Roam - October 2018

®

ROAM

OCTOBER 2018 DoSouthMagazine.com

CONTENTS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / OWNER Catherine Frederick CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Scott Frederick MANAGING EDITOR Marla Cantrell CONTRIBUTING WRITERS / PHOTOGRAPHERS Marla Cantrell Catherine Frederick Dwain Hebda Jade Graves Megan Lankford Carrie Morgridge Tom Wing Jessica Sowards John Swinburn GRAPHIC DESIGNER Artifex 323 - Jessica Mays PROOFREADER Charity Chambers

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PUBLISHER Read Chair Publishing, LLC

ADVERTISING INFORMATION

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INSIDE 18

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TRICK OR TREAT Those little goblins and ghoulies will love this adorable DIY candy dish you can make in a flash! It’s absolutely boo-tee-full!

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THE UNEXPLAINED WORLD

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MAYOYAYASE!

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In downtown Van Buren, in an unassuming office, the Arkansas Ghost Hunters of Crawford County meet to talk about this mysterious world and what abides in it.

Their stories may leave you afraid of the dark!

These cooler temperatures have us craving spicy food! We have a trove of them for you, including Fish Tacos with Avocado Oil Mayo with Chipotle and Lime.

Yummy!

HIGH ON MOUNT MAGAZINE Explore the beauty of Arkansas’ highest peak as we take you along on this grand adventure. Then, plan a trip to Mt. Magazine to see one of the most iconic views in the state.

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Catherine Frederick - 479.782.1500 Catherine@DoSouthMagazine.com

EDITORIAL INFORMATION Marla Cantrell - 479.831.9116 Marla@DoSouthMagazine.com ©2018 Read Chair Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. The opinions contained in Do South® are exclusively those of the writers and do not represent those of Read Chair Publishing, LLC. as a whole or its affiliates. Any correspondence to Do South® or Read Chair Publishing, LLC., including photography, becomes the property of Read Chair Publishing, LLC. Do South® reserves the right to edit content and images. Printed in the U.S.A. | ISSN 2373-1893 Cover Image: everst

FOLLOW US Annual subscriptions are $36 (12 months), within the contiguous United States. Subscribe at DoSouthMagazine.com or mail check to 4300 Rogers Avenue, Suite 20-110, Fort Smith, AR, 72903. Single issues are available upon request. Inquiries or address changes, call 479.782.1500.

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letter from the editor

As I write to you, it’s nearing the end of September,

Author Carrie Morgridge stops by with an adven-

and the temperature outside is a sweltering

ture story about her recent trip to Lake Ouachita.

eighty-nine degrees, which feels closer to one

Carrie and her husband were traveling from

hundred. It’s hard to believe we are less than

their winter home in Florida to their summer

one week away from the official start of

home in Colorado and decided to stop in

my favorite season of the year, fall! The

Arkansas for a little camping and biking.

temperature outside doesn’t match the

She was amazed at the beauty of our state

thoughts swimming inside my head. Tall boots

and by our biking trails!

and knitted scarfs. Crackling fires and steaming pumpkin lattes. A kaleidoscope of leaves gently

Essayist Jessica Sowards shares Carrie’s love of

falling to the ground that will soon crunch beneath my feet. I am a fall girl, through and through. I’m a girl

Arkansas. She and her family are building a farm here, learning lessons about agriculture and love. This

who must be talked down from buying mums when it’s still too

month, she’s sharing her story of being an introvert who just

hot and the girl who decorates the porch and the inside of the

happened to marry a man who is one of nine siblings. Today, she

house for the season way too soon.

adores being a part of that noisy, happy group.

I’m ready to break out the crockpot and bake pies. I’m ready

Historian Tom Wing tells the story of General Benjamin Bonnev-

for Halloween candy and Thanksgiving planning. And for fall-

ille, whose history is linked to Fort Smith, even though he was

scented everything from Bath and Body Works. I think what

born on the outskirts of Paris, France, in 1796. Before you read

draws me to this season are the good old memories, the stories

Tom’s story, see if you can name all the local places with Bonn-

that come rushing back as strong as the autumn winds. All it

eville in their names.

takes is that first smell of orange and cinnamon.

I could go on and on, but I think I’ll let you read the remaining I was thinking of fall as I read Dwain Hebda’s story about Mt.

stories for yourself. Be sure to check out our Women’s Guide

Magazine State Park, the highest point in the state. You haven’t

to learn more about the great products and services available

experienced the majesty of Arkansas until you sit on the patio at

from our wonderful local businesses. They are one of the reasons

the lodge and look below at the Petit Jean River and Blue Moun-

Arkansas is such a great place to live!

tain Lake! It’s one of my favorite places.

Until next time, keep reading and have a safe Halloween. I’d love Our managing editor, Marla Cantrell, takes on October and

to see your fall photos, be they you and your kiddos in costume

Halloween as she visits Van Buren for a talk with a real, live ghost

or gorgeous fall décor. Send them to me at editors@dosouth-

hunter. Rodney Inman shares his story of a haunted house and

magazine.com. Bringing Do South® to you each month makes

the family that reached out to the Arkansas Ghost Hunters of

me so happy, I can’t wait to see what brings joy to you!

Crawford County to help. What happened next will make you sleep with the lights on for a while!

~Catherine

Follow Do South® Magazine

To reserve this free space for your charitable non-profit organization, email: Editors@DoSouthMagazine.com.

Spaghetti Dinner & Silent Auction

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poetry

EMOTION LINEs John Swinburn

I struggle to speak a language with no syntax, no grammatical armada to shepherd me in to port.

Colloquial mistakes in this vocabulary can be fatal to the unschooled linguist, drunk with misplaced appreciation for words with no definition, carelessly assigning meaning to gibberish phrases and noisy chatter.

This difficult tongue is awash in unintelligible sentences, a writhing patois able to drown even the native speaker in a tidal pool of his own making.

The only way to avoid its deadly currents is to quiet the conversation and remain mute, safely out of reach of its relentless, ravaging floods.

Try as I might, I find myself unable to endure silence, the only safe harbor from the idiom’s storms.

The allure of the language bathes my self-imposed aphasia in an unwelcome cure, a powerful elixir that overcomes my desire for silence, replacing it with an overwhelming need to read its dictionary, aloud.

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calendar

OCTOBER

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Submit your events to editors@dosouthmagazine.com Sparks Stampede Van Buren runsignup.com

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This certified 5K/10K Race and Fun Walk is on the 6th. There’s also a packet pick-up and supper on the 5th, from 5-7pm at Sparks Medical Center - Van Buren.

St. Boniface Annual Lawn Social Fort Smith stbonifaceschool.org

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The National Historic Site fills with food trucks, an antique tractor show, kids’ games, face painting, living history encampments and even free cake and ice cream, from 10am-4pm.

This is the 131st annual lawn social at St. Boniface in downtown Fort Smith.

Great food, an auction, train rides, face painting, games, and live entertainment from 5-10pm.

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Fort Smith Fall Festival Fort Smith nps.gov/fosm/index.htm

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TH Pollinator Arts and Crafts Festival Fort Smith learningfieldsatcc.org The Learning Fields at Chaffee Crossing, 7300 Gardener Avenue, is the site for this festival with arts and crafts, honey, food, plants, and original artwork from 9AM to 4PM. There will be lectures on pollinators and self-guided tours of the gardens.

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Fall Festival Van Buren vanburen.org Historic Main Street welcomes more than 200 vendors with everything from fire artwork to antiques. Great food, live entertainment, and carnival rides, which start on the 12th. The festival is on the 13th and 14th.

calendar

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Red Shoe Shindig Fort Smith rmhcofarkoma.org This black-tie optional event includes a four-course meal, specialty cocktails, live music, a live auction, all to benefit the Ronald McDonald Family Room at Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith.

Taste of Fort Smith Fort Smith facebook.com/Altrusa-International-of-Fort-Smith-Arkansas

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Try scrumptious food and drinks at Altrusa’s Taste of Fort Smith at the Fort Smith Convention Center from 11am-1pm, and 5:30-7:30pm. Tickets available at 1st National Bank or at the door.

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Unexpected Fort Smith unexpectedfs.com This is the 4th year for The Unexpected, which brings in world-renowned artists to paint murals and install sculptures in downtown Fort Smith. See website for locations and accompanying events.

