Monthly Archives: October 2014

THE GREAT NEW ORLEANS KIDNAPPING CASE focus of Clinton School lecture this evening

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nola kidnapTonight at the Clinton School, a discussion by Michael Ross of his new book, The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case.

An associate professor of History at the University of Maryland. Ross offers the first full account of one of the events that electrified the South at one of the most critical moments in the history of American race relations. The book covers the kidnapping, where two African American women kidnapped seventeen-month-old Mollie Digby in front of her New Orleans home. From the moment it happens through the highly publicized investigation and sensationalized trial that followed, Ross paints a vivid picture of the Reconstruction-era South and the complexities and possibilities that faced the newly integrated society.

Ross’s book also serves as a reminder that a fascination with sensationalized trials is hardly an invention of the last twenty-five years.

The program begins at 6pm at Sturgis Hall.  Following the comments, Ross will sign his book.

LR Cultural Touchstone: Marguerite Pearce Metcalf

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MP MetcalfMarguerite Pearce Metcalf was the dean of speech and drama education in the state of Arkansas.  She taught speech and debate, first at Central, then Hall and later at Parkview from which she retired.  As a teacher and mentor, she influenced most of today’s speech, drama and debate teachers working in Arkansas today.  Though most of her colleagues and former student-teachers have now retired, the students they taught have taken Mrs. Metcalf’s influence to the third, fourth and fifth generations.

Mrs. Metcalf was nationally known for leading Little Rock and the nation in speech education and theatre.  She served as the national president of the speech organization during the 1967-68 school year.  The organization was scheduled to have their meeting in Memphis, TN but it was called off because of the assassination of Martin Luther King.  She also held many leadership roles in statewide and regional speech and education organizations.

Many of Little Rock’s political and business leaders were taught the proper ways to write and deliver speeches by Mrs. Metcalf. To start listing them all would be an exercise in futility.  It is, however, not uncommon to still hear her former students speak of her with a hushed, reverential tone.

She was also an expert in Parliamentary Procedure. As such, it is fitting that the Arkansas Student Congress award for outstanding use of Parliamentary Procedure (which includes not only knowledge about it, but also the grace and skill to be polite) is named in her honor.

An Arkansas Made Tales from the South tonight at Historic Arkansas Museum

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talesfromsouthWith a theme of “Arkansas Made,” where better to find Tales from the South than the home of the “Arkansas Made” exhibits – Historic Arkansas Museum?

The featured storytellers are Haley Villines, Alan Hale, and Denise Parkinson.  Live music is provided by Amy & Brad Williams and bluesman Mark Simpson.

“Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by Paula Martin Morell, who is also the show’s host. The show is taped live on Tuesday. The night is a cross between a house concert and a reading/show, with incredible food and great company. Tickets must be purchased before the show, as shows are usually standing-room only.

“Tales from the South” is a showcase of writers reading their own true stories. While the show itself is unrehearsed, the literary memoirs have been worked on for weeks leading up to the readings. Stories range from funny to touching, from everyday occurrences to life-altering tragedies.

Doors open for dinner, socializing at 5 pm; Live music at 6 pm; Dinner available for purchase from Southern Salt Food Truck.  Show starts at 7 pm Tickets $10

You MUST purchase your ticket before the show.

Previous episodes of “Tales from the South” air on KUAR Public Radio on Thursdays at 7pm.  This program will air on November 13.

“Really Cool Digs” is topic of tonight’s Architecture and Design Network lecture

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ADN Cool DigsIn his talk, Carl Matthews will examine the ways in which the media – television, film, advertising among them – use architecture and design to develop and project a particular image or mood. Examples abound and Matthew will share a generous sampling of them with his audience.

As head of the Fay Jones School of Architecture’s Interior Design Department, Matthews currently oversees the education of a hundred and ten students. Of that number, a majority, following graduation, will likely pursue careers in commercial design. As an educator, Matthews strives to create a link between academia and practice. Prior to his coming to the School, Matthews taught at the Universities of Texas and Kansas. He earned his Master’s degree from Pratt Institute.

