glory
may 2013 AtUrbanMagazine.com
featuring
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Catherine Frederick
lifestyle
MANAGING EDITOR Marla Cantrell
entertainment
16
Waiting
8
Up Close & Personal
12
Scrub A Dub Dub
16
Ignite: Maddie on Things
20
Greek to Me
24 26 30 32
Urban 8 Music from the Back Road Alabama Shakes The Burgess Boys
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jennifer Canada Marla Cantrell Marcus Coker Jacob Cooper Catherine Frederick Shannon Hensley Stacey Little Tonya McCoy Anita Paddock CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Catherine Frederick Mark Mundorff DESIGNER Jeromy Price
people
26
7
WEB GURU David Jamell
34 40
A Life Better Than Miss America’s
46 48 52 54
Bake Me A Cupcake Winner
School’s Out Forever
PUBLISHER Read Chair Publishing, LLC
taste
40
The Grown Up Shake River City Deli
58 62
Sandstone Gardens Fiction: Swamptown and Mudtown and Mama
58
ADVERTISING INFORMATION Catherine Frederick 479 / 782 / 1500 Catherine@AtUrbanMagazine.com EDITORIAL INFORMATION Marla Cantrell 479 / 831 / 9116 Marla@AtUrbanMagazine.com
travel
48
I Dream of Spaghetti
©2013 Read Chair Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. The opinions contained in @Urban 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 @Urban or Read Chair Publishing, LLC., including photography becomes the property of Read Chair Publishing, LLC. @Urban reserves the right to edit content and images.
FOLLOW US Subscribe to @Urban and receive 12 issues per year for only $30. Log on to AtUrbanMagazine.com today.
letter from Catherine | 5
photo by Kat Hardin
work on being a little quieter in the stands this season. I’ll let you know how that goes. But, enough about me, in this month’s issue, we’re daring you not to smile when you meet Maddie, a coonhound rescued by a Southern guy named Theron, who saw Maddie’s photo on Petfinder™ and fell in love. What happened next turned into a book of photos like nothing we’ve ever seen. We’re introducing you to a woman from Paragould who defied the dire prediction of her doctor when she was in her twenties and went on to live a life her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren say is nothing short of miraculous. We’re taking
F
inally spring has sprung, let’s just hope she decides to
you on a drive to Missouri to show you what happens when two people meet, fall in love, and then decide that together they can accomplish just about anything.
stick around for a while. A couple of weeks ago I prepared my garden soil, and last weekend I welcomed my first
We’re also announcing the winner of our Bake Me a (Cup) cake
transplants to their new home. Cucumber, squash, zucchini,
contest, and unveiling her mouthwatering recipe. Our food writer
cherry tomatoes and a couple of pepper plants. Before long,
is cooking up a batch of baked spaghetti that will make you eager
okra will move in.
to get back in the kitchen. Not in the mood to cook? Head out to River City Deli in Fort Smith for a meal so good you’ll be planning
I’m just thrilled to spend time outdoors; it makes me smile.
your next trip back before you’ve even had dessert.
Could have something to do with our three week kitchen remodel that, as of this writing, has entered its seventh week.
All this, plus our DIY on making your own bath scrubs with
And who could smile at that? Good thing the outdoors is my
ingredients you can get at the grocery store. It’s a great gift
happy place.
idea for your mom or one of your dearest friends! Need a suggestion on a great book? Got it. Need a little music to
In addition to gardening, my family and I are adjusting to our
listen to on your next road trip? We have that too. So dig in
new life, otherwise known as church league baseball. Ball
Urbanites. Wait just a minute! Speaking of all this food and
season is in full swing, and the sun is out in full force, so we’re
digging in, and as I have no kitchen, I’ve got just one question
stocking up on sunflower seeds and sunscreen. I’m going to
for you: What’s cookin’ for dinner?
To reserve this free space for your charitable non-profit organization, email: Editors@AtUrbanMagazine.com
lifestyle | 7
@lines Jennifer Canada
You said you knew the first moment you held me in your arms…you had been waiting I keep waiting for you mommy… Hands smoothing every wrinkle deliberate and loving hands Patient hands that slipped Gordion knots adjusted, sewed, Easter egg hands, life-saver, hard working hands Hands holding my hand, holding my face, braiding my hair, rubbing my back. You said you knew the first moment you held me in your arms…you had been waiting I keep waiting for you mommy… High pitched cackle on the phone, off-key singing, tiny different drummer beating a cacophony Of love. “Let’s play cards!” “Tell me all about your day. I want to hear what’s new.” You said you knew the first moment you held me in your arms…you had been waiting I keep waiting for you mommy… Black and orange and red and green Santa, hearts and, Halloween Decorating just for us, presents hidden all in fun Candles in the window glow, saving treasures only you could know but always Sharing, giving freely, freely giving of yourself. You said you knew the first moment you held me in your arms…you had been waiting I will always wait for you mommy… Blooming life, life waiting to bloom, blooms taken far too soon Begonias, tulips, star-gazer lilies, elephant ears, and grasses People too, you picked and grew Lovingly tending, always tenderly loving, cultivating, waiting for…me.
8 | UPCLOSE&PERSONAL
Jami Coleman
Creative Kitchen 309 Garrison Ave, Fort Smith 479.646.3233 creativekitchenstore.com
Words to Live By
Whatever you are, be a good one.
What’s the one thing you want our readers to know about Creative Kitchen?
Everyone has to eat; I believe everyone should eat well. We have the kitchen tools to help those who want to cook from scratch. We have gourmet foods and sauces to help in cooking process, and we also have a great selection of Creative Kitchen made entrees, special occasion cakes, cupcakes, cookies and brownies. We’re the place where you get your birthday card, cake and candles, your gift and dinner, all in one store!
Q&A with Jami Last movie you saw: I don’t get to the movies very often but I do enjoy live performances, anything from the Northside Follies to Wicked on Broadway! What do you love about your job: I love that it doesn’t feel like a job. I’m surrounded by sweet customers and some of the most creative and talented people in town. I love that we get to help people celebrate life! What do you love about the South: The tea is sweet Favorite Vacation Spot: NYC! Anytime of the year. I love the smells, the excitement and the direct flight from XNA that gets me there before noon! Where were you born: Fort Smith Favorite indulgence: Chocolate cake with peanut butter icing! Last road trip: Kansas City for a dance competition for my daughter. Cornbread – sugar or no: However my mother-in-law makes it! What would you be doing if you were not a business owner: I’d be looking for a business to own! Whose autograph would you love to have: Anything signed by my children when they were little. Strangest place you’ve called the Hogs: Pike’s Peak Perfect meal: The perfect meal is not so much about what is on the table, but who is around the table. The perfect meal is any meal with my family!
UPCLOSE&PERSONAL | 9
Chuck Fawcett
Chuck Fawcett Realty Fort Smith / Van Buren / Greenwood 479.484.5588 chuckfawcettrealty.com
Words to Live By Be a giver not a taker.
What’s the one thing you want our readers to know about Chuck Fawcett Realty?
We love working with everyone from first time buyers to repeat customers, helping them find the perfect house for them. Our number one concern is customer service, and it’s what’s helped us grow during in the twenty years we’ve been serving Western Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma.
Q&A with Chuck Last movie you saw: Skyfall Best thing about your job: Helping people find that perfect home. What do you love about the South: I love the South because of the food and hospitality. Where were you born: Fort Smith Favorite vacation spot: Sausalito, California. At night the skyline reflecting on the water is just beautiful. Guilty pleasure food: A strawberry shake Last book you read: Private Berlin by James Patterson Last road trip: New Orleans Favorite singers: Rolling Stones, Eagles, and Adele Cornbread – sugar or no: Lots of sugar and butter What would you be doing if you weren’t in Real Estate: Teaching or snow skiing Whose autograph would you most like to have: Coach Bielema Where’s the strangest place you’ve called the Hogs: In a restaurant in New Orleans Perfect meal: Steak, potatoes, salad.
10 | lifestyle
Charleston Dog Shelter will you take me home? Visit us on Facebook at The Charleston Dog Shelter for more pictures and complete descriptions of all our lovable dogs. If you’re ready to meet your new best friend, call for an appointment today.
Allie Female – Purebread Beagle
Aspen Female – Lab Mix
Dan Male – Red Bone Hound
Little Ann Female – Rhodesian Ridgeback
Olive Female – Basset / Beagle Mix
Poncho Male – Pit Bull
Donations are always needed and greatly appreciated. Charleston Dog Shelter | Charleston, AR 72933 | 479.965.3591 | Find us on Petfinder™ |
12 | lifestyle
scrub a dub dub @DIY & Images Catherine Frederick
W
e’re busy getting things ready for spring. Spring cleaning, planting our gardens and our flower beds. But what about getting our skin ready? Winter took its toll, drying out our
skin and leaving it scratchy and flaky. So what better than luxurious scrubs to pamper your hands, and get your feet in sandal ready shape? We love that these can be whipped up using simple ingredients from the grocery store. We also love to give these as gifts! Select and personalize a container of your liking (they come in a variety of shapes and sizes). Include a wooden spoon for measuring out the scrub. Include directions for those lucky people on your gift list.
* Containers and wooden spoons purchased at Hobby Lobby. Each recipe makes approximately 1 ½ - 2 cups. For best results, mix ingredients the day before giving. Shelf life of each scrub varies based on ingredients.
lifestyle | 13
{ Mocha Mint }
{ Orange Bliss }
Ingredients
Ingredients
½ cup coconut oil ½ cup white sugar ½ cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon honey 1 tablespoon cocoa powder 1 teaspoons mint extract (more if desired) 2 tablespoons ground coffee
1 1/3 2 1
cup sugar cup olive oil tablespoons honey tablespoon vanilla extract Zest from 1 orange (regular sized) Juice from ½ an orange
Directions
Directions
In medium bowl, mix together sugars, cocoa powder, and ground coffee. Stir to combine. Add coconut oil, honey and mint extract. Stir until combined and sugars are coated thoroughly. Fill container, leaving ¼” of space at the top.