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of Fort Smith

Tuesday, October 16 Lunch 11am-1pm Dinner 5:30pm-7:30pm

Survivors’ Challenge/ Over the Edge Fort Smith reynoldscancersupport.org It is the Donald W. Reynolds twenty-seventh Survivors’ Challenge featuring a 10K, 5K, and celebration walk, along with the third annual Over the Edge Rappelling Event, off the Arvest Tower on Rogers Avenue.

Fort Smith Convention Center

Come & Sample from the Area’s Finest Restaurants, Caterers, Food and Beverage Purveyors Benefitting:

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Murder and Mayhem Haunted Trolley Tours Fort Smith 479.783.7841 Ride the trolley and learn the haunted history of downtown Fort Smith on October 25, 27, and 31. There’s also a haunted trolley tour WITH a progressive dinner at the Bonneville House and the Clayton House on October 26 and 29.

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community

Our Community Cares words Do South® staff

The Community Services Clearinghouse has been serving the River Valley for almost 40 years providing food assistance to fixed income families and cancer referrals from the Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House. They are best known for their Meals for Kids Backpack program which is celebrating thirty years of service. Their motto is: “No Child Should Ever Go Hungry.” They provide over 2 million meals a year and deliver a bag of nutritious food to at-risk children each Friday of the school year, and serve Community Services

Crawford, Sebastian, Franklin, Logan, and Scott counties of Arkansas as well as Leflore

Clearinghouse, Inc.

and Sequoyah counties of Oklahoma. Do South® sat down with Chuck Goux, executive director of the Clearinghouse, to talk about their mission.

4420 Wheeler Avenue P.O. Box 1522

DS: How did the Community Services Clearinghouse get its start?

Fort Smith, AR 72902

Chuck: Back in 1979 a group of local leaders united to bring together services in the area

(479) 782-5074

and remove duplication. The Clearinghouse became the point of contact using caseworkers

csclearinghouse.org

to assist clients and make referrals. The pantry was added in 1982, and the Backpack Program came to life in 1989.

DS: Who comes to you for help?

Chuck: Any public school in the seven counties we serve can contact us for assistance Next month, we’ll showcase another worthy charity in our area. If you have a non-profit you’d like to see recognized, email us at editors@dosouthmagazine.com.

through the Backpack Program. Our pantry is “Hands Up” in that we focus on elderly, disabled, and cancer patients that are on fixed incomes.

DS: How many people did you serve last year?

Chuck: We served 3,000 kids per week with our Backpack Program and more than 25,000 family members out of our pantry. More than 2 million meals were provided.

DS: What do you see as the community’s greatest need?

Chuck: Children are the future of our community and making sure they have the necessary food over the weekend is critical to their educational success as well as how they relate to our community.

DS: How can Do South® readers help?

Chuck: Get involved by volunteering, hosting a food drive, and/or donating to the Clearinghouse or United Way of Fort Smith.

DS: Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

Chuck: We hope the public gets educated about our organization and spreads the word to others.

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pets

FALL IN LOVE F

M

M

F

Rosie

Gohon

M

Shelley

M

Teddy

3800 Kelley Hwy., Fort Smith | 479.783.4395 |

Doggo

Traye

| adoption@hopehumanesociety.com

Each month, Do SouthÂŽ donates this page to local and regional non-profit animal shelters. If you work with a shelter and would like to reserve this space, please email editors@dosouthmagazine.com.

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entertainment

Fierce Kingdom

By Gin Phillips Penguin Books | 274 pages | $16 review Marla Cantrell

Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips opens on a mild day in October,

Her cellphone is equal parts good and evil. It can connect her to

when Joan is at a zoo with her young son, Lincoln. It is just before

her husband, who may be able to alert police to her whereabouts.

five in the afternoon, and the two are in the Dinosaur Discovery

But it can also, through sound and light, tell the killers where she

Pit where Lincoln is playing with his super-hero action figures,

is. Joan silences her phone, texts her husband, and waits.

acting out battles where good always prevails.

Lincoln whispers many questions, some about his rumbling The zoo will close soon, and Joan tries to hurry Lincoln along. At

stomach—it is well past his dinnertime by now—and others

four years of age, he’s not the easiest person to persuade, but

about the nature of man. Why would anyone want to kill them?

Joan makes a deal with him. When they get to a certain spot in

She does her best to answer, to keep her voice low, and then

the park, she will pick him up and carry him the rest of the way.

she hears the agitated voices of two men, just above her, talking about their killing spree.

Joan hears small explosions here and there that she believes are fireworks, but when she gets within view of a line of scarecrows

Her mind scrambles to take it in. There are at least two killers

installed for Halloween, she notices several have been knocked

instead of the one she saw near the entrance. How many more

over. When she looks again, she realizes the scarecrows are actu-

could there be?

ally people, mortally wounded or nearly so.

You’ll have to read Fierce Kingdom to see what happens next. I Then, she sees a lone gunman kick in the door of the

will say that this is the most terrifying book I’ve read to review.

women’s restroom.

I think it’s because the book is equal parts a portrait of motherhood and horror story.

The exit is too far away, so her only choice is to turn and run back to the animal exhibits. Since the zoo is familiar to Joan—

Each chapter starts with a time stamp, beginning at 4:55 in

she has taken Lincoln here regularly since he was born—she

the afternoon and ending at 8:05 in the evening. Every second

has some inside information, such as which animal enclosure

counts, and every minute could bring a misstep that ends Joan

is currently empty.

and Lincoln’s lives.

She believes if she can get there, she and Lincoln might survive.

If you’re brave enough, this is the book for you. Just plan to

Joan is balancing her tone with Lincoln. He has to know enough

read Fierce Kingdom in one or two sittings, because it’s impos-

to understand he has to be quiet, but she can’t frighten him so

sible to put down.

much he will break out in sobs. She tells him as much of the truth as she can, and then she tries with all her might to keep him calm.

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community

This year, as Fort Smith celebrates its bicentennial, author and historian Tom Wing will be sharing stories of our city’s past in each edition of Do South®.

BEING BENJAMIN BONNEVILLE words Tom Wing, Historian and Author IMAGEs courtesy Fort Smith Museum of History

“Generations yet unborn shall know the record of his name.”

What do a street in Las Vegas, a Pleistocene-era lake, a dam, a

a little extra money. The houseguest happened to be Thomas

GM automobile, a crater on Mars, a WWII Liberty ship, and a

Paine, an influential writer during the American Revolution

Triumph motorcycle all have in common? If you guessed they

who published the famous pamphlet, Common Sense, in 1776.

were all named for Benjamin Bonneville, you are correct. Let’s

Paine took a liking to young Benjamin, and upon his death,

not forget there is also an elementary school and a historic

willed Marguerite an estate in New York with the purpose of

house in Fort Smith, a salt flat in Utah, and there’s even an

bringing Benjamin to the United States to be educated.

origin story that claims Booneville, Arkansas, would have been named for him, if not for an error in spelling.

After coming to the States, Benjamin attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in two

So, who was this man?

years, was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant, and was sent to a small, isolated post on the frontier named Fort Smith. In 1824,

Benjamin Bonneville was born in 1796, on the outskirts of Paris,

the Army abandoned Fort Smith. The newly promoted Captain

France. Benjamin’s grandfather had served in the court of Louis

Bonneville and the troops relocated approximately seventy-five

XVI. His father Nicholas was a publisher and was imprisoned for

miles up the Arkansas River to Fort Gibson in Indian Territory.

a time for writing in opposition to Napoleon Bonaparte. Nicholas and Benjamin’s mother, Marguerite, took on a boarder to make

Around this time, Bonneville was granted leave and traveled

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community

to France as the guest of the Marquis de Lafayette. When he

Bonneville's 1851 Colt Navy Revolver

returned, he was transferred to Jefferson Barracks at St. Louis.

Inspired by tales of the American West, Bonneville sought and gained another leave of absence to explore and acquire beneficial military intelligence.

Bonneville explored parts of Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, as well as Mexico, and Wyoming before his return. The explorations occurred between 1831-1835. Having sent a request for his leave to be extended, Bonneville returned to St. Louis to find out his letter had not arrived, nor his extension granted. In

Benjamin Bonneville

fact, he had been decommissioned. Bonneville was eventually reinstated when he presented a wealth of information benefitting military goals in the west. The information proved vital to American interests in the Northwest Territories where England was still a threat, as well as in the Southwest where a war was on the horizon.