The lecture starts at 6pm at the Arkansas Arts Center.  A reception will start at 5:30.

ADN lectures are free and open to the public. Supporters of ADN include the Arkansas Arts Center, the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture and the Central Arkansas section of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. For further information contactardenetwork@mac.com.

LR Cultural Touchstone: Louise Loughborough

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louise_loughborough_fLouise Loughborough could be called the mother of historic preservation and history museums in Arkansas.

Born Louisa Watkins Wright in Little Rock 1881, her ancestors included many early Arkansas leaders. At age 21 she married attorney J. Fairfax Loughborough.  She became active in several organizations including the Little Rock Garden Club, Colonial Dames and Mount Vernon Ladies Association.

Her involvement in historic structures in Little Rock began when the Little Rock Garden Club sought to improve the appearance of the War Memorial Building (now known as the Old State House Museum) in 1928. The grounds were littered with signs and monuments, and the roof of the Greek Revival building sported figurative statues of Law, Justice, and Mercy, which had been installed above the pediment after being salvaged from the Arkansas exhibit at the Philadelphia Centennial of 1876. To take the façade of the edifice back to its original 1830s appearance, Loughborough had the statues removed—without the permission of the War Memorial Commission, which had legal authority over the building.

In 1935, Loughborough was appointed to the Little Rock Planning Commission, and it was in this role that she first heard about the plan to condemn the half-block of houses that she had grown up admiring on Cumberland and East Third streets. Although the neighborhood had fallen on hard times, becoming a red-light district and slum, Loughborough feared the loss of several historic structures, including the Hinderliter House, the oldest building in Little Rock and thought to be Arkansas’s last territorial capitol. She mobilized a group of civic leaders to save these buildings. She enlisted the aid of prominent architect Max Mayer and coined the term “town of three capitols” to try to capture the imagination of potential supporters, grouping the “Territorial Capitol” with the Old State House and the State Capitol.

In 1938, Loughborough secured a commitment from Floyd Sharp of the federal WPA to help with the project, on the condition that the houses be owned by a governmental entity. She persuaded the Arkansas General Assembly to create and support, with general revenues, the Arkansas Territorial Capitol Restoration Commission (Act 388 of 1939). This satisfied Sharp’s condition, and the WPA provided labor and material for the new historic house museum. A private fundraising campaign brought in the remaining monetary support necessary for the completion of the project.

The Arkansas Territorial Restoration opened on July 19, 1941. The project was the first Arkansas agency committed to both the restoration of structures and the interpretation of their history, and it served as a model and inspiration for historic preservation in the state. Around the same time, she was a moving force behind the creation of a museum at the Old State House as well.  Today both Historic Arkansas Museum (as the Territorial Restoration is now known) and the Old State House Museum are agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

As founding Chairman of the Arkansas Territorial Restoration Commission, Louise Loughborough provided daily direction for the museum house complex through the first twenty years of its existence, yielding her authority to architect Edwin B. Cromwell only as her health began to fail. She died in Little Rock on December 10, 1962 and was buried at Mount Holly Cemetery.

Quilts, Women in Ads focus of exhibits at Historic Arkansas Museum

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In addition to the exhibit on 40 years of the Arkansas Times, Historic Arkansas Museum features several other exhibits.

The Great Arkansas Quilt Show 3 is a juried quilt show that celebrates contemporary Arkansas quilters and features more than 30 quilts from across the state. You’ll be surprised by the variety in size, technique and composition. These quilts are works of art.

Prizes were awarded for Best of Show, Best Hand Quilting and Best Machine Quilting, as well as awards in the following categories: Pieced, Appliqué, Mixedand Group.

The Great Arkansas Quilt Show 3 continues in the Horace C. Cabe Gallery through  May 3, 2015.