Place sugar in a medium bowl. Add olive oil, honey, vanilla extract, and orange juice. Stir to combine. Set aside. Zest the orange. Add the zest to the sugar mixture. Stir until combined and sugar is coated thoroughly. Fill container, leaving ¼” of space at the top.
14 | lifestyle
{ Sunshine & Happiness }
{ Island Breeze }
Ingredients
Ingredients
1 1/3 2
cup sea salt cup olive oil tablespoons honey Zest of one orange, one grapefruit, and one lemon
1 1/3 2 1/3
cup sugar cup coconut oil tablespoons corn syrup cup shredded coconut Zest from 3 limes Juice from 1 lime
Directions
Directions
Place sea salt in a medium bowl. Add olive oil, and honey. Stir to combine. Set aside. Zest the orange, grapefruit and lemon. Add the zest to the salt mixture. Stir until combined and salt is coated thoroughly. Fill container, leaving ¼” of space at the top.
In a medium bowl, mix together sugar and shredded coconut. Stir to combine, set aside. Zest three limes, keeping one lime for the juice. Add the coconut oil, lime zest, lime juice, and corn syrup to the sugar mixture. Stir until combined and sugar is coated thoroughly. Fill container, leaving ¼” of space at the top.
There you have it, four recipes we think you’ll love. Better still? We’ve just solved your gift giving dilemma, because who doesn’t love a little pampering?
16 | lifestyle
maddie on things
@story Marla Cantrell @images from Maddie on Things by Theron Humphrey, published by Chronicle Books
Each month in our Ignite series we bring you stories we hope will inspire you, give you new ideas, and bring you inside the lives of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
lifestyle | 17
T
heron Humphrey sits in his Toyota pickup in Georgia
friend to go with him. So he logged on to Petfinder™. “I wanted
with his coonhound Maddie at his side. The two know
a Southern dog, and Maddie, who was in Cobb County, Georgia,
this truck better than any other place on earth, since
was the first one to pop up. I clicked on her picture and thought,
it’s where they spent long days and longer nights inside its cab,
Oh man, she looks like a deer.”
traveling the country on a project called This Wild Idea. That journey spanned an entire year, covered more than 66,500
Turns out, looking like a deer is a pretty good thing. Theron went
miles, and resulted in a photo and audio collection chronicling
to the shelter, met Maddie, who was about a year old, and took
the lives of 365 everyday Americans.
her home. What he learned that day was that she was a quirky dog who liked two things: climbing, and standing still as a statue
What Maddie doesn’t know on this fine April morning is that
with her head down. “She looked like Eeyore,” Theron says.
she and Theron would never have met if it hadn’t been for the project. And Theron might never have created This Wild Idea if
He figured having Maddie along would help warm folks up
his grandfather had not passed away.
when he hit the road in 2011 to ask random people to share their stories. He was right. The stories he recorded – one
But he did die, in 2010. Before that, when there was still time, though certainly not enough, Theron returned to his childhood home in North Carolina. He spent days on his grandfather’s farm, hearing his stories, so carefully told,
from a 101-year-old woman – sound as if they’re being told to an old friend. The reason may be this: Theron believed people needed to tell their stories as much as he needed to hear them.
so full of detail. And he was able to take his grandfather’s last portrait, something
“If somebody walked up to you and said,
that means the world to him today.
‘Man, tell me about your grandparents. What was their house like?’ it would
The end of his grandfather’s life made him examine his own. Still in his twenties, he’d accomplished plenty. He’d graduated from the Savannah School of Art and Design. He’d gotten a job in the fashion industry. But what he decided in those introspective days was that none of it was enough.
mean something. “These are the things that define our lives. We don’t tell the story of it very often. We tell the stories of graduation, celebrations. But what about the things in between? I just became emerged in it, like telling the story of people brushing their teeth in the morning as opposed to high school graduation.”
“A broken heart is a great catalyst to do something different,” Theron says. “I didn’t want to be sixty and say, ‘Here’s a portfolio
Not that it was always easy to ask. “Every time I photographed
of me in the studio with handbags.’ I wanted to create something
someone from that project, I swallowed my stomach, in a really
beautiful. I saw a void in the world. I wanted to point my camera
good way,” Theron says. “I think when you’re doing something
at folks in the world and tell their stories. It was so natural; it
difficult you might be doing something good. You’re near the
didn’t feel like a huge risk.”
edge. When you’re doing something easy you’re near the middle and not pushing yourself at all. You have to be willing to
And so he changed direction, setting up a Kickstarter.com
hear ‘no’. We don’t like being that vulnerable.”
account to find money for This Wild Idea and the travel it would take to make it happen. He asked donors for $15,000 and ended
A pattern emerged. When people were doing singular work like
up with $15,900. Still, something was missing. He needed a
raking leaves, they were already caught up in remembering, and
18 | lifestyle
that made them more receptive. Theron would spend hours with
who take in pets from shelters and how it transforms their lives.
them, take photos of them of course, but also of dish drainers,
In June Theron will turn thirty. He talks about the milestone,
cluttered bathroom counters, and recliners kicked back in the
about what it means to leave behind his twenties. The road, he
living room, to capture what life is really like for most of us.
knows, will one day grow too long even for him and he will have
In between shoots he took even more photos of Maddie. That
to put down roots. But that time is not now.
ability she had of standing perfectly still? That came in handy on a day when Theron lifted her onto the roof of his truck and
Tomorrow he will be sitting in a diner, drinking his first cup of
took her picture.
coffee for the day. His sleeve tattoo will cause a few curious looks between the old men in the corner. Theron will rub his
And so he kept shooting photos, all across the U.S., with Maddie,
beard and adjust his cap, and someone will notice him and
a natural at balancing and patience, perching atop a ‘No Hunting’
start up a conversation. Someone will want to share a story. It
sign, sitting atop a stack of suitcases, gazing out from atop an
happens all the time. And nearby will be Maddie, with a story all
old gas pump in Sparkman, Arkansas.
her own, one that grows sweeter with every passing day.
When the year ended, the two weary travelers came home. Theron had gathered a following along the way, through his website and Instagram, and not too long after, Chronicle Books struck a deal with him. Not for his This Wild Idea photos, but for
To follow Theron’s Why We Rescue
those of Maddie. The book, Maddie on Things: A Super Serious
schedule and book tour and learn
Project About Dogs and Physics, was published in April.
more about This Wild Idea, visit maddieontour.com. Maddie on
In March of this year, the two headed out again, in the same
Things sells for $15.95 and is
Toyota pickup. They are on another mission, this one a little
available at chroniclebooks.com
closer to Maddie’s heart. Why We Rescue works on the same
and several other locations.
premise as This Wild Idea, only Theron’s focus is now on people
20 | lifestyle
I
f you’re searching for modern style with traditional roots, you’ve found your match in Greek Key. The pattern is generally defined
as “a decorative border constructed from a continuous line, shaped into a repeated motif.” For centuries this simple, geometric pattern has been used on everything from temples and pottery in ancient Greece, to pillows and furniture today. We love the practice of blending the old with the new and making something ancient feel very modern. The stately and bold pattern is a hot trend, but as you’ve gathered from its rich history, it has major staying power!
Christine Howard Creative Director, I.O. Metro
lifestyle | 21
1
3 2
4
5
1 Bree Corner Sectional $1999.95 2 Rusted Turquoise (Canvas Art) $499.95 3 Grady Chair $699.95 4 Lawson Ottoman $499.95 5 Christine Media Console $999.95
22 | SHOPLOCAL
Sharum’s Garden Center 1
1
2
2
Square French Wall Basket $59.99
Large Moss Purse $12.99 (variety of sizes available)
Sharum Garden Center | 10000 Highway 71 South | Fort Smith | 479.649.0662 | Sharums.com
BrickCity Emporium 3
2 1
1
Hunt This! Party Cup in Pink Camo $12
2
Dandelion Honey Bottle Cap Handbag $49
3
Glitzy Chix Turquoise Sequin Boots $114.99
BrickCity Emporium | 3215 South 74th Street, Fort Smith | 479.434.5858 | brickcityemporium.com
SHOPLOCAL | 23
Johnston’s Quality Flowers
These stunning arrangements feature purple delphinium, green gladiolus, purple asters, green mini hydrangeas, curly willow and lily grass. Priced from $40 - $125 Johnston’s Quality Flowers | 1111 Garrison Avenue Fort Smith | 479.783.5146 | qualityflowers.net
MediSav Pharmacy Gift Shop 2
1
1
Metal Painted Frame $34.95
3
2
3
Rustic “Spoon and Fork” Cookbook /Plate Holder $12.99
Arkansas Razorback Watch with Crystal Embellished Face $34.99
MediSav Pharmacy Gift Shop | 8820 Rogers Ave. Fort Smith | 479.452.0278 | medisav.com
24 | entertainment
Submit your events to editors@aturbanmagazine.com
1 2 3 4
Saddlebock Mountain Bike Festival May 3 – 5 // Adults $20 per day (12 and Under FREE) Fayetteville, AR // 479.301.5268 // arkansasoutside.com Bring the family and the mountain bikes for a fun filled weekend. Enjoy camping, dinner and bluegrass music. Events include 1-on-1 racing all weekend as well as 16, 22 or 50 mile dirt road loops. There’ll also be guided hikes for youth and adults. Event will take place at Hazel Valley Ranch in Fayetteville.
A Night in the Caribbean Saturday, May 4 // 6PM–11PM // $60 Admission Fort Smith, AR // 479.785.4677 // kistlercenter.org Take part in the 11th Annual “A Night in the Caribbean” Party at The Gregory Kistler Treatment Center. There’ll be live and silent auctions, fine dining, and dancing to the sounds of Grupo Salsabor of Tulsa, OK. Proceeds benefit The Gregory Kistler Center’s mission of helping children and families in our community and surrounding area by providing programs for developmental disabilities. The event will take place at The Gregory Kistler Center in Fort Smith.
