Arkansas River at Pine Bluff Frozen Over

My favorite postcards are usually the ones that reflect historical events. I have actually found three postcards regarding the freezing of the Arkansas River in Pine Bluff. The first two I found were from January 1912.This one appears to be a steamboat towing a sightseeing barge. At least, I would guess that's why there is an open lower and upper deck with stairs leading to the upper deck.

 This boat has a gangplank and boards  leading to shore and there are actually men and women walking on the frozen river. The ice looks pretty rough and probably would be hard to do more than walk for a short distance.

This was the third card I found. The river froze in February 1898, fourteen years before the date of the two above. It's really cool that the card points out that the two dots seen on the left side are actually people walking on the ice.

This is a scene of the Arkansas River during warmer weather. 

The most recent freezing event I could find in an online search was December 1983. The river does seem to flood with some frequency, but freezing is a pretty rare event. It's hard to believe that, since Pine Bluff is in southern Arkansas, that a river as large as this would freeze at all. I live in the northern part of the state and can only remember the rivers freezing here the same year (1983) that the Arkansas River froze. The Mississippi River at Memphis also had ice in it that year.

When you talk to residents who have lived here all their lives, many of them tell of their parents and grandparents going down to the White or Buffalo Rivers in winter to cut ice blocks for their ice houses.

The link below will take you to KATV's Weather Blog and a video of the river in December 1983.

http://arkansasweather.blogspot.com/2011/12/remembering-one-of-worst-arctic.html

Señor Dionicio Rodriguez and a Mystery Solved

This image solved a mystery for me. I've had a photo of my sons' great-grandfather standing in front of what I thought was an old weathered tree and was told it was probably taken in California. When I saw this black and white image, I realized where it had been taken.

Frank Dillard, my sons' great-grandfather

When you look at the image above, you can clearly see it is the same tree.

Back of card:
This replica of the crag of an ancient tree was built of concrete by the noted Aztec artist Señor Dionicio Rodriguez. The bark, interior grain of wood, etc. are perfectly reproduced in concrete. The artist's theory was that seats were shaped from the partially decayed interior. This huge hollow stump of crag is directly in front of a large modernistic designed stone walled lily pond. Lilies of every color cover this pond in the Spring and Summer.

Upon looking further, I found this color postcard of the same tree. The paragraph on the back of the card explained what the tree was. 

Back of card:
In designing the structure shown on the reverse side of this card, Señor Dionicio Rodriguez's, the noted Mexican concrete artist, conception was as follows: A great cloudburst washed out and exposed the roots of this sturdy tree but the tree maintained its upright position. Early settlers, noticing that it would make an ideal resting place, theoretically hewed off the tops of the roots and, cutting off the limbs at the proper positions, nailed on a rustic framework and made a straw roof fastened at the top with a homemade rope.

The above was my next discovery, also in the Lakewood Subdivision and from the same artist.

Back of card:
The central part of a design comprised of several pieces of unusual work in concrete, reproduced to look like wood, executed by a Mexican artist engaged to do this particular work. This old mill is turned by a water wheel, all being made to look like hewn timbers; there are bridges all over the stream, rustic seats, etc., all of concrete, but colored and textured in minutest detail with such perfection as to deceive the closest observer.

Some of you may recognize the old mill in this postcard. It was in Gone with the Wind, an American classic film. This is still located in North Little Rock, Arkansas and is a memorial park.

The other two sculptures are still in Little Rock. The tree and natural umbrella remain on the Lakewood properties. 

Señor Rodriguez's work can be found in several states. Located mainly in Texas, which became his home state after coming to the U.S. from Mexico, his works can also be found in Maryland, Tennessee, New Mexico, and Arkansas, of course. Several have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

http://www.lakewoodpoa.com/photos/

https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/hispanic/2001/rodriguez.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionicio_Rodriguez

http://www.arkansas.com/attractions/detail/the-old-mill-at-t-r-pugh-memorial-park/17601

I.Q. Zoo- More than just training animals for entertainment

Many who visited Hot Springs,Arkansas, have fond memories of the I.Q. Zoo. The exhibits featured animals trained by Keller and Marion Breland Bailey. When I started researching I didn't expect to find much about the I.Q. Zoo. How wrong I was.

