Juicy - July 2012

juicy

july 2012 AtUrbanMagazine.com

lifestyle

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

entertainment

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

16 18

Now Hear This Urban Reader

people

MANAGING EDITOR

Catherine Frederick

Urban 8 4th of July Ignite: Katie’s Krops Mirror, Mirror, Spoons, Spoons

20 24 28 30 32 36 38

Barn Raisin’ The Man Who Ate His Yard Urban Appeal Tattoo My Car Sermon from the Saddle Raising Ale in Arkansas The Coffee Kid

taste

Subscribe to @Urban and receive 12 issues per year for only $20. Log on to AtUrbanMagazine.com today.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PRESIDENT

6 9 10 12

40 42 44

4th of July Shooter Apple Brown Betty @Urban’s Sizzlin’ Summer

travel

@INSIDE

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The Cats at Turpentine Creek

Marla Cantrell Marla Cantrell Marcus Coker Catherine Frederick Jordyn Johnson Tonya McCoy Anita Paddock Todd Whetstine Marla Cantrell Marcus Coker Catherine Frederick Mark Mundorff Todd Whetstine

DESIGNER

Jeromy Price

WEB GURU

David Jamell

PUBLISHER

Read Chair Publishing, LLC

Advertising Information

Catherine Frederick at 479 / 782 / 1500 Catherine@AtUrbanMagazine.com Editorial Information

Marla Cantrell at 479 / 831 / 9116 Marla@AtUrbanMagazine.com ©2012 Read Chair Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.

The opinions contained in @Urban 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 @Urban or Read Chair Publishing, LLC., including photography becomes the property of Read Chair Publishing, LLC. @Urban reserves the right to edit content and images.

@LETTER FROM CATHERINE

I

love this photo of me and hubs (a.k.a. my husband Scott) acting silly as we waited for the Colbie Calliat and Gavin DeGraw concert at the AMP in Fayetteville last month. If you haven’t

been to The AMP, you’re seriously missing out on a great time. It’s an amazing outdoor venue with an impressive season line up. Miranda Lambert will grace the stage on July 17, then, just two days later, Pat Benatar will hit us with her best shot - you can bet we’ll be there!

Whatever is on your must-do list this summer, make sure to get out and about, enjoy everything our great state has to offer and make some silly memories of your own. Camping, hiking, concerts, museums, sporting events, and more, Arkansas serves up a little something for everyone. Need some ideas? Check out Urban 8 on page 6 for a look inside some upcoming family events and celebrations.

We’ve got a lot to celebrate this year. For starters, we’ll ring in our second birthday in September. We’re already planning a little shindig, so keep your ears open for details. But what about right now, you ask? Hold your horses! That’s not a command, that’s a clue about one of our best stories ever. Read “Sermon from the Saddle”, the tale of a Vietnam vet turned horse whisperer, whose life changed after a weekend at a dude ranch.

Get inspired by a young girl who grew a forty-pound cabbage, and then decided she needed to do something even bigger to feed the hungry. Shake your head in wonder when you meet a Dardanelle “barn flipper” whose ideas about weddings are drawing in brides from as far away as Vegas. And then sit down with a man who eats his own lawn. Nope, we’re not kidding.

Sit back, celebrate your independence, and enjoy! We’re happy you’re along for the ride.

P.S. We can’t get enough of your entries in our two photo contests “Show Us Your Town” (deadline July 10) and our “My @Urban Pet” (deadline August 10) so keep them coming! Details on our website at AtUrbanMagazine.com, or find us on Facebook (@Urban Magazine).

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

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@LIFESTYLE

@lines Jordyn Johnson – age 11

Not one cloud in the sky Sweat rolling down your face The smell of sunscreen in the air The pop of a soda can in your ear Cars pulling up the driveway Laughing and fun happening all around Grown ups in the kitchen Setting up the food Everyone now running in to eat The sun is setting Boom, Crackle, Pop Color exploding in the sky!

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I

n 2008, Katie Stagliano, now thirteen, brought home a cabbage seed from her third grade class to plant at her home

in Summerville, South Carolina. She watered it. She cared for it.

And in return, it grew to a hefty forty pounds. “I was absolutely blown away by my cabbage plant growing that big, because I thought, ‘I brought this cabbage seedling home and it was so tiny, and now look how big it is,’” Katie says.

Her class got the seeds from Bonnie Plants 3rd Grade Cabbage Program, which works with

schools to teach kids about

gardening. Bonnie Plants gives classes O.S. Cross cabbage seeds, known to grow oversize cabbages, sometimes nearing fifty pounds.

Katie’s forty pound cabbage was more than her family and friends could use. But Katie already had other plans for her cabbage. “I @story Tonya McCoy @images Courtesy Katie Stagliano

think it was kind of meant to be, because after it grew that big, I decided to take it to a soup kitchen. And I learned there aren’t always people that have enough food to eat. Some people have to rely on soup kitchens for their food, and I thought, well, that would be great if I could donate my cabbage to them. And so that’s kind of how Katie’s Krops all began.

“When I went to the soup kitchen there were a lot of kids there.

That’s what really got me thinking – hey there’s so many kids here and they’re around my age. They’re like me and my brother and my family. And I thought, ‘what if that was me?’ And it could have been if we had fallen on hard times or if we [my family] had a medical issue, or a house fire.

In this month’s Ignite series, we’re showing you how one little seed can feed hundreds, and how one child’s dream is now feeding thousands.

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That day, Katie’s cabbage helped feed 275 people. That day Katie decided there was more she could do to help.

@LIFESTYLE

With newfound inspiration Katie decided to expand. She started

team, and just hanging out with her friends. When she grows up

at her school.

she wants to be a teacher, or a chef, or an interior designer. No matter what the future holds for Katie, she says one thing is for

“I said, ‘I’d love to start a garden here.’ And I thought maybe they’d

sure. “I definitely want to incorporate Katie’s Krops, no matter

let me have a bed or something very small, because I was only in

what I decide to do, and keep working with Katie’s Krops for as

fourth grade, and they weren’t expecting me to ask anyway, but

long as I can.

they gave me a plot of land the size of a football field.”

