Do South Magazine: Four – September 2014 by Do South Magazine

FOUR

September 2014 DoSouthMagazine.com

CONTENTS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Catherine Frederick MANAGING EDITOR Marla Cantrell CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jeromy Price CONTRIBUTING WRITERS / PHOTOGRAPHERS Lauren Allen Evelyn Brown Marla Cantrell Thomas Cochran Marcus Coker Catherine Frederick Rusty Henderson, D.V.M. Tonya McCoy Jeromy Price Jessica Sowards Stoney Stamper

PROOFREADER Charity Chambers PUBLISHER Read Chair Publishing, LLC

inside

10 32 36 58

SOOOIE! Shut the front door! If you don’t, you won’t be able to see our chevron/burlap door hanging that we’re showing you how to make on page 10. It’s a simple project, and a great way to welcome another season of Razorback football.

If tomorrow never comes Writer Stoney Stamper, of the Daddy Diaries, usually makes us laugh with his tales of parenthood. But this month he’s sharing his heartfelt tribute to his ailing grandfather, who taught him what it means to be a man, a great husband, and a true friend.

The farmer’s name is dell Dell Eddins lives on a farm in Goshen with her beloved horses, ponies, and a goat named Orphan Annie. This little piece of paradise is the perfect backdrop for this artist whose paintings of animals are gathering quite a following.

ADVERTISING INFORMATION Catherine Frederick 479.782.1500 Catherine@DoSouthMagazine.com EDITORIAL INFORMATION Marla Cantrell 479.831.9116 Marla@DoSouthMagazine.com ©2014 Read Chair Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. The opinions contained in Do South are exclusively those of the writers and do not represent those of Read Chair Publishing, LLC. as a whole or its affiliates. Any correspondence to Do South or Read Chair Publishing, LLC., including photography becomes the property of Read Chair Publishing, LLC. Do South reserves the right to edit content and images.

Garlic-ranch chicken pizza There’s a secret to making the perfect pizza crust, and our food writer Lauren Allen has it for you on page 58. Once you have that conquered, you’re ready to make the best pizza this side of Rome. And that’s a promise!

Subscribe to Do South! 12 issues per year for only $20, within the contiguous United States. Subscribe online at DoSouthMagazine.com, or mail check to 7030 Taylor Avenue, Suite 5, Fort Smith, AR 72916.

D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

letter from Catherine

I sense it coming. Fall is almost here. Around my house, football

some of the greatest people we’ve ever met. And we are grateful.

has been in full swing since early August, so all we need now is for

Grateful for the chance to do this every single day. Grateful for

the weather to cool down and the leaves to start turning – then

you, our loyal readers, our biggest cheerleaders – the Super Fans!

we can officially declare summer over!

We’re also thankful for our advertisers. We know, without them, there would be no us. Make sure to

I’m so ready to get back into my

shop with them when you can, show

kitchen. Break out the crock pot.

them the same love you pour out on

Heat up the oven. There are so many

us every month.

delicious recipes my family is craving, but I just don’t cook them in the heat

In this issue, we have some of those

of summer. You know the kinds of

great people we were just talking

dishes I’m talking about: pot roast,

about: from the artist who is living an

chicken and dumplings, chili, home-

idyllic life, surrounded by the animals

made pizzas. And the desserts, don’t

she loves best, to the story of one

even get me started.

tough, old cowboy who taught the lessons of a lifetime to his grandson

I could use some comfort food these

simply by being the great man he is.

days. Our oldest daughter is now off at college, our middle daughter start-

We’re also cheering on the Hogs

ed high school, and our son started

with a DIY that shows your Razor-

fourth grade. It’s said over and over

back spirit and decorates your door.

again, but you never get used to the

We’re introducing you to a group of

fact that time really does pass by so

women who are changing the world

quickly. In a blink our kids stop hold-

by giving back. We’re stepping into

ing our hand in public, start to drive,

the shoes of two NICU nurses who

then move out of the house. It’s such

say their care of the tiniest patients

an exciting time for them, and we’re

around is their ministry.

excited too, but sad just the same. Our bustling house of five has started to dwindle.

All this, plus a pizza recipe you’re going to love, drinks for your tailgating party, and a trip to Bentonville from dawn to dusk that’s

While the house is getting smaller, Do South Magazine is grow-

filled with food, fun, and a whole lot of history.

ing! We’re celebrating our four year anniversary this month. Can you believe it? We can’t either. What a ride it’s been so far. We’ve

So, sit back and enjoy. It’s an honor to bring you Do South every

trekked all over this great state, discovering what’s best about

month, and it’s a joy to tell your stories. Thanks for four great

this place we call home. We’ve whipped up tons of great recipes,

years. We’re looking forward to many, many more.

adorable DIYs, and been blessed to meet and tell the stories of

To reserve this free space for your charitable non-profit organization, email: Editors@DoSouthMagazine.com

Arkansas Forecast LINES Thomas Cochran

“If you don’t like the weather here just wait a few minutes. It’ll change.” old meteorological saying

Last night the moon was ringed by clouds, sure sign the man on TV had calculated correctly, if only for the moment, the rain I am happy to say did not fall from the blue sky today.

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D O S O U T H : SE P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

01 02 03 04 05 06 Get your garden ready for fall - page 20.

Make our Sooie! door hangar - page 10.

Jazz in Riverfront Park, 6 - 8 PM, Little Rock.

Guitar-B-Que, Greenwood.

21st Annual Olde Miners Fall Festival (9/5 – 9/6), Huntington.

3rd Annual Lionlamb Christian Music Festival, Springdale. 5K & Walk to End Alzheimers, Fort Smith.

07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Belle Grove Historic District Walking Tour, Fort Smith.

Crawford County Fair begins, Mulberry.

Chefs in the Garden, Fayetteville.

Time for a cocktail. See “Heavenly Hog” recipe - page 56.

Hug your kids, and then read “Inside the NICU” - page 22.

UAFS Fall Faculty Concert. 7:30 9:30PM, Fort Smith.

Konsplostion 2014 (9/12 – 9/14), Fort Smith.

Razorbacks play Texas Tech. (televised)

Vintage Market Days of NWA (9/12 – 9/14), Fayetteville.

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Terra Studios’ 7th Annual Fall Music Festival, Fayetteville.

Van Buren Chamber Golf Classic, Van Buren.

Summer Concert with JMBand, 6:30PM. Botanical Gardens of NWA, Fayetteville.

Branson Titanic Museum Pays Tribute to the Musicians, Branson.

See artist Dell Eddins’ great work - page 36.

78th Annual Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair (9/19 – 9/27), Fort Smith.

Fort Smith Women’s Living Expo (9/20 – 9/21), Fort Smith. Urban Raw Festival, Little Rock.

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 World Gratitude Day. Max Lucado, First Presbyterian, 10AM and 4PM, Fort Smith.

Plan a day trip. Read “It’s Hip to be Square” - page 51.

10th Annual Professional Development Luncheon, Fort Smith.

15th Annual Bikes, Blues, and BBQ Motorcycle Rally (9/24 – 9/27), Fayetteville.

Splendor in the Grass. Fort Smith Little Theatre.

Visit the Regional Art Museum. Fort Smith

11th Annual Bluegrass in the Park, Ozark.

28 29 30 Fort Smith Friends of the Library Chocolate Fest, 2:30 - 4:30PM. Dallas Branch.

Make a Garlic-Ranch Chicken Pizza - page 58.

Need a laugh? Read “I’m Here to Open Up Your World” - page 62. Submit your event to editors @dosouthmagazine.com

Tailgating Tips: Create a master checklist (food, drinks, utensils) and laminate it so you can reuse. Freeze bottles of water for your ice chest instead of using ice. It won’t get your food soggy, and you can thaw a few to drink. Tie a helium balloon to your car so your friends can find you. Take a large plastic storage bin to take home all those dirty dishes.

Drew Super Lead Pastor at East Side Baptist Church 2710 Massard Road Fort Smith, AR 72903 479.452.1481 www.myeastside.tv

Photo by Nick Kyrouac D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

UPCLOSE&PERSONAL What do you love most about fall in Arkansas? The color of the trees. That I can turn the AC off, and that I no longer sweat like the HOGS!

One life to live will soon be passed, only what’s done for Christ will last. About Eastside Baptist Church As a church, our goal is always the Gospel, bringing

What’s the nicest compliment you’ve ever gotten? You have a beautiful family and your children are so well behaved. Do you have a nickname and how did you get it? Cranberry. You’ll have to ask my wife! What’s the most trouble you ever got into as a child? One day, during my elementary school days, my sister and I pretended to be sick so our mother would let us stay home. While we were home I thought I would pass the time by lighting my sister’s Kleenex on fire with a candle. Things got out of control quickly and before I knew what had happened the house caught on fire! I think I remember getting in trouble for that…. LOL. Everyone survived and so did the house! Strangest place you’ve called the Hogs? My front porch. My children were pretending they were the Razorbacks so I would call the Hogs and they would take the field by running out the front door.

people into a right relationship with Christ. Our

Most sentimental thing you own? My family. Nothing in this world compares to them.

desire is to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, live life together through authentic community as

Perfect meal? Lasagna, garlic cheese bread, Caesar salad and a nice tall glass of sweet tea as I stare into my wife’s eyes.

faith-centered families, and to celebrate our restored

Hidden talent? Home remodeling, flying aircraft, and I can juggle three small objects.

lives together as individuals in Christ. At East Side, we want to equip the family unit, whether blended, nuclear, or single, with resources and opportunities for discipleship inside and outside the home through our parenting events, our small groups, our Family Worship Devotionals, and our Home Point Resource Center. Our goal is also to BE the church, not just go to church, engaging with our unchurched

Where did you grow up? Naperville, Illinois. Favorite subject in school? Math. Where did you go to college? Undergrad was at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, and I have a Master’s from Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth. Nicest thing anyone’s ever done for you? Given me a car for free. Love that family dearly.

neighbors, co-workers, and the River Valley for the

Favorite spot in Arkansas? Old Jenny Lind Country Café!

cause of Christ.

If you could go back in time, what year would it be? 1933-1946. I would live like John and Olivia Walton did in Nelson County, Virginia. I love The Waltons! Favorite food as a child? Grandma’s lasagna.

3 things Drew can’t live without:

Last road trip? Disney World with my wife and kids. Most played song on your playlist? “Desert Song” by Hillsong. Favorite scripture? I was redeemed by the Lord when I heard the Gospel message preached from Isaiah 40:31 for the first time in my life at age twenty-eight. Favorite song from your teen years? Pink Floyd’s “Welcome To The Machine.” Last book you read? Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper. Last movie you saw? God’s Not Dead.

My Bible

iPhone International Delight’s Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer

Best part of being a pastor? Working for the only One who matters: the Lord Jesus. First job? Mowing fairways at Spring Brook Golf Course in Naperville, Illinois. If you could spend a year doing something entirely different, what would it be? I would make a reality TV show that depicts the REAL life of a Pastor, his wife, and their many kids. It would be HILARIOUS! D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

lifestyle

Soooie! Words Catherine Frederice Image Jeromy Price

WOO PIG! Want a cute DIY that will let all of your neighbors know who you’re rooting for this football season? We’ve got you covered with this red and white chevron, burlap door hanger. Not a sports fan? This DIY will work with almost any graphic, so make it all your own!

