn new things about each other, too," Jeri says, and then laughs. "We were at a party last year and I looked up and there was Charlie out on the dance floor, doing the 'Y.M.C.A.' Now that's something you don't see very often. Santa on the dance floor! I stopped, put my hands on my hips, and watched him. I was
NOMINATE A DO-GOODER! Each month, Do South Magazine features the story of someone in our community who is making the world a better place. If you have someone you’d like to nominate as a Do-Gooder, email editors@dosouthmagazine.com.
thinking, He sure is cute!"
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lifestyle
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LOCATIONS
The Market 8434 Phoenix Ave #E The Store 479.649.8200 123 North 18th St 479.782.6183
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shop
All We Want for Christmas is...
Serve them candy cane style! Hor d'oeuvres plates, platter, striped and frosted wine and martini glasses. IN GOOD SPIRITS
Big boys still love toys. Give them the drone and the remote control car they’ve always wanted. GS HOBBY
Wearable art as unique as you. Made in Vermont. GALLIVANTING LADIES APPAREL
Straight from Santa’s workshop! Great as a gift or to add to your collection. JENNIFER’S AT SPARKS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
Stunning detail. Porcelain, hinged Christmas figurines. Sold separately. CROSSROADS ANTIQUE MALL
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shop
One of everything! Take a look at some of our holiday must haves. Toys for the young and young at heart. Gorgeous décor to deck the halls. Jewelry for him and for her. There’s even something for Santa! So make your list and check it twice. Here’s hoping you’ve not been more naughty than nice. Merry Christmas!
Give the gift of confidence! Skin Pen™ II stimulates the skin’s natural ability to repair itself. FORT SMITH MEDICAL CENTER AND BEINEMAN AESTHETICS
Quality and craftsmanship is their promise. And Shinola delivers on that promise each and every time. JOHN MAYS JEWELERS Little Farmer ready for his first John Deer? Little Miss daydreaming of her first horse? FARMERS COOP
Father Christmas and his trusty reindeer are waiting for you to bring them home. SUNSHINE SHOP AT MERCY
Holiday cookies perfect for parties, and Santa too! PAUL’S BAKERY
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people
Welcome to the
FRONT PORCH
Words Marla Cantrell Images courtesy Bill Rogers
R
udy, Arkansas musician Bill Rogers feels a kinship with
To Bill, that image of the front porch brings back everything that
porches. As a kid growing up in the Crawford County
is good in life. He can close his eyes and see his brother and sister
community of Oak Grove, he spent hours on his own
as they were when they were kids. They were a happy family,
front porch, in part because his house had no air conditioning. He
though his father did have to leave for stretches of time, driving
remembers spending time on the porch practicing the guitar, or
big rigs across the country to make a living. When he came home,
just daydreaming, or waiting in bad weather for the school bus to
he brought his paychecks with him, and it was a celebration: a
come. “About six years ago,” Bill says, “I wrote a song called ‘The
new supply of money, the family reunited, the house alive with the
Front Porch,’ about my memories growing up. My first exposure to
sound of his father’s steady voice.
music was my mama singing to me on our front porch. I remember it like it happened yesterday.”
Two things happened that caused Bill to look at his past and reevaluate his future. His brother died. His sister died, and he,
As he’s telling the story, he takes his ball cap off and runs his
nearing fifty, felt the kind of crippling sorrow bluegrass songs
fingers through his hair. Today, he says, it’s not the same. Kids
are famous for. He thought about his parents, both alive and
spend too much time online, playing electronic games, watching
well, his father still driving trucks for a living, and he realized that
TVs filled with shows that do nothing to improve their minds or
the people who knew him as a small boy, who remembered him
their outlooks.
studying the country TV variety show Hee Haw to learn how to DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
people
play the guitar, for example, were so few they couldn’t fill a pew at church. There are still days when the loss of his brother and sister overwhelms him. He doesn’t let it stop him though. Bill has an innate sense of how to make things better. He's incredibly positive, and a doer by nature, finding hard work and new projects the best kind of therapy. So, when the renters of a building his wife owns in Alma (less than ten miles from his Rudy home) decided to move on, Bill stepped inside and all the cogs and gears in his brain started turning.
My first exposure to music was my mama singing to me on our front porch. I remember it like it happened yesterday.
The easiest thing would have been to hang a 'For Rent' sign on the door and wait for a call. But standing there inside the metal building in October, Bill kept thinking about front porches and live music. For a while he’d been fiddling with the idea of opening a place where musicians could perform, without any alcohol around, someplace you’d like to take your family. “First thing I thought was, no drinking, cussing, spitting, smoking or fighting,” Bill says. “I wanted a clean sound, simple, and I wanted folks to feel like they were at an old-fashioned family gathering, with people picking and singing.” As he stood in the dim light, it all started to come together. At the far end of the big room there was more than enough space to build a stage. And not just any stage; he’d make this one look like a front porch, with a screen door, a light burning, an old rocker. Bill scanned the rest of the room. There was space enough for tables and booths and a concession area, all facing the stage. He was fairly handy with a saw and hammer, and he wasn’t trying to build the Taj Mahal, so he felt he’d be fine. Yes, he thought, this could definitely work. When he began talking about the place, he found a long list of musicians wanting to play. His own band, Crooked and Steep, that combines bluegrass, gospel and a little Southern rock, would most certainly perform, and because he’d been in the music scene for so long – he’s a former member of the bluegrass band, The Frog Bayou Boys – he believed others would want to take the stage as well. The sticking point could have been his wife Sherri, but she didn’t hesitate. She’s used to Bill and his ideas, and they’ve been married long enough for her to know that when Bill sets his mind to something he makes it happen. DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
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Bill’s first job was naming the place. That was easy. He called it The
as a sunrise, as rugged as the Arkansas River that rolls by not
Front Porch Theater. As soon as that was done, he started working
so far away. He thinks something might be happening in Alma,
on the stage. He and his son walked the land they own and found
some small local music revolution that began when the nearby
two young cedar trees whose trunks were fairly straight. They
Warren’s Rec Room recently opened, another live music venue
chopped them down and left the bark in place. Those became the
that’s gaining speed. Bill thinks there’s plenty of talent in the area
pillars on the porch. He installed a green room behind the porch,
to keep both places hopping, and he thinks that’s good for the
so bands would have a place to get ready. A woman he knew had
small town that’s known mostly for the discount retailer A-Z, and
a storage building filled with commercial dining tables and chairs
the widely popular water park.
and she gave them all to him. The next step was recovering the chairs, which he and Sherri painstakingly completed.
Bill’s plan is to open for weekend shows, to rent out the space for special events, and he might even work in a few comedy shows
What he wants is for folks to have a chance to hear great music, up close and personal, in a place where they’ll know the entertainment is wholesome.
(yes, he’s a comedian, too) as time allows. What he wants is for folks to have a chance to hear great music, up close and personal, in a place where they’ll know the entertainment is wholesome. He was originally drawn to bluegrass because it’s the music from the heart: good times, bad times, the ache of lost love. It’s all there, and Bill leaned on it as he faced his own losses. It’s made him a fine songwriter, and what he pens he calls “testifying songs,” tales of trouble and woe that all the major sins carry. When times got hard, when he lost his brother and sister, he picked up his guitar, got by himself and played until he could make sense of a sometimes senseless world. This place has caused something new to blossom inside him. Life,
All the construction was done in odd hours after Bill got off work
he most surely knows, lasts no longer than the time it takes for a
from his regular job working with disabled adults, or on weekends
few drops of rain to fall quickly into a rumbling river. What you do
when he wasn’t playing music. In the midst of it all, he was
with those moments, though, go on for eternity, passing from you
also juggling his duties as mayor of Rudy (population sixty-one).
to those you love and those you helped along the way. “I want
Although he found the pace exhausting, he realized something
to leave something behind,” Bill says. “I want people to know I
wonderful was happening. Sherri was finding her own joy in The
cared, and that they mattered. I don’t have any other hobbies.
