Bea Apple and Trisha Logan, Bentonville
Bea and Trisha are co-owners of Hillfolk, a store in the 8th Street Market which specializes in natural fibers and textiles and offers classes in contemporary and traditional fiber arts. They first became interested in sashiko, a decorative stitching technique, while researching Japanese textiles dyed with indigo (a plant). The pair are mostly self-taught, learning from books and through workshops. They find the art of sashiko meditative and love to “breathe new life into [their] favorite clothes by not hiding the holes and tears, but by drawing attention to the worn areas with beautiful, decorative stitching.”

Aubrey Costello, Wesley
Aubrey has been sewing since age seven and now enjoys the role of storyteller with their work in costuming and fashion design. A vintage clothing enthusiast who objects to today’s disposable fashions, they hope to combat the wastefulness of the apparel industry by transforming lovely but damaged old clothes into “something that can be worn and appreciated, while preserving and honoring their original construction and aesthetic” (style). They use a variety of fine-sewing techniques to create original garments for all genders, sizes, and body types.

Darla Gray-Winter, Holiday Island
Darla is an artist and luthier (maker of stringed instruments) who began customizing guitars for fun. After receiving professional training in the craft she took up making cigar-box guitars as a way to practice her fretwork technique. Frets are the raised elements on a guitar’s neck. She enjoyed making cigar-box guitars so much that they are now her specialty.

Dustin and April Griffith, Eureka Springs
Dustin and April, whose degrees are in design, have long been attracted to the industrial look. They built their home out of six shipping containers and furnished it with repurposed objects as a way of making something new from cast-off items which have a history of their own. The containers’ many trips across the ocean are seen on their walls through handwritten notes in multiple languages. With little published about the specifics of building such homes, the couple learned along the way. Skilled family and friends helped, some trading services (such as plumbing) for what the pair could offer (motorcycle repair). One of the fun features about the house is that containers can be added when needed, just like building with Lego® blocks.

Learn more about the Griffith home in the “Large-Scale Upcyclers, Then and Now” section below.

Liz Lester, Fayetteville
Liz is a life-long illustrator who began making constructions out of found items beginning about 2004. Witnessing the rapid growth of an industrial landfill during walks through a nearby neighborhood inspired the thought, “let’s not pitch any more than we have to in that hole.” She’s especially drawn to boxes and containers, including Altoids® breath-mint tins, which she has transformed into little holiday gifts for friends.

Beth Lowrey, Fayetteville
Beth is a woodworker who began turning old objects into new in the late 1990s, after having saved a collection of used paint-thinner cans because they seemed useful. One day she saw their potential as cabinet drawers. Since then she has turned a paint can into a birdhouse, broken dishes into stepping stones, and a torn-apart chest of drawers found in an alley into a new chest of drawers, using old tin-ceiling tiles as side panels. Sometimes she’s inspired by the material, other times an idea sends her to her collection of saved bits and pieces.

Cardi B. Ord, Bentonville
Cardi has been making objects for home, work, and friends her entire life, from macaroni “pictures” in Kindergarten to a fern stand made from tree branches and a teddy bear sewn from men’s suiting fabric, which itself was first reused as part of a (now tattered) quilt. She’s also a long-time recycler, beginning in 1970 when her Brownie troop participated in a newspaper drive during the first Earth Day celebration. Her crafting and recycling interests mean that her home workshop is full of odds and ends that she’s saved over the years, just waiting for a chance to shine.

Kathryn A. Sampson Stinson, Fayetteville
Kathryn’s grandmother taught her how to crochet in the late 1970s. She began working with “plarn” (plastic yarn) in 2011, when she was inspired to make ground mats for use by folks sleeping in shelters and tents. Making them was a bit challenging, so she turned to tote bags. She thinks of her work as a combination of craft project, public service, and environmental responsibility.

Prior to the Industrial Revolution of the mid 1800s, most children had just a toy or two. But with the advent of mechanization, the growth of the middle class, the emerging concept of leisure time, and the mass-marketing of toys at Christmas time, playthings took on greater importance and children had more of them. Toys became even more plentiful following World War II as consumerism grew and the baby boom emphasized youth culture. Today’s parents may stand in line for days—and occasionally get into brawls—so that their child can find the latest toy under the tree on Christmas morning.

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Toys can be simple or complex, store-bought or homemade. Long ago in the Ozarks, girls played with dolls made from fabric scraps, corn husks, or empty spools of thread. Boys had stick horses and slingshots made from tree branches.

The coming of the railroad to Northwest Arkansas in 1881 allowed stores to carry a large variety of manufactured toys, some of which were imported from Germany. National mail-order businesses like Sears, Roebuck and Co., which offered its first catalog in 1888, made toys even easier for children to dream of, and more affordable for parents to purchase.

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Toys often reflect society’s values and cultural attitudes, for good or for bad. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, African Americans were frequently depicted by toy manufacturers in child-like, comical, and certainly derogatory ways.

Minority and immigrant groups were often portrayed with exaggerated physical features or character traits. Scholars believe that such ethnic stereotypes were a way for the dominant white society to portray itself as superior, especially in the face of increasing non-Protestant immigration and rapid social change. Massive immigration was brought to an end in 1924 with the passage of restrictive laws. Toys gradually became less stereotypical; instead, assimilation and tolerance were emphasized, although there is still far to go.

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For centuries, toys were designed to teach adult roles and skills to children and instill moral values. For instance, by pretending to dress and feed their dolls, girls were thought to learn how to be good mothers. Boys picked up building skills while playing with their construction sets. Learning through play was even more important during the latter half of the 1800s due to the growth of the middle class. The luxury of leisure time meant that children had less practical knowledge of life skills such as caring for siblings or helping on the farm or in the family trade.

Ball games have been around for a long time, but baseball stemmed from a game played in New York in the 1840s. The growth of sports and the desire to organize into teams and leagues began after the Civil War, as people felt the urge to create their own communities within busy, isolating cities. Leagues for adults soon formed after the birth of baseball in the 1840s, but children were often left to play ball in the street. In the 1920s teenage leagues began, but boys had to wait until 1938 when Carl Stotz organized ball games for youngsters in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.  He hoped Little League would create good citizens by teaching fair play, teamwork, and sportsmanship.

At the turn of the 20th century, team sports were considered a good way for immigrants to assimilate into mainstream culture. Prevailing social attitudes kept African Americans segregated, forcing them to create their own teams and leagues in order to play competitive baseball.  Segregation in American sports started breaking down when Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line in 1947.

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In the latter half of the 19th century, the YMCA, President Theodore Roosevelt, and others promoted the notion of “muscular Christianity.” A commitment to manliness and health was important to overcome what was considered to be an increasingly sedentary, urbanized, and feminized lifestyle. Strenuous and aggressive sports were emphasized.

One way to continue exercising during the winter was by playing basketball, which was invented for this reason in 1891 by YMCA instructor James A. Naismith. Using a soccer ball and peach baskets for nets, the game quickly spread. Soon schools began fielding teams for boys and girls, making basketball the first strenuous, competitive, team sport which was acceptable for women to play.

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The ancient game of golf first became popular in America among the upper class in the late 1800s, when advances like the rubber-centered ball made the game livelier. As was often the case, the middle class followed the lead of the wealthy, with cities building public golf courses. By the 1920s golf was seen as an informal way for professional men to advance their business interests.

Northwest Arkansas had several golf courses by the 1920s, including ones at Monte Ne and Bella Vista. As the century progressed, developers recognized the power of sport. When the old summer resort of Bella Vista was transformed into a vacation and retirement destination in 1960, golf was the main attraction. Then as now, folks could indulge their love of the game by building homes overlooking the golf course.

With the introduction of a comfortable, easy-to-handle bicycle in the late 1800s, America went crazy for wheels. In 1890 150,000 people had a bike; by 1894 that number had jumped to four million.

Cycling was considered a respectable activity for women because it wasn’t strenuous or competitive. Young women probably enjoyed cycling even more than their parents suspected because it brought them a newfound sense of freedom. Not only could girls travel from home on their own, but by the mid-1890s bloomers and divided skirts, garments which were once frowned upon, were a necessary fashion for female cyclists.