MATERIALS

METHOD

Pig template (Google Images) 1 yard burlap ½ yard red & white chevron fabric ¼ yard black duck fabric Chipboard letters Wooden button Hot glue gun & glue sticks Plastic grocery bags 20 gauge tin copper wire Red ribbon Scissors Needle and black thread (optional)

Print template to 8.5” X 11” paper. Enlarge template to desired sized. Print second template, about 2” smaller overall for chevron fabric (mine was enlarged at Staples). Cut out templates. Fold burlap in half so you have a front and back. Pin large template to burlap. Trace around template, cut out. Remove pins. Pin smaller template to chevron fabric, trace, cut out. Remove pins. Join outer edges of burlap together with hot glue, leave a small gap to insert plastic bags. Hand-stitch or hot glue button onto chevron for the eye. I hand-stitched around outer edge of the chevron in black thread (optional). Hot glue chevron to burlap. Stuff burlap with plastic bags. Hot glue gap closed. Cut two strips of red ribbon, tie two simple bows. Hot glue bows together, then hot glue them to the upper end of burlap for the tail. Place chipboard letters over black duck fabric, trace, cut out. Hot glue letters to chevron. Thread wire through back of the burlap. Wrap ends of wire around a pencil to curl. Hang on your door, sit back, and CALL THOSE HOGS!

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entertainment

where Rodney protected Tater when they were boys. Inevitably, they are confronted by a group intent on doing them serious harm. Rodney eventually faces his true attitude about race and is surprised to find that he is less like his tolerant mother than his intolerant father. The issue comes to a head when Rodney and Tater have an on-field confrontation about how far Tater and Angie may have taken their relationship. Like Angie, Tater tends to remain calm regardless of circumstances. He shows only occasional flashes of negative emotion, as when he sees the headline A STAR

Call Me by My Name

IS BORN: BLACK QB EXCITES IN DEFEAT and wonders if a player

review Thomas Cochran

True to form, he responds to Rodney’s angry concern not with a

By John Ed Bradley, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 265 pages: $1799

of Chinese or Native American ancestry would be so pointedly designated. Tater would rather be called, he says, by his name.

verbal outburst but by simply throwing two passes at his lineman’s

ntegration came hard to the Deep South in the early 1970s,

head. Later he says, “I might not be good enough for your sister,

the period John Ed Bradley examines in Call Me by My Name,

but it’s not because I’m black. I’m not good enough because she’s

his seventh novel. The transition was particularly rough in

Angie, do you hear me?”

Louisiana, which provides the book’s rich setting. Rodney

Boulet and Tater Henry are outstanding athletes who form a close

Having struggled for two seasons, the team coalesces behind the

friendship though they come from opposite sides of an un-named

senior leadership of Rodney and Tater, whose outstanding play

town based on Opelousas, where Bradley grew up. As an offensive

draws the attention of college scouts from across the country.

lineman, Rodney is often responsible for his quarterback’s safety.

Tater’s dream is to become the first black quarterback at LSU, and

He is a protector, a role he assumes on Tater’s behalf the very

Rodney helps him toward making this a reality by staking his own

first time they meet when the youngster is attacked by a group of

dream of playing for the Fighting Tigers on a promise from the LSU

Rodney’s friends after he shows up in the town’s all-white park to

coach that his friend will sign as a QB, not as an “athlete.”

play baseball. In the poignant final chapter of Call Me by My Name the midAmong those who favor strict segregation is Rodney’s father Pops,

dle-aged Rodney looks back at how things turned out. Prone to

a man so racist he claims to be able to tell whether a pecan was

brooding reflection as a teenager, he is now deeply haunted by

picked by a white person or a black person. Naturally, he thinks that

the events of his youth that shaped him. He is celebrated as a

the “white” pecan should fetch a higher price. This is a world where

good man who has achieved the pinnacle of success, but by his

black players are not quarterbacks, but Tater’s talent is such that his

own measure he is lacking, his ability to protect others limited.

coaches finally recognize that they have no choice in the matter. We have come a certain distance in our dealings with each other The growing relationship between Tater and Rodney’s twin sister

during the years since the integration of our public schools. Plainly

Angie eventually forces Rodney into a reckoning with himself. A

we have a good deal further to go, a good many problems left to

superb swimmer with an artist’s eye, Angie is sweet and smart.

solve. So we take the next step and the one after that. John Ed

She is also “a person people automatically liked just because of

Bradley has given us a story that reminds us of where we’ve been

how she looked,” Rodney observes, noting sadly that Tater is a

and inspires us to keep moving forward.

person some people automatically despise for the same reason. Tater and Angie begin to see each other regularly — at school, visiting Tater’s mother in the facility where she lives (the result of a violent confrontation with Tater’s father), and meeting in the park

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entertainment

The music he’s come up with will make you want to sing along. It is, for the most part, happy, toe-tapping fare, songs for celebration. If you’re in love or want to be, “Long Drive” is the perfect track. It’s about a couple on a date, driving in a Chevy Nova, holding hands, not wanting to get home, wanting to go the long way, through the city, out into the country, anywhere as long as they can make the night last forever. “Love Someone” is one of the best on the album. Mraz’s voice is perfect: mellow, soft as a pillow, gorgeous. An older fan’s recent post on the singer’s website called his sound a mix of Cat Stevens, Don McClean and John Denver. It’s a good description, and these lyrics are spot on. “When you love someone, your heart beats, beats so loud. When you love someone, your feet can’t feel the ground.” “Hello, You Beautiful Thing” celebrates life, the daily living that most of us push through, or ignore, or get so busy we miss it. Mraz seems to be comforting us. It’s going to be a good day, he tells us, just believe it, just notice. The lessons continue in “3 Things,” a song about what to do when your life falls apart. First you cry, but then you should go

Yes!

somewhere you know you’re loved. Finally, you need to let the chapter end, and then try once again.

Jason Mraz: $12 review Marla Cantrell

It’s a great pleasure to listen to music like this. Mraz said that when he’s touring — he’s purposely playing smaller venues with

very year, just as the fall leaves become too majestic to ig-

this album so that he can feel close to his fans — he sometimes

nore, I take a road trip. Just me. Just my car. Just the music

has a bad day. That ends, though, once he starts singing these

I love. Always, always, I have James Taylor playing, and

songs. It’s hard to feel sorrow in the presence of such happy mu-

David Gray, and Bonnie Raitt. This year I’m adding Jason Mraz,

sic, especially for the creator of it.

particularly his latest album, Yes! “Best Friend,” is where the cello stands out, where the acoustic That’s what I was thinking as I listened to these songs, all but one

guitar shines. It’s a beautiful tribute to love. But the best is “Qui-

(Boys II Men’s “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday”) writ-

et,” a song contemplating our changing landscape, the rising cell

ten with girl band, Raining Jane. This is such a victorious acoustic

towers, the growing towns, and how madly the world spins, until

compilation. Mraz said he wanted to go back to the beginning in

we find the right person to quiet everything down.

this album, back when the Grammy winner played coffee shops, If you’re feeling down, this is the album that will lift you up. If

accompanied by an acoustic guitar.

you’re already happy, Yes! will make you absolutely ecstatic. Teaming up with Raining Jane, a band that’s been together for fifteen years, helped him find his footing. Mraz said his goal was to create something meaningful, something that could heal wounds,

DO SOUTH RATING: 9-1/2 OUT OF 10

that could reflect love, to give back to the listeners who’ve made him a success. D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

people

Girlfriends

Walking with God words Tonya McCoy images courtesy Mandy Murray and Karen Seeds

One hundred miles away, in Vilonia, Arkansas, sixty-three-year-old Karen Seeds looks across the concrete slab that used to be her home. On April 27 of this year, a tornado tore through her house, leaving it in shambles, and just a couple of miles away, her church was destroyed. “It sounded like if you were waiting for a train to pass. You can hear it coming from a distance and then you can hear it getting closer and closer,” says Karen. Her husband Gary looked out the window of their two-story log cabin and knew they’d better take cover in the basement. “He saw a weird shade of gray, slammed the door and tried to hold it. But the door upstairs popped open and there were leaves swirling around, there were things swirling around in the basement, and I kind of wondered if we were gonna get out of that basement alive. “While we were in the basement we heard a ka-thud and basically that was our upstairs sliding over and dropping into the living room. So when we

came up, my sofa had a claw-foot bathtub laying on it and my end table

he ladies of the United Methodist Church in the small

had a toilet sitting on it.”

community of Vesta, Arkansas, lean over rolls of tan burlap placed across tables in the church’s dining hall. They’re

Thankfully, Karen and her husband

crafting crosses, the symbol of ultimate giving, in order to

were safe. Their house, however,

raise money for charity. They call themselves “Girlfriends

was wrecked. Karen says her pas-

Walking with God,” and this phrase is proudly displayed

tor was one of the first people to

on the bright green T-shirts they wear. Their small church with about fifty

stop by to check on them before

members is located seven miles north of Charleston, in Franklin County.

heading to their church, the United

Bales of hay dot the pastureland, and cows graze the fields in this rural farm-

Methodist Church in Vilonia.

ing area, which has an estimated population of 250. But these women prove it doesn’t take a large number of people to make a big difference. They’re a

Meanwhile, in Vesta, Girlfriends

group of fifteen women whose ages range from eighteen to seventy.

Walking with God went to work,

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people

Girlfriends Walking with God

crafting and selling burlap crosses as quickly as their hands could

About five months have passed since that disastrous storm, and

labor. “We had planned to be a part of the Christmas bazaar in

Karen’s insurance is covering most of her home damages. The

Charleston at the community center in November… but then

amount the church’s insurance will cover is still undetermined, but

when that tornado happened, that’s when we decided proceeds

Vilonia church members are hopeful. Thanks to the caring hearts

from this particular project would go to tornado relief,” says thir-

of people like Girlfriends Walking with God, Karen says an esti-

ty-five-year-old Mandy Murray.

mated $130,000 was raised to help tornado victims recover from the storm and to rebuild Vilonia’s church.

Their craft was simple enough to make quickly. They’d found trendy cross hangers on Pinterest® and had originally just made

Karen says, “That’s probably the only thing that did get me through

them for each other to have just for fun. But now they were on a

this. If we didn’t have faith that this was going to get better, that

mission. They cut out a cross-shaped pattern, making copy after

could get pretty depressing, and there are days when you just get

copy in burlap. They glued two sides together, stuffing it with plas-

frustrated, but this too will end. Life goes on and we’ll just pick up

tic Walmart sacks in between. The patterned crosses were a hit, in

and carry on.”

black chevron as well as multi-colored chevron. They attached fabric rosettes and colored buttons and ribbons. They’ve even created

Karen is resilient and she and her church are already soldiering on.

Razorback themed crosses. You can’t get more Southern, or more

Amazingly, even though Karen’s house is gone, she’s spending

specifically, Arkansan, than that. They didn’t have to buy many

her time helping others in need. She is part of the organization

materials since some crafters of their group already had buttons,

United Methodist Women, which happens to be similar to Girl-

ribbons and even burlap. The ladies sold the crosses for $15 each,

friends Walking with God. In fact, her group is busy collecting

first by word of mouth, and then via Facebook and the Charleston

things for their annual rummage sale. Karen says she received lots

Online Yard Sale website. Then they sent the money they earned

of help from neighbors and strangers alike after the storm, and

to the United Methodist Church so that 100 percent of their do-

now she’s ready to pay it forward.

nation would go to help Mayflower and Vilonia’s tornado relief.

people

The money the Vilonia group raised went towards backpacks full

Mandy adds, “The Bible tells us we are supposed to fellowship

of school supplies for back to school this year, as well as Con-

with one another, and so that’s one of the things we get out of it

way Cradle Care, which helps teen moms earn their high school

when we come together. We have each other’s friendship and we

diplomas, and an annual fundraising effort to buy books to be

know we can always count on each other. Because who’s to say?

presented to Vilonia Kindergarten graduates.