Group Category
1st Place Group, Buttons and Beads on a Winding Road, Bonnie Kastler, Hot Springs Village
2nd Place Group, My Carolina Lily, Phyllis Holder, Mabelvale
3rd Place Group, Reminiscence, Gail Zukowski, Hot Springs
Mixed Category
1st Place Mixed, Irish Knots and Golden Coins, Jaynette Huff, Conway
2nd Place Mixed, Feathered Friends, Darlene Garstecki, Hot Springs Village
3rd Place Mixed, Rose Cottage, Terrie Newman, Hot Springs
Pieced Category
1st Place Pieced, Forest Primeval, Karen Harmony, Eureka Springs
2nd Place Pieced, Starry Starry Bright, Donna Toombs, North Little Rock
3rd Place Pieced, Old Military Road, Victoria Kauth, Mountain Home
Appliqué Category
1st Place Appliqué, Victorian Elegance—Newel Posts and Wrought Iron, Jaynette Huff, Conway
2nd Place Appliqué, Just a Little Snack, Linda Tiano, Hot Springs Village
3rd Place Appliqué, If Only it was that Easy, Karen Harmony, Eureka Springs
Best Machine Quilting, Winter Sky, Wilma Richter, Little Rock
Best in Show, Irish Knots and Golden Coins, Jaynette Huff, Conway
Viewer’s Choice Award, Chinoiserie, Pamela Davis, Edgemont

The Thirteenth Annual Eclectic Collector Series

A Beauty on It Sells: Advertising Art from the collection of Marsha Stone

Women have been used in modern advertising since its inception.  Marsha Stone’s vintage collection of advertising materials from the late 19th and early 20th century showcases a rare glimpse into the world of advertising in days gone by.

The exhibit continues in the Study Gallery through  January 1, 2015.

 

LR Cultural Touchstone: Agnes Loewer

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Photo from Arkansas History Commission

Photo from Arkansas History Commission

Agnes McDaniel Loewer was a driving force and the first curator of the Old State House Museum.

Born June 26, 1893, in Searcy, she moved to Little Rock with her family in 1900.  After turning 18, she began her business career working for the Underwood Typewriter Company, Mayor Charles Taylor, and the Little Rock YWCA.  In 1919, at age 26, she married Charles F.W. Loewer.

Throughout the years, Agnes McDaniel Loewer was active in numerous civic organizations, devoting her business and organizational skill to a great many causes. She served as secretary, treasurer, and president of various organizations, and filled leadership roles in accomplishing goals and missions. Loewer was a member of the Arkansas Federation of Women’s Clubs, the Business and Professional Women’s City Club, the Women’s Division of the State Fair, the Arkansas Conference of Welfare Legislation, the National Youth Association, the Canteen Corps of the American Red Cross, and the Arkansas Federation of Garden Clubs, among others.
Around 1939 Loewer and Louise Loughborough lobbied daily in the halls of the State Capitol for the preservation of the Old State House. Successful in this endeavor, Loewer was appointed a member of the Arkansas Commemorative Commission of 1947, which was formed that year to oversee the restoration of the Old State House and create a future museum of Arkansas history. She served as secretary to the commission, a position that later evolved into director.
When the restoration was completed, Loewer was hired as the first curator of the Old State House, beginning July 1951.  Utilizing a small paid staff and an army of well-instructed volunteers, she oversaw the museum.  Throughout her curatorship, she promoted the Old State House as a historic shrine and tourist attraction, and continued to battle threats to its preservation.

Her interest in history extended beyond the Old State House, she was a member of the Quapaw Quarter Association, Arkansas State Historical Society, Pulaski County Historical Society, and Arkansas Landmarks.

In March 1972, she retired at age 78, after 21 years as curator.  Among the honors she received were a commendation from the Arkansas Legislative Council in 1971 for her public service; a certificate of appreciation from the Arkansas Parks, Recreation and Travel Commission in 1974; and an award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1974, presented by former first lady Lady Bird Johnson.
Loewer died on September 18, 1975 and is buried in Roselawn Memorial Park.