®
TOGETHER
NOVEMBER 2020 DoSouthMagazine.com
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november
Contents 05 12
Publisher’s Letter Pet Adoption:
06
Nonprofit Spotlight:
Almost Home Shelter & Rescue
Antioch for Youth & Family
Shop Local
10
Teacher Spotlight
13 38
Special Feature:
Local Guide to Non-Profits
{PEOPLE}
What's New
14 18 22
Get Bookish: November
{ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT}
04 08
{COMMUNITY}
Smooth Jazz: Jasmine Williams Favorite Son: John McIntosh
34
Scrap Paper Hearts Part II
{TASTE}
30 31 32 33
Mini Apple Pies Mini Pecan Pies Mini Pumpkin Pies Pumpkin Spiced White Russian
Coloring Outside the Lines: Gwen Mason
Recommendations
26
{FICTION}
OUR COVER Image Credit: Jens Ackermann/ Shutterstock
Magic Man: Maxwell Blade
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what's new
FAN MAIL Send comments and suggestions to catherine@dosouthmagazine.com.
Highly Recommend The magazine is well designed and is all about local everything… I would highly recommend advertising with Do South® as it reaches thousands of potential customers and clients. ~ Michael R.
Fun and Informative Their magazine is beautiful. Fun and informative, really enjoy reading them. ~ Cheryl N.
CONTEST (Deadline is November 13) Go to dosouthmagazine.com, click on “Contest” at the top of the page. All who enter will be subscribed to our mailing list. Please see rules and policies on our Contest page!
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Love Do South®? Here is your chance to have it delivered right to your door! Two lucky readers will win a full, one-year subscription to Do South®! Visit our website at DoSouthMagazine.com to enter! CODE: DOSOUTH CONGRATULATIONS Congrats to our contest winners from October!
One-year subscription to Do South®: Tiffany Daws and Janet Stephens Gift Cards: Jeff’s Clubhouse: Liz Atwell | El Zarape: Amanda Norris
EVENTS November 7: 13th Annual Black Tie Bingo (Drive-Through Edition) Fort Smith Public Library | fortsmithlibrary.org November 7 & 8: Arkansas Holiday Market Kay Rodgers Park, Fort Smith | arholidaymarket.com November 11: The Beatles vs Stones - A Musical Showdown The Majestic, Fort Smith | majesticfortsmith.com November 22: Sugar Plum Fairy Tea Western Arkansas Ballet, Fort Smith | waballet.org
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Letter from Catherine
T
BLESSED
The days are getting shorter. Darkness creeps into the light much earlier than just a week before. Leaves of crimson, rust and gold crunch and break apart beneath my feet. I fall in love with this time of year over and over again.
This month we have much to fall in love with right here in our pages. Jasmine Williams, a lover of food and an amazingly talented chef at local restaurant Uncork’d, shares her passion for cooking and her mission to put Fort Smith on the food map. You’ll also meet the incredibly gifted Gwen Mason. Armed with a unique business idea and a heart full of faith, she brings us Colorscapes Bible Journaling. Learn more beginning on page 22. As we could all use a little escape from reality, I bring you Maxwell Blade. Originally from Fort Smith, he now calls Hot Springs, Arkansas home. You’ll find him on stage at Maxwell Blade’s Theatre of Magic levitating furniture, causing things to disappear and eliciting an immense amount of wonder that fascinates his audiences. And finally, John McIntosh. We met over twenty years ago during an advertising meeting. Shortly after, he offered me a job at his advertising firm, The McIntosh Group, and as they say,
NOVEMBER 2020 OWNER - PUBLISHER - EDITOR Catherine Frederick COPY EDITING Charity Chambers GRAPHIC DESIGN Artifex 323 – Jessica Meadors CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Jennifer Burchett, Jade Graves CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Catherine Frederick, Dwain Hebda, Sara Putman, Liesel Schmidt ADVERTISING INFORMATION Catherine Frederick I 479.782.1500 catherine@dosouthmagazine.com
the rest is history. Almost everything I know about advertising, I learned from John. As grateful as I am, I am most blessed by his friendship. John has done more for Fort Smith than most
FOLLOW US
realize. He does so not for recognition, but for the love of our great city and the arts. That's simply who he is at his core. There are not enough pages to recount all his accomplishments, but I am proud to highlight just a few beginning on page 18. Among all these amazing people – one thing binds them – they either hail from Fort Smith, or now call it home, and that’s a beautiful thing. With all that’s going on in the world today it’s easy to get distracted from the beauty, peace and goodness all around. Take a walk around your neighborhood. Stop in the new shop on the corner. Relish in the sights and sounds – it’s good for the soul. Be kind to one another – I’ll see you in December!
©2020 Read Chair Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without the permission of the copyright owner. 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 including photography, becomes the property of Read Chair Publishing, LLC. Do South ® reserves the right to edit content and images. Printed in the U.S.A. | ISSN 2373-1893
Annual subscriptions are $36 (12 months), within the contiguous United States. Subscribe at DoSouthMagazine.com or mail check to 4300 Rogers Avenue, Suite 20-110, Fort Smith, AR, 72903. Single issues are available upon request. Inquiries or address changes, call 479.782.1500.
Catherine Frederick
Owner/Publisher/Editor
catherine@dosouthmagazine.com
To reserve this free space for your charitable nonprofit organization, email: catherine@dosouthmagazine.com.
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community community
Nonprofit Spotlight words Catherine Frederick with Charlotte Tidwell, Executive Director and Founder Pastor, Antioch for Youth and Family
DS: In what ways does Antioch for Youth and Family support our communities? Over ten thousand children in Fort Smith public schools, one-in-four of our senior and disabled population, and well over six hundred veterans and their families, often go day to day unsure of their next meal. We provide farm-to-fork nutritional support through garden-based learning to children at the Antioch Discovery Garden, deliver fresh fruits and vegetables to as many as eight thousand students a month, maintain a ten thousand square foot community pantry for anyone to visit, encourage smart food choices and instruct teens and adults how to cook healthy meals on a budget, outreach to those most at-risk, host children in low-income nursing homes to comfort and interact with the most fragile among us, and advocate on a local, state and national level. Antioch works closely with the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and partners with the Arkansas College of Health Education, The Guidance Center and local leaders to not only make Fort
Antioch for Youth and Family, an
Smith hunger-free but also to become a trauma-informed care community. Antioch
all-volunteer nonprofit effort, serves
supports the community with $2.5M in nutritious food support.
Western Arkansas with community partnerships. Antioch is a million meal
DS: How is Antioch for Youth and Family assisting our community during the COVID-19 pandemic?
provider to over twenty five thousand
We are serving families via a drive-thru with virtually contactless service. We
people monthly in a community where
host a weekly drive-thru event to get fresh produce, dairy and proteins to about
one-in-five people are food insecure.
four thousand people. We “drop and go” to low-income housing and schools
Senior and Veterans Mobile Pantries
and we began a “drop and knock” program for high-risk families. Partnering
solutions through persistence and
deliver food to low income elderly, disabled persons and struggling families who have served our country. Do South® reached out to Charlotte Tidwell, Founder and Executive Director, to learn more.
1420 North 32nd Street Fort Smith, AR 72904 479.459.0669 antiochyouthfamily.org
with The Guidance Center and Fort Smith Police Department, we advocate for mental health services and to assure any threat of domestic violence due to food insecurity be quickly quelled. We now consistently serve more than twenty-five thousand people monthly and over one-third of those have never sought food assistance before.
DS: What is the greatest hurdle Antioch for Youth and Family faces rising from COVID-19? Funding and volunteers. We are an all-volunteer organization and the supply of those willing to assist is falling shorter than the demand for help. We are able to keep food cost just below ten cents a pound, but with annual distributions exceeding 1.5M pounds, the cost is dramatic, and that’s before taking into account transportation, insurance and other overhead costs.