Tomorrow it might be one of us in need.

Meanwhile, Girlfriends Walking with God has raised money

“We may not even know how the people we are helping are be-

through crafts, dinners, and collections to help our community,

ing blessed. We may never know that, but we know the reason

too. Just this year they’ve raised funds for the Lavaca Food Bank,

that we’re doing it is the right reason, so that’s the blessing we

the Ronald McDonald Room in Fort Smith, and the American Can-

get out of it.”

cer Society. And though they may never know, they are certain what they’re Mandy, who’s proud to be a part of Girlfriends Walking with God,

doing matters, that it honors the Lord, and that those who receive

says it’s just their way of bringing the good of the church in Vesta

help from Girlfriends Walking with God are sure to be uplifted by

to the outside world. “A lot of churches have become so involved

the help they receive. That is enough for these women from Vesta,

with what’s inside the church and not taking their mission out in

whose faith means the world to them.

the communities, and so I think that’s why it’s important because we want to set an example. We’re not confined between these walls. We’re out and helping everyone else.” If you’d like to order a burlap cross, or gift basket, or if You can hear the belief in charity in Mandy’s voice. She says the

you’d like any other information about Girlfriends Walking

ladies are inspired to help the needy through the direction of Bible

with God, contact Myra Keith at 479.461.3488. If you’d

passages, such as those in Proverbs.

like to donate to help the Vilonia church’s rebuilding efforts, you can send a check to the Vilonia United Method-

She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the

ist Church, PO Box 460, Vilonia AR, 72173, or to the Vilonia

needy. — Proverbs 31: 20

Disaster Relief Alliance at PO Box 628, Vilonia AR, 72173.

Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. — Proverbs 31: 31

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All you need is love... and a dog. A knack for playing fetch helps, too. AHIMSAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to place needy animals in responsible homes, provide humane education, and encourage spaying and neutering because there are not enough homes.

June Bug M F

Scotty M

Piper F

Princess

Tuff

Zuzu

AhimsaRescueFoundation.org Images Tessa Freeman

Ahimsa Rescue Foundation, Muldrow, OK Facebook.com/AhimsaRescueFoundation savingpaws@aol.com

Ahimsa Rescue Foundation is an all-volunteer team, founded in 2004, specializing in the rescue and placement of abused, unwanted and abandoned companion animals from eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. All pets are spayed or neutered, micro-chipped and vet-checked before being adopted to carefully screened homes. Ahimsaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to place needy animals in responsible homes, provide humane education, and encourage spaying and neutering because not enough homes are available. Contact: Savingpaws@aol.com

Each month, Do South donates this page to local and regional non-profit animal shelters. If you work with a shelter and would like to reserve this space, please email editors@dosouthmagazine.com. D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

Brush Up

Den ta l Health for Your Pe t Words Dr. Rusty Henderson, D.V.M. Eastside Animal Health Center, Fort Smith

Ready for an astounding fact?

TOOTHPASTE

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, at three years of age, eighty percent of dogs and seventy percent of cats have some form of oral disease. Those are large numbers. If not treated, infection can set in to the teeth and gums, causing bacteria to spread into the blood stream, infecting other parts of their bodies.

Important: Toothpaste made for humans is unsuitable and potentially harmful for pets! There are many flavored toothpastes, made especially for pets, to make the task easier. And while there are many different methods, systems, and schedules for brushing, I find none superior to the other. The most important thing is that you brush your pet’s teeth on a regular basis.

When the concept of brushing my dog’s teeth was first introduced, I thought it was the dumbest thing I had ever heard. Some days it was a chore for me to maintain my own pearly whites, let alone tending to my dog’s teeth. It took some convincing, but after researching and fully understanding the importance of the task, I was completely on board. Truth is, there are many good reasons to maintain good dental hygiene for your pets.

Your veterinarian is the best source to inquire about starting a dental hygiene program. They can demonstrate how to brush and how to keep your pet’s mouth healthy. Most programs have a few key ideas in common:

WHY BRUSH? Aside from bad breath or pain from tooth and gum disease, the heart is at the heart of the matter. In short, there is bacteria that grow into colonies on the tooth’s surface. These colonies harden into tartar if left untouched. Tartar induces gum inflammation or gingivitis. Gingivitis is a portal for introducing the bacteria into the blood stream, where it sets up shop in the heart valves. This causes the heart valves to leak, leading to congestive heart failure. Heart disease is a very serious issue, and only one example. You see, inflammation of the gums and potential infection are linked to a variety of life threatening issues for dogs and cats, including but not limited to:

1. 2. 3. 4.

Introduce the process at an early age. Proceed slowly. Maintain consistency in how you conduct the process. Have your veterinarian preform an oral examination at least annually. 5. If your pet becomes aggressive, defensive, or aggravated, stop the brushing and contact your veterinarian, as the brushing could be causing pain. Good dental hygiene goes a long way in keeping your pet healthy and happy for years to come. See your veterinarian and brush up on techniques for good dental health! Have a question you’d like to see answered here? Email it to editors@DoSouthMagazine.com.

Heart Disease, Kidney Disease, Osteoporosis, Loss of Jaw Bone, Liver Disease, Stroke, Nasal Infections, Diabetes, Oral Cancers, Emphysema. Once you understand the importance of a regular dental hygiene, you need to know how to get started. Let’s begin with the brush itself.

TOOTHBRUSHES There are a vast array of products that can be purchased to keep your pet’s choppers in tip top shape. Pet toothbrushes come in all shapes and sizes; however, an extra soft bristle toothbrush made for human babies works just fine, or even better, a piece of gauze wrapped around your finger. Like humans, all cats and dogs muzzles are not created equal. Because of this, I find that the “finger brush” is better suited for the short muzzle pet, while more conventional brushes are best for the longer muzzled variety.

D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

Information contained in this article should not be construed as specific medical advice for your pet. If you have a concern about your pet, contact your veterinarian.

garden

Gardening with Jerry words Catherine Frederick and Jerry Johnston with Farmers Co-op

Q: What vegetables can we plant in September? A: It’s time to transition to a fall garden. You can now plant: Transplants

Seed

Broccoli Mustard Greens Cabbage Kale Cauliflower Turnips Brussel Sprouts Radishes Collard Greens Swiss Chard Carrot Beets Spinach Onion sets Multiplying onions (lasts all winter) English peas

Q: When will fall vegetables be ready to harvest? A: Transplants are generally ready for harvest in about six

weeks. Since these are all cold crops, frost won’t hurt them; some people have broccoli all winter long. There is no need to cover these crops. Planted seeds will start to show in about a week, and can generally be harvested between forty-five and seventy days.

Q: Is there anything we need to do for our flowers or bushes? A: You won’t prune roses until March, but you can fertilize all

plants in September. Be sure to check for bugs. We’ve had a lot of rain and this has caused some aphid infestations. We have a garden safe spray we recommend called Eight®, which eliminates several garden pests.

Q: Is there anything we can do to extend the growing season for our summer crops?

A: You can build a covering for your existing garden — this

works best for raised beds — with PVC pipe and plastic. Basically you place sturdy pipes in each corner of your raised beds, driving them into the ground. Curve the PVC and place the ends into the pipe, it will look like a half hoop. Place plastic over the PVC, creating a mini-greenhouse.

Q: Is it time to plant fall bulbs? A: Yes! Our fall bulbs are in at Farmers Co-op. It’s time to plant tulips, daffodils, lilies, and more, which will be up in the spring.

Q: What’s your favorite fall crop? A: Oh, I just love broccoli and cauliflower!

Q: If we had a summer garden, is there anything we should do for the soil before we plant the fall crops?

A: Make sure to remove any dead plant matter, replace any lost soil, mix well with existing, add lime as our area is limepoor, and fertilize.

D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

people

Inside the NICU words Marla Cantrell Images Catherine Frederick and courtesy Mercy Fort Smith

For RNs Davonna Whittenburg and Sharon Nyugen, this day brings hope and promise. They’ve seen hundreds of babies through tough times, and they’ve later had dozens of encounters — sometimes at Walmart, some-

Each year, the Lily Award is given to a person or persons whose work has impacted those who stay in the Ronald McDonald Family Room at Mercy Fort Smith. This year’s honorees are the nurses of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Mercy. They will be recognized at the Red Shoe Shindig on Friday, October 2, at the EpiCenter by MovieLounge in Fort Smith. The Lily Award is named in memory of Lillian Paige Pruitt, infant daughter of Susan and Clay Pruitt.

times at the grocery store — with parents who will come up to them, will hug their necks, will nudge their healthy children toward them. “You helped save her when she was just a tiny baby,” they’ll say. Or, “Remember when he was just a tiny little baby? Remember how afraid I was?” Both Sharon and Davonna are smiling as they talk about these meetings, how they are

It’s a Monday morning in Fort Smith, Arkansas, one of those brittle,

the best surprise you could ask for. And then

white hot days of summer. The air is still, not even the leaves on the trees are moving.

Sharon says one of the truest things you’ll

But none of the nurses inside the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Mercy Women’s Cen-

ever hear. “When you take care of some-

ter notices. In this room, on this day, they aren’t aware of anything outside these walls.

one’s baby and you make that baby better,

What matters are the ten babies, ten sweet little babies who are fighting to get well

you’re their friend for life.”

enough to go home.

D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

people

Davonna, who’s been a nurse for eighteen years, is nodding in agree-

and where she felt she did so much good. “But if you’re not called

ment. “We’ve seen these families at the worst time in their life.”

to do it, you shouldn’t try.”

Sharon add, “Ideally, parents have a picture of what’s going to

Davonna explains why they both feel that way. “It is a compli-

happen when they have their baby. It’s always a good picture.

cated job that requires specific skills and a tender heart. “These

They’re going to go in, life is going to be grand. They’re going to

babies can’t talk so you have to be up on your assessment skills to

deliver this precious baby and they’re going to go home in two

know what’s going on with them. You do get a lot of communica-

days. When they see us that means something went wrong. It

tion with the family. You do have to make sure they’re okay. The

could be ten days of antibiotics, or it could be something more

mother’s either just had surgery or just gone through delivery and

severe. We have to support them through that, and it’s a day-by-

you have to tend to her even though she’s not your patient.

day, hour-by-hour thing. “My first day on the job I thought, What have I done. I’m seri“Because we see so much, we see the ten days of antibiotics as

ous. There’s not a lot in the adult world of critical care I had not

routine, but it’s devastating to the family. Their ideal picture of

seen. Here, it’s just so different. I was drained after the first shift,

what’s supposed to happen has been torn down. The family’s not

I can’t do this, I thought. But I came back, and every day I learn

been able to gather the way they normally would. They’ve not

something new.

gotten the pictures they wanted, they’ve not been able to introduce their baby, and we have to be their support, interpret what’s

“In the NICU, Sharon and I and the rest of the nurses are a team.”

going on, be with them if there’s a step back, and when there’s a step forward, and calm the situation when we need to. There’s a

Sharon then picks up the story. “We all are on the same playing

lot of emotion there. Sometimes when there’s a situation where

field and we have to be able to pick each other up and be in tune

things are not good, where there’s not a good prognosis, that’s

with each other. We can tell what the other is thinking without

even more complicated.”

saying a word. And when we lose a baby it’s a hard, hard loss. We’re moms, and aunts and I’m a mimi, and we know how much

During those times, when things go awry, when even the best

you love your baby from the instant you see them.”

medical care can’t save a baby, these nurses’ hearts break. They shed tears, they grieve, they hurt for the families.

