Month: November 2019

In Which I Hunt for Diamonds

In the morning, after coffee, breakfast, cat cuddling and more coffee, I headed over to the diamond mine.

They are really into making their already attractive signs even more photogenic. They even have a little post for taking selfies with a timer.

I thought that was ingenious, although it’s not quite as useful these days. Cell phones don’t sit up as well as cameras used to.

I went in, paid my fee, and headed for the mine.

Incidentally, this is the mine.

It’s a far cry from the Disney version.

All the things I read up in the display near where I paid to go in gave me the idea that many of the best diamonds are found on the surface, so I didn’t invest in the sifting equipment that they have available for rent just before you enter the mine. After all, I had already paid to enter the mine and I did bring some of my own stuff.

I walked in, looked for a likely spot and started looking.

Lots of people were out hoping to hit it big. I hope this little girl found something.

Maybe these young women found something.

I guess this is a family friendly activity. I didn’t hear one child complaining about sitting and looking at dirt.

The serious hunters don’t settle for looking on the surface, though. They scoop up gravel and do what they call a “wet sift.”

They make these troughs available for all.

The serious prospectors use the wet sift method.

These folks were kind enough to let me snap a photo of them washing their gravel.

There are people back in the visitor’s center that will help you identify what you found.

Here I am, heading to the visitor’s center to check my haul.

This is pretty much what I found. Do you see any diamonds?

No? Well, they didn’t, either.

The closest I got was this chip of glass, which kind of reminds me of the “crystal” I found in Payson, Arizona.

But, hey! I didn’t really think I would find a diamond. I did what I came to do, which was look for diamonds. Mission accomplished!

Now on to the historical and informational displays in the visitor center.

The first diamonds found in Pike County, were discovered in 1906 by John Huddleston on the farm that he had purchased earlier in the year.

Huddleston, recounted how he found the first diamond to Tom Shiras the Arkansas Gazette.

“I was crawling on my hands and knees…when my eyes fell on another glittering pebble…I knew it was different from any that I had ever seen before. It had a fiery eye that blasted up at me every way I turned it. I hurried to the house with the pebble, saddled my mule and started for Murfreesboro…riding through the lane, my eye caught another glitter, and I dismounted and picked it up out of the dust.”

The stones were sent to Charles Stifft, a Little Rock jeweler, who confirmed that they were genuine diamonds. He described tham as blue-white diamonds, one weighing 2 5/8 carats and the other 1 3/8 carats. To verify his findings, Stifft sent them to New York and said, “…after subjecting them to every test they were pronounced to be diamonds of fine grade.”

Huddleston sold his diamond bearing land for $36,000.

$36,000 seems to me like a small amount of money for a diamond mine. Well, I guess the State of Arkansas wanted to know the answer, too. They did some testing in two phases.

In Phase 1, They found that the “pipe” containing diamond bearing soil extends to more that 669 feet deep and is shaped like a martini glass. They extimated that the volume of the diamond bearing soil equals more than 46 million cubic yards.

In Phase 2 they found that the ore in the pipe is diamond bearing, but to varying degrees. They found a range of diamond content ranging from 1.2 carats per 100 tons to 0 carats per 100 tons. The average value of the diamonds was $12.31 per carat and the value of the higher grade ore was $0.12 per ton. In total, they recovered 210 diamond weight a total of 47.78 carats.

Their conclusion: There are plenty of diamonds but not enough to make a profitable commercial mining operation.

The State of Arkansas may not have found that they have a valuable diamond mine, but I think they have done quite well mining for tourists. At $10 per adult (children get in free) I’m guessing they more than recoup their expenses. When you add in the camping fees and benefit to local businesses, I’d say their investment has been worth it.

Oh, and if you are interested in making this a major pastime, you can buy a 20 visit pass for $170.

I imagine James Archer might have had a special pass. He prospected here for 30 years, almost full time since his retirement in 1987. During that time he found over 5,000 diamonds and helped countless others enjoy and understand what had become his favorite pastime.

James didn’t hunt for diamonds to get rich, but he did make some exciting finds. His two largest stones were 7.95 carats and 5.25 diamonds. He fine-tuned the art of studying the dirt and minerals in it. According to Harold Lay, a friend and fellow diamond prospector, “James was an artist with a shovel. He made it seem so effortless. No one knew that place like James Archer.”

