january2011 AtUrbanMagazine.com
rebound
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Say Goodbye to Ordinary Something to Talk About Now Hear This
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Happy Cows, Happy Artist Before He Knew Heartache Xander’s Dad’s Great Example Not Your Average Joe Smiling in Jamaica
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The Piano Man Hoppin’ John
44 46
A Night in the Clouds Going Local
In the Suburu with Buffalo Bull Whatever It Takes
Marla Cantrell Dana Clunn
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Marla Cantrell Laura Hobbs Jim Martin Tonya McCoy Anita Paddock Sarah Rumsey
CONTRIBUTING DESIGNERS
Jeromy Price Jihan Blue
WEB GURU
David Jamell
PUBLISHER
Read Chair Publishing, LLC
COVER IMAGE
entertainment
DIRECTOR OF SALES AND STRATEGIC PLANNING
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people
MANAGING EDITOR
Catherine Frederick
taste
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PRESIDENT
destination
@INSIDE
Cari Humphry
Advertising and Distribution Information
Dana Clunn at 479 / 650 / 9665 Dana@AtUrbanMagazine.com Editorial or Artwork Information
Catherine Frederick at 479 / 782 / 1500 Catherine@AtUrbanMagazine.com ©2011 Read Chair Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. The opinions contained in @Urban are exclusively those of the writers and do not represent those of Read Chair Publishing, LLC. as a whole or its affiliates. Any correspondence to @Urban or Read Chair Publishing, LLC., including photography becomes the property of Read Chair Publishing, LLC. @Urban reserves the right to edit content and images.
@LETTER FROM CATHERINE
J
anuary. The time of year when resolutions begin to whirl about in our brains like quartersized flakes in a snowstorm. Lose weight. Stop smoking. Work out. Get out of debt. Reconnect with friends. Spend more time with family. It’s enough to drive us mad and give up before we even get started. I choose not to get wrapped in making resolutions because I know I will beat myself up when I undoubtedly fail to keep them. Instead, I think of January as a new beginning, an annual mulligan - a gift. It’s my opportunity to ring out my faults and failures and give myself permission to start anew. I want to share two quotes with you, one from American statesman Benjamin Franklin, the second from poet Edith Lovejoy Pierce. They speak volumes to me as I embark on this New Year.
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man. -Benjamin Franklin We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day. -Edith Lovejoy Pierce I always look forward to the New Year, but I can’t help but gaze back and become keenly aware of how the previous 365 days flew by at lightning speed and be amazed at the milestones that have taken place. My son, a year older and a head taller, is halfway through kindergarten, no longer afraid of mascots, and has traded in The Wiggles (men dressed in primary colors, singing and dancing about) for WWE (men dressed in tights beating each other over the heads with ladders and chairs). What a difference a year makes! @Urban has come a long way in just five short months. The response from you, our readers, has been overwhelming. Your enthusiasm for the magazine and the comments we receive confirm my belief that our region was hungry for a magazine like ours and I could not be more thankful to all of you. Urbanites, I hope you dive headfirst into the New Year unburdened from the guilt that inevitably comes with resolutions. I hope you resolve only this: be better this year and open the book. Put down your words- it’s your story after all, enjoy every minute of it.
twitter.com/atUrbanMag facebook.com/aturbanmagazine
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@LIFESTYLE
He asked me, and I said yes. Didn’t hesitate a minute. Isn’t that the way most good things happen? I was seventeen again, taking a road trip With the heart-breaker, campus flirt, Mr. Cool from high school. We sang all the way to Santa Fe, Washed our faces in the Rio Grande, Urged the Subaru up cliffs to Taos.
In the Subaru with Buffalo Bull
Damn near blew away at The Grand Canyon Drove through sand storms That reminded us of 1950’s Westerns.
@lines Anita Paddock
At Oak Canyon we cried at its majesty Bought silver and turquoise bracelets And ate breakfast under the Sedona sun. We were just two old pals who shared secrets at night and forgot them by day. We had fun. What else is there? That’s what I told everyone When I got home. 7
whatever it takes river valley BACA
@story Marla Cantrell @image Jeromy Price
O
n a balmy night in 2001, a man called Tree was throwing back a few at a bikers’ rally in
Oklahoma. He remembers the way the band sounded, the hodgepodge of tents set up just yards away, the tips of the cigarettes glowing orange in the darkness. But mostly he remembers wondering what the hell BACA meant. The four letters were spelled out on the back of the vest of the man in front of him. “It was two in the morning and I was so drunk I could hardly stand up. I’m not proud of that; that was my past. I’ve grown a lot since then,” Tree says, looking at the toe of his bulky boots. “I’ll never forget that man – he belonged to an Oklahoma BACA [Bikers Against Child Abuse] chapter. He talked to me, maybe for an hour or an hour and a half. But he was being a wise ass because he thought I wasn’t serious. He said, ‘If you really want to find out, go to my tent.’ Kind of challenging me. So at eight o’clock that morning I was at his tent.” What Tree learned during that meeting was like the parting of the waters. “I’d been single my whole life and I kept wondering, Why am I here? Is it just to take up breath? There’s got to be a purpose.”
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@LIFESTYLE
The purpose, for Tree, was BACA. He came home and started
what happened to the child until the bikers show up in court.
meeting with agencies that dealt with children and abuse. He
No one ever talks about what they hear. If they do they’re asked
found other bikers who wanted to help and the River Valley
to leave the organization.
BACA chapter opened for business. After the assessment, the group gathers, climbs on their bikes and He is a bear of a man. He sits on a pew in a former church where
head to the child’s house, showing up in a procession so loud and
the River Valley BACA chapter is meeting, his legs splayed out
flashy it drives the neighbors out into their yards to watch. The child
in front of him, reaching halfway across the tight space. “I got
is given a “road name” to protect their identity, and then taken for a
the name Tree when I was still a kid playing first base. They’d
ride, along with a guardian, to initiate them into the club.
point at me and say, ‘If you can’t throw that ball over a tree you can’t get it past him.’
“We’ve bought school clothes, Christmas presents, Thanksgiving dinner,” Tree says. “We pay for a week at therapy camp if a kid
On this Sunday, there are eighty men and women gathered to
needs it. It may not sound like that’s part of our mission, but
discuss chapter business. Outside, a row of motorcycles wraps
we’re trying to show these kids there are adults who care, who’ll
the old building like a mechanical ribbon. Inside, there is more
stand by them, who won’t ever turn away.”
black clothing than you’d see at a funeral, and more leather than at a good-sized rodeo.
The bikers are big enough and burly enough to convince these kids that the scales have just tilted in their favor. “They’re
They look tough, and that’s kind of the point. Their job is to help
scared to death. But they look out in the courtroom and see
abused kids through a heartbreaking time. Each BACA member
ten or twelve of us sitting together and they can tell the truth
goes through an extensive background check, and follows the
without being afraid. DHS [Department of Human Services]
strict rules of the organization.
can’t sit at a kid’s house 24/7. We can. We can escort them to school, take ‘em back home, whatever it takes.
“We’re trying to show these kids there are adults who care, who’ll stand by them, who won’t ever turn away.”
“I remember my first time in court. It was in Talequah, Oklahoma, and we were there for a seven-year-old girl. She was so scared, so we went up and we made a human wall between her and her abuser. She went to court and her testimony was strong and they put him away for twenty-five years. On the way out I heard her call, ‘Tree, Tree,’ and she grabbed me around my leg and just hugged and hugged,” Tree says, and clears his throat. “It’ll get
Once BACA is contacted, an assessment team goes to meet the
you,” he says.
child and the guardians. They are the only members who hear
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@LIFESTYLE
“We aren’t vigilantes. We don’t condone violence. We don’t want
years in prison and his family hasn’t messed with that family
to do anything that would affect a court case. We’re there to
to this day.” Tree stops, adjusts the bandana holding back his
stand by that child. When a kid is so scared they haven’t slept for
shoulder-length hair and continues, “His family understood,
days and you show up on their porch and say, ‘I got you.’ We stay
you don’t mess with our kids.”
the night, and later you’ll hear him snore. He’s been so tired. We empower them. Kids are so much stronger than adults, but they
It’s been a wild ride in the nine years since Tree learned what
don’t realize it. We give them the strength,” Tree says, jabbing the
BACA meant. He’s never again questioned what his mission is.
air with his finger, “to say that person done that to me, without
“I thank God that He gave me this chance. I’m nothing without
being afraid someone will come back and get them.
this group. ..It’s all them. They’ll do anything for a kid. They’ll spend their own money. They’ll stay up all night.”