“There was a time recently when there wasn’t a staff member in the room who wasn’t crying,” Davonna says, and when she does,

But for Sharon and Davonna, even the worst outcome isn’t the

tears come to the surface once again.

end of the story. They share a deep faith, a certainty that the babies who don’t make it are in Heaven, and that their families will

“Being a nurse is a hard job, emotionally, physically,” Sharon adds.

one day see them again.

“Sometimes when we leave we’re on emotional overload. Many nights you may not sleep because you’re running it through your

As these two continue to talk, they begin to finish each other’s

mind, if one of the babies has gotten worse. ..There are things

sentences. They work so well together, and they are great friends

that happen that are beyond our control but we never take it light-

besides. Each talks about faith and how that is the foundation for

ly. It goes with us past our twelve-hour shift.”

everything they are and everything they accomplish. The talk turns then to whether what Sharon and Davonna do is a Sharon dreamed of being a nurse long before she got the chance.

job. Neither thinks so. They call their careers a ministry, speaking

She worked in radiology for fifteen years, a job where she had no

for these little patients who depend on them to be their voice, to

interaction with patients. But she is a nurturer, and her heart told

comfort the parents in their time of great need.

her she needed to change paths. At forty, she took the leap. “I don’t believe I could do this job without God,” Davonna says. “I love everything about nursing,” Sharon says. Yes, she says, the

“He’s my hands, He’s my brain, He’s my heart. I know Sharon feels

stress is hard but she’s never had a job where she felt so needed,

the same way. Without Him I don’t think I could do this job.”

people

Even with the stresses. Even with the days when one of their dear

“She loved her patients and took care of them the whole time,”

little patients doesn’t improve, they believe they’re doing the work

Sharon says.

that they’ve been put on Earth to do. “I had two small children, and a wonderful support system. God “Thank God we have such a great team,” Sharon says. She thinks

gets all the credit. I wasn’t in the NICU then. I’d lost all my hair.

Mercy is a great place to work, in part because she feels as if her

Everyone was so kind.”

faith is in action: when she hugs a worried mom, or prays for her little patients, or calls in a member of the clergy when things get

That brush with mortality only strengthened Davonna’s faith and

really tough.

her belief that being a nurse is her true calling.

What they bring to these exhausted parents is comfort, knowing

Davonna and Sharon are quick to point out that their story is not

they can take a quick nap, or go check on their other children,

unique. The rest of the nurses are just as devoted, just as meticu-

because the nurses are watching over their littlest ones. That’s

lous in their care of these little ones. “I wish you could talk to all

often the hardest part for parents, who feel torn between stay-

the nurses,” Davonna says. “You’d see.”

ing every minute they can in the NICU nursery, and taking care of themselves. What Sharon and Davonna, and the other NICU

It is time to leave the break room then. There is much work left to

nurses do is let them know they’ve got their back, that they’ll call

do in their twelve-hour day, and there are ten precious babies just

if they need to, that their babies are in good hands.

down the hallway, getting better under their care, getting stronger each day. They are eager to get back to them.

It is a blessing, these nurses say, that the Ronald McDonald Room, which looks like a high-rise, luxury apartment, is available for fami-

One day they may see them again, at the mall, at a local restaurant, in

lies who need it the most. It is in the same building as the NICU so

line at the movies. Their parents will recognize Sharon and Davonna,

parents who stay there are only seconds away if they’re needed.

they will call them out, they will show them their strong, beautiful

Meals are taken care of, there’s a washer and dryer – everything

children and thank them again for their loving kindness.

the parents need has been brought in so that they can concentrate on helping their baby get better. Some babies have been in the nursery for as long as four months.

Former recipients of the Lily Award:

Davonna and Sharon get attached. They’re thrilled when the ba2011 — (the inaugural award) Dr. Victor Coloso, the

bies go home but they also miss them.

neonatologist at Mercy who was one of the driving forcWorking here makes them appreciate every day, and everyone they

es behind bringing the Family Room to Mercy.

hold dear. “There have been many times when I’ve gone home and hugged my kids and said, ‘Thank you, God.’” Davonna says. “I think

2012 — Evan’s Project Photographers. Evan’s Project

many people take life for granted, and working here, you know that

photographers come to the NICU once a month or at

in one day your entire life can be turned upside down.”

special request and take portrait quality photos of the babies in the NICU at no charge to the families.

Just then, Sharon says, “I may be speaking out of turn,” and then she stops for a second and looks at her friend, “but Davonna is

2013 — Michael and Michelle Hadley. Michael serves on

a cancer survivor, and she’s definitely a blessing, and she knows

the RMHC of Arkoma Board of Directors, and chairs the

how quickly life can be taken away.”

Family Room Advisory Council. Michelle participates in the share-a-meal program and is instrumental in putting

Davonna touches the headband that holds back her dark hair,

together the annual Red Shoe Shindig.

touches her throat, and finally smiles. “I had my last treatment three years ago for breast cancer.” D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

people

Since it opened in December 2010, there have been nearly 30,000 visits to the Ronald McDonald Family Room at Mercy Fort Smith.

The Ronald McDonald Family Room

103

overnight stays per month

is averaging:

1,263

volunteer hours per month

visits per month

Mercy NICU July 2013 to July 2014

394

newborns admitted

Average daily census of

13.5 patients

people

All I Really Need to Know { R eader S t o r y } words Evelyn Brown

All I really need to know I learned at Woolworth’s.

My Woolworth’s education was delivered by Lillian Stottlemyre, who had been assistant manager of the Sand Springs store since

At age seventeen, I applied for my first job at Woolworth’s, one of

it opened in 1959. I supposed she had worked at Woolworth’s all

the two five-and-dimes in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. The other was

her life, but actually I knew nothing about Lillian Stottlemyre’s life.

TG&Y, which lost a bunch of its customers to Woolworth’s when

When she “interviewed” me in January 1963 — “Fill out this ap-

it started staying open on Sunday afternoon, a no-no in that Bap-

plication. I’ll call you if we need you.” — she seemed to loom over

tist-dominated community. The Baptists also would not condone

me as I sat at the table in the employee lounge, looking down at

school dances, so I didn’t learn to dance unti…well, really never.

me with gray-green eyes, smooth plump cheeks, curly steel-blue

Which gets me back to my point — how I learned more working

hair framing her flushed face. She was heavyset, we called it then,

at Woolworth’s than I did in thirteen years of public education,

grandmotherly looking in a scowling sort of way. Did she have

including kindergarten — a point I made so many times to my

grandchildren? I don’t know. I never heard about grandchildren

children that they thought I had worked at Woolworth’s for most

or children or husband or home. Lillian Stottlemyre did not discuss

of my life before they came along.

her private life with me. As far as I knew, she lived at Woolworth’s. D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

people

and get some off the shelf, and some garters to hold them up. We’ll charge them to your first pay envelope.” I never got a check from Woolworth’s. As with most places in those days, we were paid in cash, with deductions printed on the front of the envelope. She handed me my smock, blue-green nylon trimmed with darker blue bias tape that lengthened into ties on each side, one size fits all. I practically had to double wrap the apron around my skinny torso; Lil’s was stretched to the limit around hers. “Woolworth’s” was embroidered in red script on the right side. Lil gave me my name tag with “Evelyn” printed on cardboard inserted into a plastic sleeve. I would eventually print those name tags for all the new hires and for those, including myself, who would wear them when they took their smocks home to wash — another requirement of employment — and forget to pin the name tag back on the left shoulder. Lil taught me to run the printer. It’s funny to think about what we called a printer then. It consisted of a frame in which I would put wood or metal type — blocks with raised backward letters and numbers — ranging in size from maybe a quarter inch to three inches tall, depending on whether I was printing name tags, signs, or posters. I would roll ink which was the texture and consistency of heavy grease over the type, lay the paper over that and run another roller that would press the ink onto the card or poster. Yes, just like the way Benjamin Franklin printed Poor Richard’s Almanac, and, my kids believed, just about the same time. I actually enjoyed doing that printing, after I got over my disappointment that I would not be a cashier like Judy Whittenberg, a cheerleader who was a year ahead of me in school and whom I dreamed of emulating. Lil tried to teach me to run the register, but I, who was in advanced math, could not make change. I counted money back to Lil just fine in our practice sessions, but in the heat of the moment, with the customer standing there complaining about having to pay four cents tax on the dollar, which I had to figure in my head because the registers of those days did not help even a little bit, I

Anytime I was there, she was there.

would invariably panic. The day I came up ten dollars short when I counted I started learning from Lil, as her name tag stated, from

out my drawer was my last day of using the cash register.

the moment I started to work, which as it turned out was the same day I applied. When I got home, she had

Lil was optimistic in her way. “There are plenty of things you can do around

already telephoned my mother to have me report back

here. We can always hire a cashier, but we need someone who can handle

at six o’clock that very Saturday night. I would keep on

the other jobs.”

learning from her for fifteen hours a week, more or less — all day Saturday and a couple of nights during the

Lil’s way of teaching was to do a job as she explained it, and then have

week — for the next year and a half.

me do the job while she critiqued it. After that, I was on my own. So, as I told my children many years later, I learned to print signs, run the candy

When I went in, Lil looked me over head to foot. “You

counter, make keys, cut shades, engrave jewelry, measure cloth, catch fish,

can’t wear those crew socks. You need nylons. Go back

set up displays, tag merchandise, do inventory, watch sidewalk sales, dust,

D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

people

straighten, fill out orders, unpack stock, handle layaways. Then I

not been close by. She sat me down and told me to lean over and

learned to redo all that when Lil found mistakes.

put my head on my knees. I have used that method ever since to ease sudden lightheadedness. And I have always been able to

Lil probably thought she was the one who made the mistake when

return and face whatever threw me for a loop because of what Lil

she decided to have me try to get customers to buy a potato peel-

said as she applied a Band Aid to my finger: “Feeling better? Okay,

er which was being stocked by the store for the first time. Her

get back to work.”

plan was for me to stand at a table near the front of the store and — you guessed it — peel potatoes to demonstrate what a marvel-

The only time Lil advised me not to work was the Saturday I asked

ous job the device would do. That worked pretty well, once I got

off to go to the senior class picnic. Lil said to come in when I got

the hang of it, and a couple of people actually picked one up to

back to town, and I did, sporting the worst sunburn I ever got. I

buy. As I enthusiastically peeled, some of the skin shavings made

could barely walk through the door of Woolworth’s, but I was

their way to the floor. An elderly lady slipped on a potato peel and

determined to finish out my shift. When Lil saw me, she said, “Go

almost fell. “You’d better watch what you’re doing, young lady!”

home and take care of that! And don’t ever let yourself sunburn

she huffed. Lil quickly closed down the demonstration and taught

like that again!” I haven’t.

me how to clean the floor. Shortly after that, when I graduated from high school, Lil offered I remember advice Lil gave me: “Call me Lil,” she said when she

me a forty-hour a week job at Woolworth’s. I was tempted to take

hired me, but I was to call the manager Mr. Nelson — because

it, but my mom’s advice trumped Lillian Stottlemyre: “Evelyn Ann

he was the manager or because he was a man? — mostly be-

Stogsdill, I will not have you stay around and marry one of these

cause that’s what Lil told me to call him. “Always show your boss

yahoos from Sand Springs. You’re going to college.”

enough respect to call him ‘Mr.’” And I always have, although I have more recently had to alter that to “Ms.” or — in most educa-

In August, 1964, Lil handed me my last pay envelope. By then, I

tion settings these days — “Dr.”

was drawing a whopping $1.05 an hour, and I actually had managed to save over $400. That, along with a couple of scholarships,

Marketing, according to Lil: “If someone asks you where some-

was enough to pay for my first year at Northeastern State College

thing is, don’t lead them to it. Tell them where it is located. As

in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

they are going to it, they may look around and find something else to buy.” I spent quite a bit of time interpreting that advice to my

