Mrs. Sue Shell Chrisco, a member of the society, will be the guest speaker for the session. Residing near Sage, Arkansas, Chrisco is a well-known local historian, genealogists, and preservationist. She will represent the Izard County Cemetery Association. This cemetery preservation project was established in the early 1980’s upon a suggestion made by the late Fred Blankenship of Melbourne. Chrisco and her late husband, A. D., with friends, Remmell and Helen Conyers, became the first members of the organization. With the help of many volunteers through the years, twenty-eight abandoned cemeteries have been cleaned and preserved by the association, while approximately five hundred sixty headstones with bases were made and placed in various cemeteries throughout the area. Many “lost” graves in various locations in the county have been located by dowsing, an art similar to “witching” for water, and marked by the group.
Chrisco is also very active with the Manna House, a food bank program located in Melbourne. She helped her cousin, Betty Hope Guthrie McCollum, in the completion of eight of the “Down Memory Lane” series of books featuring stories and remembrances of older citizens of our area. This series of books is an excellent source in preserving the history of individuals, families, and of the Izard County area in past years as told in the words of the main character of each story.
Mrs. Carolyn Atkinson, President of the society, states, "Dr. Brooks Blevins will be the speaker for the Summer Quarterly Meeting. He is a member of our society, and we look forward to hearing his informative presentation. The public is welcome to attend the meeting and to enjoy refreshments after the session."
Blevins, a Violet Hill native and 1988 graduate of Mount Pleasant High School, will discuss an event that took place just across the Izard County line in Fulton County. In 1868, the murder of Simpson Mason, the north Arkansas agent of the Freedmen’s Bureau, sparked a conflict between members of the Ku Klux Klan and militiamen from Arkansas and Missouri.
Widely regarded as the nation’s foremost expert on the history of the Ozarks, Blevins is the author or editor of seven books, including Hill Folks: A History of Arkansas Ozarkers and Their Image and Ghost of the Ozarks: Murder and Memory in the Upland South. He is the Noel Boyd Professor of Ozarks Studies at Missouri State University in Springfield.
Calico Rock — A Dedication Service for a Civil War Sesquicentennial Marker was held in Calico Rock at the Trimble House Park located on Highway 56 East across the street from the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 28, 2016.
The Izard County Historical and Genealogical Society in conjunction with the Colonel Robert G. Shaver Camp #1655 Sons of Confederate Veterans of Jonesboro, Private Job S. Neill Camp #286 Sons of Confederate Veterans of Batesville, Stone County Chapter #2711 United Daughters of the Confederacy of Mountain View, Albert Sidney Johnston Chapter #135 United Daughters of the Confederacy of Batesville, and the General James Fleming Fagan Chapter #280 of the Military Order of Stars and Bars of Jonesboro conducted the historical marker unveiling ceremony.
The new marker reads:
“Military Activity at Calico Rock.
While no battles were fought at Calico Rock, the area saw considerable military activity. The 4th Missouri Cavalry (C.S.) and 1st Illinois Cavalry skirmished at Calico Rock Landing on May 26, 1861. Following a Nov. 16, 1863, fight near Salem, Confederate troops fell back to Calico Rock. Col. T. R. Freeman’s Confederates were based at Calico Rock in late 1863 and early 1864, operating against the 1st Nebraska Cavalry. Part of the 8th Missouri Militia Cavalry (U.S.) was posted at Calico Rock in 1864, and Freeman had returned by that December.”
“Bushwhackers.
The civilians around Calico Rock were the victims of both soldiers who took their food and supplies and lawless bands of bushwhackers who raided the area. John Quincy Wolf’s memoirs recount a band that terrorized a region from the Buffalo River to Calico Rock and Sylamore. After one raid in which livestock and other property were stolen, Wolf’s father and other furloughed Confederate soldiers formed a posse and pursued them, catching them at Shipp’s Ferry Landing. When the smoke cleared 11 bushwhackers, including the leader, were dead.”Colonel W. Danny Honnoll of the 30th Ark Inf. living historians, and Commander of the Shaver Camp, emceed the ceremony and conducted the Memorial Service. Reverend Wayne Wood of the Calico Rock Cumberland Presbyterian Church worded the Invocation and Benediction.
Greetings were presented by Ronnie Guthrie, Mayor of Calico Rock; Waylan Cooper of the Izard County Historical and Genealogical Society; Linda Carol Cooper of the Albert Sidney Johnston Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy; Mary Cooper Miller of the Stone County Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy; Danny Honnoll of the Military Order of the Stars and Bars; and Ray Jones, III, past Commander of the Arkansas Division Sons of Confederate Veterans.
A Three Volley Gun Salute was fired by John Malloy of the Job S. Neil Camp of Sons of Confederate Veterans. Taps was played and Danny Honnoll conducted a sword salute to the fallen soldiers while Amazing Grace was played.
Captain M. Ray Jones, III was in charge of the flag folding ceremonies, assisted by Sgt. Jimmy Stevens and Sgt. Will Silas of the Shaver Camp Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Bud Cooper of the Izard County Historical Society gave closing remarks. Some descendants of the Trimble Family attended the service.
The Arkansas Division Sons of Confederate Veterans memorial services and historical marker dedications are presented to remember their Confederate ancestors. The SCV, UDC, C of C, and MOSB are historical organizations and their charge is to preserve the true history of the South and its soldiers.
