Butterfield LIFE May + June 2024

- Jane Hunt, Fundholder

“I

Kevin Spears CEO

MARKETING

Kelly Syer Director of Marketing

Alice Dawson

Marketing Specialist

Leann Pacheco

Sales Counselor

Dave Marks Move-In Coordinator

PROGRAMS

Riki Stamps Director of Programs & Events

Michael Burks Asst. Director of Programs & Events

RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

2024 Council Members

Doug Prichard, President

Marolyn Fields, Vice-President Adella Gray, Secretary

Jerry Rose, Past President

Liz Brantley, Marian Catron, Roy Clinton, Vernon Collins, Ned Irving, Lenora Metz, David Renfroe, Carol Spears

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chuck Nickle, President Will Clark, Vice-President LeRoy Duell, Treasurer Dr. Kim Chapman, Secretary Chuck Culver, Dr. Michael Hollomon, Mark McNair, Bill Mitchell, Tom Olmstead, Nina Simmons, Tim Stults, Beth Vaughan-Wrobel, David (Dave) Williams

1923 East Joyce Boulevard

Fayetteville, AR 72703

Main: (479) 442-7220

Marketing: (479) 695-8056 butterfieldtrailvillage.org

Butterfield LIFE may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission from the publisher. Butterfield LIFE is published by Butterfield Trail Village. Contents © 2024. All rights reserved. Produced by DOXA / VANTAGE doxavantage.com

Opened in 1986, Butterfield Trail Village is a locally governed 501(c)(3) non-profit retirement community. As Northwest Arkansas’ only comprehensive Life Plan Retirement Community, BTV offers active older adults worry-free living that is secure, independent and fulfilling – and the freedom to enjoy plentiful activities both inside and outside the Village.

From the CEO

It is said the best things in life are worth waiting for, and experience has shown me there’s a lot of truth in that statement. I first learned Butterfield Trail Village was searching for a new CEO in October of 2023, and knowing Northwest Arkansas was a place my wife Kerri and I had already considered as a future home, I decided to take a leap and pursue the role. Nearly six months later, I’m very happy to say I was offered the chance to serve this unique and highly-regarded senior community—I am so honored to be here.

Throughout the process of interviewing and meeting dozens of Butterfield residents, board members and staff, I was so impressed by everyone’s warmth and friendliness. It’s easy to recognize right away that BTV is something extraordinary, and I knew a career opportunity like this doesn’t come around very often. My family’s decision that I should accept this chance to lead in such a special place came easily; we are ready for a new adventure and look forward to building new friendships.

I want to express my gratitude to all who have already welcomed me so warmly and offer my thanks to those who have done so much to help me become acclimated and comfortable. My style of leadership is to be visible and out from behind the desk, so I hope when our paths cross you will take a moment to say hello and introduce yourself. I have several hundred names to learn and an active, complex community to gain a deep understanding of – but I know we will all have many chances to get acquainted and work together to keep Butterfield pointed toward a very bright future.

My final thank you goes to the Butterfield Trail Village Board of Directors and the committee of folks who believed I should be given this opportunity to join all of you. I am grateful for your confidence in me, and I am truly excited to invest my energy, passion and experience in this remarkable place.

With sincere appreciation,

Kevin Spears CEO

Butterfield Trail Village

Susan Riggs Realizing it’s a Small World After All

Susan Riggs loves small world stories, and her life overflows with them. One of her best guy high school friends from Texas was among the first to welcome her and her late husband, Charles, to Fayetteville 40 years ago. The friends still have lunch together regularly.

She grew up in College Station, two blocks from the Texas A&M University campus, where her father was head of the agricultural economics department. With her dad’s position on campus, Susan’s mother regularly hosted parties in their home for international students, professors’ wives and others — and was a magnificent cook and hostess.

“Probably the best thing I learned from my mother is, I can throw a pretty decent party together in an hour,” Susan said.

Her dad was a Texas A&M alumnus, while her mother had graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. Riggs says that the Longhorns-Aggies rivalry is vivid in her Thanksgiving holiday weekend memories. Each summer, Susan and her parents spent three weeks in Colorado, where her dad

taught a course at Colorado State University. From that vantage point, they explored much of the west, into California.

Susan was an only child, and her cousins on both sides were much older or didn’t live nearby. She was close, though, with her father’s two older sisters who lived about two hours away in Hallettsville, a town founded by Czech and German immigrants, where the siblings had grown up.

