Tag Archives: Department of Parks Heritage and Tourism

Election Day: Go On the Stump at the Old State House

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Twenty years ago, on Election Day 1992, the eyes of the world were on Little Rock.  That evening William Jefferson Clinton strode out through the front doors of the Old State House Museum and delivered his acceptance speech after being elected the 42nd President of the United States.

On this election day, you can visit the Old State House and visit the permanent exhibit they have on Clinton’s presidential announcement in 1991 and the election nights in 1992 and 1996.  You can also view the exhibit “On the Stump” which looks at campaigns in Arkansas from 1819 through 1919.

In 1819 when the Arkansas Territory was created, the elimination of property requirements for voting combined with the raucous spirit of the frontier produced a new style of mass participation in American politics. The results were crude and often vulgar, but thoroughly democratic. This manifested itself in Arkansas politics less centered on political parties of Arkansas and the ideology of citizens than on the personalities of those involved. So personal were the politics of the times that political campaigns often culminated in duels.  The exhibit was curated by Dr. Carl Moneyhon, Professor of History at UALR.

The Old State House is a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.  It is open from 9am to 5pm Monday through Saturday and from 1pm to 5pm on Sunday.

 

Arkansas Statehood Celebration – Saturday

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Tomorrow, the Old State House and Historic Arkansas Museum will present a salute to Arkansas’ statehood. These two museums of the Department of Arkansas Heritage will offer a glimpse of what life was like during the 1836 Presidential election, the first one after Arkansas became a state.

Visitors will have the chance to experience the politics, entertainment and commerce of the period. From 9am to 12 noon the program will be at Historic Arkansas Museum. At noon, participants will parade from the Historic Arkansas Museum to the Old State House waving flags and banners for the presidential candidate of their choice. The program will continue at the Old State House until 5:30pm.

There is no admission charge. Visitors will also be able to cast votes in a mock election.

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Architeaser – June 14

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Yesterday’s Architeaser was a cast iron shutter dog in the shape of a bunch of grapes. It can be found on 3rd Street on the campus of Historic Arkansas Museum. Other structures on that campus have shutter dogs in the shape of stars, this building is the only one with the shape of grapes. Histories Arkansas Museum is a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Since today is Flag Day, here is today’s Architeaser.

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Sculpture Vulture: George Rose Smith

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Continuing with the Sculpture Vulture focus on famous Arkansans during Arkansas Heritage Month, today’s feature is George Rose Smith.  This sculptural plaque is located in the garden at the main building of the Central Arkansas Library System downtown campus.

Created by John Deering, it showcases Justice Smith sitting in his judges robe with pen in hand. In the background is a large crossword puzzle grid.  This sculpture pays homage to the fact that Justice Smith was both a respected member of the bar as well as an author of crossword puzzles.

In his final opinion from the Arkansas Supreme Court before he retired, he embedded a message using the first letter of each paragraph to spell out his farewell.  A masterful puzzle constructor, he authored puzzles which appeared in The New York Times.  Little Rock District Judge Vic Fleming carries on this tradition of being a published puzzle author as well as judge in Arkansas.

Justice Smith was the scion of a family of Arkansas attorneys. His grandfather Uriah Rose, a longtime partner at the law firm which now bears his name, was a delegate to the Hague.

Below the sculpture is this inscription:

Judge George Rose Smith

1911-1992

Wordsmith Extraordinaire

New York Times Crossword Puzzle Author

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice 1949-1987

Second Friday Art Night

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Tonight is the monthly Second Friday Art Night.  Among the many stops on the way is Historic Arkansas Museum, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

In keeping the May being Heritage Month, HAM is opening an exhibit tonight which showcases three Arkansas artists who celebrate Arkansas’ history. In the Trinity Gallery for Arkansas Artists the exhibit is called Creating the Elements of Discovery: Tim Imhauser, Jason Powers and Emily Wood.

The exhibit will run through August 5. Each artist’s approach makes way for a subtle discovery, into object, person and place.