I remember seeing these trained animals on the East coast where I was raised. I visited Atlantic City, New Jersey, and the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland. Both places had trained animals. I was fascinated to see a chicken beat human players at Tic Tac Toe. I never did figure out how it was done.

The Brelands trained all kinds of domestic and exotic animals using rewards for training. Dogs and cats were actually trained by contract for the military. Marion Breland Bailey was believed to be the first person to train a cat, not the easiest task, for use in TV commercials.

The Brelands developed the first dolphin training manual. The same techniques are still in use today. They had a hand in training some of the dolphins for Marineland, Florida, one of the first parks of its kind.

The back of each of the animal postcards reads:

This performing animal demonstrates a brand new method of animal training. The animal has been trained by animal psychologist Keller Breland, at Hot Springs, Arkansas. Breland’s animals learn by the reward system. No punishment is used. Once trained, they never forget and will happily perform for anyone. These educated animals are nationally famous. They have been featured on television and in Life, Popular Mechanics, Reader’s Digest and other national magazines.

There is actually a website dedicated to the I.Q. Zoo. It is hosted by Robert C. Bailey and the University of Central Arkansas. They have photos, videos and articles posted about the animals and their trainers. 

There are lots of links to explore if you are interested in learning more about the I.Q. Zoo. The APA (American Psychological Association) has a page dedicated to the I.Q. Zoo. It was here I learned that Eddie, the Jack Russell Terrier from Frazier was trained by Marian Breland Bailey. Robert Bailey was Marian's second husband. Keller Breland died of a heart attack in 1965, 10 years after opening the I.Q. Zoo. Marian and her second husband Bob continued and expanded the training until her death in 2001.For more information:

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/09/animals.aspx

http://www3.uca.edu/iqzoo/iqzoo.htm

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2538

https://www.uakron.edu/chp/abe/the-iq-zoo/

Hot Springs Ostrich Farm

The postcards about the ostrich farm were some of the first cards I collected. The images were just so interesting to me. I've seen short clips of people riding ostriches but hadn't seen any with them pulling a four-wheeled buggy like the one above. Visitors were allowed to rent the buggy and ride around Hot Springs towed by and ostrich.

This big bird was one of the prize racing ostriches. They usually weighed over 400 pounds. You can still see ostrich racing here in the states. The ostrich farm actually sent the racing birds to state and county fairs. They were pitted against horses and actually made great time whether ridden bareback or in harness. The birds could beat a horse in a short race, but the horses won in a longer race.

From the postcard, it looks like even tourists could ride an ostrich if they had the courage. Not me!

Back in the day, ostrich feathers were used for personal decoration and raising ostriches was probably a lucrative proposition. Birds could be purchased from the farm by catalog. I wonder if they just shipped eggs and chicks? Full-grown birds are usually over 250 pounds.

This is a beautiful bird.

The farm was run until the mid-1950s, over 15 years after its owner, Thomas Cockburn died.

To read more about the farm:

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=4429&type=Type&item=Thing&parent=&grandparent=

Happy Hollow - Fun Photos for the Folks Back Home

Dated February 17, 1944

Owned and operated by Norman E. McLeod, Happy Hollow offered props and backdrops where visitors could have photos taken. Many used the donkey cart or ox cart with various sayings attached to the cart. As you will no doubt see, it's pretty hard to find very many like the couple above who seem to be happy their picture was being taken.

The two ladies on the bull seem to be having fun, the man and lady on the cart, not so much. 

The back of many of the cards reads "N.E. McLeod, Wild West & Rustic Photographer, Happy Hollow, Hot Springs, Ark. For duplicates Give number on picture."

If I get lucky, the photo postcard will have a date like this one. Mr. McLeod must have had some pretty tame livestock for them to stand still long enough to capture a clear image.

This one just makes me giggle. These two look so serious. I'm sure part of this comes from the fact that, not so long before, people who sat for photos were instructed not to smile because it took so long to capture an image and smiling would blur the photo.

This beautiful little one is one of my more unusual Happy Hollow postcards. This child would be over 100 years old if alive today. 