Theater was a big part of Susan’s high school years. She was in all the plays and also did poetry reading and interpretive reading for competitions. She had the lead roles in “I Remember Mama” her junior year and “The Little Foxes” her senior year. She remembers how the long, shiny red dress her mother made helped her manifest the character of Regina in the latter production.

Graduating in a class of 89 students, Susan has remained connected with friends she made in their 12 years of school together. “There’s nothing like knowing someone who can relate to your stories from way back when.”

Words by Michelle Parks

Photos by Stephen Ironside

She recalls when her mother’s father died young, and her mother’s widowed mom reconnected with her childhood sweetheart. The grandmother lived with Susan’s family when the man came to court her, and Susan still has the “fabulous” letters they wrote to each other.

Building A Family of Her Own

When Susan went to University of Texas at Austin, she stayed in the same freshmen dorm where her mom lived. Her first night on campus, she was invited to go out with a group including freshmen football players. That night, she met Charles, a football player whose date was another girl in her dorm. A girl friend of Charles’ later set him up with Susan.

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FEATURE PROFILE

literacy. After six years, it was time for a change, and Charles took an offer from the University of Arkansas.

Starting Their Arkansas Chapter

The family arrived in 1984, and within two years, Susan was hired by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the U of A to teach study skills to college students. She then stepped into a role teaching senior literacy courses for students training to be teachers. “It was always a temporary job. I was there 24 years with that temporary job.”

” People are just funny, and as we get older, we’re even funnier, whether we realize it or not.

On their first date, they walked from the university campus to downtown Austin, passing through the Texas State Capitol. They dated off and on, and she still dated her hometown boyfriend during the summer break. She and Charles got back together their sophomore year and became exclusive.

“He made me laugh. He was so funny in unexpected ways. And he was so honest and so good, and just really wanted the right thing,” Susan said.

They married on June 8, 1968, just after she graduated. She taught school in Austin, while Charles spent a fifth year finishing his degree. Then they moved to his hometown, Orange, Texas, where he coached football and she taught.

After a couple of years, Charles decided to become a physical therapist. He took classes in nearby Beaumont and then got into graduate school at Texas A&M, where he fell in love with exercise physiology. He pursued it and continued on there to get his PhD. During that time, Susan taught English at her former junior high in College Station, which still had many of the same teachers and principal. She also finished her master’s degree in English and Education and gave birth to their daughter, Stephanie.

They moved to Santa Barbara, California, where Charles had a post-doc fellowship at the Institute of Environmental Stress. They soon moved again when he got an assistant professor position at Florida State University, in Tallahassee. They welcomed their son, Brendon, and Susan worked on a doctorate in

She was involved in developing the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program — and in keeping with the small world stories sprinkled throughout Susan's life, one of her colleagues from those days recently moved in to BTV. Susan also taught seniors how to teach reading and social studies in elementary schools. They met three hours twice a week — with one session on campus and the second session at Holcomb Elementary.

Before and after she retired, Susan found other ways to do the thing she was good at: teaching. She and Charles taught Bible study courses at their church, Sequoyah United Methodist Church, and they led a study on John Wesley. She also taught a Disciple Bible Study, a yearlong course that took participants through much of the Bible. She later trained others to teach the course and served on a national leadership team.

Susan also has taught introduction to genealogy classes through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. As a child, she was always interested in people’s stories and was curious about her own family connections.

When she and Charles visited their son in Austin for football games, she also did research at the Texas State Library. For Christmas 1997, Charles bought her genealogy software so she could use the internet as a tool.

At some point, Susan’s mother had given her the family names of Adams and Hawkins. When she and Charles went to Rochester, Minnesota, for six months for him to do a research sabbatical, she spent most of her time at the Mormon Church’s family history center. Susan had found that the Adams and Hawkins families lived in Lowndes

FEATURE PROFILE

County, Alabama. She met a woman there who also had relatives in Lowndes County. Another small world story. That woman became Susan’s mentor, and they collaborated on research.

When Life Turns Upside Down

When they decided to retire, Susan told Charles they should look into joining the Butterfield waitlist, but he didn’t want to. But he sometimes passed out at night, and she had to call 911 for help. She insisted, and he finally agreed. They didn’t plan to move in, though, until they were older.