All I really need to know about life — and a college education —

own kids, applying it to staying focused and not getting distracted

provided by Woolworth’s!

from their goals yada yada yada. Lil’s attitude toward the girls from the local home for unwed mothers may have influenced my reluctance to risk the consequences of “messing around” in those pre-Pill days. Those temporary resi-

If you’re one of our faithful readers and you have

dents apparently were allowed to go shopping once a week or so,

a story you’d like to share with us, email it to us at

and they came in groups to Woolworth’s. “Watch those girls,” Lil

editors@dosouthmagazine.com. We’d love to hear

would admonish me. “They can’t be trusted.” Why can’t they be

from you.

trusted? I wondered — to myself — I would never argue with Lil. It looked as if maybe they trusted somebody else too much. “Never stand still,” Lil said. “You aren’t working if you’re standing still.” Lil did allow me to sit still once, however, when I pin-tagged myself instead of the shirt I was pricing. I hit the switch on the machine too soon, so the pin grazed the end of my finger as it stamped the price on my fingernail. I would have fainted if Lil had D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

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people

words & Images Stoney Stamper

Claude and Larry

Getting older is no problem. You just have to live long enough. Groucho Marx

D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

people

Sometimes life is hard. That’s a very insightful

off, but still in the same lifestyle that we were all accustomed to. The

observation, I know. Real deep stuff, huh? What can I say, I’m a

lifestyle my papa and my great-grandad provided for us.

radical revolutionary. This stuff just flows from my veins. Sometimes, it didn’t seem so awesome, growing up that way. Yeah, I know saying life is hard is terribly cliché. But let’s be hon-

When most of my friends went home from school to play video

est, most clichés are clichés because they’re true. And I can think

games, or just do nothing at all, my brother, sister and cousins

of nothing more true than life is hard. That doesn’t mean that it’s

were busy cleaning stalls, warming up and cooling down horses,

always hard. Quite the contrary, actually. Life is an ever-changing

feeding and bathing horses, cattle, pigs and sheep. It was a lot of

landscape of peaks and valleys. Sometimes it feels so easy, when

work. It didn’t seem like a blessing at the time, but looking back

it’s filled with happiness and colors and laughter and beauty.

on it now, that’s exactly what it was.

These good things are what keep us going during the We were taught a strong work ethic. But we

hard times and during the sad times. It’s impor-

weren’t made to work while the adults sat in

tant to remember these wonderful and happy

the air conditioning. We were led by exam-

things when the going gets tough, or when things aren’t so rosy. I’m having one of

ple to work hard and do your best. My dad,

those rough patches right now, and I am

papa, and even great-granddad, would

having to constantly remind myself over

work from the time the sun came up until

and over again of how blessed I am, and

it went down.

how happy I am with my life. When my great-granddad (we called him Granhappy) had gotten too old to work

Sometimes the hard times are tragic. It’s

for our house moving company, he took up

heartbreaking to see others who have to

carpentry. He spent his twilight years building

endure tragedy such as car accidents, or los-

some of the most God-awful carpentry projects

ing loved ones to sickness and disease well before their time. Other times life simply runs its course — nat-

you’ve ever seen in your life. But it didn’t matter to him.

urally. Every race has its finish line, I suppose. And from where

He just needed to work. And besides, he couldn’t see well enough

my family stands, my papa’s finish line isn’t so far away. His race

to know it was crooked and ugly.

is nearly run. I get a bit misty-eyed, reminiscing about those times spent with I have been pretty fortunate in my life. I haven’t suffered any real

Granhappy, and with my Granny and Papa Stamper. Those times

tragedies involving my family or close friends. I haven’t lost any im-

feel like so long ago, but their voices are still so clear, as though

mediate family to sickness. Only twice in my thirty-five years have

they’re in the other room. My granny calling my papa “Claudie.”

I lost someone close to me. In 1992, I lost my granny Stamper to

Granhappy and his wife Dorothy singing “Come and Dine” at

Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and in 2001 my great-grandpa died just one

church on Sundays. The memories are fresh and vivid. My papa

month shy of his 105th birthday. Yes, you heard me right, 105

patting granny’s knee, and saying to me, “Stone, ain’t she just

years old. And he got married when he was 104. True story. So

the purtyest thang you ever seen?” And the answer was, Yes, she

this is fairly new territory for me. For all of us.

was just about the “purtyest thang” I had ever seen. She was so kind and gentle. So meek and mild. But she could ask for anything

My papa, Claude Stamper was born and raised on my family’s ranch

in her soft and sweet voice and he would move mountains to

in Murphy, Oklahoma. It’s right between Chouteau and Locust

make it happen. He loved her with all his heart.

Grove, four miles off of Highway 412. It’s the only place he’s ever known. His mama and daddy lived there, and died there. He raised

After forty-four years of marriage, she succumbed to the com-

his four boys there with my sweet granny. My dad and his brothers

plications of ALS, on December 28, 1992. It was a hard blow for

raised all of us there. And now we’ve got the youngest generation

our whole family. But even more so for my papa. He had lost his

of Stampers on the ground. Some of them live on the ranch, some

best friend, his confidante, his “pardner.” His life was changed

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very hard on people, which just so hapPapa and Granhappy

pens to be traits that I possess. Granny was the perfect yin to his yang. She was the perfect mellow to his hard edges. He never remarried. Oh, he had some girlfriends. But he never married again. I guess he thought that he couldn’t do any better than he had done with Clarice June Plake. And I happen to agree. These last few years have been hard ones for him. A small, withered body now stands where a once big, strong man stood. His voice was loud and boisterous, but it’s now weak and muffled. His old legs are bowed from too many horses, and just a few weeks ago he fell and broke his hip. He’s had surgery, and has had some complications. He lost a lot of blood, and not enough oxygen made its way to his brain. His mind was slipping before the accident. He’d call me nearly every day, asking me to come drink coffee with him, which I would’ve gladly done — except for the fact that I live in Texas now, about six hours away. A fact that he forgets every time he calls me. Now, since the accident, he’s having difficulty speaking at all. When I walked into the hospital to see him, my dad said, “Stoney is here to see you!” And Papa said, “Who?” I expected it

forever. On the day she died, I spent the night with him at his house — it felt so big, so empty.

going in, but I still wasn’t prepared for

Then the next night, I stayed again. And then again the next night. I had inadvertently become

it. Will it improve? I don’t know. I hope

roommates with my papa. We were like a couple of lame college kids living together. He didn’t

so. His old hips and knees are battered

know how to cook, and I didn’t either. We had coffee and toast every morning, until I learned

and arthritic from years of riding horses

how to make eggs and bacon without catching anything on fire. My mom or my aunt or my

and then crawling under houses with

cousin came and did laundry for us, until we learned how to do that, too. Papa liked to bake

the house moving company. Will he

brownies, and he did so nearly every day. We developed an odd little routine. He was glad I was

walk again? I don’t know that either.

there and I was glad to be with him. I watched him and listened to his wheeling and dealing on the phone. He was selling, or buying something to sell, every time he talked to someone, and I

Right now, we have more questions

got my first sales lessons just sitting around and listening to him. These were lessons that would

than we have answers. The selfish side

serve me well, and mold me into the man I am today. As time passed, he needed me less and

of me prays that he will walk again, that

less, but the bond we built in that year and a half is one that we still share today. I love him. I

he will talk again, that he will remem-

know he’s not perfect. He’s funny, generous, and a great storyteller. But he can be strict and

ber again. I’m not ready to let him go.

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Stoney and Gracee Stamper

I want him to tell me a story, to laugh, to drink a cup of coffee.

they are reunited, I’d give nearly anything to see their faces when

None of us wants to let him go. He’s our last stronghold on the

their eyes meet. Oh what a day of rejoicing that will be. It makes

great generation that raised us. The ones who taught us morals.

me want to let him know it’s ok. “Papa, you can go now. You’ve

The ones who took us to church. The ones who taught us to help

taught us all that you know. You’ve given all that you can give.

our communities and our nation. Papa is the last one we have.

We’ll be ok. Go see Granny, and we’ll see you sometime soon.”

He’s lived long enough to see his wife, his brothers, his sisters and his parents die. What a lonely feeling that must be.

I wanted to tell him these things as I reached down over his hospital bed to hug him and kiss his head. But instead, I just said, “I love

When I put my selfish feelings aside for a moment, and remem-

you. SO much.” And with a sparkle of recognition in his eye, he

ber how badly he misses my granny, how long he’s gone without

looked at me and he mumbled, “I love you, honey. You’re a doll,”

feeling her hand in his, or hearing her sweet, soft voice whisper

just like he had a million times before. To me and my siblings and

his name, then, and only then, do I feel a sense of joy wash over

cousins and aunts and uncles, “I love you, honey. You’re a doll.”

me. Although I’m not always a good example of one, I am a Christian, and I do believe in heaven. My grandmother has been there

I tell myself, Tomorrow, I’ll tell him that tomorrow.

for nearly twenty-two years. Just waiting on him. And on the day

Stoney Stamper

is the author of the popular parenting blog, The Daddy Diaries. He and his wife April have three daughters: Abby, Emma and Gracee. Originally from northeast Oklahoma, the Stampers now live in Tyler, Texas. For your daily dose of The Daddy Diaries, visit Stoney on Facebook or on his website, thedaddydiaries.net.

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The directions Dell Eddins sends are written

ful artists live for. And it just so happens that Dell is one of those

as precisely as anything you’d find on MapQuest. Cut through Fay-

artists, a woman who paints magnificently, capturing the glory of

etteville, Arkansas, wind your way to the land of Goshen (popula-

horses, the impish delight of goats, the majesty of housecats, the

tion 1,071), find a rocky road that appears to be a driveway but

sweet spirit of happy dogs.

is not, snake up the half-mile one-lane path. Along the way there are subdivisions filled with the kind of extravagant houses that

Dell’s love of animals started early. In kindergarten she remembers

often made my mama shake her head and say, “I couldn’t even

her tiny hand holding a chubby pencil. When she drew, it was

pay the light bill if I lived there.”

almost always horses. It wasn’t so very long before her teachers in Pine Bluff began commenting on how real those horses looked.

But those showplaces are just landmarks on the way to Dell’s. She

But she wanted more than an image of a horse, and she thought

lives in an even better place, in a cottage so picture perfect it could

that drawing them was a way of making an actual horse show

be an illustration in a storybook. It feels like a secret, high atop the

up. Her dad, an insurance man, wasn’t as sold on the idea as she

mountain, surrounded by 112 unfettered acres that are loud with

was, but he finally gave in, when she was eleven, buying a horse

songbirds on this bright morning. Her place is the kind of beauti-

named Dusty.

The Farmer’s Name is Dell words Marla Cantrell Images courtesy Dell Eddins

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Dell laughs when she tells the story. “I was just horse crazy and

In 1998, when Dell was in her mid-forties, everything changed.

Dusty was the love of my life. Some girls grow out of that phase,

She and her husband, a man she still speaks kindly of, divorced,

move onto boys. But my life was all about horses. Even as a teen-

and Dell was looking for a place to stay. A place where she could

ager I spent my time riding with my girlfriends who also loved

take her trove of animals, including her horse.

horses. If I wasn’t riding, I was reading or drawing. I stayed pretty naive through those years, which is not a bad thing.”