Coming Home to the Mountain Saturday, May 4 // 7PM–9PM // $10 (12 and Under FREE) Winslow, AR // 479.634.3791 // Facebook.com/ozarkfolkways Listen to the contemporary folk sounds of Crow, a singer/songwriter from the deep woods of Arkansas. A recipient of the Kate Wolf Memorial Award, Crow’s “jazzy/blues/traditional” style touches the lives and hearts of her audience. Crow will be playing the first performance ever of the new stage at Ozark Folkways in Winslow.
Old Timer’s Days Arts & Crafts Fair May 10 – 12 // All Day Event // $FREE Van Buren, AR // 479.410.1024 // vanburen.org Six blocks of arts, crafts, food and fun! This annual festival is held on Historic Main Street in Van Buren and features over 200 exhibitors from several states. There will be a variety of food, free entertainment and a carnival for the kids.
entertainment | 25
5 6 7 8
Ozark Demolition Derby Spring Challenge Saturday, May 11 // 7:30PM // $5 – $12 Springdale, AR // 479.756.0464 // rodeooftheozarks.com Touted as one of the most popular events in Northwest Arkansas, this metal crushing mayhem attracts thousands of fans and teams each year. Come watch lead-footed demolition teams crash and smash for cash in the 8th Annual Ozark Demolition Derby Spring Challenge. The fender bending fun will be held at the Parsons Stadium in Springdale.
Riverfest 2013 May 24 – 26 // Times vary // $17.50 in advance, $35 at the gate Little Rock, AR // 501.255.3378 // riverfestarkansas.com This festival of visual and performing arts provides activities for all ages. Live music, great food and a rock-n-roll fun run! And to top it all off, there’ll be a pooch parade on the final day. Bring the family to enjoy an event filled weekend at Julius Breckling Riverfront Park in Little Rock.
Old Fort Days Rodeo May 27 – June 1 // See website for details Fort Smith, AR // 479.783.6176 // oldfortdaysrodeo.com Bull riding, calf roping, barrel racing and more! Come celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the Old Fort Days Rodeo where cowboys from around the world compete for one of the largest prize purses in Arkansas. Free nightly entertainment on the Choctaw Casino stage. With rodeo clowns, royalty pageants, and a kids’ dance off, this event has something to offer the entire family. Rustle up the family and head to Kay Rodgers Park for the Old Fort Days Rodeo.
10th Annual Wakarusa Music Festival May 30 – June 2 // See website for details Ozark, AR // 479.667.2949 // wakarusa.com Each year, the Wakarusa Music Festival brings in over 100 bands and thousands of devout music fans from all 50 states for four days of music in the Ozark Mountains. With daily activities which include a costume contest, yoga, a Ferris wheel, waterslide, workshops and disc golf, there’s no shortage of entertainment. Prepare for the weekend of a lifetime on Mulberry Mountain.
26 | entertainment
music from the back road
@story Tonya McCoy @images Courtesy Backroad Anthem
entertainment | 27
B
lue and green laser lights wash over the Fayetteville
“They were like, ‘Craig you don’t understand.’ They show me a
crowd at a dimly lit George’s Majestic Lounge. Craig
video of this kid, Eric Dysart. He lives in Tulsa. He’s twenty-one.
Strickland, one of the lead vocalists for the local band
I just listened to him and my jaw drops, and I’m like, ‘We need
Backroad Anthem, works the crowd into a frenzy as he moves
to get him!’”
around the stage singing their amped up remix of “Devil Went Down to Georgia.” The audience watches and listens with
Once Eric was added the band started performing cover country
amazement as the fiddle player saws through the song at a
songs. They played “Drunk on You” by Luke Bryan, “Cruise” by
dizzying rate.
Florida Georgia Line and some Jason Aldean and classic Garth Brooks’ songs as well. They were confident in their talent, but
Seven hundred and fifty people are elbow to elbow in the
they knew to make it as a country band, they’d need more than
venue as another 200 have been turned away at the door of
just a good sound. They needed fans.
the sold out show. So one day Craig stumbled across a marketing idea that he “The scene at George’s was unlike anything I’ve ever been a part
thought would be perfect for Backroad Anthem. He was driving
of. Many Texas bands will make it their goal to sell out George’s
while listening to Sirius XM radio and came across an interview
Majestic in their career. For us to do that in our fourth show as a
with Will Anderson, lead singer of the rock band Parachute. Will
band was special,” says Craig.
had this idea of going around to sorority houses and performing to help build their fans while at the University of Virginia.
The band had only been an idea a few weeks earlier. Craig was at a weekly church rehearsal last October with Toby Freeman
“I was thinking to myself, we have about 20,000 students at the
when Craig casually said, “We know all these talented guys,
University of Arkansas in our backyard.”
we should start a country band.” The two started naming guys they’d like to include and the stars began to align.
And that one realization led them to a new source of fans. Craig teases that they sometimes call themselves the sorority boys.
“Toby, he’s so blessed with singing harmony. He sounds amazing,
“So we play our first chord at a sorority chapter meeting at the
like the Rascal Flatts singer Gary Vox. I definitely don’t. I sound
U of A in Fayetteville, in front of about 300 students. We’d been
more like a Florida Georgia Line type singer, which works so
a band for three weeks, and immediately there were about
perfect when you blend those two sounds together. Josh Bryant
seventy phones videoing us, Instagramming us, talking about
is incredible at lead guitar and he’s got an awesome image. He’s
us. It built such a momentum and we got gigs out of it.”
already travelled in Nashville with a Christian band before. And that’s caused their fan base to grow. In fact, the band raised “Josh said ‘I’m in if Brandon Robold will play on bass.’ Brandon
$10,000 on Kickstarter.com in order to record their first CD this
has played with Amy Grant and he’s incredible.”
past December.
They then added Isaac Senty on drums and Neil Hubbard on
And with their first CD, they’re getting to play their own music
keys and Craig thought the band was complete. However,
with original home grown songs. Craig and other members
during their first practice, one name kept getting tossed around
have written songs, many of them with Fayetteville songwriter
as a possible final member. Craig wasn’t sure. “I thought, ‘Do we
Barrett Baber.
really need another person to take a cut away from the $800 we might make on a good night?
In their favorite yet-to-be-titled original they sing: Take me down that old back road, driving down Mill Creek road, your hand
28 | entertainment
I’d hold, a George Strait song on the radio. Give me all your love,
In less than a year, they’ve come from covering Luke Bryan songs,
I’ll carry it with me.
to performing their own songs on the same stage with him.
The band members are authentic country boys whose songs will
“Our attitude is pedal to the metal all the way. We’re not
take you back to the farm, back to your old pickup truck, and back
stopping. Let’s do this thing and let’s try to make people fall
to your hometown. In fact, that romantic strip of back road they
in love with us the best way we know how. And the best way
sing about called Mill Creek is an actually in Mulberry, Arkansas.
we know how is just playing an awesome live show and writing music that catches you and grabs you.”
But no matter which road their music takes them down, they promise fame won’t go to their heads. “We are literally a group of hometown dudes that still have jobs.” “I work in local TV, Toby’s working at a bank, our drummer Isaac
You can listen to an original song from Backroad Anthem
is a Chick-Fil-A manager, our lead guitarist, Josh, he works for
by logging on to the homepage of aturbanmagazine.
Walmart corporate, and our bass player Brandon works as a
com. They’ll be having a party to celebrate the release
fiddler, and is married to his fiddle, that’s all he does. “That’s
of their first CD at George’s Majestic Lounge in
how he pays his bills. He’s twenty years old. And when he was
Fayetteville on May 3 at 9:30 p.m. Don’t miss them at
twelve, he had his own show in Branson.”
Thunder on the Mountain where they’ll play June 7 and June 8. Visit thunderonthemountain.com for details.
This summer the band will play Thunder on the Mountain on
Follow the band on their website backroadanthem.com
Mulberry Mountain in Ozark. They’ll be sharing this music
or on Facebook at facebook.com/backroadanthem.
festival with country music stars like Toby Keith, Big & Rich and Luke Bryan. Thousands of country fans will hear their music as they take the main stage directly after Luke Bryan’s performance on June 7.
30 | entertainment smooth, bold vocals take ownership of each song, and try as you may to belt along with her, you know you’re not doing it justice. You’re experiencing vulnerable passion here that can’t be recreated. Boys & Girls is a nostalgic jaunt back in time, reliving intense memories of love and loss, joy, rejection, and infatuation. The leadoff track “Hold On” is a strong start to Boys & Girls. It sets the pace for the rest of the album without being predictable. It was also nominated for three Grammys, with good reason. “Heartbreaker” and “I Found You” are spot-on accounts of the highs and lows of relationships and love. “Heartbreaker” is full of desperation and sorrow.
Boys & Girls by Alabama Shakes The Bomb Shelter ATO Records, 2012: $13 alabamashakes.shop @review Shannon Hensley
A
“Goin’ to the Party” is like entering a dark, smoky speakeasy. Everyone’s dripping with sweat and dancing close, regardless of who’s watching. It’s so sexy and tawdry it makes you feel like you’re somewhere you shouldn’t be. “Rise to the Sun” is Boys & Girls’ power song. Both smooth and
college buddy of mine turned me on to these guys
jagged, this is a song of revival and triumph. “On My Way” closes
a while back. The first time I heard this album, I
this album with a gospel-style homage to the sister Brittany lost
remember thinking that Alabama Shakes is probably
to retinal cancer at the age of thirteen. While she rarely speaks
what would have happened if Lynard Skynard and Tina Turner
of her, Brittany cites her sister as her biggest musical influence.
created a music baby. Alabama Shakes is taking North America and Europe by storm Originally called The Shakes, the band started out as a duo
this year, stopping in Oklahoma to rock Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa
with lead singer-guitarist Brittany Howard and bassist Zac
and Guthrie’s Gentleman of the Road show, with both venues
Cockrell back in 2003. The two high school students shared a
already sold out.
love of music and often met after school to play together. After graduation, they continued playing while working full time, and
The only downside to Boys & Girls is the album’s length. It’s so
recruited drummer Steve Johnson. Guitarist Heath Fogg joined
good that the eleven tracks leave you wanting more. This album
the band after hearing the trio’s demo, and in 2009 the band was
speaks to everyone, regardless of how many years it’s been
complete. To differentiate from other bands, they added their
since we were discovering our own love and loss for the very
home state to their name, and the Alabama Shakes were born.
first time.