“When I first started this I never imagined it Katie’s idea to raise crops for those in need

would grow to be this big and impact this many

grew exponentially with the help of classmates

people, but I followed my heart. I followed

and teachers, but Katie didn’t stop there. In

the cause that I believe in, and it’s gotten me

2011, Katie set up a website called Katie’s

really far. I have the amazing support of my

Krops and, with the help of her parents, started

community, my family, my friends and people

a grant program so that kids all over the nation

across the country. If you follow your heart

could grow gardens to help those in need.

and follow a cause that you believe in, there’s nothing you can’t do. And it doesn’t matter

The grant program is for kids and teens between

how young or how old you are, you can make

the ages of nine and sixteen, and focuses on

a difference.”

growing plants for donations that have high yields like squash, okra, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. Now Katie’s Krops has grown to forty-nine gardens in twenty-two states.

Katie currently does not have participating gardens in Arkansas and would like to help start one in our

“I love having so many kids excited about starting gardens and

area. To qualify for a Katie’s Krops Grant, you must be

I love being able to kind of pay it forward and allow them to

between the ages of 9-16. For more information and

start a garden, because I’ve had support from so many amazing

to apply, log on to katieskrops.com. Or if you’d like to

people that really helped me do what I’m doing, and I wanted

make a donation to help fund the grant program, go to

to help other kids too.”

katieskrops.com/supporters.html. There’s also a wish list included if you’d like to donate things like seeds,

Listening to her speak, it’s hard to believe Katie’s only thirteen.

soil or gardening tools.

She’s certainly wise beyond her years. However, she’s still a typical teenager in some ways: she loves listening to Taylor Swift, reading The Hunger Games, swimming for her school

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@story and images Catherine Frederick @step-by-step instructions and photos AtUrbanMagazine.com

Pinterest® and I are going to be BF’s this summer. I am on creative overload from all of the DIY, and let’s face it, downright gorgeous craft ideas pinned to that website! I’ve had my eye on this gorgeous DIY mirror for quite some time. It’s inexpensive (under $25), a cinch to make, and the finish has a huge WOW factor.

Who would have ever guessed it’s made from plastic spoons?

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@LIFESTYLE

Materials »» (1) 18” MDF wreath form (outer circle) »» (1) 12” MDF wreath form (inner circle) »» (3) boxes of 100 count white plastic spoons (the cheaper the better) »» (1) box of 48 count white plastic spoons (the cheap ones) »» (2) bottles of acrylic paint in your choice of color (I use Folk Art® brand) »» (1) bottle of white acrylic paint (I use Folk Art® brand) »» (1) bottle of Martha Stewart craft paint- glitter (optional) »» 10" circular mirror »» Hot glue gun »» Hot glue sticks (clear) »» Paint brush »» Sharp scissors »» Scrap card stock or heavy paper »» Krylon spray primer in white »» Krylon indoor/outdoor satin paint (your choice of color, I used Satin Catalina Mist. It should be much lighter, but still compliment your base acrylic color)

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@LIFESTYLE

Directions Cut the heads off 300 plastic spoons. Some will split and crack,

For the final ring, paint the backs of the spoons with the acrylic

that’s where the other 48 spoons come in handy! Make sure

paint- they will be reflected in the mirror. Make sure that your

you carefully cut the spoons featured along the inner circle,

final ring overlaps the 12” wreath form by about a ½”. The

as they are visible and reflected in the mirror. Sand the edges

spoons in the final ring will be very close together, almost

if needed. Keep 6-8 spoon handles- they hold the two wreath

overlapping.

forms together.

Once again, spray the entire form with two to three coats of Place all spoon heads upside down on newspaper and apply

primer, then apply two coats of the satin paint.

two coats of primer, let dry, then apply two coats of satin paint.

Place the 12” form inside the 18”, leaving the same amount of

Starting with the inner circle, use the acrylic color of your choice

space on all sides. Apply a dot of hot glue to each end of the

and paint the spoon fronts. For the next ring, use the same

spoon handle, then press one end to the 12” ring and the other

amount of your base color and add small amount of white paint.

end to the 18” ring. Do this all the way around the ring so that

Keep using the same amount of your base color, but increase

the two forms are held together. It will resemble the steering

the amount of white when moving from ring to ring to obtain

wheel of a sailboat.

the slow fade effect. Once the paint has dried, hot glue the mirror to the back of the 12” form.

Cut up card stock, or any other heavy paper, and hot glue it to cover the gap between the inner and outer circle. This is the

Viola! Your masterpiece is complete. We took it a step further

front of your mirror where you will begin gluing the spoons.

and added some bling by brushing Martha Stewart Glitter Craft

Apply two coats of primer to entire piece. Let dry. Apply two

Paint in antique silver onto each spoon. Let your imagination run

coats of satin. In hindsight, I should have painted the inside

wild when selecting a color, this mirror would be gorgeous in any

edge of the 12” form with my base acrylic color so it would

combination of colors.

match the inner layer of spoons.

Starting with the outermost edge and using the holes on the

Want to know what else I have my heart set on

large form as a guide, glue a spoon head above each hole. I fit

making this summer? Follow me on Pinterest (search

five spoons from circle to circle. Continue and complete the first

CatFrederick) and take a peek! Did you make this

ring. Glue the second layer by placing the spoons below and

mirror? Send me a pic: editors@AtUrbanMagazine.com.

between the spoons in the first ring. Continue until you have completed 6 rings.

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@ENTERTAINMENT

One of the highlights of this album is Norah Jones in “If The Law Don’t Want You.” She sings, “If you ain’t running from the past, you ain’t making my heart beat fast. ..Momma’s on the front porch staring him down. Ladies at the beauty shop coming unwound. If the law don’t want you, neither do I.” Yeah, that’s messed up, in a perfect kind of way.

But the grip of the album is Lee Ann Womack singing “Momma’s On A Roll.” “Daddy loves Momma like spreading on molasses thick. Momma thinks Daddy’s just a backwoods, cornbread hick.