His cheerful disposition and willingness to help made him the focus of many park interpretive programs. HIs popularity with visitors eventually led to his well-deserved billing as “The Living Legend.”

Archer died January 8, 2003, at age 77, on the diamond field he loved at Crate of Diamonds State Park.

Incidentally, the information about James Huddleston and James Archer were taken from informational signs at the park. I just read the information now. I do wish parks, museums and visitor centers would take the wearers of bifocals into account when posting signs. They were posted at an angle that made them hard to read. This is a pity because they had some interesting information on their signs.

So, if you own diamonds, whether from Crater of Diamonds or some family heirloom, your gems are over 3.5 million years old. If someone compliments you on your jewelry, you can just wave your hand and say, airily, “This old thing?

I also came across this panels than might have been useful information before I started prospecting.

Oh, well…

It was about time for me to leave. Of course, I had to exit through the gift shop. But, to be fair, the entrance was also through the gift shop.

Hmm. I visited in October 2019. I wonder I I would have had better luck if I had visited when the mine was freshly plowed? Eh…probably not!

I headed back to camp. What a beautiful park! I decided to head into Murfreesboro for dinner.

The Southern Dine Cafe looked interesting.

They had the Special of the Day posted, and I decided to go with that. I was tired and hungry and didn’t want to consider all the options at that point.

So, this is what Shepherd’s Pie is in Murfreesboro. It’s different from what I grew up with. For starters, we never put cheese on it. But, I ate every last bit!

There was even dessert included in the meal.

If I hadn’t been full to the gills (and if dessert hadn’t been included with the meal) I might have investigated an alternative dessert.

Fried pies!

Fried pie a la mode!

But, for now, it’s time to head back to the campground.

 

 

 

Heigh Ho!

I’m off to mine diamonds!

When I heard that there was a real diamond mine where you could look for diamonds and keep all the diamonds you find, that was the mental image I had. I was singing all the way there!

I was excited to finally get to Crater Of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro, Arkansas.

I booked three nights there. Today I would get set up and explore Murfreesboro a bit. Tomorrow: DIAMONDS!

My site was lovely. It was level and paved and was under some beautiful trees. The picnic table was in good shape and there was a fire ring.

I was really impressed that it was a full hook up site – water, electric AND sewer. I’ve never found a campground that didn’t at least have a dump station, but having it right at the site is a real luxury.

I also met my first T@bbers in real life – Julie and Mike. They were very obliging in showing my how they had their rig set up. The side tent is nice for the extra space, although I probably won’t be getting one myself.

With set up and introductions complete, I headed into town.

I noticed this building, occupying the square in the center of town. I figured that is was probably the courthouse.

It turns out that Murfreesboro is the county seat for Pike County. Pike County was formed in 1833 and was actually named for Zebulon Pike, of Pikes Peak fame. It would be interesting to know why they chose to name the county after him. In fact, it would be interesting to know why ten states chose to name counties after him. Georgia even went so far as to name the county seat Zebulon!

Pike was born in New Jersey in 1779, and was quite the explorer. Lewis and Clark weren’t the only explorers that Thomas Jefferson sent out. He went on two expeditions. in 1805-1806, he was sent to find the headwaters of the Mississippi. In 1806-1807, he set out to explore the Southwest to the edge of the northern Spanish-colonial settlements of New Mexico and Texas. In 1810, he wrote a book  about his expeditions was so popular that it was translated into French, Dutch and German. He fought as a Brigadier General during his last battle in the War of 1812. That battle was in Fort York, Upper Canada, which is now known as Toronto, Ontario.

Stephen Kulakoski’s photo from FindAGrave.com

His body was brought back across Lake Ontario and he was buried in the military cemetery in Sackets Harbor, New York.

I still wonder how they happened to name the county after him about 20 years after his death.

These days, Murfreesboro’s claim to fame is the diamond mine. They have a little display in a small area across the street from the courthouse. They also had a store that would be happy to sell you chunks of glass like those on display. They sell them by the pound. I’ve seen shops like that in many places during my travels. Why someone would want to buy a heavy chunk of glass and haul it around with them is another thing I don’t understand, but I guess that’s something I don’t need to understand.

Different strokes for different folks.

That little display was dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Carolyn Lewis. I wonder what she did to deserve this memorial? Someone must know, but there were no residents around to ask.