They’ve seen the very worst in life. We want to show them the best. Child abuse is an epidemic in this country,” Tree says, and
And then he points out the youngest member of the River Valley
points to another BACA member whose ropey braid reaches his
BACA chapter. “He’s just twenty-one. He used to be one of our
waist. “See that patch he’s wearing? The one with the number
kids,” Tree says. “We’ve seen the Round-Robin. That was the
four on it. It means four kids will die today from abuse in the
proudest day of my life when he got his patch. To watch a child
U.S. Multiply that by a year and you have enough kids to fill
who’d been served by us, who saw we do what we say we’ll
Southside High School [in Fort Smith]. Think about that,” Tree
do and have him want to sign up, it was proof that what we do
says, “that many kids that didn’t have to die.”
works. His life will be different than it could have been.”
The River Valley BACA chapter covers about sixty miles, but
As the group files out, Tree reaches out to many of them. Some
they’ll go wherever they’re needed. “In 2006, we went to Noel,
hug him, in that manly way, hitting each other on the back so
Missouri. This little girl was abused by a man and the man told
hard you can hear it. A woman with five rings on one hand and
her if she pressed charges he would kill her family, he would kill
four on the other, twists her inky black hair into a tortoise-shell
her dog. He’d been driving by her house. She and her parents
clip. Engines rev. Bikers in chaps pull on leather jackets and hit
had gone out to dinner and they came home,” Tree says, “and
the road, filling the street with a long line of bad ass bikes.
there was their dog. It had been skinned and was hanging on They look ominous – like they’re out to find trouble – but all
the fence by its collar.”
they’re looking for is the next child who needs a hero. Because “We were there for three weeks. Six or seven from this chapter
they have plenty of them, each identified by a simple patch
went. BACA had members from Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri and
with these four letters – B.A.C.A.
Kansas. There were about 300 of us that took shifts over those three weeks. We surrounded the yard. We let her know she was For more information log onto bacausa.com
safe, twenty-four hours a day. After that, the guy got forty-five
10
SAY GOODBYE TO fullers field @story Marla Cantrell @image Spring Stout
@ENTERTAINMENT
H
unter Thompson, the lead singer for the Christian rock
University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, and until recently played with
band Fullers Field, picks up a microphone and stands
a heavy metal band. While he enjoyed it, he also felt it was fraught
stock-still while the drummer behind him begins to play. When
with obstacles. “That’s why the hard-core metal scene was hard
the guitars kick in, he taps his right foot and starts to sing. He
for me. There was temptation around me and these guys here,”
weaves the words effortlessly, telling a story filled with symbolic
he says, nodding at the three other band members, “keep me in
thorns and concrete regrets. His delivery is impeccable and his
check. We each take turns leading Bible study before practices.
voice quivers with emotion. He bows his head, as if a great
..I knew there was good Christian music I could listen to and still
burden is weighing him down, as if he’s had decades to reflect
be positive but then I would try to convince myself I could listen
on a life filled with turmoil.
to this other music and it wouldn’t affect me, but it will.”
Only he hasn’t.
Brian, who wrote many of the songs on the group’s latest album, “Say Goodbye To Ordinary,” believes their lyrics set them apart.
Hunter is just eighteen, and a senior at Greenwood High. He
“I try to tell people through my lyrics that it doesn’t matter where
joined Fullers Field, a Van Buren-based group, last year after
you’re at or what you’ve done, God still loves you. You pour your
drummer Blake Dobbins heard how talented he was. “When
heart out. You tell personal stories. People relate to that. We tell
our last singer left, I was working at Shoe Carnival and this guy
them it’s not all going to be roses, but it’s going to be worth it.”
I worked with said, ‘Hunter Thompson. He’s such a great singer.’ I looked him up on Facebook. ..But Hunter was trying to start
The idea that thorns are the counterpoint to roses is something
something on his own, so I left it alone. But then God laid it
Hunter has known for most of his life. As he reaches to put the
on my heart to talk to him again and when I asked him about
mike back in its stand, a spotlight hits a six-inch scar that starts
Fullers Field, he said he’d been waiting for God to show him an
just above his left elbow and disappears beneath the sleeve of
opportunity. Then he auditioned and that was it.”
his T-shirt. He remembers the day the accident happened. He was six, living in the Philippines with his missionary parents.
Blake, who’s also eighteen, is a student at the University of
“My parents had one prayer before we moved, that none of us
Arkansas – Fort Smith. He’s been with Fullers Field since it began
would have to have surgery. It was a third-world country. We’d
in 2008. Organizer and lead guitarist, Brian Stout, who’s by far
been there for six months. We were building a fort out back
the oldest at twenty-five, heard him play and knew he needed to
for me and my brother. There was a sandpit. I was running and
be part of the band. “What I didn’t know was how young Blake
I tripped on the ledge and fell on a strip of wood and it broke
was, and then one day he asked me to drive him to school and I
my arm pretty clean on both sides,” Hunter says, and pinches
figured it out. But it didn’t matter; he was just so talented.”
the fabric of his jean pants, making imaginary creases in the rumpled denim. “After that we spent a very lengthy night of
The final member of Fullers Field is Carter Bradley, who plays
trying to find the nearest legitimate hospital. We were lucky
the bass, and is another eighteen-year-old. He too attends the
enough to find a surgeon who studied in New York, so we had
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@ENTERTAINMENT
an American-trained physician. I have pins in my arm,” he says,
played Rock the River in Fort Smith where the crowd swelled
rubbing the spot where the scar begins. ..”You had to buy your
to nearly 4,000. They’ve played rodeos where some of the
own anesthesia and medicine or they wouldn’t perform the
audience mistook them for a secular band, dancing a little too
surgery. There were dogs chasing cats that were chasing rats.
close, and getting a little too rowdy. But they’ve also played
It was crazy. I was doped up for most of it,” Blake says, shaking
venues where amazing things happened. “We went to Webbers
his head. “It was a unique experience.”
Falls [Oklahoma] and we had all kinds of young people there. ..This one boy came down during the worship part of our show
Still, the family’s mission work set his course. At sixteen, while
and he gave his life to the Lord,” Brian says, and rubs his thumb
at a church camp in Oklahoma, he made the decision to go
across his chin. “A few weeks later he was diagnosed with a
into the ministry. “My dad is the director for missions for the
terminal illness. I know we make a difference.”
Concord Baptist Association, which includes Southern Baptist churches around here. I really felt the need to do something
Blake nods, the three crosses on his necklace flashing as the light
more than normal. I knew it was going to be music after I moved
hits them. “People tell us they play our songs over and over. They’ll
here [to Greenwood in 2008] and the doors started to open.
post some of our lyrics on Facebook. It feels good knowing you’re
God’s given me this talent and I have to develop that skill.”
helping someone. They’ll tell us we helped them through a tough time. ..They’ll say they got through a hard night with our music.”
Hunter is a massive guy. He looks like he was born to play football. And he does. Soon after his move to Greenwood, he
That’s what the band is about, delivering a message of hope
began playing left guard on the offensive line for the Bulldogs.
to those struggling to find it. “The hardest thing is balancing
In December, he played in the state’s 5A championship in Little
performance with praise and making sure you don’t get caught up
Rock, in a nail biter of a game. The team was down fourteen
in being all showy and not having truth behind it,” Hunter says.
points in the fourth quarter, but came back to win over Camden-
“You have to engage the audience – otherwise they should just
Fairview 36-35. ““I’ve always been a football player so I have
stay home and listen to the CD – but the worship has to be there
that jock thing. But I’m in talent shows, too, and I like to play
too. The jump around stuff we can just rock it out, but the worship
music there. I love that. I sing for FCA [Fellowship of Christian
songs are different. We have to be able to be worship leaders.”