Next month, we’ll showcase another worthy charity in our area free of charge. If you have a nonprofit you’d like to see recognized, email us at catherine@dosouthmagazine.com.
DS: How can members of our community who would like to volunteer or make a financial donation do so? Also, are there any upcoming events our readers should know about? Volunteers are welcome weekdays 9 to 5 or call for more information. Food and fund drives are always appreciated. To make a financial donation, please use our website, or a gift may be sent to PO Box 1571, Fort Smith, AR 72902-1571. November 21st will mark the 8th Annual Antioch in the Park at Thanksgiving event. The event provides food for over ten thousand people! DOSOUTHMAGAZINE.COM
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community entertainment
Get BOOKISH November Recommendations courtesy Sara Putman, Bookish
The Last Story of Mina Lee
Transcendent Kingdom
by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
by Yaa Gyasi
Margot Lee is twenty-six years old and has a complicated relationship with her mother. When Mina, her mom, stops answering her phone, Margot drives back down to her childhood home in Koreatown, Los Angeles. When she finds her dead mother, the investigation uncovers just how little she knew her. Shifting between Mina’s first year in Los Angeles and Margot’s search for answers, this heartfelt generational novel will reveal the fragility of our most important relationships.
This is a story of Ghanian immigrants to Alabama. Gifty is a scientist who is studying addiction, and through eloquent flashbacks, we get vignettes of the family’s tragedies through faith, science, depression, and grief. This is a gorgeous follow-up to her awards-winning debut, Homegoing.
Enjoy these five must-read books from our friends at Bookish, Fort Smith, Arkansas’s only independently-owned bookstore. Shop hours: Monday 11am-4pm, Tuesday - Friday 10am-6pm and Saturday 10am-4pm. Need curbside delivery? Call 479.434.2917 or email orders@bookishfs.com.
This Tender Land
Vapors
by William Kent Krueger
by David Hill
This voyage down the Mississippi with four orphans contains everything you need in a coming-of-age story. When Odie O’ Banion and his brother steal away from the Lincoln Indian School, they take with them a very special little girl and a mute Indian. With nothing but wit and lessons to learn along the way, the four friends find out the truth about each other just in time to save their necks time and again.
Hill writes of Hot Springs, Arkansas in its heyday. Gamblers, corrupt politicians, prostitutes, and mobsters were able to get away with anything they wanted to. Hill tells the story of the rise of Hot Springs in three voices: Hazel Hill, his grandmother; Dane Harris, manager of The Vapors; and Owney Madden, a political powerhouse. Hill begins to track the boom of the city in the 1930s and follows it into the 60s.
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We Are All Good People Here
by Susan Rebecca White Eve Whalen is a product of old money in Atlanta, Georgia, and she is paired with Daniella Gold as roommates at Belmont College in the fall of 1962. They become friends, but Daniella’s Jewish father keeps her questioning how much she can fit in. Through the lens of two girls searching for themselves, readers relive the systemic injustices of the South and see how differently they view the world.
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community
Do SouthŽ has joined forces with Bookish, our area’s only
TEACHER
SPOTLIGHT MRS. RACHEL PATTON
independent bookstore, in an effort to shine the spotlight on deserving teachers in our community! Local teachers complete the form and wish list online and then books from their wish list can be purchased from Bookish at a twenty percent discount by anyone wanting to show their support! Each month, we will feature a local teacher doing great things for area children. This month, we are proud to introduce you to Rachel Patton, a teacher at Greenwood High School, in Greenwood, Arkansas. To all teachers, we love you and thank you for all you do!
Tell us about your teaching journey. How long have you been a teacher? Where have you taught? What grades and subjects do you teach? This is my fourth year teaching at Greenwood High School. I am a non-traditional teacher with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and minor in Biology who went back to school for a Master of Arts in Teaching and later a Special Education Endorsement. The first three years of my career at GHS, I served as a Special Education Teacher in both English and Biology classrooms. Because my son displayed characteristics of dyslexia, I was drawn to and attended professional development that taught me more about dyslexia. When the opportunity presented itself, I became the dyslexia interventionist for grades 7th through 12th. I am very pleased to be the teacher that will help improve their reading abilities and confidence as well as to show them their strengths in creativity.
GREENWOOD HIGH SCHOOL GREENWOOD, ARKANSAS
What do you like about being a teacher? I could say so much to answer this one question! I could say because I have always loved school since I was a child due to the structure and consistency that was provided. I could say I love learning. I could explain how I love sports and watching
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community
the students excel at what they do best. I will say this, I feel like when I meet a new person and I say, “I am a teacher at Greenwood High School,� it is a turning point in our conversation. Instantly, it feels like they look and think differently about me. I used to get nervous to even say it or feel like I was bragging about it. I held being a teacher to the same standard as a doctor or nurse. While
T S I L H S I W
I would prefer to have a classroom set of eight books, but I will be pleased with anything!
that may or may not be true, I feel like teaching is a very rewarding career. At the end of the day, all of the hard work is worth it knowing that I make a difference. Every day brings a new set of
(8) - Unwind by Neal Shusterman
(8) - Dry by Neal Shusterman
challenges and to-do lists. I am so grateful for all of the wonderful and positive relationships I have made with students, coworkers, and within the community.
What is your biggest concern about entering into the 2020 school year? My biggest concern about entering this school
(8) - Refugee or Grenade by Alan Gratz
(8) - Underwater by Marisa Reichardt
year was technology. I had a few different teachers and administrators that taught me a lot about technology before the school year began to help me feel more prepared. Now, I am able to use several applications such as Google Classroom, Screencastify, and School Status, Zoom, Remind, and Gmail on a daily basis. I have been challenged to find effective strategies to actively engage students both in the classroom and online.
(8) - If There's No r Tomorrow by Jennife t ou ntr me Ar
Teachers, we encourage you to complete the short form and add your wish list! You can find the form at Bookishfs.com, on their Facebook page, and at DoSouthMagazine.com.
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE.COM
(8) - The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
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pets
Thankful for a Family M
M
King
F
Bolt M
M
Lark
Blush F
Rascal
Tootsie
Almost Home Shelter & Rescue 3390 Pointer Trail East - Van Buren, AR | Tom Hill 479.414.3781 | Almost Home Shelter and Rescue is a 501C-3 nonprofit all volunteer staffed facility. They work in partnership with Van Buren Animal Control to find loving, forever homes for the dogs in their care. All dogs will be spayed or neutered and up to date on vaccines when adopted. Please consider adopting or fostering one of their sweet pets. Each month, Do SouthÂŽ donates this page to local and regional nonprofit animal shelters. If you work with a shelter and would like to reserve this space, please email editors@dosouthmagazine.com.
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shop
We Love Local words Catherine Frederick imageS Jade Graves Photography and courtesy vendors
Show your support for local businesses when you shop small this season! With the holidays just weeks away, you’re sure to find exactly what you’re looking for at a great price, and close to home. Explore local shops and be sure to tell them Do South® sent you!
Seasonal Ale, Wines, Whiskey, and Liqueur
SODIE’S WINE & SPIRITS 479.783.8013
Gorgeous and Colorful Dinnerware Featuring Handcrafted Charm
DR. STEVEN B. STILES OPTOMETRY
JENNIFER’S GIFT SHOP BAPTIST HEALTH FORT SMITH
479.452.2020
479.441.4221
Robert Marc NYC Sunglasses
Lux Fragrance Fall Chai Tea 3-Wick Dough Bowl Candles
THE BLACK BISON COMPANY 479.551.2880
Hearts On Fire Aerial Regal Diamond Earrings, Available in Three Sizes, 18kt White, Yellow and Rose Gold
JOHN MAYS JEWELERS 479.452.2140
Barrel Strength Texas Bourbon Whiskey, Coffee Bourbon, Small Batch Texas Bourbon Whiskey from Devil’s River
SoundGear Phantom, Bluetooth® Compatible and Rechargeable Hearing Protection and Enhancement Device, by Starkey Hearing Technology
IN GOOD SPIRITS
CENTER FOR HEARING
479.434.6604
479.785.3277
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people
Jasmine (Jazz) Williams
SMOOTH Jazz words Dwain Hebda IMAGEs Jade Graves Photography
AS MUCH AS CHEF JAZZ LOVES FOOD and for as much
“She definitely wants to cook,” says Jazz. “Her main job that
as she represents the new generation of chefs leading Fort
she wants to be is a veterinarian, but she does love the kitchen.
