Montgomery County

Brushy Creek March 2002. Help save our past for the future!
Links and Notables

Montgomery Co. ARGenWeb Project

Genealogies *onsite
@ wayback

Montgomery County Links

Arkansas Links

Links

County info 2002

 TV STOREYS Ex-Arkansan is instrumental in bringing Five People to TV
Celia & Michae Storey
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette 5 December 2004
The Five People You Meet in Heaven (ABC), 7-10 p.m. today. Too few Arkansans know about Quinn Taylor, who is one of the surprising Arkies who somehow survives network TV's routine administrative purges. A while back, Taylor went toe-to-toe with the big feet at other networks for the rights to turn Mitch Albom's best-selling novel into this made-for-TV movie with the same title. ABC Entertainment's senior vice president for movies and miniseries, the former Mount Ida boy oversees all kinds of high-profile productions. Albom was a hot property, but Taylor won the deal for ABC. He believes that was because Albom could see that he "felt" the book, which is a Capraesque little affair about loss, guilt and the value of any one life. Then, too, ABC agreed to let Albom - who had never written a script - do the teleplay himself. On the way home from the deal, Taylor was thinking, "It will never be done. All that work, and we'll never get it made." Because novelists aren't usually adaptation adepts. Taylor gave us the script to read on the plane home from Hollywood in July. It conveyed a complex storyline told in multi-layered flashbacks full of special effects and held together by close-ups of a wristwatch. We had trouble imagining it making sense to anyone who hadn't already read the novel. And the cascade of images at the final payoff would have to be computer stuff, which can either break your heart with its beauty or distract you with thoughts about animation factories. ABC did not send us a preview screener. So we don't know. Maybe this will be a moving movie. Maybe it will be schmaltz.


Picture the precious stone available at the nation's only public Arkansas quarter issued October 2003diamond mine, a stalk from the country's main rice-growing region and a mallard flying over Delta wetlands and wooded hills. Mrs Dortha Scott (from Mt Ida) design was selected for the Arkansas quarter, which was issued in Oct. 2003. There are between 650 million and 750 million quarters produced for each state minted only for a ten week period. The mint won't produce additional quarters for that state at a later date. 130 million Americans are collecting the state quarters, an average of nearly one collector per U.S. household. "Never have so many people checked their pocket change." The Arkansas Quarter Challenge, a statewide competition, resulted in 9,320 entries. Governor Mike Huckabee selected the natural resources design. A mallard soaring above the water with trees in the background symbolizes Arkansas' abundant natural resources, its reputation as one of the top states in the country for hunting and fishing and its timber industry. Rice honors the state's agricultural heritage and the fact Arkansas is the leading rice producer in the country. A key element at the center of the design is a diamond. The Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro is unique. The diamond also is a major element of the Arkansas state flag.

Montgomery County Notables

 ==============================

Osro Cobb (1904 -1995) papers

Cobb, Osro of Caddo Gap, Montgomery County, Ark.; Little Rock, Pulaski County, Ark. Republican. Montgomery County Representatives in State Legislature 1927-29. Delegate to Republican National Convention from Arkansas, 1928, 1936, 1940, 1948, 1952; Arkansas Republican state chair, 1937-41; candidate for U.S. Representative from Arkansas 4th District, 1939; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, 1953-62. Presumed deceased. Burial location unknown. Cobb was born near Hatton in Polk County, Arkansas, to the lumberman Philander Cobb (born 1869).

Mrs. Osro Cobb,  of Little Rock, Pulaski County, Ark. Republican. Alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Arkansas, 1960. Still living as of 1960.

Shadow Haven Tourist Courts, at Caddo Gap was owned by Ida Sublette Cobb, born January 5, 1881, Ohio County, Kentucky, a poet and the mother of prominent Republican politician Osro Cobb. She married at 17 and he was 28. They were married in Polk Co. AR and was in the lumbar business, a stock holder of the Black Springs Lumbar Company and manager of the mills around Caddo Gap. They had three sons: Osro, Lawton and James. Ida died Sept. 27 1956 and Philonder Cobb died  Nov. 1st 1968 and both are buried at the Memorial Gardens near Hot Springs. Ida wrote four books. Author of "The Silver Shuttle" (1940) and "Vagabond Hours" (1937), second addition 1938 and Firebush (1949). She wrote music. To the Stars and Stripes Be True and poetry "Let me live in my little dell".
Philonder Cobb of Jassen, Polk Co. AR age 28, married Ida Belle Sublett, age 17 22 May 1898

Osro Cobb of Arkansas Memories of Historical Significance - The memoirs of one of Arkansas' better known politicians and judges, no names or markings inside, illustrated. 318 pages. 1989

