Time Period: Divergent Prosperity and the Arc of Reform (1968-2022)

Tornado Outbreak of May 15, 1968

A series of tornadoes that struck Arkansas on May 15, 1968, killed forty-five people in four Arkansas counties, with Jonesboro (Craighead County) suffering especially severe damage and the majority of the deaths. The tornado that hit Jonesboro touched down at Valley View (Craighead County) and traveled northeast, slamming into the city just before 10:00 p.m. and “scattering homes like dominoes.” The twister also hit Nettleton (Craighead County), where the “shopping district…was heavily damaged” and the elementary school was destroyed. In all, thirty-four people were killed and 450 were injured in Jonesboro. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data indicated that the tornado was an E4, with winds between 207 and 260 miles per hour. A twister also “virtually destroyed” Oil Trough …

Wishbook Wife, The

The Wishbook Wife is a 1992 western novel written by Jerome Gardner and published by Robert Hale Limited of London, England. The book centers upon Arne Haag, a Swedish immigrant living in western Arkansas, and Emmeline Watson, who works for the Montgomery Ward company in Chicago. Featured in the book are historical figures such as Judge Isaac Parker of Fort Smith (Sebastian County). The story begins with the burial of Gudrun Haag, Arne’s late wife, on a late January day. The location is not specified, but the preacher giving the funeral oration is from Perryville (Perry County), Fort Smith is said to be seventy miles northwest of the Haag property, and Arne’s daughter Jeri Lou is seeing a man in …