Also upon his return, Bonneville met and entered into an agreement with Washington Irving, author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. Irving had published some stories about the west and eventually wrote The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, covering the captain’s recent travels.

In the 1840s, Bonneville married Ann (of whom little is known).

The two had a daughter. Mary Irving Bonneville. From 18461848, Bonneville served with the U.S. Army in Mexico. He was in the middle of the action next to Martin Scott (of Fort Smith fame) at the Battle of Contreras and wounded at the Battle of Churubusco where Robert E. Lee carried him from the field.

In 1861, after another assignment to Fort Smith, two stints in New Mexico, and some time in St. Louis, Bonneville retired from

Bonneville House was restored in the 1960s and today hosts

the Army. He was called back quickly with the onset of the Civil

numerous receptions, dinners, and parties.

War, and from 1862-1865 served at St. Louis. 1862 would be tragic for Bonneville as his wife and eighteen-year-old daughter

General Bonneville’s epitaph on his tombstone at Bellefontaine

both contracted yellow fever and died. He was promoted to

Cemetery in St. Louis, aptly describes the essence of the man.

Brigadier General in 1865 but retired from military life for good

“Here lies one whose deeds have not escaped the pages of fame,

the following year.

generations yet unborn shall know the record of his name.”

He married his second wife (Sue Neis) and moved back to his

That prophesy did indeed come true.

familiar surroundings, living in Fort Smith until his death in 1878. His return to live out his days in our city is another reason we claim him as our own. His widow bought the house that

Special thanks to Leisa Gramlich and Caroline Speir with the

bears his name and lived there until her death in 1910. The

Fort Smith Museum of History for their help with this story.

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shop

Spooky Good Finds! words Catherine Frederick imageS Jade Graves Photography and courtesy vendors

Hearts On Fire Stackable Wedding Bands in 18kt Rose, Yellow and White Gold, and Platinum

JOHN MAYS JEWELERS 479.452.2140 Hobknob Wicked Chardonnay Limited Edition, Anejo Skelly 100% De Agave Ultra Premium Tequila, Bulleit® Bourbon Frontier Whiskey

SODIE’S WINE & SPIRITS 479.783.8013

Oticon Opn™ Pink Edition Hearing Aids, in Support of Breast Cancer Awareness

Sagely Naturals Headache CBD Roll-On and Hemp CBD Spray, Natures Plus HempCeutix™ in Sleep, Complete, and Stress, Andalou Naturals CannaCell® Cleansing Foam

CENTER FOR HEARING

OLDE FASHIONED FOODS

479.785.3277

479.782.6183 / 479.649.8200

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shop

It’s practically scary how amazing our finds are for October! Check out some of our favorites below, then pay our friends at these local shops a visit for all your seasonal needs. Be sure to shop local, and tell them Do South® sent you!

Eyeware by Tom Ford

DR. STEVEN B. STILES OPTOMETRY 479.452.2020

SkinCeuticals Prevent and Correct Skincare

ARKANSAS VEIN CLINICS & SKINCARE 479.484.7100

The Beautifully Blended Soleil Mimosa® in Pineapple, Classic, and Mango

IN GOOD SPIRITS 479.434.6604

Halloween Décor & Travel Mug

JENNIFER’S GIFT SHOP AT SPARKS HEALTH 479.441.4221

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diy

words and images Catherine Frederick

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diy

Want to know my favorite fall candy treat? A bowl full of candy corn mixed with peanuts! That mix is the perfect addition to this month’s DIY – a Halloween candy dish. It comes together quickly, would make a great gift, and you can even customize it for other holidays or celebrations!

MATERIALS

6” terra cotta pot

Terra cotta saucer

Wooden knob

Fish bowl/glass jar

Craft adhesive (i.e. E6000)

Hot glue/glue gun

Spray paint

Embellishments for decorating

METHOD 1.

Paint the OUTSIDE of the terra cotta pot, saucer and knob. I used a gloss spray paint, but you can use acrylic paint if you wish. DO NOT paint the inside of the saucer (the lid). Candy will be exposed to the lid, so ensure safety by not painting the inside, tape it off if necessary. Once paint has dried, proceed to next step.

2.

3.

Affix glass jar to the terra cotta pot with craft adhesive. Place something heavy on top for at least eight hours to let dry completely.

Using hot glue, affix knob to the saucer. Decorate your jar and/or pot with embellishments such as ribbon, stickers, or vinyl. Fill jar with candy and enjoy!

After the Accident

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lifestyle

My Favorite T hings Do South® Magazine Reviews

words Catherine Frederick Images courtesy vendors

With my kiddo back in school and holidays fast approaching, my focus turns to healthy lunches, family dinners, changing out seasonal décor, and finding unique Christmas gifts for friends and family. I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite things that will catch your eye and hopefully make it to the top of your Christmas list!

Pillow Candy I love this collection of seasonal, holiday, and trendy felt icons that wrap around throw pillows to change the look without having to buy a new pillow! You get an extra-thick, layered, and removable felt icon, an adjustable 4” cotton ribbon dyed to match the felt, and a shiny heart-shaped enamel pin to secure the ribbon around the pillow. Pillow Candy fits pillows up to 22” wide. Even their whimsical packaging is adorable with a large open window that’s ready to pop in a gift bag and go!

$25.00 each, pillowcandy.com

Cuchina Safe™ Cover ‘N Cook and Lid Reheat, steam, and cook! This vented glass lid is a versatile 2-in-1 microwave plate cover which fits on top of most dinner plates and when flipped over is a baking dish! Glass vented lids are healthier alternatives to plastic in the microwave and as splatter guards, help keep your appliances clean. Durable for temps up to 450 degrees in the oven, it won’t retain odors, stains or bacteria and can be used and washed repeatedly without sacrificing shape or durability.

$29.95 each, cuchinasafe.com, also available at amazon.com, HSN, and The Grommet

FrogLog® Critter Saving Escape Ramp Provide an escape route from the pool for frogs, turtles, mice, chipmunks, squirrels, lizards, and other small creatures! FrogLog® keeps your pool clean and saves animals too. If you’ve ever experienced the heartbreak of removing a small lifeless creature from your swimming pool and wondered if there could have been some simple way to prevent this, then FrogLog® is for you.

$20.99, fizzics.com, also available at Target, Best Buy, Brookstone, Amazon.com

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lifestyle

Fizzics® Waytap Perfect for your kitchen or home bar, this portable beer tap dramatically improves the quality, flavor, taste and mouthfeel of bottled and canned beer (even 64oz growlers) by using micro-foam technology. Fizzics ® enhances the flavor and aroma of all beer styles, including IPAs, pilsners, stouts, porters, and lagers. It’s lightweight, durable, and perfect for outdoor activities, camping, tailgating, and more! It operates on only 4 AA batteries and does not require CO2 or nitro cartridges, replacement parts, or ongoing refills to operate!

$99.99, fizzics.com, also available at Target, Best Buy, Brookstone, Amazon.com

NurturMe The Tummy Friendly Brand Parents looking for healthy, dairy-free, organic snacks for their kiddos need look no further than NurturMe products. Their dairyfree, organic yogurt alternative is the first organic yogurt made from non-dairy quinoa milk, coconut cream, and pea protein.

Easy to digest, vegan, and packed with three grams of plantbased protein, with no added sugar. The Ancient Grain Cocoa Cookies are gluten-free with no egg, soy, or guilt! Kids will love the taste and fun shapes, and parents will love the probiotics that support good digestive health.

Price varies. Visit their website at nurturme.com for stores, also available at amazon.com

Jumpsmart The most practical vehicle jump starter on the market. For use at home and on-the-road to ensure peace of mind everywhere drivers go. Beyond its jump start features, this 8W, 1100 Lumen LED Flashlight has 4-modes with S.O.S., and a 150-meter reach and is the perfect tool for daily use, traveling, outdoor activities, and emergencies. It also can charge your USB devices at a 2.4A when you run out of power and can be recharged up to 1,000 times!!