Brittany takes you on an emotional journey with personal experiences that have inspired many tracks in this album. Her
I Rate It
32 | entertainment The Burgess boys, Jim and Bob, were smart and likable. Both became lawyers and moved to New York. Jim, who defended a rock star for murder and won, acquired national fame (think Robert Shapiro in the O.J. Simpson case) and that case catapulted him to a big law firm in Manhattan, and a beautiful brownstone in Brooklyn with a rich wife from Connecticut. Bob, overweight and kind, is a legal aid lawyer who drinks too much. Divorced, he lives in a non-descript apartment and gratefully accepts any scraps of love and attention thrown his way by the brother he adores. Jim teases Bob about his weight and his job with such a mean spirit that one wonders why he puts up with it. Soon, it’s revealed that Bob caused the car accident that killed his father, and he thinks he deserves to be put down by his big brother. The brothers have a sister, Susan, who is divorced and still lives in Maine. She has a teenage son, Zach, who is a social misfit. Zach throws a frozen pig’s head (that’s beginning to melt) through the front door of a mosque during holy prayers. The congregation demands retribution, and Zach is arrested for a hate crime. Desperate, Susan summons her brothers to help. Jim was Maine’s attorney general before he moved to New York, so he thinks he can swagger in and get Zach off. Jim is
The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout Random House 320 pages: $26 @review Anita Paddock
E
lizabeth Strout, the Pulitzer prize winner of Olive
still admired as the favored son by the older folks in Shirley Falls, although most Mainers wonder why anyone would want to live in New York City, “where it seemed like a crowded state fair in a field poured with concrete, with the rides underground.” The Burgess boys find their hometown is nothing like it was. Long buried resentments and fears surface, but new loyalties blossom with a renewed sense of family.
Kitteredge, has once again won the lottery with her new book. Set in Maine and New York, it tells the story of the
Burgess family from Shirley Falls, Maine.
The resolution of Zach’s case may surprise you and renew your faith in your fellow man. This book is not one to hurry through, so it’s probably not one to take to the beach. It demands your
Because their father, a mill foreman, was killed in a freak
attention and will cause you to examine the way you fit in with
accident when the children were young, their mother struggled
your family and those you hold dear.
to hold the family together in a run-down house with enough food to eat but not much else. Armed with a short fuse and harsh words, she kept her kids in line.
34 | people
A Life Better than Miss America’s
@story and image Jacob Cooper
people | 35
B
efore the symptoms and before the visit to Dr. Bridges in Paragould, Arkansas, Bernice McCord received a warning. Her mother had died of cancer the year before,
in 1946, when Bernice was still married. Now she was divorced, a twenty-two-year-old single mother living with what was left of her family: her father, her two sisters, her younger brother, and her three-year-old son, Jerry. Bernice had stopped attending church after she got married, but her niece persuaded her to visit again. Despite searching for comfort after the tumultuous year, she walked out of church that Sunday night during the middle of the service more convinced than ever that the churchgoers were hypocrites. She went straight from the church to the movies—her favorite place to go as a young adult. However, the following day she felt uneasy; there was a feeling of guilt that she couldn’t shake. Monday night she lay in bed reading romance stories until all the oil ran out of her lamp. She couldn’t stop in the middle of a story, so she lit a match and kept reading. Then something stopped her, and a voice spoke directly to her. “You better pray because you’re going to die.”
Monday night she lay in bed reading romance stories until all the oil ran out of her lamp. She couldn’t stop in the middle of a story, so she lit a match and kept reading. Then something stopped her, and a voice spoke directly to her. “You better pray because you’re going to die.” She can’t explain why, but she made the next decision without pause. She got out of bed and went straight to her father’s room. Bernice shook him, waking him, and told him what she’d heard. They knelt on the side of the bed and prayed. She repented for her actions on Sunday, for her sins, for wasting so much time. She started attending church again regularly after that night; then the symptoms started.
36 | people
At first she thought the symptoms were aftereffects of the
He waited a few seconds for her to respond, but she didn’t
divorce and her mother’s passing; the last year had been the
say a word. The doctor gave her more details to make sure she
most difficult of her young life. However, she began to get
understood the severity of the situation. Her first thought was
nervous about her health when it didn’t improve. Every day
for her son. It was difficult to imagine leaving him alone. But,
for the next two months she felt fatigued, unable to make it
even then, she didn’t break down. She felt a peace; because
through everyday tasks without having to rest. Then she started
she had heard the warning and repented, she was resigned to
losing weight. Before she started feeling sick, she weighed
her fate.
approximately 130 pounds. By the time she went to the doctor, Bernice was wearing her thirteen-year-old sister’s clothes.
“Bernice, are you a pretty good girl?” Dr. Bridges asked.
On that day, Bernice sat nervously in the doctor’s office with
“Yes, sir,” she said. “I’m trying to live right.”
her father, Philemon Hurtis McCord. The doctor had ordered a number of tests and done some blood work, and she and her
“You better be. There’s nothing that can be done for you. No
dad were waiting to hear the report.
medicine or treatment will help you now.”
Dr. Bridges, a dark-haired man who was a little overweight,
Bernice walked out of Dr. Bridges’ office given only months to live.
finally walked in to the room, the reports in his hands. There wasn’t a gentle way to say it. “You have cancer of the kidneys,
Two weeks after learning she had cancer, Bernice heard that a
and you are in the last stage.”
preacher was coming to the local First United Pentecostal Church
people | 37 on 4th Avenue for one service to pray for the sick. She doesn’t
from widely scattered areas, not one skeptic was encountered.
remember how she heard about the service; she just remembers
Many told stories that hardly seemed possible.”
feeling the need to attend. She’d been reading about the woman with the issue of blood in the New Testament: “If I may touch
Finally it was Bernice’s turn to step onto the platform. She wasn’t
but his clothes, I shall be whole.” She put all of her faith into the
emotional; she just held to the scripture about the woman with
scripture—it was the only thing that gave her hope.
the issue of blood and her faith. Reverend Branham looked at
Dr. Bridges, a dark-haired man who was a little overweight, finally walked in to the room, the reports in his hands. There wasn’t a gentle way to say it. “You have cancer of the kidneys, and you are in the last stage.”
her and turned to the audience. “I wish everybody would come up here with the faith this woman has,” he said. “Because she is going to be healed.” The interaction was simple: he laid his hands on her head, said a short prayer, and she walked off the platform without a word. She didn’t shout, and she didn’t feel any physical transformation. A week after seeing Reverend Branham, Bernice convinced her dad to take her back to Dr. Bridges. She sat outside where she
It was summer in Paragould, and Bernice was living under the
could see the doctor in his office and hear what he was saying.
mandate that she didn’t have much longer, so she convinced
There had been a second round of tests and blood work. Once
her dad to walk with her the nearly three miles one way from
again, Dr. Bridges came back with a report in his hands, but this
their house on the outskirts of town to the church. It was a cool
time he was talking to another doctor. “I don’t understand this,
night. By the time they arrived, people were lining up outside in
but something has happened to her,” Bernice overheard him
the streets; the church was full.
say. “She’s almost well.”
Eventually she was ushered through a side door and waited in
Not almost well, Bernice thought to herself. I’m altogether well.
the prayer line behind people on stretchers and in wheelchairs. She’d never seen Reverend William Branham in her life, and she
“Nurse, can you come here and look at this? I want to show
never would again, besides catching a quick glimpse of him on
you something.”
TV only a few years before he was killed in a car wreck. Branham was balding in the front with only a patch of hair he still combed.
The nurse left her patient to look at the reports.
He spoke like a simple man with a slight Kentucky accent. “I don’t know what happened, but this girl is almost well,” Dr. The Evening Sun, now known as The Jonesboro Sun, ran a number
Bridges said.
of articles about Reverend Branham’s visits to Northeast Arkansas during 1947. In the June 12th edition, reporter
“I don’t know either,” the nurse said. “But yes she is.”
Eugene Smith notes that an estimated 20,000 people attended the meetings that summer and fall, coming from California, New
After Dr. Bridges came in and told her the news, Bernice wanted
Jersey, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Florida, Wyoming and Michigan.
to tell him what had happened, but she was too shy. She
Smith gave an account of his experience at the meetings:
didn’t know if he would believe her, so she just accepted the
“For two days this Sun representative attended the afternoon
miraculous diagnosis without mentioning the voice, her faith,
services and spent a morning listening to Reverend Branham’s
or Reverend Branham. Dr. Bridges never got an explanation for
story. Milling through the masses, talking to numerous people
what he saw on the reports.
38 | people Two years later Bernice married John Heritage, the love of her
continually building upon each row throughout the day until
life. Shortly thereafter she was expecting her second child, so she
she’s built a fort.
went to the doctor for a checkup. She was completely cancer free.
“I know what it’s like to walk out of the doctor’s office with a death sentence on your life. But I had just become a Christian. When I went to the doctor, I was more calm than scared. I took the news real good. I thought that was the end, but the Lord was giving me the strength to bear the news.”