Then, in June 2017, he’d had a bad headache for a week. At a doctor visit, a CT scan showed a brain bleed. He needed to go by ambulance to a neurosurgeon in Springfield, Missouri, and she would need to meet him there. She doesn’t drive at night and didn’t know the town. She briefly explained her predicament in a group email reply, and her friend LaVonne — now her neighbor — called immediately to say she was coming to get Susan.

They drove to Springfield, and Charles had three brain surgeries in 24 hours. They put him in a coma and couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t coming out after three weeks. Their daughter finally looked up the medication they’d used. It metabolizes like longchain fatty acids, and he had a genetic disorder that didn’t allow it to work. They started reversing the process, and Charles was lucid by Father’s Day.

After three weeks in Springfield, Charles returned to Northwest Arkansas. He was in a rehab facility and didn't return to their home until 18 weeks after his surgery. Susan soon knew they needed to get to BTV earlier than planned. They moved into their BTV apartment in December 2018. Things were fine for the first year, then he got pneumonia again and went to Health Care to recuperate. He had high praise for the physical therapy staff there — his teaching specialty.

He returned to Health Care during the pandemic, and eventually, his health declined. He didn’t have any white blood cells, so his body couldn’t fight viruses and infections. His doctors said he needed to go to Willard Walker Hospice Home. Susan said it was a peaceful place, and their children and two grandchildren could be with him. He died on Valentine’s Day 2021.

Surrounded by Friends

Susan’s support group of BTV friends made all the difference during Charles’ illness. She’s also continued to make connections with former colleagues who’ve made it their home. She’s in a group of four who regularly have lunch. She’s on the BTV Food Services Committee, bringing forth suggestions for the dining facilities, and is a BTV Ambassador.

She’s started reading more again, and her friend Marie often gives her book recommendations. She enjoys exercise that involves music, such as line dancing, which she does in classes at the Lodge. She’s also been in some plays at BTV; in the last one, she played “the hussy” who’d been married 10 times — a part written for her.

She’s a “newspaper fanatic” and reads the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette every day. She also reads daily devotionals and does word puzzles: Cryptogram, Sudoku, Wordle and Connections.

While anxiety can be a weakness for her, a strength throughout her life has been a sense of humor. Friends say they know she’s in a nearby room because they recognize her laugh.

“I can find the humor in almost anything — to other people’s detriment sometimes,” she said. “People are just funny, and as we get older, we’re even funnier, whether we realize it or not.”

Michael Wavering and Kathy Malstrom

When did you move to Butterfield?

We closed on our apartment on February 21 and moved in on March 4, 2024. We have moved into a beautiful apartment and are still awaiting new furniture to fit the new space. Michael has been given a Butterfield garden plot and is in the process of preparing for spring vegetables.

Where are you from?

Michael was born in Quincy, Ill., where he attended elementary, high school and college. He then received a master’s degree in teaching from Indiana University and a doctoral degree from the University of Iowa. Kathy was born in Chicago and grew up in La Porte, Ind. She earned her master’s degree from Indiana University.

What did you do before retirement?

Michael worked as a professor at the University of Arkansas in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. After 30 years of service at the U of A, he retired as a professor emeritus in 2015. Kathy worked for the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions, serving as the teacher certification officer before her retirement in 2016.

Do you have children and grandchildren?

Following the loss of their first spouses, Michael and Kathy married in 2016. Michael gained children and grandchildren after joining lives with Kathy’s family – a son, a daughter and two grandchildren.

Why did you choose to come to Butterfield?

Butterfield was the best option around. It has a stellar reputation, and Kathy has known about BTV since the early 1990s.