The bicycle’s popularity lost ground when the automobile came on the scene in the United States. By the early 1900s, bikes were considered children’s toys.

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At the turn of the 20th century, social reformers promoted the building of playgrounds and parks as prime places for recreation. The playground movement was a way to give children, especially those in cities, a structured and supervised place to learn play skills. At home, parents were encouraged to build sandboxes.

The jungle gym was born in Winnetka, Illinois, in 1920 when a mathematician’s son remembered a three-dimensional framework (used for teaching math concepts) on which he played as a child. Hearing the tale, the school’s headmaster thought such a structure would be perfect for children, so a mock-up was made out of iron pipe. The jungle gym was a hit!

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The great outdoors have always provided wonderful opportunities for people to play, whether by having a snowball fight, jumping into a pile of autumn leaves, or splashing around in a river.

As automobiles became more affordable in the early 20th century, families explored the countryside. Camping was a popular activity which allowed city dwellers a chance to reconnect with their pioneer roots by “roughing it.”

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Every now and then a toy becomes a fad. This happened with bicycles in the 1890s and Cabbage Patch Kids® in the 1980s. During the late 1950s, the hula hoop captured the world’s attention.

Twirling a hoop around one’s waist wasn’t a new idea, but a small toy company called Wham-O® used colorful plastic to make their product fun and exciting. In 1958 the company heavily promoted the hula hoop on California playgrounds, sparking a fad that saw 100 million hoops sold in the first year.

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Skateboarding began in the 1950s when Californian surfers took to the streets on roller skate wheels attached to planks of wood. Skateboards allowed the rider to travel around town in a fun, but relatively sedate manner.

Public skate parks were introduced in the 1970s; in the 1980s kids built elaborate ramps at home to practice revolutionary tricks like the “ollie,” where both they and their board would pop into the air. Skate-boarders moved back to the street in the 1990s where they practiced tricks using whatever was at hand, such as curbs, railings, and benches.

Today skateboarding both influences and is influenced by music, language, fashion, and youth culture.

Dressing up is appealing to young and old alike. Playing cowboys and Indians was a favorite pastime for many a youngster, who wasn’t concerned about stereotypes. Wearing costumes for Halloween and school plays was another way to have fun.

At home and in community halls, adults dressed up for theatricals, charades, and parties. “Mock weddings” were popular among single-gender groups. Members of an all-women’s literary society or a male fraternity would dress in wedding finery and portray both male and female roles.

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Children have long been able to create worlds with their imagination. Buy a young child a fancy toy, and often the box it came in holds more long-term appeal than the toy itself.

By the 1900s researchers recognized childhood as a distinct phase in life, one which required a new way of interacting with children. Many theories were developed on how best to raise and educate children and schools were created based on these ideas.

After World War I, the growing field of child psychology influenced the way children played. Certain kinds of toys and play behavior were suggested for particular ages. Play was appreciated for the enjoyment it gave to children and its ability to help them learn about themselves and what they were capable of. Parents were also encouraged to involve themselves in their youngster’s play, advice that continues to be given today. In recent years child psychologists have advocated imaginative play as a way for kids to relax and have time away from stressful, competitive, goal-oriented activities.

Many games that children play today have old roots. “London Bridge” has been around since the Middle Ages while “Blind Man’s Bluff” (a corruption of “buff,” a small push) dates back to Tudor times in the 14th and 15th centuries. Hopscotch began in Britain centuries ago as a training exercise for Roman soldiers.

The stories behind some games have been embroidered through the years. “Ring Around the Rosie” is an old rhyme that took on new meaning in the 1960s, when a researcher decided that its verses referred to the Bubonic Plague of the mid 1300s. Trouble is, there isn’t any evidence of the rhyme existing before the 1880s.

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Informal, community-based fun has a long tradition in the Ozarks. Churches held dinners-on-the-ground (picnics), singing schools taught people to sing using shape notes (a simple form of musical notation), and play parties were a chance for youngsters to square dance without music, so as not to offend church leaders. In all of these activities, folks had a chance to get together as a group to strengthen community and social bonds and meet eligible partners.

The first picnic in the Italian community of Tontitown was in 1898. It was an event where the new settlers could socialize, have fun, and give thanks for their blessings. The tradition continues today. The Tontitown Grape Festival draws thousands of folks who enjoy a big meal of pasta and fried chicken, amusement rides, bingo, performances, and the Queen Concordia pageant.

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For most of the 19th century, adults believed that games should be moral and educational. By the late 1800s, this attitude shifted and games were often played purely for fun. Although some religious denominations disapproved of card playing, families were encouraged to play card and board games at home in the belief that the family that played together would stay together.

The first reference to playing cards in western culture dates back to 1377, but it is believed that cards go back even earlier, originating in Asia. Card games have gone in and out of fashion over the years. Contract bridge was popular in the 1920s and 1930s and poker is now a televised sport.

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Changing technology has always had an effect on toys and games. Pinball began in the mid 1800s as bagatelle, in which a small stick was used to shoot a ball through raised pins into holes. Pinball’s popularity grew as the game became coin-operated and challenging flippers and plungers were added.

About the time that pinball was reaching its peak, a new game was on the horizon. Scientists used giant mainframe computers to develop games in the 1950s. Ralph Baer went one step further and demonstrated the first playable video games in 1966. Six years later “Pong,” a video tennis game, was in arcades and the “Odyssey” gaming system allowed folks to play such games as basketball and ping-pong at home.

Today video games are usually played at home or on handheld devices. Online gaming offers elaborate—and some would say addictive—multiplayer competitions. Some gamers get ahead by buying “virtual” goods with real money!

“History of Little League.” littleleague.org (accessed 6/2020)

“Pong-Story: The Site of the First Video Game.”  pongstory.com

“2007 International Vacation Deprivation™ Survey Results.” Expedia.com.

Bellis, Mary. “The History of Pinball.” thoughtco.com (accessed 6/2020)

Braden, Donna R. Leisure and Entertainment in America. Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, 1988.

Cape Cod Toy Library.  “Why Play Matters.” (accessed 6/2020)

Cave, Steve. “A Brief History of Skateboarding.” liveabout.com

Duran, Shelia. “’J’ is for Jungle Gym.” Winnetka (Illinois) Historical Society.

“History of Playing Cards.” The International Playing-Card Society.

Jackson, Kathy Merlock. “From Control to Adaptation: America’s Toy Story.” The Journal of American & Comparative Cultures; Vol. 24, No. 1/2, 4-1-2001

Marchavitch, Aaron. “A Definition of Play, Leisure, and Recreation.” Marchavitch.com (accessed 6/2020)

Nelson, Pamela B. “Toys as History: Ethnic Images and Cultural Change.” Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, Ferris State University, Big Rapids, MI

Putney, Clifford. “Muscular Christanity.” The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education.

“Ring Around the Rosie.” snopes.com

Scott, Alec. “The Iconic Hula Hoop Keeps Rolling.” Smithsonian, July 2018.

PWA (1933–1943)—The Public Works Administration planned, funded, and administered the building of large public structures such as roads, bridges, dams, post offices, courthouses, schools, and parks. The PWA was a stimulus program. It made loans and grants to state and local governments which in turn hired private construction firms to carry out the work.

CCC (1933–1942)—The Civilian Conservation Corps conserved and developed natural resources on rural, government-owned lands. The CCC built national and state parks, planted forests, and constructed roads. The program was designed to help single, unemployed, young men whose families were on relief.

FERA (1933–1935)—The Federal Emergency Relief Administration provided funds to states to operate relief programs and create jobs in construction, the arts, and the manufacture of consumer goods. After two years, the FERA was replaced by the WPA.

WPA (1935–1943)—The Works Progress Administration (later renamed the Works Projects Administration) was the New Deal’s largest and most comprehensive agency. Its goal was to provide one paid job for every family in need. The WPA used mostly unskilled laborers to build such things as roads, schools, parks, courthouses, and recreational institutions like museums and zoos.

NYA (1935–1943)—The National Youth Administration offered work to youngsters ages of 16 to 25. By employing youth in part-time “work study” jobs at their schools, such as construction, administration, and repair projects, the government hoped to give them skills while keeping them in school and out of the strained job market.