Smith into exciting new directions, it’s quite possible that
She watches the same shows that I do, probably more.
she’s not even the biggest foodie in her family. “One time, I was cooking asparagus and she was like, ‘Mom, That title may very well go to her ten-year-old daughter, Laila.
you’re overcrowding the pan.’ I said, ‘You know what? Just
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people
go do your work.’ And then I took some
“At Uncork’d, they give me a lot of
asparagus out. I was like, I did not want
freedom to do certain things. So, every
her to know that she was so correct.”
week, I actually have a special to where I’m able to do, basically, whatever. I’m
Jazz half laughs, half rolls her eyes over
really, really into the history of the food
the culinary monster she’s raising, the
of African Americans. I try to learn my
child who once sniffed at not being
history and food is my interest.”
able to get a burger cooked medium at McDonald’s or who for her birthday
Chef Jazz (a nickname derived from her
dinner requested lamb steak. It is, after
given name Jasmine Williams) split her
all, a family thing, the latest in a long
time growing up between Arkansas and
line of women in her family for whom
California. She attended Fresno State
food is their art form, their gift.
for her undergrad and began at the Art Institute in Hollywood for culinary
Even in her role today, as Executive
school but dropped out to care for her
Chef at Uncork’d in Fort Smith, she sees
mother. A job at a local restaurant and
her kitchen crew as family (which they
subsequent gigs at food trucks picked
are to each other, grill cook Victoria
up her education where the classroom
Prescott and her mother, Kimberly Bell).
left off, and then some.
“It’s a whole family affair,” Jazz says.
“I got into this restaurant called Urban
“It’s funny. Some days, I’m listening to
Plate in San Diego,” she says. “That’s
them and I’m like, well, I’m going to
where I learned farm-to-table, cooking
go cook over here and I’m going to let
everything from scratch. And then just
them deal with their stuff.”
going through food truck circuits out there, I learned the cuisines and working
Chef Jazz loves these interactions,
in smaller spaces and everything.”
these family bonds if you will, as essential as the spice she sprinkles into
Along the way, Jazz learned to love
her inspired creations. A food nerd to
the adrenaline-fueled environment of
a fault, she’s spent years on the West
cooking commercially, from busy lunch
Coast, in culinary school and burying
rushes to the culinary choreography
her nose in many books on cooking
required in a food truck. She still uses
and food heritage. She expresses that
what she learned there to run a tight
accumulated knowledge and creativity
ship in the Uncork’d kitchen, where
with the people around her, both
she’s been since it opened.
customers and staff. “I’m actually calmer the busier we get. “I had a chef who told me to get this
I feel like it comes down to me; if I’m
dictionary; The Food Dictionary,” she says.
calm, everybody else will be calm,” she
“He was like, ‘Go through everything in
said. "It never made sense to me to
there and learn what you can.’ So, I read
freak out or to throw stuff or get angry
that and I started getting more and more
like they show chefs on TV. It’s just not
books and I would just read.
for me. My thing is, if I go into a walk-in [freezer] and cry, if I scream or yell, I’m DOSOUTHMAGAZINE.COM
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still going to have tickets up there. The orders will not go away. I cannot cry the food to-go. For me, I’m like, ‘Alright, let’s pick it up. Let’s get it.’ “But also, I’m on them; even on our slow days, I want that food to go out as quick as it can. I want you to have that same fire in you when we have one person in that restaurant as when it’s really busy. I am on them about that.” Coming back to Northwest Arkansas after years in California, Jazz found it shocking how much had changed in the time she’d been away. “It was amazing, to me,” she says. “It was nice that I was able to see events take place, food festivals. Shoot, all of the breweries that we have in Arkansas, like, I had no clue that we had so many breweries in this state. It was just really nice to see.” “The stuff that I had in California, I could totally bring here, Jazz finally made her way back home, determined to inspire
all of the different fish. Every week, I have a different fish.
similar growth in the food industry of her hometown as she
This one time, I had shark, but I put it with Alfredo. I grilled
had seen in other regions of the state.
the shark and people would probably not normally eat shark, but people love Alfredo. You can’t go wrong with
“We still don’t have a lot brunch or some of that stuff in Fort
Alfredo. That turned people on to eating the shark. Now,
Smith, but it is in Fayetteville. That’s why I am trying to bring
they’re starting to trust that every week, they know there’s
it in,” she says. “We have brunch that’s been picking up at
going to be something different.”
Uncork’d a lot, like almost double the business, now.” Chef Jazz knows a culinary tradition isn’t built overnight, Jazz isn’t just focused on expanding the time of meals
but she is excited about what’s starting to take root in spots
but their content as well to move the local culinary scene
all over town. She’s proud to be a part of a movement that,
forward. From new twists on old favorites to completely new
she hopes, puts Fort Smith on the food map right alongside
concepts, diners have been treated to the full range of her
its neighbors to the north.
creativity in the kitchen. "When I moved back, I noticed a lot of people leave Fort Smith “A couple weeks ago, I did blackened catfish, right? It’s
to go have a good time. So, my goal is to make it to where
something that a lot of people know, but I did it in a cleaner
people come to Fort Smith just to have Uncork’d, just to try
way, in a really nice way,” she says. “I just try to show
it,” she said. “Fort Smith is an amazing city and my goal is for
people how I can bring in stuff that people are used to
people to come here, see Fort Smith, and eat at Uncork’d and
from home, but also try to introduce different things. I had
just have a different experience. That’s the ultimate.”
a special with pesto grits a couple of weeks ago and I was a little scared. I was like, ‘Aw man. I’m really adding basil pesto to grits? It’s probably blasphemy to some people.’ People actually liked it and they ate it, and they are starting to actually trust it.
Experience Chef Jazz’s cooking for yourself at Uncork’d. 5501 Phoenix Avenue, Fort Smith, Arkansas 479.434.5000 | uncorkthefort.com
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people
Favorite Son
Arkansas is a state of civic pride. People remember where they came from and speak of these places with a particular note ringing in their voices. Asked about their hometown, people proudly recite the high school mascot, relay the local attractions and recommend what café serves the best pecan pie. John McIntosh is one such person; a local boy who couldn’t wait to get out of town to go to college, but who quickly returned and has for decades sought to improve and promote Fort Smith. Even today, in the embrace of retirement from the marketing firm he founded and ran, he gushes about his hometown in ways that puts the Chamber of Commerce to shame. “I was born in ‘47, grew up in the ‘50s and ‘60s; it was a great time to grow up here. Life was good,” he said. “A funny thing, it was one of those things where I couldn’t wait to get out of town, but once I was out of town and got married and had a kid it looked like a pretty good place to come back to.” That‘s exactly what John and his wife Judi did, migrating back to Fort Smith to live, work and raise their four children. With each passing year, their roots deepened and their fondness for the place grew, even as the community went through the economic ups and downs that came with changing times.
John McIntosh
“I think Fort Smith can be described as rising above,” he says. “We have had a lot of shock and a lot of economic challenges that have happened in Fort Smith. It’s an ebb and flow. It’s easy to get discouraged, but you know words Dwain Hebda IMAGEs Jade Graves Photography
what? As a ball player, as long as there was time on the clock, we were giving it everything we could give it. And I see Fort Smith that way.