Front Porch Theater, helping Bill as much as she could, talking
I don’t spend my money on boats or guns or big trips. I have a
about what to serve in the concession area.
guitar that cost too much, maybe, but that’s about it. Everything I want, I already have. My wife, my family, my music, and now The
Already, the possibility of this small place – it holds approximately
Front Porch. It’s more than enough.”
eighty people and had its first show in mid-November – is growing. Bill thinks it’s because the music played here is acoustic. No amps, no
Bill points to the stage, where the porch light is burning. He talks
plug-ins, just an overhead sound system that allows everyone to hear.
again about cutting down the cedar trees with his son, of his wife Sherri by his side. He talks about his niece who plays music with
Bill smiles as he looks around this hulk of a building. It started
him. There is sorrow enough, for sure, he says, but also joy. And
out years ago as Dean’s Produce. Locals still remember it by that
he’s had plenty of that as well.
name. He likes the idea of filling it with his kind of music, as sure
The Front Porch Theater | 4425 Highway 71 North, Alma, Arkansas | 479.883.0801 • Find more on The Front Porch Theater, including upcoming shows, on Facebook.
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Let Us Cater Your
Holiday Meal
Mon – Sat 11am to 9pm | Sunday Brunch 11am to 3pm 7320 Rogers Ave, Ste 7 | Stonewood Village, Fort Smith 479.434.6474 | myrivercitydeli.com | River City Deli
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entertainment
Out Among the Stars Johnny Cash
review Marla Cantrell
O
n February 26, 1932, Johnny Cash
when his dad sang, often with his mother,
was born in Kingsland, Arkansas.
June Carter Cash.
As time went by he worked in
the cotton fields, he listened as the trains
This year, those songs became the album,
rumbled by, he sat at his mother’s feet as she
Out Among the Stars. There are thirteen
sang folk songs. Every bit of this ended up in
tracks, the crown jewel being “She Used to
his music, every hard knock and bad choice
Love Me A Lot,” a bluegrass duet with June.
and sweet hymn he’d sung as a child fueled
The song, about misconceptions, rotten
the music that was so distinct it set him apart
timing, and lost love, is perfect for Cash,
from every other country music star.
whose voice reverberates with stoic regret. Waylon Jennings shows up on "I’m Moving
When he died in 2003, the music industry
On,” written by Hank Snow in 1950, and it’s
couldn’t praise him enough. What this poor boy from Arkansas
as close to perfect as country music gets.
had accomplished was quite clearly miraculous. Cash’s rougharound-the-edges baritone voice, his straightforward delivery,
“I Drove Her Out of My Mind,” a song about a jilted lover with
his persona that was both accessible and dangerous, created a
murder on his mind, is country in its classic form. A guy buys a
flood of fans.
Cadillac on time, lures his ex-girlfriend into it, and takes her on one last ride, right off a cliff. It might not play as well today, but if
But even Cash had valleys in his long career, particularly
you're listening to this album you're not looking for today's style
in the 1980s when a new era of country music (think John
of country music.
Travolta’s Urban Cowboy) was turning the masses toward a newer brand of country. As the decade began, something else
If there is a deviation on this album it's “If I Told You Who It Was,”
was happening: Cash was dealing with his addiction to pain
which is not a bad song, just a silly one. But it does reveal that
medication, and spent time at the Betty Ford Clinic in Palm
Cash was having fun, not taking life too seriously.
Springs to break his dependence. Cash’s signature move is to sometimes drop out of the music, Cash's son, John Carter Cash, says that by the end of 1983, his
to stop and simply speak the words of a song. There was a time
father had conquered the demons that plagued him. Those years
when I saw this as laziness, or worse, a sign his voice was failing.
were critical to the singer: victory over addiction, and a waning
But that’s just not so. There is so much poetry in Cash, so much
following in the U.S. just as his fame in Europe grew. He would
yearning and heartbreak, that speaking the truth is sometimes
cross the ocean, performing for droves of fans hungry for his music.
paramount to singing it.
After Cash died, his son discovered several never-released recordings from 1981 and 1984. He listened and a flood of
DO SOUTH RATING: 9.5 OUT OF 10
memories came back. What he heard in those songs was the heartbeat of his own childhood, the music that filled his home DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
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24
people
words Stoney Stamper images Courtesy April Stamper
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
people
Ah, Christmastime. The wonderful time of year
your expectations pretty darn low. Especially if one of them is
when we spend exorbitant amounts of money on toys, clothes,
Abby, because that girl doesn’t get excited about much.
shoes, boots, coats, hats and any number of different electronic devices for our children. You know, to celebrate the birth of our
On that Christmas, she opened her gifts, faintly smiled, and then
Lord Jesus Christ.
looked away. We hadn’t really established any trust yet, and she was still skeptical of me. My feelings were crushed. It wasn’t her
Now, I've gone to church all of my life. My grandpa was our
fault. She was just a little girl. But, it still felt like a straight jab to
preacher, my grandma was my Sunday school teacher, and
the kidney. Because I had high expectations.
although sitting still and listening weren't necessarily my strong points, I'm fairly certain I never heard in Sunday school, or
A lot of water has run under the bridge since then. Abby and Emma
read in the Bible, "Thou
have long since accepted
shalt go broke on My
me as a “dad” figure in
birthday." Personally, I
their life. Along with the
don’t think that’s really
love and comfort that
what the good Lord
we have with each other
had in mind when he
comes the expectation
pictured us celebrating
of the material things a
the day of His birth.
dad should provide his
But, maybe I’m wrong.
kids. A few years ago, Abby wouldn’t even tell
This
is
my
fourth
me what she wanted if
Christmas being a dad.
I begged her. Now, she
Well officially, it is my
asks for everything. I’m
third Christmas as a dad,
talking EVERY thing. And
but four years ago my
holy cripes, this stuff is
wife April and I were
expensive!
dating, and I was willing to do anything to make
I think back on what
her girls like me. So, with
Christmas was like for
April’s help, I bought my first Christmas presents for Abby and
me in the past. Before I had the girls. I pretty much had to get my
Emma. I was so nervous, and wanted so badly to make sure that
mom and dad gifts, and then my nephews, Braden and Joby. And
whatever I got them, they would love. I had this vision in my head
a lot of the time, I would give my sister money, and I’d just pitch in
of how it would happen. I would buy them something that would
on whatever she got for them. Christmas wasn’t too difficult, nor
cause them to rejoice in jubilation upon opening it. They would be
was it terribly expensive.
so happy that they'd cry. Until the last few years, I had never heard of a Lalaloopsy doll, a That’s not how it happened. At all. April tells me I have way too
Flutterby Fairy, a Monster High doll, or a $200 American Girl doll
high expectations, in everything I do. And I imagine she's right,
that needed to get her ears pierced and hair done – IT’S A DOLL!
but I read something when I was a little boy that has served me
I vaguely knew what Miss Me jeans were, or UGG boots or TOMS
well, mostly all of my life. Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, said,
shoes, and I dang sure didn’t know how much they cost.
"High expectations are the key to everything.” I've lived my whole life by that code. I mean, he’s Sam freakin’ Walton. You should
I’ll admit I was unprepared for how expensive having children was,
probably pay attention to what he has to say. Except for maybe
no matter how much my parents, my sister and all of my friends
when it’s in reference to buying your soon-to-be-daughter's
told me. I thought to myself, I make a good living. And, for some
Christmas presents. In that instance, you should probably keep
reason, I assumed that having children wouldn’t be such a huge
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people
adjustment. I’ll tell you now, I was a blaring idiot. I had no idea.
we had our daughter Gracee. And when I go into Abby’s closet, and find clothes that she just had to have, that never get worn, and
April has always done a great job of providing the girls with the
very well may still have the tags on them, then that prescription for
things they want. Still, I like buying the girls things that they like,
antianxiety meds I have sitting in the medicine cabinet is going to
and things they will use. Maybe it’s that manly need to provide for
be put to the test.
my family. I don’t want to spoil them, but I enjoy the fact that I'm able to give them what they need.