PWA (1933–1943)—The Public Works Administration planned, funded, and administered the building of large public structures such as roads, bridges, dams, post offices, courthouses, schools, and parks. The PWA was a stimulus program. It made loans and grants to state and local governments which in turn hired private construction firms to carry out the work.

CCC (1933–1942)—The Civilian Conservation Corps conserved and developed natural resources on rural, government-owned lands. The CCC built national and state parks, planted forests, and constructed roads. The program was designed to help single, unemployed, young men whose families were on relief.

FERA (1933–1935)—The Federal Emergency Relief Administration provided funds to states to operate relief programs and create jobs in construction, the arts, and the manufacture of consumer goods. After two years, the FERA was replaced by the WPA.

WPA (1935–1943)—The Works Progress Administration (later renamed the Works Projects Administration) was the New Deal’s largest and most comprehensive agency. Its goal was to provide one paid job for every family in need. The WPA used mostly unskilled laborers to build such things as roads, schools, parks, courthouses, and recreational institutions like museums and zoos.

NYA (1935–1943)—The National Youth Administration offered work to youngsters ages of 16 to 25. By employing youth in part-time “work study” jobs at their schools, such as construction, administration, and repair projects, the government hoped to give them skills while keeping them in school and out of the strained job market.

Below is a partial list of area New Deal projects, with year of completion and the federal agency which helped fund it, if known. Buildings on the National Register of Historic Places are marked with an asterisk [*].

BENTON COUNTY
GARFIELD—Garfield Elementary School* (1942 NYA)
NORWOOD COMMUNITY—Norwood School* (1937 WPA)
ROGERS—Central Ward Elementary School (1936 WPA), Lake Atalanta (1937 WPA)
SILOAM SPRINGS—American Legion Hall (1934 WPA), Siloam Springs High School (1940 WPA),
post office* (1937 WPA), Twin Springs fountain (1936 NYA)
SULPHUR SPRINGS—Sewer treatment plant (PWA), Sulphur Springs High School* (1941 WPA)

BOONE COUNTY
EVERTON—Everton School* (1939 WPA)
HARRISON—Boy Scout Hut (1938 NYA)
HARRISON AREA—Haggard Ford swinging bridge* (1941 WPA)
VALLEY SPRINGS—Valley Springs School* (1940 WPA)

CARROLL COUNTY
BERRYVILLE—Berryville School Agricultural Building* (1940 WPA) & Gymnasium* (1937 WPA), post office* (1939)
GREEN FOREST—water tower (1937 PWA)
EUREKA SPRINGS—fire station (NYA), Lake Leatherwood* (1939-1940 WPA & CCC), sewage disposal plant (about 1939 PWA)
MULLADAY HOLLOW—bridge* (1935 CCC)
OSAGE COMMUNITY—Osage Elementary School (WPA)

MADISON COUNTY
HINDSVILLE—Hindsville School (1939 WPA)
HUNTSVILLE—paved Huntsville Square (1938 PWA), county courthouse (1939 PWA), Huntsville Grade School & gymnasium (1940 NYA), NYA camp (1939 NYA), Huntsville State Vocational School’s agriculture building (1936 NYA), home economics cottage (1936 WPA), & classroom-gymnasium (1940 NYA)
ST. PAUL—St. Paul High School & gymnasium (1940 WPA & NYA)
THORNEY—Enterprise School* (1935 WPA?)

NEWTON COUNTY
BOXLEY—sanitation units (WPA)
JASPER—county courthouse* (1940 WPA)
LOW GAP—Low Gap School (1939 WPA)
MT. JUDEA—Mt. Judea School (1935 WPA)
PARTHENON—Little Buffalo River Bridge* (1939 WPA), Newton County Academy gymnasium* (1936 WPA)
PONCA—low-water bridge (WPA)
VENDOR—Vendor School (1937 WPA)

WASHINGTON COUNTY
BALDWIN—Rural Women’s Rest Camp (FERA)
EVANSVILLE—Evansville School (1939 WPA)
FAYETTEVILLE—Fayetteville High School’s Root Auditorium-Gymnasium (1939 WPA) & Manual Training School (1939 NYA)
FAYETTEVILLE (UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS)—Agriculture Building (PWA), Band Building (PWA), Bailey Stadium [football & track] (1937 WPA), barn (1935 FERA), Chemistry Building* (1936 PWA), Gibson Hall [men’s dormitory] (1937 PWA), greenhouses, Home Economics Building* (1940 PWA), Field House [men’s gymnasium]* (1937 PWA), Ozark Hall [classrooms]* (1940 PWA), Student Union* (1940 PWA), Vol Walker Hall [library]* (1935 PWA)
LINCOLN—Lincoln Legion Hut (1934 WPA)
PRAIRIE GROVE—jail (FERA), Prairie Grove Legion Hut (1934 WPA), water & sewer systems (1934 FERA)
SPRINGDALE—Migrant labor camp (1941 Farm Security Administration), post office (1938 WPA), sanitation units, Springdale Legion Hut* (1934 FERA)
WEDINGTON—Lake Wedington Recreation Area* (1938 Rural Resettlement Administration, Soil Conservation Services, & WPA)
WINSLOW—Devil’s Den State Park* (1934-1942 CCC), Lee Creek bridge (1935 CCC)

Below is a partial list of area New Deal projects, with year of completion and the federal agency which helped fund it, if known. Buildings on the National Register of Historic Places are marked with an asterisk [*].

BENTON COUNTY
GARFIELD—Garfield Elementary School* (1942 NYA)
NORWOOD COMMUNITY—Norwood School* (1937 WPA)
ROGERS—Central Ward Elementary School (1936 WPA), Lake Atalanta (1937 WPA)
SILOAM SPRINGS—American Legion Hall (1934 WPA), Siloam Springs High School (1940 WPA),
post office* (1937 WPA), Twin Springs fountain (1936 NYA)
SULPHUR SPRINGS—Sewer treatment plant (PWA), Sulphur Springs High School* (1941 WPA)

BOONE COUNTY
EVERTON—Everton School* (1939 WPA)
HARRISON—Boy Scout Hut (1938 NYA)
HARRISON AREA—Haggard Ford swinging bridge* (1941 WPA)
VALLEY SPRINGS—Valley Springs School* (1940 WPA)

CARROLL COUNTY
BERRYVILLE—Berryville School Agricultural Building* (1940 WPA) & Gymnasium* (1937 WPA), post office* (1939)
GREEN FOREST—water tower (1937 PWA)
EUREKA SPRINGS—fire station (NYA), Lake Leatherwood* (1939-1940 WPA & CCC), sewage disposal plant (about 1939 PWA)
MULLADAY HOLLOW—bridge* (1935 CCC)
OSAGE COMMUNITY—Osage Elementary School (WPA)

MADISON COUNTY
HINDSVILLE—Hindsville School (1939 WPA)
HUNTSVILLE—paved Huntsville Square (1938 PWA), county courthouse (1939 PWA), Huntsville Grade School & gymnasium (1940 NYA), NYA camp (1939 NYA), Huntsville State Vocational School’s agriculture building (1936 NYA), home economics cottage (1936 WPA), & classroom-gymnasium (1940 NYA)
ST. PAUL—St. Paul High School & gymnasium (1940 WPA & NYA)
THORNEY—Enterprise School* (1935 WPA?)

