ARKANSAS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

Sixty-Seventh Annual Conference

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

March 27 - 29, 2008
Registration Form
Map to Best Western Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center
Evaluation Form

Arkansas: Land of Eccentricity

General Information
The sixty-seventh annual conference of the Arkansas Historical Association will be held at the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center in Eureka Springs map, March 27-29. The program chair is Timothy G. Nutt, rare books and manuscripts librarian with the University of Arkansas Libraries. Susan Young, outreach coordinator at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, is chair of the local arrangements committee, which includes Terry Barry, Best Western Inn of the Ozarks; Glenna Booth, City of Eureka Springs; and Ginni Miller, Eureka Springs Historical Museum.

Registration
Complete the enclosed registration form and send it with check or money order to the Arkansas Historical Association, Department of History, Old Main 416, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701. The registration fee is $5.00. Deadline for registration is February 25.

Name tags may be picked up during the Thursday evening reception at the Bank of Eureka Springs, or at the Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center Friday morning.

Meals
Special luncheons will be held on Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29. The Annual Awards Banquet will be Friday, March 28 at 7:15 p.m. All meals will be held at the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks. All meals require reservations, which must be made by February 25 using the enclosed registration form. Meal prices include tax and gratuity. Please note that breakfast is on your own. Myrtie Mae’s Restaurant at the Inn of the Ozarks opens at 7:00 a.m.

Lodging
The Best Western Inn of the Ozarks (junction of Highway 62 West and Eureka Springs Historic Loop, map) is the host hotel for the conference. The Inn will hold rooms at a special rate until February 27. The nightly rate is $79 plus tax for standard rooms; $119 for jacuzzi rooms; $139 for two-room suites. Call 1-800-552-3785 to make reservations; mention the Arkansas Historical Association conference to receive the discount rates.

For information on other lodging, visit the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce website, www.eurekaspringschamber.com.

Thursday Reception
Bank of Eureka Springs and the Eureka Springs Historical Museum
6:00-8:00 p.m.

The Bank of Eureka Springs, the Eureka Springs Historical Museum, the Eureka Springs Preservation Society, and the Eureka Springs Historic District Commission will host a reception at the downtown Bank of Eureka Springs, 70 S. Main. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit with bank chairman and local historian John Fuller Cross, grandson of Arkansas congressman Claude Fuller. Also, stroll across the street for a visit to the Eureka Springs Historical Museum, housed in the 1889 Calif House, a three-story building made of White River limestone.
Free parking is available in the Bank of Eureka Springs parking lot.

Friday Reception
Best Western Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center
6:00-7:00 p.m.

The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central Arkansas Library System will host a reception which includes musical entertainment by old-time string band Shout Lulu.

There is no charge for either reception, but please indicate your intention to attend on the registration form.

Friday Free Time
4:30-6:00 p.m.

Walking is the best way to experience Eureka Springs, so park your car, venture out on foot down one of the many winding streets, and enjoy the Victorian architecture, unique historical sites, and quirky charm of this one-of-a-kind community. Brochures and maps will be available at the AHA registration table.

Eureka Moments from the Arkansas Historical Quarterly

“Dr. Norman Baker established a hospital in the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs [in the 1930s] where he claimed to cure cancer with injections containing carbolic acid, glycerin, and alcohol. His staff allegedly prescribed a potion containing watermelon seed, clover seed, and corn silk for patients . . .”

From “That Troublesome Old Cocklebur,” by Albert J. Schneider, Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Spring 1976.

