Monthly Archives: November 2018

Little Rock Look Back: Little Rock announced as Clinton Library site

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Refuse on the site where the Clinton Center would be built

On November 7, 1997, President Bill Clinton announced his intentions to locate his presidential library in Little Rock at the end of a warehouse district.

The Little Rock City Board met in a special meeting that day to rename part of Markham Street, which would lead to the site, as President Clinton Avenue.

While the announcement was met with excitement in many quarters, there were still some skeptics who had a hard time envisioning a presidential library and park in the middle of a wasteland worthy of a T. S. Eliot poem.

There would be many hurdles between the November 1997 announcement to the December 2001 groundbreaking. But for the moment, City of Little Rock leaders, celebrated the achievement.  Then Mayor Jim Dailey had appointed City Director Dean Kumpuris and City employee Bruce T. Moore to lead the City’s efforts.  Moore and Kumpuris worked with Skip Rutherford and others to narrow the potential sites.

In September 1997, the Clintons were in town for the 40th anniversary of the integration of Central High School.  They surprised Kumpuris and Moore with a decision for a Sunday afternoon visit to the warehouse district proposed site. Secret Service would not let the limousine drive in part of the property, so the Clintons, Moore, Kumpuris, and Rutherford walked up a path to the roof of the abandoned Arkansas Book Depository.  It was there that the Clintons could see the Little Rock skyline which would be visible from the library.

Of course by the time the library had opened in November 2004, the Little Rock skyline was different. Spurred on by the library, several new highrises had been constructed in downtown.

First Arkansas Arts Advocacy Day

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On Wednesday, November 7 at the Arkansas State Capitol, Arkansans for the Arts and the new Arkansas General Assembly Legislative Arts Caucus will be participating in the first Arkansas Arts Advocacy Day.

The day starts from 9am to 11am with sessions on Creative Economy 101 (Dr. Lenore Shoults of the Arts & Science Center for SE Arkansas), Arts Education Advocacy (Steve Holder, Vice President of Arkansans for the Arts), and Arts Funding Opportunities 101 (Dr. Gayle Seymour of the University of Central Arkansas).

From 11am to 11:30am, there will be a Creative Economy Networking Business Exchange.

From 11:30am to 12:00pm, the Legislative Arts Caucus will be introduced.  The inaugural members of the caucus come from each of the Arkansas Arts Council’s eight districts. The members are: Senators Ron Caldwell, Eddie Cheatham, Breanne Davis, Joyce Elliott, Scott Flippo, Missy Thomas Irvin, Matt Pitsch, and Larry Teague. The House members are Representatives Sarah Capp, Carol Dalby, Janna Della Rosa, Deborah Ferguson, Vivian Flowers, Michael John Gray, Monte Hodges, Reginald Murdock, and Les Warren.

In addition to the sessions, there will be an Arts Talent Showcase.  On the front steps of the Capitol building the following groups will perform:

  • Conway Junior High Choir – 9am
  • Dover High School Jazz Ensemble – 9:30am
  • Earle High School Band – 10:00am
  • Alma Intermediate School Choir I – 10:30am
  • Alma Intermediate School Choir II – 11:00am
  • (Break for Legislative Caucus introduction at 11:30am)
  • Conway High School Chamber Orchestra – 12:00pm
  • Hot Springs High School Dance Troupe – 12:30pm
  • LRSD Washington Elementary Dynamic Drummers – 1:00pm

In the rotunda of the Capitol building the following groups will perform:

  • Jacksonville Lester Elementary Choir – 9am
  • Searcy Community Youth Choir – 9:15am
  • LRSD Parkview Dance Troupe – 9:30am
  • (Break at 9:45am)
  • Dover Schools Musical Theatre – 10:00am
  • Walnut Ridge High School Choir – 10:15am
  • Ashdown High School Drama Department – 10:30am
  • Hamburg Middle School – 10:45am
  • Lakeside Middle School Girls Choir – 11:00am
  • (Break for Legislative Caucus introduction at 11:30am)
  • Russellfille High School Thespians – 12:00pm
  • Van Buren High School – 12:15pm
  • (Break at 12:30pm)
  • Hot Springs High School Choir – 12:45pm
  • Morrilton High School Show Choir – 1:00pm

Little Rock Look Back: 1911 Mayoral Election (both of them)

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The 1911 Little Rock mayoral election brought progressivism to the forefront in Little Rock’s municipal politics.

After incumbent Mayor W. R. Duley chose not to seek another term, three candidates emerged in late 1910.  The first, J. K. Riffle, was an attorney.  The second was businessman Charles E. Taylor. The third candidate was longtime alderman John H. Tuohey.  An eight-year veteran of the City Council, he had spent the past two years as chair of the Police Committee.