Her family is her legacy, something that cancer almost took away when she was twenty-two. But there’s a greater legacy she wants to leave behind. “If we don’t tell our children and our grandchildren and teach them about Jesus and the Holy Ghost, it will soon be lost,” Bernice said. “I’m not a preacher, but I’m gonna tell all my family and everybody I talk to that that is the truth.” Both legacies, however, are connected by her experience with cancer. “I know what it’s like to walk out of the doctor’s office with a death sentence on your life,” she recalled. “But I had just become a Christian. When I went to the doctor, I was more calm than scared. I took the news real good. I thought that was the
Sixty-six years, nine children, twenty-three grandchildren, twenty-
end, but the Lord was giving me the strength to bear the news.”
three great-grandchildren, and ten great-great grandchildren
Now she wants everyone, especially her family, to know her
later, Bernice sits in her leather recliner—the old peach one her
miraculous story because she lives with the regret of not
family had become so familiar with has been recently replaced—
sharing it with Dr. Bridges. She knows she had an opportunity, a
her double-socked feet propped up in front of her. The cancer
testimony, that she let get away.
has never appeared in her body again. Her recliner faces a wall full of portraits—the wall of graduates. Her grandchildren are
But she doesn’t allow yesterday’s disappointments and failures
forever framed in dark suits and ties and modest dresses. The
to hinder her resolve today. She’s been living for God for sixty-
living room is a shrine to heritage. Besides two years in St. Louis,
six years and doesn’t plan to stop now. She knows she wouldn’t
1952-1954, she’s lived her entire life in Paragould, guiding her
still be alive at eighty-nine with a large extended family if she
ever-growing family.
hadn’t obeyed the voice of God and held onto her faith. “I told the Lord, ‘Lord, I’d rather be as ugly as homemade soap and live
Bernice is eighty-nine and her husband John has been gone
for You than to be Miss America.’”
for over twenty-five years; he was eighteen years older than her. Only a few days before her eighty-ninth birthday on March 24, 2013, she went to the doctor for a routine checkup. For a woman of her age, the doctor said she is in almost perfect health. She’s outlived all of her immediate family except for her brother, Hurtis “Buddy” McCord, who is seven years younger than her. Even her eldest son, Jerry, who could have been her only legacy, has passed away—from cancer. She prays over her family daily, petitioning God for each member individually. She works like a careful bricklayer,
1
williambranhamhomepage.org/masent19.htm
40 | people
@story Marcus Coker @images Catherine Fredrick
A
s a writer for @Urban, I’d like to let you in on a little
We all sat around a conference table at Ramsey Junior High, and
secret—I almost always love my job and my editors. I
as the four elementary school principals began to share stories
generally get to pick my own stories, and even when
about their lives in education, it didn’t take me long to realize
I don’t, I’m usually excited about my assignments. Until I heard
that I had been wrong about this story.
about this one—four principals retiring from Fort Smith Public Schools. To be honest, I couldn’t connect with it. I didn’t attend
For just over an hour, it was my privilege to sit with the four
public schools, I don’t deal well with authority, and I don’t have
people featured in the following pages and listen to them
children. I was hoping the story would fall through.
recount their biggest challenges, their most memorable students, and their most embarrassing moments. As they
But it didn’t.
opened their hearts, I found that mine did as well.
The day of the interview, my editor called to discuss what would
And that’s the power of this story—the ability of four individuals
happen. She said both she and the magazine owner would be
to change the perceptions and lives of thousands through the
there, and I said, “Wait a minute. That’s today? I thought it was
simple act of caring.
Thursday.” So I pulled myself together and was the last to arrive.
people | 41
{ Sarah Lavey } Trusty Elementary School In 1983, Sarah Lavey started her career in education as a fifth
“Sometimes I think kids are my connection to humanity. Because
grade teacher at Trusty Elementary School in Fort Smith. Since
when things go so catawampus everywhere, all I have to do is
2008, she’s been its principal. “When I was
just find one of those smiling faces. I don’t
younger, I wanted to be a social worker but
know how you can be in a bad mood if you’ve
realized I couldn’t manage my emotions when
spent fifteen minutes with a group of kids.”
dealing with distressed children,” says Sarah. “Ironically, I became a teacher. My first year, I
As Sarah prepares to retire, that’s what she
had thirty-eight kids. Eighteen were in special
remembers—the kids. “I had a little boy my
ed. If I could go back now and talk to myself,
fourth or fifth year of teaching, the cutest
I’d say, ‘This is what you need to be doing. You
little boy. Blonde hair. Freckles. Gorgeous little
need to make a difference.’”
boy. The secretary introduced me to him, and I felt like new kids should feel a part from the
For nearly three decades, Sarah has done just
beginning, so my whole thing was to use his
that. “I have a little fifth grade girl that I taught
name. ‘Now, Dale, what do you think about
her mother, and her mother told her daughter,
that? Now, Dale, can you expand?’ Then one
‘Mrs. Lavey didn’t put up with that when I was in
day he didn’t respond, and I said, ‘Well, Dale,
fifth grade, and I don’t think she’s going to put up with it now.’”
why aren’t you answering?’ And he said, ‘Because my name’s not Dale.’”
As Sarah talks, one thing becomes abundantly clear—she’s firm, but she cares for her students. “I think the most important thing
Sarah laughs, telling the story as if it happened yesterday. As she
we do is build relationships with kids. And kids are just honest
continues, it’s obvious that not only has she made a difference
people. If they think it, they say it or ask it.”
in the lives her students, but they’ve made a difference in hers as well. “This year we donated to the Girls Shelter through a
A student once asked Sarah if she could be his mother. When
program called Coins for Kids. Now I’ve got some of the poorest
she explained that she couldn’t, he asked if she could be his
of the poor in Fort Smith Public Schools, but those kids gave the
grandmother instead. It’s a cute story, but if you spent an
widow’s mite—quarters, nickels, and dimes—and they donated
afternoon with Sarah, you’d want her to be your grandmother
$149.07 to the Girls Shelter. The kids did that. Now I may never
too. Her voice sounds like your favorite blanket feels—
remember all their names, but I’ll remember how they gave.”
comforting and safe. It’s like she’s been through the storm but still has her heart open.
36 | people 42
{ Dr. Billie Warrick } Ballman Elementary School As principal of Ballman Elementary School, Dr. Billie Warrick
home may not translate to school, and what they do at school
has spent over forty years in education. “I grew up in Ozark and
may not translate to church. Those judgments are having to be
wanted to be a geologist,” says Billie. “But my
taught.”
mom had other ideas. It wasn’t that she wanted me to be a teacher, just not a geologist. So when
As the discussion turns to students the
one of my professors at Hendrix inspired me, I
principals won’t forget, Billie goes back to
went that direction.”
her first year of teaching in Morrilton. “I had forty first graders, and we did home visits the
Billie started her career as a teacher in Morrilton.
first quarter. I was down to my last two and
“I remember being both scared and excited.
had to go south of Morrilton on a dirt road to
But I knew I wanted to be with children, where
the middle of a cotton patch. I got there and
every day would be different.” For a while, Billie
Harvey’s dad had taken off, and there was his
lived and worked in Missouri, but came back to
mom and a baby, and there was nothing in that
Arkansas to teach in Greenwood for eighteen
house—nothing. There were some quilts on
years and Fort Smith for twenty-two. Since 1997,
the floor, which I’m assuming was where they
she’s been Ballman’s principal.
sat and where they slept. His mom had done the diapers, and they were hanging on a folding rack, and that
For Billie, personal interaction with students is important. She
was really about all that was in the house. Harvey ran to the
says, “Our job is to be there for them. We have to learn to
door. ‘It’s my teacher!’ Of course, the mother was humiliated
negotiate with them. And they’re the first to know it if you’re
beyond belief to have someone come into this, but we talked
not genuine.” Sometimes that means doing things out of the
and had the conference, and I left. The first thing Harvey said
ordinary. Billie says, “We dressed up as Ghostbusters one year
the next morning was, ‘My teacher came to see me!’”
at a PTA meeting. I was fully decorated with a vacuum cleaner on my back.”
By the end of the story, Billie’s choked up, and it’s obvious why she’s spent her lifetime investing in the lives of children.
The other principals talk about what’s changed over the years—
“Sometimes it’s hard to get down the hall because the kids wrap
things like technology and how kids are growing up faster than
themselves around you.” What could be better than that?
they used to. Billie says, “I think we have to teach character more and more. We just have to channel things in the right direction, what’s appropriate and what’s not. What they do at
people | 43
{ Stanley Wells } Woods Elementary School Stanley Wells grew up in Charleston and has worked for Fort
and play and do all the things you do at five years old.”
Smith Public Schools for thirty-eight years—his entire career. As a fourth grade teacher at Echols Elementary School,
And that’s Stanley’s advice to other teachers
Stanley started teaching in 1975. “Sometimes
and principals—make school a fun place to
you pick a job for selfish reasons, and I wanted
learn. “If you don’t look forward to it, you know
to do something I’d enjoy,” says Stanley. “And
the kids won’t. I guess that’s why I’ve been a
what better way to have fun than to work at an
big child all these years. I want school to be a
elementary school. Back then, we did physical
place I want to be.”
education and art and everything, and I wanted to share with the kids and watch those light bulbs
When the other principals share their most
come on.”
embarrassing moments as teachers, Stanley says, “When I was young and single, I inherited
Since 1995, Stanley’s been the principal at
a chin up bar, one that you could wedge
Woods Elementary School. He says, “I still keep
between a door frame. So I was going to show
a piece of stained glass from Echols on my desk.
the kids how to use it, and I pulled my whole weight up, and it gave way. I fell flat on my
The school is closed now, and I’ll be the last person to retire who taught there.”
back on a concrete floor. I didn’t hit my head, but it knocked my breath out.”
Perhaps one of Stanley’s best qualities is that he can relate to his students. “I can sympathize with kids. When I was in school, I
But Stanley handled that situation like he handles most things—
made good grades, but I struggled. There are kids that are going
he refused to get bent out of shape. “You have to look, how
to struggle, and there may be reasons for it. But everyone excels
important is this compared to the whole of life? And you’ve got
at something. If you wanted a parade float done or a party
to laugh and move on.”
planned, I was your guy.” And that’s the wonderful thing about Stanley—he’s a living The other principals say that Stanley is still that guy—organized
example of his own philosophy. “We want to teach kids to the
and fun. He collects neckties (he has over 100) and has been
right thing and make good choices. That’s our job. I always say,
known to roller skate down the hallway dressed as an elf. He’s
‘You never know who’s watching.’ So the way I act is the way I
even kissed a pig—anything for the kids. “Our kids need time to
want the kids to act, because their behavior reflects on them,
play. It’s good for them to learn, but they need time to explore
their school, and their community.”