The very reason for this story comes from our friend, Alexis. She has two kids, and her daughter Katie is Emma’s best friend. They
With that being said, when I have spent hard-earned money on
are inseparable. Katie spends a lot of time at our house, and Emma
something that they “needed,” but they never wore it, or never
spends a lot of time at hers. Katie has a remote control dog, and
used it, or didn’t even know where in the Sam Hill it was, my
Emma has been begging us to get her one just like it. There’s only one
brain spiraled off into a realm of frustration that hasn’t even been
problem: it’s a piece of crap. Alexis says it's worthless, and her kids
discovered yet.
never play with it. Even though it cost $75. It was a complete waste of money, and the kids had not touched it since Emma left. You
When Sadie, the American Girl doll, that we made a special trip to
know what they played with instead of the $75 robot dog? A
Dallas for, spent the night at the Galleria Mall for, bought a soccer
Walmart sack. They slapped and hit a plastic Walmart sack into
outfit and a horse for, sits in the closet and doesn’t get played
the air, over and over, not letting it hit the ground. That was the
with, then I definitely begin to question my decisions. I know that
whole game. Don’t let the bag touch the ground! They didn’t
I'm not alone. I mean, they didn’t build that gigantic American
need expensive toys. They didn’t need expensive clothes, or shoes,
Girl doll store only off the money they made from me. That place
or anything else. All they needed was a sack!
was packed. I spent $250 total. And there were fifty more poor daddies there at the same time as me, doing the exact same thing.
With all this new information, my Christmas shopping list just got a
Because we love to make our girls happy. We love that look that
whole lot cheaper, and Daddy’s checking account just got a whole
says, Oh, thank you, Dad. I love you. Even if we spend too much.
lot fatter. Forget the designer jeans and the fancy toys. Forget
Then, if only for a moment, it feels like it may have been worth it.
the iPhone 6 or North Face jacket. We're going to stock them up with grocery sacks, toilet boxes (other large boxes, if toilet boxes
My best bet is not to focus on the amount of money I have spent
not available), and some old ACE bandages. I’ll let them both
on clothes, or dolls, or iPads, or iPods or shoes. Because when
watch TV in April and my bedroom twice a week. Because when it
I realize that Emma’s favorite toys are an old wooden set of
comes right down to it, those are the things that seem to be most
crutches that April bought for her for ten dollars at a flea market
important to them. And I like that. Because, hell, that’s cheap.
and a cardboard box from a new toilet that I had to install in our
And Daddy likes it when things are cheap.
guest bathroom, it may require me to revisit some of the focused breathing techniques we learned in our birthing class right before
Unless it’s for my stuff, of course. I don’t like cheap stuff.
Stoney Stamper
is the author of the popular parenting blog, The Daddy Diaries. He and his wife April have three daughters: Abby, Emma and Gracee. Originally from northeast Oklahoma, the Stampers now live in Tyler, Texas. For your daily dose of The Daddy Diaries, visit Stoney on Facebook or on his website, thedaddydiaries.net.
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28
entertainment
Christmas Books FOR UNDER THE TREE reviewS Anita Paddock
I’m looking forward to Christmas more than I have in a long time. There is a little girl named Violet in my family, and her presence will make for a lively time around the tree. And as everyone knows, the holidays are more fun if there are giggling children clutching gingerbread cookies in tight little fingers while climbing up in a lap for a Christmas story.
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
entertainment
home to die. Although he was a Vietnam hero in his early life, Carl was later sent to prison for abusing and then murdering a young girl, but Carl has always maintained his innocence. Joe half-heartedly believes him and sets out to learn the truth before Carl dies. You’ll learn the surprising truth right along with Joe, and the end result is a book that is both heartbreaking and full of hope.
For the children in your family, I suggest this darling new book by beloved children’s author, Jan Brett. In Animals’ Santa, the animals wonder just who exactly delivers their presents. So a rabbit stays up to discover that a snowy owl in a red cap flies down with a pack full of presents. The story is sweet, the artwork beautiful, and it will surely please the little one on your list.
Ozark Urchins by local author Richard Cress is sure to delight the mature readers on your list. This charming book tells the true story of the nine Cress children who lived with their mother in the beautiful Ozark Mountains northwest of Winslow, Arkansas, from 1946 through 1951. The family lived in a tiny rented house with no electricity or indoor plumbing. As Cress reports, his family was often cold and hungry, but they never lacked for entertainment, and he chronicles the ways in which he and his siblings played. His stories will make you laugh out loud and maybe shed a few tears. It’s a winner, and one you’ll want to give to several on your list.
I know lots of people who are fans of Southern writer Rick Bragg who wrote All Over but the
Shoutin’ and Ava’s Man. His new book is the biography of rock and roll star Jerry Lee Lewis, and I can think of no better person to interview the famous crazy piano player than Rick Bragg. Here is a sample of Bragg’s introduction to
Another new Christmas book for children is The
the book Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story: “The
Last Christmas Tree by Stephen Krensky. In his
party boats churned up the big river from
book, he tells the story of a little crooked tree
New Orleans and down from Memphis and
with few branches that’s for sale on a Christmas
Vicksburg, awash in good liquor and listing
tree lot. It’s passed over by family after family
with revelers who dined and drank to tied-
until it’s the last tree left on Christmas Eve. But
down pianos and whole brass bands. Country
something magical happens, and it’s purchased
people in worn-through overalls and faded
by a very special person.
flour-sack dresses watched from the banks.” Jerry Lee Lewis was a nine-year-old watching Nearly everyone loves a mystery, and this is one I recommend by a new author, Allen Eskins.
The Life We Bury takes place in Minnesota
Remember to inscribe the books with “to’s and from’s” and the date. Years from now someone will pick up a book you gave them and say, “I remember this book.” But most importantly, they will remember you.
and is told by the main character, Joe Talbert, who’s attending college and taking care of his autistic brother while holding down a full-time job. As a college writing project, Joe interviews Carl, a terminally ill convict who has been released from prison to a nursing
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
from the bank, and his daddy, Elmo, told him he’d be on one of those boats one day. Jerry Lee says he didn’t know if he’d be one of the rich folks, or if one of his songs would be played by the band on board. It turned out that both would be true. Rick Bragg dedicates this book to “anyone who ever danced in their socks” and I suggest that would be a good criteria to use for those on your Christmas list too.
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diy
A Woodland Christmas words and images Yvonne Pratt
Christmas decorating made easy. Doesn't that sound marvelous? Pillows are a fabulous way to add a touch of Christmas cheer to almost any room. Deer icons are on trend, as is plaid, so let’s combine them for a pillow that is not only easy to make, but also looks like it came out of a high-end catalog. The best part is you don't have to sew a stitch! What could be easier? We’ve also included a tree template as a bonus! Instructions page 33.
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diy
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diy
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
diy
Pillow Instructions:
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
- 1 pillow cover (I chose an 18'' plain linen woven pillow cover) - Scissors - Plaid flannel, ¼ yard - Iron, hot and NO steam - Fusible webbing or Wonder Under® - Template
METHOD 1. Print deer or tree pattern. (see pages 31 & 32) 2. Using a Sharpie®, copy the chosen template onto the paper side of the fusible webbing. 3. Cut around the template, as shown, and iron the image to the WRONG SIDE of the flannel according to directions. If you’re using plaid, make sure the plaid is straight and not crooked on your template. 4. When the template adheres to the flannel, let it cool for a few minutes. When it’s cool, cut out the template. 5. Very gently peel off the paper backing. 6. Center the cutout on the pillow cover. Using a hot iron on the “no steam” setting, iron the cutout to the pillow cover, according to the directions, until it adheres. When cool, stuff the pillow with an insert.
Yvonne
is the creator of StoneGable, a beautiful and widely popular blog about all things home. Her love for American farmhouse living is evident throughout her posts on decorating, home décor, DIYs, gardening, cooking and much more. Visit StoneGable at stonegableblog.com.
