An Interesting Road Trip

On December 3, 2009 I traveled with Joe David Rice, Tourism Director on a very interesting journey. We had two very important destinations for the day. First to meet a Captain with the Poplar Bluff, MO police department to witness the transfer of a stolen Civil War tombstone and next to observe the unveiling of the first highway sign for the Rock “N” Roll Highway 67 in Swifton, AR.
A full and detailed story involving the tombstone will be released soon and placed on www.arkansasmediaroom.com so I’m just going to tease you with my blog. The very short history behind our stop in Newport involves the discovery in Poplar Bluff, Missouri of a Civil War tombstone of a Union soldier. It was determined that the tombstone was taken from Independence County, Arkansas. I was involved in the research and planning of the return of the tombstone and wanted to be there and witness the transfer from the Poplar Bluff Police Department to George Lankford, Arkansas Civil War Commissioner, and frankly, I really wanted to see this tombstone that had consumed a large part of my life over the past two weeks. We met Capt. Mike Elliott at US Pizza in Newport, AR enjoyed salads and sandwiches in this very busy restaurant while we waited on George Lankford to arrive. After lunch we recruited a few willing Arkansas farmers to help us move the stone from Capt. Elliot’s car to Lankford’s car. The tombstone is that of Civil War Union soldier Isaiah Hines. Mr. Lankford is continuing the search to find the burial place of Hines so that the marker can be returned to its rightful place. Until then, the Independence County museum has graciously agreed to house the stone.

Our next stop was Swifton, AR to participate in the unveiling of the Rock “N” Roll Highway 67 sign. Across from the sign is the Kings Capri and King of Clubs private club. This establishment hosted many fathers of Rock “N” Roll and is considered by some to be the birthplace of the genre. Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Sonny Burgess and the Pacers are just a few of the performers who traveled up and down this highway stopping along the way sharing their music.
While there, I browsed through the Club, amazed by all of the pictures and autographs of performers past. The nostalgia of the room was overwhelming! Sonny Burgess was sitting in the corner of the room visiting with Evelyn King, former owner of 57 years of the club. I enjoyed listening to old stories involving Elvis and other performers. Later, Sonny and Rep. J.R. Rogers continued the trip down memory lane and even shared the story of when the Beetles landed in Walnut Ridge, AR. If you get a chance, take a road trip down Rock “N” Roll Highway 67.

A Visit to a Haunted Museum

On December 2, the four Arkansas travel writers met in the haunted basement of the McArthur Museum of Military History.  We meet from time to time to discuss story ideas, Web site updates and ongoing projects and events.  It was an eerie and surreal place to have a small intimate meeting.  The exposed stone walls appeared to be several feet deep.  There were museum displays around us and dress dummies and manikins in the corners of the room.  We were told that this was not the most haunted place in the museum but every time we heard a noise I think we all jumped.  I didn’t mind because it kept everyone alert and paying attention.  Maybe I’ll have all my meetings down there.

After we wrapped up our work, we took a brief tour of the museum.  First we visited the séance room.  Legend has it that there is an entrance to an escape tunnel from this room but according to Stephan McAteer, there is no tunnel.  From there, we visited the David Owen Dodd stained glass, took photos of the WWII jeep on the first floor and heard the story of how some paranormal experts believe the jeep to be a portal into another dimension.  Then on to my favorite exhibit- the Lee Grant exhibit.  If you get a chance, visit the MacArthur Museum of Military History.  The permanent exhibits are phenomenal but you can spend countless hours learning about the Civil War and perusing through this exhibit.