Little Rock sculptor Tim Imhauser’s wood pieces reveal the nature of the wood’s grain as he, through sculpting, enhances those patterns to tell its story. Ozark artist Jason Powers’ graphite drawings capture the small expressions of human emotion, while he continues to pursue diversity in the subject matter and media of his art. Little Rock artist Emily Wood expresses a sense of a place in her landscapes, drawing inspiration from her southern Arkansas upbringing.

Down the street from HAM at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, two exhibits will be highlighted:  Arkansas Arts Educators State Youth Art Show 2012 plus Small Town: Portraits of a Disappearing America.

The Arkansas Art Educators State Youth Art Show 2012 includes the Best of Show winners from art competitions held in seven different regions in the state: Northwest, Northeast, Central, Eastern, Southwest, Southeastern, and Western. The artwork was created by talented students from kindergarten through twelfth grade.

The photographic exhibition Small Town: Portraits of a Disappearing America will also be opening.

 

Sculpture Vulture: Fred Darragh Jr.

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May is Arkansas Heritage Month.  In keeping with that, the Sculpture Vulture in May will feature sculptures of Arkansans.

Today is a sculptural plaque of Fred Darragh, Jr. which was created by John Deering.  It depicts Mr. Darragh in standing in a suit with a wry smile on his face and his hands casually resting in his pockets.

Over his right shoulder is an image of a the earth with a plane circling it.  This pays homage to Mr. Darragh’s status as a pilot as well as his interest in world travel.  It also pays tribute to his belief in a common humanity which unites people of all ages, races, backgrounds, and economic statuses.

Accompanying this sculpture is a plaque which says:

Fred Darragh, Jr.

(1916-2003)

pilot, veteran, businessman, world traveler, philanthropist, civil rights advocate, library trustee, raconteur, supporter of the first amendment, and friend of the oppressed.

The sculpture is displayed near the entrance to the Darragh Center in the Central Arkansas Library System’s main building.

UALR Evenings In History concludes 2011-2012 series tonight

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The UALR Evenings with History program concludes the 2011-2012 series tonight with Edward Anson’s “Counter-Insurgency: The Lessons of Alexander the Great.”

During Alexander the Great’s conquering expedition, which took him from Greece to Egypt to the Punjab, he only endured one serious insurrection against his once established authority.  This talk shows how he dealt with the peoples of the areas he conquered, mollifying them through the retention of basic political, cultural, and religious institutions and establishing close bonds with local elites. Why, then, did his policy fail in the one instance that produced an insurgency? The talk assesses that failure and examines the brutal counter-insurgent measures employed by Alexander to deal with this resistance to his authority.

Edward M. Anson has authored or edited five books, including Eumenes of Cardia: A Greek Among Macedonians (Leiden, Boston, Tokyo: E. J. Brill, 2004), more than thirty articles in journals, including Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, The Journal of Cuneiform Studies, The Journal of the American Oriental Society, Classical Philology, Historia: Zeitschrift für alte Geschichte,  Phoenix, Classical Journal, Greece and Rome, Ancient Society, Ancient History Bulletin, The Ancient World, and The American Journal of Philology; ten book chapters, and over fifty encyclopedia articles.  He received his PhD from the University of Virginia and is  currently Professor of History, a faculty senator, and a former President of the University Assembly.

The Evenings with History take place in the Ottenheimer Auditorium in the Historic Arkansas Museum at 200 E. Third Street. Refreshments are served at 7:00 p.m., and the talk begins at 7:30 p.m.

Corporate sponsors for the 2011-2012 season are Delta Trust, Union Pacific Railroad, the Little Rock School District—Teaching American History Program; the law firms of Friday, Eldredge, & Clark and Wright, Lindsey & Jennings. Also thanks for support and gifts in kind from the Ottenheimer Library; Historic Arkansas Museum, a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage; UALR Public Radio–KLRE-KUAR; and Grapevine Spirits