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lifestyle
COLLARS FOR CHRISTMAS words Marla Cantrell
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
lifestyle There was once a pet named Vegas, an Australian
place," Brittany says. "We're like a family, and we work for the
Cattle Dog, who lived with Brittany Gallaher and her husband in
greater good. Our clients are wonderful, too, so giving. The
Alma, Arkansas, and experienced the kind of life every pup should
community helped. The 4-H kids asked for donations at Walmart.
have. That is to say he existed much as every other bona fide
Who can tell a child who wants to help animals 'no'?" Brittany
member of a family did, taking trips with the couple, having his
asks. "The most we've collected in a year is about 450 pounds of
picture taken at random moments, cozying up on the couch in the
dry dog and cat food, plus treats, and sixty collars."
evening right along with his owners. One of the best parts of the whole process was when she and When Vegas passed away in January, 2010, Brittany and her
eleven other volunteers went to the Humane Society the second
husband were at a loss. Brittany could barely stand to see Vegas'
week of December to deliver the donations. They handed out
idle food bowl, or his empty spot on the couch, or the seat where
treats – and love – to the animals. "People think the animals don't
he rode with her in the car. During that time, she came across
know what time of year it is, they don't know about Christmas,
a book, Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates, by Gary Kurz. In it, the
but they do know when they have a full tummy, and they know
author looks to the Bible for answers about an animal's role in our
when someone shows them kindness. Sometimes, they've been
human world, and why we form such deep attachments.
treated unkindly for a long time before they get to the shelter, so it's heartwarming to get to give them that experience."
Reading that book ignited something in Brittany. She began to think a lot about shelter animals. According to the ASPCA, 3.9 million dogs and 3.4 million cats enter shelters in the United States each year. Of that number, 1.2 million dogs and 1.4 million cats are euthanized. The tally is heartbreaking, and Brittany realized she wanted to reduce that number by at least one. She started an online search of shelter dogs in the area, looking at page after page of pictures. What she thought as she scanned hundreds of photos was how much more approachable the dogs would look if they were wearing collars. To her, a collar signified that the dog would blend in with a family, that perhaps the dog already knew how to walk on a leash, that it didn't seem so much like a stray. It was a small thought, but one that stayed with her. When she came across Lori, a black dog that looked like a Blue Heeler, she felt something tug at her heart. Lori was in a Northwest Arkansas shelter, and after Brittany met her in April, 2010, she knew Lori, a dog just two weeks away from being euthanized, was
People think the animals don't know what time of year it is, they don't know about Christmas, but they do know when they have a full tummy, and they know when someone shows them kindness.
going to be a part of her family. The adoption worked out perfectly. Lori was a fine dog, and a
The next year, Brittany did it all again. When everything had been
happy one. Still, Brittany's initial thought that shelter dogs needed
delivered, she focused on getting ready for the holiday. She'd
collars didn't go away. In 2011, she started Collars for Christmas:
spent every Christmas Eve of her life at her grandmother's house
A Pup and a Prayer Project, a non-profit that raises money and
in Rudy. As she and her husband loaded up their car with the food
collects supplies for the Sebastian County Humane Society. When
and presents, Brittany also packed dog food. There was a stray
she told her co-workers at Dallas Street Dental in Fort Smith what
she'd been feeding for about a week, a little terrier mix she hoped
she was doing, they got on board. "I couldn't work at a better
would soon find its way back home. On this day, though,
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lifestyle
the dog was dangerously close to the interstate, and Brittany's
black, and she really spoke to me, but that's not always the case."
concern accelerated. They pulled their car over, and her husband said, "You might as well put him in the car. You're going to get
Her education into the world of shelter pets has led her to
hit just trying to take care of him."
investigate some innovative ideas. She knows of shelters in the northern part of the country that are located on the same
And so she did. She coaxed him in on that Christmas Eve and took
campuses as jails. Inmates are assigned a dog, and they care for
him home. For a while, he didn't trust anyone. But not so long
the animal, training them, getting them socialized and ready for
after, when Brittany had given up believing that he was someone's
adoption. Lori believes it also helps the inmates, who are offered
lost pet and quit searching online for his owner, he started to ease
unconditional love at an incredibly low time in their lives. And her
his way in. "That's why we named him Jericho (as in the Bible story
dog Lori, from the shelter in Northwest Arkansas, is great on a
where the walls of the city Jericho fall after the Israelites march
leash because she says that shelter used trustees from the nearby
around them seven times), because when the walls came down,
jail to walk them. She's not quite sure where collecting all these
he was so happy."
examples will lead, but she is confident there will be a way to use them in the future. She also wants to expand her non-profit to
As 2013 got underway, Brittany's life got even busier. She found
help other area shelters and promote spay and neuter programs.
out she was expecting, and one of her first concerns was whether her baby would get along with the dogs, and even greater than
What she's learned since taking on this project is that there are so
that, whether she would have any pet allergies. "I prayed that she
many good people who want to help but don't know exactly what
wouldn't be allergic, and it was really serious to me."
to do. That's where she was when she began. She knew she was only one person, that she couldn't adopt every homeless dog she
Her daughter, who turned one in October, did not have allergies.
came across. But she could start Collars for Christmas. To her, it
And she loves the dogs, particularly Jericho. "He's so tolerant, so
helps solidify the meaning of the holiday: spreading the joy of the
good with her," Brittany says.
season, giving to a cause you believe in, trying with all your heart to make a difference in the world.
The one and only drawback of 2013 was that Brittany was not able to do as much fundraising for Collars for Christmas as she had the year before. Still, she was able to collect 200 pounds of food, and several collars for the Sebastian County Humane Society. This year, she's set up a GoFundMe account, with a goal of $500,
Collars for Christmas is accepting donations
and she's taking donations at Dallas Street Dental until December
of money, food, treats, and collars at Dallas Street Dental.
10. Brittany's hoping for a record year. The Humane Society is
8020 Dallas Street
close to her heart. They house an average of 400 to 500 animals,
Fort Smith, Arkansas
she says, and the cost to care for just one animal is seventeen
479.452.6600
dollars a day. Deadline is December 10. However, you can donate at any What Brittany hopes to accomplish is getting help for the Sebastian
time by visiting gofundme.com/ck6ibc. The money will be used
County Humane Society throughout the year. The need is always
throughout the year, as needs arise at the shelter.
great, and every donation helps. Since taking on her mission, she's learned a few things. "Black dogs are harder to adopt," she
For more on Collars for Christmas: A Pup and a Prayer
says. "They're called the invisible dogs of the shelters, because
Project, find them on Facebook.
they blend in, they're easy to pass over. Lori, the dog I adopted, is
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
pets
This Christmas, bring home unconditional love. These furry friends, and more, are waiting for their forever home. Please consider adoption or a donation of pet food or financial assistance. As always, please remember to spay and neuter your pets.
M
M
F
Bogie
Hoss
F
F
Hattie
Honey
F
Joanie
Bobbie Sue
Charleston Dog Shelter Donations are always needed and greatly appreciated. Charleston Dog Shelter | Charleston, AR 72933 | 479.965.3591 | Find us on Petfinder™ |
Each month, Do South donates this page to local and regional non-profit animal shelters. If you work with a shelter and would like to reserve this space, please email editors@dosouthmagazine.com.
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Christmas people
words & Image Jessica Sowards
IN MY BONES
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people
I am a Christmas person. You know the type. I listen
Getting married taught a hard lesson about how high my expec-
to my James Taylor at Christmas album on October 1 every year.
tations were. I learned how exceptional my family had been at
For me, planning and preparation and anticipation for the holiday
Christmastime. Traditions were concrete in my childhood, but as
season starts long before the décor hits the store shelves. And the
a young wife and mother, I realized that traditions like that take
décor hits the store shelves earlier each year. It hasn't caught up
commitment. They require someone who cares.
with me yet. I tried so hard in the following years. We began having ChristSee, I come by it honestly. I was born nine days before Christmas.
mases at our home, my desire to strike out on my own coupled
I was brought home from the hospital in a giant stocking supplied
with an immense pressure to recreate my rich memories. I bought.
in the place of the usual medical-grade baby blanket. My parents,
I baked. I begged God to give me back the Christmas of my child-
first-timers at the baby game, knew no lullabies so they sang me
hood. No matter what I did though, it was lacking. At the end of
“Silent Night” instead.
the day, when the paper was bagged up and the packages laid bare, I felt like a deflated balloon, surrounded by debt and a feel-
Christmas is in my bones.
ing of not having done enough.
Of course, Christmas is magical for kids, but I recall mine with an
Then in 2008, just like that, my grandmother died. It was the end
extra dose of whimsy. We were poor, but I never noticed. Some-
of November. One week she seemed fine, the next week they had
how, the things we wanted most were always under the tree. Our
found cancer, and a week after that I stood by her hospice bed star-
huge extended family would meet at my grandparents' house. We
ing down at her wasted body thinking, How can Christmas carry on
ate the same breakfast every year. There were gifts and games and
without her?