Momma plus daddy equals trouble when they start to drink. Me

now hear this

kin — songs by mary karr and rodney crowell @review Marla Cantrell

A

and my sister pouring liquor down the kitchen sink.”

It’ll break your heart, and then you’ll play it again.

The talent on this album is undeniable. Vince Gill, Lucinda

ll you had to do to sell me on Kin was tell me that Mary Karr

Williams, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris and Roseanne Cash

helped singer/songwriter Rodney Crowell write it. Karr is

belt out songs so beautifully performed you’ll want to call up

the author of The Liars Club and Lit, two memoirs so brutal and

your kin, made amends, and have them over for supper.

beautifully written that years later you’ll still remember where you were when you read them.

In the end, this piece of advice lingers. “Don’t flirt too much with your wife’s best friend, or your best friend’s wife,” Crowell sings

Crowell certainly remembered Karr. He called her out in his

it like a man who knows what he’s talking about.

song “Earthbound” in 2003, listing her as one of his reasons to stick around this great old planet. He sent her a copy, and

Good advice. Even better album.

later met her in New York where they discovered they had a lot in common. Both were from Texas. And both came from homes where liquor messed their families up something awful.

The album that resulted makes you reexamine your life, your choices, and your family that, let’s just face it, can make you crazier than a sprayed bug.

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I Rate It

@ENTERTAINMENT

Henry is small with a concaved chest and arms the size of most girls. But he can play shortstop like nobody’s business, fielding any ball that comes anywhere near him and firing it with accuracy to a waiting glove on any base. He calls his glove, Zero, because he makes no mistakes.

Mike Schwartz, the team’s captain and catcher, who is plagued with bad knees, a sore back, and aching shoulders, sees Henry’s potential and becomes his best friend and mentor.

Mike is a monster of an athlete and motivator who grew up in the rough part of Chicago. He practices fielding with Henry, trains him in the weight room, feeds him energy drinks, and has him up at five every morning to run the stadium steps. To

The Art of Fielding

By Chad Barbach 512 pages @review Anita Paddock

the detriment of his own aspirations, he banks it all on Henry.

Henry’s roommate is Owen, who also plays baseball but without the burning desire of an artist. Owen secretly has an affair with the president of the college. The president’s daughter returns home from a failed marriage, and falls for the team captain, Mike.

By the time Henry’s junior year rolls around, baseball scouts are checking him out, and it looks like his dream of playing

A

with the St. Louis Cardinals might come through. But Henry’s ll great athletes look upon their sport as an art. They

errant throw at ninety miles an hour hits Owen in the face

see the beauty of a baseball caught before it goes over

while he’s sitting in the dugout. This causes Henry to doubt

the fence, a tennis ball hit deep into the left hand corner, a

himself, and he soon finds himself playing with no confidence,

golf ball softly spun around the cup and dropped in.

and for the first time committing errors.

This beautifully written novel, The Art of Fielding, by Chad

This is not just a fantastic baseball book. It is a fascinating

Harbach, is about Henry Skrimshander, a shortstop who

story about yearning for love and that other basic need we all

receives a scholarship to play on a small liberal arts college

have: to be good at something.

baseball team in Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Michigan.

18

20

@PEOPLE

T

he path to The Barn at Twin Oaks Ranch cuts through Dardanelle, a little town of 5,000, halfway between Fort

Smith and Little Rock. Today, two barges chug across the murky water of the Arkansas River. The high school football team is practicing, and with the windows down you can hear the thud of hard plastic as they plow into each other.

Farther along, the road changes. Asphalt, then gravel, then dirt.

Cows dot the landscape, round hay bales sit in golden fields, and ponds, shimmering steel blue in the noonday sun, grow as common as horseflies on this country lane.

At the end of the journey is Lesleigh Smith, standing in the middle of a barn underneath a halo of chandeliers. Outside, her grandfather, Kenneth Davenport, hammers away, getting the barn ready for a wedding in just ten days.

Lesleigh’s venture started when the forty acres of land that abuts her family’s property went on the market. Her grandfather called her at her home in Texas to tell her about it. “My husband about had a heart attack. He said, ‘We are not moving to Arkansas.’”

But they did buy the land, and the trailer houses that came with it. “It seemed like a good investment,” Lesleigh says. And then Lesleigh’s brother, Lucas Cox, got engaged to Bayley Hepp, who wanted a barn wedding. “I already had the property, so I thought, Why not just build a barn?” So Lesleigh, who was born in Texas but spent most of her childhood here, began traveling back and forth, drawing up plans, and commiserating with her grandfather, who had built and plumbed his own house.

The plans kept getting bigger. “We added a patio. We took one of the trailers, gutted it, and turned it into bathrooms and

21

a dressing room. I started a Facebook page for the barn. I put

Arkansas, where Kolton could go to a smaller school in a close

some pictures up, just of the ground being leveled, and a sketch

community, really started to grow on me.”

of what I wanted it to look like when it was finished. That was all.

And while she’d never built a barn, she did know a little “My phone started ringing off the wall.” Another bride wanted

something about throwing a shindig. As an events planner

in, even though nothing was built. “That got my wheels turning.

in Texas, she’d orchestrated everything from corporate trips

I started to see how much of a need there was for something

to Rome to a barn wedding where Secret Service showed up,

like this.”

securing the perimeter, and dismantling the photographer’s camera each time she went to her car to get supplies.

At the same time, Lesleigh was starting to worry about the

22

school her young son would soon be attending in Fort Worth.

“Senator John Kerry’s Chief of Staff was marrying Vice President

“I didn’t want him in kindergarten with 900 other kids. I hated

Joe Biden’s Press Secretary in a barn outside a tiny little town

to give up Texas – I love Texas - but the idea of coming back to

near Fort Worth. I had to work with Secret Service, who shut down

@PEOPLE

interstates and background checked my staff and caterers. And I couldn’t tell anyone what was happening. I’d say, ‘Just give me your Social Security number and trust me.' Luckily, they all did.

“It went off without a hitch. The Vice President stayed for cocktail hour. And the barn was beautiful. I absolutely love the juxtaposition of rough and dirty meets elegance. I felt I’d found my niche. People started calling me ‘The Barn Flipper.’