May

Jim Bowles and Louise Painter 12th

Craig Brown and Laurel Ward 16th

Ken and Jan Hargis 17th

Peter and Susan Vanneman 24th

Cary Haramoto and Marlene Samuel 26th

Bobby and Doris Marks 27th

Lanny and Bonnie Ashlock 31st

June

Leland and Betty Tollett 2nd

Roy and Annette Penney 3rd

Ed and Jane Piper 7th

Bill and Barbara McIver 7th

Sid and Kay Davis 8th

Jim and Sherry Young 8th

Al and Lenora Metz 9th

Tom and Jill King 10th

Buddy and Grace Babcock 11th

Bill and Sabra Martin 12th

Jan and Mary Gosnell 14th

Denny Nelson and Elizabeth Houle 14th

Lyle and Sue Gohn 15th

Curtis and Jane Shipley 15th

Pete and Ginger Crippen 17th

Dick and Anne Booth 19th

Jim and Ann Newman 19th

Ron and Alice Talbert 19th

Bill and Diane Breazeale 22nd

Rick and Jo McClarrinon 22nd

Bob and Sherri Lewis 25th

Larry and Joyce Masters 26th

Jim and Andrea Romine 29th

Charles and Barbara Stills 30th

New Neighbors

Recent Village Move-Ins

Mike Wavering and Kathy Malstrom

Wade and Linda Osburn

Bob Roberts

Susan Bakke

Paula Eicher

Raj and Usha Gupta

Welcoming Kevin Spears

A New Chief Executive Officer to Lead Butterfield into the Future

Searching for the right kind of leader for a place like Butterfield Trail Village means finding a person with more than just solid business acumen and years of experience; it requires finding a champion for the culture and a heart for the people who call it home. Newly named chief executive officer Kevin Spears quickly emerged as a fantastic choice after an extensive series of interviews with residents, staff and members of the BTV Board of Directors. Now officially in place, it is clear Kevin is not only up to the task – he is genuinely excited about Butterfield and the opportunity to relocate to Northwest Arkansas.

Kevin grew up in Marianna, a small town located about an hour southwest of Memphis near the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River. His family has roots in the delta, and he recalls a trail through the bean field that he and his two brothers would use to ride to his grandmother’s house by motorcycle. In keeping with most small communities where everyone knows everyone – Kevin met his future wife, Kerri, in kindergarten. They started dating his senior year of high school, her junior year, and a storybook romance soon unfolded between the pretty cheerleader and the football captain. “I’m one year older, but she’s a year smarter,” he quipped.

same facility. Then, with a few years of leadership under his belt, Encompass Health – Central Region hired him to be the regional director of therapy operations. That experience, plus a master’s in Business Administration from Harding University, provided the foundation for Kevin to make a significant jump into head administrator and chief executive officer roles – first with Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Memphis, followed by Stone County Medical Center in Mountain View, Ark., White River Health System in Batesville, Ark., and finally with Encompass Health in Jonesboro, Ark.

The pair dated for seven years, both taking time to earn Bachelor of Science in Education degrees at Arkansas State University (ASU) in Jonesboro. With that significant milestone freshly behind them, Kevin and Kerri married the weekend following graduation. Kerri began working as a second-grade teacher and Kevin accepted an opportunity to teach high school biology and coach football – first in Arkansas and later in Alabama. After a handful of years, he decided it was time to switch career directions and he attended the University of Tennessee Health Science Center to earn an occupational therapy degree.

A few short months after accepting a staff occupational therapist position at the Helena Regional Medical Center, Kevin was tapped for the role of acute rehabilitation program director for the

Along with growing a successful career, Kevin and Kerri also grew their family – adding a daughter, Grace, and son, Walker. Now 24, Grace married last summer after finishing her degree at ASU. Walker is a rising high school senior and football player. To allow Walker to remain in Jonesboro to finish his last year of high school, Kerri is remaining there for the next year and the couple will stay connected over the coming months with frequent travel back and forth between NWA and northeast Arkansas. Despite the challenge of distance in the short term, Kevin and Kerri are convinced the CEO role at Butterfield is a long-term win as they approach the emptynester phase. “I was looking for just the right 20-year opportunity, a chance to stay put in a great place. The future this position offers, the growth of the community, the endless possibilities – it’s exactly what we were looking for.”

In his free time, it’s likely to find Kevin following Razorback sports or traveling the open road on his BMW R 1200 GS Adventure motorcycle. He enjoys riding with friends throughout multiple states, and even as far as Canada. One of Kevin’s claims to fame is knowing every single high school mascot in the State of Arkansas, and he is an avid sports trivia fan – knowledge likely enhanced by his 11 years as a football play-by-play commentator for 93.5 FM, a radio station that broadcasts widely throughout the Mississippi Delta. As Kevin and Kerri become more acquainted with NWA, they look forward to trying new restaurants, exploring the region and making new friends.