$119.99, limitlessinnovations.com

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people

Not an Island Words Jessica Sowards image courtesy Katie Opris

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people

N

No man is an island. At least, that’s what I’ve heard. For a while, I argued with that stance. John Donne penned his oft-quoted poem and posed a decent stance for man’s need for relationships, but I wasn’t so sure. Then I considered the fact that it was God who first said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” And while I might be willing to argue with John, I’ve learned the hard way how well it goes when I argue with God. I am an introvert. These days, it’s a pretty embraced thing.

There are plenty of articles explaining the woes of the introverted, and truly I’m glad for it. Having an understanding of your own needs makes a world of difference in relationships,

"Allowing yourself to need people

and for a long time, I had no idea why long spells of social interaction made me feel like a tire with a slow leak. But now I do.

I am not shy. In fact, daily, I upload videos to YouTube and speak to thousands of strangers. I have no issue speaking in front of crowds, and I can even handle myself fairly well at a crowded party. But if you watch closely, you may notice that I excuse myself to the restroom fairly frequently.

Introverts are familiar with bathrooms. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found myself sitting on a person’s fuzzy bathmat with my head leaned up against the wall and my eyes closed. Just for a moment enjoying my own private space before putting the smile back on and heading back out into the crowd.

See, I can do social interaction. I can do public speaking. I can do hugs and conversation and questions. But it costs something. Extroverted people are recharged and energized by interaction, but for people like me, every bit of it is like a withdraw from a bank and when the balance reaches zero, forget about it. Game over. Shut down.

I can feel it coming. When the days have run together into weeks and having five sons that need me for five million things a day has piled on top of having an incredibly extroverted husband and a social media presence that promises several hundred messages and questions every day. My

and to receive the help and friendship of others makes life so much easier."

goodness, I feel anxious just telling you about it. It snowballs, multiplies, throbs like some nearly exploding thing.

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people

I know myself well. I know what I need in those moments.

badge. It was WHO I WAS. But the offers of help and commu-

When I’m overwhelmed, I need to take some time, an after-

nity kept coming, and eventually, I leaned into them, and I

noon, an evening. I go spend some alone time with Jesus. Or

learned something about myself. Allowing yourself to need

go disappear into the corner of a coffee shop, or I just sit in my

people and to receive the help and friendship of others makes

garden until I can breathe again. The calm always comes back.

life so much easier.

I tell you all of this so you understand that, by my own nature,

I realized that for a long time, I’d rejected my need for commu-

I really enjoy time alone. I require it. And there was a time

nity because I didn’t want to be let down. I didn’t want to be

in my life that being alone dictated many of my choices. I

hurt. I didn’t want to need someone else because I couldn’t

was the kid in high school who spent lunches in the library

count on other people like I could count on myself. In short, I

reading. Through my teenage years, when many of my peers

was broken and afraid. And all it took to drag that brokenness

wouldn’t even walk across the school hallway without first

into the light were some people who had learned to depend

employing the company of a friend, I was spending entire

on their relationships.

afternoons in city parks and coffee shops entirely by myself.

However, at some point along the way, my need for space and

I still enjoy my time alone. I really do need it to feel refreshed.

quiet became the walls that defended fear in me. That is until

But I can’t tell you how thankful I am that I’ve learned to

I changed my last name to Sowards.

need community too. I’m thankful that I’ve learned to step out of my comfort zone and grocery shop in the company of

My husband, Jeremiah, comes from a big family. He’s the third

someone else. I’ve learned to open my home to a group of

of nine kids, and while like all families, they have their intri-

boisterous extroverts regularly, and though they give me the

cacies and dysfunctions, they are really close. I’ve belonged

grace to disappear to my room when the crowd is too much

to his family for nearly a decade now, long enough that I

to bear, they know I’m glad they’re there.

comfortably call them my family and don’t feel anything amiss in saying it. My transition into being a Sowards was relatively

Living in community, being vulnerable in relationships, and

smooth. They embraced me from the beginning but being

allowing myself to need other people has sincerely taught

embraced by a huge, loud, extroverted family that had built

me the value of tearing down my carefully erected walls and

lives where they needed each other was like learning another

denying what I may be tempted to call “my nature.” It’s led

language. One that required some really tough introspection.

me down the road of examining many of my mindsets and questioning why I think the way I think. It’s been a difficult

Early on in our marriage, Jeremiah’s mom and siblings would

walk, but one that has brought me a tremendous amount of

offer to come over and help with my laundry, they’d spend the

peace and understanding about what I need to thrive.

night at our house and just hang out for long spells. And I was bewildered. When his precious mom would ask if I wanted to

I am an introvert, but I am no island. No man is, at least, that’s

do our grocery shopping together or ask if I wanted company

what I hear.

on errands, I would think, Why?! I wore my introversion like a

To watch Jessica’s garden tours, visit her YouTube channel, Roots and Refuge

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garden

words Megan Lankford, Lead Horticulturist, Botanical Garden of the Ozarks Mike Marquez

THE DIRT:

Bekir Donmez

Kevin Lessy

october in the Garden

By mid-October, the nighttime temperatures are cold enough to warrant bringing in your beloved houseplants. I carry mine in when the temperature dips into the forties. Some would say this is not necessary, but I don’t like to stress my houseplants more than I have to. Bringing them indoors and reducing the amount of light they get can be shocking enough. Giving them the best care year-round reduces the likelihood they’ll get diseased, or get pests such as spider mites.

TIPS: If you’ve had your houseplants for many years, some may be getting quite large. Luckily many houseplants are very forgiving of being pruned and will leaf back out in the spring. Monstera deliciosa, commonly called split-leaf philodendron, is tough and naturally grows as a vine. You can successfully over-winter this plant while only leaving one or two leaves. If you have a lot of space, you can leave it larger. However, if you don’t have a lot of space, don’t be scared to prune it back hard before you bring it in for the winter. Try not to take off more than one-third of the foliage in a given year.

YOU CAN PLANT: All trees Shrubs Perennials that are hardy at least one

The tried and true peace lily can easily outgrow its container in just a few short years. Although I recommend waiting until spring to repot or divide any of your houseplants, you can cut off many of the leaves to shrink their size and watering requirements. When you do repot it, be sure to choose a container that’s not much larger than the root ball. Peace lilies like to be a little crowded.

Be sure to cut off any dead foliage when bringing them inside for the winter.

Pothos is another easy-to-care-for houseplant that can be cut way back when you bring it in for winter, or really anytime it gets too leggy or long. Simply snip it back to the length and shape you want, pull off any dead leaves, and it will continue to grow. Be sure to reduce your watering schedule, as it won’t need as much with less foliage.

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hardiness zone north of your own

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R

WORDS and image of Van Buren Marla Cantrell

Rodney Inman, now in his mid-fifties, is a preacher’s kid. He

When he speaks, his voice is soft enough that I worry my

works at a manufacturing plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and has

recorder won’t pick it up well. I slide the recorder across the

done so for most of his adult life. A decade ago, his shoulder

desktop with my fingertips.

gave out, and he had a series of surgeries to correct it. He wears wire-rimmed glasses, a red ball cap, a red t-shirt, work boots. He looks like a guy who might have played football in high school.

His nickname is Hot Rod.

He is explaining ghosts to me, and hauntings big and small.

As the head of Arkansas Ghost Hunters of Crawford County, he believes the earth houses an otherworldly dimension certain people, such as himself, can detect and navigate.

Right now, Rodney is sitting at his desk in his office across from the Boom-a-Rang Diner on Main Street in Van Buren, Arkansas.

It is not without danger.

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people

A few years ago, he answered the call of a family in rural

Once they returned, Rodney used salt, thought to have purifying

Crawford County. They’d moved into a wicked old house.

properties, on the doorways, window frames, the edges of

A passel of young spirits lived there, but they were not the

rooms. He did this cautiously, leaving a corner in the back

problem. The owners could hear the young ones sometimes,

bedroom, effectively trapping the menacing spirit in a corner. A

milling about, their childlike voices barely audible. The owners

boom came next, breaking the quiet of the day, slamming like

would find things moved from where they’d left them. Harmless

a rock that rocketed against the side of the house.

pranks. But they could feel another spirit as well, a dastardly phantom that frightened them to no end.

At the same time, one of the team members said she saw the spirit, a dark form like a man, fly to the doghouse outside.