“So, it’s been great to build my own. I’ve been able to spend

covered with white fabric. The altar can have a chandelier in it –

so much time with granddad, who’s seventy-six, working beside

I had it wired just for that. I try to make it as easy as possible. The

him, getting my hands dirty. I even built a footbridge,” Lesleigh

packages I offer include everything but the wedding attire, the

says, “by myself. My granddad and four of his friends have

minister and the photographer. We can seat up to 220 people

worked with me since November.

in the barn. I’ve partnered with local businesses for cakes and catering and flowers.

“We haven’t taken out one loan. Everything’s reclaimed, the tin roof, even the nails.” She points to the long planks that make

“I already have brides wanting to book two years out. I have one

up the walls of the 3,600 square foot barn. “These are old truck

bride from Vegas – most of my brides are from out of state - who

liners, made of teak, that we bought from a man in Beebe. They

will get married later this year. She lives with all the glitz, and

used to be the beds of eighteen-wheelers. They have these

her dream was something entirely different.”

holes where they were bolted down, and when the light comes through at night, it looks like starlight.”

The breeze picks up, skittering across the trees. The sun blinks through, and suddenly it’s like a thousand shards of light are

Across the way, in a green meadow, is a cedar altar where her

dancing on the grass below. Lesleigh smiles. “It’s always cool

brother will be married. “He wanted it in the spot where he

here,” she says. “If someone asks, I’m tempted to tell them my

built his fort when he was a little boy, so that’s where we put

granddad and I planned it that way, that we built the barn on

it. We’ll have the reception in the barn where there’s a fifteen

this spot, knowing the exposure was just right. But it’s not true,”

by fifteen dance floor. You can’t imagine how beautiful it all is,

she says. “It was just one more thing that fell right into place,

once you get the tablecloths on and the wine glasses out and

exactly where it should have been.”

the candlelight.

For more information, look up The Barn At Twin Oaks “I have one bride who wants to alternate rows of chairs and

on Facebook, or call 817.925.0510

church pews for her ceremony. A lot of brides want hay bales

23

THE

MAN

ATE

WHO HIS

YARD @story and images Marla Cantrell

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@PEOPLE

R

odney Collins stands in his front yard in Little Rock, just a stone’s throw from the Arkansas State Capitol. He lives

for days like this one, the sky rumbling, the clouds low, rain splashing as it hits the fig trees and peppers. The grass, if he had any, would benefit from this steady shower, but Rodney doesn’t have any grass.

He killed every blade when he moved here from Houston in 2008. “One of the first things I did,” Rodney says, “was cover the lawn with these big sheets of black plastic. I left them there for the summer. It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but it took care of the problem.”

It must have been a shock, seeing a perfectly good lawn condemned by this Texan, but Rodney believed his new neighbors would understand his need to rip up the grass and install only edible plants. Before he moved in, he scoured the neighborhood, peering into backyards where he saw a raft of kitchen gardens, a few chickens here and there, and bees buzzing across the well manicured front lawns. His new neighbors would likely buy into his idea, he thought.

to see what you can grow is to plant something, watch it, and see how it does. I planted a lot of herbs, and fellow gardeners

Not that it looks like your grandpa’s garden. Rodney, an architect

gave me starts of plants. I let whatever comes up grow, whether

and builder, has worked his magic on this space. He put in a

it’s weeds or squash.” Rodney shrugs. “You just adapt.”

picket fence, planted daylilies and zinnias along the perimeter – and yes, he eats those, too – and installed meandering paths

And as for those weeds? He’s selling them at farmers’

across his 400 square feet of Eden. The first winter he planted

markets. For $2.50 a bag. “I’ve planted things like dandelions,

daikon radishes as a cover crop, because the roots, which

lambsquarters, plantain and yellow dock. They’re much more

can grow to twenty inches, helped break up the soil. He had

nutritious than cultivated greens. “Weeds have these incredible

composted soil brought in, truckloads of it, named his garden

root systems that pull the minerals from the earth. I use some

Outfox Farm, and started to experiment.

of them in my morning smoothie, sauté some of them, use them in stews.”

“I didn’t have a hard and fast plan,” Rodney says. “The best way

25

@PEOPLE

But that’s not all he’s doing. He’s planning to release his own

there, and I had every processed food known to man. I delve

line of specialty teas this fall, including Thai Holy Basil, an herb

into what I’m doing, so I was getting all this food and eating it.

he grew from seed he bought in India.

And then one day my doctor said that I either needed to change my diet or take drugs for the rest of my life.”

As he’s telling the story, his three-year-old Izzy comes bounding off the porch and into the rain. “It’s been great for her,” he says.

That shook him up. He did research. Tried macrobiotics. Then

“She’s out here with me a lot. It’s a stress free time, checking the

vegan. Then a raw food diet. Finally, he found the balance he

plants. She loves the strawberries, and I tell her, ‘Those aren’t

was looking for. “Gardening,” he says, “besides all the obvious

easy to grow. I only do that for you.’” Tucked away amidst a flow

benefits, will open your mind.” And while he can’t grow all his

of flowers and herbs is her own little playhouse, and beside that

food on this 60 by 120 foot plot, he knows something most of

the tiny goldfish pond Rodney built for her to tend.

us don’t. “I eat grass-fed meat from a farmer that I know. I know my dairy farmer. I get eggs from a farmer I know who shakes my

Izzy heads to the backyard to check on the three chickens that

hand when I see him. I get honey from a guy I call up and say,

chirp inside a makeshift coop. Nearby are about thirty New

‘Do you have honey today?’”

Zealand rabbits that hop on a swell of red clover. Their droppings help fertilize the crops, and Rodney harvests all but the breeders

That’s a great comfort in the age of massive food recalls, where

– Minnie, Mickey, and the buck, Goofy, all named by Izzy.

the source of contamination can take weeks to track down.