It was as if all her stars aligned. She had friends in Fayetteville. She had another friend who owned the place where she lives now,

After high school, she headed to William Woods University in Mis-

and it was empty at the time. Dell remembers pulling up the road,

souri to major in equestrian studies and minor in art. But she left

her goats in a trailer behind her, two Great Pyrenees dogs, a cou-

after her freshman year to attend Hendrix, where she planned to

ple of rabbits, and thinking, this is it. This is home.

focus solely on art. That is until she learned she’d have to have a senior show. What she lacked then was self-confidence, and

Today, the house is alive with art. In her studio, three paintings

the thought of that public display stopped her. She switched her

are in various stages of completion. Outside, Dell’s goat, Orphan

major to psychology, earned her degree and ended up moving to

Annie, lazes in the sun. She is not one of the original goats; this

Memphis where she did everything from cleaning houses to work-

little lady showed up on her own when she was only a few months

ing in a French bakery.

old, pushed her way through the fence and declared Dell’s place her home. Beside Orphan Annie are eight ponies that Dell keeps

Eventually, she ended up in grad school, getting her master’s in

for Personal Ponies, a charity that teams ponies with special needs

counseling. She worked in the field but knew it wasn’t her life’s

kids and adults. She’s been a volunteer for years now, and served

calling. At the same time, she’d taken a side job managing a

for a time as the state president. Farther away are ten horses,

Welsh pony farm while the owner traveled to Wales. “That tem-

some Dell’s, some that she boards.

porary job ended up lasting three years, and I just loved being with the ponies.”

It is an idyllic life, but not always an easy one. She works hard. For ten years she’s been doing barefoot trimming, which is sculpting

This is the point in Dell’s story where romance comes in. She fell in

horses’ hooves in a way that allows them to forego horseshoes.

love, got married, moved to a little town halfway between Jonesboro

By the fall of 2011, the hard labor was catching up with her, and

and Memphis, in the land of cotton. She lived in the country, raised

then Dell got sick. Really, really sick, and her condition flummoxed

colored Angora goats, sheared them, spun the yarn, and wove rugs,

her doctors. Whatever was wrong, it had exhausted her. As she

many of them flat-weave tapestries with Navajo designs.

slowly recovered she took inventory of her life and decided she

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had to pull back, and so she whittled down her trimming business significantly. At the same time, she was itching to get back to painting. For three months she was too sick to do much of anything, but she remembers thinking that she was strong enough to hold a paintbrush. She signed up for a class at The Art Location in Fayetteville, something she says saved her life. “It was a Monday night class, and I’d be so sick, but something happened there in the acrylics class. It was like the floodgates opened and I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life. A friend came in and saw my first painting, still on the easel, and asked if it was for sale.” In the spring, Dell was confident enough to sign up for a figure painting class, working with models, at the University of Arkansas. “It was the most challenging semester of my life,” Dell says. “Stephanie Pierce is an incredible instructor, a demanding teacher, and so intuitive. She opened my eyes in more ways than I can tell you.” During this time, Stephanie encouraged her students to go to UAFort Smith for a session with a visiting artist, Catherine Kehoe, who teaches at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. And it was in this workshop that everything became crystal clear to Dell. “She said, ‘When you start painting horses, when you start painting what you love, it’s going to be different. You’re going to get it.’” Before that session, Dell thinks she was pulling a D in Stephanie’s class. After, her work skyrocketed. “I think the change in me had been building during that whole semester. Suddenly, it was like I had new eyes. The nude I was working on changed. My paint handling, my understanding of form and structure, it all came together. I sometimes wonder if I learned to see differently then. It was a life changing class for me, thanks to Stephanie.” Since that class, Dell’s life has gotten better and better. Her art, mostly of animals, has been selling well. She loves doing commissions, and she’s working part-time at Painting With a Twist in Fayetteville, where she helps set up art classes. “It’s such a happy place, such a great experience. The instructor stands on stage and walks the class through a project. They have beer and wine and soft drinks, so it’s like a great party filled with art. “When I got sick I was so afraid. I didn’t know what was next. I D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

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knew I didn’t want to return to counseling even though I could

kids on horseback. Something is off, she says, though it looks per-

have gone back and gotten my license. I loved horses and trim-

fect to the untrained eye. There is talk of starting over, scrapping

ming hooves, but I couldn’t continue to do that because my body

the whole thing, but in a few days Dell will decide it’s worth saving.

was just wearing down. When I went to college I remember some wise adult saying, ‘Oh well, do your art but know that you’re never

Her whole life has been like that, finding what’s not working and

going to make a living at it.’ It was disheartening and I believed it

changing it into something that does, and then making what’s

for a long time.”

working into something incredibly beautiful. She’ll tell you it’s not her. She’ll tell you her life works because so many friends and

It took years to get past that comment. And it took a crisis that

family have helped her along the way, and that may be true. But

caused Dell to reevaluate what she truly wanted. She went back to

there is also something in Dell, a way of living that sees nature as

the beginning where her purest intentions were: she loved horses,

the greatest thing, and animals as subjects for incredible paint-

she loved art.

ings, and living as a wonderful experiment, where you get to learn anything you want, as long as you’re willing to try.

Dell is telling this part of her story near one of her outbuildings that was once used to house canned goods years and years ago. Whoever built this had an artist’s heart. There are two angels in the design, with two perfectly round stones for heads; long, trian-

To see Dell’s work, visit her Facebook page or her

gular rocks for bodies; chiseled stones for wings.

website, delleddins.com.

As Dell talks, her pony Robin ambles up, and she reaches down to pet his sweet head. Inside, three unfinished paintings sit on easels. Each is extraordinary, but Dell is suspicious of the one with three D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

Lemons

contain more sugar than

strawberries Ralph Lauren’s original name was

for the same mass

Ralph Lifshitz

M&M’s chocolate stands for the initials of its inventors

Mars and Murrie The lifespan of a squirrel is

8 years

The longest recorded flight of a chicken was

13 seconds An ostrich’s eye is

BIGGER THAN

Cats have over

100 vocal chords

its brain

More boys

In nearly every episode of Seinfeld, there is a reference to

than girls are born during the day;

More girls are born at night.

Superman Tennessee is bordered by 8 states:

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia

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words and images Jessica Sowards

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’ve always been a big fan of Julia Child. After watching the mov-

ie Julie & Julia back in 2008, I felt so intrigued by her that I spent hours researching her life. She became, in my mind, this paragon of womanhood: an adventurer, an adoring wife, the kind of lady who followed her dreams even when they weren’t popular.

I think of her often in my kitchen. Her cookbooks, full of tasks way over my head, sit untouched on my shelves, a romantic reminder of her wisdom. “Never apologize,” she would say on her cooking show when she made a mistake. And I remind myself of this when I over-salt supper. One of Julia’s bits of wisdom has embedded deeper in me than the rest, though. I’ve carried it far from the kitchen and into everything that I do. In an episode of The French Chef, as she prepared to flip a pan of potato pancakes, she said in passing “You must muster up the courage of your conviction.” It seems almost silly when applied to flipping mash. But chew on it for a moment. You must muster up the courage of your conviction. Have you been there? Have you ever believed in something so fully that it forced you into a crossroads? The choice between what is right and what is easy is usually much murkier than you would expect. Especially when the other way holds promises of ease and comfort and your conviction requires a divergence from what you once may have even planned. I’ve been there. It came in our marriage in the form of a vasectomy that we just couldn’t go through with. The conviction came in the form of God saying He didn’t want us to close the door on another child. Our sixth child. When you have a lot of kids, people feel at liberty to share their lofty opinions on your family. Basic etiquette and the pre-school rule, “If you haven’t got anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all,” go out the window. Even for well-mannered me, it gets a little old. When seventy-year-old men stop me in the grocery store and ask, “Don’t you know what causes that?” I’m incredibly tempted to just say, “Well, I’ve narrowed it down to a couple of things,” and The Sowards

then leave them to ponder it. D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

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But I don’t. Because I’m a good Christian woman, I forgive them

But I’m a woman standing on a solid foundation. I am a woman

for their accidental rudeness and simply respond, “My children are

with the voice of God in her ear saying, “This is what I made you

my greatest blessing.” If I’m feeling extra Southern, I might even

for.” I am a woman emboldened by the courage of her convictions.

throw in, “Bless your heart.” I look at each of my four sons and my step-daughter and I feel Even when I am sure in the belief of a big family, it’s hard to

that courage grow. When I serve them dinner, hold a cool rag

diverge. When I hear a dozen comments every time I leave the

to a fevered head, pray them back to sleep after a nightmare, I

house that I have SO many kids, TOO many kids, I can’t help but

hear God tell me that I am worthy of the task. When they play

feel the crush of cultural expectations. People begin to translate

and laugh and interact with each other, when they are passionate

large family size as irresponsibility. People start using terms like

about something, excited to learn, I see the opportunities God has

“more kids than she can handle” and “socially selfish”. They make

given me to influence the future. And when I mess up and fail

comments about finances and sex lives and all sorts of things that

them, I am reminded of an amazing grace, and I thank Him even

don’t concern them.

more then for allowing me to be their mother.

When I took the pregnancy test a several weeks ago that told me

Psalms 127:4-5 says “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are

a tiny life was forming deep inside of me, I cried. I fell heavy into

the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver

my husband’s arms and devoured his reassurances that this was

is full of them…”

exactly what God wanted for us. I believed him in my heart, but my brain needed to catch up. I asked him not to share the news

I cannot tell you exactly why I feel so strongly about having a large

until I could do what I needed to do. I had to muster up the cour-

family. I just do. And even though I sometimes question myself,

age of my convictions.

and surely other people question me, I know this to be absolutely true: I will never regret my kids. Each of my babies has changed

I’m still afraid. I harbor the same fear all moms have. Will I be

me and I feel confident that with their hearts and the foundation

enough for them? Even on the best day I am outweighed by the

they are being given, they will change the world.

pile of laundry next to the washing machine. There are miserable moments when I just want to lie down with the two teething tod-

So it is with the utmost courage and pride, I announce to you that

dlers and cry with them. The cycle of “cook and clean” in this

our family is growing again. This child will be exactly who he or

house would overwhelm anyone. And sometimes I get frustrated

she is meant to be, and I am so blessed that it is meant to be mine.

that there isn’t more time for me to be just a woman. Because, underneath all of these children, that’s all I am.

We welcome you with open arms, wee one. We will see you soon. D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

entertainment

An outgrowth of Saint Boniface Catholic Church, the school opened its doors in 1887. At that time, it was a four-room building, with two rooms used as classrooms and two used as living quarters for the Benedictine nuns who served as teachers. Shortly after the school opened, some of the church parishioners started the lawn social to raise money for the school. The first year they brought ice cream, had a picnic on the lawn and raised fifty dollars. Over one hundred years later, the lawn social is still used as a fundraiser for the school, which is kindergarten through sixth grade, and has approximately 175 students. This year’s goal is thirty to forty thousand dollars. “Sometimes the money is earmarked for technology, to improve our server and wireless, to add classroom com-

The Lawn Social, 127 Years Later words Marcus Coker Image courtesy Saint Boniface Catholic School

puters,” says Karen, “but sometimes it goes to the general fund… What we charge for tuition is much less than what it actually cost to educate a kiddo, so we have to make that up some way.” Typically, the lawn social takes place over the course of one eve-

ning, but this year’s event has been extended to two nights. A few

silent auction, and a field full of games and entertainment for chil-

Entertainment will include local school bands, as well as the Saint

dren and adults.

