Touring Eastern Arkansas

Beautiful weather and a case of cabin fever lead to an afternoon tour of Eastern Arkansas. There were several sites in the area I wanted to visit. My husband was agreeable and we were off.

The first destination was Tyronza for a visit to the Southern Farmers Tenant Museum. We enjoyed the guided tour.

 

Being a photography enthusiast, I really enjoyed the old photographs.

 

Examples of architecture during the tenant farming era are depicted in the above photographs.  Note the "dog trot" house and the "shotgun" house.

 

Adjacent to the museum are several restored businesses including this gas station.

 

We tried the new restaurant in Tyronza, Tyboogies, for lunch.

 

 

 

Southern lunch of fried catfish, fried chicken, white beans, greens and a biscuit.

Now time for more sight seeing.

 

After a short drive we arrived in Lepanto, the home of "The Painted House" from the movie of the same name adapted from the book by John Grisham.

 

The barn and outhouse at "The Painted House"

 

In Dyess we stopped by the Dyess Colony Headquarters.

This is one of those "40 acres and a mule" stories.

 

The Johnny Cash boyhood home has been recently restored by Arkansas State University. The house was fenced off but I was able to snap a few photos through the fence. It was one of the "colony" houses.

 

Restored dog trot house in Crittenden County.

 

The marker in Twist, AR with the story of how B.B. King's guitar got the name Lucille.

 

The Veterans Cemetery at Birdeye, Arkansas.

 

Happy Memorial Day

 

♥andPeace,Myra

Carroll Cloar - American Artist

Yesterday Jim and I went to see "The Crossroads of Memory - Carroll Cloar and The American South" exhibit at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis, TN.

Cloar is a favorite of mine. He was born and grew up in the Arkansas Delta.

His subjects often were people and places he knew in childhood.

 



 

"The Crossroads of Memory - Carroll Cloar and The American South" is currently at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

 

On the drive home we stopped in Earle, AR to photograph several of the subjects in Cloar's paintings.

Above is Earle High School. 

"Marvin Bird's Almost Perfect Football Team" shows Earle High School in the background.

 

The Earle railroad depot is now the Crittenden County Museum.

"Waiting for the Hot Spring's Special" features the depot.

 

A couple of the paintings in the exhibit featured this statue.

One is named "Angel in the Thorn Patch".

 

It is located in the middle of a soybean field.

Fortunately the area around the statue had been recently mowed with a pathway from the road.

The angel is watching over the grave of Rev. George B. Washington.

Born December 25, 1864

Died August 30, 1928

It  is located north of Earle just before crossing the Lepanto River in the area of Gibson Bayou.

Cloar grew up on the family farm in the area.

 

The exhibit runs through September 15, 2013.

 

You can book a guided tour (which is excellent) or just go on your own.

 

♥andPeace,Myra

Barbeque, Blues and The War ** Helena, Arkansas

The weather was perfect Saturday for a short day trip. I headed down Crowley's Ridge Parkway to Helena, Arkansas.

My first stop was Ray's Dairy Maid on

Highway 49 near Barton.

Check out the menu.

Ray's was featured on Alton Brown's

 "Feasting on Asphalt 2".

 

I believe Alton and his crew enjoyed Nana Dean's coconut pie.

I decided to try the barbeque.

 

 

Helena has a rich musical history.

The King Biscuit Flour Hour

radio show was broadcast from Helena featuring blues artists from the delta.

 

This weekend there was a Civil War reenactment of the Battle of Helena.

 

Helena is located on the Mississippi River.

There is a river walk atop the levee.

Spring brings high water along the levee.

 



Mural on the flood wall.

The Delta Cultural Center Museum

The museum is housed in a lovely old railroad depot.

 Confederate Cemetery

The cemetery is located high on a ridge.

The river is visible from this point. 

Down the hill from the Confederate Cemetery is the Maple Hill Cemetery.

I didn't seen any maple trees but magnolias were plentiful.

The Arkansas champion gingko tree is located in the Maple Hill Cemetery near the entry gate.

 

 

♥andPeace,Myra