| Izard historians to hear about Black Bears |
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| The Izard County Historical and Genealogical Society will meet Sunday, January 12, 2014, at 2 P.M. at the Izard County Senior Center south of Brockwell on Highway #9. The meeting is open to the public. Mr. Denis Dunderdale, the North Central Regional Education Coordinator of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, will present the program. He serves as the local contact for public outreach, school and public programs, promotion of education programs, and special events as well as instructs the general public in skills needed for successful and safe outdoor pursuits for the Commission. He serves as the Coordinator for Baxter, Boone, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Marion, Searcy, Sharp, and Stone Counties in North Central Arkansas. Officer Dunderdale will present a program about the Black Bear in Arkansas. His presentation will range from presettlement times in Arkansas and the years of our pioneer ancestors through the restocking efforts of the bear by the AG&FC during the last few years. |
| Martha Miller to address Izard historians |
| The Izard County Historical and Genealogical Society will meet on Sunday, April 13, 2014, at
2 p.m. in the Izard County Senior Center on Highway #9 south of Brockwell. The public is invited to attend this meeting. Ms. Martha Miller of Little Rock, the head of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, will be the guest speaker. Miller will discuss the work of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and its seven agencies. She will have a PowerPoint presentation illustrating the department’s work with specifics about work done in Izard County. Miller was appointed by Governor Beebe as Director of the Department of Arkansas Heritage in January 2013. In that position, she also serves as the State Historic Preservation Officer. Prior to her appointment, she served as the deputy director of museums for the Department. Miller, a graduate of Melbourne High School, earned a Bachelor of Arts from Lyon College in Batesville and a juris doctorate from the Bowen School of Law at UALR. Prior to her role as deputy director for DAH, she was a self-employed attorney and lobbyist with a specialized practice of government relations. She has served on the boards of Lyon College, the Little Rock Interfaith Hospitality Network, Audubon Arkansas, and the American Center for International Leadership. The Arkansas Bar Association honored her with the Charles Carpenter Memorial Award in 1997, and Arkansas Business Publishing Group named her one of the Top 100 Women in Arkansas in 1999. Justin Daigle, President of the Society, invites the public to attend this session to visit with Ms. Martha and to learn more about the historic properties presently recognized in Izard County and to become interested in the preservation of other historic sites in our area. |
| Miller addressed Izard historians |
| The Izard County Historical and Genealogical Society held its Spring Quarterly Meeting on Sunday, April 13, 2014, at the Izard County Senior Citizens Center, Brockwell. Justin Daigle, President, called the meeting to order and welcomed people in attendance. The Opening Ceremony was observed by Jan Rorie leading the Pledge to the Flag of the United States of America, and Elizabeth Daigle leading the Salute to the Arkansas Flag. The American's Creed was read, and the song America was sung by all present. The Minutes of the previous meeting were read by Secretary Rose Blankenship, and the Treasurer’s Report was given by Sandy Smith. The program was given by Ms. Martha Miller, Director of the Arkansas Department of Heritage, a graduate of Melbourne High School. Previously, the Department of Heritage was a combination of the Arkansas Department of Natural Heritage and Arkansas Cultural Heritage. The current 225 employees work under an umbrella of diverse natural and cultural areas. Miller specifically talked about the requirements and application process to get a property listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Her agency helps with the process and provides the hearings for the board to approve a property for inclusion on the register. There are sixteen properties in Izard County listed on the National Register, including the Izard County Courthouse. The Natural Heritage Commission is responsible for researching endangered species, animals, and/or ecological areas in the state and purchasing those areas to preserve and protect them for future generations. Currently, there are approximately 60,000 acres statewide in this program. The only one in Izard County is Devil's Gap (or Backbone) consisting of 800 acres, a very rugged area overlooking Mount Olive and the White River. Daigle announced the next meeting of the Society's Executive Council will be May 4, 2014, at the Society's Archival Room, located in the old Hospital Building. The next meeting of the Society will be July 13, 2014, 2 p.m., at the Izard County Senior Citizens Center, Brockwell. |
| Izard historians to hear of cemetery preservation work |
| The Izard County Historical and Genealogical Society will meet on Sunday, July 13, 2014, at 2 p.m. at the Izard County Senior Center on Highway #9 south of Brockwell. The meeting is open to the public. Cemetery preservation will be the topic of the meeting. The guest speaker will be Holly Hope, a Special Projects Historian with the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program of Little Rock. A UALR graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in History, Hope began work at AHPP in 1997. She worked extensively with the National Register team and has worked with cemetery preservation and education for five years. She organizes cemetery preservation workshops, assists with National Register of Historic Places nominations, and offers lectures on cemetery issues. Justin Daigle, President of the society, invites any interested person to attend this session. “This information will be helpful to any person caring for a grave. Also, cemetery officers or cemetery board of directors will find useful preservation information in the presentation. A goal of this society is to preserve historic sites in our area, and this meeting will disseminate information about the preservation of our Ozark heritage.” |
| Izard historians to hear about railroad work |
| Mr. William Baker will be the guest speaker at the Izard County Historical and Genealogical Society meeting on Sunday, October 12, 2014, at the Izard County Senior Center south of Brockwell at 2 p.m. The meeting is open to the public. Baker’s talk will focus on the White River Division of the former Missouri Pacific Railroad. He will tell about items such as the difficult construction of the roadbed along the limestone bluffs and the laying of the rails that followed the White River’s path between Newport, Arkansas and Carthage, Missouri in the early 1900’s; whistle stops along the route; types of freight hauled; the side tracks and switches; the meaning of the different train whistles; plus other information. Baker is a Jackson County native from Newport. A graduate of Arkansas State University, he was employed by Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1973 and spent many years working a local freight train between Newport and Guion. He is a retired Locomotive Engineer from the Union Pacific Railroad. Baker has a good knowledge of Izard, Stone, and Independence Counties from his family history. He is a member of the Batesville Area Civil War Round Table and is a serious student of the Civil War. He and his wife, Belinda, have been married forty three years and have two sons. |