44 | people
{ Michela (Mikie) Wiley } Carnall Elementary School Michela “Mikie” Wiley has worked for Fort Smith Public Schools
You build a relationship with those kids, and they’re going to
for the last thirty-seven years. Since 2000, she’s been the
perform the best they can. My theory is if you have happy kids,
principal at Carnall Elementary School. “My dad
you have happy parents. If you have happy
was a coach, my mom was a librarian, and my
parents, you have a happy school.” Mikie
siblings were teachers, and I did not want to
pauses then says, “I’ve learned it’s not me, it’s
go into education,” says Mikie. “Then I spent a
about serving everyone else.”
summer at Head Start and fell in love. I knew it As the conversation turns to the challenges
was what I was supposed to do.”
of being a principal, Mikie says, “I remember In 1974, Mikie started as a second grade teacher
one specific family. The little girl needed my
at Fairview Elementary. “I didn’t have a clue
help, and I was the one who turned them in
what I was doing. Nobody is prepared for the
to DHS.” Educators are bound by law to report
first day of school. But every school I’ve been
all student safety issues to the Arkansas
in has been a situation where I’ve grown. I’ve
Department of Human Services. “At the end, they separated all those kids. When the school
become a better person and educator.”
called to find out about the little girl, she Like the other principals, Mikie emphasizes understanding her
wasn’t doing well. And she was just so smart. I talked to her on
students. “When I was in school, I wasn’t always perfect, so I
the phone, and she said, ‘I feel guilty. I’m the reason my family’s
can relate to those kids who aren’t always perfect. There was
not together.’ I said, ‘It’s not your fault.’ You do so many of those
one year they weren’t going to hand out the yearbook because
things with my job. I worry about those kids; they’re all spread
my skirt in it was too short. But I’m almost six feet tall!” Mikie
out. You wonder how they’ll ever get back together. It bothers
says as she laughs. “I was smart, but I couldn’t do chemistry, so I
me to this day, ten years later. The ones that haunt me are the
always had someone set up my experiment during lunch so the
ones where I don’t know what happened.”
teacher wouldn’t know. But I turned out all right.” For a moment, the room gets quiet, as if all the principals could Mikie credits her success to the good people in her life—her
share similar stories. Then, like a loving teacher, Mikie shares a
family and friends and teachers—and strives to pass that
lesson we could all stand to remember. “The thing I’ve had to
success on to her students. “My favorite quote is, ‘Kids don’t
learn is this—I can do what I can do, and the rest I have to leave
care how much you know until they know how much you care.’
to God.”
As they retire, these four principals take with them over 125
the lives they’ve touched. Their influences will continue to be felt
years of combined experience in serving Fort Smith Public
throughout our community for decades to come. In that respect,
Schools. Although their parting is sad, this can be said for
their legacies continue. Surely we are all the better because of
certain—they have done their jobs well, and the character and
the work they’ve done.
standards that shaped them have assuredly been passed on to all
46 | taste
Cupcakes make you happy! Imagine how we felt when we received a ton of delicious cupcake recipes from our loyal readers in our Bake Me a Cupcake Contest. Ecstatic doesn’t even come close to describing our level of happiness! After much debate and taste testing (have we mentioned how much we love our jobs?), we reached a verdict. Resha Smith’s Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting are so moist, and are the perfect blend of flavors – sweetness, a bit of lemony tang and all around cupcake awesomeness. Congratulations Resha! Enjoy your $200 gift card from our dear friends at Creative Kitchen.
taste | 47
@recipe Resha Smith @image Catherine Frederick
Cupcakes and Cheesecake Topping 1 1 4 1 ½ ½ 4 1 1/3
box white cake mix box strawberry gelatin tablespoons all-purpose flour cup milk cup vegetable oil cup chopped fresh strawberries (about 7 large strawberries) large eggs package of cream cheese (room temperature) cup granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with paper liners. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, gelatin, and flour. Add the milk, oil, strawberries, and 3 eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Scrape sides of bowl, increase mixer speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes. Set aside.
For the cheesecake topping, combine cream cheese, sugar and 1 egg. Beat with an electric mixer on low until creamy, about 2 minutes.
Using a measuring cup, scoop a heaping ¼ cup of the strawberry batter into the paper liners, about 2/3 of the way full. Next, place a tablespoon of the cheesecake filling on top of the cupcake batter.
Put the pan on the center rack of oven and bake until the tops spring back when pressed lightly with your finger – about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely. While cupcakes are cooling, make your frosting.
Lemon Buttercream Frosting 1 1 2-3 4 3
large lemon teaspoon lemon zest tablespoons of fresh lemon juice tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter softened to room temperature cups powdered sugar, sifted Milk or additional lemon juice, if needed
Wash and dry lemon. Zest lemon. Keep the lemon for the lemon juice. Place the butter in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until well blended. Turn the mixer to medium and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. If the frosting is too stiff, add a bit of lemon juice or milk until you reach the desired consistency. If the frosting is too runny, add more powdered sugar. Frost your cupcakes and enjoy!
48 | taste
I Dream of Spaghetti @recipe and images Stacey Little
taste | 49
I
was fortunate to grow up in a household where my mother cooked every day. Regardless of what else was going on, we gathered as a family every night to share an evening meal. It was an opportunity to share our days with one another and
connect as a family. Today, I carry on the same tradition with my little family. But like the rest of the world, there are days when it’s a struggle to get a home cooked meal on the table. As a food blogger, one of the things that I have found is that many folks are just looking for easy, quick recipes. You know, recipes that call for things that they probably already have in the pantry. I’ve also learned that it seems a rare occurrence that families gather together for a meal. Supper has become something that is usually grabbed after one activity while heading to another. Families are missing out on the opportunity to unplug and reconnect with one another. My grandfather was one of thirteen children. Growing up, he and his brothers and sisters were not allowed to talk at the table. My guess is that was based on practicality. Fifteen folks all talking at one time was probably a bit too much to take in after a hard day in the fields. He tells a hilarious story about the day he had something important to say at the supper table. Apparently his exclamation was met with his father hurling a sweet potato at him. Fortunately, we don’t live in a world like that anymore. Today, sit-down meals offer families the chance to develop the relationships we share. My goal is about giving folks easy recipes that allow them to quickly get a meal on the table. The truth is, it’s not really about the food itself (shh… don’t tell anyone). The food is just a conduit by which families can spend time together. The food is good, but the company is better. Sure, my recipes might have a can of cream of chicken soup or a packet of instant gravy mix, but my thought is this. Those relationships we develop over a meal are far more important than any convenience food. We don’t all have time to create cream sauces from scratch and if there’s something that I can do that helps folks get supper on the table a little quicker and more easily, then I’m going to do it. This recipe is no exception. Turn plain old spaghetti night into something special with this easy Baked Spaghetti. We hardly ever have regular spaghetti with meat sauce anymore. The cream cheese gives the dish a velvety smooth texture that we just love. So, I encourage you to make time for one another. Turn off the smart phones and game systems. Leave the hassles of work and the stresses of school at the door. Sit as a family and share a meal. Talk to one another. Listen to one another. You just never know what you might hear or what you might learn.
50 | taste
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°. Cook the spaghetti according to
1 (12-ounce) package thin spaghetti
package directions and drain. In a large skillet over medium heat
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
cook the ground beef with the onions until it is no longer pink.
1 small onion, diced
1 (24-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons milk
Drain the excess grease. Return the beef and onions to the pan and stir in the spaghetti sauce. Bring the meat sauce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, milk, and garlic
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
powder. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking
spray. In the dish, layer noodles, then the cream cheese mixture,
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
then the meat sauce. Top with the mozzarella and bake for 25 to
Serves 5 to 6
30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
You can follow Stacey at southernbite.com
Stacey Little
is the author and publisher of SouthernBite.com, an award-winning Southern food blog dedicated to sharing his family’s Southern recipes.
52 | taste
@images Jeromy Price @recipe Jeff Price, Bar Manager, MovieLounge
Rumchata
Vanilla
2 oz Rumchata liqueur / Horchata liqueur
2 oz Absolut Vanilla
Chocolate 2 oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
2 scoops vanilla ice cream 2 oz liquor of choice Sponsored by
In a blender, mix the ice cubes, ice cream, and liquor of your choice. Top with whipped cream and a cherry.
7601 Rogers Ave, Fort Smith 479.226.3595 | MovieLoungeFSM.com
Enjoy this and other premium cocktails at MovieLounge. Please drink responsibly.
54 | taste
River City Deli
Monday – Saturday: 11AM to 9PM Sunday (Brunch): 11AM to 3PM
7320 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith (in Stonewood Village) 479.434.6474 myrivercitydeli.net
Beer & Wine selections | Meats & Cheeses by the pound | Catering & Take-out available
taste | 55
R
iver City Deli is located just off Rogers Avenue in Fort
normally enjoy here - the potato latkes will win you over - is
Smith, tucked inside Stonewood Village, with not
an added bonus.
even the hint of a neon sign by the road to grab your
attention. They say good things are hard to find, and that was
Don’t let the word ‘deli’ fool you. Step inside the doors to River
our immediate thought after enjoying a delicious meal at River
City and you won’t find a meat counter or anyone slapping store-
City Deli. Perhaps you hadn’t noticed them there before, but it’s
bought deli slices on white bread. Do they prepare delicious
high time you did.
sandwiches with made-from-scratch ingredients? Yes. Do they fly in corned beef and salami direct from Carnegie Deli in New
The idea for River City came from a trip to Oaklawn Park in Hot
York? Yes, they do. Do they also smoke their own meats? You
Springs, when Susan Tucker was spending a day at the horse
bet they do; and you won’t find anything else like it in town. But
races. When she got hungry she found herself in a long line for a
they also serve up some of the most melt-in-your-mouth, non-
corned beef sandwich. “Before that I wouldn’t have thought we
sandwich style entrees this side of the Hudson. Stop by once,
could sell corned beef in Arkansas,” Susan says. “I just wouldn’t
and like us, you’ll become one of River City’s many devotees.
have expected it. But they were lined up by the hundreds.” The atmosphere inside River City isn’t fussy. It’s kind of like That was her Eureka moment. She came home to Fort Smith
you’re home. Gracious, but no white linens needed, just an
and talked to her son, Chef Jason Haid, about bringing a New
exceptional staff attending to your every need even before you
York style deli and restaurant to life. Today, the two, who are
know you need it, and they can answer any questions you may
originally from Pittsburg, spend their days running River City.
have about the menu.