Athletes] and I sang at the Veterans Day assembly at school.” Brian smiles, knowing these three teens understand the serious He’s already looking ahead to summer. “With football you don’t
business behind the high energy band. “We’re just here to
have much of a life. We’ll tour after I graduate. Then I’m headed
introduce people to the one who can cleanse them and restore
to UAFS.”
them to new again. None of us forgets that. It’s what keeps us playing, it’s what keeps us looking forward to the next show.”
But for now the band is playing closer to home.
Brian says
the band draws everyone from “kids to grandparents.” They’ve
For more information, visit fullersfieldband.com
14
something to talk about
Reid began his webcast in his basement a couple of months ago, using equipment costing a mere $500. Compared to the $100 or more it would cost by the hour to rent a studio, that’s quite a deal. Now Joe’s Grill and Cantina, located at 3400 South
everyday joes and does
74th Street in Fort Smith, sponsors Everyday Joes and Does, which airs every Monday on ustream.tv . The internet has made
@story Tonya McCoy @image Bobby Dyer
it easy for anyone to webcast just about anywhere. “It’s totally changed. You can do it on your phone. It’s given the individual the ability to do anything he or she wants to do,” says Reid.
S
izzling skillets of fajitas glide by atop waiters’ trays, and groups of diners laugh loudly while enjoying their .99
But Reid isn’t just “anyone.” He caught the DJ fever when he was
cent margaritas. In this same restaurant, four hosts of a new
only a teenager. At the age of fifteen he began working for the
talk show sit around a wire-laden table, in a dimly lit corner
local radio station KISR, and worked there for almost a decade.
booth. Cords wind their way around microphones and between
Times have changed since Reid’s days as a disc jockey. “Used to,
bowls of salsa. Guitar chords sound and the show begins.
in radio, I had to work for a company that had a board about as big
“We’re back, Everyday Joes and Does, live from Joe’s Grill and
as this table,” he says. “It had to have a 100,000 watt frequency.
Cantina,” announces Reid Maddox with a Southern twang.
You had a playlist, and you had to play by the FCC rules.”
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@ENTERTAINMENT
Reid said he soon learned DJ’ing for local radio didn’t pay a lot
donations, even pirated copies!” Reid is the entertainer and
and also didn’t offer much freedom to speak his mind. So now,
he’s also called the instigator. He has the DJ experience under
fifteen years later, he’s trying the broadcast life his way. He’s
his belt, but now he’s not tethered by the FCC rules. He’s the
created a local show where he and three of his friends discuss
‘say anything’ host who doesn’t worry about being politically
anything and everything.
correct and he’s not afraid to tell you exactly what’s on his mind. He jokes about wild stunts they could perform to make their show go “viral.”
“Here’s one scary thought for you. The Office of Secure Transportation says between 2007 and 2009 there were sixteen alcohol-related incidents involving their drivers who
And when he does say something that’s not exactly “PG,”
were transporting nuclear weapons and parts, along the
Kristal Kimblerling – co-host number four, and the mother of
interstate,” says one of the co-hosts, Tony (Anthony) Yates.
the group, speaks up. Kristal laughs as she says, “I want to show
Tony has an eye for news, making lists of interesting topics
my kids one of our shows, and it’s yet to be able to happen.”
each week. He worked in Fort Smith eight years as a news
Kristal is a modern, trendy mom who knows more than a little
producer for KFSM, and was assignment manager for KHBS/
about parenting, what with four kids who are thirteen, nine,
KHOG’s news department for seven years. Currently, he’s the
two, and one. She reminds the group to keep the show “family
community relations coordinator for the Western Arkansas
friendly.” She has a contagiously loud laugh and talks with her
Alzheimer’s Association but says, “You can’t take the news out
hands when making a point.
of the news man.” Put these four together, and it’s like having dinner with your “And they drink?” asks the third co-host, Saundria Fayleen who
smartest, funniest, and most entertaining friends. They discuss
appears shocked by Tony’s drunk truck driver story. Saunie,
everything from national security issues to doggy daycare
as they call her, is the brainiac of the group. She’s working on
experiences. The group talks about almost everything, but
a master’s degree in Leadership and Ethics and already has a
Kristal keeps the check on the content, as their ustream site
degree in psychology. She offers a philosophical and intellectual
advertises they are “family friendly.”
point of view. She talks about the Greek origins of words, and the supernatural and overlooked blessings of natural resources
The hosts will occasionally ask people dining at the restaurant
like water. Also, she wouldn’t admit it, but she is the tech wiz of
to join in on the fun, so stop by Joe’s Grill and Cantina around
the show. She sets up the equipment to broadcast, and often has
8:00 on Monday nights to be part of the antics. Or watch the
to do some trouble-shooting live on air.
show at www.ustream.tv by searching everyday joes. You can log on and chat with the hosts live.
The show isn’t without its technical difficulties. Reid jokes, “We’ve been known to stop the damn thing and start over… Seriously people if anyone has a Windows 7 we will accept
17
@ENTERTAINMENT
we’ve met in the past. This is his ninth studio release, his first with no rap (not by him anyway), and the first to be released with no parental advisory sticker. It has a definite classic rock feel to it, almost like a Bob Seger record that was never released. Originally planned as a three disc set, Kid explained, “In the end, it would’ve been kind of pretentious to release a triple album. I had four songs I didn’t even like.” I don’t know what they cut from the set, but there is plenty left here to like. Highlights include “Collide,” a re-pairing with 2003 duet partner, Sheryl Crow. While not quite up to par with their previous track,
now hear this
“Picture,” it is a good listen with both vocalists performing at their prime. As an added bonus, it also features Bob Seger on
kid rock — “born free”
piano. Other highlights include the title track, which is exactly
@review Jim Martin
as you might imagine from the photo on the front cover, an
Kid Rock has always been an enigma. After releasing three
excellent road tune. And “God Bless Saturday,” which could
albums that went nowhere, he came back loud in 1998 with
have been this summer’s hit party anthem, if only it had been
“Devil Without A Cause.” With an unlikely mix of metal and rap,
released in the summer.
he’d created a genre all his own. Critics even predicted he would change the way we listened to music. But then, somewhere along
Low points include “Flyin’ High,” featuring guest Zac Brown, yet
the way, something happened. The underground artist somehow
another formulaic song about “home.” “Care,” which seems out
became mainstream, even accepted in country music circles.
of place on this set; the whole hip-hop/rap lyric mixed into a country song just doesn’t work here, even with assistance from
Over time, the quality of his work has changed as well. For
guests T.I. and Martina McBride. And the lowest of the lows, “For
better or worse? It depends on who you ask. Some prefer the
The First Time In A Long Time.” Sang in falsetto, it doesn’t even
dark vulgar rapper of his early releases like “Devil Without A
sound like Kid Rock. Who is he trying to be?
Cause” or “Cocky.” Others prefer the comedic happy-go-lucky party animal of 2007’s sample-heavy “All Summer Long,” his
Still, even with these lows, it’s a good listen well worth the money.
only number one charting hit.
It’s a good driving album. Buy it and play it in your car. Loud.
On his latest release, “Born Free,” we get a different Kid altogether.
I Rate It
A little older, a little wiser, and a lot more reflective than the ones
18
happy cows, happy artist the work of cari humphry @story Marla Cantrell @images Cari Humphry
@PEOPLE
A
rtist Cari Humphry likes cows, the girls more than the boys.
the Business School,” Cari says, smiling at the thought, “so that’s
“I’ve learned my cow anatomy,” Cari says. “Most males
where I went.”
are pretty ugly. Their necks are thicker and their faces aren’t as pretty. Even their bodies don’t have the same shape. ..And I’ll
Cari became an accountant. “I always liked numbers, and my
name them. Eileen is a cow I’ve painted several times. I did one
dad’s a CPA. I did take Art in high school and an oil painting
painting where I called her “Moonlight Eileen.” My friend, who’s
class in college. After that I painted maybe once a year.”
a great artist, Cheri Wollenberg, has a farm in Oklahoma, and she sends me pictures of her cows. I like their faces, so I’ll zoom in.”