                                               The Conference in Brief

Thursday, March 27
6:00-8:00 p.m.                          Reception, Bank of Eureka Springs and Eureka Springs 
                                                Historical Museum

Friday, March 28
All activities will be held at the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center

7:45 a.m.                                  Registration opens
8:30 a.m.                                  Welcome
9:00-10:15 a.m.                        Session I
10:15-10:30 a.m.                      Break
10:30-11:45 a.m.                      Session II
Noon-1:15 p.m.                         Luncheon and Business Meeting
1:30-2:45 p.m.                          Session III
2:45-3:00 p.m.                          Break
3:00-3:30 p.m.                          Arkansas History Education Coalition Report
3:30-4:30 p.m.                          Session IV: Highlighting Arkansas Archives
4:30-6:00 p.m.                          Free Time
6:00-7:00 p.m.                          Reception
7:15 p.m.                                  Awards Banquet

Saturday, March 29
All activities will be held at the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center

9:00-10:15 a.m.                       Session V
10:15-10:30 a.m.                     Break
10:30-11:45 a.m.                     Session VI
Noon-1:15 p.m.                        Luncheon

Thursday, March 27
Bank of Eureka Springs, 70 S. Main in the historic downtown district

Reception
6:00-8:00 p.m.
Hosted by the Bank of Eureka Springs, Eureka Springs Historical Museum, Eureka Springs Preservation Society, and Eureka Springs Historic District Commission

Friday, March 28
Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center

Registration
7:45 a.m.

Welcome
8:30 a.m.
Dani Joy, Mayor of Eureka Springs

Session I
9:00-10:15 a.m.
Moderator: Blake Wintory, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center

OLD MIKE: THE MYSTERY MAN IN PRESCOTT
David Sesser, Nevada County Depot Museum

DIVING FOR ANSWERS: THE 1937 SEARCH FOR THE
WHITE RIVER MONSTER
Robert D. Craig, Kennett, Missouri

LAY OFF BOB: ROBIN BURNS AND THE ARKANSAS IMAGE
Brooks Blevins, Lyon College

LET’S MOVE TO A ROCKY RIDGE! THE RATIONALE FOR APPARENTLY ECCENTRIC DECISIONS BY MIGRANTS TO ARKANSAS
Carolyn Earle Billingsley, Alexander, Arkansas

Break
10:15-10:30 a.m.
Hosted by University of Arkansas Press

Session II
10:30-11:45 a.m.
Moderator: Laura Miller, Central High School National Historic Site

INVENTING HERSELF: CORA ANNE STROUD JENKINS AND THE PRESTO SPACE AGE DIAPER
Diane Worrell, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

HOW FORRESTINA CAMPBELL BECAME WHITE RIVER RED
Susan Young, Shiloh Museum of Ozark History

VISIONS OF WEALTH: KRUSE’S GOLD MINE
Gaye Bland, Rogers Historical Museum

LUNCHEON AND BUSINESS MEETING
Noon-1:15 p.m.
Presiding: Tom DeBlack, President, Arkansas Historical Association

Business Meeting
President’s Report
Secretary-Treasurer’s Report
Election of Trustees

Keynote Address
Ernest Dumas, Arkansas Times columnist

Session III
1:30-2:45 p.m.
Moderator: Nancy Britton, Batesville, Arkansas

UNUSUAL ARKANSAS LAWS—FACT OR FANTASY?
Lorraine Lorne, University of Arkansas School of Law

A CENTURY OF ARKANSAS HATS
John G. Ragsdale, Little Rock, Arkansas

BEAUTY QUEENS IN BASS BOATS: MARDI GRAS IN ARKANSAS
Courtney Moore Clements, Pocahontas, Arkansas

Break
2:45-3:00 p.m.
Hosted by Shiloh Museum of Ozark History

Arkansas History Education Coalition Report
3:00-3:30 p.m.
Tom Dillard, Arkansas History Education Coalition

Session IV
Highlighting Arkansas Archives
3:30-4:30 p.m.
Moderator: Timothy G. Nutt, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

ODD MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS IN ARKANSAS ARCHIVES
Russell P. Baker, Arkansas History Commission
Brady Banta, Arkansas State University
Andrea Cantrell, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Linda Pine, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Reception
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center
Hosted by the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central Arkansas
Library System

ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET
7:15 p.m.
Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center

Presiding: Tom DeBlack, President, Arkansas Historical Association

Musical entertainment by Shout Lulu

Awards Presentations
Lifetime Achievement Award
Letters of Commendation
J. G. Ragsdale Book Award
J. H. Atkinson Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Arkansas History
Walter L. Brown County and Local Journal Awards
Lucille Westbrook Award
Violet B. Gingles Award
Arkansas Women’s History Institute Susie Pryor Award

Saturday, March 29
Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center

President’s Breakfast
8:00 a.m.
Myrtie Mae’s Restaurant, Inn of the Ozarks

AHA President Tom DeBlack hosts this breakfast for former presidents of the organization.