Because of the way this man is dressed, I'm not sure if he was actually a cowboy and had the photo taken with his horse.

I actually think this is a bit later than most of my other postcards. It's pretty racy for the times. I believe the lady is wearing a swimsuit and may have been one of the contestants in a bathing beauty contest. 

This card is dated 1938. It looks like the two men are really hamming it up for the camera. It's interesting how many different sets there were for photos.

I learned an interesting tidbit about Happy Hollow. The book Hot Springs from Capone to Costello by Robert K. Raines mentions that the Capone family, as in Al Capone, had their photos taken there several times and that it was one of their favorite spots in Hot Springs. Can you believe it?!

This is the second of my series on Hot Springs other attractions. Watch for the Ostrich Farm next. 

In case you are wondering why I picked Hot Springs for Arcane Arkansas history, it is not only the oldest national park but our smallest national park, and the only national park in an urban area. I'll be writing more about Hot Springs National Park in the future. 

Dated March 26, 1933

Hot Springs Attractions- Besides the Bathhouses

While many know Hot Springs for its bathhouses, there were actually four other attractions that drew people to the area, or gave them something to do when they were not "taking the waters."

I will write about the other three in upcoming entries. 

I discovered the Gator Farm and Marine Museum while hunting for postcards about Hot Springs. Alligators are native to southern Arkansas, so it is probably not so unusual. Started in 1902, it apparently brought alligators from the Florida Everglades to Arkansas. According to the postcard above, it was home to at least 1500 alligators!

I do think that having an alligator apparently climbing and then sliding down a very large slide a bit on the unusual side. 

This display of a Merman could also be classified as somewhat unusual. In addition to the gators, the attraction also had a Marine Museum and this was one of its displays. 

You can't really tell the size of Big Joe from the postcard photo, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't to be trifled with. Other cards have him in the alligator farm setting. This one appears to have taken him from that and made the background look very nice. An early example of what we now call Photoshopping. I've found many examples of it in early postcards.

I don't think that I would have enough nerve to feed gators like this!

I think that tall structure is a version of the slide from another photo. It would be interesting to know how the alligators were trained to climb the slide. 

The alligator farm is still operating at the same address on Whittington Avenue in Hot Springs as the Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo. 

All the postcards are from my personal collection. I hope you enjoy.

If you would like to learn more about it, you can visit their website.

http://www.alligatorfarmzoo.com/about-us.html

This is the first of a three-part series on Hot Springs other attractions. Watch for the Ostrich Farm, I.Q. Zoo, and Happy Hollow.

Lum and Abner - Early Arkansas Celebrities

I can remember, when I moved to Arkansas in 1979, listening to Lum and Abner on the radio. Before moving here, I had never heard of them. If I remember right, they were on every day. It was a lot of fun to listen to them. The show originally aired from 1931 to 1954 and was very popular. 

While doing my project for Arkansas History in college, I picked them and Pine Ridge as a subject. Why? Well, I'm pretty sure it's the only town in the United States that was renamed because of a radio show.

Originally, Waters, the town was renamed Pine Ridge in 1936 after the show became so popular. Waters was near where Chester (Lum) and Norris (Abner) grew up and the town they based the show on. 

I was really surprised at how many postcards are available featuring these two interesting characters. Not only do they feature Lum and Abner, real names Chester Lauck and Norris Goff, but many also portray the town with Dick Huddleston's store (the inspiration for the show), the barbershop, as well as many other characters from the show. 

Not only radio stars, Lum and Abner also were featured in 7 movies from 1940 to 1956. 

Characters from the show also created a travelling show performing skits based on the radio show. An article from the May 10, 1939, edition of the Mountain Echo, published in Yellville, Arkansas, tells of the show coming to nearby Everton. The show was to have comedy, real hill billy music, magic, and cowboy songs. Sounds like it was an interesting show. Advertised as Dick Huddleston and his band, the show had already been on the road for several years. 

A yearly Lum and Abner festival is held in Pine Ridge, near Mena, the first weekend in June. 

A web page is also dedicated to the show with a good rundown on the history and posted hours for the museum and Jot 'em Down Store.

http://www.lum-n-abner.com