grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Arkansas in Retrospect.

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Saturday night when I arrived in Fayetteville, I became instantly annoyed. Our UVerse was on the brink—And.On.College.Football.Night!

In retrospect, this turned out to be a good thing, not because the Razorbacks lost in grand form but because of the UVerseless events to unfold…

I poured myself a glass of wine, calmed down, and remembered the reason we bought our cozy place—to escape Dallas, to escape constant news and noise, to rest and think and write.

At a scant 893 square feet it’s filled only with things we absolutely love such as vintage Fiestaware, second hand books, beds covered in heirloom quilts, and leather club chairs from Paris I feel certain Hemingway once sat in.

Arkansas in Retrospect
Hemingway sat here? 
In reality, with only 893 square feet there isn’t space for okay or average or it’ll do. And there really isn’t room for UVerse…

With no sound other than leaves turning, I settled in to read.  
I read a Margaret Atwood poem. 
I finished a book of short stories by Dot Hatfield. 
I read an article about Northwest Arkansas museums. Located in Berryville, the Heritage Center Museum sounded interesting with collections of pioneer and artifacts from the early 1900s. With no real agenda, I decided to make a side stop in Berryville on my way to Eureka Springs the next day. Berryville was only a few miles off my regular route.
What to read next?

On the bookcase lay an old hardback book I found last year at Long Ago Antiques in Fayetteville, a place I am convinced is as magical as the Narnia wardrobe. The sturdy cover of the book was ridged like burlap and the center bore a faded drawing of the Arkansas state capitol building. It felt substantial and important yet was small enough to carry in my bag.

Inside, the first page was tagged Arkansas Collection then stamped ‘discarded’. 

Arkansas in Retrospect
Arkansas in Retrospect by William Henry Ingersoll
Clearly the book needed me. 
Although I had never heard of Arkansas in Retrospect, nor the author, William Henry Ingersoll, his surname reminded me of a Donald Harington character. Ingersoll stuck with me as Harington’s characters often do.

Donald Harington Books - arkansas author

The book (published in 1943) was one long poem about Arkansas. 
The first four lines…
In Arkansas where I was born,
Some fifty years ago or more,
A thousand tales do now adorn
And grace the State her sons adore.

Clearly I needed this book. It was speaking directly to me.

With heavy eyes, I fell asleep thinking when I get to Dairy Hollow, I’ll do some research on Mr. Ingersoll…tomorrow…

Tomorrow brought a truly AMAZING turn of events.
For the rest of the story, click HERE…
talya
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

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Comments

  1. Because I know the story, this really excites me, but I won’t give it away in case someone reads my comment. Your Part One is beautifully written and illustrated with photographs. Looking forward to Part Two.

  3. Intrigued. I’ll stay tuned! And after Pat reads it, I’d like to too. On another note, I love old, well worn books. There’s something about the fact that others have perused the same pages that I am…it’s like I’m bonding with strangers.

  7. Cool! I really enjoyed this post! I do love Eureka Springs! Haven’t been there in awhile, now, but hope to go again before too much longer.
    I love old books! There just doesn’t seem to be any new ones that can even come close to beating, nor even matching them!
    I especially found the part about your small home, and all that you find important in it interesting. I will be looking forward to reading more posts on that topic. You see, we will soon be moving, together, into 300 square feet and I am currently (just me and my critters) living in 2600 square feet. Going to be really interesting and I will be looking for all kinds of ideas, tips and pointers!

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