But mostly she crunched numbers.
Cari, co-owner of Red Hill Gallery and Homewares, which is just
And then, while pregnant with her second child, she took a
a block from Dickson on 71B in Fayetteville, even has a series
summer art course that set her on a new path. “I haven’t put
called “Happy Cows.” The cows are tiny compared to their
away my paints since,” Cari says.
surrounding, a wide blue sky above them, a panorama of green below. “Artists have a lot of expressions behind their paintings.
When she felt confident enough, she listed her work on the
There are dark moments and that has its place – art is about
online site Etsy. “It was a shock to me that this sweet lady in
expression. But for me there’s a Bible verse, Philippians 4:8,
North Carolina was willing to buy that first ugly painting. It was
that says whatever is true and noble and lovely, think on these
a 5 x 7 of a cow,” Cari says. “She’s probably bought eight or nine
things. I’m reminded of that every day. There’s so much out
paintings now.
there that will distract you. What’s negative can seep into your “At first I had a rule that I wouldn’t paint anything that couldn’t be
art. I want to paint something that evokes something positive.”
finished in two hours, during nap time. They were only 12 x 12 at Just try to look at one of her paintings and not feel joy. Pigs
the most. I had a baby and a three-year-old. That’s how I started
kick up dust while running free, chickens all but dance off the
off. Knowing that, I’d get the paint down fast and it forced me to
canvas and even a rusty old truck seems to be smiling, happy to
be looser. And that’s my goal, to be loose and impressionistic.”
be resting underneath a bright summer sky. Cari continues to learn. “I paint with a friend every Monday Until three years ago Cari didn’t paint much at all. “I wanted
night for a few hours. I study painters I like, brush strokes,
to be an architect. When I was little, I used to draw floor plans
techniques. ..I look back at some of my first paintings and I see
on church bulletins during the service. I was a pretty good
a progression. I also have quite a few that didn’t work out,” Cari
basketball player, and I thought about playing college ball. But I
says, without a hint of regret. “Those ended up in my closet.”
wanted to go to the University of Arkansas because of the great architecture program,” she says. She spent a year studying
Her five-year-old daughter spends a great deal of time watching
architecture before losing interest. “All the cute boys were in
her mother work. “She names a lot of my paintings. For a while
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@PEOPLE
they were named after whatever cartoon characters were
“Our shop has prints, originals, antiques, vintage items, handmade
popular at the time. I had these two cows called Max and Ruby,
jewelry and soaps, and you can get up close and touch things.
after the rabbit cartoon.”
We wanted this to be a place to buy things that are local.”
It’s been a gratifying transition from tallying numbers to creating
Cari, who is busy promoting local artists, has a global audience.
art for a living. In November, she and her business partner –
Her paintings have been sold to collectors in Australia, the
and fellow artist – Shannon Peters, opened Red Hill Gallery and
United Kingdom and Canada. “It’s humbling to have someone
Homewares. “Shannon and I had this vision for a while. I love
buy your art. To say it’s worth something. And I get to paint
to go in galleries, but I am honestly so intimidated, and I feel
things that make me smile and even laugh sometimes.
like they know I can’t afford anything in there. I feel like I don’t “I have a friend who wants me to paint her two bulldogs sitting
know the rules.
on a couch, one in pearls, the other in a tutu. I look forward to “Early on I’d painted a little 6 x 6. It was a bird, and everybody
that. ..When I sell a painting I’ll send a note with it, telling the
loves birds because they’re sweet. It sold to a girl who lived
buyer the story behind it. ..And everyone wants the story.”
in an apartment outside of Denver and she sent me a picture back of it sitting on a table with her dog. She said it was like
So that’s what she does. Cari weaves stories on canvas, using
Christmas opening up this painting. She loved it and it was
whimsical cows, happy pigs and runaway chickens. And every day
under $40. She thanked me for making art accessible for
she is aware that she’s filling her world with things that are true
people like her,” she says and then adds, “I can’t afford those
and lovely and noble, which is exactly what she set out to do.
big investments either.
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before he knew heartache the life of gary hutchison @story Jim Martin @image Gary Hutchison
O
nstage he’s a guitar-slinging outlaw taking no prisoners. Offstage he’s one of the most
humble men you’ll ever meet. Whether playing a solo gig, appearing as a member of Oreo Blue, or making an appearance with the Fort Smith Symphony, Gary Hutchison has become the preeminent guitarist on the Fort Smith/Fayetteville music scene. Gary developed an affinity for the guitar at age five while on the road with his father in the summer of 1958. “We were in Ohio,” he says. “There were two brothers who played on their porch every night. One acoustic, the other electric, a beautiful Gibson archtop.” Taken by the Gibson, he recalls staring at it as the duo strummed through folk standards. Though intrigued, it would be later before he took up an instrument of his own. Settling in Anderson, Missouri, he was in the fourth grade when he started playing trumpet in the school band. He also began honing his songwriting skills. “I had fully formed songs by age twelve,” he says. “They weren’t from experience. I was writing about heartache before I even knew what it was.”
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@PEOPLE
In 1966, with rock ‘n’ roll becoming popular, he sat the trumpet
He also developed a set of musical influences. Johnny Winter,
aside and picked up the guitar. He was thirteen. “I learned
Mike Bloomfield, and Roy Buchanan all played a role in
quickly,” he says. “Chicks dig guitars.”
developing the young Gary’s style.
His first guitar, from an S&H Green Stamps, was a disappointment.
Then, came Jimi. “I heard Jimi Hendrix’s version of ‘Red House’
It was made of plastic. A toy. Gary’s mother, Bessie Mae, walked
and was blown away. ‘Red House’ was like the blues on acid!”
to Western Auto and put a Tru-Tone guitar in layaway. “Back
In 1971, he went to work as a guitar instructor, also learning
then, you could get a guitar at Western Auto or Otasco,” he says.
sales and repair. He soon joined his first band. “I played lead
“We bought strings and picks at Rexall Drug Store.” The layaway
even though the other guy was better,” he says. “I couldn’t
agreement didn’t last. With Gary going by everyday asking to
change chords fast enough to play rhythm.”
play it, they finally let him take it home. He worked with a number of local bands. Considering his He began teaching himself to play with a book for beginners,
willingness to sit back and learn with no desire to hog the
his mother singing along to help with chord changes. In no
spotlight, it was easy finding a space to fill. At twenty-one, he
time he was playing along with records of the day. “The first
became a full-time musician in 1974.
solo I learned was from the Beatles’ ‘Day Tripper.’ That’s where In 1978, he hit the road with Southern Fried, playing everything
I learned the standard blues scale.”
from straight country to straight blues, but specializing in Though learning fast, his favorite aunt remained unconvinced.
Southern Rock. They were named the number one unsigned
“I had a Sears Silvertone then, with the amplifier built into the
band in the nation by Billboard magazine in 1979. Times soon
case. I played bits and pieces of several songs like ‘Gloria’ and
grew dark for Southern Fried and the band fell apart.
‘Wipe Out.’ She wasn’t impressed.” He decided to take jazz lessons from instructor Bob Massey, a man he credits with being
Gary formed Double Vision with Southern Fried keyboardist,
a big part in who he is today. “I learned the jazz version of
Rick Banfield. They did well locally, but eventually split due to
‘Yesterday.’ That convinced her.”
conflicting points of view concerning musical direction. As the duo fell apart, he was also faced with a divorce. Once all was
Gary bought the first release by Ten Years After based on the
settled, he decided to make a change. “I needed some new
album cover. Disappointed to find a straight blues record, he
scenery,” he says. An old friend convinced him that Fort Smith
put it on the shelf with no intentions of getting it out again.
was the perfect place.