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people
“There’s no quit in Fort Smith. There’s so much community
“It was interesting for me how The Unexpected came
support in this town to make sure that everything goes
about. It was on a whim,” McIntosh said. “I have to give
well. It just continues to inspire me.”
credit to Steve Clark and his vision; he had seen what happened in other communities around the country that
McIntosh harnessed that inspiration into bringing new artistic
brought international art in. And we asked ourselves, ‘Why
features to town and with that, new venues and amenities. For
don’t we do this? Who’s keeping us from doing this?’”
example, he was a key figure in the development of the Fort Smith Riverfront which today stands as one important pillar of
McIntosh didn’t just like the idea; he was willing to take
McIntosh’s legacy of community development.
the concept to local building owners to sell them on the idea of allowing the project to paint a mural on the side
“Back in the mid ‘90s I was the chairman of the Riverfront
of their building.
Development Task Force. This was before the development of anything on the Riverfront, including the amphitheater,”
“They would say, ‘Okay, what’s the mural going to be
he said. “It precluded the first penny sales tax, which went
about? What is it going to look like?’ My answer was, ‘It’s
to development of the Riverfront, the convention center and
going to be an international artist interpretation of our
the library system. Steering that committee in the mid ‘90s
community and of our area,’” he says. “They would look
really stimulated me and showed me how to be effectively
at me like I was crazy. Probably I was, but it shows you the
involved and it carried over ever since.”
acceptance this community has for doing something new.
The venues that grew out of that experience also allowed
“Anyway, of all the building owners I talked to in five
other events to grow, such as the city’s Riverfront Blues and
years, I had about two turn downs. I expected the batting
Peacemaker music festivals, which have benefited greatly
average to be much lower than that.”
from the Riverfront infrastructure. “[The Blues Festival] was really a stimulus to the development of the Riverfront back in the ‘90s,” he says. “The Blues Festival cannot claim all the credit for that, but it was certainly helpful to show the citizens of Fort Smith what we could do on the Riverfront and that there’s real economic development driven by the arts.” As substantial a project as that was,
McIntosh
was
just
getting
warmed up in his quest to turn Fort Smith into a hub of artistic activity. Looking for a means to enhance that reputation in a big way a few years back, McIntosh was one of the first enthusiastic backers of a radical new idea dubbed The Unexpected which sought to create public art in the form of murals. DOSOUTHMAGAZINE.COM
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Today, The Unexpected is not only one of the most ambitious
Smith a little differently. How can you not see Fort Smith a
public art projects in Arkansas, it’s widely credited with
little differently with thirty-five pieces of public art scattered
providing the blueprint for other communities to organize
around town? That creates a lot of conversation and it says
public art. This is particularly true for murals which can now
something about us.”
be found in cities and towns all over The Natural State. Now in his seventies, McIntosh continues to push for new “In the past five years we’ve created thirty-five pieces of
and better things to promote his beloved hometown. Most
public art in downtown Fort Smith and it’s primarily from
notably, he sits on the board of the new River Valley Film
bringing artists from all over the globe to Fort Smith,”
Society which will host the city’s first film festival next
McIntosh says. “It’s created a very artist-friendly community
summer. He's also tinkering with rebranding the live music
here, which was the goal of The Unexpected. It’s allowed
scene, as it emerges from being shut down during COVID-
our community and surrounding areas to see art that they
19. Even as he does so, he’s always looking to what’s next.
would not otherwise have the opportunity to see.” “First and foremost is the completion of the U.S. Marshals McIntosh said the effort is more than something nice to
Museum. It’s a tall order but it will be done,” he said. “The
do; it pays specific dividends for Fort Smith from boosting
second is, we have to make the most of what we have. I
tourism to improving quality of life for permanent residents.
don’t think we’ve been really good about that. We need to promote ourselves more and differently in the future. The
“There are so many opportunities to socialize and enjoy
market has changed and I think the pandemic is going to
the arts in Fort Smith that I think we often overlook because
change the market even more.
we just don’t talk about it very much,” he said. “Fort Smith has a healthy art community. We are so blessed to have
“I think people will stay closer to home for their trips
the Wingate Art and Design building at the University of
and their stay-cations. I think we need to concentrate on
Arkansas Fort Smith and the regional art museum downtown.
promoting the things that bring people to town and that’s
Those are two very impressive galleries and museums. And
the entertainment value, the arts value of downtown and
we have to give a shout out to the Wingate Foundation who
the Riverfront. It’s time we got back to the basics and start
in large part made those possible with their gifts.
raising our hand and say, ‘Hey, not only is this a great place to live, it’s a great place to be entertained. Come spend a
“People around the state and around the country see Fort
weekend with us and let us show you what we have.’”
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people
Coloring Outside the Lines Gwen Mason
Words Liesel Schmidt image courtesy Gwen Mason, Colorscapes Bible Journaling
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. - Colossians 3:17 Those are the words that Gwen Mason tries to live by, words that inspire her each day as she works to make the Bible more accessible—and more personal—to people who are seeking a deeper connection with their faith. The Bible has been in print for more than six centuries and is the most published and most widely read piece of written word in the world. It’s also one that bears much interpretation and has survived much scrutiny, in the end always emerging as a text that inspires faith beyond explanation and a reverence for words that, while ancient in their origin, still apply to all our lives. It is in finding those connections and hearing the lessons it teaches with the heart and not just the head that give the Bible its greatest influence, and that is one of the very things that Bible journaling aims to do.
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“At its core, Bible journaling is simply a creative response
COVID-19, leaving her wondering how she could use her
to studying the Word of God. It transforms the way you
skills in a way that could impact others and would also be a
engage with Scripture,” says Gwen, the newly minted owner
legitimate source of income. “I was struck with this thought
of Colorscapes Bible Journaling in Fort Smith. “Everyone
and this amazing desire to teach people something that has
is capable of Bible journaling—you don't need a ton of
transformed me and changed my life,” Gwen says. “I realized
creativity. Experts have proven that the more ways you take
that this was a time I could dedicate the remaining years of
in a subject, the more it will stay with you. Some learn by
my career to others in a new teaching format that moved
hearing, seeing, or doing; Bible journaling covers all three
from education to inspiration. I have always been a lover of
of those. You read and hear the Scripture, you observe it,
arts, crafts, and sewing; so being able to use my creativity to
you study it, and many even act on it by serving others;
do something new seemed perfect.”
but being inspired by Scripture and drawing it takes your understanding of it to a whole new level. In Matthew 19:14,
That something new was Bible journaling, which Gwen
Jesus says: ‘Come unto Me as little children, for the Kingdom
has been doing personally for the past three years. “When
of Heaven belongs to such as these.’ What could be more
I started, I could never have imagined the impact it would
child-like than hearing God speak to you through the words
have on my spiritual walk with my Heavenly Father,” Gwen
of the Bible and sitting down to spend time with Him while
contends. “Through journaling, I was no longer just reading
drawing Him a picture?”