Christmas Eve church services. We would sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus.
I didn't think it could.
And then there was my grandmother. She carried Christmas on
There were poinsettias at her funeral. Of course, it was Decem-
her shoulders. Even now, decades later, I can close my eyes and re-
ber. The most wonderful time of the year. That was the last holi-
call the smell of her home each December. I can remember the an-
day season with her, or at least with her fresh on my memory.
ticipation, feel the sense of won-
That was the year that I decided
der I felt as we sprinkled reindeer
I would be just like her. I hadn't
food on the front lawn before going to bed on Christmas Eve. I even remember one year being certain I'd heard sleigh bells. As my peers entered middle school and became more preoccupied with their own wish lists, I spent every resource I had
This is how Christmas started. With a mother. She did not try to perform and create and manufacture some miraculous experience. She was just a woman who said, "Ok, God. I'll love your son..."
figured it out yet, but I was determined to learn the secret of making Christmas magical again. It took a long while. Christmases passed in mediocrity. I remember the moment it came back to me. We had just moved into a new house and I was very largely
striving to maintain the magic.
pregnant with my third son. I
I was the Oprah Winfrey of the
didn't put the tree up until after
seventh grade, handing out dollar store body sprays to every girl I
my birthday. Nothing was perfect. Everything was still packed in
thought might not otherwise get a gift from a classmate. In high
boxes.
school, I could be found shopping at Cracker Barrel alongside women forty-five years my senior, buying Christmas sweaters be-
I was sitting at the end of the couch with a mug of cider. An apple
fore Christmas sweaters were cool.
slice with cloves poking through the skin was floating on top. The
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
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people
glow of the lights on the tree was as warm as the ceramic against
pation I have felt for each of my children, I can't help but wonder
my hands. Then my unborn son moved. It wasn't the first time. I
how Mary felt that first Christmas Eve. This ordinary woman, who
was seven months along and had been daily assaulted by elbows
felt the Son of God roll under her skin, knowing who He was and
and feet for many weeks. But in that moment, in that light, in that
how hard He would be to let go of. Salvation was an unimaginably costly gift. Perfect in spite of a
imperfection, I realized.
world of imperfection. Mary did this. This is how Christmas started. With a mother. She did not try to perform and create and manufacture
some
miracu-
lous experience. She was just a woman who said, "Ok, God. I'll love your son," and in a barn,
I see their excitement and joy and I can see the boy Jesus in each of them. I think of His mother, and how she was just a girl like me, attempting to follow God and answer His call.
Christmas is different now. Our budget is modest, much like my childhood. Of course, the kids don't even notice. Traditions from the past have carried over and married with new experiences and ideas. There is always a ton of family. We eat the same breakfast every year.
wonder was born.
We serve God, sometimes outAll this time, I had been searching for the key to creating a cel-
wardly and sometimes doing random acts of kindness in secret.
ebration with family that encompassed generosity, tradition and
And my house has this smell in December. It’s cinnamon and clove
festive magic. But I'd been missing the whole point. Jesus. My
and oranges, with a hint of vanilla and rosemary, fresh cookies
grandmother knew. Because she had carried six children. She had
and cider simmering on the stove. I can't be sure, because I can't
lost loved ones. And most of all, she had fallen in love with Christ.
ask her, but I'm almost certain it's the same mix of things that scented my grandmother's home all those years ago.
You see, we celebrate with generosity because God was so generous to give us His Son. We celebrate with family because in all of
I finally learned how to carry Christmas. I look at each of my sons
the countless ways He could have sent us a savior, He sent Jesus to
as we go through the preparations. I see their excitement and joy
be raised by a man and a woman who didn't have all the answers.
and I can see the boy Jesus in each of them. I think of His mother,
We celebrate with gladness because our hearts are full. We have
and how she was just a girl like me, attempting to follow God and
been given salvation!
answer His call.
And it's ok that our holidays are imperfect. It's ok when they are
It's because of this that I know, I don't carry Christmas on my
bittersweet and we cry in front of the tree for those who aren't
shoulders. I carry it in my heart.
with us. It's ok when there are disappointments. When I realize this, when I weigh the heaviness of my own losses and the antici-
I am a Christmas person. 365 days a year. It's in my bones.
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
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home
words and images Yvonne Pratt
for Christmas
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
home
W
We have a Christmas tradition in our home. My husband goes downstairs to make coffee, turn on the Christmas lights
and music, and to make sure Santa has come and gone safely! Everyone else in the house gathers on the second floor waiting for the okay to come down. Youngest to oldest stampede down the stairs when he gives the all clear! We gather ’round the tree and read the Christmas story, pray and sing a Christmas carol. Everyone opens a gift or two, taking turns from youngest to oldest, then it’s time for our favorite meal – Christmas brunch! Traditions have an important place in our lives. Because traditions are like glue, they have the ability to galvanize families. Bonding us together by an activity that creates lifelong memories. Christmas brunch goes back for generations in our family and it far outshines Christmas dinner in food fare and decorations. The food is always the same because everyone has their favorites and I don't want a mutiny at Christmas on my hands. But the table decorations are different every year. Sometimes fancy and over-the-top, sometimes simple and uncomplicated. But, hopefully, always memorable.
This year’s table echoes the Christmas decorations through the rest of our home. Small cyprus trees, stars, snowflakes and lots of black and white! It's fresh and chic and looks fabulous with splashes of red. It’s a casual Christmas brunch table. I've put away my Christmas china and opted for simple white mix-and-match plates. It's a nice clean look that makes all the other colors pop! DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
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home
Awaiting guests at the table is a crisply wrapped black and white chevron package with a big silky bow — another family tradition. Inside is a new ornament! The gift works as part of my table décor. There is also a festively wrapped candy cane to continue the color scheme. This year's placecards are red and white gift tags!
Red homespun napkins and casual placemats give the table a warm, inviting feel. And just for fun I used red handled flatware!
Tiny cyprus trees planted in assorted white bowls parade down the center of our Christmas brunch table. Small pinecones are clustered around the base of the trees to hide the soil. They give the tiny trees a grand woodland look. Brightly wrapped gifts, a scattering of pinecones, and some sparkly snowflakes finish off the centerpiece.
Sweet reindeer salt and pepper shakers hide between the trees. It's the little extra touches that bring out the oooh's and ahhh's from everyone!
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
Mimosas have become our Christmas brunch libation! This year mimosas will be served with sassy straws. I don’t know if my boys will appreciate the straws but my girls will love them!
Yvonne is the creator of StoneGable, a beautiful and widely popular blog about all things home. Her love for American farmhouse living is evident throughout her posts on decorating, home décor, DIYs, gardening, cooking and much more. Visit StoneGable at stonegableblog.com.
Our Farmers Coop Family wishes you a season of joy.
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people
THE
Other Side OF THE ALTAR words Marcus Coker images courtesy Karen Schwartz
On December 20, Jack Sidler, Sr., a widower, father of three, and a native of Van Buren, Arkansas, will be ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Little Rock in the Roman Catholic Church. In January, he’ll turn seventy-one years old. “In 2008, when my wife, Dee, got sick with lung cancer, I wasn’t thinking beyond that; I never thought she was going to die,” says Jack. “Three months before she passed away, we were in the palliative care unit, and she said, ‘My prayer book is too heavy,’ and I said, ‘Here, I’ll read you the prayers.’ And I did that as her husband, but friends pointed out later that that’s what a priest does—they minister to people.”
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people
Jack, who was born in California in 1944, moved to Van Buren
‘Jack, you know that’s not true.’
when he was five and attended First Presbyterian Church. Jack says, “I went to Van Buren High School and actually thought about
“About halfway through the retreat, I started thinking that I
becoming a Presbyterian minister when I was about sixteen.”
wanted to do something else. And I told God, ‘I don’t do subtle, so you’re going to have to make it clear.’ One day, sitting before
When Jack graduated, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve. After
the Blessed Sacrament, I had a sensation like warm rain coming
six months of active duty in South Carolina, Jack moved back to
over me, and I knew then that I wanted to be a priest. I wanted to
Arkansas and took a job at the Southwest American Morning
be on the other side of the altar.”