Tom Wayne Dillard from Sims
Dillard ends career 'collecting dust' of Arkansas history
The City Wire Staff on Fri, 01/27/2012
FAYETTEVILLE  Tom Dillard and his 35-year career as historian of all things Arkansas was perhaps best described by his boss, University of Arkansas Dean of Libraries Carolyn Allen: He spreads knowledge like seeds, sprinkles them around to watch them grow. Dillard retired this month as head of the Special Collections at the UA and was honored Jan. 26 with a warm reception at University House, just off campus. In addition to his work at the UA, Dillard is best known as a creator of the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, which he still serves as founding editor-in-chief, and as creator of the Richard C. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, more commonly known as the Butler Center, in Little Rock. He's literally a know-it-all, when it comes to facts, tidbits and lore about the Natural State. Dillard began his career in 1977 as the first historian on the staff of Arkansas State Parks and became head of UA Special Collections in 2004. The department is the leading academic archival repository in the state, containing huge research collections of manuscripts, historic photos, books, periodical materials and more. A growing number of materials have been made available online under Dillard's charge. They include projects on civil rights in Arkansas, Fayetteville history, the late Sen. J. William Fulbright. One of the more recent high-profile projects managed by Dillard was the recent opening of the papers of U.S. Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt. He's traveled all over Arkansas, collecting dust, Allen joked. Then on a serious note, she added, He wants people to value the archive we've created. Arkansas had almost neglected its heritage. There was no textbook of its history in print, Dillard noted. Dillard has said Arkansas own history is the best means for building collective self-esteem among its residents. Knowledge of history also enables them to vote more intelligently, he said. Dillard and his wife Mary, who also retired this month, live on what they call a farmette in Farmington. Gardening is another of Dillard's loves, and he said he plans to do plenty of it as he settles into retirement. He also plans to continue researching Arkansas history, and he'll continue his longtime history column in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

"Silver Bells and Cockleshells: An Overview of Arkansas Landscape History"
by Tom Dillard Arkansas historian and gardener. Spoke at the Master Gardeners, Feb, 2013 Mt Ida.
The recorded history of gardening in Arkansas goes back to the French colonial era, but the movement picked up speed after Arkansas became a separate American territory in 1819. Within fewer than ten years, vegetable and flower seeds could be purchased in Little Rock, along with peach, pear, and apple trees. Well before the Civil War, Arkansans were working to beautify their homes, whether they were lonely farmsteads or town homes. As the years passed, Arkansans fenced their property, built outbuildings, planted a vast array of shrubs and trees, and put a lot more money and effort into beautification than one might suppose. Tom Dillard, who is a native of Sims and graduated from Oden High School, recently retired as director of the University of Arkansas Special Collections Department in Fayetteville. He has written extensively on Arkansas history, and for the past ten years has written a weekly column on the subject for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.  Dillard began gardening when he was a small child living on a farm near Sims. He was the founding president of the Central Arkansas Horticulture Society, and he has been editor of the gardening magazine Fleur de Lis for the past decade. Dillard has also been a leader in preserving Arkansas history, including serving as president of the Arkansas Historical Association. Dillard will be illustrating his talk with many historical pictures, including a few from Montgomery County. Tom is a Montgomery County native, well educated, and sure to have some quite interesting info on Arkansas gardens.

Billie Bob Dillard
November 26, 1935 - April 23, 2009
Chief Warrant Officer 2 (Retired) Billie Bob DILLARD, 73, of Montevallo died Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at his residence. He was born on Tuesday, November 26, 1935 in Arkansas, Son of the late Thomas Dillard and the late Hettie Beggs Dillard. Surviving are his Wife of 44 years, Mrs. Sue Dillard of Montevallo, AL; 4 Sons, Mr. Robert Dillard of Palm Bay, FL, Mr. Donald Dillard of Palm Bay, FL, Mr. Eddie Dillard of Arlington, TX, Mr. Billy Dillard of Mena, AR; Daughter, Mrs. Pam Oliver; 3 Sisters, Mrs. Blanche McKinney of Pencil Bluff, AR, Mrs. Pat Hopper of Pencil Bluff, AR, Mrs. Linda Kay Bailey, AL; 3 Brothers, Mr. Bob Dillard of Sims, AR, Mr. Tom Dillard of Farmington, AR, Mr. Rickey Dillard, Texas; 15 grandchildren, 1 great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his Father, Thomas Dillard; Mother, Hettie Dillard and Daughter, Debbie Varner. Friends will be received from 10-11AM, Saturday, April 25, 2009 @ Martin Funeral Home. Services will be held Saturday, April 25, 2009, at 11:00AM. at Martin Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Andrew Dollar officiating. Martin Funeral Home directing.