Scripture—I was also meditating, observing, and listening to what I had read. With this came more one-on-one time with
It’s a unique idea for a business, but also an inspired one—
the Lord. I was inspired, intrigued, and actually drawing the
especially at a time in Gwen’s life when she was searching
ways in which Scripture pertained to my daily life.”
for a new direction. A teacher for twenty-five years with a focus on Special Education for the last decade, she was
Building on that experience, Gwen decided to create her
suddenly faced with joblessness at the end of May due to
very own Bible journaling business and open a physical
Gwen Mason
Colorscapes Studio
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people
location in Forth Smith, which had its grand opening in
new business in the midst of a pandemic. I've had friends
October. Like any good businesswoman, she’s filling a hole
and loved ones worry that I'd be discouraged if things
in the market, as there isn’t a space dedicated solely to
didn't turn out as I had hoped. My response to that is this:
Bible journaling anywhere else in the area. “You can find
Yes, these are hard times for our country; yes, there is a
art studios and crafting classes, but there are no journaling
pandemic. But schools have started back, businesses have
studios,” Gwen notes.
opened up, and people are looking for something. They are searching for inspiration and encouragement after months
“Before COVID, our local craft store and Christian
and months of being homebound. They can find that in our
bookstore would hold an occasional class, but even those
loving, encouraging atmosphere.”
were never regular or offered on a weekly basis. People have really started to love Bible journaling—Pinterest
Tough as getting a firm toehold might be, Gwen has high
is full of photos of Bible journaling pages, and there are
hopes for the future of Colorscapes, as the Bible journaling
thousands of journalers on social media—so various stores
class she previously taught at her church saw great response
and websites all sell items to Bible journal, yet there have
from the women who attended. “They loved it and were
been no journaling studios.”
really inspired. The fellowship was amazing, and that’s what I want people to have when they come to Colorscapes. It’s
Colorscapes offers a safe, fun, inspirational atmosphere
my greatest desire that everyone who comes to a class or
where people can enroll in weekly classes and journal in their
visits my website leaves blessed,” she says.
Bibles with assistance from Gwen, and surrounded by friends old and new. Supplies are provided for students to use and
While journaling might have a largely female audience,
try out before they invest in something that they may not
Gwen’s goal is to appeal to men and women as well as people
enjoy using or may not be quite what they’re looking for.
of all ages. “This is for anyone who wants to grow deeper
The classes also offer the opportunity to learn journaling
in God's Word,” she says firmly. “We do NOT teach doctrine
techniques with an instructor—something that anyone
on any level—we are all just individuals who love the Word
unfamiliar with journaling will greatly appreciate.
of God and want to allow it to speak to us individually.” And what it speaks is a powerful message brought to life in
In all reality, starting a new business—especially a brick-and-
bold colors and vibrant pictures that prove that childlike faith
mortar one—during a pandemic is a risk. Even so, Gwen
abides the deepest.
relied on her faith and followed the prompting she felt in her heart as she took the steps to open the studio, first creating a website that offers printable materials and kits for learning to journal and posting blogs to inspire budding journalers in addition to creating instructional videos for those who can’t attend classes. “Starting a business is not an overnight success,” Gwen says. “It takes months of blood, sweat, and tears. You have high and low moments, and there are times when you wonder if what you’re planning to do can really be successful. I’ve wondered if others would be as inspired by journaling as I have been. I've had months of sleepless nights thinking about what needed to be done and how I was going to accomplish it. I can't even count how many times I thought, What if?
It's extremely scary to start a
Colorscapes Bible Journaling 2120 S. Waldron Road in Fort Smith, Arkansas colorscapesjournaling.com | 479.459.3629
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entertainment
Magic Man
Maxwell Blade
Words Dwain Hebda images courtesy Brian G. Wilson Photography
IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT in Hot Springs and Arkansas’s
Suddenly, the lights go down, the overture rises and for the
entertainment hub is buzzing, if not quite at capacity, at
seven thousand-one hundred-and-seventh time, Maxwell
least enough to make you feel the new excitement that has
Blade takes the stage. Over the course of the next two hours
come into downtown in recent years. Aromas from nearby
he’s working, but it’s clear he’s at home.
restaurants fill the air, a stream of cars and motorcycles glides by and bright lights pour out of bathhouse and bar.
*******
Smack in the middle of it is the historic Malco Theatre, home
“I will never stop performing. It’s just what I do.”
to Maxwell Blade’s Theatre of Magic. The old girl looks good these days, thanks to nearly $1 million spent in renovations
Maxwell Blade reclines in a front-row seat during an off-day.
a few years back. Inside, the payoff from that investment is
His trademark mane about his shoulders still yells rock-
immediately apparent; the Malco is stunning and contains
and-roll, but outside the spotlight he is soft-spoken and
surprises around every corner, from the pocket bar to the
self-deferential, his voice barely cutting through the darkness
original staircase mural to the main auditorium chock-full of
of the main theater, which feels a lot bigger empty.
theatrical and multi-media technology. When you tell him he doesn’t fit either the wacky magical A full house is defined differently in the era of social
madman or the brooding tortured-soul wizard you’d
distanced seating charts, but that’s what’s on hand for the
imagined, he laughs.
family-friendly show. Nearby, a local family chats about the number of times they’ve been back to see performances
“After all these years, my character and myself have gelled
while a couple of rows over, newlyweds gaze lovingly over
and morphed into this person. It’s not really a character, it’s
popcorn. Sprinkled throughout are youngsters of all ages,
just me,” he says. “I do feel like, once the adrenaline pumps
each here ready to be amazed.
and you come out onstage, you do become a different DOSOUTHMAGAZINE.COM
entertainment
person. A character, in some aspects. But I keep in touch
itself, he delights in blending the shiny and new with the
with me all the time.
tried-and-true.
“I’m not trying to be this mysterious guy who wouldn’t go out
“I’m not a magician’s magician where I try to fool all of the
and meet you before the show. I meet people all of the time
magicians. I’m an entertainer,” he says. “You have to be an
and I love that. But onstage, I’m a bit more charismatic and
entertainer to hold people’s attention for two hours.”
outspoken. And I have fun; I’m having as much fun as you are, if not more some nights, because I feed off the audience.
Music and magic are as inseparable to Maxwell’s act as it is to his heritage. Before he became an illusionist, he was a keyboard
“I think with all performers, you can be too egotistical, too
player in the 1980s band Exit 5 that became Shark Avenue. The
cocky and arrogant, where you don’t greet people or are not
band cut some albums and toured before going their separate
kind to people. I just never saw the sense in that. These people
ways. Maxwell’s way was magic, but not only did he not leave
pay to see you. I get real with them, and they love that.”
music behind, it’s very much part of what he does today.
Maxwell caught the magic bug growing up in Fort Smith
“I’ll get the routines in my head. And then, I begin the
when he saw a magician on television. He promptly
process of picking or writing the music,” he says. “I’m
borrowed some books on magic from the local library and
looking through tracks or soundtracks or movie tracks, and
was so immediately obsessed, he refused to return the
the minute I hear it, that’s it. That is it. I don’t use elevator
books so as not to let others learn how to do the tricks.
music. I use the good stuff.”
He’s unabashed about this youthful larceny, even pointing out those very books which he keeps onstage as a set piece.
The show is a well-oiled delight. Furniture levitates, hollow tubes placed on an empty table produce bottle after bottle of
The volumes are just one small artifact in a collection of
wine, assistants disappear and reappear with mind-bending
entertainment and historical oddities he’s collected over
efficiency. For all but two tricks, Maxwell is the hub of the
decades in show business. Many are on display throughout
magic wheel, chatting up the audience, playing songs by his
the building and some await enshrinement in a forthcoming
idol Elton John (with whom he got to share the stage) and
on-premises curiosities museum. Not unlike the magic show
looking for all the world like a man who loves what he’s doing.
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entertainment
“We’ve tried to make it a fun show, a family-oriented show,”
in progress; Maxwell has plans for preserving the chilling
he says. “It’s not a kiddie show; I tell people, ‘You’re going
entryway as a testament to the struggle for equality.
to have as much fun as the kids, if not more so.’ Arguably the most fascinating part of the house is the fifty“This is my favorite show that I’ve produced, but we decided
seat close-up magic room, which Maxwell calls his “COVID
at this point that we’re going to pull about two-thirds of it
project.” Delightfully eerie with a small stage that allows
out and start over. Some of these props I’ve been performing
for close inspection of the performance, it gives Maxwell a
with for so many years, I need to challenge myself a bit.”
different kind of venue to share the history and lore of the magician’s art.