Rodney and his crew went to investigate. In the days before, they had searched historical records to see what might have happened there, if someone had been murdered, or if the land was marked with sorrow. They believe there was a battle fought in that area back in the 1800s. They had little else to go on.

It was a scratch-your-head situation until Rodney was told that the former tenants had turned their backs on God, seeking instead all the darkness they could find. Found on the property, in a wooded area, was a pentagram carved into the ground with a circle of trees around it.

Part of the process to cleanse the house used sage and cedar incense, and Rodney, his heart now a drum that beat too fast, asked those with him to bring their tools. They met at the doghouse, circled the structure, and continued their work.

Soon, there was a whooshing sound from the entrance of the doghouse, as if something were slicing through the opening and taking flight. Above, in the trees that stood sentry from the house to the woods, Rodney says a murder of crows had landed, forming a row of ebony witnesses. As the spirit sailed by, one crow after another called out, not in a typical “caw”

When the ghost hunters arrived, Rodney did what he always

sound. Instead, they squawked, one after another in their

does; he asked God to protect him from evil. Inside, the air was

scratchy bird voices, “There he goes. There he goes.” When

heavy, a force that pushed against his limbs that felt leaden

the evil was finally past the tree line, the crows grew silent.

as he walked. The crew took out their instruments, special recorders, and cameras designed to pick up an orb of ghostly light unseen by the naked eye, or a sound not typically heard.

Inside the house, all that cloying weight had been lifted. The air moved easily through the open door. It felt as if the property had been covered by a raging storm system that dissipated in

Rodney says one of the women in that group could

an instant.

communicate with ghosts. She talked to the youngsters who reported something ominous had happened to their mother.

The apparitions were looking out the window calling to her.

They seemed to be from an earlier time, again, from the 1800s.

Whatever had befallen their mother, whether at the hands of man or a wild beast, her spirit had moved on.

return (in the light of day) to cleanse and bless the house, a ritual that should chase the evil spirit away and free the young

Included in the group was an ordained minister.

“They’ve gone out the door.” Flying away in the exact opposite direction of the evil spirit.

A week later, the homeowners reported no additional sightings.

Rodney’s team regrouped and came up with a plan. They would

ones to move on.

The woman who’d been communicating with the children said,

Peace had been restored. No more reason to dread the hours when darkness fell.

While that house was frightening, Rodney says he’s not typically afraid of what lies in the ether around us. Ghosts, like people, are often more good than bad. He says that mostly they are earthbound by a tragic death, by a message they still have to deliver, by an unwillingness to move on.

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Downtown Van Buren

Rodney says he and the other Arkansas Ghost Hunters of

As for what Rodney has encountered on the second floor,

Crawford County were able to help, just as they do each time

he says their equipment has picked up spirits screaming in

they’re asked, never charging for a service they see as crucial.

the hallway, a young woman letting them know she died by hanging, and another snippet of a sentence: “shot with a gun.”

They also do tours of places with mysterious circumstances. On October 13 and 27, beginning at 9pm, Rodney and his team will

None of the ghosts seem to want to move on, or the team would

lead a tour of the Van Buren building where the Boom-a-Rang

gladly help them do so. Instead, they listen, letting them say as

Diner operates on the first floor. He says the building, circa late

much as they can. Sometimes, he thinks, that’s all they want.

1800s, was built by the Anheuser-Busch company. He suspects a seedier history, saying he was told by a source he finds credible that the second floor once housed a brothel. There is even a spot remaining in the diner where Rodney says the men used to deposit coins to alert the women upstairs of their presence.

My calls to a well-known historian, and a member of a local genealogical society did not confirm Rodney’s information, although, the person from the genealogical society said she’d long heard the story of a brothel on that spot.

In other spots along this historic avenue, ghost stories abound, and Rodney knows most of them. Some are bone-chilling.

Others simple tales that could be shared around a campfire.

He sees the world not as air and ground, water and fire. It is as thinly veiled as an overcast day in October. From time to time the clouds dissipate enough to see what is beyond, as clearly as you can see the car beside you. The hand held up as a greeting.

I also spoke with Krystal Cruise, a server at the Boom-a-Rang,

The flash of the traffic light telling you to move on.

who, after being asked if she thought the upstairs was haunted, said, “I think the whole building is haunted.” She went on to tell of hair-raising experiences, the most frightening being a

The Arkansas Ghost Hunters of Crawford County will lead a tour of

moment when she was alone in the dining area and a picture

the old Anheuser-Busch building on October 13 and 27, beginning at

“flew off the wall.” She also mentioned a photo she’d seen of

9pm. Tickets, $15 per person or $20 per couple, can be purchased

a possibly Victorian-era woman dressed in red peering out the

the day of the tour from the group’s headquarters at #10 South 6th

window where the kitchen/serving area is now. Rodney had

Street in Van Buren. For details, call 479.262.2659.

showed me the exact photo just days before.

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lifestyle

☐☐ Drink lots of apple cider (sometimes spike it) ☐☐ Plant bulbs for next spring ☐☐ Decorate my front porch & door for fall ☐☐ Visit a pumpkin patch – buy the biggest one ☐☐ Carve and decorate pumpkins ☐☐ Roast pumpkin seeds (my special recipe) ☐☐ Visit our farmer’s market ☐☐ Read a good book ☐☐ Make lots of homemade soup ☐☐ Cook in my crock pot ­— a lot ☐☐ Check out a local fall festival

check out Editor-in-Chief

☐☐ Drive around and enjoy Arkansas’s fall foliage

Catherine Frederick’s

☐☐ Snuggle under blankets

☐☐ Take a hayride ☐☐ Make white chicken chili

fall

(and the regular kind too)

☐☐ Make chicken and dumplings

(my Mamaw’s recipe)

☐☐ Get lost in a corn maze

bucket list

☐☐ Jump in a pile of leaves ☐☐ Bake an apple pie ☐☐ Bake a pumpkin roll ☐☐ Make caramel apples ☐☐ Attend a high school football game ☐☐ Take a family hike in the woods ☐☐ Make fall crafts ☐☐ Go trick-or-treating ☐☐ Bake cookies for my neighbors ☐☐ Make s’mores ☐☐ Volunteer as a family ☐☐ Pop popcorn the old fashioned way ☐☐ Buy new fall candles ☐☐ Eat breakfast for dinner ☐☐ Take a family photo for Christmas cards

Find Catherine’s recipes at DoSouthMagazine.com

☐☐ Get my boo on at a haunted house ☐☐ Count my blessings

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travel

Finding Bliss on a Bike Lake Ouachita State Park

words Carrie Morgridge images courtesy Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Carrie Morgridge

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T

Two summers ago, my husband, John, and I biked the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, a mountain bike journey across

Lake Ouachita

North America from Banff, Canada, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico (a border crossing on the Mexican Border). The ride was hard, but we have an adventurous spirit and we just love to bike. So, after this incredible ride we bought a small RV, and now we frequently take trips, with our touring bikes strapped to the back. Recently we traveled in our RV as part of our annual journey from our winter home in Stuart, Florida, to our summer home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Our trip began with rainy weather for five continuous hours on Interstate 10. We were traveling on mostly major interstates, and after that tedious wet trek, we made the decision to drive on more scenic roads and chose to take Highway 61 N in Louisiana as it parallels the east side of the Mississippi River. We were able to stop for lunch at a small lake, inflate our kayak and go for a swim. It was after lunch that I was able to find our spot for the night at Lake Ouachita State Park in Mountain Pine, Arkansas.

This is where the great adventure begins.

I don’t know why we were surprised by the hills in Arkansas. The trees are tall and grand, there is frequent rain, which keeps the grasses and flowers green and lush. Getting off the major interstate was a great decision, and something I highly recommend if you have the time. I was able to book our campsite online and lucky for us there were three sites left. Lake Ouachita is thirty miles in length and looked quite large on our paper map. The lake has almost 1,000 miles of shoreline. It’s clean, huge and has many fingers of water to navigate.

When we arrived at our campsite, families were barbequing dinner, kids were on their bicycles, and happy dogs greeted us.

The campground was pristine, and our site backed up to the lake and was a quick downhill jaunt. We took our dog, Nina, to play in the lake before dinner.