Riffle focused on public safety and the City’s finances.  He charged that if Taylor were elected he would be a pawn of the Arkansas Brick and Manufacturing Company, which Riffle felt had run the city for fifteen years.  Taylor had been an officer of the company but resigned before seeking office.

Tuohey ran a low-key campaign relying on surrogates to make many of his speeches. He was suffering from rheumatism during the campaign.  Mayor Duley and Police Chief Frank McMahon were identified as his advisors.

Taylor, for his part, sought to bring reforms to the City.  A staunch Southern Baptist, (he was Sunday School Superintendent at Little Rock’s Second Baptist Church), he fought against gambling, drinking, and prostitution.  He sought to improve health conditions in the City in addition to enhancing the overall moral tone.

Taylor and Tuohey both claimed to offer a “Square Deal for Laborers and Businessmen Alike.” Taylor called for dramatic changes, while Tuohey espoused the need for gradual growth.

The Democratic Primary for Little Rock was on January 12, 1911.  The election was open only to white men who were members of the Democratic Party.  The results were 1,530 for Tuohey, 1,493 for Taylor, and 506 for Riffle.  It appeared that Tuohey had won by 37 votes.

Taylor and his allies charged that there were 323 illegal votes.  He alleged that the names of dead men and African Americans had been used by voters, as well as voters from North Little Rock.  Taylor requested the poll tax lists from each of the City’s wards.

The central Democratic Committee was uncertain if it could investigate the charges or if they should go to the courts.  On January 11, the Committee agreed to handle the situation.  It gave Taylor ten days to investigate and file charges.  They planned to meet on February 8 to hear both sides and declare a winner.

On January 26, Taylor and Tuohey jointly announced they had agreed to a winner-take-all special election to take place on February 7. (By that time the number of illegal votes had shrunk to 250 after a review of the poll tax books.)

The campaign was intense with both sides holding numerous rallies and blanketing newspapers with advertisements.  Taylor mused, “if Tuohey knew he was right, why did he agree to a new race?”

Only ten fewer votes were cast in the special election than had been cast during the original primary.  The result was Charles Taylor with 1,874 votes and John Tuohey with 1,645.

The April 1911 general election was its usual anti-climactic self with Taylor running unopposed.

The Charles Taylor era of Little Rock, which would last eight years, was about to begin.

Still Time to RSVP for NPR’s Steve Inskeep’s “Rule of Law” lecture in conjunction with US Marshals Museum

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This week is the final week to RSVP for next Monday’s program featuring NRP’s Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep.

The United States Marshals Museum will host him for a “Rule of Law” lecture in Little Rock on November 12.

As part of his remarks, he will discuss the impact then and now on the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The free and open to the public lecture at UA-Little Rock’s Jack Stephens Center will begin at 6 p.m.

Inskeep is the co-host of Morning Edition, a nationally-broadcast daily news program on NPR public radio. Inskeep is the author of Jacksonland, his 2015 historic account on President Andrew Jackson’s long-running conflict with John Ross, a Cherokee chief who resisted the removal of Indians from the eastern United States in the 1830’s. In 1839, Ross’ wife Elizabeth “Quatie” Ross fell ill on the Trail of Tears and died in Little Rock. Her headstone lies in Little Rock’s Mount Holly Cemetery. Inskeep is also the author of Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi, a 2011 book about one of the world’s great megacities.

Former United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Judge Morris “Buzz” Arnold will introduce the program and moderate the question-and-answer session. Event sponsors include UA-Little Rock, Sequoyah National Research Center, KUAR-Radio and NPR.

“We’re excited to bring Steve Inskeep to Arkansas,” said Alice Alt of the U.S. Marshals Museum Foundation. “We are all huge fans of his at the museum, and we’re looking forward to hearing his insights on the Rule of Law, one of our nation’s constitutional bedrock principles and a major part of what the museum will be about.”

The Museum, set to open in the fall of 2019, will focus on civic literacy and the Rule of Law, and feature five immersive galleries – Defining Marshals, The Campfire: Stories Under the Stars, Frontier Marshals, A Changing Nation and Modern Marshals.

Admission is free, but an RSVP is required by November 9 to https://theruleoflaw.eventbrite.com/.

About the United States Marshals Museum

The future United States Marshals Museum will be a national Museum located on the riverfront in Fort Smith, Ark. Opening in the fall of 2019, the United States Marshals Museum will tell the story of our nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency from its establishment by President George Washington through current day. The Museum will honor the sacrifice of Marshals killed in the line of duty, as well as those who continue to place their lives in harm’s way, as they enforce the Constitution. For more information, visit usmmuseum.org.