***** “We all go back to the roots of magic,” he says. “Some of One would think after bringing the Malco back to life that
these props, the way they were done, the secrets, have been
Maxwell would’ve had enough challenges to last a lifetime.
around for one hundred years. It’s important that we let the
Built in 1910 as the Princess Theatre and rebuilt after a
audience know, hey, this is a classic piece of magic. I do a bit
devastating fire in 1934, the former movie house hosted
in my show where I do classic pieces of magic given to me by
various entertainment through the years including traveling
my mentors and we talk about that.”
vaudeville acts that likely featured magicians. Even with this long artistic heritage, much has changed for Maxwell’s show played here in the 1990s before moving to
the showman from Sebastian County over the decades, a
a smaller venue up the street in 2012. Four years later, the
painful divorce and a salvific bout with rehab among them.
building changed hands and the new owner invited him to
He talks freely about such scars in his act, further connecting
come home. To this day, he can’t believe how things have
with audiences. He thinks simultaneously about slowing
come full circle.
down and expanding the theater’s roster of entertainment once COVID-19 tapers. The future is bright.
“I passed by this building every day and I wished, I prayed, I hoped and put the good word out that I’d like to have this
“For me, the theater, even now that it’s new and fresh,
theater back,” he says. “It was a very difficult time in my life,
still has that old feel. You tie them together,” he says. “I
I must tell you. Years later, I get a call from Rick Williams,
think it’s important that you do that. Say you’re in Vegas in
who bought the building. He said, ‘You need to be here. This
a brand-new, shiny theater and the props are all glitzy and
is your legacy. Let’s see what we can do.’”
glam and that’s that. This is a little bit different and you know and feel it as soon as you walk in. People aren’t sure
What followed was fourteen months of work and about
what to expect and that’s part of the surprise.
eight hundred thousand dollars in repairs and upgrades. The work was exhausting, made more so by the slabs of
“I’ll tell you, probably ninety percent of the folks that come
structural concrete throughout the building, thick enough
in are just going to sit back, relax and enjoy the magic and
that the theater was a designated bomb shelter in the 1950s
not worry about how it’s done. Some of them will go, ‘It’s
and 1960s.
driving me crazy, man. I’ll pay you. How much you want?’ You can’t give me enough money to tell you how it’s done.
A tour of the place—from the bowels of the basement to a
Once I do that, it’s going to steal the magic from you.”
hidden door off the balcony leading to a former love-andbooze nest Maxwell converted into an apartment—reveals living, breathing Hot Springs history. Sobering, in one respect: the surviving “Colored” entrance from the building’s days as a segregated theater, in service from 1929 to 1964. It, like other parts of the huge structure, is a renovation work
Maxwell Blade Theatre of Magic 817 Central Avenue, Hot Springs, AR 501.623.6200 | maxwellblade.com
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taste
MINI
Apple
PIES
INGREDIENTS (makes 12 mini pies)
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 homemade pie crust
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
(see link for Catherine’s Favorite
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pie Crust recipe) or use 2 storebought crusts
• 2 ½ cups apples, chopped small (I use a mix of Granny Smith
and Honeycrisp)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract • ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg • salt, just a dash
• 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
METHOD Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray each well of a standard size 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into a 12-inch circle. Use a 3-inch cookie cutter or a glass and cut out 12 circles. Place dough into each muffin tin, making sure that the dough comes about halfway up the sides. Place the tin and extra dough in the refrigerator while you make the filling. Combine apples, lemon juice, butter, salt, sugar, flour, cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg. Take the muffin pan out of the refrigerator and add about 2-3 Tablespoons to each of the muffin wells, making sure the filling does NOT come up over the edges of the dough. IF USING: Grab the leftover dough from the refrigerator and cut out the strips for the tops of the pies. Place them on top of each pie. Bake 15-20 minutes or until crust begins to brown and filling is bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10-15 minutes. Gently run a knife around the outer crust to loosen. Remove the pies from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Catherine’s Favorite Pie Crust: dosouthmagazine.com/catherines-favorite-pie-crust-recipe/ recipe Catherine Frederick images usmee/Shutterstock
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MINI
Pecan
PIES
31
INGREDIENTS (makes 12 mini pies)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 homemade pie crust
• 1 ½ Tablespoons unsalted
(see link for Catherine’s Favorite
butter, melted
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
Pie Crust recipe) or use 2 storebought crusts
• / cup light corn syrup • 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ cup pecans, chopped • salt, just a pinch
• ¼ cup brown sugar
METHOD Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray each well of a standard size 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into a 12-inch circle. Use a 3-inch cookie cutter or a glass and cut out 12 circles. Place dough into each muffin tin, making sure that the dough comes about halfway up the sides. Place the tin in the refrigerator while you make the filling. Combine corn syrup, granulated sugar, salt, brown sugar, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl, then stir in the chopped pecans. Take the muffin pan out of the refrigerator and add about 1 ½ Tablespoons to each of the muffin wells, making sure the filling does NOT come up over the edges of the dough. The filling will expand as it cooks. Bake for 25 minutes or until filling is no longer jiggly. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10-15 minutes. Gently run a knife around the outer crust to loosen. Remove the pies from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream if desired!
Catherine’s Favorite Pie Crust: dosouthmagazine.com/catherines-favorite-pie-crust-recipe/
recipe Catherine Frederick images JeniFoto/Shutterstock
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taste
MINI
Pumpkin
PIES
INGREDIENTS (makes 12 mini pies)
• 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 homemade pie crust
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
(see link for Catherine’s Favorite
• ground clove, just a pinch
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pie Crust recipe) or use 2 storebought crusts
• 1 cup pure pumpkin puree • ½ cup heavy cream
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg • ¼ cup brown sugar
METHOD Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray each well of a standard size 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into 12-inch circles. Use a 3-inch cookie cutter or a glass and cut out 24 circles. Gently press dough into each muffin tin, making sure that the dough comes up over the sides of the wells. Place the tin in the refrigerator while you make the filling. Combine pumpkin puree, heavy cream, egg, sugars, pumpkin pie spice, ground clove, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Take the muffin pan out of the refrigerator and add about 1 ½ Tablespoons of filling to each of the wells. The filling will expand as it cooks. Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the centers are set and crust begins to lightly brown – do not overbake. Remove from oven, let cool for about 10-15 minutes. Gently run a knife around the outer crust to loosen. Remove pies from the tins and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon if desired!
Catherine’s Favorite Pie Crust: dosouthmagazine.com/catherines-favorite-pie-crust-recipe/
recipe Catherine Frederick images JeniFoto/Shutterstock
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE.COM
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Pumpkin Spiced
white russian INGREDIENTS METHOD Recipe Catherine Frederick image Rimma Bondarenko/ Shutterstock
° 3 oz. vodka
Combine rim ingredients on a small plate.
° 3 oz. pumpkin spice coffee creamer
Twist the glass rim in a bit of Kahlua, then dip
° 1 ½ oz. Kahlua
into graham cracker mixture. Combine vodka, creamer, and Kahlua in a cocktail tin filled with
° large marshmallows (optional garnish)
ice. Shake until chilled, pour into glass. Lightly
° cinnamon stick (optional garnish)
char large marshmallows and the end of a
for the rim
cinnamon stick. Add marshmallows to glass and
° 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
top with cinnamon stick if desired.
° 1 teaspoon brown sugar
Please drink responsibly. Never drink and drive.
° 3 Tablespoons graham crackers, crushed to a powder DOSOUTHMAGAZINE.COM
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fiction
SCRAP PAPER HEARTS words Liesel Schmidt image Africa Studio/Shutterstock
THE FINALE This is the finale of a two-part fictional story. Part one was
Sophie made it through those next few months somehow.
featured in our October issue.