June 10, 2007  Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
FAYETTEVILLE  Tom Dillard just can't let history go. Especially Arkansas history. He's head of Special Collections at the University of Arkansas Libraries. He and 25 employees work in the basement of Mullins Library at the UA. For more than four years, he has written the weekly "Remembering Arkansas" column on the state's past. This column appears every Sunday on the Books page, 5H. Even though he turned in his master's degree thesis more than 30 years ago, its subject is still on his mind. He's still casually researching.

Attics and smokehouses Sunday, June 8, 2014 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
By Tom Dillard
Last week I spoke to the Hot Spring County Historical Society about some interesting experiences during my career as a historian and archivist. I titled it "Attics & Smokehouses," hinting at some of the places I have explored in seeking to locate that rare map or cache of manuscripts.

Let the fur fly By Tom Dillard Editorial, Pages 74 on 01/05/2014 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Recently I awoke to a dusting of snow and a persistent wind. Sitting with my feet resting on the hearth and a hot cup of coffee in my hands, my mind wandered back to a miserably cold morning during my childhood.  I was in the fifth or sixth grade and had gone ...

Just peachy By Tom Dillard Editorial, Pages 76 on 07/15/2012 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The other morning at breakfast I had peach jam on my toast, a golden ambrosia my wife made only the day before. Putting up peaches, whether made into preserves or canned or even dried, has a long tradition in Arkansas and the South. Like many of my peers growing up in rural Arkansas, I well recall the hot summer days spent peeling peaches or washing Mason jars as my mother ...

Homegrown and homespun By Tom Dillard Editorial, Pages 78 on 07/22/2012 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Vegetable gardening has been a part of my life since childhood. Like generations before me, I grew up in a rural area where growing at least part of one's food has been an economic necessity. My mother, who was the gardener in my family, drew upon lessons she learned from her mother.

What'll you have? By Tom Dillard Editorial, Pages 75 on 01/08/2012 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
I learned recently of the death of Mrs. Lillie Summitt of Sims, Arkansas. When I was growing up on a small farm in the 1950s, Lillie and her husband Hezekiah (known as Hezzie) ran the general store where my family shopped. For such a tiny place, Summitt's General Store made a big impression on young farm children. While the old Summitt store sits abandoned and cold today, warm memories ...

Rush to Bear City By Tom Dillard Editorial, Pages 78 on 03/28/2010 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Last week I wrote about Silver City and some of the other places in Arkansas that were the scenes of gold or silver rushes during the 1800s. Today's topic is the mining settlement of Bear, west of Hot Springs in what is today Garland County but was in Montgomery County until 1917.

COLUMNISTS The season for wishing Editorial, Pages 86 on 12/06/2009 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
By Tom Dillard
My birthday is December 24, and my wife always prepares a wonderful meal in celebration. While I normally prefer to obscure the aging process in the glitter of the holiday season, a special meal by Mary Frost Dillard is some recompense for being a year older. This year I'm asking for a meal made of Arkansas products.

A soldier's story Editorial, Pages 80 on 03/09/2014 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
By Tom Dillard
While Civil War battlefield tactics have always bored me, I am fascinated by the lives of individual soldiers.

Occupied Little Rock Editorial, Pages 88 on 09/29/2013 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
By Tom Dillard
At this time 150 years ago, residents of Little Rock were beginning to exhale after an incredibly rapid surrender of the city to U.S. Army Gen. Frederick Steele. On Sept. 10, 1863, Gen. Steele threw a pontoon bridge across the Arkansas River a few miles south of Little Rock, flanking the withdrawing Confederates and threatening to cut off their retreat toward Arkadelphia.

Echoes from the past By Tom Dillard Editorial, Pages 82 on 12/16/2012 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
On a recent Saturday afternoon, I was reminded that one of the great battles of the Civil War took place near my home. It was an overcast and cool Saturday, and I was out raking leaves. Suddenly, I heard thunder a deep sound rolling across the land and piling up against the mountain behind my home. Realizing that something was different about this thunder, it quickly dawned on me that the ..

Hot Springs claims Editorial, Pages 82 on 09/15/2013 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
By Tom Dillard
An acquaintance wrote recently, inquiring if I knew anything about John Percival or Perciful, believed to be the first American to settle at what is today Hot Springs. Perciful was indeed an early settler, but he is primarily known to Arkansas history as being one of the many people who claimed ownership of the valley of the vapors.

Well-bred blackberries Editorial, Pages 82 on 09/08/2013 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
By Tom Dillard
My wife and I love blackberries. Among the things we left behind earlier this summer when we moved from our home and extensive gardens in northwest Arkansas were large plantings of domesticated thornless blackberries, the vines laden with huge red fruits not yet ready for harvesting.

