Back to Arkansas

This was my first trip back to Arkansas since the fall of 2019. The pandemic put a stop to my frequent travels, which were mainly to Little Rock. On this visit, I only had one day in Little Rock. The rest of this journey was spent with family in Beebe and Northwest Arkansas. My worst travel habit is cramming too many activities into a limited time. This trip was no exception. It included art and history museums, sightseeing and hiking in the Buffalo River area, and spending quality time with family.

Museums

The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AFMA) reopened in April of this year after being closed for four years for extensive renovation. It was good to see how the center has been transformed. Over the years, my children have attended art classes and children’s theatre in the building. I have attended special exhibits, meetings, and lunches. It seemed fitting to visit the new facility, starting with lunch in the Park Grill. The restaurant has an expanse of floor-to-ceiling windows facing the park’s peaceful setting. The food was good, and I had fantastic company with two Little Rock friends.

Following our meal, we explored the AFMA’s galleries and noted the locations of the Windgate Art School, performing arts theatre, and museum store. AFMA’s permanent collection spans the 14th to the 21st centuries. There is sculpture and craft art in addition to the two-dimensional work. Many famous artists were represented in the collection, sometimes with a study or drawing of a work not part of the collection. I was pleased to see some of my favorites like Cezanne, Monet, Renoir, O’Keeffe, and Degas, to name a very few. There were too many prominent impressionists to mention here. The representation of Arkansas artists, women artists, and artists of many racial and ethnic backgrounds was notable. I found the three-dimensional Spring Song by Natasha Bowdoin energizing. This work was commissioned for the museum. This reopening was a great success, meriting a rave review in Forbes, where it was called “America’s Most Inviting Art Museum.”[i] Arkansas is now well represented by two stellar art museums, The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts and Crystal Bridges.

I have visited Crystal Bridges many times, including once with a legislative committee a week before the museum opened. Every time, I am enthralled by the scope of the American work. I went to Crystal Bridges to see the Frank Lloyd Wright house on this trip. It was not to be, due to a storm with lightning. They don’t close the main museum in a storm, but they close the Wright house. Not to let a little rain ruin the day, I went to the Diego Rivera exhibition, which I also wanted to see. I learned a lot. He worked in the United States and Mexico from the 1920s through the 1940s. He was married twice to Frida Kahlo, whose work I am more familiar with. Three of her paintings were also displayed. The progression of subjects in his art was interesting, ranging from portraits of the culture of indigenous people to views of industrialization in many areas of America. In his later work, he advocated for socialism to limit the exploitation of the workers. It was a direction that many Latin American countries pursued, to America’s chagrin. I most enjoyed the descriptions and displays of his process in developing the murals he was known for painting. His sketches and preparation for painting large-scale frescoes on buildings demonstrated the detail that goes into such work.

The current site of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History was once the library I first visited as a newcomer to Springdale in 1960. I wanted to visit, hoping to see some fragment of that past environment, but nothing was left of the old building. A modern museum with professional displays of the region’s history was in its place. The museum told a story of development and progress, beginning with the bluff dwellings used by indigenous peoples through the current day. The artifacts were displayed in contexts that included the walls of an old log cabin and beautiful murals. The region’s history was easier to remember with these cohesive pictures in mind. After exiting the display area, we talked with a historian at the front desk. She was an encyclopedia of the local history and discussed some revisions to the displays that are being planned. I hope she will have opportunities to do some public lectures.

History

One morning, we ate breakfast at the Ozark Café on the Jasper Courthouse Square. It was a bit like time-traveling to the past. The café is over 100 years old. The courthouse square is one key to an area’s history in so many of the rural counties of Arkansas. The buildings are often constructed with the most readily available materials—the Newton County Courthouse exterior was built with random granite stones quarried in the area. Most of the buildings around the square have similar materials.

Next, we traveled to Ponca and the Beechwood Cemetery. Many of my sister-in-law’s ancestors are buried there. Her family were some of the earliest settlers of the Buffalo River Valley. She gave me a gift of the book These Hills, My Home: A Buffalo River Story by Billie Touchstone Hardaway. The book traced her family’s history from its first settlement in the Buffalo River Valley by Abraham Villines in 1837. He built a home across the Buffalo River from “Big Bluff.” It’s quite a story, but not mine to tell. The Beechwood Cemetery is a family cemetery for many generations of the Villines family. Aside from its family history, the cemetery is on top of a mountain. The views of the surrounding hills and valleys are expansive. There are a few old farmsteads in the area with charming rickety barns, but for the most part, the view is uncluttered by buildings and development. An old church at the site doubled as a schoolhouse at one time. You can picture the past settlers of the area in that natural beauty and understand why they chose this part of Arkansas. We also visited a family homestead where my sister-in-law’s mother had been born. The home had been rebuilt on the site. It’s still in their family.