Jason, the head chef, creates new recipes to mix in with family favorites, and he manages the eight fine dining chefs who make
Before we had the chance to take in the entire menu, our
everything fresh, from the breads, soups and entrees, to the
server offered up some tomatoes and pickles. But not just any
desserts so delectable you’ll forget your sensible diet.
tomatoes and pickles. Bread-and-butter green tomatoes and half-sour pickles. Be still my Southern heart! I have a weakness
“Jason’s a purist about food. We don’t even have a microwave
for green tomatoes. These were firm, crinkle cut, and soaked in
in the kitchen; he won’t allow it,” Susan says. The standards
a bread-and-butter mixture that made me weak in the knees.
he’s set lay the groundwork for some of the best food we’ve
Not too sweet, not too spicy, just right. And I am a huge raw
tasted. And having a restaurant that serves dishes we wouldn’t
cucumber fan, with an equal love for dill pickles. This is the
56 | taste
perfect marriage. Not too sour - they fall perfectly in the
potato latkes. Absolutely heavenly! The best way to describe
middle, allowing your taste buds to teeter from fresh cucumber
them is a creamy potato cake, lightly fried, not the slightest bit
to slightly dillish - and the freshness of the cucumber shone
greasy, crispy on the edges, with a taste that will remind you of
through with each crunchy bite. If they sold these by the jar, I’d
your granny’s hushpuppies. The fruit was in season, fresh, and
stock my pantry.
the perfect accompaniment to the brisket and potatoes.
Now we get to the appetizer. We started with the Caprese
Who would believe we had room for dessert? Just one look at
appetizer. Ripe cherry tomatoes, purple onion, and basil,
these two dishes and we couldn’t resist. Carrot cake, double-
marinated in balsamic vinegrette. Served with fresh, thick sliced
decker, mind you, and cheesecake with strawberry glaze and fresh
mozzarella and toasted ciabatta crostini slices. Simple, yet so
strawberries, all made from scratch, in house, even the glaze. The
flavorful, it’s a fresh taste you rarely get unless you’re picking it
carrot cake was so good, especially the chopped pecans atop the
from your garden at home.
cream cheese icing to balance the salty with the sweet. But that cheesecake? Where to begin? The crust was out of this world.
Next up were the entrees. The classic Ruben sandwich, served
Moist, not crumbling. Nice and thick with a hint of cinnamon. And
with homemade coleslaw, and a dill pickle spear. I’ll be the first
the cheesecake? Seriously the most light and creamy cheesecake
to admit, I don’t like a mushy sandwich. If the bread gets soggy
we’ve ever had. Not too thick - the consistency was spot on. The
from the condiments, I’m out. No worries here. The rye bread
strawberry glaze complemented an already perfect dessert; it
was toasted to perfection, still chewy, and not one bit mushy.
was bursting with fresh strawberry flavor.
A liberal amount of thinly sliced, steamed corned beef, topped with Thousand Island dressing, tangy sauerkraut and melted
Top it off with a fresh brewed cup of coffee and you have
Swiss cheese. Better bring your appetite because these are
the perfect meal prepared by a wonderful family who has a
generous portions.
genuine passion for preparing fresh and delicious foods from simple ingredients. Give River City Deli a try, if you haven’t
We also had the beef brisket platter, served with the potato
already. Great food, great atmosphere, and an all around
latkes and a heaping bowl of fresh fruit. Now we all know,
wonderful experience.
here in the South, we serve our brisket smothered in BBQ sauce. Not this time. We didn’t need it. You read that right. No sauce needed. Thick sliced brisket, slow roasted and perfectly seasoned, that cuts with ease and melts in your mouth. And the
58 | travel
Inside the Walls of Sandstone Gardens
T
@story Marla Cantrell @images Mark Mundorff
he rain that started early this morning is finally winding
lots of furniture, linens, oil paintings, and almost anything else
down. Beside the road, little rivers flow through drainage
you could think of to decorate your home. In fact, it’s become
ditches, and cows stand in green fields watching the cars
so popular that it’s now a destination location, particularly for
pass. Up ahead is Joplin, Missouri, where Max and Vicki Carr are
women who tend to travel in groups, spend the day shopping,
just opening the doors of Sandstone Gardens, not far from the
and then head to nearby Downstream Casino, where Vicki says
cottage where they spend the hours when they’re not at work.
the rooms are lovely and the prices low.
Those hours are short ones. The Carrs typically work seven
Sandstone Gardens is set on sixty-eight pristine acres on a road
days a week in this showroom filled with garden statuary and
that ambles near small farms, wide fields, and on the day of this
fountains made on site, a bistro that uses Vicki’s own recipes,
visit, a clutch of seven red and brown chickens meandering near
travel | 59 a mailbox where something incredibly interesting seems to be
There, sculpted into the carved panels above the windows and
going on.
door is the image of their dog, Bear Bear. “He was a stray we saw get run over. Vicki and I took him in, had him nine years before he
The main building is thoughtfully designed, using many of the
died. That dog changed my way of looking at life. We wanted a
details Max gathered through years of studying buildings he
way to keep him alive, and we had a sculptor working for us who
loved. The grounds are neatly manicured with fountains placed
designed the image of the Chow Chow, and above it, in French, it
on stone patios, one with a fireplace that’s lit in colder months.
says ‘Mr. Bear Dog.’ That’s how much our dog meant to us.”
The Carrs’ story goes back to 1986, just after the two married. Both worked eight-to-five jobs, the kind that paid the bills but
Once inside, it’s hard to know which way to go. There are
left them feeling empty. The solution came when they started
antiques, statues of various sizes, like one that looks like the
a side business, just a weekend gig, where they’d make small
head of a Grecian woman that serves as a vase. Thousands of
concrete lawn ornaments from commercial molds – mostly
lights twinkle from the ceiling, tree branches are brought in and
geese and bunnies – that they’d then sell at crafts fairs.
bent in arches that serve to define one area from another. Soft music plays, and everywhere there are displays of fully set up
On those trips they also looked for antiques, and began buying
rooms where customers can glean ideas they can transfer to
some beautiful old concrete pieces. “Our travels took us out
their own homes.
east, like to Newport, Rhode Island, and we’d see all these estates and the Biltmore House, and we loved the aesthetics.
If you stay long enough to get hungry, and you will, there’s a
We made our name because almost no one was taking statuary
bistro with a full menu. The meatloaf and salmon are delicious,
on the road because it’s so heavy,” Max says.
but so are the sandwiches and soups and the bread pudding. “When we opened the bistro it was much smaller,” Max says.
Once home, they’d create fountains and statues inspired by
“We thought it would be a place where the men would drink
the antiques they’d purchased. They came up with a formula
coffee and read the paper while the women shopped. But it was
to recreate the patina that evolves naturally on old pieces,
so popular we expanded it. The food’s so good – it’s all Vicki’s
and their work just got better and better. “We also made the
recipes - we even won an award for it.”
commitment to only use concrete and marble dust in our work when others were adding ingredients, like fiberglass or plaster
Just outside the bistro is a table filled with statues of dogs, with
or resin to make their work lighter,” Max says. “That might make
giant urns and massive planters close by. The stone floor is still
it lighter to ship, but it won’t last you as long.”
damp from the morning rain, the ferns glistening as the sun surfaces from behind a cloud.
What’s intriguing about the two is that neither has any formal training in art or design. Walk inside Sandstone Gardens and
Farther on is the manufacturing center where seven workers
you’d think there were dozens of experts orchestrating the
produce the concrete pieces. The entire operation hums with
displays that cover 50,000 square feet – there are whole rooms
activity. Shoppers go in and out, some with measuring tapes
decorated, complete with beds or dining tables and fireplaces
and notebooks. The bistro is filling up, and all around the clerks
– but Vicki is the eye behind what is bought and arranged here.
communicate through headsets, something that’s necessary in
And Max? He’s a self-taught poet, artist and gardener who loves
a space this size.
architecture the way a movie buff loves Hollywood. When the doors of Sandstone Gardens opened in May of 2004, Look above the main entry as you walk up the massive steps
Max was anxious to see what people thought of their grand
and you’ll see the kind of detail that makes this place special.
idea. He stood at the doors that look as if they could have come
60 | travel
from a castle and watched the crowd come in. One of the first
did. I designed it with three tiers, with five spigots in the top
women to arrive lifted her arms and said, “Finally, a Bass Pro
tier for the month of May, twenty-two on the second and eleven
Shop for women!”
on the bottom. 5-22-11. We dedicated the fountain and I read
®
the poem I’d written for the occasion, called “Proclamation The comment was more than Max could have asked for. He and
of Restoration”. I was honored to do it, and that’s where the
Vicki had created a place that was thrilling to shoppers and filled
spiritual element comes in, because the fountain represents
with classic pieces that stand the test of time. Max looks again
the Living Waters. These people will never be forgotten. That
at Vicki. “When I married Vicki I had no idea what a visionary
was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, because
she was. She has this incredible eye, she’s a great cook, she can
you know you’re using the talent God gave you for something
decorate anything. I don’t think we’d be here without her.”
that will long endure.”
Vicki turns the conversation to Max. “He’s modest,” she says. “He’s
There is a moment when everything seems to go quiet, even
a published poet; he’s written a book of poetry and has poems in
inside this bustling store. And then Max’s phone rings, and a
several journals, and he’s done a lot for this community.”
customer comes by to ask Vicki a question, and they are back to work, doing the what they love, making beautiful things that
There is indeed a book of Max’s poetry that shows the depth
stand the test of time, always together. Always a team.
of his writing ability. He used that talent in the wake of the Joplin tornado that hit on May 22, 2011, killing 161 people and destroying a third of the city. Sandstone was not touched. None of their staff was injured, something they’re thankful for every day. When the mayor asked Max and Vicki to rebuild a fountain
Sandstone Gardens is approximately two and
in one of the city’s parks as a way to remember those lost, they
half hours from Fort Smith. For directions visit
got to work.
sandstonegardens.com
“During the cleanup the city had unearthed this old fountain reservoir and they realized a fountain had been there in the early 1900s,” Max says. “They asked us to reproduce it, and we
62 | back story
W
Swamptown and Mudtown and Mama @fiction Marla Cantrell
e got to go down to the town hall tonight, me and
then Missouri sent their bill, and Mama, she works with hair, so
Mama and Brodie. We’re the last family they’re
she don’t have a whole pile of money.
talking to, and the ones who got the worst of it,
if you ask me.
