The Seed and the Story for January 25, 2012: Visiting with Bud Rector

Bud Rector and J.L. Martin Chickalah, Arkansas, 2012

The Seed and the Story is a bi-weekly column exploring folklife, sustainability, oral history, human rights,and community in Yell County, Arkansas.   The column is published in the Post Dispatch and is syndicated in the Courier.  Please remember to support your local paper and independent media!

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Before I get into this week’s column, I want to thank all those who called or wrote in response to the previous column about the history of Chickalah.  It’s such an honor to hear from readers with memories and stories to share, and I’m thankful to all of you who took the time to tell me about the places you call home.  I learned from Carolyn Garner that back in the 1940s people would gather to watch outdoor movies on the back wall of Neil Cowger’s Chickalah store.  And I had several people tell me about the rural baseball league from the area, including the days when the Dean brothers lived on Chickalah Mountain.  So this week’s column is a continuation of the recent Chickalah research and will highlight just few stories I learned from a man many of you know and love: Bud Rector.

My father and I recently had the opportunity to visit with Bud in his home on Harkey’s Valley road in Chickalah where we were greeted by his friendly dog who got up from her cozy front porch chair to come say hello.  Bud Rector was born in 1914 and has lived in the Harkey’s Valley area all of his life.  He’s hauled logs in the timber woods, raised chickens and cows, worked for the WPA, driven the rural bus route for Dardanelle Schools for decades, and traveled throughout the area singing in a gospel quartet.  He’s also an excellent storyteller and a joy to be around.  I can’t begin to do justice to all his stories in this short column, so I’ll just highlight a few.

For decades the Chickalah area was home to a thriving timber economy, and Bud recalled many of the early logging operations and sawmills that dotted the mountains.  He and my father swapped memories of those days when, as Bud recalled, “everybody was going around with the chopping ax and cross cut saw.”  While my father recalled skidding logs, Bud and his brother Buford found work hauling the lumber to town.  He mentioned his short stint with the WPA where men were given shovels to help dig out the bluff and told of the well known store in Sulpher Springs operated by a man with, quite possibly, one of the best names I’ve ever come across: Bonaparte Rutledge.  Come to find out, my own grandparents were married in front of Mr. Rutledge store.

Thanks your suggestions, I was sure to ask him about the rural baseball leagues that were so popular in the area during the 1930s and 1940s.  He recalled teams from Spring Creek, Chickalah Mountain, Chicklalah Village, Slo Fork, Pisgah, Casa, Sulpher Springs, Ard, and Harkey’s Valley, the team for which he played.  While he never had the chance to play with Dizzy, he did play with Paul and their younger brother, often known as “Poodle.” The teams played at places like the old Gatley ball field near Sulphar Springs and in numerous cow pastures all around the county.  Readers might recall the team’s manager Pete McMullan and some of well-known players like Burt Tucker, Roger Harkey, Grover Martin, John Martin, and Ame Bates.

In the near future I’ll have some of the audio of Bud up online so you can listen to Bud telling these and other stories in his own words.   Do you remember the ball teams, the logging woods, or Bonepart’s store?  I’d love to hear from you!  A very special thank you to Mr. Bud Rector for allowing me to visit and share some of his stories here.

The Renaissance Front Street Restoration in Dardanelle, Arkansas and River Walk

My hometown of Dardanelle, Arkansas has a wonderful downtown. Filled with historic buildings, a WPA post Office and mural, and a riverfront view, Front Street has immense potential to become an increasingly lively-center for local business and culture.

In recent years the downtown has seen the arrival of a few new businesses, such as Savannah’s Resteraunt which boasts a beautiful view of the river and the increasingly popular Tarascos, arguably the best Mexican food in the state.  And of course, there’s the Rivertown Bank, Liberty Bank, and Millyn’s, all of which have been around for decades now.

I am especially excited about the Renaissance Front Street Restoration Project that’s underway to help strengthen and sustain our beautiful, historic downtown. Coming up this June 24th Renaissance Front Street Restoration will host their second River Walk from 5:00-8:00 P.M. Featuring live music, local artists, and more this is a great opportunity to come out and see what’s going on in downtown Dardanelle and see how you can support these efforts and your local community.

And if you are a musician, artist, or craftsperson your skills are needed!   Call the phone number above to see how you can be a part of this event!   Support local and pass along the word!

The Seed and the Story—-Decoration Days

Decoration Day at Brearly Cemetery, Dardanelle Arkansas 2011.

I have recently been given the wonderful opportunity of writing a regular column for the Post Dispatch, a weekly paper based in Dardanelle, Arkansas which is also the oldest newspaper in Arkansas.   It’s been a long-time dream of mine to contribute to this paper, and I am beyond thankful for this opportunity. I’ll be writing a column entitled “The Seed and the Story,” which will discuss topics such as folklife, memory, community, family, sense of place, sustainability, community-based action, intergenerational dialog, and who knows what else.

I’m sure every now and then I’ll have something to say about dogs and mules or babies  and flowers or guitars and clotheslines or human rights activism and compost. I don’t want to put too fine a point on what the column is about because more than anything I want it to be open to new ideas and reflective of the diverse communities within my Dardanelle home as well as ideas and concepts I’m learning from my new Little Rock experience.

Most importantly I want the column to be interactive. My goals is to contribute, in my own small way, to spurring discussion in my home community and possibly even other places as well. So, I hope you’ll join me in sharing your stories, ideas, thoughts, concerns, you name it. I truly believe the best way for dialoging about home (the good and the bad aspects of it) is starting with what we know—our own stories and experiences.

Continue reading »

What’s In the Works ~ The McElroy House: Center for Regional Oral History and Folklife Research

After much thought and time spent wondering where to go from here, I have decided to begin the process of creating a small oral history and folklife research center in my hometown. I have included my plans and ideas for the Center listed at the bottom of this post. I welcome any feedback! Continue reading »

Dardanelle Post Office Mural and Arkansas Post Office Mural Project

In conducting some preliminary research about Post Office Murals in Arkansas, I came across this helpful resource:

Arkansas Post Office Mural Project

The webpage is currently under construction, but still contains helpful information. I discovered that the Dardanelle post office mural was created by an artist who was originally from Armenia.

This mural plays important role in my life. I can remember my mother pointing out the artwork to me when I was a small child and telling me about my grandparents (her parents) who, just like the people in the mural, had picked cotton in the Cardon Bottoms.

I am currently beginning preparatory work for a radio piece about Dardanelle’s mural and what it means to those who live here. I am in search of personal stories and any deep background information that might be related. If you have any ideas, comments, suggestions, please let me know!

I will be updating this entry as the research continues.

See also:
“Off the Wall: New Deal Post Office Murals” by Patricia Raynorhttp://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/resources/6a2q_postalmurals.html