Nature and Recreation

Also near Ponca is Lost Valley, which is now part of the Buffalo National River property. The rain held off, and we hiked successfully along Clark Creek, a Buffalo River tributary. The route to Eden Falls is a little more than two miles round trip. The uphill parts were moderate, with stone steps built into the rock. A small waterfall at an opening in the bluff is called Natural Bridge. The trail continues to a 200-foot shelter named Cob Cave and ends at Eden Falls, 53 feet over the edge of the cliffs. The water flowed when we saw it but not from the total height. We didn’t continue to the top of the falls and a cave with a waterfall. It was wet from earlier rains, and the trail was slippery. There is a picnic area, restrooms, and a parking area at the trailhead but no other amenities. It’s a great family hike and not too far from the urban and suburban core of Northwest Arkansas.

One of my nephews has a one-hundred-acre farm on a tributary of the Illinois River. It’s a family farm with a great variety of animals. He also has four daughters who are learning to care for the animals. They have sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, chickens, dogs, and a cat. There are two or three kinds of sheep. One type of miniature sheep is called Baby Doll Sheep. They sell for thousands of dollars to suburban families who want one as a pet. They process their pork and beef for sale. The chickens provide eggs for the family and to sell. They also have an organic vegetable garden for personal consumption and to sell to local stores and restaurants. This is in addition to my nephew’s day job, which requires much travel. He is a busy man.

My brother is a strong bike rider. He has completed the 30-mile Square-to-Square Bike Ride between Fayetteville and Bentonville. My sister-in-law has an electric bike that can assist on hills. They had plans to get me on a bike to explore the excellent bike trails of Northwest Arkansas. One of the trails is two houses down from their home. It connects to the regional bike trail system. Luckily rainy weather and long days with other activities helped me avoid that plan. I could picture myself with road rash from head to toe. We went for a short walk around their neighborhood instead. I would need to get psyched up to get on a bike going up or down some of those hills, though they promised me a reasonably flat stretch. I admire the region for building the trail system, attracting residents and businesses nationwide. A recent study by the University of Arkansas said biking generates $159 million in economic impact in Northwest Arkansas.

Friends and Family

Sharing a meal is a great way to reconnect with friends and family. When I arrived in Little Rock, I met two long-time friends for lunch at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts restaurant. The surroundings were serene, and our conversation was enjoyable. It deepened my awareness of how much these relationships mean to me. That evening another friend hosted me in her home in Maumelle. Her house is at the top of a tall hill. The view from the front looked across a broad valley. Pinnacle Mountain and the I-430 bridge were visible from the west side of Maumelle. Rows of hills rose on the valley’s far side into an image I associate with mountain ranges like the Appalachians. I went to dinner with my friend and her family. Catching up in person is much more satisfying than by email or phone.

The following day, I was picked up by my Arkansas brother and sister-in-law. The first stop was to visit the lone surviving sibling of my father in Beebe, Arkansas. He and his wife, both in their nineties, live in their own home. My aunt had prepared a feast for us with two pies for dessert. Their daughter, my cousin, and her husband joined us as well. The tales of my father’s youth with his six siblings were a joy. I am so grateful my uncle and aunt love sharing those stories. My aunt has many family genealogy articles and photos that she shared with us. We were only there for a few hours, but it was an enriching experience.

Then we headed to my brother’s home in Springdale, Arkansas. They took me on tours of places notable to our families. I heard about their interests and home improvement projects. I learned more about my brother’s bike-riding adventures and my sister-in-law’s family from the Buffalo River area. We met my sister-in-law’s cousin at Ponca on one of our outings. He was visiting the family homestead. I had the opportunity to meet with two of my nephews for more family meals. I visited their homes and heard about their work and interests. I even briefly ran into a guy I went to elementary school with.

I wish I didn’t live quite so far away. I am fortunate to host them here and visit them in Arkansas but not as often as I would like.

[i] Scott, Chadd. The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts: America’s Most Inviting Art Museum. Forbes. May 23, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chaddscott/2023/05/23/the-arkansas-museum-of-fine-arts-americas-most-inviting-art-museum/?sh=b6d3c3238121