It was raining August 1, 2022 when we drove into Arkansas headed to Bentonville after a visit with Keith and Mary Reneau on Monkey Island in Oklahoma. The road got rockier immediately.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art straddles ponds fed by Crystal Springs. Admission is free, courtesy of WalMart. Located near Bentonville, AR, the permanent collection boasts hundreds of American masterpieces covering five centuries.
Our favorite artwork was Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrored Room” full of dots from a her dream of being surrounded completely by polka dots. We were allowed only 60 seconds inside the space and it was truly surreal.
Sam and Helen Walton began their march to WalMart fame in 1950 with a simple variety store called Walton’s 5&10 in Bentonville. Sam said, “The greatest measure of success, is how well we please the customer.” I can’t argue with the results.
On to Little Rock, where we met Dennis Milligan, Arkansas Treasurer of State in the Capitol building after he “photo bombed” one of our pictures in the outer halls.
Dennis took us inside the Treasury an let us hold half-a-million dollars from the vault. That’s real money! Hard not to smile holding that kind of cash.
On the Capitol grounds, were the bronzed statues of the Little Rock Nine in 1957 when they faced armed guards to secure an education. The Liberty Bell replica in the background was apropos.
Little Rock Central High School was billed as “America’s most beautiful High School.” The Little Rock Nine faced angry mobs that threw things on them, screamed racial slurs and spit in their faces. A Federal judge ruled the National Guard must stop barring their entrance. Little Rock Police were ordered to protect the students that were continually harassed verbally and physically for the entire year by students and crowds gathered outside. The courage of those kids is awe-inspiring.
There were no cell-hones in the 50s. Reporters used the Mobile station across the street from the school to call in their stories. It has been preserved as part of the Education Center Complex. Students still attend the High School.
Arkansas’ Old State House (capitol) is now a Museum. it opened in 1836, was the site for Arkansas’ Secession Convention of 1861 and was the seat of the Confederate Government until 1863 when it became a Federal headquarters.
The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum was modeled after the Long Room of Trinity College Library in Dublin, Ireland and symbolizes a bridge across racial, religious and ethnic divides.
Love him or hate him, you should read the astounding accomplishments Bill Clinton achieved during his two-term presidency before passing final judgement on him.
We posed in an exact replica of the Oval Office when Clinton was President. The docent told us Clinton said the ceiling was too low on his first visit. The architect rechecked and found it was 11-inches short.
One of the highlights of our Littler Rock visit was catching up with Sonny and Mary Janssen. Sonny was my Boss at Snow Mt. Ranch in Colorado. I haven’t seen him and Mary in 40 years.
There really is a “Little Rock” and it was the first rock spotted and named by a French Explorer in 1722 coming up the Arkansas River. For 100-years before Little Rock was a town, it marked where the river could be crossed by early settlers. I was born in Little Rock, but never knew about this rock.