The awesome Albert Pike Editorial, Pages 94 on 08/25/2013 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
By Tom Dillard
Early Arkansas attracted more than its share of amazing people, men and women who could not only survive on the rugged southwestern frontier, but actually thrive. Albert Pike is a prime example of these early  half-horse, half-alligator  men who seemed to be predestined to find a place in history.

Room in the wagon yard? Editorial, Pages 72 on 01/27/2013
By Tom Dillard Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Most rural Arkansans did not travel much prior to the modern automobile era. Indeed, until a few years ago it was not uncommon to hear of someone living far back in the mountains who had died without ever leaving the county. Since travel was slow, it often involved spending the night. Only the most prosperous would spurge on a hotel. The wagon yard would do just fine.

Making history
By Tom Dillard Editorial, Pages 72 on 12/30/2012 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The Arkansas history scene has been busy lately with interesting developments on many fronts. Two long-time heritage agency administrators retired lately, Cathie Matthews and Wendy Richter. Matthews was director of the state Department of Arkansas Heritage for 15 years, by far the longest tenure in that post. Matthew's agency contained a variety of history-related agencies and programs, most notably the state's two largest history museums, the Old State House and ...

How to see the state for $96
By Tom Dillard Editorial, Pages 74 on 01/13/2013 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Nothing piques my interest more than an old travel diary. There is something exciting about reading other people's diaries, even if they are centuries old.

Merry (almost) Christmas By Tom Dillard Editorial, Pages 78 on 12/23/2012 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Christmas has been widely celebrated in Arkansas since before it became a state. For generations, children have anticipated Christmas with its gifts as the most wonderful event of the year. Indeed, the state was only two years old in 1838 when the General Assembly adopted legislation declaring Christmas and July Fourth as official holidays. The federal government did not recognize Christmas as a national holiday until 1885.

The forward press Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
By Tom Dillard Editorial, Pages 72 on 01/06/2013
Recently, I lost myself for a few hours reading Arkansas newspapers from January of 1913 a month which encapsulated the onrushing change then upon Arkansas, as well as the many forces still keeping the state poor, unhealthy and uneducated. Here are a few observations from the first month of 1913 which document the competing forces tugging at Arkansas.

Time for a spin By Tom Dillard Editorial, Pages 74 on 03/18/2012 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Modern Arkansans are usually surprised to learn that our state was, for a brief but hopeful few years after World War I, home to its own automobile-manufacturing company. The Climber Automobile, which had a high road clearance specifically for navigating deeply rutted Arkansas roads, was as ill-fated as it was hopeful but it symbolizes the striving of early 20th Century Arkansans to be a part of the national economic mainstream.

How the worm turned By Tom Dillard Editorial, Pages 74 on 04/01/2012 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
During the past week, the online Arkansas history discussion group has received a number of postings on the history of privies in Arkansas. It all began with a simple query as to the seeming scarcity of privies in Arkansas before the Civil War based on archaeological digs. Soon the discussion ranged far and wide, with interesting subtexts on chamber pots and outhouse designs.

Let's go to meeting By Tom Dillard Editorial, Pages 78 on 06/10/2012 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
A local church recently advertised a coming camp meeting, reminding me of the important role church meetings played in both the religious and social lives of our rural ancestors. The camp meeting is an extended religious revival, often lasting two weeks, with whole families attending and camping on the grounds.

Our history marches on Editorial, Pages 76 on 02/10/2013
By Tom Dillard Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
This is my 501st column, and I want to use it to address the general status of Arkansas history. It is a mixed report, but on the whole encouraging. Arkansas has a long tradition of neglecting its history.

Barber Shops

James Fred Jones was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Montgomery County. This photograph was taken in 1935 for the composite photograph of the Fiftieth General Assembly, 1935.

J. Fred Jones born January 12,1907 in Mt. Ida. Jones served three terms as a State Representative from Montgomery County. 19_4 to 1941.  He also served two years as deputy prosecuting attorney in that county before moving to Little Rock in 1942.  He then became the capital's first traffic judge, a post he held for two years.  He ran twice for the supreme court.  Once in 1948 and again in 1962 before winning in 1966.  He retired in 1977 when he reached the mandatory age of seventy.   Jones last bid for public office was in 1982, when he ran unsuccessfully for the 3rd District Congressional seat in the Democratic Primary.  College praised Jones for his integrity and sense of humor. Jones died at his home in Little Rock on March 5, 1991. Source: Supreme Court, Capitol Building, Little Rock. Framed memo on wall. 