I continued looking around and came across the county’s war memorial.

There was also a pay phone that looked like it might have been in working condition.

I came across a plaque that commemorates Arkansas’ participation in the Civil War.

There was a mill stone that came from the Royston Factory Mill.

I mean, if you can’t take the word of the Masons, who can you trust?

This gave me the giggles.

I couldn’t get the image of Dr. Doolittle’s Pushmepullyou out of my head.

Back to camp. Tomorrow, I go mining for diamonds!

 

Hope

I had a day to explore somewhere in Arkansas. I had a reservation at the next stop, which was a place that was officially on my “Next Time” list. I decided to spend it in Hope. Was I looking for “a slice of the good life?”

No.

I chose to visit Hope so that I could see Bill Clinton’s birthplace. After dropping my trailer at the RV park, I headed over.

I parked and went into the Visitor Center and got myself signed up for a tour. Luckily for me, one was about to start.

Bill’s first home was in the home of his grandparents, Eldridge and Edith Cassidy. He was born as William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946, three months after his father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr, died in a car crash. Virginia, his mother, had married his father on September 4, 1943. Unfortunately, Bill’s father hadn’t quite bothered to divorce wife number three, so the marriage was declared to be bigamy. I guess multiple wives might be an occupational hazard when you are a traveling salesman.

I went looking for some additional information about Bill’s grandparents and ran into this interesting Washington Post article by Gene Weingarten about Bill’s father and what he had to endure during the Great Depression. Although it didn’t have the information I was looking for, it was riveting. If you want a window into the lives of people who endured poverty and the dustbowl, you might want to set aside a few minutes to read it.

We walked over from the visitor center. The ranger unlocked the door and invited us inside.

Bill’s grandparents owned and ran a small grocery store. My Preferred Source mentions that they sold goods on credit to people of all races, an unusual thing back in those days. Apparently, treating people like human beings is a good business model, because their house looks quite comfortable, in a 1940s sort of way.

Most of the furnishings are not original to the house. In fact, I don’t think any of them are “family pieces.” But, they have added touches that help to envision what life would have been like back when Bill and his mother lived there with her parents.

When I saw this old-timey box of Crayolas, I was impressed that it had survived all those years.

I was impressed, that is,  until I noticed the bar code and the CE marking on the bottom of the box. Just in case you had noticed the CE mark and wondered about it, my Preferred Source says that it is a certification mark that indicates conformity with health, safety and environmental protection standards for products sold within the European Economic Area.

Now you know. (And so do I!)

After we looked around the living room, it was on to the dining room. Baby Bill probably spent a good deal of time in a playpen like this one. Eldridge and Edith cared for Bill when his mother went to finish her nursing studies in New Orleans.  I remember having one of those folding wooden playpens in our house when I was growing up.

This practical little vignette was in the corner opposite the playpen.

We didn’t have a wooden ironing board, and I don’t remember an iron like this one, but I do remember bottles with those sprinkler tops on them. After all, Bill Clinton was the first Baby Boomer President and I am a Baby Boomer.

We never had a stove like that one, but it sure looks cool!

Bill’s grandfather used to pin up cards on the curtain in the kitchen to teach Bill his numbers.

Bill would have been about four months old in January of 1947.

Bill and his mother shared this bedroom. I clearly remember my two youngest siblings using a bassinet like the white one next to Virginia’s bed. We must have come up a bit in the world by then, as this is a photo of what I slept in when I was tiny.

But, enough about me. Back to the tour.

There is a charming photo of Bill and a giant cake at what must have been his third birthday, judging by the candles.

If I remember correctly, this book is the one of the few things in the house directly related to Bill. Little Golden Books started publishing in 1942. I imagine most of the people reading this post have fond memories of Little Golden Books. I know I do.

When Bill got older and would come to stay at his grandparents’ house, he got his own little room.

When I visited Harry S Truman’s birthplace in Lamar, Missouri, I saw his outhouse and did some research to try to find out if he was the last President to not have indoor plumbing. The source that I found said Bill had an outhouse. He might have had one when living with his mother and stepfather, but not at this house!

I believe that his was his grandmother’s bedroom.

There was a letter from Bill to her in the room.

I was amazed that he had letterhead note paper as a student. I wonder if that was “a thing” back then?