Boniface Rhythm Band, a tradition that began in the 1940s and is

n October 17 and 18, Saint Boniface Catholic School

activities, like the spaghetti supper and silent auction, will be held

in Fort Smith will host its 127th annual lawn social, an

indoors. There will also be a dollar raffle, with prizes that include a

event rooted in community, tradition, and faith. Much

side of beef, a flat screen television, and cash.

like an old-time county fair, it will include a spaghetti dinner, a

made up of kindergarteners armed with triangles and rhythm sticks. Karen Hollenbeck, the principal and former student, says it’s one of the city’s oldest running celebrations. “When I was a child, I

“I think people show up because they connect to the tradition,”

remember looking forward to the event for weeks. It was on the

Karen says. “They like to remember another time, a different way

parking lot. My parents would give me a dollar, and I could run

of life when things were slower and maybe our focus was a little

wild all night. I think tickets were ten cents apiece.”

more clear. I think it’s a way to almost move back in time a little bit, to go back to our roots.”

This year’s lawn social will take place on Hilary Field, directly across from the school at North 19th and B Streets. Admission is free. Once inside, you can buy carnival tickets for fifty cents each, and most games cost two tickets. There will be lots to do, including

Saint Boniface Lawn Social: October 17 and 18, from 5 to 10

paintball, an obstacle course, inflatables, and a basketball toss.

PM at Hilary Field, at the corner of North 19 and B Streets in Fort Smith. Spaghetti dinners are $6 for adults and $3.50

“Each year, we add new things,” says Karen, “but some stay the

for children. The event will take place rain or shine.

same, just for the sake of tradition. That’s important because our traditions run deep. My granddad and dad went here, I went here,

For more information, visit stbonifaceschool.org or call

and my children went here. A lot of families have stories like mine.

the school office at 479.783.6601.

And when children experience the same things their parents did, it strengthens the family bond.” D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

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Emily McArthur Photography

It’s Hip to be Square Bentonville, Arkansas words Marla Cantrell images Marla Cantrell and courtesy Emily McArthur Photography, The Pressroom, The Walmart Museum, The Peel Mansion and Heritage Gardens, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Bentonville, Arkansas sits in the northwest corner of the state. It’s as complex a city as you’re bound to find: part corporate America due to the impact of Sam Walton’s Walmart (headquartered there); part small town America, as evidenced in its town square where local musicians gather almost every Friday for Pickin’ in the Park, an event that’s free to attend. Also in this city of 41,000 is the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which is there because of the philanthropy of Sam and Helen Walton’s daughter Alice Walton and the Walmart Foundation. The world-class museum brings in 220,000 visitors a year from across the globe. To get the full effect of this great town, you’ll want to seek out some of its newest offerings and visit some of its oldest sites. Head directly downtown. It’s going to be busy, so scope out the public parking areas and find your spot near the square. Tip: If you travel on a Saturday morning, you’ll also get to enjoy the farmers’ market. D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

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MORNING B r e a k fa s t

MID-MORNING The Pressroom (great coffee, full bar, deliciously fresh food) is a popular place, and today diners are filling the tables and spilling out onto the sidewalk where thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extra seating. Bea Apple, an electrical engineer by training, who owns this eatery, along with her husband, moved here eight years ago, knowing that when Crystal Bridges opened in 2011, opportunity would come with it.

The Walmart Museum Start with a Vanilla Honey Latte ($3.40)

105 North Main

and the Avocado Breakfast Sandwich

walmartstores.com

($4.00): whole wheat bread, avocado,

FREE

fried egg, cheddar cheese and mayo. Not

The Pressroom

in the mood for avocado? Try the French

An easy walk from The Pressroom leads

121 West Central Avenue

Baguette ($5.00) with Prosciutto and but-

you to an old dime store, complete with

ter, drizzled with scallion oil.

red and white awning. Step inside and

thepressroom.com

youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in the Walton 5&10, a working

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store with reproductions of old toys for

elry, accessories, tons of fun pillows.

sale, bins of taffy, a stack of aprons your grandmother might have worn. Sam Walton opened this shop in 1950, well before he launched his first Walmart store. Wind your way through the dime store and you’re in the self-guided museum that walks you through Sam’s life using displays, videos, and even the 1979 Ford pickup he drove year after year. A mustsee is Sam’s office, just as it was when he was building the Walmart empire. Stop at the display that shows items re-

The Mustache Goods and Wears 113 West Central Avenue

Blue Moon Market

facebook.com/mustachegw

113 North Main facebook.com/blue-moon-market

turned to Walmart stores. The policy that the customer is always right is showcased

T-shirts with Arkansas logos, jewelry

in the hand mixer one unhappy customer

shaped like the state, dish towels and

This is the place where vintage meets

claimed was possessed, a Stanley thermos

glasses with Arkansas locations, even a lo-

trendy and shabby meets chic. Lots of

made in 1954 and returned to Walmart in

cally made beer bottle opener fashioned

great jewelry, accessories, and clothing for

1983 because it leaked, and an outdoor

from a hand-finished piece of wood and

the fashion conscious and those who want

thermometer that was returned because

a really big bent nail. All this plus candles,

something with a little extra pizzaz.

“it never had the correct time.”

everything mustache, purses, and great gift ideas.

Exit through The Spark Café, an old-fash-

NOON

ioned soda fountain. Bonus: During the month of September, there will be three concerts at the Walmart Museum, with tickets selling for only $5 each, with proceeds benefitting local organizations. September 6, An Evening With Sarah Hughes; September 13, Jazz with 4Tet; and September 27, Memphis blues artist Mark Stuart will be performing songs from his debut album. Details at

Table Mesa Bistro

downtownbentonville.org.

Shopping You have time before lunch, so you might as well throw down a little cash. There are great boutiques on the square.

Posh Alley Boutique

108 East Central Avenue, Suite 10

112 West Central Avenue

tablemesabistro.com

facebook.com/posh-alley-boutique

Reservations recommended

Local art, hand-painted furniture, super-

Table Mesa Bistro’s menu is “modern

cool women’s clothing, housewares with

Latin,” featuring flavors from Central and

major personality. (Check out the deer

South America.

wearing the hat!) Great selection of jewD O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

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belle. She was holding out for a gentle-

with mahi-mahi, flown in from Seattle,

Museum of Native American History

where the owners, Chris Garrett and his

202 Southwest O Street

like she was accustomed to, being born in

wife, lived before moving to Bentonville,

monah.us

A bestseller is the fish tacos ($12), made

again, in anticipation of Crystal Bridges.

man who would build her a big old house the state of Alabama.

FREE “He finally said he would, so they got mar-

Besides the fish tacos, the other favorites

Not far from downtown sits the Museum

ried, and a passel of children and a Civil

are: Cheap Dates ($7): Medjoohl dates

of Native American History. You’ll know

War later, he kept his promise.”

stuffed with gorgonzola, cream cheese

you’re there when you see the Teepee

and wrapped in hardwood smoked bacon;

outside. Go into the building, nod to the

The Peel Mansion is 6,000 square feet,

Steak Madagascar ($25): ribeye steak with

mammoth and the black bear that greet

built in the Italianate Villa style in 1875. In

a port cream reduction.

you, and make your way to the gift shop.

its glory it was a working farm surrounded

That’s where you’ll pick up your audio de-

by 180 acres of apple orchards.

The Curry Chicken Burrito ($12), is what I

vice that’s used to explain the exhibits. The

finally chose. It’s a Thai style yellow curry

museum is organized in chronological or-

On your tour you’ll hear the story of the

burrito with slow roasted (fall-off-your-

der, starting with the Paleo period.

Peels and their nine children, and you’ll

fork tender) chicken, avocado, aged jack

see this beautifully restored piece of his-

cheese, roasted corn topped with gua-

tory, complete with furnishings and even

jillo sauces. It’s served with Cuban black

the original china the family used. The Peel

beans and Latin rice, and could have easily

Mansion can be rented for special occa-

fed two. The spices were part sweet/part

sions, such as weddings, as well.

spicy, and the dish was phenomenal. This Bonus: During the holidays, The Peel Man-

meal alone is worth the trip.

sion Museum and Heritage Gardens will be decked out for Christmas and there will be an open house.

AFTERNOON

The Peel Mansion Museum & Heritage Gardens

You’ve likely eaten too much, but you can

400 South Walton Boulevard

walk it off by going to these two nearby places:

peelcompton.org $5 adults. $2 ages 6–12. The Peel Mansion Museum & Heritage Gardens sit near a Walmart store on a piece of ground that’s steeped in history. And no one knows the story of how this place came to be better than Volunteer Coordinator Carol Harris, who just happens to be one of the best storytellers you’ll ever meet.

1875] was a gift of love from Colonel

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Samuel West Peel to his wife, Mary Ema-

600 Museum Way

line,” Carol says. “He asked her to marry

crystalbridges.org

him several times, but she was a Southern

FREE

“The Peel Mansion Museum [built in

D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

travel

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art sits on 120 acres of forested land that is

EVENING

The smoked sirloin served with Au Jus ($12.50 - 7 oz.) was perfect, fork-tender.

home to urban bike and walking trails that

If you’re still hungry, order the no-bake

connect the site to downtown. The build-

cheesecake. Nothing pretentious. Perfectly

ing itself, designed by world-renowned ar-

delicious.

chitect Moshie Safdie, is a work of art. The museum’s permanent collection spans five

Fred’s Hickory Inn holds approximately

centuries of American masterworks, includ-

250 people but don’t let that stop you

ing Norman Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter

from making reservations. You’ll likely

and Andy Warhol’s Dolly Parton, and also

need them.

includes greats such as Winslow Homer, Jackson Pollock, John Singer Sargent, and Maxfield Parrish. Find time to stop by the museum’s restaurant, Eleven, for coffee, wine, a light snack or a full meal. They even have chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, and beans and cornbread. Remember, the museum is closed on Tuesdays.

Fred’s Hickory Inn 1502 North Walton Boulevard fredshickoryinn.net Reservations recommended Fred’s Hickory Inn, which was once a youth camp with an 1890 log cabin on site, changed hands in 1969 and opened as a restaurant in 1970. The food here has attracted celebrities like Paula Abdul and Toby Keith. And Bill Clinton informally announced his run for the presidency at one of the tables. General Manager Greg Cockrum points to a table in the back. “Sam Walton was a real humble guy,” Greg says, “always sat at that table. Had that F150 truck, always had trouble with the battery. He had jumper cables hanging in the kitchen.” Fred’s has not varied from their original 1970s menu, and one of the original dishwashers from that era is now one of the cooks. D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

There you have it, one fun-filled day in Bentonville. If you need even more reasons to go, consider this: Lawrence Park, just off the square, hosts free First Friday Flicks, which begin around eight in the evening. On September 5, you can see The Little Giants, and on October 3, The Corpse Bride. The Walmart Museum also hosts Sidewalk Sundays from 2 – 5PM, free family events that include everything from planting fall flowers (September 7) to making pottery (September 14) to a demonstration by IBM (September 21) on how to make ice cream in minutes using liquid nitrogen.

taste

image Jeromy Price

MORNING Hog Master and orange juice Afternoon Hog Master, cola and splash of lime juice Night Hog Master and an energy drink Add 1 shot of Hog Master Heavenly Liqueur to glass filled with ice. Fill glass with orange juice (morning), cola and lime (afternoon), or an energy drink (night). Stir gently.