Paper in Fort Smith and worked on the dump, where corrections were put in. “I learned to read backwards and upside down,”
Because Jack wasn’t even sure that someone his age could become
says Jack, “One night, the future Mrs. Sidler came to stay with a
a priest, he contacted the vocations director for the Diocese of Little
friend of mine who was a typesetter. We dated for a year and a
Rock. (In the Catholic Church, areas under the care of a bishop are
half, and I converted to Catholicism before we got married in June
called diocese. The Diocese of Little Rock includes the entire state
of 1964.”
of Arkansas.) The answer came back: “Yes, and maybe.”
By 1970, Jack and Dee had three children, and Jack had left the
In October of 2010, Jack still wasn’t sure what was going to
military and gone back to college. In 1973, he graduated from
happen, but he’d started studying theology through the Little Rock
Arkansas Tech in Russellville with a major in biology and a minor
Theology Institute. “One day I got a voicemail from the vocations
in business. For the next thirty-five years, Jack worked in the food
director that said, ‘If you’re going to start seminary in January, we
quality assurance business. “I was director of quality assurance for
need to get the paperwork filled out.’ I figured that was pretty
Popeye’s in Atlanta, Georgia, and also worked for Kentucky Fried
direct, not subtle at all.”
Chicken in Louisville, Kentucky, and Burger King in Miami, Florida. So we moved around a lot, but eventually ended up back in the
For almost four years now, Jack has been living in Hales Corners,
River Valley.”
Wisconsin, attending Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology. Having sold his 2,200 square foot house and sold or
Over the years, Jack and Dee were active in the church, especially
given away most of his possessions, he’s been living in a ten-by-
Sacred Heart of Mary in Barling. Jack taught confirmation classes,
twelve room, sharing a bathroom and shower with twenty other
lectured (did readings) on Sundays, and joined the parish council.
seminarians. “I waited to sell the house, but I realized I’d never
“I never thought of being involved as more than just a layperson.”
go back. The toughest thing was giving away my dog, Sadie. When you’re lonely, and the animal jumps up to see you, there’s a
When Dee got sick in March of 2008, Jack took early retirement
certain companionship there. The hardest part is not the physical
from his job as the director of technical services at Pepper Source
living accommodations, but being apart from my children and
in Van Buren and cared for Dee until her death in November.
grandchildren. One of my sons has cancer, and sometimes I feel guilty about being up here. So it hasn’t been a straight line; there
“In January, St. Scholastica Monastery (in Fort Smith) hosted a
has been some real challenge. But this is my choice.”
spiritual retreat, and I attended because I just needed to get out of the house. Part of the retreat was spent on site, and at first, the
In addition to academic and theological studies, Jack has been
heat didn’t work, and the bed was cold. I thought, Jack, you could
asked to spend time in meditation, developing a spiritual life. “The
be home in a warm bed in five minutes. But I stayed.”
whole process takes you out of yourself, out of your world. You’re asked to use your brain to find God. We call it the head/heart
The retreat lasted seven months and required Jack to spend an
connection. It starts in your head, but winds up in your heart.”
hour a day in prayer and meditation and meet with a group once a week. “They asked us to use our imagination, to visualize what
For Jack, his age hasn’t been a liability; it’s been an asset. “I can
effect our private sins have on the world. My first thought was,
see how an experience will play out. I don’t have all the answers,
They don’t have any effect, but a voice inside me kept saying,
but I know that life will always teach you something if you let it.
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
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people
At twenty-five, I thought I knew a lot, but at seventy, I realize how
an active priest until my health prevents me from doing that.”
little I know. And there’s a big difference. “
One of the nicest things about Jack is that he’s easy to talk to; he’s down to earth. “I’m just a simple guy, blessed in many ways. I
This month, Jack will graduate from Sacred Heart Seminary with
just want to bring the sacraments to the people and do what God
his Masters in Divinity, and on December 20, he’ll be ordained a
has asked me to do in a happy, loving manner. People can see
minister at the St. Benedict Abbey Church in Subiaco. Arkansas.
insincerity; they can see if you’re being false. So I want you to see
During the ritual, other priests will lay their hands on Jack, and
in me in the attributes I ask you to have.”
he’ll be anointed with holy water. He’ll take a vow of celibacy. It’s a mission that’s both humble and honorable, the desire to live The next day, Jack will deliver his first mass at Sacred Heart of
the rest of one’s life in service. And Jack knows it won’t be easy.
Mary in Barling at ten in the morning. After that, he’ll be assigned
Many priests face burnout and loneliness on a regular basis. But
to a church somewhere in the diocese. “I’ll assume all the duties
Jack has the support of his family, three children that have never
of a priest—celebrate mass, hear confession, call on people in the
questioned what he wants to do, which is simply share the love of
hospital, marry people, baptize, bury. I’m going to be able to marry
God. “I’m still learning to be more effective in loving people and
my goddaughter the week after I’m ordained. I’m excited about
teaching people how to love. And you just have to live life and let
it,” Jack says as he laughs. “I’m ready to go to work. I plan to be
it teach you.” Jack laughs. “I haven’t found any shortcuts.”
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
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pets
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I’m Dreaming of a
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diy
holiday words and images Janna Wilson
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
diy
S
pice up the holidays with this easy DIY gift idea. Pair these festive mulling spice ornaments with your favorite fruity red wine or a delicious half gallon of fresh apple cider. Perfect as a hostess gift or for your neighbors or co-workers. Be sure to make extra to keep on hand for those chilly evenings. As a bonus, this DIY will have your home smelling heavenly for Christmas.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
INGREDIENTS
Glass craft ornaments
10 cinnamon sticks
Mulling spices (homemade or purchased)
2 tsp. whole cloves
Spice bags
2 tsp. whole allspice berries
Red wine (750 ml bottle) or apple cider (1/2 gallon)
Orange peel cut into pieces (the peel of one orange, dried
(we love local wine like Wiederkehr’s Beau Noir)
overnight for best results)
Packaging materials (gift wrap, ribbon, trims, twine) Basic craft tools (scissors, tape, pens, etc.) Oil based paint pen (we used gold) Paper funnel (8 x 8 square paper) Mallet
Break cinnamon sticks into small pieces with mallet. Mix all ingredients into a small mixing bowl and combine thoroughly.
Tip: If you’d rather purchase ready to use mulling spices- check out Davidson’s Organics on Amazon.com. Their ready-made Herbal Mulling Spice Mix in a 1lb package is around $13.
TO:
TO:
FROM:
FROM:
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diy
METHOD
ENJOY
• Remove metal tops, wash and dry ornaments.
mulled apple cider
• Create paper funnel to match the opening in craft ornaments
and tie closed. Combine 1/2 gallon (2 qt.) apple cider and spice bag
from a piece of 8 x 8 paper. • Funnel mulling spices into ornaments — about 3 Tablespoons filled ours.
Transfer mulling spices to spice bag
in a large pot on the stovetop. Simmer just below boiling point for 3040 minutes or until hot. Remove spice bag and discard. Serve hot.
Garnish with orange slices or cinnamon sticks.
• Replace top and tie pretty bow to top of ornament. You could also use a paint pen to add polka dots to decorate the ornament.
mulled wine Transfer mulling spices to spice bag and tie closed.
• Wrap wine bottle/cider jug with gift wrap or fabric (we wrapped
Heat 1/2 cup water or apple cider and 1/3 cup sugar over stovetop.
our cider jug in burlap secured with a safety pin in back).
When sugar is dissolved add 1 bottle (750 ml) red wine and spice bag
• Attach ornament with spice bag to bottle/jug.
to liquid. Reduce heat to low and simmer (don’t boil) until wine is
• Pen a holiday sentiment on kraft paper or clip out our gift tags
hot. Discard spice bag and serve hot. Garnish with orange slices or
with recipe and add to your packaging. Need more copies? You
cinnamon sticks.
can download them at DoSouthMagazine.com.
Janna Wilson is a long-time crafter, graphic designer and teaches calligraphy workshops locally. Find more inspiration on her blog at JannaWilson.com.
mulled apple cider
mulled wine
Transfer mulling spices to spice bag and tie closed. Combine 1/2 gallon (2 qt.) apple cider and spice bag in a large pot on the stovetop. Simmer just below boiling point for 30-40 minutes or until hot. Remove spice bag and discard. Serve hot. Garnish with orange slices or cinnamon sticks.