NEWTON COUNTY
BOXLEY—sanitation units (WPA)
JASPER—county courthouse* (1940 WPA)
LOW GAP—Low Gap School (1939 WPA)
MT. JUDEA—Mt. Judea School (1935 WPA)
PARTHENON—Little Buffalo River Bridge* (1939 WPA), Newton County Academy gymnasium* (1936 WPA)
PONCA—low-water bridge (WPA)
VENDOR—Vendor School (1937 WPA)

WASHINGTON COUNTY
BALDWIN—Rural Women’s Rest Camp (FERA)
EVANSVILLE—Evansville School (1939 WPA)
FAYETTEVILLE—Fayetteville High School’s Root Auditorium-Gymnasium (1939 WPA) & Manual Training School (1939 NYA)
FAYETTEVILLE (UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS)—Agriculture Building (PWA), Band Building (PWA), Bailey Stadium [football & track] (1937 WPA), barn (1935 FERA), Chemistry Building* (1936 PWA), Gibson Hall [men’s dormitory] (1937 PWA), greenhouses, Home Economics Building* (1940 PWA), Field House [men’s gymnasium]* (1937 PWA), Ozark Hall [classrooms]* (1940 PWA), Student Union* (1940 PWA), Vol Walker Hall [library]* (1935 PWA)
LINCOLN—Lincoln Legion Hut (1934 WPA)
PRAIRIE GROVE—jail (FERA), Prairie Grove Legion Hut (1934 WPA), water & sewer systems (1934 FERA)
SPRINGDALE—Migrant labor camp (1941 Farm Security Administration), post office (1938 WPA), sanitation units, Springdale Legion Hut* (1934 FERA)
WEDINGTON—Lake Wedington Recreation Area* (1938 Rural Resettlement Administration, Soil Conservation Services, & WPA)
WINSLOW—Devil’s Den State Park* (1934-1942 CCC), Lee Creek bridge (1935 CCC)

ARTHUR FRIEDMAN—At first [the camp was] filled with men from Minnesota and Wisconsin. I used to see them on the streets of Fayetteville and other towns in Washington County, and we used to do battle with them in the area honkey-tonks. Later on the camps were filled with ‘Arkansawyers’ because it was found that the morale was much better when young men were allowed to serve closer to their home.

HUBERT NICHOLAS—We lived in a barracks. The first one I was in there was about 20 men. When you went into the camp for the first time you went to the “new side.” As people left, to make room for new recruits, you went over to the “other side.” . . . You know times was hard then…a lot of them boys . . . they didn’t have enough to eat.

EDWIN WILSON—The second day some of the older men decided to play a prank on one of the “fresh meats” (as the newcomers were called) and gave him a pail. They told him to go over to the ballpark and milk old Jersey. There was, of course, no cow at the ballpark.

LONNIE CENTER—At first they put us to work cleaning trails and working on the road. We worked on the dam, too. I drove a dump truck, then I worked in the carpentry shop making furniture for the cabins.

RUEBEN S. BLOOD SR.—I think the mule was the only one in our survey crew that didn’t fall down the mountain at least once.

RAY WILKIE—At the camp we got $30 a month plus clothes and board. They sent $25 of that back to our folks. It would make you or break you. Once in a while someone would run, but very few did. There weren’t any jobs to be had.

ED CAUDLE—That $22 was like heaven opening up and sending an abundance of riches those families had never seen before.

JOE COPELAND—I think they tried to choose destitute families to give these benefits to. Of course, that was everybody. . . . I never had a job that amounted to anything before I went to Devil’s Den.

MACK DYER—We learned a lot [about] how to care for ourselves there.

ALVA SPEARS—There was lots of education. I studied surveying and learned to type.

ORVILLE TAYLOR—It’s an important place. As far as I’m concerned, that’s where I got started.

LT. N. H. RANDALL—For well over a year, in freezing weather or scorching sun, [the men] toiled to make the shimmering lake possible. . . . Who knows how long the work of their hands may last?

ARTHUR FRIEDMAN—At first [the camp was] filled with men from Minnesota and Wisconsin. I used to see them on the streets of Fayetteville and other towns in Washington County, and we used to do battle with them in the area honkey-tonks. Later on the camps were filled with ‘Arkansawyers’ because it was found that the morale was much better when young men were allowed to serve closer to their home.

HUBERT NICHOLAS—We lived in a barracks. The first one I was in there was about 20 men. When you went into the camp for the first time you went to the “new side.” As people left, to make room for new recruits, you went over to the “other side.” . . . You know times was hard then…a lot of them boys . . . they didn’t have enough to eat.

EDWIN WILSON—The second day some of the older men decided to play a prank on one of the “fresh meats” (as the newcomers were called) and gave him a pail. They told him to go over to the ballpark and milk old Jersey. There was, of course, no cow at the ballpark.

LONNIE CENTER—At first they put us to work cleaning trails and working on the road. We worked on the dam, too. I drove a dump truck, then I worked in the carpentry shop making furniture for the cabins.

RUEBEN S. BLOOD SR.—I think the mule was the only one in our survey crew that didn’t fall down the mountain at least once.

RAY WILKIE—At the camp we got $30 a month plus clothes and board. They sent $25 of that back to our folks. It would make you or break you. Once in a while someone would run, but very few did. There weren’t any jobs to be had.

ED CAUDLE—That $22 was like heaven opening up and sending an abundance of riches those families had never seen before.

JOE COPELAND—I think they tried to choose destitute families to give these benefits to. Of course, that was everybody. . . . I never had a job that amounted to anything before I went to Devil’s Den.

MACK DYER—We learned a lot [about] how to care for ourselves there.

ALVA SPEARS—There was lots of education. I studied surveying and learned to type.

ORVILLE TAYLOR—It’s an important place. As far as I’m concerned, that’s where I got started.

LT. N. H. RANDALL—For well over a year, in freezing weather or scorching sun, [the men] toiled to make the shimmering lake possible. . . . Who knows how long the work of their hands may last?

The Lake Wedington Project (1935-1938) was developed to move farmers from worn-out fields to more-productive land, to prevent further soil erosion and to create a scenic recreational and educational area. Hundreds of men were employed, with some coming from as far as Madison County. While most of the workers were paid by the WPA, the project was administered by the Rural Resettlement Administration (and later the Soil Conservation Service), under the direction of Professor C. B. Wiggans of the University of Arkansas Horticulture Department. The 18,000-acre project came to be known as “Wiggan’s Hole.”

With the drought and poor economy, many families in the project area were struggling. Most were glad for the project, which brought much-needed income both in jobs and land sales. Workers built cabins, picnic tables, an administration building, a fire tower, and a dam and 102-acre lake with a diving platform and a bathhouse. They converted farmlands into pastures and planted 350,000 trees and acres of food for wildlife. As the lake filled with water in February 1938, it drew hundreds of wild ducks.

The project boosted the local economy and created the area’s first large recreational lake. Within its first year of operation, it saw over 55,000 visitors and vacationers. Now part of the Ozark National Forest, today the Lake Wedington Recreation Area is managed by the USDA Forest Service. Most of its historic structures remain.

“In discussing the land use plan, [project manager] Wiggans explained that while to the people the recreational features are of prime importance, to the government these are secondary. The government puts first, the desire to preserve, improve and extend the present forest, and second, to develop pastures for grazing that will prevent soil erosion. The government is not unmindful however of the desirability to develop cheap or free recreational facilities and to place them within the reach of the man of small means and his family.”
Northwest Arkansas Times, June 30, 1936

Lake Leatherwood  (1938–1940) near Eureka Springs was built for recreational use and for soil and erosion control, in an effort to protect woodland and possible housing sites at the north end of West Leatherwood Creek. The CCC, WPA, and the Soil Conservation Service came together to build numerous features including barbeque pits, a picnic shelter, roads, a bridge, and a caretaker’s home. The 100-acre lake included a swimming beach, diving platform, bathhouse, and boat dock. The dam was made of concrete and faced with handcut limestone blocks, mined at a nearby quarry. At 1,600 acres, Lake Leatherwood Municipal Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the U.S. In recent years efforts were made to strengthen the dam, bringing it up to modern standards.

Lake Atalanta (1936–1938) was named for Atalanta Gregory, the late wife of the Rogers businessman who donated the land. Funded by the WPA, the city-owned recreational lake was created by damming Prairie Creek with an earthen dam. Over 100 men were employed daily. In September 1938 WPA officials opened the gates on two springs, allowing the lake to fill. A small dock was built and supplied with city-owned rental boats. The lake was stocked with bass and bream, but anglers had to wait before they could cast a line, to give the fish time to grow. In the late 1940s a recreation complex was built with a swimming pool, restaurant, miniature golf course, and roller skating rink. In recent years Lake Atalanta has undergone a $17.5 million renovation, complete with bike and hiking trails, a dog park, fishing piers, pavilions, a playground, and a wading creek.