Rodney knows none of that fear. It’s a good start, but not where

There are no chemicals on this urban garden. “My biggest pest

he wants to be. He’s looking for a bigger piece of land, a place

is Izzy. She likes to pick the tomatoes when they’re green,”

for cows and sheep, and a garden so big he can grow everything

Rodney says, and then tousles Izzy’s blond hair . The real

his family eats. Until then, he allows his edible yard to evolve. He

insects, the praying mantis, honey bees, parasitic wasps and

walks to the spot where a pumpkin vine emerged on its own free

the like, they’re beneficial.”

will. “I learn from the plants,” he says. “A garden expresses itself, shows you what works and what doesn’t. You just have to be in

Izzy is living a much different childhood than Rodney, who spent

tune enough to recognize what it’s saying.”

his early years in Louisiana, where his father and uncles all gardened, competing for the biggest pepper of summer. To get it, they soaked their plants in commercial fertilizers and doused them with pesticides. “They were of that generation that didn’t

If you’d like to try urban gardening, check out a book

see the harm in it. I learned what not to do from them.”

titled Your Farm in the City by Lisa Taylor.

But it was couponing that finally led him to the garden. “I’d gotten into the craze,” Rodney says, “and there’s so much abundance

26

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Christine Howard Creative Director, I.O. Metro

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29

@story Marla Cantrell @images Mark Mundorff

W

hat does your car say about you? Maybe it says you’re a responsible citizen who has your tags renewed on time.

Or maybe there’s a little decal on the back windshield that shows cartoon images of your three happy kids, a scruffy dog, and a smiling cat.

30

@PEOPLE

That’s all well and good, but it can’t compare to the car Jane

waking some nights from a deep sleep and jotting down where

Peoples transformed for Rebecca Buchanan, the director of

a particular decal should go.

Ozark Folkways in Winslow.

Jane has logged 100 hours in just three weeks, battling the the Jane, an artist in Van Buren, is known for her 3-D assemblage

heat and humidity, and battling the car, whose physical nature

pieces, where she uses everything from miniature globes, board

threw a curve in her plans. “Basically you’ve got a flat decal that

game pieces, and even old engine parts, to create incredible

you have to smooth onto a rounded surface,” Jane says. “There’s

artwork. But she also worked at a sign shop for a time. There

not a surface on this car that’s flat.” She had to work around

was a great deal of waste involved. Decals were printed on

grooves, moldings, and gaps – like around the doors - where the

large sheets, and once the images and letters were pulled away,

vinyl had to be cut to fit.

the background was useless.

Some of the decals are made with pieces no bigger than a Except to Jane. “I think some of my coworkers thought I was

fingernail clipping. Combined they make incredible images, like

crazy to take all this vinyl home, but I knew I’d find a place for it.”

the Headless Horseman, and a compass on the roof with the night sky’s constellations nearby. On one side sea waves break,

And she did. It happened around Christmas of 2011, when

turning to flames and finally to delicate fall leaves. A hand

Rebecca saw Jane at a party. Rebecca had recently sold her top-

hovers over the gas cap, a clover above it, and a family of aliens

of-the-line car to get rid of the three years of remaining payments.

stands watch on the roofline. On the driver’s door is Rebecca’s

She found a dependable 1993 Toyota wagon that had been

name, in Old English script, that looks a lot like a tattoo. It’s no

babied its entire life. It was a great buy; it just lacked pizzazz.

accident. “This whole process is like getting a tattoo. Almost no one has just one,” Jane says. “That’s how the car is. I look at a

So Rebecca asked Jane if she’d be willing to give it a facelift.

spot and think, I need to put another decal here.”

Jane sorted through her inventory of vinyl and the images started emerging. She made a blue dragon with metallic spots,

The car is filled with so many images, looking at it is like going

a red god holding the sun, the Statue Of Liberty awash in a

on a treasure hunt. And Jane loves that. “I stepped back at one

blaze of stars, and a chimney sweep with the head of a skeleton.

point and said, ‘Wow, did I do that?” She’s glad Rebecca sought

“I love Frida Kahlo and anything to do with the tradition of ‘Day

her out. She’s glad Rebecca trusted her to turn this little wagon

of the Dead,’” Rebecca says, “so I wanted skulls and crosses and

into a rolling work of art.

other wild things, moving in multiple directions.”

To see more of Jane’s work, visit That was the only direction Rebecca gave. And Jane, she’s not

http://community-2.webtv.net/jainsart/Jainsart/

one on making a big master plan. “The work will tell you what it

Check out Ozark Folkways at ozarkfolkways.com

wants to be,” Jane says. “You just have to listen.” She did listen,

31

sermon from T the saddle

he sun is sinking low by the time Ted Noland enters the corral in Poteau, Oklahoma. He’s a little action figure of a

man, barely five feet six inches, and he slips easily through the

@story Marla Cantrell @image Mark Mundorff

railing. Nearby is a filly, unbroken, pawing the dirt to let Ted know she plans to stay that way.

All around, the bleachers are filling. The sound of cowboy boots clang against metal as they volley for seats. They’ve all come to watch this Beggs, Oklahoma man, who claims he can break a horse he’s never seen in about an hour. Some think he’ll fail, others are cheering for a victory. Either way, it’s bound to be quite a show.

The crowd quiets. The air, heavy with the smell of hay, seems to still as well.

32

@PEOPLE

If they’re expecting a battle, they’ve come to the wrong place.

Ted stays with her, leaning into her as she turns.

Ted is a gentle man, nearing sixty, who’s here to show both the 1,000 pound horse and the audience that fear and force aren’t

“She won’t do anything she doesn’t want to,” he says. “She’s

part of the plan.

bigger than me, claustrophobic, and she’ll run full-throttle when she’s afraid. I’m here building a relationship with her. If I ask you

“When you induce pain,” Ted says, “all learning stops. And if

to get on the roof without a ladder, could you do it? Probably

you give a horse more than she’s ready for, she won’t take it.”

not. But if I made 100 steps, you could skirt right up there. Right now I’m building the steps.”

With that, the demonstration begins. The filly runs, as close to the railing as she can get. Ted stands his ground, never moving.

He returns to the horse, rubbing her muzzle, and this time gets

He’s in charge, and while he’s nowhere near getting a saddle on

one foot all the way in the stirrup. But he’s tossed aside, and the

her, he is making progress.

horse is now bucking, the dust flying in her wake, her eyes wild.