Transfer mulling spices to spice bag and tie closed. Heat 1/2 cup water or apple cider and 1/3 cup sugar over stovetop. When sugar is dissolved add 1 bottle (750 ml) red wine and spice bag to liquid. Reduce heat to low and simmer (don’t boil) until wine is hot. Discard spice bag and serve hot. Garnish with orange slices or cinnamon sticks.
beauty
55
SHINE words and image Catherine Frederick
Dazzle from morning to night
in sophisticated neutrals and standout metallics. Check out Do South’s favorite shades of the season.
From top clockwise: Too Faced Natural Eyes Neutral Eye Shadow Collection: Too Faced Melted Liquefied Long Wear Lipstick in Melted Fig, Melted Nude, Melted Berry: Makeup Lounge Indelible Cream Eye Shadow in Apricot Frost: Too Faced Bulletproof Shadow Liner in Mink: Makeup Lounge Eye Lights in Queen: CoastalScents Natural Bristol Makeup Brushes: Too Faced Glamour Dust Glitter Pigment in Nude Beam: Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara Makeup courtesy Makeup Lounge, Fort Smith, 479.478.9414. DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
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taste
Image Catherine Frederick
INGREDIENTS
3 oz. Pomegranate or Cranberry Juice 2 oz. Coney Island Carlo Gin 1 oz. Simple Syrup Lime Juice (juice from 1-2 wedges) Fresh Mint Leaves (garnish) Pomegranate Seeds (garnish) Lime Wheel (garnish) Muddle mint leaves with simple syrup in the bottom of a glass. Add ice, gin, juice, and lime. Stir and garnish with lime wheel, mint leaf, and pomegranate seeds. Drink responsibly. Always designate a driver.
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
taste
Adapted from Confessions of a Kitchen Diva
This easy, freezable appetizer makes holiday entertaining a breeze. Prepare it in advance, pop it in the oven, and see how many of your guests ask for the recipe. Even better? It's perfect for when company shows up on a whim.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD Split each muffin into 2 halves - set aside. Mix cheese and
1 package (6 count) English muffins 1 jar (4 ounces) Old English Cheese (this is usually near the blocks of Velveeta)
butter. Stir in seasoned salt and garlic powder until well mixed. Gently fold into crabmeat. Divide mixture evenly between 12 English muffin halves, spreading to cover. Cut
1/4 cup butter or margarine
muffins into 4 pie-shaped pieces - I used a pizza cutter. Place
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
in container and freeze or bake immediately. When ready to
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1 can (6 ounces) white crabmeat, drained
serve, preheat oven to 400Ëš. Bake frozen muffins, cheese side up for 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly, then broil for 1 minute to brown. Frozen canapĂŠs should keep for 3 months. DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
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taste
FriedQuail recipeS and imageS courtesy Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays
Fried quail is as integral to our family’s Christmas morning as playing Johnny Mathis songs and searching in vain for AAA batteries for our kids’ Christmas presents. My husband grew up enjoying fried quail at his grandfather’s house every Christmas morning; today, my father-in-law is usually the one manning the skillet. Back in those days, it was 100 percent certain that the quail had come from a recent hunt. These days, quail hunts on the ranch aren’t as common, so we aren’t averse to hunting down (get it?) the game birds from local markets if we have to. Saves time for more important things. Like remembering to buy AAA batteries for our kids’ Christmas presents. Fried quail, in case you’ve never tried them, are just delicious. The only downside is that they’re tiny little things and can take a little time to eat. But that just makes them more special! This is as dreamy a Christmas morning brunch as you can get.
over medium-high heat. Preheat oven to 350°. Fry quail, 4
FRIED QUAIL
or 5 at a time, turning halfway through, until golden brown,
Makes 12 servings
about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove quail to a paper
12 whole quail, cleaned (available frozen at good meat counters)
towel–lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining quail. Remove paper towel and set baking sheet in oven for 6 to 8 minutes, or until quail are cooked through. Serve alongside
3 cups buttermilk
biscuits with quail gravy, recipe next page.
3 cups all-purpose flour 2 Tablespoons seasoned salt (such as Lawry’s) 1 Tablespoon ground black pepper 4 cups peanut or vegetable oil, for frying
VARIATIONS
Place quail in large plastic bag. Pour buttermilk over the top. Seal and place quail in fridge for at least 1 hour. Mix together flour, seasoned salt, and pepper. Dredge each
• Instead of quail, fry patties of breakfast sausage and serve with gravy recipe, next page. • Instead of quail, fry chicken. Buy chicken pieces to make
quail in flour mixture, pressing to coat thoroughly. Lightly
it easy (chicken pieces will take longer to cook).
shake off excess flour, place on baking sheet, and repeat
Use same gravy recipe.
with the remaining quail. Heat oil in large, heavy skillet DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
taste
Quail Gravy Gravy is a crazy thing, isn’t it? Bizarre, even! Nutso! But
Pour the grease out of the skillet after frying quail. Don’t
spooned over fresh-from-the-oven biscuits? Oh, dear
clean the skillet or you’ll regret it every day for the rest of
heavenly goodness. It’s a creation I’m sure glad was—
your life! Set skillet over medium heat, then pour ½ cup of
well, created. You can make gravy with any grease left in
the grease back into skillet. Slowly sprinkle in 6 Tablespoons
a skillet after frying meat, whether it be quail, bacon, sau-
of flour, whisking as you go. Continue adding flour until you
sage, or chicken. So you have no excuse not to make it!
have a smooth, non-greasy paste. If it’s still greasy looking,
Unless, of course, your excuse is that you eat neither quail,
whisk in more flour. If it’s too dry and clumpy, whisk in a
bacon, sausage, nor chicken. And then I’m not sure I can
little more grease. Cook the paste, whisking constantly,
help you, my friend. Merry Christmas, everyone!
until it’s nice and dark golden brown. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with the whisk in order to loosen
QUAIL GRAVY
all the flavorful bits. You just made a roux, baby! Pour in 4
Makes 12 servings
cups milk, whisking constantly. Add plenty of black pepper, which makes gravy even more magical. Cook gravy, whisking
Drippings from Fried Quail (see previous recipe) pan oil
constantly, until nice and thick. If it gets too thick, just splash
6 to 8 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
in a little more milk, gravy is very forgiving.
4 to 5 cups milk Black pepper
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taste
Boozy
BREAD PUDDING
I adapted this sinfully scrumptious bread pudding from a Tom Perini recipe my mother-in-law shared with me years ago. It’s simple and divine and has ruined me forever on all other bread puddings in the universe. The kids can eat the bread pudding on its own, as it’s perfectly wonderful...but since you’ve been so good all year long, you get to drizzle yours with a naughty, boozy rum sauce! This is truly delicious stuff.
BOOZY BREAD PUDDING Makes 12 servings
Preheat oven to 325°. Cut bread into 1-inch slices, cut slices into 1-inch strips and cut strips into cubes. In all, you should have 8 to 10 cups of bread cubes. For the custard mixture, whisk together eggs, milk, and half-and-half, then add vanilla and sugar. Stir to combine. Melt butter
1 loaf crusty Italian bread or other artisanal loaf 3 eggs 2 cups milk 1 cup half-and-half 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
in microwave and whisk into the mixture. Generously butter a baking dish. Add all bread cubes to the pan. Pour egg mixture over bread cubes. Sprinkle pecans over the top. Bake for 1 hour. While bread pudding is baking, make boozy sauce. Combine butter, sugar, cream, and rum in medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring mixture to boil, whisking constantly. Reduce
2 cups sugar
heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove pan from
¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted, plus more for the pan
heat, set aside. To serve, pour the rum sauce into a small pitcher
½ cup pecans, chopped fine
or gravy boat. Drizzle a little bit over the bread pudding right when
BOOZY SAUCE
it comes out of the oven. (Drizzle over individual portions, too!)
½ cup (1 stick) butter
VARIATIONS
½ cup sugar
• Sprinkle raisins on top of the bread pudding with the pecans before baking.