“More than 100 men are expected to be given employment on the [Lake Atalanta] project, and many teams of horses will be required. The project is the first approved by the WPA for this area on which farmers, whose crops were affected by the drought, will be given work.”
Springdale News, October 8, 1936

The American Legion is an organization which serves veterans, service members, and communities. During the New Deal four Legion huts were built in Northwest Arkansas, including huts in Prairie Grove and Lincoln. The building of the Springdale hut (1934) was a community affair, with the daily labor rate of $1 paid by the Civil Works Administration (a short-lived job-creation program under the FERA). Many Springdale residents contributed materials and services, including Henderson Scott and his mule team which hauled the stone used to build the structure. The hut served as as a community meeting and polling place for many years. Today it is home to Legion Post 139 and can be rented for events.

The Siloam Springs hut (1934) was built by the WPA and the American Legion. Its walls are of cut stone and cast concrete. By 1990 the building was boarded up and no longer in use. It was later renovated by Main Street Siloam Springs to be used for community and special events. Legion Post 29 still meets there.

The National Guard Armory erected a garage (1940 or 1941) next to its building in Fayetteville, adjacent to the county courthouse. Built of native stone blocks with WPA funds, the building housed the Guard’s vehicles and equipment. Today Washington County uses it to store equipment.

“The [Springdale] hut will serve as a meeting place for members of the post and [women’s] auxiliary as well as a place for public gatherings . . . the hut is the culmination of a hope and desire in the minds and hearts of local ex-servicemen . . . “
Springdale News, August 23, 1934

 

Miles and miles of roads, streets, and highways were improved or built under the New Deal. A 24-mile-road from Farmington to Oklahoma cost $24,789 while the road between Rhea’s Mill and Cincinnati cost $10,200. Hundreds of men worked on sections of Highway 71, the region’s main artery, improving and grading the roadway. Farm-to-market gravel roads were built in Newton and Washington Counties and elsewhere, connecting farmers in small, rural communities to larger markets. The roads also made it easier for relief supplies like clothing and food to be delivered to distribution points, for pickup by families on assistance.

The dirt streets surrounding the Huntsville Square (1937–1938) were paved through the WPA and the Arkansas Highway Department, which contributed equipment. Crushed limestone for the streets’ base was quarried nearby and topped with 10,000 gallons of asphalt and a finer layer of crushed limestone.

The WPA helped build bridges in Alpena, Eureka Springs (Mulladay Hollow), Elkins (East First Street), and Parthenon (Little Buffalo River). Just north of Harrison is the Haggard Ford Swinging Bridge (about 1938–1941). WPA-paid workers received $1 a day to build a one-lane suspension bridge over Bear Creek, with poured concrete towers, steel cables and hangers, and a wood deck. A major flood in 1961damaged the bridge, leaving it unable to support vehicular traffic. Further deterioration led to an order to dismantle it in 1977. But local residents rallied to save the bridge, purchasing wood planks and completing the decking work themselves. Today the bridge is open to foot traffic.

“Another loop drive of great scenic beauty between Fayetteville and Mountainburg has been developed within the last year by the Civilian Conservation Corps workers. . . . A thousand young men from the cities have built this road. It is now ready for use, and it will open new territory to almost every motorist . . . “
Springdale News, January 10, 1935

Nearly 54,000 sanitation units (outhouses) were installed in Arkansas by various New Deal agencies. They were built to combat the spread of diseases like hookworm, dysentery, and typhoid fever. By building outhouses in quantity, not only was a whole community better protected, but the bulk purchase of supplies lowered costs. The units were made of wood or stone, ideally with concrete floors. They were designed to be well ventilated and to keep out flies, and located carefully, to prevent groundwater contamination.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration allotted $5,160 to build sanitation units in Washington County, including some in Winslow, Prairie Grove, and Springdale. By May 1935 some 505 had been built. Units were also installed in Boxley Valley, including one built by the Works Progress Administration at James A. Villines’ place. A “one-holer,” it was built of wood with a concrete floor and seat.

“I had one of these [government privies] on the farm that I owned at Erbie [Newton County].  . . . they were designed by a non-imaginative bureaucrat in Washington. The only improvement over the old ones was the hole lined with a burlap sack which was sprayed with used motor oil. This was supposed to keep down flies and wasps. Local builders were given the contract to build these with the stipulation that local, needy labor be used.”
Unknown author, Harrison Times, June 4, 1981

Two New Deal county courthouses were built in Northwest Arkansas. The Newton County Courthouse (1939–1940) in Jasper was built with WPA labor at a total cost of about $42,000, with the county contributing over $12,000 through a bond issue. The two-story reinforced-concrete-and-granite building was built in a “restrained” Art Deco style, with a rough, native-stone appearance.

The Madison County Courthouse (1939) was built by the PWA in the Art Deco style, with glazed brick, limestone details, and interior marble floors. It held offices, a jail, and a courtroom. The government provided 45% towards the construction cost of $89,000, with the county funding the rest through a narrowly approved bond issue. In 2013 and 2014, voters were once again asked to support the courthouse, by approving a 1% county sales tax to repair the aging structure. They shot down the proposal both times. Some repairs have been made through state funds, but a complete restoration is estimated at $3.6 million.

Post offices were built in Berryville (1938–1939), Siloam Springs (1937), and Springdale (1936–1937). The latter was built of ivory-colored brick for $65,000 with WPA funds. It had offices, lock boxes, a mail-sorting room, a basement with employee lockers, and places for patrons to buy stamps, mail packages, and purchase money orders. When the building was dedicated September 1937, there was a parade, concert music, prayers, and speeches by city and post office officials. The building is now home to the Springdale Chamber of Commerce.

Many area elementary and high schools were built as part of the New Deal, including schools in Vendor and Mt. Judea (Newton County), Everton and Valley Springs (Boone County), Berryville (Carroll County), Evansville (Washington County), and Rogers and Sulphur Springs (Benton County). Spring Valley School (Washington County; built about 1935) is a one-story fieldstone masonry building with two detached, rock-veneer sanitary units (outhouses). The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) put $800 towards its construction, with the community supplying the rest.

Garfield Elementary School (1938–1941) was built in the heavy Rustic Revival style popular among Ozark schools. The National Youth Administration paid area youngsters to quarry the building’s limestone from a nearby farm, build a blacksmith shop to keep the quarry’s drill bits sharp, level the building site, and dig the foundation. The boys worked eight-hour days, five days a week for two weeks, earning $14.40. Two weeks off and they were back to work.

The University of Arkansas grew during the New Deal, receiving over $2 million in loans and grants. In 1935 the FERA allotted $2,965 to pay for twenty-six men to build two greenhouses. Public Works Administration-built buildings include the chemistry, agriculture, and home economics buildings, the student union (now Memorial Hall), the field house (formerly the men’s gymnasium and now the Faulkner Performing Arts Center), Gibson Hall (dormitory), a classroom building (now Ozark Hall), and Vol Walker Library (1935), a Classical Revival-style building. Today Vol Walker is home to the Fay Jones School of Architecture.

Bailey Stadium (1937–1938) was named after Arkansas Governor Carl E. Bailey. It was a $200,000 Works Progress Administration (WPA) project featuring a track and football field, steel bleachers with wood decking to seat 12,500, a press box, and buildings for equipment and teams. It was noted that “. . . the field proper has been sodded for some time and daily watering has kept it looking green and begging for cleated hoofs.” The stadium was dedicated by WPA administrator Harry Hopkins on October 9, 1938, amid a fanfare of speeches, music, and a procession of University officials, college deans, and ROTC cadets. The name changed to Razorback Stadium after Bailey lost the 1940 election. Over the years the stadium received numerous expansions and renovations. Nothing of the original structure remains.

“The new stadium, which is giving new students and old ones, too, a thrill this week, as they view it for the first time, is something of which any city, any state, any nation could be proud. It ranks with the best. It is built for the ages.”
Northwest Arkansas Times, September 8, 1938

 

Arkansas Democrat. “Crowd of 3,000 Attends Dedication Newton County Courthouse at Jasper.” 10-27-1940.

Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. “Garfield Elementary School”. http://www.arkansaspreservation.com/national-register-listings/garfield-elementary-school  (accessed 9-28-2020).

———. “Beely-Johnson American Legion Post 139.” http://www.arkansaspreservation.com/national-register-listings/beely-johnson-american-legion-post-139 (accessed 9-28-2020).

———. “Madison County Courthouse.” http://www.arkansaspreservation.com/national-register-listings/madison-county-courthouse  (accessed 9-28-2020).