The Long Gray Line By Rick Atkinson page 117
J. Fred Jones, had grown up in Mt. Ida, in a section of western Arkansas so untamed that a panther once crashed through the roof of the family home. Fred Jones had literally walked out of the woods to attend college, which he financed by delivering laundry and moonshine. When he was a law student at the university, he had lived for a time in a tent. His daughter was Vonda Jones who graduated from the University of Arkansas, where she majored in home economics and was captain of the cheer leading squad. Vonda married George A. Crocker, of Russellville, a West Point graduate in 1966, commissioned as a lieutenant of infantry, at the Methodist church in Little Rock June 25 in 1966. Vonda's grandfather had been a circuit-riding Church of god preacher, spewing fire and brimstone until his death at the age of ninety-five. Her mother was a teacher from the Ozarks village of Green Forest. George did five tours with the 82nd. Division

J. P. (James Paul) Hulsey was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Montgomery County. This photograph was taken in 1940 for the composite photograph of the Fifty-Third General Assembly, 1941. 

C. H. (Charles Holland) Herndon 1884-1948 was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Montgomery County. This photograph was taken in 1945 for the composite photograph of the Fifty-Fifth General Assembly, 1945.


43rd General Assembly, AR 1921

A. J. (Alfred Jefferson) "Jeff" Mobley b. 1926 - was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Montgomery County. This photograph was taken in 1951 for the composite photograph of the Fifty-Eighth General Assembly, 1951. 2004

W. V. (Walter V.) "Shorty" Smith was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Montgomery County. This photograph was taken in 1952 for the composite photograph of the Fifty-Ninth General Assembly, 1953.

Ode (Ode Lee) Maddox was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Montgomery County. This photograph was taken in 1956 for the composite photograph of the Sixty-First General Assembly, 1956 1961 1965 1967 Mr. Maddox was a State Representative from 1957 to December 1998, for District #17 which covers most of Montgomery and Polk Counties, he did not seek re-election. Oden photo


AR 80th House of Representatives 1995

The New York Times; Feb 22, 1971; p. 31
But, compared to the late 1950's and the early 1960's the Arkansas legislature of today is remarkably progressive. Some here attribute much of the difference to the gain un urban seats after a court-ordered reapportionment in 1966.
The new urban outlook could be seen in 1969 when the legislative passed its first law allowing bars to sell mixed drinks.
One legislator who had always voted "dry" was Ode Maddox of Oden, a western Arkansas hill village of about 100 persons. Mr Maddox had represented a rural district in the House from 1957 until the 1966 reapportionment. Then his district was combined with Hot Springs, a fairly cosmopolitan resort town, and in 1969 he voted for a liquor bill for the first time. "Ode not only voted for it," one observer recalled, "he got up and made a hell of a speech in favor of it."

Boyd Anderson Tackett (1911-1985) Born near Black Springs, Ark., May 9, 1911. Member of Arkansas House of Representatives, 1937 - 41. Served in the U.S. Army during World War II; U.S. Representative from Arkansas, 1949-53; candidate for Governor of Arkansas, 1952. Died in Nashville, Ark., February 23, 1985. He was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Pike County. This photograph was taken in 1936 for the composite photograph of the Fifty-First General Assembly, 1937. (D)

The above photos are from the The Arkansas History Commission image library

The New York Times. Dec 31, 1964; p. 5
Senate aide ends a 59 year career. Charles L Watkins retires as the Parliamentarian.
Dec. 30 - Washington.

Charles L. Watkins, after 59 years of Senate service, more than 40 of them as parliamentarian, retired today at the age of 85. He left at the Capitol his promise that the secrets he had amassed concerning strategies, dilemmas, personalities, personal matters and other matters would remain secrets. He planned no memories, histories or published reminiscences. He had never even kept notes. "I'll find something else to do., he said. An Arkansas Democrat who made it a business to forget which party was in power -during the working hours, at least - Mr Watkins has enjoyed his independence. It was his routine to advise both sides in any controversy when advice was asked. it was sought steadily. Mr Watkins, a tall, slight and soft-spoken man who has remained calm through the shoutingest of Senate debates, was made the unofficial parliamentarian long before the Senate created the office in 1935. Mr Watkins was born at Mount Ida, Ark., on Aug. 10, 1879. he graduated from the Mount Ida Normal Academy and the law department of the University of Arkansas. He served as clerk in the offices of the Attorney General and Governor, 1902-04, with a state commission for two more years, and then came to the capitol to work with Senator James F. Clarke of Arkansas. Though on the payroll as a labourer, he was a stenographer, and later became the sentor's secretary. In 1914 Mr Watkins was appointed a clerk in the office of the secretary of the Senate, and in 1919 became the Senate's journal clerk. In this poet, he began to learn the parliamentary arts and in 1923 became the Vice President's unofficial adviser. He was parliamentarian for the United Nations conference at San Francisco in 1945, on special leave from the Senate. In the photo he is on the left. He is on the left with Dr. Floyd M. Riddick on the right. Taken two years before he died.
Charles Watkins, Senate Aide, Dies. New York Times Aug 31, 1966; p. 40.   Died Aug. 29 at the Bethesda-Silver Spring Nursing Home in Maryland. He was 87 years old. Mr Watkins is survived by a son Charles O., of Detroit, two brothers, William of Little Rock and Harold of Mount Ida, a sister, Mrs Florence Baldwin of Mount Ida, and a grand-daughter.