Spears Family

Featured Village Events

COMING IN MAY

MAY 10 | 7 PM

PERFORMANCE HALL

Resident Lecture Series:

The Vehicle Dynamics of the Car Crash Killing

Princess Diana

A new Butterfield Trail Village Lecture Series will feature talks about residents' careers and life stories. Mechanical Engineer David A. Renfroe will discuss his investigation of the fatal car crash involving Princess Diana and explain the vehicle dynamics, as he did on the Geraldo Rivera Show. The Princess of Wales died from injuries sustained in a fatal car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, as did Diana's partner, Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz W140, Henri Paul. Renfroe will explain how speed velocity is determined and how it played a part in this crash.

MAY 21 | 2 PM

PERFORMANCE HALL

Development of Indigenous Identities in the Ozark Highlands with Dr. George Sabo, III, Director, Arkansas Archeological Survey

Butterfield welcomes Dr. George Sabo for an interesting historical presentation that traces the responses of Native American communities to the impacts of early European exploration and settlement in the region.

MAY 28 | 2:30 PM

PERFORMANCE HALL

Documentary Premier of Cries from the Cottonfield by Film Writer, Producer and Director Larry Foley

Residents may enjoy a private 2:30 p.m. showing of the film Cries from the Cottonfield, the story of Italian immigrants searching for a better life in Arkansas. Filming locations included the small village of Valli del Pasubio in Northern Italy, the Sunnyside Cotton Plantation in southern Arkansas and Tontitown, Ark. Community members may register to see the film at a 7:00 p.m. second showing. Register by emailing rstamps@btvillage.org.

COMING IN JUNE

JUNE 6 | 7 PM PERFORMANCE HALL

Defenders of Democracy Concert Featuring Singing Men of Arkansas

The men who stormed Normandy 79 years ago saved democracy, "and it is all of our duty to defend with undimmed vigor the principles for which the Allies fought," Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said during the 2023 D-Day service at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France. Both at home and abroad, democracy has been defended by American servicemen and women in order to avoid tyranny. Join us for the 80th Anniversary of D-Day with a tribute to these defenders and those who followed in various wars and conflicts, as The Singing Men of Arkansas present a patriotic performance.

JUNE 20 | 7 PM PERFORMANCE HALL

Resident Lecture Series: My Time in the Whitehouse with Margaret Whillock

Carl and Margaret Whillock were among the many who campaigned for Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential election, part of the “Arkansas Travelers” who campaigned in states like New Hampshire, Iowa and New York. Many of Margaret’s Butterfield current neighbors were also part of this highly motivated group. In 1997, President Clinton appointed Carl as the special liaison between the Agriculture Department and the White House, so the couple relocated to Washington, D.C. In 1998, Margaret received a call from the First Lady offering her the Deputy Director of the White House Visitors Office position. Margaret will share in-depth insight into our capitol and its dayto-day operations.

David A. Renfroe

Margaret Whillock

Solar Eclipse Watch Party

Resident Meet & Greet for New CEO Kevin Spears

Going Away Party for Interim CEO Jack Mitchell

Village Tours: Pura Vida in Costa Rica

Easter Sunday Brunch and Soft Opening of Newly Renovated Dining Room

Faye Edwards’ Apartment

Photos by Stephen Ironside

Cozy comfort is an immediate vibe any visitor feels when entering Faye Edwards' lovely one-bedroom deluxe apartment. With a refreshing amount of space thanks to Faye's great sense of scale and an eye for placement, her tasteful residence flows beautifully while retaining great functionality.

Faye's love of decorating is evident in several vignette spaces she has created throughout her home. Whether sitting at a café style dining table, spending time on the computer or relaxing on the couch, small nearby touches show her love of the mementos and details that bring her joy.

Cheerful natural light fills the airy living room and kitchen, which make up the largest portion of the apartment's popular open floor plan.

Faye's kitchen is efficient, yet it offers plenty of valuable storage. A section of clear cabinet doors above the counter helps to showcase some of her beautiful glassware – and fun pops of vibrant orange with contrasting royal blue offer a visible hint at her bubbly, friendly personality.

A love of florals and plants comes into play through Faye's bedroom decor, along with a collection of family photos that spark lots of happy stories. On one wall, treasured reminders of her late husband, Jerry Wayne Edwards' military and law enforcement career accomplishments bring her proud memories.