The funeral and the accident reports and the police
Because of that one day,
reports. There were stacks of unopened sympathy cards that one horrible moment,
that she wanted to burn—she wanted to smell the smoke
Sophie’s mother would never be there to hold her when
and watch the flames writhe in their hot red, orange and
she needed comforting, never be there to listen, never be
yellow dance. She wanted to burn away all the pain. She
there to see her fall in love or walk down the aisle. There
knew it would always be there, though, forever tattooed
would never be any more laughter or the beautiful sound
on her heart. And her life would never be the same, never
of her mother’s voice.
resemble the life she’d been living before that phone call. Still, she’d learned to move past it, to box it up and put it
Never.
in a drawer, safe from sight.
It was ironic how closely related never and forever had
Until that day. The drawer was upended, the box ripped
become in her mind.
open and spilled. And all it had taken was one little piece DOSOUTHMAGAZINE.COM
fiction
of paper, words written two years before by the mother
“You remember my name,” Charlie said, obviously pleased.
she no longer had. By the mother who had been stolen
“Do you mind if I sit?”
from her. “No, no. Not at all.” Sophie closed her book and uncurled herself, straightening in the overstuffed chair so that her feet reached the floor.
*******
Charlie crossed in front of her to take a seat in the next “I see that Sophie drinks coffee,” a vaguely familiar voice
chair, adjusting the legs of his pants as he sat. The man
said.
certainly knew how to dress. He was wearing well-cut jeans and a French blue button down, the sleeves rolled up
Sophie was sitting in the corner of the Starbucks near her
on his forearms and the tails un-tucked. A white tee-shirt
apartment, curled up with her legs pulled under her as she
peeked out from the neck, which was unbuttoned to the
read the book she’d picked out at the library that morning.
second button. Noticeably absent was the baseball cap
So far, she wasn’t impressed with either the writing or
he’d been wearing the last time Sophie had seen him, and
the plot line, but she wasn’t quite ready to give up on
she now noticed that he had light brown hair cut neatly
it. It was a Saturday, early afternoon, but she’d already
and close to his scalp. Charlie may have been staring down
been there long enough to amass a collection of crumpled
the barrel at forty, but he wore it well.
napkins along with her empty porcelain coffee cup and “So, what are you reading?” he asked, noting the book
French press.
that now lay, face down, on the arm of Sophie’s chair.
S h e lo o k e d u p fro m h e r b o o k to s e e C h a r lie , th e m a n s h e ’d m e t a t th e p a r k . It h a d b e e n m o re th a n a m o n th s in c e th a t d a y , b u t s h e s till re c o g n iz e d h im ; a n d h e o b v io u s ly re m e m b e re d h e r. T h e n a g a in , w h o w o u ld b e a b le to fo rg e t a s tra n g e y o u n g w o m a n th e y ’d p u s h e d o n a s w in g s e t?
It was a casual question between two ordinary people, a man and a woman who could have been meeting for the first time, purely by chance. It was a question that held no indication of any awkwardness or judgment by its presenter, merely interest in this small aspect of her life. To Sophie, it was an outstretched hand, a gentle offer of friendship from someone who seemed to understand a need she had never expressed. She smiled sweetly and reached for the hand, wondering where it might lead her.
*******
Sophie felt herself smile uncertainly, not sure whether she was glad to see him again or if she should be humiliated
Charlie and Sophie had been dating for two months
at how unstable he’d seen her. He probably thought she
before she told him all the details of her mother’s death.
was insane.
He’d listened quietly as she recounted the ordeal—the arrangements and decisions she’d had to make, the
“Yes, Sophie drinks coffee. And obviously you do as well,”
loneliness she’d felt. The anger and hatred she’d struggled
she replied, nodding to indicate the paper cup he held in
with. Her mother—so lovely and generous and vibrant—
his hand. “It’s nice to see you again, Charlie.” He didn’t
was gone, while the man who’d been involved in the
need to know that she wasn’t sure she meant it.
accident walked around unscathed.
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fiction
He’d asked her what she knew about the man––if she knew
than mere friendship. Friendship and respect had grown
who he was or where he was. If she’d tried to contact him
into love, the kind of love she knew she could depend on.
since her mother’s death. Sophie shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes and stinging the back of her throat.
It was the kind of love her parents had shared, once upon a time. Not that Sophie remembered it firsthand. Sophie’s
“I don’t know anything, really. They told me afterwards—
father had died of leukemia before her fifth birthday, but
what happened, how it happened. But I still feel like I
she had vague recollections of happy trips to the zoo,
don’t know anything. I know his name. I even met him—I
falling asleep in her father’s arms as she listened to the
could barely look him in the eye, but I met him. I met
rumble of his voice rising from his chest while he sang in
him long enough for everything official to be taken care
church, the security she felt when he held her tiny hand
of and reports to be filed. Officially, it wasn’t his fault.
in his. Her mother had been his steadfast companion
Officially, it was no one’s fault.” She swallowed the lump
through his illness, nursing him as he worsened, keeping
that seemed to be closing her airway, the bitterness that
his spirits up even when things were bleak. Family time
was building.
never suffered, and story books were read every night to both the ailing man in the bed and the little girl curled up
“Officially,” she said again dully. Such a hollow word.
beside him, while Rosemary Watson’s heart swelled with
“But she’s still gone, and he’s still here.” Sophie shook her
love and pain.
head again and looked down at her hands, resting limply in her lap. Hands with long fingers like her mother’s.
Sophie’s mother had raised her alone, never tiring of telling her stories about her father and what a wonderful man he’d
Charlie swallowed thickly and reached out a hand,
been. Rosemary seemed to draw her own strength from the
crooking his index finger just under her chin. He tilted her
stories, reminders of times with a man who had loved her
face up so that her eyes met his—eyes that were moist
passionately even when his body failed him. As the years
and glistening with the sheen of tears. When he spoke, his
passed and Sophie grew into an adult, the woman who had
voice was hushed and husky with emotion.
been her mother also became her friend—her best friend, really. An irreplaceable part of her life.
“What if part of her was still here?” The accident had taken both her mother and her best Sophie looked at him, puzzled by the question. “What do
friend, leaving her with a deeper hole than she would
you mean?”
have ever imagined. A hole that she feared would never be filled.
Slowly taking her hand in his, Charlie brought their entwined hands to his chest.
But in this tragedy, she had been given a gift—a man who loved her with his whole heart, a heart that had loved her
“Here, Sophie. Right here.”
for her whole life and always would.
And suddenly she understood. The scar she had asked him
Don’t forget I love you!
about, the heart he had been given after a tragic accident. Sophie searched Charlie’s eyes, wondering why he hadn’t told her. Why he had kept such a secret. He had become, in the past two months, a best friend. A confidante. More than that, she felt a connection to him that went deeper
Read part one of Scrap Paper Hearts , in our October issue. Find it at DoSouthMagazine.com/Fiction.
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GIVE FROM THE HEART
The River Valley is home to many amazing non-profit organizations doing the most good to serve our community and we know you place great priority on giving back, be it of your time, your service, or your finances. It is our hope that our Do SouthÂŽ Guide to Local Non-Profits will serve to further each of their missions and allow you to discover just how you and your family can get involved and pledge your support to the organizations that are near and dear to your heart. They need us now, more than ever!
LOCAL NON-PROFITS
Aspsf.org 479.927.1402 Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund (ASPSF) creates life-changing opportunities for impoverished single-parent families. By providing financial assistance and personal/ professional development opportunities, ASPSF helps single parents complete a career-focused degree or skilled trade wages so that they can proudly support their family on their own. Their achievement shapes the educational and career aspirations of the next generation. With access to education, the entire family begins to see opportunities where none seemed to exist before. ASPSF is helping to break the cycle of poverty, one family at a time. You can help ASPSF provide life-changing scholarships to thousands of single parents. Learn more at aspsf.org.