==============================

"Charles Vines did not forget the backwoods farm he left behind. He's devoted to helping Arkansas children build a better life through 4-H. On his four-mile walks to and from school as a boy, C.A. Vines had plenty of time to think and to talk to God. It was then that he made up his mind about the future."

"A legend in Arkansas Agriculture"
 Mr. C. A. Vines retired from the Cooperative Extension Service in 1974 where he was director, but simply shifted gears and became the executive director Arkansas 4-H Foundation, a position which he still holds in 1998.  He joined the extension service in 1934 as an assistant county agent.  He was 85 years in 1993.  The C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center is a 228-acre educational facility at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains just 10 miles west of Little Rock. He is a member of the Arkansas Hall of Fame and was a member of a committee that created what is now the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation.
    He recalls when land could be bought for $3 an acre, when western Arkansas was a major cotton producer and when horses and mules were the main energy source on the farm. Mr. Vines was raised on a 40-acre farm in Montgomery County. "I remember that our closest neighbor had a long spell of illness when I was about 14, and the people in that neighborhood all turned out one day to help him.  They brought hoes, cultivators and plows and worked the weeds in the main crop.  When we left, he had the cleanest crop in the whole area." Reference: Ouachita Mountain Neighbor, Mena , AR., Aug. 24, 1993  

Obituary Feb 23 2001 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Charles A. Vines worked in agriculture up until day he died. He wasn't discouraged when he only cleared $40 his first year as a farmer. He continued to toil away for decades in agriculture and was still going to work when he died Wednesday at age 93...

This obituary appeared in the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in-house newsletter for the 4 H Center.

C.A. Vines Passes Away at 93
LITTLE ROCK -- Charles Austin Vines, suffered a stroke Wednesday, Feb. 14, and died Wednesday, Feb. 21, in the cardiac intensive care unit at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in Little Rock. Vines improved slightly over the weekend, but his condition began deteriorating Monday.

Vines, 93, rose from poverty to become executive director of the Arkansas 4-H Foundation and a former director of the Cooperative Extension Service. He was a long-time champion of the 4-H program and the driving force behind raising the $7 million to build the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center at Ferndale.

He was active up until his death, working out of the foundation's office at Extension's headquarters in Little Rock and at the center. The former sharecropper joined the Cooperative Extension Service in 1934 as a county agent and worked his way up through the ranks. Vines never expected anyone to do anything he wasn't willing to do. The 4-H staff recall Vines helping lay sod at the 4-H Center a few years ago. Center staff recall having to keep him off a ladder when they were putting the roof on one of the buildings.

He still drove a car to work and to the 4-H Center, but his driving skill had faded some. His colleagues presented him with a set of hubcaps for his birthday one year to replace those that fell victim to street curbs. Although he had held numerous important posts and received many honors, he was perhaps proudest of the rose garden he helped establish in honor of his wife Joye. Tending the garden for Vines was a labor of love. Vines was featured in the "High Profile" section of the "Arkansas Democrat-Gazette" newspaper Oct. 29. The Montgomery County native explained to a reporter why he championed young people. "I made a vow when walking back and forth to high school that if I ever got out of the cycle of poverty, I would devote the rest of my life to helping kids." The article ended with Vines saying that when he died he only wanted to be remembered as "somebody who touched the life of a child and helped them enrich their life." Vines' children, Charles and Ann Vines Roberts and their families expressed their appreciation for everyone's love and support.