Nestled in a quiet spot on the second floor, a balcony opens up into a bird's eye view. Perfect for enjoying morning coffee, comfortable summery chairs offer an irresistible spot to take in the fresh air.

The sparkling clean bathroom with large shower provides ample storage and counter space to stay organized – and offers great lighting to help always-impeccable Faye look her very best.

Special Care Center Renovation

A full continuum of healthcare options is one thing that makes Butterfield Trail Village unique among senior living communities in the Northwest Arkansas region. Residents who may eventually face a diagnosis of a cognitive disorder like dementia or Alzheimer's disease are able to seamlessly transition from independent living to full-time support in the Special Care Center as needed. A total of thirteen private or semi-private rooms located in two "houses" are available for up to 26 people, staffed 24 hours a day by a compassionate, welltrained, professional medical team.

A several-month renovation of the Special Care Center completed this spring unveiled brightened rooms and common spaces with all new furnishings, serene color schemes, updated art and beautiful flooring throughout. Spacious bedrooms allow for a touch of personalization and residents' treasured mementos.

House One offers a cheerful, airy space to visit with friends and family. Doors open into the Sensory Garden, a lovely enclosed courtyard designed to offer plenty of beautiful flowers and a safe place to walk or sit in the sunshine. During cooler months, an electric fireplace provides a cozy, relaxing focal point.

House Two features a spacious dining area where Special Care residents are served breakfast, lunch and dinner. An attached sunroom (pictured below with a band) is a favorite spot to watch television or host guests and various activities.

The Special Care Center was standing-room only for more than 200 people gathered on March 27, 2024 to dedicate the fresh space and honor BTV resident Mitsuko "Mitsy" Barnes-Kellam for her generous bequest in support of the renovations. Attendees toured model rooms and common spaces, sampled treats from a delicious spread and enjoyed live jazz in the sunroom. The day's fun was topped off with a ribbon cutting, arranged by friends from the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce.

Artosphere Festival Returns with Music, Art and More!

Featuring the Artosphere Festival Orchestra’s Final Season

By Anna Buie

Artosphere, Arkansas’ Arts + Nature Festival, celebrates art, music and nature with dozens of exciting performances, activities and events at Walton Arts Center and other venues across NWA. Each year, Artosphere spotlights artists and performers from around the world who are inspired by nature and provides a creative framework for the community to discuss issues of sustainability and environmental awareness.

After 12 seasons and more than 35 performances, Walton Arts Center’s Artosphere Festival Orchestra — the festival’s musical centerpiece — will end a stellar run on a high note. The 90-member orchestra will converge in Northwest Arkansas for the final time this May. Under the baton of internationally acclaimed Maestro Corrado Rovaris, AFO features premier musicians from major symphonies, prestigious ensembles and distinguished programs across the globe performing both classic and new works by leading composers.

The orchestra will kick off their final season with Soundscapes Walker Hall on Tuesday, May 14. This beautiful

evening of music includes Copland’s Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo, Nick DiBerardino’s Percussion Concerto featuring percussionists Sijia Huang and Garrett Arney of arx duo, and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 From the New World. Part of the 10x10 Arts Series, all tickets are only $10.

Next up, AFO will perform Verdi’s Requiem on Saturday, May 18, in Baum Walker Hall. The orchestra will be joined by 120 voices from the Tulsa Opera Chorus led by Lyndon Meyer, members of the University of Arkansas' premier choral ensemble Schola Cantorum led by Dr. Stephen Caldwell, opera theater students led by Jonathan Stinson, and members of the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas’ SoNA Singers led by Director Terry Hicks. Tickets range in price from $15 to $50.

For the final performance, the orchestra will perform their popular Mozart in the Museum program in the Great Hall at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art on Wednesday, May 22. The evening will include Mozart’s Serenade No. 6 for Orchestra in D major, Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor featuring pianist Jaeden IzikSymphony No. 41 in C Major “Jupiter”. Tickets are $54.

