An Arkies Musings

My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 31, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse. “Under a spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands.” I can still remember these words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow from my high school English Literature class. I never thought about blacksmiths and their role in society and the economy until I was married. My wife’s grandfather was a blacksmith on the plains of Eastern Colorado in the early 1900s. My father-in-law would tell stories about growing up with a blacksmith for a father. From the Middle Ages until the late 1800s, the blacksmith was considered indispensable in every town. The village blacksmith was skilled in making various tools, household objects, weapons, and repairing any metal item. As Europeans traveled across the Atlantic, blacksmiths came with them. Having a local blacksmith proved crucial in providing tools and building supplies for early settlers. With the Industrial Revolution came the ability to produce large numbers ...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 24, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse. The first day of spring is delightful, with the gentle spring sun warming the landscape. Brilliant blue skies enhance the greenness of the grass that the trees will soon echo. As we drive, cows in the fields munch on luxurious new grass. After the winter months, we are excited to be on an outdoor adventure. On our drive to Oden, we talk excitedly about our upcoming trips. After staying close to home in 2020, my wife and I are ready to travel and explore. Today we have planned a day on the Ouachita River. We have reserved a two-person fishing kayak from River View Cabins and Canoes . Jessie drove us to the Shirley Creek put-in. The temperature was 57 degrees, and there was a stiff headwind as we headed out on the river. Before long, we came to our first bit of fast water. We chose the line to the right, but the water was so low that our kayak bottomed out on the rocks. I had to get out of the kayak t...

In honor of Women's History Month, the Polk County Pulse asked community members to nominate Women in Business. Eight women were selected by a third party to be honored as outstanding women in business.  My wife, Regina, was chosen as one of the Outstanding Women in Business. This is the article from the March 17, 2021. issue of The Polk County Pulse. Regina is the Manager of USEM Mena Federal Credit Union, which serves the employees at Nidec, Sterling Machinery, Polk County Employees, and Rose Aircraft Companies. "We hope to expand our field of membership in the near future," she said. "Our credit union is not for profit and owned by our members. Soon we are going online with virtual credit union. We are very excited about this." In 2001, Regina became an empty nester when both of her children went off to school. "I told someone that I guessed I was going to have to go back to work. The next thing I know, I got a call asking me to come in for an interview ...

 My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 17, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse. On September 5, 1900, the Galveston Daily News ran a notice in its weather section: A tropical disturbance was moving over western Cuba and heading for the south Florida coast. The message was datelined “Washington, D.C.,” September 4.  At 6 a.m., September 6, Isaac Cline, the Weather Bureau’s chief Galveston, Texas observer, took the morning readings. Barometric pressure within the normal range with light winds. The sky over Galveston and out to the calm gulf was as clear and blue as it could be. At 8 a.m., the bureau confirmed the prediction it had telegraphed to Galveston the day before regarding Cuba’s disturbance. The storm is not a hurricane, and the course of this non-hurricane would not affect Galveston. The system, said the bureau, was “attended only by heavy rains and winds of moderate force” that could damage moored ships and shoreline property along the Florida coast. Friday mornin...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 10, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse. My favorite place in Arkansas is the Buffalo River area. The Buffalo River starts in the Boston Mountains and flows in an easterly direction. Along the river are multi-colored bluffs of eroded sandstone, limestone, and dolomite, with some towering to heights over 400 feet. In 1972, Congress named the Buffalo River as the country’s first national river. It is one of the few remaining free-flowing rivers in the lower forty-eight states.  The Flood Control Act of 1938 included the Buffalo River in its plans for dams on the White River. The threat of a dam on the Buffalo worried Arkansas conservation groups and those who used the river for recreation. Decades of political maneuverings, including a canoe trip on the Buffalo by Supreme Court Justice Douglas, came to a head in December 1965, when Governor Orval Faubus said he could not support a dam on the Buffalo River. Naming the River a National River p...

My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 3, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse. As I walked out the front door and headed to the driveway to clean the snow off my car, the snow crunched under my feet. I had not heard that sound since I moved to Arkansas from Colorado almost forty years ago. It takes very dry snow and frigid temperatures to produce that crunching sound. When I arrived at my shop, the thermometer showed -11 degrees. Because of the historic low temps, the working conditions at my shop were chilly. My old, drafty, uninsulated shop building has only space heaters for heat. On this bitterly cold day, the heaters could do little more than keep the temperature above freezing. Like many other people in the area, I had water pipes that were frozen. As I worked, I longed for warmer weather. An arctic airmass and two winter storms brought several inches of snow and record cold temperatures. Mena’s official low temperature of -14°F on February 16 came close to breaking the a...