Charley Crockett Fortner Jr., 81, of Ravenden Springs, Arkansas passed away peacefully on September 2, 2023, surrounded by his family. Charley was born in Ravenden Springs, Arkansas on November 22, 1941, to Crockett and Nettie Fortner.
Randy Carl Frier of Pocahontas, Arkansas passed away on Friday, September 8, 2023, at the age of 64 years. He died at home surrounded by loved ones. Randy was born to Carl and Gana Frier in Pocahontas on Sunday, November 2, 1958.
Many of the words, phrases, and sayings common in my youth would be largely incomprehensible to young people today. The reasons for this transition are readily understandable. Until World War II our Upland South Randolph County culture had changed very little since the days of earliest settlement. Most of our founding families trekked westward from Virginia and the Carolinas, perhaps passing a generation in Tennessee or Kentucky. Entering our homeland at Pitman’s Ferry across Current River they replicated the Upland South culture of their previous generations.
This month we received brochures from Buffalo River Air Tours, The Rag Barn in Alpena, Jimmy Driftwood Barn & Folk Hall of Fame, Rogers Historical Museum and the DoubleTree by Hilton Hot Springs. In addition, we also received brochures advertising Hardy Homesteaders Day, which will be on September 30 at Loberg Park in Hardy from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. As for magazines, this month we received the August Ouachita Life, August At Home In Arkansas, and the new Texarkana City Guide, El Dorado Dining Guide and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s 2023-24 Arkansas Hunting Guidebook (Including the 2024 Turkey Regulations).
It has been several years ago by now, ten years at least, at the very end of summer. The weather had been beautiful and our world seemed near perfect and life was much less complicated back then.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ recent proposal to shield a broad range of records from public release is a concerning step that threatens the transparency and accountability of her administration and administrations to come.
The tick-borne disease is commonly referred to as bobcat fever because the resource hosts are wild bobcats, Bobcats typically get the mildest form of the illness, and researchers think some may get sick and die, most of them recover and carry the illness in their bloodstream.
I was driving to a showing yesterday and my phone rang with a number I didn’t recognize. It was hands free, a little hard to hear and the lady was talking fast. I didn’t hear her name but she started telling me she had someone there with her and they had an accident. I was just catching bits and pieces but in my head, Mike had been in an accident and the nurse was calling me. Then she proceeded to ask me if I could bring a change of underwear and pants to her. I’m thinking “Yes, sure I can see if he was in an accident needing that.” My head was spinning at this point. I said “This is Jana Caldwell. Is Mike ok?” She then announced loudly “THIS ISANNAT KIDS SPOT. YOUR SON HAS WET HIMSELF.” It was at this point we figured out she had dialed the wrong number… I played with 2 babies, 3 dogs and a cat today during my real estate endeavors. I call that a win in any profession.
Sometimes when we least expect it, there are moments when we long to stroll down memory lane. With the orchestrations for my high school reunion underway, an irresistible urge, perhaps even a necessity, has developed within me—an urge to revisit the abandoned, decrepit and forsaken grounds of my alma mater.
September 14-16: 43rd Annual Maynard Pioneer Days September 15-16: 166 Rodeo Roundup: Presented by Maynard Saddle Club September 22: Redskin Football @ Rivercrest September 23: Pocahontas City Wide Yard Sale at Riverfront Park. 7 a.m.