Corrado Rovaris

Artosphere Festival Orchestra

More Artosphere Events

Victory Theater Presents Bruce Cockburn Sponsored by Artosphere Monday, May 6 at 7:30pm

Trout Fishing in America Tuesday, May 7 at 6:30pm Botanical Garden of the Ozarks Free, but ticketed event

Trail Mix

Friday, May 10 at 5pm-7pm | Fayetteville’s Lower Ramble & FPL | Free

Fayetteville Film Fest: Indie Films Artosphere Saturday, May 11 at 8pm | $15 tickets

Artosphere Presents Mountain Street Stage: Aaron Smith with Still on the Hill and Friends Sunday, May 12 at 2pm | Free

Named one of the greatest string quartets of this century by the BBC, patrons will also have two chances to experience the Dover Quartet A returning Artosphere favorite, the Grammy®nominated quartet will present an evening of music from Mozart, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Saturday, May 11. Tickets are $15. The quartet will also perform Joaquín Turina’s La Oración del Torero (The Bullfighter’s Prayer), Op. 34, Florence Price’s String Quartet No. 1 in G Major, and Franz Shubert’s String Quartet in D Major at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art on Wednesday, May 15. Tickets to this stunning performance are $29.

Tickets to these and more performances are available now at artospherefestival.org, by calling (479) 433-5600 weekdays 10am to 5pm, or by visiting the Walton Arts Center box office weekdays 10am to 2pm.

Compagnia TPO’s +ERBA – A Forest in the City Tuesday, May 14 and Wednesday, May 15 at 6:30pm

6 Hours of Pickin' and Grinnin' Sunday, May 19 2pm-8pm | Folk School of Fayetteville | Free

360 ALL STARS Tuesday, May 21 at 7pm | $10 tickets

For a full schedule of Artosphere events, visit artospherefestival.org

Artosphere Festival is sponsored by Walmart. Premier festival support provided by Kelly & Marti Sudduth. Support for Maestro Corrado Rovaris and Dover Quartet provided by Reed & Mary Ann Greenwood. AFO underwriters are Greg & Hannah Lee and Peter B. Lane & Barbara Putman. Artosphere Festival is made possible by Friends of Artosphere.

Dover Quartet

Trail Mix

Trout Fishing in America

360 ALL STARS

Compagnia TPO’s +ERBA – A Forest in the City

The Foundation is grateful for the gifts received between January 24, 2024 to April 5, 2024 from the following donors:

Donations/Memorials

Barbara Counce in memory of Joe Campbell

Carol Sonnenberg and Jane Coffin in memory of Joe Campbell and Borgny Hanley

Dick and Anne Booth in memory of Borgny Hanley

Ayleen Bequette and Pam Walsh in memory of Martha Westberg

Health Care/Special Care Remodel/Sensory Garden Fund

Mark Cory and Judith Ricker in memory of Kurt Tweraser

Hugh Kincaid in memory of Kurt Tweraser

Garden Fund

Mark and Diane Modisette in memory of Borgny Hanley

Birds and Wildlife Fund

Lyle and Sue Gohn in memory of Borgny Hanley

Music and Performance Fund

Patricia Jahoda

Elizabeth Houle

Paula Furlough

LeAnn Underwood in memory of Phyllis Eddins

Recycling Fund

Elizabeth Houle

Butterfield Recycling Committee

Special Care Remodel

Sensory Garden

Teenager the First to Have Licensed Radio Station in Fayetteville

By Sandra Cox Birchfield, Shiloh Museum of Ozark History

Lawrence Stinson was a free spirit. As a youth, he rode a motorcycle and worked on steamships headed to exotic places. He was also the first in Fayetteville to operate a licensed radio station, sending signals as far as Alaska.

Stinson co-owned the station with Raymond Gilbrech, an eastern Arkansas resident, in Stinson’s home at Lafayette Avenue and West Street. It included a 100-foot wooden tower Stinson built in the yard, a real town curiosity!

After Stinson sustained a motorcycle injury and was recuperating at Fayetteville’s City Hospital, his radio equipment was installed in his room and a wire antenna placed atop the building – a first at the facility – so he could stay abreast of radio programming while there. He returned home and resumed broadcasting programs that would include music at local dances. Though there were many amateur radio operators in Fayetteville in 1923, Stinson was the first to be granted a commercial license for what became KFDV, the “Southern Gateway to the Ozarks.”

But Stinson yearned to see the world. A few months before his 20th birthday, Stinson and Gilbrech left for New Orleans to work as radio operators aboard a steamship headed to South America. Stinson would repeatedly return to sea, sailing as near as Cuba and

as far as Europe, taking breaks in Fayetteville to work in radio, including at a radio station the University of Arkansas was launching.