As I made supper in the RV, John started the campfire. After dinner, we sat in our oversized comfy chairs, listened to music by the campfire and played with our dog. Nina is a very cute toy Australian Shepherd, only twelve inches in height and has two blue eyes, so she attracts many people to come over to play with her. That night was no different, and as the kids played up and down the camp street, they would all stop by and play with DOSOUTHMAGAZINE.COM

John Morgridge and Nina

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Nina and talk with us. Personally, I just love all the kid voices and hoots and hollers when we camp. It brings back so many great memories of my own youth.

The magical part of the evening happened when the sun started to set and the fireflies came out. There must have been over a hundred in the forest between us and the lake. Every second a spark of light would go off from the fireflies, and it felt like magic fairies were in the woods playing tag.

When we got up in the morning, it was already pretty warm.

We headed down the steep trail to the lake waterfront with our chairs and let Nina play in the water while we drank our first cup of coffee. The sun danced on the smooth water, and the birds sang as we enjoyed our surroundings.

John had found a trail near our campsite called the Caddo Bend Trail. It didn’t even register with me that this might be a hard or

gears on my shifter. I wanted to go faster, but I was concerned

technical bike ride. So I geared up for a simple ride on the lake.

that I was wearing a baseball cap instead of my helmet, so I had

In Steamboat Springs, where we reside in the summer, the lake

to slow down. There were so many places we had to get off

has a great single track. It is fairly flat and a great place for first-

our bikes and walk, and one of the highlights was biking across

time mountain bikers to learn how to navigate. I guess that is

small, narrow bridges along the trail. After eighty-six minutes of

what I was expecting.

riding and dripping sweat, we bailed out of the woods onto the service road to get back to the RV as we knew we had a long

The route was just four-point-five miles long, so how hard could

day of driving ahead. Before we left, we stopped at a great local

it be? I biked in my tank top, no helmet, no gloves, and sneakers.

hangout on our way back to the interstate called Patty’s, located

No sunblock, no water. I was prepared for a simple ride. John

in Royal, right outside of Hot Springs, where I had grilled catfish

hooked up our homemade bike basket for Nina so she could

and coleslaw (which Patty herself says is better than KFC!). You

come with us.

have to stop here when you’re in the area.

As we left the campsite, the first down then uphill had pretty

Who would have thought that there would be such challenging

decent inclines. I just assumed this was unusual for the “quick”

mountain biking in Arkansas? Next time, I will be more prepared.

bike ride we were taking. The route continued to get harder,

We wish we could have stayed longer, but had to get back on the

tighter, more technical. The lake was to our left and incredibly

road to meet family back in Colorado. Until next time, Arkansas.

picturesque. We found ourselves on cliffs, between trees, and in

We will be back!

ample places to jump logs, sticks, and rocks.

I looked down at my watch to see that in forty-five minutes of riding, dripping in sweat, we had not even covered one mile.

This was epic mountain biking, and I was not prepared, which was a total bummer. I was so sweaty that my hands kept slipping off the handlebars, and I didn’t have the grip to change

Carrie Morgridge serves as the Vice President and Chief Disruptor of The Morgridge Family Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to invest in transformative gifts for educators and youth. Carrie is the awardwinning author of The Spirit of the Trail: A Journey to Fulfillment Along

the Continental Divide.

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taste

MayoYAYase!

WORDS Catherine Frederick images courtesy BetterBody Foods

What if I told you a healthy, tastier mayonnaise existed? One that’s non-GMO, soy and canolafree, contains no gluten, is dairy-free, made with cage-free eggs, is all-natural, and Paleo and Keto diets approved. Introducing Avocado Mayonnaise from BetterBody Foods! BetterBody Avocado Oil Mayo comes in three flavors: the original Avocado Oil Mayo, Avocado Oil Mayo with Chipotle and Lime, and Avocado Oil Mayo with Lime. If you love the smooth texture and taste of avocado, you’ll want to try this exciting new mayonnaise on your sandwiches, potato salads, sauces and dressings. Order yours from betterbodyfoods.com or check your local health food store!

Thanks to BetterBody, we are sharing some delicious recipes. We also highly recommend the Chipotle and Lime Mayo on your next BLT. Enjoy!

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Avocado Mayo Dill Dip INGREDIENTS – ½ cup sour cream – ½ cup BBF Avocado Mayo – 1 Tablespoon dried dill weed – 1 Tablespoon dried parsley – ½ teaspoon celery salt

METHOD Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. Refrigerate dip for at least one hour. Enjoy with your favorite veggies!

Elote - Mexican Street Corn INGREDIENTS – 4 ears of corn – 8 Tablespoons BBF Avocado

Mayo with Lime

– ½3 cup Cotija cheese – 2 limes – Chili powder

METHOD Grill or boil corn. Once corn is cooked, spread a bit of mayo over each ear of corn, about 2 Tablespoons each. Add a generous amount of Cotija cheese on the corn, making sure it covers all sides. Sprinkle with a little bit of the chili powder and lime juice.

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Banh Mi with Sriracha Mayo INGREDIENTS – ½ cup BBF Avocado Oil Mayo with Lime – 1-2 Tablespoons Sriracha – 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs – ¼ cup coconut aminos, or soy sauce – 1 Tablespoon honey – 1 teaspoon sesame oil – 1 teaspoon sambal oelek garlic chili paste – 1 baguette – 1 cucumber – Cilantro – Matchstick carrots – White onion

METHOD Place the chicken and marinade ingredients (coconut aminos, honey, sesame oil, garlic chili paste) in a small bowl or bag and place in the fridge. Marinate chicken for at least an hour and up to 24 hours. In a small bowl, mix the Mayo and Sriracha. Remove chicken from the fridge. Heat up your grill or pan. Cook chicken. Thinly slice the onion and cucumber.

Cut the baguette once in half, then down the middle of each half, to create two sandwiches. To assemble your sandwiches, spread the Sriracha Mayo on each side of the bread.

Place the chicken on top of the bottom piece of bread, top with desired amount of vegetables. Place top piece of bread on, to sandwich everything in the middle.

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Fish Tacos with Avocado Oil Mayo with Chipotle and Lime

INGREDIENTS – 2 fillets white fish

– Juice of 1 lime

– ½ cup BBF Coconut Flour

– 1 clove garlic, minced

– ½ teaspoon cumin

– 8 corn tortillas

– ½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

– Cilantro

– Salt & pepper

– Sliced radish

– BBF Avocado Oil

– Limes

– ½ cup BBF Avocado Oil Mayo

with Chipotle and Lime

METHOD Add 1 inch of oil to medium sized pan and heat until it reaches 350°. Cut fish fillets into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper. In small bowl combine the coconut flour, cumin, and Old Bay Seasoning. Mix to combine. Place cut fish into bowl with the coconut flour mixture. Using a spoon, mix to coat each piece. Once oil is hot, carefully place coated fish into oil. Cook until golden brown on each side. Remove and place on a plate with paper towel to absorb excess oil. Place all sauce ingredients into small bowl, mix to combine. To assemble tacos, place a spoonful of sauce in the middle of the tortilla, spread it around. Place 2-3 pieces of fish on each tortilla, top with a couple of sprigs of fresh cilantro and radish slices.

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Blood Orange Margarita

image Ekaterina Kondratov recipe adapted from foodandwine.com

ingredients > 1 qt. fresh blood orange juice

or fresh orange juice (about 12 blood

oranges or 8 large navel oranges)

> 1 ¾ cups fresh lime juice

(about 12 limes)

> 1 ¾ cups Cointreau > 3 ¾ cups silver tequila > 1/2 cup simple syrup > Kosher salt > 1 blood orange or orange wedge,

plus 12 thin blood orange or

orange slices, garnish

> 1 dozen small sage or rosemary sprigs > Ice

method In large pitcher, combine blood orange juice, lime juice, simple syrup, Cointreau, and tequila. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Rim glasses with kosher salt. Place ice in pitcher, stir and pour into glasses. Garnish with orange slice and herb sprig.

Always drink responsibly.

Never drink and drive.

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travel

High on

Mount Magazine WORDS Dwain Hebda Images courtesy Arkansas Parks & Tourism

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In the unspoiled splendor that is Mount Magazine, it should be no surprise to come across wildlife. Even so, rounding a curve to see a mama and baby deer nonchalantly nibbling by the side of the road still causes one to pull the car over.