Later, his older brother insisted he give it another try. “This time, it spoke to me,” he says. “I was amazed by guitarist Alvin
Gary had known Fort Smith musician Bill “Flash” Flaspohler for
Lee’s aggressive style. That’s when I dedicated myself to that
some time, even playing in a band with him a few years earlier
blues/rock style of music.”
while Flash was in Missouri. “Flash got me a job,” Gary says.
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@PEOPLE
“Got a band together. All I had to do was show up.” Gary started
no plumbing till I was twelve.” Anytime a benefit came calling,
to work as a guitar instructor/salesman/technician during the
he was there, volunteering to help raise money for the cause.
day, as lead guitarist for Kamakazi at night. It didn’t take long
“I believe it all comes back to you in the end,” he says. “Treat
before this new place began to feel like home.
people good, and they’ll treat you good.”
“I planned to stay a couple years, then move on to Dallas or
And come back it did, just a few years ago. Suddenly faced with
L.A.,” he says. “I stayed because I like it. It wasn’t like I was
health problems and unexpected medical bills, area musician/
‘stuck in Lodi.’” The city accepted him too. He quickly became
promoter John Magnus stepped up. Knowing that Gary didn’t
one of the most popular guitar instructors in town. It spread to
have health insurance, John organized a benefit to be staged
the band as well, with Kamakazi filling area clubs to their limits
at the Rib Shack, all proceeds going to assist Gary Hutchison. “I
every time they played.
wasn’t destitute,” Gary says. “But it was bills I hadn’t counted on.” It turned out to be a huge success, with people driving
Of course, everything eventually comes to an end. The band split
from up to 200 miles away to show their support. The city
after being together almost two years. It wasn’t how you might
he had adopted as his new home had accepted him as one
think; there were no hard feelings toward one another, instead it
of its own and was giving back for all he had given it. “It felt
was just the opposite. One member found religion, and another
wonderful knowing they thought enough of me to help in the
wanted to take the time off to watch his children grow.
way that they did.”
That’s when businessman/promoter/manager/guru Dick Renko
For the past twenty years or so, Gary has worked as guitarist/
came into the picture. “I had set in at a reunion-type thing with
vocalist for local legends Oreo Blue. They were named best
David And The Immatures,” says Gary. “When Dick heard I was
blues band on four different occasions by the NAMA awards
available, he offered me a position in the reunited group.” An
before being inducted into the NAMA Hall of Fame in 2006.
institution in Arkansas music, David And The Immatures featured the Renko family, Dick, Suzanne, and David. “That was a new
Gary remains one of the most popular guitar instructors in the
genre to me,” Gary says. “I was accustomed to playing a harder-
area, also doing the occasional repair job. Free time is spent
edged blues style. They opened up an entirely new fanbase for
with nine-year-old daughter, Macy. When it comes to music,
me.” It was also while with the Immatures he brought to life
even at fifty-seven, he shows no signs of slowing down. He’s
his well-known stage character, Blind Domino Porkchop, even
working on a new CD, plays an uncountable amount of gigs
appearing in character with sunglasses and a porkpie hat on
every year, and is looking forward to the possibility of going
popular news program “Noon on 5.”
overseas to participate in a number of European blues festivals. “B.B. King is eighty-five and plays 200 shows a year,” he says. “I figure I have at least twenty years left.”
Though continuing to play with numerous bands, Gary never forgot where he came from. “We grew up poor,” he says, “with
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xander’s dad’s great example single parent scholarship @story Marla Cantrell @images Warren Long
@PEOPLE
T
en years ago Warren Long was laying brick every weekday.
years to make it from high school to college,” he says. “It took
When his shift ended on Friday, he headed to a Eureka Springs
a divorce. It took going through a lot. But I got there.”
He
restaurant where he worked through the weekend. But no matter
worked as a cook at Big Jake’s Cattle Company in Van Buren
how much he tried, the money never lasted until the end of the
twenty hours a week, juggled his schedule with Xander’s, and
month. “I had a world of trouble back then,” he says, remembering
pinched pennies. “I had a Pell Grant, and a National Science
the bone-tired weariness that dogged his steps every waking hour.
Foundation Scholarship. ..My parents saw a little non-descript ad about the Single Parent Scholarship Fund [of Sebastian and
It was the birth of his son, Xander, now nine, that changed
Crawford County]. I was scrambling for every thirty minutes of
everything. “He was premature; he came at thirty-two weeks.
study time I could get and I didn’t see how I could work more
It was scary, scary, scary. They had to helicopter my wife up
hours and keep going. That was when I contacted them.”
to UAMS [University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences]. I was terrified to hold him. He was three pounds, fifteen ounces and
The scholarship paid Warren $700 a semester. “Seven-hundred
got down to three pounds, ten ounces. It was miraculous. He
dollars might not seem like much, but it can pull you through.
was a little tiny miracle.”
They paid $350 at the beginning of the semester and another $350 in the middle. ..You have to bring in your mid-term grades.
Xander’s birth made Warren realize he needed a change. “I
..The second half of the money came at times when seasons
wanted to be a role model. I knew as he grew older I’d have
were changing and Xander needed clothes. ..In November, it’s a
a hard time providing for him by laying brick or cooking in
tense time. You’re getting ready for finals and you really don’t
kitchens. I could barely get the stuff he needed then and I knew
need to be working so much. The $350 can keep your electric
it was only going to get more expensive. I wanted to go back to
on for another month.”
school so bad I thought about it every day.” In the beginning, he thought he should earn his associate’s But he couldn’t find a way to do it. It wasn’t until Warren and his wife
degree, get a full-time job and put the dream of a bachelor’s
divorced, when Xander was four, that he got the push that drove him
degree to rest. “I didn’t think I could do it, and then I started
to enroll. “I was awarded custody. ..That first week I was a nervous
getting A’s and A’s and A’s, I realized that I could. I knew I wanted
wreck. Before Xander, I’d never even changed a diaper. I’ve grown
to become a mechanical engineer. That was my ideal career.”
exponentially since then. Being a single parent, you have to be stable. ..There’s no yelling in our house. We talk things out. I had to
It took him five years to finish. That happened this past summer.
establish routines. And I knew I had to go back to school.”
He graduated third in the combined classes from the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith and U of A in Fayetteville. “I had a 4.0
So Warren took a trigonometry class at the University of
average. ..My diploma says ‘with highest honors,’ he says, “that
Arkansas – Fort Smith. He aced it, and that gave him the
made me so proud. And Xander was there. When they called
courage to enroll full time. He was thirty. “It took me twelve
my name and I heard him yell, ‘There’s my daddy.’”
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@PEOPLE
For now, though, he’s still hitting the books and working at Big Jake’s. “I average about one night a week as a cook,” he says. “They’ve been so good to me through all this, always working with my class schedule.” He’s also grateful for the Single Parent Scholarship fund. “I plan to give back to it when I can. ..What they did for me made so much difference. And they’ll team you up with a mentor if you want. They get to know you, ask about your child. They follow you through your time in school. It’s a great program.” Warren is already giving back by talking to others afraid to take that first step. “I tell them to just sign up for classes. Start chipping away, even if you can’t go full time. Figure out the He’s done what he set out to do; he’s become a role model
school, the systems, figure the financial aid office out, because
for his young son. It comes in handy when Xander throws his
after you get one semester under your belt and show the school
hands up while doing his math homework. Warren can relate
you can make all A’s and B’s, the school will give you money. They
– this mechanical engineer has a love/hate relationship with
want students that excel. Study, do the homework, don’t blow it
the subject. “I, like my own dad, have a frustration level when
off. They’re standing by with money if you just make the grades.”
dealing with math. I tell Xander, ‘You’re not going to be an expert the first time at anything that’s worth doing.’ ..To me, getting
It’s great advice from a man who’s made the system work for him.
frustrated is key to the learning process. You work on it, run into
And what he’s learned in the past five years has guaranteed he
something frustrating and then it becomes an emotional thing.
and Xander will have a brighter future. When he tries to imagine
So then when I figure it out, it means a lot more to me.”
what might have happened had he not enrolled at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, he stops for a moment and then says.