By shopping at your local ReStore, you are helping to build homes in your community for your neighbors in need. Habitat for Humanity has placed over one hundred families in new homes in the River Valley and money spent in our ReStore will help us to continue that mission. You can also support our affiliate by donating used appliances, building supplies, etc. to the ReStore. During December each year, we offer our fundraising Gift Wrap Center to the public. Wrapping gifts raises funds to build more homes. Your support helps us help others!
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certification and secure employment at family-supporting
421 Towson Avenue, Fort Smith, Arkansas HabitatFS.org 479.783.2766
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LOCAL NON-PROFITS
LOCAL NON-PROFITS
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LOCAL NON-PROFITS DO SOUTHÂŽ MAGAZINE
104 North 13th, Van Buren, Arkansas Art-Ed.org 479.474.7767
3015 South 14th Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas FSChildrensShelter.org 479.783.0018
The Center for Art and Education is a nonprofit organization
In 1997, the Fort Smith Children’s Shelter welcomed its first
located at 104 North 13th in Van Buren, Arkansas. Our
five children. Twenty-three years later, the FSCS has provided
mission is to provide art experiences to the community. We
a safe haven to over 4,300 abused and neglected children
believe arts education is an essential component of everyday
and young adults in foster care. Our mission is to be a safe
life for all ages. The arts enhance student performance
and stable home that provides long-term, evidence-based,
introducing skills that are essential for success: creativity,
trauma-informed, resident-centered and family-focused care
critical thinking, and communication. For adults, arts can
to youth in foster care who exhibit emotional and behavioral
be a relief, an opportunity to re-activate, strengthen and
challenges due to neglect and/or abuse. Their needs for food,
increase an existential joy. Currently, our biggest need is for
clothing, shelter, transportation, tutoring, life skills, and social
donations to maintain programming and develop programs
opportunities are provided. In addition, they receive therapy
for our new state-of-the-art facility opening in 2022. Please
and emotional support to grow, heal, and transition into a
consider supporting our mission by making a donation
traditional home environment. Please support our children by
online or call CAE at 479-474-7767.
making a financial donation to the Children’s Shelter.
LOCAL NON-PROFITS
1421 South Dallas Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas FSChildrensShelter.org/get-real-24 479.242.3163
615 North B Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas GoodSamaritanFS.com 479.783.0233
GetREAL24 is the Fort Smith Children’s Shelter’s independent Our mission is to improve the health in our region by
We aim to give youth “aging out” of care a place to live
providing access to compassionate, quality healthcare and
independently among their peers while obtaining life skills
we have proudly served the uninsured and underinsured in
necessary to break the cycle of dysfunction and become
the River Valley area for over seventeen years. We provide
successful, contributing members of society. GR24 seeks
medical and vision care, limited dental care and counseling
support from the community through volunteers who serve
services for adult patients, and children by appointment (the
as sponsor families or mentors—helping create positive
clinic is closed on Fridays). Walk-in patients are seen for basic
relationships and a social safety net of support. Help is also
medical care and we offer extended hours every Tuesday
needed from volunteers that have a special skill or talent that
until 8pm. Visit us online or call 479.783.0233. As a 501c3
could be taught in a life skills class. In addition, internships,
charitable clinic, one hundred percent of our funds stay local.
shadowing, job training and career opportunities from the
You may not need us, but we are certain you know someone
community are also needed.
who does. Call us today! #iamgoodsam Are you?
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living program for youth in foster care ages 18 and older.
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LOCAL NON-PROFITS
P.O. Box 11828, Fort Smith, Arkansas ManesAndMiracles.org 479.970.8351
The Gregory Kistler Treatment Center began in 1978 as a
Manes & Miracles offers equine-assisted therapy to children
place of hope and caring assistance, a place for children to
with special needs. Our vision is to serve adults and Veterans
reach high, and for families to reach out and find peace of
as well. With the help of a horse, this unique tool provides
mind. The Kistler Center began as an out-patient facility
a treatment for Physical, Occupational, Speech, and
providing occupational, physical, and speech therapies for
Psychological therapy. Lawanda reports "Angel (age 11)
children. Today, we also provide Community Employment
couldn't even hold her head up when she started and after
Support waiver services for both children and adults. This
six months of equine-assisted therapy, she was walking forty
program gives individuals choice and opportunity to live,
steps in a gait trainer." As a nonprofit organization we rely
play, and work in the home and community. In addition,
heavily on the generosity of caring individuals. Volunteer
we are now a provider of autism waiver services. This is
opportunities are available and if you feel led, your financial
a statewide intensive program for young children with a
gift of any amount is appreciated. Thank you for your kind
confirmed diagnosis of autism. The Kistler Center ― we’re
heart and helping others achieve a brighter future.
LOCAL NON-PROFITS
3304 South M Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas KistlerCenter.org 479.785.4677
here for you just like family!
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LOCAL NON-PROFITS
1205 South Albert Pike, Fort Smith, Arkansas ProjectCompassionInc.com 479.783.2273
5521 Ellsworth Road, Fort Smith, Arkansas TheCALLinArkansas.org 479.353.0767
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Project Compassion, Inc. is a Fort Smith based nonprofit founded in 1972 by the late Gloria White. Her mission to bring
The CALL works with local churches to recruit, train and
joy, companionship, and enhanced quality of life to nursing
support foster and adoptive parents to provide homes for
home residents remains the heartbeat of the organization
the over six hundred thirty children and youth in foster care
today. Volunteers visit one-on-one with residents, accompany
in Crawford and Sebastian Counties. Since our founding
them to activities, and encourage them to maintain interest
in 2007, over 7,500 families attended our Informational
in people and events. We offer music, pet therapy, fidget
Meetings and our families have cared for 18,000 children and
blankets, calls and cards. Our Hearts of Gold program provides
youth statewide. Check out our Facebook page or website
Christmas gifts of warm clothing to residents without friends
for more details, and to see dates and locations of upcoming
and family. We are a United Way agency serving twenty-six
events. We are completely funded through donations of
nursing homes. We partner with businesses, schools, churches,
time, money and in-kind items. If you’d like to help us serve
and civic organizations. Visit our website to volunteer, donate,
the children and youth in our area, email Emily Treadaway,
be a friend, and get connected!
County Coordinator at etreadaway@thecallinarkansas.org.
LOCAL NON-PROFITS
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LOCAL NON-PROFITS
120 North 13th Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas UnitedWayFortSmith.org 479.782.1311
301 N. 6th Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas SalvationArmyFS.org 479.783.6145
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Nearly every aspect of operations for United Way and The Salvation Army provides housing & homeless services
its
Community
Partner
Agencies
has
been
shaken.
as well as hunger relief through food boxes and our Red
Organizations have had to find new ways to provide their
Shield Diner. We also provide Christmas assistance including
services following Covid-19 restrictions. Revenues shrank,
the Angel Tree, youth camps, disaster relief services, elderly
but expenses did not go away. We need your donations
services, utility assistance and much more. But this year,
now more than ever. Fundraising event cancellations
due to Covid, the need is even greater while restrictions are
have cost our agencies over half a million dollars in 2020.
preventing us from placing as many Red Kettles, our number
You can make a difference by donating to United Way of
one fundraiser, in the community. To sustain operations
Fort Smith Area. Making a donation is as easy as texting
in the River Valley, we’re relying on virtual donations and
“unitedway20” to 41444 or online at unitedwayfortsmith.
we’re kicking it off with a Virtual Red Kettle Ball on Nov.
org. One hundred percent of your donations will stay local.
5. Learn more at SalvationArmyFS.org and please consider
You can also view our Holiday Giving Guide for additional
giving this Christmas season.
ways to help our agencies this holiday season.
Read Chair Publishing, LLC 4300 Rogers Avenue, Suite 20-110 Fort Smith, AR 72903