She called the mayor, who put her off. Well, fine then, she says, so she rung up the governor of Arkansas, who happens to be
The trouble is this: our house stretches across the state line.
running for re-election, and his main guy come out and had his
The kitchen’s in Mudtown, Missouri, and Mama’s bedroom, well
picture taken, straddling the hall like I been doing for twelve
that’s in Swamptown, Arkansas. And yeah, those are real names.
months now, and he put it on the World Wide Web, and now the
The rest of the folks they got jawing about the divide ain’t got
mayor’s all up in our business, just red hot about us airing our
half the trouble we do. Miss Cavanaugh’s having a conniption
particulars to folks he believes has a lot more to worry about
because when she walks across the road she crosses over into
than where a rickety old house falls on a crummy map.
Missouri, where her mailbox sits on a cedar post, so she ain’t sure what her zip code is.
“I do not like this dual citizenship,” Mama said to the TV reporter who come over from Little Rock. He’d checked out the story and
Big deal.
found that the only land Missouri was claiming was our house, nine growed-up lots beside us, and half the asphalt that stops
I eat breakfast in Missouri, and when I stand in the hall I can
smack dab at the yellow center line in the road.
straddle two borders. Try topping that. Course I wouldn’t of ever knowed if the bigwigs in Missouri hadn’t decided to survey the
“I feel like a man without a country,” Mama said into the
state line. You know why they did it? A bunch of Civil War re-
microphone, and drummed her fingers across her throat, for
enactors dug up an old map that showed the Missouri border
effect, I believe, and squeezed out a little tear.
way on over in Bailey County, forty miles from here. Well then, somebody from the government who ain’t got enough to keep
And then I said, kind of smart-alecky like, “You ain’t a man at
hisself busy got hold of it and decided to check it out.
all, Mama,” and she tried to backhand me right there on live TV, which I believe I could use in court against her, if I knew which
A whole passel of surveyors come out with their tripods
state to prosecute her in.
and whatnot, and about six months later a story run in the Swamptown Sentinel saying they’d heard rumors that Missouri
So now we’re walking over to the town hall, where there’s twenty
was trying to boondoggle Arkansas out of land. We read it but
cameras going, at least, and Brodie, he don’t talk much, so he’s
we don’t believe much of what gets wrote up in the paper, so
hanging back, making faces like his mind ain’t right, which it is,
we wasn’t worried.
and I’m walking beside Mama, like I know how to fix this.
That was until we got our property tax bill from Arkansas, and
Which I do.
back story | 63 Somebody needs to move our house, something we could do our
know now may have been collusion or fraud or some other high
own selves if it was a trailer, but we upgraded from wheels five
crime or misdemeanor, since I ain’t sure which state I’m supposed
years ago when Mama got a settlement after she got low sick
to vote in. But I know my daddy fought for this country, and my
from eating at Supper on the Fly, and yeah that’s a real name.
granddaddy’s people come here so long ago there’s a whole road named after us up near the capitol. And now Missouri, a state I
When we walk in, the Arkansas governor’s up front, his black hair
believe was officially Union during the Civil War, which makes
all slicked back, and he’s got a diamond stickpin on, made from
it Northern if you ask me, wants me to pay double taxes on my
a rock he found at Murfreesboro, a few counties over, where you
house, which is all I got since Merritt walked out on me and
can dig for your own diamonds, and no that ain’t no joke.
plighted his troth with a woman who ain’t been to church since that peanut farmer was in the White House.
The Missouri governor’s A.W.O.L., which don’t surprise me, since he ain’t campaigning this year. That’s just one of the things you
“So I don’t know what you rocket scientists plan to do about it,”
got to know when you live in house that’s stretched across two
she says, staring right at the mayor and the city council, and on
state lines.
over to the county judge, who has the good sense to look away, “but I got heart palpitations because of it, I surely do.”
Mama’s wearing too much makeup, and she’s got on a dress, something I ain’t seen in a while, and she’s carrying a hankie
And then the mayor, who’s all puffed up and red faced, says,
that belonged to my dearly departed memaw.
“Mrs. Hagan, not to belabor the point, but you still owe the city and the county back taxes for going on three years.”
She marches up front, bumping through the crowd, and sits at a long table where they’ve set out Planter’s peanuts from the
Which ain’t the right thing to say at all. Mama takes out her
factory down south, and Coca-Cola in little glass bottles.
hankie and wipes her brow, and then inches her way to the long table. She swigs some Coca-Cola, and slumps into the fold-out
We wait for the governor to call her out, which he does after
chair. She lays her head down, and the bowl of peanuts spills
a long introduction where he tells folks he’ll lure back the
when she pounds her fist on the shiny wood.
factories if he’s graced with another term. Mama stands beside him and just by the way she’s got her head cocked you can tell
Then the governor steps in.
she ain’t impressed. “My widowed mother plowed the fields with her own hands, “I met Elvis once,” is what she’ll tell me later. I hear it every time
grew rows of tomatoes and peppers and squash. She canned
she meets anybody with any sparkle. “I met Elvis once, and this
the bounty of summer so that we might live through another
yahoo ain’t no Elvis.” You can’t blame the governor, who’s a nice
stark winter, and sewed all our clothes, right down to our
enough looking man. Mama’s bar’s been set way too high.
skivvies,” he says. “Plus, she worked in Harvey’s Five and Dime six days a week, selling sundries to the town folk of Brightwater.
When the governor holds out his hand, Mama shakes it and then
So I know the hardship and tribulation of the single mother. Had
moves behind the podium.
it not been for my own sainted mother’s wisdom and sacrifice, I would not be where I am today.
“I been a Southerner since I first drew breath,” she says. “Almost thirty years ago,” she adds, and a few of the lady reporters laugh.
“This woman,” he says, and points to the lump that is now my
Mama cuts them a look, but it don’t slow her down none. “I voted
mama, “works in a factory all day, weary from the effort, and
for Governor Sidell over here the last time I cast a ballot, which I
comes home to a house divided.
64 | back story “We, as a state,” he says, and then stops. “No, we as a people,”
“Y.M.C.A.,” though he lacks the costumes. I start to make fun of
he says a little louder and stomps his foot on the pine floor so
him, but Brodie’s a bear of a guy, 275 pounds, so he can do
hard you can feel it shimmy down the long aisle, “should not
whatever he wants.
allow one of our best citizens to live this way.” Things will be different in the new house. I’ll have a room all my Well, Mama don’t work in no factory. She gives shampoos at
own. And the Ladies of the Garden, a snooty group that puts on
Willie Bean’s Stylin’ Emporium, but she perks up just the same.
a scone tasting every spring, are coming over to plant a tree in
She sniffs, and sneaks one of the spilled peanuts, and looks as
our new yard. It’s an apple tree, which I thought was the official
offended as an honorable woman ought.
state fruit, but no, that’s a tomato – go figure - and I’m going to water it every day.
And then the mayor jumps in. “My thoughts, exactly,” he says. He was stalling, his fingers wiggling, his eyes darting around.
Mama’s even talking about going back and getting her
“That’s why we…”
hairdresser’s license, something she says she’s been hankering to do since before Brodie come along. So all in all, this house mess
The governor takes over. “That’s why we’re moving Mrs. Hagan
has been one of the best dang things that ever happened to us.
and her fine family back onto Arkansas soil. We’ll pay whatever’s owed on her house, donate the homestead to Missouri, and let
Brodie’s in the back room with me right now. We got a grocery
them do with it what they will.”
box full of fireworks that we couldn’t shoot off on the Fourth of July last year, because the drought hit and the mayor banned
Mama stands up and grabs the governor, who she didn’t vote
any celebration, thinking one of his citizens might set the town
for, since she ain’t registered, and hugs him around the neck.
afire. Brodie’s pulling out the Roman candles, and he’s taking
Her makeup leaves a stain on his shirt collar, something the
them out to the front lawn where we couldn’t never get grass to
photographers seem to love.
grow. Come nightfall, he says, he’s going put on a light show the likes of which Missouri ain’t never seen.
Me and Brodie step into the picture then, and Brodie makes a face like a frog, and they put it on the front page of the
I don’t think it’s the best idea – it’s still mighty dry - but then I
Swamptown Sentinel the very next morning.
don’t know a better way to say goodbye. I dig out the Freedom Fountain we were dreaming of lighting last Independence
So now we’re packing. Our new house has a washer and dryer
Day. It’s five feet tall, all red, white and blue on the outside,
and a microwave oven. It was a repo, but that don’t bother
and promises to shoot streams of majesty across the sky for
us none. Mama, she’s off registering to vote, and then she’s
five whole minutes. When the sun sinks down I’m going to be
meeting with a reporter who wants to go with us on moving
right beside Brodie, two Arkansas boys who was brought back
day when we return victorious, the sons and daughter of the
into the fold by the top dog in the state. I hope the sky lights
Natural State or the Land of Opportunity, whichever one is the
up tonight like it ain’t never done before. I hope it’s so blinky
happening slogan for Arkansas right about now.
bright the Missouri governor runs to his big picture window way out in Jefferson City and has a few seconds of jittery surprise,
Brodie’s going back to school, training to work on furnaces and
wondering what kind of party is going on over there on what
air coolers, down at the technical school.
used to be the borderline of the great state of Arkansas.
“I’m gonna be a HVAC expert,” Brodie says, while making the letters with his arms. He looks like those guys that sung
Read Chair Publishing, LLC 3811 Rogers Avenue Suite C Fort Smith, Arkansas 72903