Photos of the Day - Starting with M

Infamous medical quack John Brinkley opened two facilities in Little Rock (Pulaski County) in the 1930s. His career began to unravel shortly afterward when his male virility treatments were exposed as frauds. Shown here is an illustrated booklet promoting his Little Rock hospitals and touting his successful twenty-one-year career in medicine.

Chester Lauck was one-half of the comedy duo Lum and Abner, along with Norris Goff. The two men created the radio personalities that made them famous just before going on the air for a 1931 flood relief broadcast on KTHS radio in Hot Springs (Garland County). From this humble beginning, they went on to become one of the most successful comedy teams in entertainment history. Their down-home humor radio program was on the air for almost twenty-five years and was the first to be broadcast from Radio City in New York. Their radio success also led to their starring in six movies before retiring in the mid-1950s.

Dueling was a popular means of settling disputes between members of the upper class from the early territorial days in Arkansas until well after the Civil War. Many consider the last duel in the state to have occurred in 1878, when shots were fired as a result of a dispute between John Adams, shown here, and State Land Commissioner J. N. Smithee, who also owned the Arkansas Democrat.

Floods are one of the most commonly occurring natural hazards in the United States; approximately 3,800 towns and cities in the United Sates with populations of more than 2,500 are within a floodplain. Throughout its history, Arkansas has been drastically affected by floods, with the most notable being in 1927 and 1937. Still, less documented floods, such as the one shown here in 1915 at Batesville (Independence County), have caused major damage to Arkansas towns and land.

For more than seventy years, the Sharp County towns of Hardy and Evening Shade served as dual county seats. In 1967, this dual system was abolished by the Arkansas General Assembly, and the seat of government was relocated to Ash Flat. While the Hardy courthouse still stands, the one in Evening Shade, as shown in this photograph, has long disappeared.

Just inside the gates of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith is the Donald W. Reynolds Plaza, Tower, and Campus Green. The bell tower, shown here, stands 108 feet and ten inches tall. Constructed of red brick and precast concrete, the campus-dominating tower was dedicated on September 22, 1995. It is the largest free-standing belfry in the south-central United States.

During World War I, more than 70,000 Arkansas men, both white and African American, entered military service. Despite efforts by white leaders to limit their role, black soldiers, such as these three men believed to be from Brinkley (Monroe County), served their segregated country.

This reconstruction of the 1886 gallows located at the Fort Smith National Historic Site was built in the early 1980s. Located on the site of the original gallows, it replaced a previous gallows built on another site in 1957. The reconstruction design was based on the one surviving photograph and accounts in the local newspapers. Archaeological digs at the original site did not uncover any helpful evidence of the 1886 gallows.

The Arkansas State Police is the state’s primary statewide law enforcement agency. The agency was established in 1935 due to the continuing increase in traffic fatalities and the need to enforce the newly enacted liquor laws after the state legislature voted to end Prohibition. At the start of the twenty-first century, the state was protected by six state trooper companies consisting of almost 1,000 officers and civilian workers.

Crossett (Ashley County) native Barry Switzer, seen here after the 1986 Orange Bowl, is one of only two football coaches to win both a national collegiate championship and the Super Bowl. Switzer’s sixteen-year tenure as head coach at the University of Oklahoma resulted in national championships in 1974, 1975, and 1985. He left Oklahoma and coaching in 1989 and did not return until 1994, when he accepted the position as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. In his first year, he led the team to a 13-5 record and the Super Bowl Championship. He retired from coaching in 1998.

The sesquicentennial observance of the American Civil War will begin in 2011 with activities across the nation, including many in Arkansas. The centennial observance, beginning in 1961, saw many of the same types of planned activities, such as reenactments, history seminars, and publications. Helena-West Helena (Phillips County), the site of a bloody battle in the summer of 1863, was marked with several commemorative tablets placed by the Arkansas Civil War Centennial Commission, including the one shown here.

The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was established in the mid-nineteenth century to address social issues of the day. By the late 1800s, many larger Arkansas towns had YMCAs. The original building that housed the first YMCA in Pine Bluff (Jefferson County) in the 1890s is shown here.