———. “Newton County Courthouse.” http://www.arkansaspreservation.com/National-Register-Listings/PDF/NW0005.nr.pdf (accessed 9-28-2020).

Arkansasmatters.com. “Jail Improvement Sales Tax Rejected in Madison County.” 7-2014. https://www.kark.com/news/jail-improvement-sales-tax-rejected-in-madison-county/ (accessed 9-28-2020).

Bernet, Brenda. “Madison County tax proposed for repairs: Courhouse ailing, voters weigh 1% bump.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 9-9-2013.

———. “Old courthouse showing its age: tax seen as way to restore it.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 7-20-2014.

Bowden, Bill. “2 recall time in camp that built Devil’s Den.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3-18-2013.

Brotherton, Velda. “Boys became men when the joined Civilian Conservation.” White River Valley News, 7-19-2007.

———. “Heritage week celebrations at Devil’s Den honor CCC.” Washington County Observer, 5-5-1994.

———. “When boys from the boonies came to Devil’s Den for employment.” Washington County Observer, 8-30-1990.

———. “Who in the devil built Devil’s Den?  How CCC changed lives of locals.” Washington County Observer, 8-9-1990.

Edmisten, Bob. “Building of City Legion Hut Is Success Story.” Springdale News, 3-20-1969.

Fayetteville Daily Democrat. “500,000 E.R.A. Works Program On In County.” 5-9-1935.

———. “WPA Allotment to This Section.” 9-16-1935.

Friedman, Arthur. “Memories of the CCC.” Washington County Observer, 3-3-1988.

Harrison Times. “Along James Lane.” 6-4-1981.

Hatfield, Kevin. A Chronological History of Huntsville, Arkansas. Madison County Genealogical and Historical Society: Huntsville, 2013.

Hope, Holly. An Ambition to be Preferred: New Deal Recovery Efforts and Architecture in Arkansas, 1933-1943. Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Little Rock, 2006.  http://www.arkansaspreservation.com/News-and-Events/publications (accessed 9-28-2020).

Jines, Billie. Benton County Schools That Were, Volume 2. Pea Ridge, Arkansas: self-published, 1993.

Living New Deal. “Haggard Ford Swinging Bridge.” http://livingnewdeal.org/projects/haggard-ford-swinging-bridge-harrison-ar/ (accessed 9-28-2020).

———. “New Deal Programs.” http://livingnewdeal.org/what-was-the-new-deal/programs/ (accessed 9-28-2020).

McGimsey, C. R. “Importance of UA Museum Stressed.” Northwest Arkansas Times, 6-30-1970.

McGlumphy, Veronica. “‘Wiggans’ Hole:’ History of Lake Wedington.” Flashback, Vol. 58, No. 1 (Spring 2008).

Moss, Teresa. “Lake Atalanta to get makeover.” Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 7-23-2015.

Neal, Lisa. “CCC Company Celebrates 50th at Devil’s Den.” Springdale News, 1-26-1983.

Newton County Times. “Historic courthouse at center of festival.” (with excerpt of an article by Kay Bona, [Little Rock] Daily Record). 6-26-2003.

Northwest Arkansas Times. “Add 124 Men to RRA Project.” 3-11-1936.

———. “PWA Inspector Opens Office.” 1-4-1939.

———. “Students Find Campus Change: Construction Work on Natural Bowl Thrills U. of A. Group.” 9-8-1938.

———. “University Stadium.” 9-8-1938.

———. “Wedington Lake Filled.” 2-18-1938.

———.”Lake Wedington Facility to Be Retained.” 7-7-1939.

Rushing, Parker. “Civilian Conservation Corps workers recall the old days at Devil’s Den: They got good deal from ‘New Deal.'” Washington County Observer, 7-6-1989.

Smith, Charlotte Ann Blood. “My Daddy Made a Difference: Daughter Remembers Lt. Col. Reuben S. Blood, Builder of Devil’s Den and Petit Jean Parks.” Ozarks Mountaineer, Vol. 56, No. 5 (Sep/Oct 2008).

Springdale News. “Hopkins to Dedicate New U. of A. Stadium.” 8-25-1938.

———. “New Home of Post Office is Modern Building.” 4-29-1937.

———. “Rogers’ Lake Atalanta to Open September 19.” 9-8-1938.

———. “Rogers Lake Project Approved Last Week.” 10-8-1936.

Steed, Stephen. “Creators of Devil’s Den meet to recall the past.” Arkansas Gazette, 7-2-1989.

Sugg, Ann Wiggans. “Memories of Lake Wedington.” Flashback, Vol. 58, No. 1 (Spring 2008).

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Walker, Leeanna. “Lake Atalanta a Rogers getaway since 1937.” [Rogers] Northwest Arkansas Morning News, 5-25-1986.

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Whittemore, Carol. “Madison County Courthouse Marks Its 50th Anniversary.” Madison County Record, 11-23-1989.

Ozark Grape Festival Queen
Perhaps, after seeing the success of Rogers’ Apple Blossom Festivals beginning in 1923, Springdale leaders organized the Ozark Grape Festival in 1925 and 1926. Festivities included tours of the Welch Grape Juice plant, band music, a parade, a Mardi Gras Carnival, and speeches by dignitaries such as Governor Tom J. Terral, who also crowned the festival’s queen. She was chosen by a committee led by Springdale lawyer Ulys A. Lovell from among the representatives sent by each neighboring community.

Mary Snapp of Harrison was the 1925 winner. She was crowned in an elaborate ceremony which featured young women in Grecian robes and little girls dressed as purple butterflies, who “flitted before the royal party as it approached the throne.” The queen’s attendants carried white baskets filled with Concord grapes. Her crown was decorated with tinted pearls and a “diamond tiara.” In honor of her achievement, the Springdale Community Club gave her a Ford Coupe automobile. The following year the Club partnered with the Italian community of Tontitown, which grew grapes for Welch’s. Hometown girl Lavinia Morsani was named queen. So much rain fell before the event that Spring Creek flooded, creating a wet, muddy mess which separated the crowd from the stage.

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Queen Concordia
A group of Italian immigrant farm families settled first in southeastern Arkansas in 1895, but the swampy location proved too harsh. A number of folks, led by Father Pietro Bandini, split off in 1898 and moved to what is now Tontitown. In celebration, the settlers held a community picnic complete with a spaghetti dinner and a Catholic mass. As word spread, the annual event grew to include out-of-town guests, ice-cream stands, speakers, games, music, and a bake sale. Eventually known as the Tontitown Grape Festival, today it’s a multi-day event featuring such things as carnival rides, a book sale and bazaar, musical performances, a car raffle, and a fried chicken and spaghetti supper.

A daughter of those first settlers became the first Queen Concordia, named after the Concord grapes grown on area farms. In 1932 seventeen-year-old Albina Mantegani Gasparotto won the crown by collecting items for the bazaar and selling the most dinner tickets. Because of the hardship caused by the Great Depression and World War II, no further queens were crowned until 1947, when Elsie Mae Fiori won. For much of the festival’s history, contestants were members of St. Joseph Catholic Church. Today any young woman can enter, provided she sells enough raffle tickets to qualify. Sadly, there will be no queen in 2020, as the festival was cancelled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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Miss County Fair
Northwest Arkansas’s strong agricultural economy led to the founding of several horticultural, agricultural, and mechanical fairs, beginning with the area’s first, held in 1856 in Fayetteville. Most early fairs were short-lived due to financial loss, rain, and low public interest. Over time some evolved into today’s county fairs. While early fairs featured horse races, baseball games, and such novelties (for the time) as moving pictures and airplane demonstrations, the backbone of today’s fairs continue to be livestock shows, craft and food contests, carnival rides, performances, and the queen pageant.

Contestants during the 1961 Benton County Fair were judged in three fashion categories—jeans, street dress, and formal attire—as well as “personal interviews and appearance on the stage.” They weren’t required to wear swimsuits, unlike the girls at Washington County’s 1962 fair. In later years, the Miss Benton County Fair contest became a scholarship pageant open to county high school (or homeschool) senior girls. Today’s contestants are judged by interviews and in fitness, casual, and evening gown competitions. County fair winners went on to the state contest, including Leslie Ann Wilkins of Jasper, Miss Newton County Fair 1976. She became Miss Arkansas State Fair 1976 at age sixteen.

