the 53rd annual meeting of the arkansas historical association 1994

The 53rd Annual Meeting of the Arkansas Historical Association 1994Author(s): Jeannie M. WhayneSource: The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 367-372Published by: Arkansas Historical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40030891 .

Accessed: 14/06/2014 05:00

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Arkansas Historical Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to TheArkansas Historical Quarterly.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 05:00:33 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=arkha

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40030891?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


The 53rd Annual Meeting of the

Arkansas Historical Association

1994

JEANNIE M. WHAYNE

THE PEOPLE OF HELENA provided a warm welcome to members of the Arkansas Historical Association who attended the 53rd Annual Meeting of the association April 28-30, 1994. The topic, "A Diversity of Cultures: Ethnic and Racial Groups in Arkansas History," inspired an abundance of paper submissions, which led to some fascinating panels. Members were treated to the opportunity to observe at close hand historic buildings in Helena, since the various sessions and other activities were held in a variety of places: the Delta Cultural Center, the First United Methodist Church, St. John's Episcopal Church, the Phillips County Library and Museum, the Phillips County Community College, the Phillips County Courthouse, and Bell's Ducks by the Levee. Attendees were accommodated at the Edwardian Inn, the Delta Inn, the Riverbluff Hotel, and the Magnolia Hill Bed and Breakfast.

Ronnie Nichols served as local arrangements chair, and his very able staff at the Delta Cultural Center provided considerable support. Constance Sarto of Little Rock and Jeannie Whayne of Fayetteville served as program co-chairs. Kenneth Startup and Ben and Sherrill Johnson were generous in sharing their experiences in chairing the 1993 and 1992 meetings. The indefatigable Gretchen Gearhart, the business manager of the association, provided valuable assistance and worked

Jeannie M. Whayne is assistant professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, secretary-treasurer of the Arkansas Historical Association, and editor of Arkansas Historical Quarterly.

THE ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY VOL. LIH, NO. 3, AUTUMN 1994



368 ARKANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

unflaggingly in making certain that all the local and program arrangements were coordinated. Together with Kim Martin, she helped solicit funds from members of the association to help pay for the meeting and submitted grant proposals which provided additional funds from the Arkansas Humanities Council. And once again, Mrs. Grace M. Tancred of Fayetteville sponsored the William Parkin Address.

John Graves presided at the opening session at the Delta Cultural Center on Thursday evening. After a welcome by Judge Kenneth Stoner, Calvin Smith of Arkansas State University delivered a speech titled "John E. Bush: The Politician and the Man." Following Smith's interesting presentation on Bush, who was the founder of the Mosaic Templars Society, Andr6 Guerrero and Constance Sarto, members of the Society for the Preservation of the Mosaic Templars of America Building, provided an update on the effort to save that historic Little Rock building. Graves presented a rare document, a report on a slave sale in Helena, to the Delta Cultural Center on behalf of the association. The Phillips County Historical Society hosted a reception following the discussion, and members had the opportunity to browse through the Delta Cultural Center and acquaint themselves with the many fine displays.

The paper sessions commenced at eight in the morning, April 29, at the historic First United Methodist Church. The first panel, "African- American Professionals," was moderated by Rapheal O. Lewis of Philander Smith College. Laurel Branton Bakken of the Delta Cultural Center in Helena gave a paper titled "Henry James Price: African- American Architect for the Centennial Baptist Church, c. 1905, Helena, Arkansas." Price designed many buildings in the Arkansas delta including the Centennial Baptist Church, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ronnie A. Nichols, also of the Delta Cultural Center, gave a paper titled "R. A. Williams, M.D., and the

Royal Circle of Friends." Williams established the Royal Circle of Friends in 1902 to provide burial insurance for African Americans. It continued in existence until 1956. Pegge L. Bell from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, delivered a paper titled "Mamie O. Hale: Midwife," accompanied by an excellent slide show.

"The Italian Experience" in Arkansas was represented in the next paper session commencing at nine-thirty. Moderated by Willard B.



53RD ANNUAL MEETING 369

Gatewood of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, the session

began with a presentation by Randolph Boehm of University Publications of America titled "Cultural Factors in the Sunnyside Plantation Peonage Case." Boehm demonstrated the role the differences in culture played in the failed experiment with Italian labor at Sunnyside Plantation in Chicot

County in the early twentieth century. Edward C. Stibili of Loyola University in Chicago then presented his paper, "Pietro Bandini: Jesuit

Missionary, 1852-1890" which chronicled the early career of Father Pietro Bandini, who later became famous as the Catholic priest who led Italian immigrants from Sunnyside to Tontitown. Finally, Louis Guida delivered a fascinating paper, "Immigrant Farmers: Italians in the South Arkansas Delta."

Michael Dougan of Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, chaired the final Friday morning session, "African Americans in Slavery and Freedom." Bobby Lovett, who is a dean at Tennessee State University, began the session with his paper, "The Negro in Arkansas During Union

Occupation, 1862-1866," which focused on the challenges facing freedmen in Arkansas in the crucial period of transition from slavery to freedom. Sam Morgan, a graduate student at the University of Missis-

sippi, delivered the next paper in the session, "Life at the Bottom Rail: Blacks at Helena from War to Reunion." Morgan argued that, despite the fact that the policies of President Andrew Johnson undermined the Freedman's Bureau and helped reestablish the dominance of the planters, blacks created a viable and politically active black community in Helena. Lori Bogle, a University of Arkansas at Fayetteville graduate student, completed the session with her paper, "On Our Way to the Promised Land: Black Migration from Arkansas to Oklahoma, 1889-1893."

