By Joe David Rice Most Arkansans are vaguely familiar with the state’s diamond story. They’ve read about John Wesley Huddleston, an illiterate yet charismatic hog farmer, who discovered some yellow flakes on his rural property near Murfreesboro and — thinking they might be gold nuggets — scooped them up. When he washed his find,…
By Joe David Rice Culinary enthusiasts find all sorts of especially notable goodies across Arkansas: apples, peaches, tomatoes, fried pies, barbecue, watermelon (both red- and yellow-meated), catfish and, of course, poultry. However, certain vocal foodies will claim the state’s signature dish is cheese dip — and they can present a convincing case. For…
By Joe David Rice, Photos by Casey Crocker Editor’s note: Obviously, amid a pandemic, we know that making immediate travel arrangements falls counter to the state’s social distancing guidance. We want all of our readers to continue abiding by this directive so we can all do our part in flattening the curve of COVID-19…
By Joe David Rice Want to swim among jellyfish without worrying about those nasty, painful stings and unsightly welts? It can be done and, better yet, it can be done locally. You only have to travel to Lake Ouachita and the best time is in the summer months, especially in early September after the…
By Joe David Rice | Photo Courtesy of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission By virtue of my genetic background, I’m somewhat of an authority on catfish. It’s a stretch, but here’s the deal: On March 27, 1963, my maternal grandfather — Elmer Powers — reeled in an 18-pound channel catfish from Lake Fayetteville. His catch,…
By Joe David Rice // Photo By Tony Milligan During my childhood years, my family and I enjoyed many fine weekends on Lake Norfork in the Ozarks of north-central Arkansas. Our cabin is on a quiet dirt road surrounded by dense woods, and when we turned off the lights in the evening, the stars,…
By Joe David Rice Photo By Tony Milligan When was the last time you saw the Milky Way? Not that confectionary creation found down the candy aisle in the local convenience store, but the incredibly vast and stunningly beautiful galaxy in the heavens far, far above? I am talking about that glowing carpet of distant…
By Joe David Rice Back in the 1915-1920 era, Lucille was among the most popular names in the country for newborn baby girls. Fast forward 30 years or so to December of 1949, and one of the thousands of Lucilles born three decades earlier happened to be savoring a night out with her husband in…
Story and Photos By Joe David Rice Driving from Fayetteville to Fort Smith requires about an hour these days, much of it through the heart of the Boston Mountains. A little over a century and a half ago, this trip — using the mule- and horse-drawn stages of the Butterfield Overland Mail Company —…
by Joe David Rice Photo courtesy of the National Park Service Glaciers in Arkansas? No doubt most people assume a glacial experience in North America requires an extended visit to Montana, Alaska, Canada or another high-altitude, cold-weather locale. And given climatic changes and ominous reports of the demise of these spectacular valley-clogging behemoths,…