The Izard County Historical and Genealogical Society is responsible for the placement of four sesquicentennial markers in Izard County through the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission in Little Rock. Roger Harvell completed the research for the information on the marker at Lunenburg, and Linda Carol Cooper and Bud Cooper researched for the Mount Olive, Wild Haws, and Calico Rock markers.
The event was sanctioned by the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission of which Colonel W. Danny Honnoll and Captain M. Ray Jones, III have served as Commissioners. The Calico Rock Marker is Number 140 and was funded by the Commission, Izard County Historical and Genealogical Society, and the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council during the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.
Joann Montgomery and Mondalyn McCormack will share information about The State Bank of Calico Rock and about Mr. E. C. Rodman, Cashier of the bank. They will also share some of the “happenings” at the bank over the years that might be of interest to everyone.
Well known in the Arkansas Bankers Association, Rodman entered the Bluff City Bank of Calico Rock in 1909 at the age of 21. In 1914, the Bluff City Bank merged with Peoples Bank and became the State Bank of Calico Rock. From 1909 to 1978 he was with the same banking institution except for the time he served in World War One. Rodman was one of Izard County’s best known and most respected citizens. He was a supporter of various civic clubs, the Calico Rock Public School Board, and taught a Bible Class at the Calico Rock Methodist Church.
“Joann Farmer Montgomery began working at the State Bank of Calico Rock on October 2, 1956, following graduation from high school. She started as a secretary and did just about every job in the bank at some time. She attended various banking schools over the years. She was affiliated with various banking organizations and served as Secretary and later as President of the Ozark Mountain Bank Women. She retired on October 2, 1998, as Senior Vice President and Cashier of First National Bank of Izard County (formerly State Bank of Calico Rock) after working 42 years for the same bank in three different locations. Since retirement she has done quite a bit of traveling and stays busy with various activities around her home in Elizabeth, AR”
“Mondalyn Caldwell McCormack started work at the State Bank of Calico Rock in 1945 while she was still a senior in high school. After she was married, she moved with her family to Kansas and lived there until they returned to Calico Rock in 1958. Soon after that she returned to work at the bank as a bookkeeper. She held that position until 1970 when the bank moved into new facilities and she became drive-in teller. She was named Assistant Cashier and held that position and continued to be drive-in teller until her retirement in 1992. Since retirement she has been involved in various activities in the Calico Rock area, including being a member of the Community Medical Center Board of Directors and is active in Hospice.”
Mr. Rodman went to work, part time, in 1907 for the Bluff City Bank at Calico Rock. Two years later, he was employed full time at the same bank. On April 21, 1914, the name of the bank was changed to State Bank of Calico Rock, and he was promoted to Cashier at a salary of $70.00 per month.
He worked for the same bank for the remainder of his life, and he retained the same title, although he was offered other titles over the years. His death occurred August 5, 1978, and he lacked a few weeks being 90 years old. At the time of his death, Rodman was credited with being the oldest active banker in the state of Arkansas.
In 1917, Rodman became an original stockholder of the bank and was elected Secretary of the bank’s Board of Directors, a position he retained until his death. During his long banking career, he saw many changes, Montgomery said. Originally, posting was done by hand. Eventually, he obtained an Underwood manual typewriter, and he typed with the forefingers of each hand. His desk was at the front of the long, narrow bank building. The original bank building had bars on the tellers’ windows, no restroom, a wood stove for heat, and a safe in the vault. Mr. Rodman had a private office, but he wanted his desk to be in the open area, where he knew what was going on. When the space was outgrown, the directors studied cost of a new building for months before committing the necessary $100,000 for it. It was an ordeal to move the heavy safe, and some worried about moving the money, which was moved secretly – not in the safe.
When the second bank building was occupied in October, 1970, it was air-conditioned and had bathrooms and a drive-in window. Approximately 135-140 bank customers utilized the drive-in daily. McCormack remembers trailer loads of cattle and sheep driving through. In case of a storm, she was to take the money tray from the drive-in to the vault.
Mr. Rodman’s love of flowers was exhibited almost daily at the bank. He would use a Coca-Cola bottle as a bud vase and keep a flower in it during season, especially purple Irises. His yard was full of flowers, and he was a member of the Garden Club.
Roger Harvell, a society member, will be the guest speaker for the session. He has a vast knowledge of his family history, Izard County history, and the history of the Civil War era. He is a native of Izard County being the son of the late Reverend Owen Harvell and the late Sibyl Walker Harvell. His Izard County roots run back to the time before the county existed. His maternal Walker line was in this area when it was still a part of the Missouri Territory.
After his Air Force retirement, Roger became a computer programmer for a company in Little Rock. He became acquainted with George Fisher, the editorial cartoonist for the Arkansas Gazette, who encouraged him to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a cartoonist. He worked in North Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and in Greenville, South Carolina, drawing cartoons for area newspapers.
Harvell’s interest in genealogy grew when he came into possession of his father’s research. After mapping the Harvell family lands in Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee from original land transactions and at courthouses, he realized how geography plays an important role in genealogy. He completed a project showing all the original landowners of Izard County of which the Bureau Of Land Management has record. The book he published is titled “Izard County, Arkansas From the Beginning: Original Land Ownership Maps” available from Arkansas Research, Inc. in Conway, AR.
Harvell is very active in the Sons of Confederate Veterans and participates in reenactments throughout the state with his Civil War replica cannon. He lives on the family homestead at Lunenburg and does contract work for several newspapers