On September 15, 2007, the fiftieth anniversary observation of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School was held on the steps of the now famous school. Among the many speakers were former president Bill Clinton and the students known as the Little Rock Nine. Each of the several thousand people in attendance was given one of these commemorative programs.

The city of Flippin began as a small community outside the present-day city limits, near the site of what today serves as Flippin’s airport. Here, in the early 1800s, the first families settled in an area called the Barrens. Flippin Barrens lasted until the beginning of the 1900s, when activity moved closer to the railroad line. Businesses sprang up along the line, and a main street was established nearby. In 1921, the town was officially incorporated as Flippin.

In 1875, settler John McFadden claimed that three springs on his property located near Hot Springs (Garland County) had healing properties. Mr. W. M. Cecil purchased the property in 1907 and began the development of a resort named McFadden’s Three Sisters Springs. It is believed the springs were named in honor of McFadden’s daughters. At its peak in the 1930s, the resort consisted of cottages, a spring house, and a bottling plant. In 1951, the Army Corps of Engineers acquired the property, and today it is part of Lake Ouachita State Park.

In the modern era, the practice of immersion baptism is commonly performed in a baptismal pool within the church building. In years past, however, most, if not all, baptisms were conducted at a local stream or body of water. Shown here is a group of men and women from the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Glenwood (Pike County) participating in a baptismal ceremony at a local stream, circa 1950.

Hillary Rodham Clinton played a major role in all of Bill Clinton’s campaigns, in Arkansas and nationally. This photograph taken in the 1980s shows the familiar sight of Bill Clinton delivering a speech while his wife stands nearby.

This arch was presented by the 1927 graduating class of First District A&M College (now Arkansas State University) in Jonesboro (Craighead County). The arch marked the entrance to the school’s original administration building, which was destroyed by fire in 1931. By the 1970s, it was overgrown with vines, and few knew what lay underneath. However, in the 1980s, the vegetation was removed, and the arch once again became a campus landmark.

Samuel Lee Kountz Jr., a native of Phillips County, was a physician and pioneer in organ transplantation. In 1961, he performed the first kidney transplant between a recipient and a donor who were not identical twins. Four years later, he performed the first renal transplant in Egypt. During his medical career, he performed more than 500 kidney transplants. Kountz died on December 23, 1981.

Author, farmer, teacher, philanthropist, and patron of the arts Lily Peter was born in 1891 near the Phillips County town of Marvell. A self-made millionaire, Peter personally paid for a Little Rock (Pulaski County) performance of the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra. She published several books of poetry, and in 1971, she was appointed the state poet laureate. She is shown in this photo at Governor David Pryor’s 1975 inauguration ceremony.

Norborn Young and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth Young, were early settlers of Columbia County. Norborn assisted in the surveying of the county seat of Magnolia, which was incorporated in 1855. Local tradition records that Sarah suggested the name for the new county seat.

The Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs (Garland County) has been one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks since the first building was completed in 1875. At the time of its construction, it was the largest hotel in the state. Three structures have housed the famous hotel, with the current one built in 1924 and located across the street from the site of the first two. Shown here is a 1969 advertisement touting the hotel as providing “Southern hospitality at its best.”

The Grant County Courthouse sits on the town square of the county’s largest town, Sheridan, named in honor of Union Civil War general Phil Sheridan. The Greek Revival structure, dedicated on July 12, 1964, is the fourth to serve as the local seat of government.

One of the most popular annual events in Little Rock (Pulaski County) is the Arkansas Literary Festival, held in the capital city’s River Market area since its founding in 2004. During the event, renowned authors make presentations about their work at different venues in the area. Shown here is the program from the 2008 festival, which was attended by several thousand visitors.

The Polk County town of Mena was founded in 1896 by railroad developer Arthur Stilwell. Due to his important role in founding the town, he was given the honor of naming the growing railroad community. He chose the name Mena, which was a pet name that he had for his wife, Jennie. Clearly seen in the background of this 1907 photograph is the present-day tourist attraction Rich Mountain.

Rural schools in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such as the one shown here in Calico Rock (Izard County), typically practiced split terms. Schools generally opened in July, recessed for the fall harvest, started again in the winter, and once again recessed for spring planting. Teacher professionalism and pay were low, with many rural teachers having little more education than their students.