Session V
9:00-10:15 a.m.
Moderator: Sarah Gadberry, Little Rock

LONG OVERDUE: TED RICHMOND’S WILDERNESS LIBRARY
Willow Hancock, Fayetteville Public Library

FRED DARRAGH JR.: A MAVERICK AMONG ARKANSAS BUSINESSMEN
Sarah E. Simers, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

ARKANSAS ODDITIES OF WALTER J. LEMKE
Ellen Compton, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

“I DIDN’T RAISE MY BOY TO BE A SOLDIER”: CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS IN CLEBURNE COUNTY DURING WORLD WAR II
Cissy Dowdy, Batesville, Arkansas

Break
10:15-10:30 a.m.
Hosted by Southern Arkansas University

Eureka Moments from the Arkansas Historical Quarterly

“[During the 1880s] Mrs. Lizzie Dorman Fyler was agitating for equal suffrage in Eureka Springs. Mrs. Fyler, native of Massachusetts, moved to Arkansas from Missouri in 1880 . . . While in Eureka Springs she read law, and by 1884 she had begun to practice there. She was not allowed to plead in court because of her sex but was reported to have assisted in a number of law suits . . . [In 1885,] with the assistance of Mrs. Phoebe Cousins of Missouri, Mrs. Fyler organized a woman suffrage society in Eureka Springs. This society seems to have been short-lived and to have lasted a few months at most.”

From “The Woman Suffrage Movement in Arkansas,” by A. Elizabeth Taylor, Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Spring 1956.

Session VI
10:30-11:45 a.m.
Moderator: Susan Young, Shiloh Museum of Ozark History

MISS SOPHIA SAWYER: FAYETTEVILLE’S YANKEE SPINSTER SCHOOLMARM
Teri L. Castelow, University of Memphis

THE HAWK FLIES AGAIN! THE LIFE AND STRANGE ADVENTURES OF RONNIE HAWKINS
Jeff Lewellen, Arkansas History Commission

ARKANSAS, THE LAND OF (LITERARY) ECCENTRICITY: A LOOK AT SOME ARKANSAS AUTHORS, PAST AND PRESENT
Ethel C. Simpson, Fayetteville, Arkansas

THE LUBRICANT THAT ALLOWED AMERICA TO MOVE WEST: THE ROLE OF DISTILLED SPIRITS IN THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI REGION DURING THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY
Chris Branam, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

LUNCHEON
Noon-1:15 p.m.
WILLIAM “COIN” HARVEY: CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER
Allyn Lord, Shiloh Museum of Ozark History

 

                                               SAVE THE DATE

Arkansas Historical Association 68th Annual Conference
April 23-25, 2009
Hosted by Southern Arkansas University, Magnolia

The theme for the 2009 AHA conference is “The Arkansas Environment.” Sessions will explore changes in the landscape, differing conceptions of natural resources, and the emergence of the environment as a political and economic issue.

The conference will also celebrate the centennial of the four district agricultural schools that became Arkansas State University, Arkansas Tech University, Southern Arkansas University, and the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

 
                                                      Thank you!

This annual conference is funded in part through a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

The Arkansas Historical Association is also grateful to the following for special support:

Bank of Eureka Springs
Best Western Inn of the Ozarks
Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central Arkansas Library System
Eureka Springs Historic District Commission
Eureka Springs Historical Museum
Eureka Springs Preservation Society
Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Shiloh Museum of Ozark History
Southern Arkansas University
Special Collections Department, University of Arkansas Libraries
University of Arkansas Press