In 1928, after settling back in Fayetteville as a radio electrician for Guisinger Music House, fledgling Tulsa radio station KVOO hired Stinson, who now went by the name “Watt” Stinson. His engineering enabled Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys to be broadcast from Tulsa’s Cain’s Ballroom and famed commentator Paul Harvey to begin a successful radio career.

When Lawrence Stinson posed for his senior photo with the 1922 graduating class at Fayetteville High School, as shown here, he was already operating a radio station from his home and was less than two years away from working as a radio operator on a steamship bound for South America.

Then along came television. Stinson was an early adopter of this new technology as one of the first to own a TV set. Though regular broadcasts wouldn’t occur until after World War II, NBC televised the Republican National Convention at Philadelphia in June 1940. To the amazement of Stinson and his guests, his TV in Tulsa captured the signal, making national news for the distance received.

He went on to become an executive with Continental Electronics Corp. in Dallas in the 1950s. In 1959, Stinson, 55, died of a heart attack, leaving a wife and grown daughter. He is interred in Evergreen Cemetery in Fayetteville.

In the early 1920s, Lawrence Stinson operated licensed radio station KFDV from his home, shown here in March 2024, at the southeast corner of the intersection of Lafayette Avenue and West Street in Fayetteville. He built a 100-foot wooden tower that served as a radio transmitter that once towered over the neighborhood from the yard.

Keeping Butterfield Seniors Healthy is a Team Sport

Benefits are boundless for a senior community when staff members actively seek new ways to work across departmental functions. A growing spirit of collaboration among members of Butterfield’s wellness, physical therapy and dining services teams is resulting in numerous benefits for residents – and is continuously inspiring staff to think and work more creatively. The team members from these three departments are excited to unveil an array of fresh opportunities this summer and fall, and they’re encouraging BTV residents to watch for and participate in new healthy, fun initiatives.

Wellness and Physical Therapy

Having both a wellness department and physical therapy services on the Butterfield campus provides a unique avenue to offer comprehensive, individualized care. When professional team members from both disciplines join forces, the result is an outstanding continuum of care and support for residents. Those undergoing physical or occupational therapy sessions at BTV have the option to work directly with the wellness staff to find techniques and exercises to maintain progress – as well as participate in relevant fitness classes to reinforce movements beneficial to recovery.

The help doesn’t conclude once physical therapy sessions end, however. By prioritizing ongoing communication across departments, the physical therapists and wellness experts stay abreast of specific needs residents may still have. Staff can advocate for the addition of tailored exercises or more classes to further assist individuals according to their needs, helping residents to grow stronger and even experience a better quality of life.

“Collaboration among members of Butterfield’s wellness, physical therapy and dining services teams is resulting in numerous benefits for residents.”

Physical therapist Sara Perkins and Director of Wellness Jennifer Neill recently attended a workshop with the Institute of Clinical Excellence called Modern Management of the Older Adult. Focused on enhancing functional fitness, the course explores myths and misconceptions of aging and teaches how to enable seniors to thrive, not just

survive. Based upon their new learnings, the therapy and fitness teams are now even better equipped to implement fall prevention techniques, share essential skills such as getting up off the floor safely – and are even able to employ strategies to help reduce fears associated with physical aging. Starting in May, a series of two-hour resident workshops will share excellent information of benefit to everyone. The first workshop will teach how to get back up after a fall and proactive measures for maintaining this critical ability, as well as insights into the many potential benefits of physical therapy. Future workshop topics will be announced at a later date.

Wellness and Dining

A key opportunity for cross-departmental collaboration is unfolding between Butterfield’s wellness and dining

Physical therapist Sara Perkins and Wellness Director Jennifer Neill demonstrate proper technique for using a chair to assist with getting up from the floor after a fall.

services teams. Director of Dining Services Memo Vaca and Jennifer Neill have begun meeting weekly to establish methods to integrate more wellness principles into campus dining. Exciting developments are already underway, such as plans for a hydration station to be located alongside fitness classes. Exercisers will be encouraged to sample and learn about nutritious herbal teas and other beverages that support a healthy living journey. Additionally, residents may begin seeing the introduction of healthy post-workout snacks along with new, nutritious options that will be found within the dining services condiment area. These two projects represent just the beginning of a growing potential for shared ideas and projects – and BTV residents are sure to both enjoy and reap daily benefits from future innovations.