==============================

Lt. Col. Lawrence E Leffler. (OK)
 L.E. b. 25 July 1925 Caddo Gap. d. 6 Nov. 2002 - Midwest City OK.  10 Nov. Daily Oklahoman
 B-47 Weapon System Management Division
Lawrence E. Leffler was tragically taken from us in an automobile accident on November 6, 2002. He was born in Caddo Gap, Arkansas on July 25, 1925 to Oliver and Elva Leffler who preceded him in death along with one brother and one sister. Larry was a great American who served in the United States Air Force and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. He had a distinguished civil service career at Tinker Air Force Base. While on active duty, Larry flew bombing missions in World War II as a bombardier navigator on B-17s and also served in the Korean War. As a civil servant, Larry was responsible for the B52 and Engine Divisions, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center. Larry was happily married for 20 years and is survived by his wife Thelma and their precious dog Tippy. He is also survived by Vicki Leffler the mother of his children;... Larry was an avid golfer and had the first tee time every morning at the TAFB golf course. His goal in the last few years was to shoot his age. He loved and supported OSU football and hosted the greatest tailgate parties known to man. He lived life to its fullest and loved a good time with his family and friends. He was quick to give guidance whether you needed it or not. Larry was active in the community living in the Midwest City area for over 50 years, holding a 32nd degree Scottish Rite membership and a member of the Jesters in the India Shrine. He was past president, Gerrity Chapter, Air Force Association and was the longest member of the TAFB Officers Club which he regularly frequented and aided the staff in their duties. . Memorial services will be held 12:00 PM Monday, 11/11/2002 at the St. Matthews United Methodist Church.
Barnes & Johnson F.H.
1820 S. Douglas Blvd
Midwest City 733-2991

Tinker take Off Jan. 24 2003
Lawrence E. Larry Leffler completed 38 years of federal service and retired at Tinker Air Force Base in 1980, his Exceptional Civilian Service Award noted that he had contributed immeasurably to the successful accomplishment of worldwide logistics responsibilities in support of the United States Air Force mission. Born in Caddo Gap, Ark., July 25, 1925, Leffler began his government career as an aviation cadet at Wright Field, Ohio, in 1942. ...

Lonnie Warneke 1909 -1976 
Country boy to ace pitcher to umpire to Judge.

When we build let us think that we build forever.  Let it not be for the present delight, nor for the present use alone; let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for and let us think, as we lay stone on stone, that a time will come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touch them, and that men will say as they look upon the labour and wrought substance of them, "See, this our fathers did for us".
John Raskin  Arkansas State Capitol 1899-1915

Little Brushy Creek near Brushy Road. Forest land on the left. Beavers are found here.

Little Brushy Creek

Sage McLean
Jefferson R. "Bully"Mclean

Lyttelton Times, 4 July 1860, Page 3
THE ARKANSAS TRAVELLER. A burlesque tune, known as the 'Arkansas Traveller' is exceedingly, popular at the west and south, and originated, from the incidents of the following story, which are exactly as related fifteen or twenty years ago, by the author of the tune and story, Colonel S. C. Faulkner, of Arkansas. The narrator plays the air vehemently on a fiddle for a short time,; then relates a portion of the story; then again falls to playing, as if he had given his audience enough of a good thing for one time. "In the earlier days of the territory of Arkansas, when the settlements were few and far between, an adventurous traveller from one of the old states, while traversing the swamp of that portion of the kedn'try, gets lost on a cold, rainy day, in the autumn of the year. After wandering till evening, and despairing of finding a habitation, while searching for a place to camp, he strikes a trail; which seems to lead somewhere, and also hears in that direction the noise of a fiddle. Accordingly he takes the trail, and soon discovers ahead of him, rising above the timber, a light column of smoke, which he knows comes from the cabin of a squatter. As he approaches, he finds it to be a log cabin, ten logs high, and about ten feet square, one side being roofed, and the other only half covered with boards; he also sees the proprietor on an old whiskey barrel near the door; sheltered by a few boards which project from the eaves, playing a tune, or rather the first snatch of a tune, on an old fiddle! After surveying the habitation and surroundings of cotton head children; the traveller rides up to see if he can get lodgings, and the following dialogue ensues; The hoosier, however, still continuing to play the same part over and over again, only stopping to give short indifferent replies to the traveller's queries.
Traveller Good morning, sir.
Squatter  How d'ye do, sir?
Tray. Can I get to stay all night with you?
Squat. No, sir.
Tray.  Can't' you give me a glass of something to drink?, I'm very wet and cold.
Squat. I drank the last drap this morning.
Tray.  I am very hungry; ain't had a thing to eat to-day. Will you Jet me have something to eat ?
Squat. Haven't a darned thing in the House.
Trav. Then can't you give my horse, something to eat?
Squat. Got nothing to feed him on.
Tray. How, far is it to the next house?
Squat. Stranger, I don't know; I've never been there.
Trav. Well, where does this road go to.
Squat.  It's never been anywhere since I've lived here; it's always here when I get up in the morning.
Trav. As I am not likely to get to any other house to night, can't you let me sleep in yours, and I'll tie my horse to a tree and do without anything to eat or drink ?'
Squat. My house leaks; there's only one dry spot in it, and me and Sal sleeps on that. Tray.  Why don't you finish covering your house and stop the leak?
Squat. It's raining.
Trav. Well, why don't you do it when it is not raining?
Squat. It don't leak then.
Trav. Well, as you have nothing to eat or drink in your house, and nothing alive about your place but children; how do you do here, anyhow?
Squat Putty well I thank you. How d'ye do yourself?
Tray.(After trying in vain all sorts of ways to extract some satisfactory information from him.) My friend, why don't you play the whole of that tune?
Squat. Stops playing and looks up for the first time  I did not know there was any more to it. Can you play the fiddle, stranger ?
Trav. I play a little, sometimes.
Squat. You don't look much like a fiddler, (handing him the fiddle.) Will you play the balance of that tune?
The traveller gets down and plays the tune.
Squat. Stranger come in ! take half a dozen chairs and sit down. Sal, go round into the holler where I killed that buck this morning. Cut off some of the best pieces and fetch it, and cook it for me and this gentleman directly. Raise up the board under the head of the bed, afore you go, and get the old black jug I hid from Dick, and give us some whiskey  I know there's some, left. Dick carry the gentleman's horse round to the shed; you'll find some fodder and corn there. Give him as much as he can eat. Durn me, stranger, if .you can't stay as long as you please, and I'll give you plenty to eat and drink. Hurry, old woman. If you can't find the butcher knife, take the cob handle, or granny's knife. Play away, stranger you shall sleep on the dry spot to-night. After about two hours' fiddling and some conversation, in which the squatter showed his characteristics, the stranger retires to the 'dry spot.'