In fact, learning means so much to Warren he’s still in school.
“I’d probably still be in construction. I hate to think of that. And
“I’m driving to Fayetteville to get my master’s. It seemed like the
I’d be yearning for the rest of my life to go to school.”
smart thing to do, and I was used to the workload. I really love this field.” He has no plans to leave the area after his education has ended. “In five years I’d like to be working either at Nuclear One in
To learn more log onto aspsf.org
Russellville – nuclear power kind of gets my juices going - or with wind turbines. I like alternative energy. I believe in getting away from our dependence on oil,” he says. “It’s a national crisis.”
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not your average joe joseph meadows
@story Marla Cantrell @images Catherine Frederick
J
oseph Meadows leans against the wall in one of the lofts he’s renovated above his bar, MoJo’s Ivory House Dueling Piano
Bar in downtown Fort Smith, and at only twenty-eight, talks about his long history in construction. “I’m a third generation builder,” Joseph says, “both my grandfather and father were in the business. In high school my job was to pull the weeds at the apartment complexes and to take care of the gardens. ..I didn’t like pulling weeds,” he says. “Not one bit.” After graduation he headed to Fayetteville to attend the Sam M. Walton School of Business at the University of Arkansas. He wasn’t sure he wanted to spend his life the way his father did, building apartment complex after apartment complex. But construction was in his blood, and when he finished school, he found himself right back where he’d been in high school – minus the gardening gloves. “Let me say this about my dad, before I started building on my own he made me literally get in the trenches and shovel dirt and learn it from the ground up. I did it at our complex in Van Buren, at Rena Valley. I worked with the concrete guys, staked out the buildings, went through the whole process. I was twenty-two at the time, and I think I learned more in that first year than I had in all my years of school combined.” At twenty-three he was building spec houses in Greenwood. And then a side trip to Las Vegas put everything on hold. “My girlfriend, Monica, and I were in Vegas with my parents and somebody approached her and asked her to do ‘Survivor,’ and she
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said no way. And they said, ‘We also recruit for ‘The Amazing Race,’ would you do that? Monica said, ‘I’d do that.’” When Monica told Joseph he blew it off, believing it was some kind of scam. But when he got home he found an itinerary for a two-week trip to Los Angeles. Soon after, they were chosen as one of the teams for the 2006 season of the Emmy-winning CBS series, “The Amazing Race.” So what about those houses he was building? “I told my dad I needed some backup and he said, ‘Hell yeah, go do it. It’s a one in eleven chance of winning a million dollars.’” The two saw places they never dreamed they’d go: Munich, The two became known as Team MoJo on the adventure show.
Moscow, Rio, Bangkok, Sao Paulo, Jabreen. “It’s the best thing
“I can sleep through any alarm clock, but while we were in the
I’ve ever done. On my own, I’d never have gone to Oman in
race, I’d jump up as soon as I heard it go off and I was ready.
the Middle East, but there we were. ..I loved Greece, the old
..It was the absolute hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I
men smoking in the coffee shops. It looked just like I thought
lost fourteen pounds in twenty-eight days. We traveled over
it would.”
70,000 miles.” There were nights Joseph and Monica slept on park benches, Through it all Monica and Joseph stayed the course. “We had
in places where stray dogs roamed and bats flew overhead.
strategy that if it had to do with putting on a harness and jumping
“When we got eliminated in Thailand we were both so spent,”
out of an airplane or off a bridge, she would do it. ..I hate high
Joseph says. “We didn’t want to give up, but we did, you
places, even getting this close to the window,” he says, tapping
know. We felt like we’d gotten far enough and we’d be fine if it
the panes of glass overlooking Garrison Avenue, “ makes me
happened. ..But honestly, losing was all I could think about for
uncomfortable. But if it was a physical task, I would do it. She
about a month. The show portrayed it like we’d dropped these
jumped out of the airplane and off the Corinth Canal [in Greece].
clay pots [that they carried on a ten-foot board] and that’s why we lost. In reality we couldn’t get a cab and there’s nothing you could have done about it.”
“For me, the worst part was running up twenty-two flights of stairs on a spiral staircase in Brazil. Hardest thing I did. I wanted to puke. I’m scared to death of heights and I had to repel off the
Even now it can be a little trying for Joseph to watch “The
side of the building.”
Amazing Race.” “You watch the show and think you can do it, but all the stuff they don’t show is so difficult. You see people
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@PEOPLE
Inside the Ivory House Lofts, cabinets hang suspended by cables, light floods in from tall windows and spiral staircases lead from one floor to the next. There is a lot of exposed pipe, as shiny as chrome wheels, running the length of the ceiling. The smallest apartment is 650 square feet and the biggest is 1,350. “I wanted the place to have a New York loft feel. And I wanted to integrate the outside with the inside.” Many of the tenants work downtown. “A lot of them ride bikes around, and they spend a lot of time downtown. This whole area will get even better once the riverfront is developed.” Joseph is banking on the revival of downtown. He’s planning missing the clues and you don’t get why. It’s because they’re so
to renovate another old building nearby, with more loft
sleep deprived. It makes you feel crazy.”
living space. “Those will be a little bit more upscale. Granite countertops and a parking garage.”
Even so, he’d like another shot at the cool million. “I’d leave right now,” Joseph says. “I’d run out of that door in a split second.”
He’s happy with the life that’s taken him across the globe and then dropped him right back in his hometown. “For a while
“The Amazing Race” was just the beginning of the adventure
becoming a builder didn’t appeal to me; it seemed too easy.
for Team MoJo. Joseph and Monica married three years ago.
I don’t really know what else I could have done. I might have
“I feel lucky to have her,” Joseph says. “I learned a lot about
become a salesman, but I don’t know how good I’d be,” he says,
Monica on the show. She’s tough, and she doesn’t give up, and
jingling the keys to the loft he just locked tight. “I’m glad I
we worked so well together.”
came back to it. I like seeing if the numbers work, I like all the planning, I like that first day on the job, lining everybody up.”
In June the two opened Mojo’s piano bar at 823 Garrison Avenue. “We’re used to leasing the buildings we renovate, but when the
As for the future, Joseph sees no end to the possibilities. “I’m
bar came along I thought why not give it a try,” Joseph says.
full of piss and vinegar right now,” he says, smiling as he walks through the three-story building he renovated himself. He tries
The fourteen loft-style apartments are on the two floors above.
to narrow down just what it is he wants, but this is as close as he
“This place used to be an arcade and before that a livery station,
gets. “I guess you could say I want the world.”
I think. There’s horse hair in the plaster.”