D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

taste

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch... Garlic-Ranch Chicken Pizza

words & Images Lauren Allen, tastesbetterfromscratch.com

D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

taste

I’ve been making homemade pizzas with my mom ever since I was little. I loved to help her stretch the dough, and she would always let us choose the toppings we wanted. Pizza night was a fun activity for our whole family. Once I got married, my husband requested homemade pizza just about every weekend. But there was only one problem; I wasn’t in love with the pizza crust recipe I’d always used. SO, I set out to find the best pizza crust recipe out there. Now, for someone who makes homemade pizza on almost a weekly basis, I’ve tried my fair share of pizza crust recipes. Many of them were close successes, and many were utter failures. It’s taken me a long time to adapt and combine things from recipes I’ve liked in order to make the perfect recipe — but now I can confidently say THIS IS IT! I’ve found that the key to making pizza from home is pre-baking your pizza crust. It’s absolutely essential to pre-bake it for five or six minutes, then put your toppings on, and return it to the oven to finish baking. This will result in a crust that holds its own and is crispy on the outside, and soft and airy on the inside. You also really need to take the time to let the dough rise. I’ve tried tons of “norise” or “fifteen-minute” pizza crust recipes, and none of them tastes as good as when you let the dough rise. That’s just how it has to be done — and you’ll be so pleased with the results! Now that you’ve got the perfect pizza dough recipe, you’ve got to make this amazing Garlic-Ranch Chicken Pizza. I love the flavor and creaminess that this homemade garlic-ranch sauce adds to the pizza. Top it with layers of tomato, bacon, chicken, and mozzarella cheese and you’ve got a real winner. Try it baked, or grilled.

Lauren Allen is the creator of TastesBetterFromScratch.com, an exciting and beautiful food blog dedicated to sharing her love of cooking and creating new recipes from her family home in St. Louis. Lauren truly believes that everything tastes better homemade!

D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

taste

Pizza Crust

Garlic-Ranch Chicken Pizza

Ingredients 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 2 teaspoons sugar 1 1/2 cups warm water 3 Tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon white vinegar 3 3/4 - 4 cups flour (bread flour works best, but all-purpose works fine)

Ingredients Dough for 1 pizza 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded 1/2 cup bacon, cooked and crumbled 1 cup chicken, cooked and shredded 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced

Method In a large bowl of a stand mixer combine 1/2 cup of the warm water with the sugar and yeast. Stir to dissolve the yeast and let rest for 5 minutes. Add the remaining 1 cup of warm water, and the olive oil, salt and vinegar. Mix on medium-low speed and gradually add flour. Knead for about 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic (it should be sticky, but not so sticky that it sticks to your clean fingertips). Cover the bowl with a dry towel and allow to rest in a warm place until doubled in volume — about 1 hour. Gently punch the dough down and place on a floured counter top. Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces (this can vary depending on how thick you want your crust and how big you want your pizza. I make three medium sized pizzas). Roll and stretch your dough to desired size and thickness. Allow to rest for 20 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 450° and brush dough lightly with olive oil. Pre-bake the dough on a pizza stone or in pizza pan for 6 minutes. Remove from oven and add toppings. Return to oven and bake for 8-12 more minutes or until the crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

Garlic-Ranch Sauce Ingredients 2 Tablespoons sour cream 3 Tablespoons mayonnaise 2 1/2 Tablespoons milk 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 1/8 teaspoon chopped, dried chives 1/8 teaspoon dill 1/8 teaspoon dried parsley Dash of onion powder Salt and pepper, to taste Method Mix all ingredients together for the garlic-ranch sauce. Spread mixture over the top of the pizza dough. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese over top, followed by the chicken, bacon, and tomatoes. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake at 450° for 9 – 12 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly. *For grilled pizzas: Oil your grill and heat to medium-low. Shape dough into long, slipper-shaped pieces. Brush dough with olive oil and grill for 2 minutes on one side, with the grill closed. Flip to the other side and brush again with olive oil. Cook for 2 minutes, with the grill lid closed. Remove crust to a plate and add toppings. Return to grill and cook just until cheese is melted, 1-2 more minutes.

D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

southern lit

fiction Marla Cantrell

D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

southern lit

I’m reading this book on how to get a man

Him Make You His Queen for Life,” is going to work.

to propose that Mama bought me because I’ve been seeing Holt three years come October and he hasn’t once mentioned matri-

I couldn’t even eat lunch, that’s how upset I was, so I stayed in

mony. So far, this is what I’ve tried:

the break room where all the pictures on the paneled walls are of headstones — one of them reads “Grandma’s Gone to the Super

1. Took him to a cemetery so he’d realize life is short. Standing

Walmart in the Sky,” I kid you not — and I stared at my phone and

next to an ornate headstone, wearing heels and showing a

I reasoned with myself. Holt sets up people’s satellite dishes, so he

little cleavage makes you look (A) like a living breathing beauty

could have been up on a roof out in the country, getting some nice

queen and (B) like somebody who’d be willing to birth a man

family access to Pretty Little Liars and Duck Dynasty. But by three I

a few babies, guaranteeing him the only version of eternal life

was sweating a little, I’ll admit that. So I told my boss I was having

a mortal girl has access to.

lady problems and I grabbed my flowers and headed home.

2. Bought panties three sizes too small and tossed them across the handlebars of the stationary bike in my bedroom, hop-

There Holt was. Sitting on my porch, his big hands clasped to-

ing he’d see them and believe I was one of those tiny women

gether, his brow furrowed like a man who just learned he owed

whose behind would fit into a toddler’s car seat. Apparently, a

back taxes. I took it as a good sign, since Holt never takes off

tiny behind makes a man weak in the knees. (I’d like to point

work early, not even when the Razorbacks play one of those bowl

out that this tip collides with another in chapter twelve that

games that I pretend to know all about.

tells you big hips equate fertility, another thing men are supSo, I put on some lip gloss and I swung my legs out of the car like

posed to find irresistible.) 3. Went camping. Pretended to like it. Got up at three in the

I’ve seen actresses do — one high heel and then the other hitting

morning to put on makeup so I’d look good when Holt woke

the red clay earth — and then I stood, one hand on my hip. Holt

up. Saw what I believe was a bear (or a giant raccoon) and ran

had straightened up and was watching me, his fingers moving

like the dickens until I reached the bathroom that, let’s face it,

through his blond hair. I walked to the passenger’s side and leaned

smelled worse than the city’s water supply when the lake turns

through the window, and I unbuckled my flowers from where I’d

over every summer. Cursed the raccoon/bear, cursed society

secured them when I hightailed it out of work. Then I clutched

for making me believe I am inferior without my lip gloss and

them to my chest — I had on my V-neck blouse that could sell

mascara, and then I sat on the toilet that looked like a glorified

a dozen burial plots if those old geezers on the telephone could

trashcan and read the next chapter: “Make Him Make You His

see me when I called — and I held them like they were the most

Queen for Life”.

cherished thing I’d ever gotten.

Which is why I sent myself flowers today. A big bouquet of cab-

Holt had stepped off the porch, his arms crossed, a frown pulling

bage roses and gardenias and white peonies that cost me two

down his square jaw.

days’ salary. The card read: Thinking of you and wanting you and dreaming of you. Of course I didn’t sign it. Soon as the flowers ar-

“I declare, Holt,” I said. “Aren’t you just full of surprises today?

rived I acted all surprised so the other girls in the office would see

First the flowers and now here you are at my house!”

and back me up if I needed them. Next, I texted Holt to thank him. Then I took a picture of the card and I sent it to him. And then I

“You’re home early,” he said, real flat and broody. “You expect-

took a picture of the flowers and sent that.

ing somebody?”

I waited. Ten minutes, fifteen, twenty. And then my boss came

“Lord, no,” I said. “I took off early so I could throw on some steaks

in and asked me real haughty like if I was working or just holding

and then call you up and see if you’d come over and have dinner

down my chair, so I got back on the phone trying to sell burial

with me. The flowers,” I said, and then stopped, like I might cry

plots, which is not easy on any day — don’t get me started on

if I went on. Just so you know, I did have two steaks thawing in

what cremation’s done to my weekly quota — but is even harder

the fridge, like any good girl who’d read chapter five “Steak and

when you’re waiting to see if your favorite chapter, “How to Make

Make Out —- The Recipe for Matrimony,” which of course I had.

D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

southern lit

“About that,” Holt said.

at Hair and Back cost sixty-five dollars. Worth every penny. “I reckon I am,” he said, and stopped again. I looked up at him and

I interrupted. “I had no idea you knew my favorite flowers were

pinched the bridge of my nose so I wouldn’t cry. Holt smiled.

cabbage roses. And light pink. You know me so well.” Here I touched one perfectly manicured fingertip to my cheek, wiping

And then he squatted right down on the ground, then hopped up

away an imaginary tear. “I was telling Mama Sunday last how

on one knee. I held out my left hand and he took it. “Livvie Rudell,

amazing you are. I said, ‘Holt Abbott is better than a weekend in

I love you so much it makes me crazy sometimes. Makes me con-

the deer woods, followed by two nights of football and then a trip

fused, if you want to know the truth, like I’ve had too much to

to Talladega.’”

drink even when I haven’t touched a drop.” Holt seemed to be veering off, so I patted his arm. He drew in his breath and then he

Holt smiled at me like he was seeing me for the first time.

said. “I’ve been thinking we ought to get married.”

“You said that?” he asked.

I fell into his arms. He picked me up and swung me around. He kissed me. And let me tell you this, it felt even better than it looks

“I surely did.”

at the movies when the music starts to swell, filling the whole dang sky, and everybody on camera starts to dance. I looked at

Holt shook his head. “I never met a girl like you,” he said. “You

my front door. Inside, the book that made this moment possible

wake up just as pretty as when you went to bed. You like camp-

sat hidden in my lingerie drawer under my beige underpants, the

ing and football and beer and racing. And you’re as innocent as a

ones that actually fit me. I imagined it opening and shutting fast,

newborn, Livvie, I want you to know that. Men look at you all the

the pages clapping for me, like a magic book filled with spells.

time and you never even notice. I’ll bet you got guys telling you they wish they were in my shoes all the time.”

Truth is, Holt cast his spell on me the first time he showed up at my door to set me up with satellite. His smile near about blocked out

“Oh you,” I said, and set my flowers on the ground beside me.

the sun. “I’m here to open up your world,” he said, which is this

“Nobody pays me no never mind.” I looked off, like something

corny thing his company makes him say to new customers. And I

real important had just occurred to me. “Well, almost no one.

thought right then and there, with my left hand shielding my eyes

There’s this one guy. He owns the Bloomer’s Diner downtown.

against the bright day (so that he could see that I wasn’t wearing

Owns it,” I said, putting the emphasis on the word owns. “Why,

a ring more than anything else), I thought to myself, I believe you

he’s no older than we are. Sometimes he delivers burgers to the

could, you handsome hunk of change. You could open my world

office and he’ll tell me I look nice, nothing personal mind you, just

wide as a pocketbook, wider than the Gulf of Mexico. And that’s

being pleasant.” I tapped my lip and wait a second. “Well, some-

when my heart split in two, and Holt stepped into the opening and

times he does throw in a strawberry malt even though I didn’t

filled it clean up.

order one. And that one time he asked me out I told him I was seeing someone. He asked if we were exclusive and I thought, Well, I

Just so you know, I plan to be the best wife you ever saw. I plan

am. I don’t know about Holt. Are you exclusive, Holt?”

to love me some football, tolerate beer, learn the names of those slick-haired race car drivers that wear those awful coveralls. All of

Holt had his keychain in his hands and he was swinging his keys

this I plan to do, right after I send my sweet old mama the biggest

around his index finger. Fast. “Hell, Livvie,” he said, “of course

bouquet of roses you ever did see.

we’re exclusive. Why, we’re more than exclusive. You and me, well I figure, you and me are headed for the altar sooner or later.” “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” I asked. “I believe I…” he said and then stopped. I looked down so he could see my long lashes — the extensions Carla Jo put on down D O S O U THMA G AZ I N E

Read Chair Publishing, LLC 7030 Taylor Avenue, Suite 5 Fort Smith, AR 72916