RIP Donna Axum

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News outlets are reporting that Arkansas’ first Miss America, Donna Axum, has died.

A native of El Dorado and a student at the University of Arkansas, during her reign as Miss America Miss Axum (or simply Donna as the newspaper headlines referred to her) made four public visits to Little Rock.  As the first Miss Arkansas to become Miss America, the state’s Capitol City was very interested in giving her a warm welcome.

After being crowned on September 7, 1963, Axum’s first official visit to Arkansas was November 1 through 3.  In addition to stops in Hot Springs and El Dorado, she appeared in Little Rock to attend events including an Arkansas Razorback football game at War Memorial Stadium.  Her entourage included the top four runners up from the Miss America pageant.

In February 1964, she made a brief appearance in Little Rock which included a press conference.

Donna Axum spent nearly two weeks in Arkansas in May 1964 attending several pageants as well as spending time with family.  During that visit she appeared in Little Rock twice.  The second time she headlined a concert with the Arkansas Symphony (not related to the current Arkansas Symphony Orchestra) and the Arkansas Choral Society. It took place at Robinson Auditorium.

Little Rock Look Back: Civic Leader Adolphine Fletcher Terry

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Adolphine Fletcher Terry was born on November 3, 1882 to former Little Rock Mayor John Gould Fletcher and his wife Adolphine Krause Fletcher.

Raised in Little Rock, in 1889 she moved into the Albert Pike House on East 7th Street, when her aunt transferred the title to her father. That house would be her primary residence the rest of her life.  Her sister Mary Fletcher Drennan never lived in Arkansas as an adult after marriage. Her brother John Gould Fletcher spent much of his adulthood in Europe before returning to Little Rock and establishing his own house, Johnswood.

At age 15, Adolphine attended Vassar. She later credited that experience as broadening her views on many issues.  After graduating at age 19, she returned to Little Rock.  Her parents both died prior to her 1910 wedding to David D. Terry, which took place at what was then known as the Pike-Fletcher House (and today is known as the Pike-Fletcher-Terry House).

She is perhaps best known today for establishing the Women’s Emergency Committee in 1958 and for her subsequent deeding of the family house to the City for use by the Arkansas Arts Center.  But her entire life was based on civic engagement.

She was instrumental in establishing the first juvenile court system in Arkansas and helped form the first school improvement association in the state. She was long an advocate for libraries, serving 40 years on the Little Rock public library board.  Through her leadership, the library opened its doors to African Americans in the early 1950s. Today a branch of the Central Arkansas Library System (the successor the Little Rock public library) is named after her.  Another branch is named after her Pulitzer Prize winning brother.

Adolphine formed the Little Rock chapter of the American Association of University Women, the Pulaski County tuberculosis association and the Community Chest.

In 1958, when the Little Rock public high schools were closed instead of allowing them to be desegregated again, she called Harry Ashmore the editor of the Gazette and exclaimed, “the men have failed us…it’s time to call out the women.”  With this, she formed the Women’s Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools. This group played a major role in getting the four high schools open the following year.

From 1933 to 1942, David Terry served in the U.S. Congress. During that time, Adolphine alternated her time between Washington DC and Little Rock. But she spent much time in Little Rock raising her five children.

After her husband’s death in 1963, she continued to remain active in civic affairs. In the 1960’s, she and her sister deeded the Pike-Fletcher-Terry House to the City of Little Rock for use by the Arkansas Arts Center upon both their deaths.  Following Adolphine Fletcher Terry’s death in 1976, Mary turned over the title to the City.

Adolphine Fletcher Terry is buried in Mount Holly Cemetery alongside her husband. Three of her children are also buried in that plot.  Her parents and brother are buried in a nearby plot.

Her granddaughters and their families carry on Adolphine Fletcher Terry’s commitment to making Little Rock better.

Little Rock Look Back: Chartering of City of Little Rock

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On November 2, 1835, the Town of Little Rock became the City of Little Rock upon the signature of Territorial Governor William S. Fulton.  The Town of Little Rock had been established on November 7, 1831.

The new charter deemed that the election of officers (including a mayor and eight aldermen) would be on November 10 at the Pulaski County Courthouse. To be eligible to serve, candidates had to be free white men who were aged 30 and above.

The charter established a constable and a court system, gave the City the ability to levy fees and fines, and provided the fact that the City would not have responsibility for maintaining county roads.

This transformation cut short David Fulton’s term as mayor of Little Rock by two months. Mayor Fulton was the father of Governor Fulton. So the governor signed legislation which shortened his father’s term as mayor.  James Pitcher would be elected the first mayor of the City of Little Rock.