When she settles down, Ted tries again, and the filly agrees.

“She’s getting tired, so now she wants to renegotiate. She’s

He sits in the saddle, and then he guides her around the arena,

saying, ‘Can we quit running?’ and I’m saying, ‘I’m not the one

once and then again. The crowd rises, first in the back row, then

running. I’m right where I always was.’

the next row, until everyone is on their feet. The owner, who’s never once been able to ride her horse, shakes her head in

“My goal is to get her to come to me. And when she comes, and

wonder and starts to cheer.

I touch her on her hip, she’s off again. Now, she’s learning to move on command.”

It’s been less than an hour since Ted entered the ring.

Before the thirty minute mark, the filly is walking beside Ted,

As stunning as this performance is, it’s not the real reason Ted’s

like a dog on a leash. Only Ted doesn’t have a leash, and still

shown up tonight. In the midst of training this filly, he’s been

she follows.

preaching his Sermon on the Mount, correlating the horse’s stubborn will to man’s, and God’s patience as he waits for his

Ted walks to the saddle that’s near the center of the ring, and

children to see the light.

watches as the filly sniffs it. He rubs the pad that he’ll soon put on her back, across her withers.

Back home on the Rocking N Ranch in Beggs, Ted recounts his own story of redemption. “I served in the Navy in Vietnam. I

Soon, the saddle is on. Ted strains to get his foot in the stirrup.

got pretty messed up,” he says, and points to his head. “When

He misses; he’s only as tall as the horse’s shoulders, and then

I came home I was so angry. I’d go in a bar and pick a fight with

she begins to spin, as deftly as any dancer.

the biggest guy there. The next Friday I’d be back for more. I thought nobody could save me. My heart was black. My world

33

@PEOPLE

was dark. I was a terror.”

“It wasn’t the last time God intervened,” he says, and points to the mare. “That’s Blue. She near about killed me in 2010. I had

But his wife Karen saw a good man beneath the trouble. The two

brought in a big horse, half Draft, to train. Blue’s job as lead

met in California, and in the 1980s moved to Tulsa. And then one

mare was to show him his place. I was testing his hooves when

weekend they decided to go on a cattle drive at a dude ranch.

she spotted us from way out in the pasture, and she thought I was feeding him something she wanted. So here Blue came.

“It was Ted Allen’s ranch in Bixby,” Ted says. “From that moment on, I was hooked. I ended up getting saved and working for him

“I kept working, thinking I had time to finish. About the last thing

on the ranch. Great, great man, that Ted Allen.

I remember is picking up his foot. Blue kicked me in the face, trying to get to the Draft horse, and down I went.

“Before long, I was preaching and training my own horses. And then one day in 2007, I got a call from Wilburton, asking me if I

“My son saw it happen. He gets his brother – they were twelve

could train a horse in an hour, while I was preaching.

and sixteen at the time - and they pack my face with ice, call 911, stay on the phone and direct the ambulance to the house.

“It wasn’t going to be the church crowd. There would be cowboys

But I was so bad, almost every bone in my face was broken, that

and cowgirls. Cowboys are a tough crowd. They’ve got baling

they had to call in a helicopter.

wire in the back of their truck, and they can fix anything. They’re John Wayne, the Old West, invincible.”

“My right eye socket is Titanium. I have two silicone implants where my cheekbone was. I could have died. I could have bled

About 300 people showed up. The horse was a contrary three-

to death, but God was with me.”

year-old filly. “When I tightened the saddle, she went straight up, and she bucked all around the pen for two minutes.

Ted was laid low for six months. Not long after, he was preaching another Sermon on the Mount. “I never thought about quitting.

“I put my head down and I thought, Oh Lord. But in five minutes

These horses teach me a whole lot more than I teach them.”

I was on that horse,” Ted says, and his voice breaks. “I didn’t ride that horse alone. I was held in the hands of God. Since then, I

Just then, Blue comes up and nudges Ted on the shoulder. The

guess I’ve done the sermon more than thirty times, and with

two look like a Western painting, the weathered cowboy and his

God’s help I’ve never once failed.”

loyal companion. He turns to walk off into the sunset, and Blue follows, willing to go wherever he leads.

As Ted talks, a rooster named Elvis calls out nearby, so loud and so often he stalls mid-crow, his voice shot. And in the nearby pasture, a black mare, half Paint, half Quarter Horse, whose eyes are the color of the sea, watches every move Ted makes.

34

For more information, visit rockingn.com

I

t’s eight o’clock on a Saturday morning and already Jed Reinhard and Lucas Stoltz, two members of the River Valley

Ale Raisers, are hard at work. They’ve set up a makeshift brewery on the patio at Jed’s house in Fort Smith, complete with a boiler made from a reclaimed commercial beer keg, a Coleman ice chest with a copper spigot attached, and a paddle, about the size of a shotgun, that’s used for keeping the grains, like malted barley, from ending up in clumps.

The two swear it’s not a complicated process. A lot of barley, boiling water, some yeast, and hops. But they do have a lot of gauges around, and Jed keeps referring to his recipe, where he’s jotted copious notes about quantities and timing. As for Lucas, he’s weighing his hops, a flower that both preserves and flavors the beer, on a scale no bigger than an iPhone.

raising ale in arkansas @story Marla Cantrell @images Mark Mundorff

The fact is, there’s a lot of science behind what they’re doing.

Jed, who has a degree in chemistry, and once turned newspaper into ethanol for a college project, loves the challenge of finetuning a recipe, making sure the fermentation process is working, and keeping track of his monumental successes and near misses. He even has software that tracks every batch he brews, showing him what’s working and what isn’t.

And then there’s the economic factor. “I can make a very complex beer for about seventy-five cents a bottle,” Jed says. “I started learning the craft in 1990, when I got The Joy of Home Brewing, a book from the 1970s, when the homebrew movement was just starting to reignite.”

The seventies were important because that’s when home brewing was federally legalized for the first time since Prohibition. Today, forty-eight states allow it, including

36

@PEOPLE

The American

the River Valley Ale Raisers, a group that meets at GrowFresh

Homebrewing Association estimates 1 million people will brew

Organics in Fort Smith. Novices come in and meet people like

beer at home in this year alone.