In 1974, David Pryor of Camden (Ouachita County) entered an open race for the office of governor. After winning the primary against former governor Orval Faubus, he easily defeated Republican Ken Coon in the general election. He is shown here in his official gubernatorial portrait.

In 1882, the Hot Springs Opera House, one of the most impressive buildings in Hot Springs (Garland County), opened with its first performance, Virginius. During the coming years, the works of Shakespeare and many others were performed in the 800-seat theater. Closed during World War I, the venue never reopened and was razed in 1961. A parking deck is now located on the site.

From humble beginnings in the early 1800s, Little Rock (Pulaski County) has grown into the state’s largest city. Its location on the south bank of the Arkansas River twelve miles southwest of the geographic center of the state made it a natural hub for commerce. At the time that this photograph was shot of Capitol Avenue in 1958, the city had a population of approximately 107,000. Its population in 2010 was 193,524.

In the 1970s, Black Oak Arkansas, named after the small northeast Arkansas town, became the first Arkansas rock band to achieve substantial financial success. At the peak of the group’s fame in the mid-1970s, so many fans stole the Black Oak (Craighead County) city limit signs that the city council voted to stop replacing them.

Though best known as the founder of Arkansas Power and Light, Harvey Couch, shown here in a portrait by Arkansas artist Adrian Louis Brewer, began his career in the egg-marketing business. However, Couch soon left the egg business and, by 1910, owned fifty telephone exchanges consisting of 1,500 miles of lines in a four-state area. It was the sale of his telephone interests to the Bell system that made Couch a very wealthy man.

In 1928, Mount Nebo State Park became the second state park established in Arkansas. The park consists of 3,000 acres on a flat-topped plateau some 1,350 feet above the Arkansas River Valley in Yell County. Among the attractions are a visitor center, camp sites, cabins, a swimming pool, hiking trails, and a spectacular view. In recent years, hang gliding has become a popular pastime on the mountain.

The black bear (Ursus americanus) is the smallest of the three bear species native to North America, but it is the largest mammal in Arkansas. Once so numerous that the state was known as the “Bear State,” these bears were almost extinct by the 1920s. A successful re-population program was begun in 1949, and an estimated 3,500 black bears inhabit twenty-first-century Arkansas.

The 276-acre Daisy State Park is situated on the northern shoreline of 7,000-acre Lake Greeson in southwest Arkansas. The original 272 acres of land for the park were acquired by the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on March 22, 1955. The clear water and Ouachita Mountain scenery make the Pike County park a favorite of campers seeking water sports and fishing. Daisy is the eighth state park established in Arkansas.

In 1924, Wesley Basham, an employee of the Arkansas Diamond Company near Mufreesboro (Pike County), found the largest rough diamond ever discovered in the United States, seen in this photograph. Named the “Uncle Sam” after Basham’s nickname, the stone weighed 40.23 carats. Once cut into an emerald shape with a faint rose color, the diamond weighed in at 12.42 carats.

To help fund the Arkansas centennial celebration in 1936, the U.S. Congress approved the minting of two commemorative half-dollar coins. Shown here is the Arkansas Half Dollar, bearing a portrait of an Indian chief and a white figure of idealized Liberty on its obverse. The reverse, designed by Little Rock (Pulaski County) artist Edward Everett Burr, depicts a spread-winged eagle with a background of stars in the shape of a diamond. Eighty-five thousand of the Arkansas Half Dollar coins were minted between 1935 and 1939.

Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, pictured here in his official gubernatorial portrait, presented a marked departure from his predecessor in office, Orval Faubus. For instance, Rockefeller held a public ceremony on the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol following the death of Martin Luther King Jr., the only Southern governor to hold such a ceremony. While in office, he also worked to attract business to Arkansas and reform the state’s reprehensible prison system.

The downtown square has long been the focal point of towns throughout the state. Generally consisting of the seat of local government, the area is usually surrounded on all four sides by the town business district. As shown in this 2007 photograph of Marshall, the seat of Searcy County, the county courthouse occupies the center of the square. With the construction of strip malls in recent years, the survival of many of the once-prosperous town squares seems to be in jeopardy.