I imagine that this room was set up as his grandfather’s bedroom. That afghan is a bit more “manly” than the one in his grandmother’s room.

And that was pretty much it for the tour.

I enjoy taking photos of the informational signs. I get some of my best information from them!

Fun fact: Mike Huckabee, who was governor of Arkansas from 1996 – 2007, was also born in Hope. I am sure that he wanted to be the second Baby Boomer president, but George W. Bush, who as born in 1946, actually got that honor. So, he would have been the third Baby Boomer, except that he didn’t get the nomination.

I headed back into the Visitor Center, to see what I could see.

I like how timelines lay information out so…linearly. And I do love maps! I decided to try to find the home he lived in 1950-1953 when I was done in this part of town.

Here’ a photo of Bill and his classmates at Miss Purkins’ School. Notice that Vince Foster, who lived just next door, was a classmate. Joe Purvis is also identified in the photo. I didn’t remember that name, so I went looking. It sounds like Hope produces a lot of lawyers and politicians!

Do you suppose that it’s something in the water?

This was labeled as a mother’s day photo.

A sweet photo of Bill, his brother, Roger, and his mother, Virginia. I imagine that it is from 1959 or 1960, judging by the size of Roger.

I do hope that Bill’s mother took this photo. I can’t imagine just putting a young child on a train and sending him off to visit his brother in college several states away!

According to the information in the Visitor Center, Bill went down to the courthouse and had his name changed legally from Blythe to Clinton. One of the reasons he did it was because Roger was about to start school and he didn’t want the differences in their lineage to ever be an issue for him. He thought that it would be good to have the same name as the rest of the family. He also thought that he might have wanted to do something nice for his Daddy, even though he was glad that his Mother had divorced him in 1962.

Ah! Another time line! This one shows when Bill’s stepfather entered and left his life.

This photo shows Bill being sworn in as governor of Arkansas in 1979, at age 32. He was the youngest governor in America at that time, and the second youngest governor ever in the state of Arkansas.

(If you were wondering, I did manage to track down the name of the youngest Arkansas governor. It was John Roanne, who was also age 32. He was the fourth governor, 1849-1852. If you are curious about the governors of Arkansas, the Secretary of State has a PDF you can download.)

A little more Fun with Timelines…

And then it was time to head out. I walked down the street to the train station. What a beautiful fall day it was! Look at that clear blue sky!

I was expecting that the train station had been converted to some other use, like most train stations have been. Believe it or not, this 1912 station still has passenger service! Trains run daily between Chicago, Illinois and San Antonio, Texas.

I did a little exploring around the station.

Hey! They even have a place for you to wait.

Not being visually impaired myself, I often wonder how useful signs like this are. Don’t get me wrong – I’m glad that we are working toward a world that enables all to take part. I just would like to know how a person who wasn’t sighted would know that there was a sign there to read.

If anyone knows, please fill me in.

On the sunny side of the building, there were a few plaques.

Golly! Yet another Hope native that was involved in Clinton’s presidency.

Oh! This is also a visitor center?

Ah, yes…

Of course, it is closed!

Across the street from the train station was a local watering hole. Apparently, the burgers are quite good, judging by the Yelp reviews. Then it was time to get in my car and look for the other home of Bill Clinton in Hope. I wondered if I would have trouble finding it.

No, it wasn’t hard at all!

It wasn’t as impressive as his grandparents’ house, but it looks like a nice place. Since this was obviously a neighborhood full of private homes – including this one – I didn’t want to overstay my welcome. So, I snapped a few shots and moved on.

This plaque was on a boulder in front of the house.

With my tasks in Hope complete, I headed back to the RV park, which also happened to be at the county fairground.

Good thing I didn’t bring my horse!

It was time to get packed up and ready to head to my next destination: Crater of Diamonds State Park.

 

On to Conway

I love it when I have the opportunity to revisit places – especially when those returns are to places where I know people.

My first stop was just a quick one – Neosho, Missouri. I wanted to check on the progress that had been made on the 1872 school that George Washington Carver attended since my participation in a 2016 HistoricCorps project. (Just for the record, this visit took place in 2018.)

As I pulled into town, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. Neosho is the Home of the World’s Largest Flowerbox!

I made my way over to the school house to inspect the progress. This is a project that is funded by private donations, so it takes a while to complete each step.