Jed and Lucas, who show them the ropes, lend them equipment,

Oklahoma, which came on board in 2010.

and get them ready to compete in competitions that take place Historically, they’re in good company. George Washington,

around the country.

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison brewed their own beer, according to the AHA. As for Jed, he brews about twelve

Right now, the club is gearing up for their own event, the

batches a year, each producing around five gallons. Once the

third annual All American Brew-Off, a nationally sanctioned

brewing’s done, the beer goes into his garage, where he’s fitted

competition by the AHA, on July 28, at the Aspen Hotel in

an old refrigerator with heating and cooling elements, so he can

Fort Smith. They’re expecting more than 100 entries this year.

adjust the temperature as needed. The beer stays there

They’re also inviting those over twenty-one to attend and

for about a month and then goes to a chest freezer he’s

sample the beer, from 9:00 in the morning until 12:30

altered in much the same way as the refrigerator. Inside

in the afternoon. The River Valley Ale Raisers will even

are the metal soda canisters, the kind you see hooked

allow a few of the visitors to team up with the certified

up to the drink machines at self-serve restaurants. He

judges to see what the experts are looking for in a

pours the beer into them, and then forces CO2 into the

winning brew.

canisters to carbonate the brew.

If you have a good time there, you might want to join When he’s finished, he has something he’s made that

the club. Lucas and Jed have a 100 percent success rate

can’t be found in any store, from light ale to dark stout.

training home brewers. “If you can make macaroni and

He pours a sample into a frosted glass and hands it over.

cheese,” Lucas says, “then you can brew.” Jed chimes in.

It is great beer, the foam swells to the top of the glass, but

“And at the end of the process you have beer,” he says,

Jed isn’t quite satisfied. “I can taste something a little flowery,”

just as the timer for his current batch sounds. “It doesn’t get

he says. “I need to work it out.”

any better than that.”

Lucas takes a sip and agrees. “When you make beer, you’re always experimenting, trying to get that perfect batch. The hardest part for me is when it’s all bottled or kegged and you’re

For more information, visit rivervalleyaleraisers.com

waiting for it to be ready. I’ve had two bad batches in the ten years I’ve been brewing, and let me tell you, those were sad, sad days.”

The two share what they’ve learned with the other members of

37

of asking why, asked why not.

“When we first looked at it, we thought, We’ll open a coffee shop, no problem,” says Jon. “But there’s a huge learning curve from graduating high school to opening a coffee shop. Thankfully, a lot of people in the business world, especially in Siloam, were really helpful.”

Jon, who partnered with his family to open the shop, found a building on the corner of W. Ashley and N. Wright Streets in downtown Siloam. “The building had been abandoned for twenty years,” says Jon. “It used to be a flea market, and before that it was a produce store in the 50s and 60s. We didn’t take out a loan for the place, we just worked with what I made working at JBU on the grounds crew--which wasn’t a lot. And my family put in a bit too. Since our budget was so tight, it forced

the coffee kid

us to be creative.”

@story and images Marcus Coker

with a clear coat of polyurethane. As for the walls, they left

A

They left the concrete floors as they were, covering them the bricks alone and painted the sheetrock. In spaces that

t first glance, Jon Smith seems like a typical nineteen-

needed wallpaper, they used pages from old books, like

year-old. He lives in Siloam Springs, attends John Brown

Robinson Crusoe. They covered the bathroom walls with comic

University, has a girlfriend and a couple jobs. He’s majoring in

book pages, as well as tin foil. Jon and his brother-in-law did

construction management, and one day he’ll design and build

all the woodwork—including booths and bookshelves—using

his own homes. But Jon’s already built something remarkable,

salvaged materials, mostly pallets.

and that’s what sets him apart. Last year, when he was eighteen, Jon opened his own business, Pour Jons Coffee & Tea Company.

While they were working, Jon and his family kept huge curtains over the windows. Jon says, “There was a lot of hype. People

In June of 2010, Jon moved to Siloam Springs from Colorado

would ask, ‘What are they doing in there?’” Finally, in the

after his dad got a job at John Brown University. He’d graduated

spring of 2011, Pour Jons opened. “We got the name from Poor

high school a year early and needed something to do, so his

Richard’s, a pub. It’s sort of a play on words.”

brother-in-law suggested opening a coffee shop. Jon, instead

38

@PEOPLE

Already, there are hundreds of quotes and drawings on the walls, all contributed by customers with a Sharpie. There’s a bar in the middle of the room, where friends often gather to play one of the many board games the shop provides. There’s even a stage.

“We try to get live music as much as we can. But we’ve also had poetry readings, even people who spin their own wool.”

One thing you won’t find at Pour Jons is a cash register. That’s because they use an iPad, along with an application called

As Jon leaves the shop for the day, he passes part of a Jack

Square, which allows them to take credit card payments. It

Kerouac quote someone’s written in black marker that reads,

also lets them receive orders and questions via text message.

“The only people for me are the mad ones.” Jon’s nowhere near

Admit it, it’s hip. But what else would you expect from a place

mad, but he is ambitious. And he’s hopeful what he’s doing will

that stays open until 2 AM during the school year in order to

inspire others, no matter what their age, to do something new and

accommodate students?

exciting. All you have to do is look past the obstacles and see the possibilities that percolate in the most unlikely places.

Ironically, when Jon first decided to open a coffee shop, he didn’t know anything about coffee. Since then, he’s learned a lot, and makes a mean mocha. As he leans on the counter, he says, “Coffee beans are grown across the world, then sold to a roaster. We get them from him, and take steps to get the best taste out of it.” One of those steps is making sure none of the beans they get from their roaster are older than two weeks, since the optimum time for grinding a roasted coffee bean is three to fourteen days. “We also grind the coffee when your order it, because coffee loses fifty percent of its aromatics four minutes after you grind it.”

Jon could talk for hours about what makes their coffee special.

For a coffee novice, the information could be overwhelming.