Bogle's paper highlighted the reasons for the exodus and the problems awaiting those who migrated to Oklahoma.

Ninety-five members attending the meeting were treated to a barbecue luncheon at St. John's Episcopal Church. John W. Graves

presided and Leslie "Skip" Stewart- Abernathy introduced the speaker. George Sabo of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville gave a talk, "Indians of Arkansas," which suggested how certain myths provide clues to the culture of different Indian groups residing in Arkansas. An overflow crowd of attendees then participated in a teachers' workshop at the Methodist Church directed by John N. Short, who is chair of the




Social Sciences Division at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. The workshop introduced a variety of materials useful in teaching Arkansas history. Meanwhile, other members of the association attended the meeting of county and local history societies at the Phillips County Library and Museum. Sue Chambers presented an entertaining and informative talk, "Preserving Local History: The Creation of the Lepanto Museum," and the ladies of Temple Beth El provided refreshments. The final Friday afternoon event was a walking tour of historic homes. Over thirty-five members enjoyed seeing the many fine old homes and appreciated the hospitality of those who opened their homes.

The evening session began with a film presentation at the Phillips County Community College. Louis Guida's film, "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning," on Gatemouth Moore, the blues singer turned preacher, entertained a number of members. At seven, also at the Phillips County Community College, the association's annual banquet commenced, with one hundred thirty persons attending. John W. Graves presided over the banquet, and State Representative Ernest Cunningham extended Helena's greetings to the banquet attendees. Donald R. Montgomery presented the County and Local Journal Awards; Janice B. Eddleman presented the J. H. Atkinson Award for Excellence in Teaching Arkansas History; Stephen L. Recken presented the Lucille Westbrook and Violet B. Gingles Awards; and Laura Newman named Lorraine Gates the winner of the Arkansas Women's History Institute Susie Pryor Award. (The names of the winners of the association awards are listed in the Summer 1994 issue News and Notices section.) Jeannie M. Whayne introduced the speaker, Linda Reed, who delivered the third annual William Parkin address. Reed, who teaches in the history department at the University of Houston and also directs the African- American Studies program there, spoke on "Fannie Lou Hamer in the Context of Cultural Diversity." While the major focus of her talk was Fannie Lou Hamer, she also dealt with Arkansas's Daisy Bates.

The Saturday morning session began at eight at the historic Phillips County Courthouse. Nudie Williams of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville chaired the first session, "African Americans and Life in Arkansas." Gerry Crabb of Central High School in West Helena presented his paper, "Black Culture in Arkansas as Reflected in the Arkansas Guide," revealing just how few facilities existed for African-



53RD ANNUAL MEETING 37 1

American travelers in Arkansas in the mid-twentieth century. Susan Wildbur-Nannemann of the Texarkana Museum System presented an interesting slide program, "A Family Portrait," demonstrating how a museum can utilize old pictures to create a history lesson.

The morning's second session, "Ethnic and Religious Groups in Arkansas," was chaired by Byrd Gibbens of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and began with a paper by Thomas C. Kennedy of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, "Another Kind of Emigrant: Indiana Friends in the Arkansas Delta, 1864-1925," chronicling the difficulties encountered by the Quakers from Indiana Yearly Meeting in their Arkansas efforts. James M. Woods of Georgia Southern University presented the second paper of the session, "Driven From the Fatherland: German Catholic Immigration Into Arkansas, 1870-1890." Woods, whose recently released book on Catholics in Arkansas has received good reviews, focused on the experiences of the German Catholics. The subject matter of the next talk was also taken from the larger work of the talk's author: Carolyn Gray LeMaster of Little Rock presented a fascinating slide show and talk, "The Jews of Arkansas: Their Economic, Social, and Civic Contributions." Her book on the Jewish experience in Arkansas was scheduled for release later in the year.

The final session of the meeting, "Civil Rights," was presided over by historian Elizabeth Jacoway of Newport. Susan D. Daggett of Washington, D.C., presented the first paper, "Lee County as a Micro- cosm of the Civil Rights Movement," which focused on an integration controversy in Lee County in the early 1970s. Diane Gleason, a graduate student at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, presented the next paper, "The Arkansas State Press and the Civil Rights Movement," which dealt with L. C. and Daisy Bates's efforts to maintain the press during the civil rights controversy in Arkansas. Finally, David Chappell of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville presented his paper, "Unity and Diversity Within a Racial Group: Little Rock, 1957," detailing the diversity of opinion within the white community over the Central High crisis.

A very fine luncheon for over seventy persons at Bell's Ducks by the Levee closed the activities. John W. Graves presided over the meeting and presented his presidential report, which focused on the year's accomplishments. Jeannie M. Whayne gave the secretary-treasurer's




report, indicating that the association's finances have never been better. Nominations for officers and trustees followed: John W. Graves, president, Frances Ross, vice president, and Jeannie M. Whayne, secretary-treasurer; for a second three-year term as trustees, Richard B. Dixon, Ann Early, Janice B. Eddleman, Kenneth Startup, and Charles West; for an initial three-year term as trustee, Mrs. Mildred Smith of Washington, Arkansas. All were elected unanimously. Randolph Boehm then introduced the speaker, Ernesto R. Milani of Milan, Italy. Milani, author of an article in the Arkansas Historical Quarterly which focused on the Italian immigrant experience at the Sunnyside Plantation in Chicot County in the early twentieth century, gave an intriguing talk which dealt in part with the experience of Italian immigrants in Texas and compared it with that of the immigrants in Arkansas.



the 53rd annual meeting of the arkansas historical association 1994

Documents