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smiling in jamaica
I
n January, Dr. Charles Liggett took a break from his dental practice in Fort Smith to visit Negril, Jamaica, a place known
charles liggett’s working vacation
for its black cliffs, azure waters, and golden sunsets. But Charles
@story Marla Cantrell @images Charles Liggett
relief to the hundreds of people lined up outside a makeshift
had little time to enjoy the view. He was far too busy bringing clinic, just hoping for a chance to see a dentist. “It’s one of the most beautiful places on earth,” Charles said, “but it’s truly a third-world country. Ten families will live in one shack.” It wasn’t his first time in Jamaica. While a junior at the LSU School of Dentistry in New Orleans one of his professors, Dr. J. Suzanne Turpin-Mair, invited him to go with her to her native country. “She would go back there, through LSU, and hold dental clinics. She took about ten students. I was one of them. At school we were watched over all the time. But there we got free reign. It was a little scary, but it was great. “At that time, I hadn’t done much at all. We worked without X-rays. The only medical history we had was what they’d written down when they got there. We did a ton of extractions. ..The people there are so poor. Some haven’t seen a dentist in years – or ever. There was a lot of work that was emergency oriented. Dr. Turpin-Mair could really get in there and take those teeth out. I learned from her. It was an amazing experience.” Charles fell in love with the Jamaican people. “They speak with this Patois English dialect. ..It’s beautiful to hear. They’re so thankful and appreciative of what you do. They don’t have anything and they’ll bring you coconuts or something they’ve made. The children are so respectful to their parents. If an adult tells you to do something there’s no question it will get done.” The trips are now a tradition for Charles. He volunteers through the Presbytery of St. Augustine in Florida. The head of the
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ecumenical program, Dr. Jim Jaff, takes his entire office staff from Jacksonville to work with the volunteers in Jamaica. It’s a grueling seven-day mission, and every year the location changes. “Dr. Jaff and I usually go early and set everything up. We have a church in Kingston where we keep our equipment. Sometimes our clinics are in healthcare facilities, sometimes it’s a church. I’ve worked in hotel rooms with someone holding lamps for us. We now have coal-miner lights we wear. We’ve learned a trick or two.” When the doors open the first day, the crowds are already gathered. Charles described their faces, the very young who hug the legs of their mothers, the very old waiting for relief from pain that follows them like a shadow through every difficult day. The volunteers manage the workload by choreographing the process, from the initial paperwork to the day the dentures are fitted. “I do extractions. Three doctors are working on dentures. ..This year we’ll have someone to do fillings. ..When I’m by myself, I’ll do 100 to 150 extractions. In a couple of days I’ll do as many extractions as most U.S. dentists will do in a year. ..Last year I did an extraction every four minutes. I work standing up and by the end of the day my back is killing me. When the day is done we board a bus, eat a meal with the other volunteers, shower, go to bed and get up and do it all again.” Even when his back is hurting, Charles takes his cue from the Jamaicans and pushes through. “They have amazing pain tolerance. Americans are huge babies. They can take so much more than we can. They put up with so much. We see tons of farmers who’ve worked outside all their lives. They know what real pain is.”
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@PEOPLE
Not far from the clinics are pristine golf courses, grand resorts,
extraction and he got stuck and called me over. It was kind of
and waves tugging at white sand beaches. But none of that
neat. I was a little in awe of that. ..Every day I use something I
lures the volunteers away because what goes on inside the
learned on one of those trips.”
hodgepodge clinics trump anything a tourist can pay to see. “One year, a lady came the first day and I pulled a couple of teeth.
The Jamaican trips started Charles thinking about those in need
She was maybe in her sixties. We made the impressions for her
in his own back yard. “I knew I wanted to do something like
dentures. We told her we’d have them ready on Thursday. She
that here. So I put something together at a weekend clinic our
walked nine miles, barefoot, to get there. We were cleaning up
[Parklane Family Dental] Central Mall office. “In December,
that first day and she was lying down on some of the chairs. She
we had our second annual free extraction day. It was a huge
stayed till Thursday because she was afraid someone would call
success. We saw 120 patients and extracted nearly 200 teeth.
her name and she wouldn’t be there.
We saw every patient that was willing to wait. I started at 6:00 that morning and worked until 7:00 that night. We had lots of
“We had music playing when we finally gave her the dentures.
help from area dental professionals, including Dr. Monte Butler,
She started dancing and kept going for ten minutes. She said,
Dr. Wes Moore, Dr. Ward Clemmons, Dr. Brad Hathaway, and
‘Take my picture. Take my picture.’”
Mike and Kris Liggett. Mitzi Euford also brought some of her hygiene students to help out.”
The group makes approximately 150 pairs of dentures on each visit. “These people are in pain – their teeth are rotten. The first
Charles doesn’t have a tally for the cost of the Fort Smith clinics.
year we did dentures we didn’t know how many impressions to
But he does know what he spends on a trip to Jamaica. It hovers
take. We were leaving Sunday. Some of the people had 7:00
near $2,000. When he weighs the cost against the benefits,
flights and we were working at 4:30 in the morning because we
the scale tips dramatically. “I doubt I would have started the
couldn’t let these people wait all week for the dentures they
weekend clinic at home without that first trip to Jamaica,” he
were so counting on.”
said. “I don’t think I’d be the dentist I am today.”
Charles has hundreds of these feel-good stories. But there’s a
As he looks back across the nine trips he’s made to the Caribbean,
practical aspect as well. He’s been able to perfect his craft in
what stands out are the people. “They are grateful and so giving,
a place where he’s forced to work without a net. “If something
even with so little to give. ..And the volunteers I work with, it’s
goes wrong, you don’t have an oral surgeon to bail you out. I’ve
like a reunion every year. I’m so glad I went that first year when I
learned a lot about techniques and what to do when things
was in dental school. I’m so glad I’ve been able to do this.”
aren’t quite right. I’ve gotten really good at surgery. That’s a huge help. You can’t help but get better. When I first went,
More than a thousand miles away, hundreds of Jamaicans are
I’d be calling the other guys over, ‘Can you help me do this?
also glad, thankful for a dentist like Charles, happy to have the
Can you help me do that?’ Last year Dr. Jaff started doing an
ability to flash a full-toothed smile any time they feel like it.
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@TASTE
Provided by Mojo’s Ivory House 479.434.5434
derick atherine Fre @image C
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hoppin’ john black eyed peas and sausage @recipe & images Laura Hobbs
W
elcome, 2011! What’d you bring me this year? A little more wisdom and prosperity? Maybe some
well-deserved peace of mind? Perhaps an exciting summer vacation? One million dollars? A miniature donkey? Every year, Hubs and I make our annual pot of Hoppin’ John to ring in the New Year - and hopefully bring ourselves a little luck in the year to come. A Southern classic eaten on New Year’s Day, traditional Hoppin’ John consists of black eyed peas, onion, bacon and maybe a bell pepper or two. We like ours with homemade cornbread – and the cheesier, the better. So, who was this John exactly, and why was he hoppin’? Well, in short, I haven’t a clue. There are several theories out there, most stemming from the low country in the Southeastern US: for instance, some say it’s an obscure South Carolina custom to invite dinner guests over by saying, “Hop in, John”; others claim a crippled peddler known as “Hoppin’ John” sold the dish street side in Charleston, South Carolina; or a hungry hubby named John “came a-hoppin’” when his wife called him to dinner one night. Who knows? Who cares? Let’s eat!
@TASTE
In true-to-form fashion, I wanted to jazz things up a bit this time around. I was inspired by a Food and Wine recipe I came across recently, where the lovely Gail Simmons was
INGREDIENTS
taking Top Chef contestants’ biggest flops and reinventing their failed recipes into stellar, flawless successes of her own (an approach I found a little self-indulgent, but whatever - Gail is just so doggone cheeky and charming). Gail took a Season 4 pigeon pea disaster and turned it into a wonderfully creamy black eyed pea stew with juicy sausages and spicy jalapenos. Now we’re talking.
3 Tbs. vegetable oil 5 Brats or hot Italian sausage links (just over 1lb.) pricked with a fork 1 small onion, diced 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika 1 can (14oz.) whole tomatoes, roughly chopped 2 cans (14oz.) black eyed peas, drained and rinsed 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped, plus more for garnish Salt and pepper to taste
In order to save myself some time, I deviated from the original recipe just a bit. Gail’s recipe called for dry black eyed peas, which you soak overnight, then cook for over
INSTRUCTIONS
an hour until they’re nice and tender. Sorry, Gail, but I’ve got other things to do than watch beans boil; so instead, I used canned black eyed peas, and they turned out just as good, if not better. The original recipe also calls for hot Italian sausages, but I think any sausage, whether it’s sweet Italian, German brats or your favorite smoked kielbasa, would work just fine – use what you like! One final tweak: Got a few extra beers around the house? Maybe you didn’t float the keg from your New Year’s Eve bash? Try substituting the chicken broth with beer – preferably a light ale or a lager – and your beans will take on a whole new flavor.