¾ cup heavy (whipping) cream ¼ cup dark rum
• Use whiskey or brandy instead of dark rum. DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
From all of us at Do South Magazine, we wish you a holiday season filled with love and laughter. DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
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southern lit
Yesterday, Tomorrow
WE LIVE FOR WE LIVE FOR
fiction Marla Cantrell
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE
southern lit
M
Me and Hollis are bundled up and sitting on
eggnog drips off the side and onto his boots. “I loved you plenty
his front porch and we’re listening to the old stuff – Johnny Cash,
back when we were going out,” he says, and waves the smoke
Patsy Cline, Eddie Arnold, Roy Acuff, Kitty Wells – and we’re com-
from in front of his face.
paring them to some of the new singers, guys and gals about
as sincere as Hollywood and twice as pretty. All their faces are smooth like a month-old concrete sidewalk, even the stars older
“You loved me about as good as you could,” I say. “It’s not the same thing.”
than we are. Just then, Johnny Cash starts singing “I Walk the Line,” and the Hollis shakes his head, rubs his beard, and says, “They don’t hold a
tempo picks up. Hollis lights another cigarette from the red end of
candle.” And then, butted right up against that sentence, he says,
the one that’s expiring. He says, “Water under the bridge, Jubilee.
“You remember when Mama and Daddy danced right over there?”
Water under…” and then he just stops. Earlier today I was sitting
and this is where he takes his cigarette and points to the pecan
out here, coat on, mittens on, and a swarm of starlings flew over.
tree that’s so tall it blocks out the sun when it’s leafed out proper,
They moved like a person double-jointed, like a ballerina, the flock of them swaying across the sky, making patterns that looked like
which it would be if it wasn’t December.
a hornet’s nest and then a fishing net and then a giant diamond. “I remember it all,” I say, and that’s when Roy Acuff starts singing “Tennessee Waltz,” and the fiddle kind of reaches out and
I look over at Hollis and he's gone away inside his head like he
grabs both of us, and Hollis reaches for the porch railing to steady
does when he hears something he don't want to hear. "We
himself, and I grab hold of the arms of the rocking chair and close
stayed friends, though," I say. "Not a lot of people can say that."
my eyes. "I've known you since before we both could walk," he says. "I'll “They cut quite a rug,” Hollis says. And then, as if I didn’t know
probably know you when we both can't walk again."
exactly who he meant, he says, “Mama and Daddy did." "Call me a fool," I say, "but I think a walk right now would do us “That was the first time I realized what a beauty your mama was,
both good."
but I was only fifteen then, and already so in love with you I couldn’t see good,” I say, and Hollis bows his head so I can’t see
"It's nigh on midnight, girl."
his face at all. "You got someplace else to be?" “You're still pretty as a shined-up pickup, Jubilee,” he says. It is harder to walk at night than I remembered. Even with the “Maybe thirty years ago I didn’t look so bad,” I say. “Maybe before
moon, even with the flashlight, me and Hollis bump into each
I got knocked around by love and what-not and lost my mind.”
another, we hit a fencepost by the south pasture, we snag our jeans on the barbed wire. But once we're out in the field, we do a
Hollis looks off to the north, to the lights of the nearest town that
little better. There are sounds at night, hoots and hollers and dogs
sits at the tip-end of Arkansas. “We all lost our minds eventually,”
and grass rustling and rumbling from the highway not so far away.
he says, “even Mama at the end, when we had to put her in the
The grass has gone fallow, turned gold and stiff, and it crunches beneath our boots. The cold is making my eyes water, making my
home. Daddy would sit with her every day.”
nose water, filling my lungs with air that stings. “It’s why you can’t love nobody,” I say. “You got a inflated view of what love looks like.” We’d brought the eggnog out with us, and
When we get to the stack of square hay bales that should be in
I’d dumped half a bottle of bourbon into it. I take a sip and the fire
the barn but aren't, we climb up and sit side by side under the
burns and then spreads the way a good fire does.
chalkboard sky. Hollis is breathing hard, he's wiping his brow in
Hollis grabs his coffee cup and dunks it in the punchbowl. The
act like it.
this cold night, and I've got a pain that's riding my side, but I don't
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southern lit
"You ought to stop smoking," I say to Hollis, and he puts his cigarette back in the pack.
circle, and Hollis stands his ground long enough for the varmint to run off.
"No place to do it," he says, "except a clinic in hell-fire Minnesota.
"I forgot what living in the country was like after I moved away,"
You believe that?" he asks. "It’s probably thirty below right now.
I say. "I seen a lot of things, most of them not worth telling, but
If that's not a place where a little smoke and fire would help,
this one time in Dallas a guy put on a flying suit that had red
I don't know where is. It's like a cosmic joke, but nobody else
wings stitched to the back, and swung himself off the bridge and
seems to understand that."
he floated down to the water where a boat was idling, ready to take him to shore.”
"So, you looked into it?" "He didn’t get hurt?” "Got a brochure back at the house. Daddy had the emphysema. I don't want that."
“Nah,” I say, “he got arrested.”
"My mama had that shaking disease," I say. "Daddy didn't stay around long enough to know what he had."
“I never lived anywhere else," Hollis says. "Too much family here. Too much land in our name."
The night is littered with glittered stars. Hollis is the only warmth
"You didn't miss a heck of a lot," I say, but the truth is he did.
around, and so I scoot closer. The eggnog is still working its magic, and I feel like I could levitate if I tried. "What was your parents'
Hollis holds the barbed wire with two gloved fists, opening it so
secret?" I ask, and Hollis opens his mouth to speak and then
I can crawl through. I do the same for him, and he walks ahead
stops. I take my mittens off so I can feel the hay. I like the way it
of me. Soon we’re close enough to see the porch light. We left
smells, how it seems to take all of summer and presses it into a
the music on, and Eddie Arnold is singing "Make the World Go
tied-up thing.
Away."
"I think he liked taking care of Mama," he says finally. "She always
I know it before he does, that he's going to dance. I know it
seemed like a kid, even to me, which is why it was fun to grow
because he's moving his feet like he's practicing, and then he
up around her. She didn’t like chores. She didn’t like cooking,
holds out his arms like there’s a lady inside them, and he starts
but she loved climbing trees. She loved fishing. He liked sitting
to sway back and forth, he starts to shuffle – there’s no bet-
her down and writing out a budget every month, and she never
ter word for it – and turn. When he gets to me, he stops like
once that I knew of stayed on it, so he was always playing catch
that, hands held out, the music like an ache from long ago. I
up at Mina's Grocery and Billie Joe's Dress Shop, where she had a
look around, for who, I don’t know, maybe the past, maybe his
tab. As for Mama, I think she loved him most because he wasn't
mama and daddy dancing like movie stars under the pecan tree.
a liar and a cheat like her own daddy was. That, and he played
But nobody’s there but me and Hollis, and I step into his circle,
the fiddle."
I let him hold me, and all the sounds of the night quicken and then flare and then go out, so that all that’s left is us and the
I like the way Hollis smells, like chimney smoke and cigarette
music and this one cold night.
smoke and Dial soap. "I never had one man wanted to do more than take the trash out," I say, and saying it makes my throat close, because it's true and because I'm getting old.
Marla was recently awarded the Arkansas Arts Council
Walking back across the pasture, we spot a coyote a few yards away, its eyes flashing, and Hollis takes his arm and moves me behind him. The coyote looks at us, sniffs the air, paces in a tight
2014 Individual Fellowship for her work in short fiction, an honor given to Arkansas artists who are recognized for their artistic abilities.
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Another New Location Now Open Mercy Clinic Free Ferry
Staying healthy so you can do the things you love is important. Mercy makes being healthy easier by bringing our experienced health care providers to more locations. That’s why we’re here, near the intersection of Free Ferry Road and Waldron Road. We’re the familiar family medicine providers you trust, with the primary care services you need to keep up with your life. Feel free to stop by and see our newest location. We would love to show you around.
Your life is our life’s work. mercy.net
Mercy Clinic Primary Care – Free Ferry 1000 S. Waldron Rd. | Fort Smith 479-221-9922 Sumanth Balguri, MD William Dudding, MD Olugbemi Elegbe, MD Vikki Sutterfield, MD
Agnes Yollo, MD Stefanie Ellis, APN Travis Walling, APN