The fawn, just a few paces from the doe, and shrouded in its white, dappling spots, looked at me with the quizzical expression of a toddler. Neither seemed particularly concerned by my presence, eventually sauntering across the road to the next mouthful.

If nature like this is your thing, Mount Magazine State Park is your place. This 2,200-acre slice of prehistoric Arkansas, at 2,753 feet, includes the highest point in the Natural State.

Annexed under the protection of the Ozark National Forest in the 1930s, the mountain became a state park in the 1980s. About a decade later, the state entered into a unique partnership with the USDA Forest Service that allowed limited development and shared management. As part of this agreement, less than one percent of the summit plateau was developed.

Mount Magazine is one of the earliest recorded landmarks of Arkansas, thanks to Bernard de la Harpe’s 1722 expedition up the Arkansas River. Roughly a century later, renowned botanist Thomas Nuttall explored the Arkansas River creating detailed maps and cataloging native flora and fauna, including what was then known as Casstete, or Tomahawk Mountain, today Mount Magazine.

Settlers came to the higher slopes after the Civil War, in part due to the cooler temperatures. It wasn’t long before enterprising types launched development projects to attract tourists and lodges and cabins sprung up by the dawn of the twentieth century. The earliest of these, Skycrest Inn and Buckman Inn, promised breathtaking views and crisp mountain air. They delivered just that until the Great Depression sapped people of money for leisure and rendered the hotels (along with most other private holdings) unto the government for unpaid taxes.

All of the original settlements are gone now, save for a few stone fences and wagon ruts, but the idea of sleeping in the clouds never really went away and has reached its zenith with The Lodge at Mount Magazine. This awe-inspiring, sixty-room masterpiece is crowned by a panoramic vista out back of the valley, featuring the meandering Petit Jean River and sparkling Blue Mountain Lake. A restaurant, indoor pool, and high-

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speed Internet come standard. Farther up the paced mountain lane are thirteen fully equipped cabins offering one- to threebedrooms with fireplaces and equally stunning views off of covered back decks with hot tubs.

Beyond these amenities, most of the rest of the park has been turned back to Mother Nature’s whims and wiles. Wildflowers bob and dance in the breeze, insects hum and flitter, majestic raptors glide like ballet dancers. All of this is taken in at a slower pace on the mountain, and it’s captured in photographs, framed by conversation, breathed in. Across picnic areas and campgrounds, families connect; as the sun sinks, the campfires rise with the smell of roasting hot dogs and laughter, wrapped in a cocoon of star-crusted night sky.

Mount Magazine offers some fourteen miles of hiking trails, winding through the various woods and glades. Road cycling is permitted throughout the park and mountain biking is permitted on Will Apple’s Road Trail and Huckleberry Mountain Horse Trail. The latter, thirty-four miles winding through the Ozark National Forest, is also open to horseback riding (bring your own mount).

There are also multiple scenic overlooks for taking in the view.

One particularly interesting spot is the amphitheater, first constructed to accommodate sunrise services. It’s a prime spot for taking a souvenir photo of your adventure.

It should be noted that visiting such an ecologically pristine spot as Mount Magazine demands certain common-sense precautions. Bears have successfully repopulated on the mountain to the point that you see warnings everywhere about approaching these animals or leaving food unsecured at picnic areas, cars, and cabins. Keep your children and pets close to you, not just for the wildlife but because there’s often not much between you and thin air, especially at the scenic overlooks.

Of course, there is a percentage of visitors to the park for whom the edge of a cliff is merely the starting gate for their brand of adventure. For these, Mount Magazine also delivers.

At designated spots, rappelling, rock climbing and bouldering take center stage, including the mountain's south bluff overlooking the Petit Jean River Valley and its 1,500-foot-wide Mount Magazine Lodge

stretch of sandstone boasting more than one hundred routes up to eighty feet high. Or, you can go all the way and hangDOSOUTHMAGAZINE.COM

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Mount Magazine State Park

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glide off the cliff at a designated point, soaring into the vast river valley below.

Once off the mountain, be sure not to miss some other oneof-a-kind attractions. The charming community of Paris, Arkansas, serves as the base camp for Mount Magazine-goers and here you will find the Cowie Winery and Vineyards. This intimate operation offers a museum, bed and bath and chapel in addition to producing award-winning wines. Don’t miss Robert’s Port Wine, a competitive darling both at home and abroad, or Trish’s Passion, the winery’s best seller.

Also in the vicinity is Prestonrose Farm and Brewery, a certified organic “Beer Farm.” New York transplants Liz and Mike Preston have converted the generations-old Rose family farm into an agricultural operation that supplies local farmer’s markets with produce and herbs as well as a rotating tap craft brewery that’s a must for beer-lovers. Consumption is prohibited on the premises, but tastings are held to help you decide what to put in your growler. Plans are in the works for an expanded brewery, taproom and restaurant as well.

Finally, no trip to this part of the state is complete without a stop at Subiaco Abbey, a Benedictine monastery perched and gleaming on the top of a hill just to the east of Paris. The 140-year-old community welcomes tourists, pilgrims and the just plain curious with a fascinating look at monastic life. Be sure to take home a bottle of signature hot sauce or a tin of peanut brittle, both of which are Subiaco’s claim to fame.

Mount Magazine State Park 16878 AR-309 Paris, AR 479.963.8502 arkansasstateparks.com/parks/mount-magazine-state-park

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48

southern fiction

Where the Tigers Sleep FICTION Marla Cantrell

T

Twenty-three-year-old Bessie Turner grabs her keys from a hook

she imagines her daddy sitting beside her, one arm across the

by her front door and holds them to her chest for a few seconds.

back of the seat, the toe of his work boot raised, as if he were

The light here is dim, but outside, this October day is all red

ready to slam the brakes should she need him to.

leaves and blue skies.

When he died two years ago, Robbie, who’s a year older than

She left the washing machine running, and as she jumps in

Bessie, got the house trailer and the land that went with it. She

the seat of her old Ford Bronco, she hears the rinse cycle start,

got the Bronco. She shakes her head, thinking of last night’s

pushing a whoosh of soapy water from a pipe inside the house

conversation, of her brother’s want of the little piece of her

straight onto the yard.

daddy she’d been given.

The rearview mirror needs to be adjusted. Her brother Robbie

The SUV is loud and rough as it plows through the rutted road

was the last one to drive the Bronco, and he’s a foot taller than

that leads to Alma. Bessie likes the way her hands vibrate on the

Bessie. When he brought it back last night, he offered her fifteen

steering wheel when it really gets going.

thousand for it, but Bessie, who could use the cash, didn’t She’s wearing her daddy’s favorite belt buckle made of brass and

consider his offer for a New York minute.

a polished stone that’s aqua green with gold flecks. The markThe Bronco is orange with black interior, circa 1977, the year her

ings make it look like sand falling through an hourglass. It’s one

daddy bought it new when he was just sixteen. She learned to

of the few things she took from the house after he died. The

drive in the old monster. This morning she decided to skip work.

buckle, a shoebox of photos, and an old bottle of his pain pills

She looked out her bedroom window, saw the SUV, and decided

that she keeps in her purse in case some hurt or the other gets

it needed a drive through the country. As she starts the motor,

to be too much.

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southern fiction

Bessie swings the old Bronco onto the two-lane highway that

“Now, that’s the thing,” Jackson says, his voice husky as all

etches through the mountains from Alma to Fayetteville. On

get-out. “That doesn’t work for me at all.”

her thin wrist, a sling of bangles rattles. She checks her face in the rearview mirror. She has hazel eyes. Black hair. A line that

Bessie passes a sugar maple with leaves as red as a campfire.

looks like a shot arrow on her forehead. She smiles a half-smile,

The mountains smell like earth and pine. Just beside the road is

an act that’s supposed to make you feel better even when you

an election sign that reads ‘Trust Ted,’ and she remembers her

don’t. She checks the smile, decides it looks ridiculous, digs in

grandma’s warning: Never trust a man who says trust me.

her purse for lip gloss and swipes it on.