After Ernest Green became the first African American to graduate from Little Rock Central High School, he attended Michigan State University, earning a BA in social science in 1962 and an MA in sociology in 1964. Afterward, Green served as the director for the A. Philip Randolph Education Fund from 1968 to 1977. He then was appointed Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs during the Jimmy Carter administration, serving from 1977 to 1981.

Bonnie, Jim Ed, and Maxine Brown, better known as the popular 1950s and 1960s singing group the Browns, grew up near Pine Bluff (Jefferson County). Perhaps their biggest year was 1959, when their song “The Three Bells” reached No. 1 on both the country and pop charts. The trio performed together until growing families and other issues led to their breakup in 1967. Jim Ed went on to a fairly successful career as a solo artist and in a duo with Helen Cornelius. The trio occasionally re-forms for performances.

Of the seventy-five counties of the state of Arkansas, at least two have been named in honor of American explorers. On December 15, 1818, the newest county then to be created was named in honor of William Clark, co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery.

Point of Grace, an award-winning Christian vocal group, was formed in Arkadelphia (Clark County) in 1990 by longtime Oklahoma friends and Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) students Denise Jones, Heather Floyd, and Terry Lang. While singing in the Ouachitones, an OBU-sponsored group, they met fellow student Shelly Phillips from North Little Rock (Pulaski County), and they formed a quartet in 1991. The group became a trio in 2004, going on to achieve several gold and platinum albums and more than two dozen number-one hits.

On October 18, 1820, the newest county formed in the Arkansas Territory was named in honor of Secretary of the Treasury William Harris Crawford of Georgia. Crawford’s distinguished political career also included service as a Georgia state legislator, U.S. senator, minister to France, and secretary of war. In 1824, he finished third in one of the most controversial presidential elections in history.

Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs (Garland County) is a department of the School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville (Washington County). It is a 210-acre botanical garden located on four and a half miles of Lake Hamilton shoreline. Its mission is to be a resource for people desiring to improve their aesthetic, cultural, and scientific knowledge of plants, gardening, architecture, and landscape architecture, within a woodland environment. The land was deeded to the university by Verna Cook Garvan in 1985.

Fort Smith (Sebastian County) native Alphonso Trent, a jazz pianist who studied music at Shorter College in Little Rock (Pulaski County), led a band in the 1920s that became one of the most respected of the pre-swing era. In 1923, during the days of segregation, his group became the first all-black band to play a prominent white hotel, the Adolphus in Dallas, Texas, and the first to be broadcast over regional radio. Shown here is an advertisement featuring the band.

Musicians Wayne Raney (left) and Lonnie Glosson (right), Arkansas natives, formed a business partnership that lasted for decades. In the 1930s, they began hosting their own national radio show based in Cincinnati, Ohio. While co-writing and recording a number of hits, they partly supported themselves by selling millions of harmonicas by mail order.

With the resignation of Governor John Martineau in 1928, Harvey Parnell became the first lieutenant governor to move into the governor’s office. Shortly afterward, he was elected to a full term. A major issue during his administration was road improvement. His ambitious road plan was a financial disaster for the state, though it brought uniformity to the road system and added several needed bridges across the state’s streams. He is shown here in his official gubernatorial portrait.

The small Pulaski County settlement of Marche was established in the late 1870s as a refuge for Poles living in the United States. Count Timothy von Choinski purchased 11,000 acres of land from the railroad to help make a better life for his countrymen; the first group arrived in 1877. It grew into a thriving settlement and still exists in the twenty-first century, though much smaller. This 1961 photograph shows Max Malachowski’s store near the railroad.

The Action at Wallace’s Ferry was fought on July 26, 1864, as Union forces left Helena (Phillips County) on a reconnaissance mission to find Confederate cavalry raiders operating in Phillips County. The action resulted in a strategic draw. William O. Kretsinger, an officer in the Fifty-sixth U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment, formerly the Third Arkansas Infantry (African Descent), was cited for gallantry for his actions in the fight.

In 1982, Betty Bumpers, wife of former U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers, co-founded the international organization Peace Links, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to ending nuclear threats to the world. The idea originated from a discussion that Bumpers had with her daughter about the effects of a nuclear war. With a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, she and a number of congressional wives formed the organization. Bumpers (left) is seen here in a 1974 photograph with state poet laureate Lily Peter.