The Arkansas Traveler tune
Lyrics by the Arkansas State Song Selection Committee, 1947
Music by Colonel Sanford (Sandy) Faulkner, about 1850

On a lone-ly road quite long a-go,
A trav'l-er trod with fid-dle and a bow;
While ram-bling thru the coun-try rich and grand,
He quick-ly sensed the mag-ic and the beauty of the land.

Chorus

For the Won-der State we'll sing a song,
And lift our voic-es loud and long.
For the Wond-er State we'll shout Hur-rah!
And praise the op-por-tu-ni-ties we find in Ar-kan-sas.

Man-y years have passed, the trav-'lers gay,
Re-peat the tune a-long the high-way;
And ev-ery voice that sings the glad re-frain
Re-echoes from the moun-tains to the fields of grow-ing grain.

Repeat Chorus

P.S. The Arkansas traveler is also the name of a tick with a spot on its back.

Oden Postmaster.

Montgomery County News Thursday July 19, 1973.
The front page headline. Oden postmaster retires July 13
Frank Smith retired as postmaster of Oden July 13 after serving nearly 33 years at the job. He was appointed postmaster September 2, 1940. "Oden was a smaller town then. I remember when they used to cut hay on Taylortown." Charles Frank Smith was born in Belcherville, TX, April 23, 1906, and first saw Arkansas when he came with his father, the late Elmer E. Smith and other cattle buyers into Montgomery County. His father moved here in 1918 when Frank was 12 years old, and bought a farm on what is now State Highway 88 East of Oden. Frank married, in 1937, a local girl, Audie Forbes, daughter of William (Billy) Porter Forbes and Melvina (Vina) Forbes, and they had four sons: Carl, math teacher at Oden HS, Elmer, with an oil company in TX, Ronald, assistant ranger with the Forest Service in Homer, Louisiana; and Mike, head of buying departments at the Sears stores in McCain Mall, NLR. Frank had a sawmill, a shingle mill and was farming and growing cattle when he became postmaster. Frank, Audie and the four boys built the house they live in, within sight of his father's old house just west of Polk Creek. "We bought an older house, tore it down, took the lumber down to the river, put on our bathing suits and washed it, then brought it back and started building." Although Frank still using walking aids as a result of a traffic accident he says his health is excellent. [Audie died in 2007 aged 94] [Frank died in 1986, aged 79]

History of the Ouachita Trail

The Montgomery County News Thursday, May 8, 1975
Green Thumb Crew - From the left, Green Thumbers who helped with projects at Oden Ranger District are Clyde Ledbetter, D.D. Shipman, Thurman Vines (crew boss), Tom Wilson, Everett Mack (safety coorindinator) and Herman York. Luke Barber not pictured must be taking the photo. The crew worked a three day work week. Since the start of October, 1974, these men have constructed 3 and a half miles of the Ouachita Hiking Trail. The portion of the trail that was constructed connects Highway 88 at Big Branch with Highway 27 at Buddy's Landing.
    The Green Thumbers also helped maintain the ranger station grounds and buildings. Some of the work included building a chimney, seeding road banks, rip rapping a ditch and litter cleanup.
    The Green Thumb Progam has been halted nationally because of a lack of funds.

 

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Waldo Ralph Emerson

"We rolled down the windows and listened" Albert Pike Rd. Photo taken 12 August 2011 by Nathan Whitehouse.
Canon ESO Rebel XS Digital: f/16, exposure time 1 sec., ISO-100, Focal length 55mm