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Honey Queen
In 1962 the Northwest Arkansas Beekeepers Association selected a runner-up from the Miss Benton County Fair pageant to serve as their first Honey Queen. She was judged for her knowledge of home economics, appearance, and personality. Queens were chosen from runners-up at other county fairs to compete in the statewide competition, including Linda Santa Cruz of Berryville, who was named Arkansas Honey Queen 1966 and who went on to become American Honey Queen 1967. As a representative of the American Beekeeping Federation, she made appearances at state fairs, food fairs, and at an international meeting of beekeepers. She also had the honor of handing the crown to American Honey Queen 1968, Janis Barnes of Berryville.

Chicken-of-Tomorrow Queen
The Chicken-of-Tomorrow contest was a three-year national competition sponsored by the A&P grocery-store chain to encourage chicken breeders to develop a broad-breasted chicken with the white meat American consumers wanted. The contest ended in 1951, when the winner was announced during a week-long celebration in Fayetteville. Events included educational talks, exhibits, dances, concerts, a chicken barbecue, a parade, and a queen competition.

Communities statewide held pageants to select a young woman to compete for the Chicken-of-Tomorrow crown. Joan Walters of Rogers was the winner. Following the crowning ceremony, a Queen’s Ball was held at the University of Arkansas Field House (then a smaller version of Razorback stadium). Two days later the new queen paraded around town in an elaborate float featuring a giant papier-mâché chicken.

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Northwest Arkansas Poultry Princess
First held in 1960, the Northwest Arkansas Poultry Festival was one of several district festivals sponsored by the Arkansas Poultry Federation as a way to “gain more respect and prestige for the . . . poultry industry . . . and to promote increased consumption of poultry and poultry products.” Activities included fried-chicken suppers, parades, and a beauty pageant. Four women were awarded the title Poultry Princess, making each eligible to compete against other district princesses for the state title. For a few years in the early 1960s, the winner of the state contest represented Arkansas in the Miss Universe Pageant.

The last festival was held in 1976. The following year, the Federation cancelled the district festivals in favor of the state contest in Hot Springs. Lee Zachary, executive vice-president of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, approved the decision, saying the festivals “ . . . cost a lot of money and took a great deal of time and effort. They had become a losing project financially.” Rather than competing in a local pageant, poultry growers, suppliers, and other members of the local poultry industry sponsored their own candidates in the state pageant.

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Northwest Arkansas Chicken Cookin’ Queen
A Chicken Cookin’ contest was also part of the Northwest Arkansas Poultry Festival. Sponsored by area businesses, competitors met in the Springdale High School cafeteria to cook fanciful meals. Over the years entries included Feather-light and Henpecked Pound Cake, Drumstick Crown, Henny Penny Pizza, Chicken in a Nest, and Breast of Chicken Magnifique. Four women were pronounced winners and each could compete in the state contest. The Arkansas Chicken’ Cooking Queen and Miss Arkansas Poultry Princess toured the country, promoting the poultry industry.

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Dairy Princess
In 1961 members of the Huntsville Rural Development’s Dairy Project met to discuss the selection of a county Dairy Princess as part of a Dairy Foods promotion campaign during Dairy Month. “Any girl between the ages of 16 and 25, with a dairy background, who has never been married, [was] eligible.” At a similar event in Benton County, contestants were judged for their “healthy appearance and natural attractiveness, dairy farm background, public speaking ability, and personality.” Winners went on to compete at a state level, with those winners competing for the national title, first offered in 1955.

One local young woman rose to the top. Born and raised in Bergman (Boone County), Wilma Lea Blevins learned to milk cows by age five on her parents’ dairy farm. After becoming Agri Queen at the University of Arkansas, she won the Arkansas Dairy Princess title in 1963. The following year she competed in the national American Dairy Princess pageant in Chicago. Blevins was so stunned when she was pronounced the winner that she couldn’t remember later what happened on stage. She received a $1,000 scholarship and a wardrobe to use as she traveled the country on a year-long tour as a dairy industry spokesperson.

Miss University of Arkansas
The GAEBALE festival started on the University of Arkansas campus in 1947. Pronounced a bit like “jubilee,” the term contained the first letters of the colleges and schools on campus—Graduate, Arts & Sciences, Education, Business, Agriculture, Law, and Engineering. A beauty contest was introduced in 1952, with contestants representing their sorority or dormitory. The young women were judged in the usual categories plus a swimsuit competition. In 1964 Karen Carlson’s winning physique was detailed in the local newspaper as “…5 feet7½ inches, weight 125,…measurements of 36-23-35.”

In April 1972 the campus Student Union cancelled the beauty contest in part because of finances, low interest, and lack of a pageant director. The newspaper suggested that “…beauty pageants don’t have the same kind of zowie and pizzazz that they used to.” In the end, two fraternities and another sponsor held the contest with a field of fourteen candidates, all of whom were white. It’s unclear when the first African-American students were encouraged to participate, but it may have been in 1973, when Carolyn Rhodes of Camden was a contestant. Patrisha Young, who won the Miss Black University of Arkansas title during the 1981-1982 school year, was also a contestant in the Miss University pageant in 1985. The contest was cancelled in 1993 because Campus Activities Center staff “expressed concern that the pageant’s restrictions were discriminatory.” It resumed in 2007 but it is unclear if there ever was a black Miss University of Arkansas.

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Homecoming Queen
Each fall, high schools, colleges, and universities celebrate homecoming with activities such as parades, football games, dances, parties, music, and the selection of a homecoming queen. Racial segregation followed by years of discrimination often meant that, if a school had women of color as students, they were left behind when it came time to choose homecoming candidates. That began to change slowly beginning in the 1970s, when two African-American women were selected to be part of the University of Arkansas’ 1974 homecoming court. In 1982 Merike Manley became the University’s first African-American homecoming queen. She was followed by Karen Mathis in 1986, Monica Jones in 1993, and Kimberly Smith in 2009.

As area population diversified, more women of color were represented at homecomings. In 2011, Danai Bahena was surprised to learn that the football players at Springdale High School had nominated her for homecoming queen. Her win was personally significant. As the oldest daughter of five, and the first Latina to win the honor, she felt like she represented a new generation. Her sister, Magnolia, was a homecoming maid in her sophomore, junior, and senior years. 

Miss Fayetteville
For a community, beauty pageants were part entertainment, part fundraiser, and part bragging rights. In a June 1950 opinion column in the Northwest Arkansas Times, the author chided Fayetteville for its lack of a pageant, saying, “Why not take part in the [Miss Arkansas pageant] and cop a little favorable publicity? If our representative wins, we receive favorable nationwide attention.” He needn’t have worried. The popularity of pageants grew tremendously in the 1950s. Civic organizations such as the Lions Club, the Kiwanis Club, and the Jaycees sponsored contests for Miss Huntsville, Miss Rogers, Miss Washington County, Miss Pea Ridge, Miss Madison County, and the like.

Pat Moore, Miss Fayetteville 1952, received a two-day, expense-paid trip for herself and a chaperone to the state pageant as well as “ . . . $10 worth of dry cleaning; [a] pair of nylon hose; a box of chocolates; and a supply of cosmetics.” Event proceeds went to the purchase of two scoreboards and clocks for the high school’s new gymnasium. In addition to the traditional pageant competition categories, each contestant had three minutes to display a talent, whether it was “singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument, dramatic reading, art display, dress designing, etc., or she may give a . . . talk on the career she wishes to pursue.” Elizabeth Bridenthal won the 1965 competition before a crowd of six hundred. She sang selections from the operas Madame Butterfly and Gypsy.

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Miss Arkansas and Miss America
A native of El Dorado, Arkansas, by 1963 University of Arkansas senior Donna Axum had already won several contests—Poultry Princess, National Cotton Picking Queen, and Arkansas Forest Queen—when she was awarded the title of Miss Arkansas. She credited her win to a last-minute gamble. When told the judges didn’t like her hairstyle, she changed it to a bouffant, a large, rounded hairdo. With her next contest in sight, she said, “You just don’t ever dream of being the top girl in the Miss America pageant. Just being there is enough.” But with hard work and determination her dream came true. She was crowned Miss America 1964. The following year she was an honored guest at many local pageants, boosting local attendance.