When I consider what had to be done to get it this far, I am amazed at the progress – even though this place doesn’t look like much right now. I knew that they had gotten the siding completed, but I hadn’t seen a photo of the great foundations that were added. When I was there, the building was sitting on a few stacked stones at each corner.

They have added some new informative signage at the site.

I particularly like this sketch that George Washington Carver made of how he remembered the school and the house that Uncle Andy and Aunt Mariah Watkins shared with him. The house that is currently next door to the school is not the house he lived in. As I remember, the archeologist that worked with us during the HistoriCorps project said that the house he lived in was most likely the one at the corner, but they couldn’t verify that.

In any event, he remembered that school house very clearly.

There was also a sign about the what the formerly enslaved and their offspring had to go through to achieve an education.

It warmed my heart to see photo of Stephen Frost, George’s first teacher. There is nothing that satisfies a teacher more that to see their students succeed. I hope he lived long enough to know of the fruits of the seeds of knowledge he planted in his student.

I couldn’t resist the opportunity for a little T@b glamour shot before I headed out of town.

Next stop was Conway, Arkansas. I had been there in 2014, when I first started out on my Airstream adventure. Conway was a destination for me because an internet friend I had known since before Facebook lives there!

Nancy is a very busy person with many irons in the fire, so I was pleased that we could squeeze in some time to catch up with each other.

I booked a site at one of my favorite campgrounds – Toad Suck Park. Isn’t that a great name? It sits right on the Arkansas River. It’s an Army Corps of Engineers facility, which means three things:

1. The park is well constucted.
2. Everything works.
3. It’s economical – especially since I have the America the Beautiful Senior pass.

I’m pretty sure that I even got the same site I had before…

with the same great view!

Nancy and I met up for lunch at a very nice restaurant. In fact, we ate here on my last visit. Unfortunately, there are no photos of the food or of us, so you will just have to take my word for it.

Nancy had things to attend to, so I prowled around Conway for a bit. This vibrant mural across the street in Simon Park demanded my attention.

This mural is titled “Aurora Rising.” The sign on the right side of the photo tells the significance of all the components. Unfortunately, it was so sun-faded that I couldn’t piece the information together. However, it was designed and painted by Morton Brown in 2007. I hope he has gone on to other great works of art.

I loved this statue of a young girl looking up at the mural.

Look at the wonder in her face.

Behind her is a statue of a young reader, totally engaged in a book.

I looked around and saw a bike sharing station.

It’s part of the Zagster program and is sponsored by Baptist Health. Cycling is a good form of exercise. And, if you are not a good cyclist, encouraging people to ride could insure that they have more customers from people falling off. (I would be one of them.)

That evening, I joined Nancy at her library for an open night mike. It’s fun to watch people pursuing their passions, whether in a group…

or doing a solo.

Nancy is also a talented musician, and she took a turn on the stage.

I made it back to Toad Suck Park in time to enjoy the last bits of a lovely sunset.

Incidentally, my Preferred Source has an entry about Toad Suck. There it says that the origin of the name is disputed. Some believe that is came about when idle rivermen would congregate at the local tavern where the would “suck on a bottle ’til they swell up like toads.” Others believe it is a corruption of a French phrase meaning “a narrow channel in the river.”

The next morning, we met up for breakfast at Bob’s Grill. Nancy’s husband, Dan, stopped in for a few minutes. We had met the last time I passed through. This is one busy family!

After breakfast, we set out for a town somewhere in the area for a literary event. Nancy wrote a book, “A Down-Home Twelve Days of Christmas.”

Quite a few local authors were taking part and promoting their books.

Of course there were refreshments.

Oh, my! Fried pies! They were delicious!

After that, it was back to her house for a bit. I took about a dozen photos of Nancy and her dog, whose name escapes me at the moment. I decided I liked this shot the best.

Then we managed to tag-team a selfie. I think I held the camera and she hit the button. (Or was it the other way around?)

And then it was time to go. Thanks for making time to visit with me, Nancy!

On my way out of the park the next day, I managed to snap a photo of the flags. It took a few shots, but I finally managed to snap on that showed the Corps of Engineers flag with most of their insignia visible.

After I dumped my tanks, I also got a shot of the T@b with the sign. And then it was time to hit the road.

But first, a stop for gas.

Next stop: Hope.