“I don’t give a damn what you want,” Bessie says, her words a In the last year of his life, her daddy installed a CD player, rigged

different kind of fire, and ends the call.

it to the Bronco’s dash with bailing wire and duct tape, and bought a collection of sad old country songs that could make a

Jackson overplayed his hand. He thought he had some kind of

teetotaler take to the bottle. Bessie turns it on, and Jim Reeves

hold over Bessie because she never complained. Because she

starts singing “He’ll Have to Go.”

praised every small thing he did for her. What he didn’t know is that you can’t break a heart that’s already broken.

The song is about a man calling his ex from a pay phone inside a bar, asking her to tell the guy she’s with to hit the road.

The Bronco still smells like her daddy. Drugstore aftershave that’s overblown with menthol and cedar. Cigarette smoke.

As the Bronco climbs, the landscape changes. The trees in the

Pine and oak shavings from the furniture factory where he

hill town of Mountainburg are shaking their heads, scattering

worked nights for as long as Bessie could remember. One day

red and orange and yellow leaves to the ground. A big yellow

the smell will go away. The thought feels like an iceberg inside

dog ambles across the road, a dog who looks like its name

her stomach.

should be King or Brando. When she honks, the dog eyes her The CD has made its rounds from heartache to heartache and

as if it’s thinking Who died and made you boss?

back again. Marty Robbins whined about his mistress, the Devil The school’s marching band is practicing on the football field,

Woman who caused him to stray. Tammy Wynette advised

and Bessie can hear the jaunty notes of what sounds like “Eye

women to stand by their men. Patsy Cline fell to pieces.

of the Tiger.”

As for Bessie, she drove on, through the Boston Mountains, Her cell phone rings and she picks it up. “What do you

past Ozark Folkways in Winslow where the hippies have knitted

want, Jackson?”

clown-colored sweaters for the old trees out front, have made sleeves for the lowest branches.

“Just thinking about the other night.”

When she was a year old, a tornado came through, hit the “What about it?” Bessie says, her voice sharp as sewing needles.

little house they were living in at the time, during a freak storm in February. The twister lifted the roof and sucked her

“Well, you know, the whole ‘seeing other people’ talk kind of

out, still in her crib. Bessie’s been told she was too young

got off track.”

to remember what happened after, but she knows she does.

Her daddy stepping over what she now thinks were downed

“I think it was exactly on track,” Bessie says. “And I think you

power lines, the glow of his flashlight big as the moon. She

should see all the other people you want because you won’t be

can see it still, the round of light catching her eyes, moving up

seeing me again.”

and down the length of the white crib.

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49

50

southern fiction

Bessie heard her daddy shout, “Thank you, thank you, thank

From inside the church, she can hear a piano playing, a woman

you!” a statement she thinks was aimed at Jesus. He then called

singing. She raises up on her elbow, feeling like someone who’s

out to a group of other folks who’d been searching. Bessie’s crib

been caught, but then she decides she’s not doing anything

was stuck in an ancient pecan tree, wedged between two strong

wrong anyway.

limbs. She was barely even wet.

The song is “I Saw the Light,” and the woman singing has the There is a spot a few miles up the road. A piece of land with a

voice of the mountains. You can smell woodsmoke in her words.

white church with a sagging roof and a bell on top. It has always

You can hear bacon frying on a Sunday morning.

looked like a postcard to her.

Bessie puts her head back down and goes still. Clouds tumble She pulls over, letting the one truck behind her speed by. She

across the sun, and she lies in shadow. She wonders what it’s

skids across the gravel drive and realizes she must have been

like to have faith that doesn’t short-circuit the way hers does.

going faster than she thought. When she parks the car behind

She prayed so hard for her daddy. She got on her knees that one

the church—she doesn’t want anybody stopping to check on

time, right beside his hospital bed. It didn’t matter one bit.

her—she pats the Bronco on its hood.

The world without her daddy is like a jungle at night. Bessie From the back of the SUV, she pulls the old quilt that has more

doesn’t know what her feet are touching. She doesn’t know

stories than she has time to hear. Whoever takes care of this

where the tigers sleep.

church has been slacking, and the still-green grass has grown as tall as her knees. As she walks, Bessie opens her hand to touch it.

The woman in the church is singing about the absence of sorrow, about blindness, grief. She sings like she’s made peace

She lies down on the quilt a few yards away, tugging her

with sorrow.

leather jacket around her. It is cold today, or at least nearly cold, and a breeze is blowing.

What faith did her daddy have? He believed there would always be work for the willing. He believed a three-legged dog was a sign

Lying hidden in the tall grass reminds her of childhood. She’d

of good luck. He believed his soul would live on after the grave.

take this very quilt and find a spot in the hay pasture where her daddy had planted alfalfa. Nobody thought he could grow

Bessie hasn’t prayed since her daddy died. If the whole world

it in Arkansas, but he was tired of bermudagrass, and he’d

falls down, let it fall. She thinks about a poem she read in high

done his homework.

school that had this line: Prayer is the avocado waiting to ripen on the windowsill, the collie leaping for a red ball.

He was smarter than anyone knew.

She thought the poem was filled with errors, but now she’s not She loves the way the grass makes a cushion beneath the quilt

so sure. Maybe her hand on the Bronco is a prayer, the sweat-

that is gray and yellow and white. The sun is nearly directly above

ered trees in Winslow, the yellow dog sure that he’ll make it

her, and she keeps her sunglasses on against it.

across a trafficked road.

For months now, Bessie has tried to move on. Two years is

The woman in the church continues to sing.

a long time to grieve, but she feels like she’s somewhat of an expert on how to do it. Jackson was an attempt to push forward, but Jackson was a player. Before him, she’d spent too much money on her only credit card. When she thinks how long it’s going to take to pay it off, her whole body tenses.

For those who love to write, the Read. Write. Share. Workshop is on October 13 in Fort Smith. For details, contact Nichelle Christian at JFKWRITERSGROUP@gmail.com.

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WOMEN'S GUIDE

T HE WOMEN’S GUIDE An Essential Guide for Every Woman

You, dear girlfriend, have probably done a thousand things today, from chauffeuring the kids to school to acing that presentation at your office’s quarterly meeting. You rock! But it is a lot to handle, even though you make it look easy. When was the last time you did

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something just for you? That’s what we thought.

In this Do South® Women’s Guide, we’re helping you out by showcasing local businesses and services designed to make your life better, a little easier, a tad more sparkly, and a whole lot healthier.

So, grab a cup of coffee, put that phone down, and get to know these local experts who work so hard to serve you. Doesn’t that feel better?

We knew it would! (Did we mention how much you rock?)

WOMEN'S GUIDE

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WOMEN'S GUIDE

Beauty through Health Norma Basinger, M.D. and Janet Newman, RN NEW LOCATION: 8101 McClure Drive, Ste. 101, Fort Smith arveinandskincare.com 479.484.7100

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WOMEN'S GUIDE

4300 Rogers Ave., Ste. 15, Fort Smith centerforhearing.net 479.785.3277

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WOMEN'S GUIDE

Stephanie Rofkahr fitfourfive.co stephaniefitfourfive@gmail.com I am a personal trainer, and I write customized home and gym workout plans just for you! After all, we don’t all go to the gym; many of us work out at home, and in different seasons of yourself, or so you can join the fitness community, Barre class, or CrossFit gym if that’s your desire! I will show you proper form, nutrition, and what best fits your body type. I can also get you in shape for your wedding, a pageant, beach vacation, or help you shed that post-baby weight. I’m ready to help in any way you need!

Fall is upon us once again, and that means lots of games, cookouts, and events. John Mays Jewelers is no exception! We have some great events scheduled for the remainder of this year that you won’t want to miss! Color is a huge part of our lives in fashion and everyday life, and as such, we are planning a one-of-a-kind, never-been-done-before event that is sure to knock your socks off! We also have a special surprise coming your way in December that we can’t wait to unveil! Stay tuned to Do South® and John Mays Jewelers social media pages to stay up to date.

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WOMEN'S GUIDE

WOMEN'S GUIDE

Olde Fashioned Foods 8434 Phoenix Ave., Fort Smith / 479.649.8200 123 N. 18th St., Fort Smith / 479.782.6183 Find them on Facebook / oldefashionedfoods.net Olde Fashioned Foods offers products that help women every

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WOMEN'S GUIDE

WOMEN'S GUIDE

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Read Chair Publishing, LLC 4300 Rogers Avenue, Suite 20-110 Fort Smith, AR 72903