In 2017, Axum reached out to Savannah “Savvy” Shields of Fayetteville, the second University student to be crowned Miss America. In addition to wise advice, she gave her Miss America ring to Shields, as a “reminder of what being Miss America was about.” After her win Shields spent the next year making appearances in forty-eight states, living out of “two very overweight suitcases.” She received $90,000 in scholarship money. Another local who made it to the national stage was Ashton Campbell of Hindsville. After winning Miss Arkansas 2014, she placed third in the Miss America pageant. Unfortunately, the 2020 state competition was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, as was the national pageant, which would have celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary.

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Miss Gay Arkansas America
In 1971 Jerry Peek of Nashville created the Miss Gay America pageant to recognize the best female impersonators/entertainers in the country. Patterned after the Miss America pageant, the original contest featured evening gown, interview, and talent categories. The pageant’s first winner was Norma Kristie of Arkansas. The Miss Gay Arkansas America pageant was established in 1972.

After winning the preliminary pageant, Miss Gay Sweetheart Arkansas America, in 2019 Iman DeMarco of Rogers won the state title. “As a Latino and a father of two, winning was such an accomplishment and gratifying. Being a part of such a prestigious pageant . . . helps by bringing hope to many. . . . As Miss Gay Arkansas I want to be the one who inspires . . . and pushes many beyond their limits. We have everything in our power to be our future, to do and be anything we want.” Although she didn’t win the national competition, she uses her skills to conduct workshops for hopeful contestants. Through her work with the Bentonville Follies, an annual charity drag-show contest, she has helped raise money for Northwest Arkansas charities, including $104,000 for the Arkansas Crisis Center, a nonprofit organization offering “ . . . helpline services to teens in crisis.”

Mr. and Miss Tiny Tot
Contests for children have been around since at least the 1950s and often are paired with pageants for young women. Many are sponsored by organizations such as the Jaycees or the Lions, civic clubs which use the contests to raise funds for their charitable programs. There are contests for babies, toddlers, and young boys and girls, many with fanciful names. In the 1960s Madison County had categories for King & Queen Baby, Prince & Princess Tot, and Senior & Junior Princess, while the Benton County Fair had Little Miss Tiny Tot and Miss Tiny Tot. The Springdale Jaycettes, the women’s offshoot of the Jaycees, organized a pageant with a more grown-up sounding name—Little Mr. and Miss Springdale. In 1952 the winner of Fayetteville’s contest received “…$3 worth of ice cream, a cosmetic set, a beach ball, and a swim toy.”

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Ms. Senior Arkansas
The Ms. Arkansas Senior America Pageant began in 1986, a state offshoot of the national organization which started in 1980. During its first years, the state contest was held in Harrison. Today, the judging categories are formal wear, talent contest, interview, and philosophy of life. Contestants have to be sixty-years in age or older, and must not be former state queens.

In 1988, Grace Julian of Springdale was crowned Ms. Senior Washington County during a pageant held at the Sang Senior Center in Fayetteville. The following month she competed in the statewide contest, “for ladies sixty and over who have ‘reached the age of maturity and elegance.’” Although she did not win, years later another Northwest Arkansas woman did—Constance May Waddell of Bella Vista was named Ms. Senior Arkansas 1996.

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Miss Decatur Barbecue
When the small town of Decatur lost its only poultry-processing plant in the early 1950s, most of its citizens moved away to find new work. Community leaders built their own plant to bring new prosperity to the town. In 1953 Decatur took first place in the state’s “towns under 1,000” category. To celebrate, a Homecoming Barbecue was held, complete with chicken dinners, an equestrian (horse) team display, “Indian dancing,” and a concert by Leon McAuliffe and His Cimarron Boys. Two contests were held, Tiny Tots and Miss Decatur Barbecue. The following year the National Municipal League named the town an “All-American City,” leading city officials to make the barbecue an annual event.

Many Northwest Arkansas towns sent a contestant. In the early years, the pageant included ballgown and swimsuit competitions. Nowadays the young women compete in formal and casual wear and are asked questions about their favorite food, hobby, song, color, and animal. When Desi Meek won in 2018, she was slated to be the last to wear the crown. The Decatur Chamber of Commerce intended to end the pageant because so few girls were participating. Plus, two-thirds of the contest winners weren’t from Decatur. Following a month-long debate, the Chamber decided to continue, limiting the contest to young women who were students at one of three area high schools.

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Miss Beaver Lake
The Beaver Lake Water Festival began in 1966 at Beaver Shores. Geared as family entertainment, it featured water-skiing contests, motor-boat races, log-rolling contests, a skydiving show, barbecue, and a fireworks display. The Miss Beaver Lake contest was added to the program in 1968, the event’s third year. The festival was put on by several different organizations over the years, including the Springdale Moose Lodge in the early 1980s, when the festival was held at Horseshoe Bend.

The age-range of contestants spanned from sixteen to twenty-three, depending on the year. For many years the pageant was a swimsuit competition—“No talent presentation . . . required.” The 1971 winner received a trophy, gift certificates from merchants, $100 in cash, and the use of a new Plymouth car for a week. The contest lasted until at least 1991, when participants were judged for poise, personality, talent, and stage appearance.

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Crossbow Queen
At the urging of Huntsville’s community leaders, George Stevens of Marcella, Arkansas, inventor of the repeating crossbow (a Medieval weapon which shoots an arrow), came to Huntsville in 1958 to create a tourism opportunity for the town. His crossbow tournament featured shooting contests, daredevil horseback-riding competitions by the Lancers, a group of costumed members of local riding clubs, and a demonstration by the Crossbowettes, a team of girls from Huntsville High School who performed precision drills and specialty tricks such as shooting backwards at targets, aided by a tiny mirror.

Stevens established the Crossbowettes in part to take advantage of their youthful beauty to attract visitors. Each year a young woman was selected as queen. Before her coronation, she was driven into the arena in an elaborate horse-drawn carriage, escorted on horseback by the Lancers and the Crossbowettes. Most of the queens were Crossbowettes, chosen by the young women themselves. But dwindling attendance couldn’t justify the effort it took to run the pageantry portion of the tournament. The last queen was crowned in 1967. The crossbow contests themselves continued until 2003.

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Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks
The Rodeo of the Ozarks began in 1945, just as World War II was winding down. After two enthusiasts suggested that Springdale hold its own rodeo, Thurman “Shorty” Parsons and Dempsy O. Letsch agreed to take on the task. Early rodeos featured ropers and riders, parades, and a traveling caravan of “hillbilly” comedy and music to entice attendees. The first Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks was Lois Wilson in 1946. In the beginning, local horsewomen and members of area riding clubs competed for the title. In later years, outsiders were allowed to compete on their quest to become Miss Rodeo USA.

A member of the Siloam Springs Riding Club, Lindsey Thompson of Oklahoma became Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks 2018. She and the other contestants were judged by “personality….interviews, modeling and fashion, horsemanship and speech…[and] their ability to greet and mingle with fans…” By 2018, the pageant’s director, eighty-five-year-old Pat Parsons Hutter, had been on the job since 1958. One of her many duties was “taking [the girls] to breakfast every morning and getting them to bed by midnight.” As “Shorty” Parsons daughter and a Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks herself, she saw interest in the rodeo decline over the years. In 2014 only three women competed for the crown.

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Queen of Queens
Former model DeanE Walker of Springdale was part of the pageant circuit from the late 1950s to the 1980s. A qualified official pageant judge, she ran a charm school which taught young women poise and fashion modeling. She also served as director of several pageants including Junior Miss, Northwest Arkansas Poultry Princess, Miss Washington County, and Miss Springdale High School. The latter competition began in 1959 as a way to help pay for the school’s annual yearbook. Walker said the contest’s advisory board chose “ . . . girls who have a variety of talents and would look good on stage. After all, this is a money-raising project, so we have to please the public.” In 1974 she told contestants that they were not allowed to wear “ . . . full wigs, jewelry or gowns with sleeves or rhinestones, and must wear elbow-length gloves during the pageant.” No mothers were allowed backstage.

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