In a large Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil until it’s shimmering. Add the sausages and cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, until they are browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer the sausages to a plate and cover loosely with foil. Add the onion, bell pepper and jalapenos to the pot and cook over medium heat until just beginning to brown at the edges, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and smoked paprika, and cook for a minute longer. Add the tomatoes and their juices, and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the black eyed peas and chicken broth, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring the pot to a boil. Lower the heat to low, cover the pot half-way and simmer for about half an hour. Cut the sausages into ½” slices and add them to the pot, along with any juices from the plate. Add the chopped cilantro, adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper, and allow the stew to simmer for 10 minutes longer. Ladle into big bowls and garnish with a little more cilantro. Serve with corn bread or a good, crusty bread.
Whether it’s New Year’s Day, Day-After-New Year’s Day, or Day-Day-After – well, you get the point. This pot of beans is good anytime during this chilly winter season as a bellywarming, comforting meal, especially when it’s served alongside some homemade cornbread. And who knows?
Step by step photos AtUrbanMagazine.com.
It may just bring you luck any time of year. Enjoy!
43
a night in the clouds
Terry and Patsy moved from Florida to Eureka in 1977. Years later the two started building cabins, and Terry used what his father
the original treehouse cottages
taught him. “My dad is an architect and builder, and we built
@story Tonya McCoy @images Original Treehouse Cottages
first property the couple had descended at a steep forty-five
homes down in the Florida Keys and they’re all up on stilts.” The degree angle, so they needed something that could be built on
A
string of white lights wraps around the rails of a cedar
a slant. The idea worked so perfectly that architecture classes
and pine walkway leading to a treehouse cabin hoisted
from the University of Arkansas visited the cabins to take a look.
twenty-five feet above the ground. The walkway begins on the grass and continues until the ground below drops off steeply
For each of the treehouse cottages, the couple chooses the site
into the green woods. Red-tailed hawks and chipping sparrows
by taking a bird’s eye view. Terry gets out the tall ladder and Patsy
fly at eye level and you can reach out to touch the rough
climbs a tree in the woods and scouts the area. “The thing is, it’s
midsections of fifty-foot tall pines. Patsy and Terry Miller began
so weird to get that feeling when you’re alone up on the tree, that
building these cabins in the sky almost two decades ago at
this is going to be the floor, and you’re so high,” says Patsy.
Original Treehouse Cottages in Eureka Springs. “What gave me the idea for this boardwalk is down there in the Keys they have
After the first three cabins, Patsy and Terry were able to expand.
elevated boardwalks going through the Everglades and stuff, so
They bought thirty-three acres of woodland at the edge of the
I wanted that kind of a feeling,” says Terry.
city. The process that followed was a simple one: When Patsy
44
@DESTINATION
and Terry agreed on a site, Terry and his crew cut a path through
outside the cabin with her easel and paints, on one of her stays,
the trees, making a driveway. Terry then used the wood to make
and created the piece for the couple. In another cabin stands
the actual cabin. You can count the rings to tell the age of the
an antique wooden armoire all the way from Ireland, with a
cedar posts that make up the railing of a deck that wraps around
mirrored door locked by a tiny rounded key.
each cabin. Leaves rustle as white-tailed deer graze several The furniture is sometimes from far away, and so are the guests.
yards below. “Look Pop, look at the antlers,” Patsy says to Terry.
There have been visitors from as far as Ireland and Canada. And in With huge windows opening up to a treetop scene, you never
the U.S. folks have traveled from New York and California. In fact,
feel like you’re far from nature, even when you’re indoors.
the couple accepts reservations a year ahead of time. They are
Just outside a ten-foot window, several guests have spotted a
open year-round and some visitors have stayed more than a dozen
mischievous squirrel named Jasper, who hangs upside-down to
times. Sometimes in the winter, the cabins are at their highest
steal birdseed from a feeder.
demand. “When it snows, people call begging to get in,” says Terry.
At night, a skylight just above the large four-poster bed reveals
With the cottages in such demand, many ask the Millers why
the moon and stars. Knot-holed cedar trims the rock fireplace and
they haven’t expanded the business, especially with others now
walls. The rounded pine wall gives guests a cabin feel, but rustic
building “imitation” stilted cottages in Eureka. Patsy answers,
would not be the right word to describe this luxurious get-away.
“Their idea is building right next to each other and there are a
The wood is new and light, and the floor is varnished to a silk.
whole bunch of them. That’s not what I want to do. That’s not what’s in my heart.” With seven treehouse cottages total - four
Four-foot windows surround the indoor Jacuzzi on three sides,
of which are built on thirty three-acres, there’s plenty of room
offering an aerial view of the forest. Tiles, handmade by Patsy,
for couples to spend some alone time, actually alone.
line the surfaces around the tub and work their way through the kitchen and bathroom. Terry boasts about his wife’s pottery,
But don’t worry about being completely cut off from civilization.
explaining that she also made the plates, bowls, and mugs at
The cottages have WiFi and satellite television. But there are
the cottages. “She’s in charge of all the decorating and all the
also small touches you might not expect, like fresh cut flowers
colors and this and that… She’s got a definite idea for things and
and loaves of homemade pumpkin bread.
she’s got real good taste in that,” says Terry. “Thank you, Pop,” Terry looks at his wife, then glances around the cottage, “This is
replies Patsy. “It’s true,” Terry says.
heart and soul stuff, this all has our heart and soul in it.” When the two aren’t making things by hand for the cabin, they’re For more information go to treehousecottages.com.
looking for unique touches they can add. A watercolor portrait of a treehouse cabin by local artist Julie Kahn Valentine hangs on the wall of a dining area in one of the cabins. Valentine sat
45
going local
greenhouse grille takes dining back to its roots @story Sarah Rumsey @images Meredith Mashburn
46
@DESTINATION
W
hen owners, Jerrmy Gawthrop and Clayton Suttle, first decided to open Greenhouse Grille in Fayetteville, they
knew they wanted to start small. “Neither one of us had any restaurant experience prior to opening in May, 2006, and we didn’t know what would come of it,” Jerrmy explained. But the eatery quickly became a staple in Northwest Arkansas, and was bursting at the seams. So the restaurant, known for its fresh, organic menu with herbs and vegetables grown right in the parking lot, moved to its larger location at 481 South School about a year ago. Now it’s three times larger and even more popular. When I stepped inside Greenhouse Grille, I immediately appreciated the ambience. A guitarist was strumming a Jack Johnson tune in the background and I couldn’t help but feel as if I had entered my ideal restaurant. Good music, good food,
Jerrmy and Clayton make it a priority to support what’s local.
what more could I ask for? I was offered a list of organic wines
“We try to make use of every resource,” Jerrmy explained. “We
and beers to look over while I munched on Shitake Mushroom
avoid chemicals and preservatives, and stay true to making
Fries. My party ordered another batch before we ever finished
fresh, organic choices. We also try to recycle and compost as
the first. The seasonal menu offers dish after dish made with
much as we can, limiting trash to one bag a day during the week
fresh produce and fresh meat. “We try to plan the menu based
and two on weekends.”
on what the farmers are growing locally,” Jerrmy said. “At the end of the day, we wanted to do something good,” Jermy Diners are lining up to taste the innovative dishes, which are
said, encapsulating their mission in one simple statement. And
prepared daily. Whether you’re in the mood for one of the
from good food, to good music, to providing an example of
staple items, such as the popular Grilled Buffalo Burger served
sustainable living, the Greenhouse Grille is doing just that.
on an organic roll with sweet potato fries, or a weekend special like the Roasted Pumpkin and Mascarpone Risotto with chives,
Greenhouse Grille is open Tuesday through Thursday 11:00 to
parmesan cheese, and toasted pumpkin seeds, you can’t go
9:00, Friday and Saturday 11:00 to 10:00 and Sunday brunch
wrong. Greenhouse Grille offers it all. “Our staff is incredible.
10:00 to 2:00. Entrees range in prices from $12 to $26.
Everyone works together. We listen to music and get inspired to More information is available at greenhousegrille.com
make great things happen,” Jerrmy said.
47
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