How to Espresso Thyself »» Espresso: A lot of coffee in a small amount of liquid; base of everything (that’s not brewed coffee) »» Doppio: Double espresso »» Americano: Espresso with water »» Latte: Espresso with steamed milk »» Mocha: Espresso with steamed milk and chocolate »» Macchiato: Espresso with milk foam on top »» Cappuccino: 1/3 espresso, 1/3 milk, 1/3 milk foam

But Jon says, “I recommend just learning the basics of your coffees. That’s huge. To start, there are brewed coffees and

For more information, visit pourjons.com.

espresso drinks.”

For coffee facts, including brewing methods, visit pourjons.blogspot.com.

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42

@recipe and images Catherine Frederick (Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier)

@TASTE

Whoa Brown Betty. Bam-ba-lam! You gotta love that song – almost as much as you’re going to love this dessert. File this recipe under “super fast, delicious, and easy.” Seriously. Do it now.

Ingredients

3 whole organic Granny Smith Apples

It’s amazing the difference you can taste, and

8 slices wheat bread

the pureness of the food comes through in your

1 stick salted butter – organic

I whipped this up using all natural ingredients.

finished dish.

1-1/2 cup packed brown sugar – organic

This recipe starts with high quality wheat bread

1/2 cup water

and ends with a delectable drizzle of sweet cream.

olive oil spray (optional)

I chose Bronze Honey Wheat made by Stone Mill Bread & Flour Company. This little bread company is based out of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and their breads are To. Die. For. If you’re not in Fayetteville, you can pick up a nice selection of their breads at Paul’s Meat Market in Fort Smith- tell them @Urban sent you. When you start chopping the bread, go ahead and sneak one cube, or three, no one’s looking. Trust me, you’ll want to.

Now, it’s no secret that The Pioneer Woman loves her butter, and I’m not here to judge, but given that I’d like to live a long and healthy life, I cut the butter for this recipe in half and it was still moist and delicious. You do the same and your cardiologist will thank us both. I also used olive oil spray to coat

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9” X 13” baking dish with olive

my baking dish - no sense in adding more butter to

oil, or coat with butter, if you’re feeling frisky. Peel and chop three

this dish. My apologies to Paula Deen.

Granny Smith apples. Slice bread lengthwise then turn and chop again to make small cubes. Add ½ of the apples, ½ of the brown

Be sure you serve this up piping hot, topped with a

sugar, and ½ the bread cubes. Top with pats of butter then repeat

bit of sweet cream, or ice cream if you’re into that

the layer once more, ending with pats of butter. Spoon water over

kind of thing. Don’t worry about how to store the

the top, then slide into the oven, covered in foil, until done – about

leftovers - there won’t be any!

45 minutes. Remove foil for the last five to ten minutes of baking to brown the top. Top with the mixture of sweet cream or ice cream.

43

That’s what we’ve been doing in our @Urban kitchen, after we decided to work eat our way through The Pioneer Woman’s newest Cookbook, Food From My Frontier.

Each week, we cook, chow down, and then post the recipes at AtUrbanMagazine. com, under our Blog tab.

You’ll want to keep watching this month. You know why? We’re making ICE CREAM! Ingredients purchased at Ozark Natural Foods, Your Community Market.

44

Check out our blog for recipes like Mushroom Sliders, Pork Chops with Bacon Cheese Grits and Pan Fried Kale, and Drip Beef. LIKE us on Facebook so you’ll be the first to know when we post a new recipe!

@story Todd Whetstine @images Wild Woods Photography

46

@TRAVEL

S

unday, June 3, 2012, is a day I’ll never forget. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep a wink the night before. I was headed

to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge to see more than 100 lions and tigers that live on the 450-acre reserve. It’s the largest big cat refuge in the world, licensed by the USDA, and it’s only a two hour drive from Fort Smith, just eight mile south of Eureka Springs. I spent a few hours with curator and zoologist Emily McCormack on a private photo tour of this vast facility.

The staff that cares for the cats comes here from all over the world. And Emily has been at Turpentine Creek for more than thirteen years. I learned a lot on my visit, like Brodie, the lion, has an oily head, which helps him repel water in the wet seasons.

My personal favorite, though, was a tiger named Heather, a big beautiful Bengal. I got to watch her for quite some time, with my camera as close to the enclosure as I could safely get. I was down on my knees, working hard to get the best shots I could. I thought I was doing fine, but when she jumped so did I, straight in the air, my old bones moving faster than I can ever remember.

It’s a powerful thing to be around these animals.

For twenty years, Turpentine Creek has been taking in abandoned or abused lions, tigers and cougars. Many were privately kept, and ended up here after living in terrible conditions. On the front of each cage is a plaque that tells the story of the animal’s life.

It’s a huge commitment when they arrive. A male lion can weigh more than 500 pounds and can live about twenty-five years, and boy can they eat. The refuge can go through 2,000 pounds of meat in one day.

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To see the cats, all you need to do is show up. It’s open every

The refuge offers several events throughout the year. On the

day but Christmas. Summer hours are 9 to 6. Admission prices

Fourth of July, they’ll have the largest firework show in the state.

vary, so check the website before you head out. You’ll start your

Each Saturday before Halloween they have their annual Howl-

tour at the gift shop, hear about Turpentine Creek’s mission and

O-Ween Spooktacular. This is the only night of the year the cats

then you’ll start your tour. At times, you’ll be able to get within

can be seen under the cover of darkness.

five feet of the enclosures that keep the big cats secure.

It was an incredible day. I learned a lot about the plight of these You can watch the cats being fed, take a habitat tour, or if you go

animals, and the people who work so hard to care for them. It’s

on the weekend, you can sign up for the Keeper Talks, which are

not every day you get to see these majestic creatures up close.

twenty minute presentations by the biologists and zoologists

Turpentine Creek is an easy day trip for the summer, and one

who will also answer any questions you might have.

not to be missed.

There are picnic areas, and if you decide to stay longer than a day,

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there are accommodations. There are rooms at the lodge, a tree

Visit turpentinecreek.org for admission prices

house, five cabins, RV parking, and even a place to pitch a tent.

and visitors’ information.

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