JULY/AUGUST 2018

FASA Newsletter – 2018, Issue Two

FRIENDS OF THE

ARKANSAS STATE ARCHIVES

Associate Professor Sonny Rhodes is a Faculty

Excellence Award winner in the School of

Mass Communication at UALR. Before

teaching journalism there, he served 25 years

as a newspaper reporter and editor. Rhodes

received a bachelor’s degree in education from

the University of Central Arkansas and a

master’s degree in journalism from the

University of Mississippi. His consistent

placement of students in Arkansas internships

leading to jobs means his influence on

editors and newspaper journalism in Arkansas

over time has been formidable.

FASA 2018-2019 BOARD

President ~ Susan Boyle

Vice-president ~ Lynda Suffridge

Secretary ~ Tim Nutt

Treasurer ~ Tom Dillard

Russell Baker (Mabelvale)

Susan Boyle (Little Rock)

Ken Bridges (El Dorado)

Richard Butler (Little Rock)

Tom Dillard (Malvern)

Sondra Gordy (Conway)

Jajuan Johnson (North Little Rock)

Gary W. Jones (Little Rock)

Tamela Tenpenny-Lewis (Little Rock)

Glenn Mosenthin (Searcy)

Tim Nutt (Little Rock)

Blake Perkins (Lynn)

Sonny Rhodes (North Little Rock)

Jeanne Rollberg (Little Rock)

Lynda Suffridge (North Little Rock)

Stuart Towns (Forrest City)

Gary Walker (DeQueen)

Blake Wintory (Lake Village)

FASA “WELCOMES”

NEW BOARD MEMBER

DID YOU KNOW?

In 1905 as part of the burgeoningstate archives movement thatswept the South shortly after1900, the Arkansas HistoryCommission was created largelythrough the efforts of John HughReynolds, a history professor atthe University of Arkansas(UA) in Fayetteville (WashingtonCounty).Photo Courtesy of Arkansas History Commission and State Archives

For additional information:

Arkansas State Archives. http://www.ark-ives.com (accessed June 8, 2016).

Baker, Russell Pierce. "The Arkansas History Commission and its Manuscript

Collections." MA thesis, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 1985.

Coker, Robert R. “The Origins of the Arkansas History

Commission.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 32 (Autumn 1973): 242–254.

Carla Hines Coleman

Little Rock, Arkansas

Dr. John W. Graves

Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Elise Hampton

Conway, Arkansas

Myron Jackson

Little Rock, Arkansas

Pat Finley Johnson

Pocahontas, Arkansas

Dr. Cherisse Jones-Branch

Jonesboro, Arkansas

Rev. Frank Stewart

Conway, Arkansas

Jimmy Bryant

Conway, Arkansas

Mary Dillard

Malvern, Arkansas

Ronald Fuller

Little Rock, Arkansas

Jason B. Hendren

Bentonville, Arkansas

Robert McCarley

Little Rock, Arkansas

Rodney Soubers

Mountain Home, Arkansas

Dr. Micheal Tarver

Clarksville, Arkansas

Meet our Commissioners

The Curtis H. Sykes Memorial Grant Program offers grants that provide support for African Americanhistoric preservation and public programming projects in Arkansas, and is currently acceptingapplications. Past projects include historical research, exhibits, workshops, publications, oral historyinterviews, documentary films, and cemetery preservation and documentation. To learn more about thisgrant administered by the Black History Commission of Arkansas visit our website at:http://archives.arkansas.gov/about-us/bhca/curtishsykesmemorialgrantprogram.aspx

Sketch provided courtesy of Charles Bowers, Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society, Arkansas Chapter

Arkansas History

Commission

Black History

Commission

Have you ever wished you could volunteer at the

Arkansas State Archives? This is your opportunity!

About eight members of Friends have been gathering

from 9-12 on Tuesday mornings with Archives staff

around a large table in a conference room at the DAH

Records Management Facility to index 19th century

Hempstead County records. Gloves and masks are

provided.

Some of the records we have indexed so far have been

from the territorial period and represent all kinds of

court cases from murders to suits to slave sales. We all

help each other and share interesting finds. Everyone

is enjoying it immensely. It is a marvelous learning

experience, plus a great help to the Archives in

helping to make these records more easily available to

the public.

The terms of this project are not cast in stone. We are

pretty flexible. Some of us have come late or left

early. We're not all there every week. This is OK. We

all have a life. But the more volunteers we have the

sooner we will finish this particular record group.

I have been approached by several members who are

otherwise committed on Tuesday mornings and so we

will be starting a Wednesday morning volunteer

session at the Archives. If you are interested in

joining either of these groups please let me know.

The RMF building is on the north side of LaHarpe

where Chester St. crosses it. Turn left into the first

driveway north of LaHarpe. Follow the drive around

to the front of the building where the door is. In the

foyer turn left and come down the hall to the first door

on the left.

I hope you will be interested enough to take advantage

of this great opportunity. Please contact me to become

a volunteer for the Archives.

Susan G. Boyle, FASA President

susanb1996@aol.com

501-455-9921

The Archives is now in the capable hands of Dr. Wendy Richter whohas worked there twice before in her career and knows thesituation well. She resumed the role of Director on May 14 and wasofficially welcomed on June 2 with a public reception which many ofyou attended.

Dr. Richter is focused on making the newspaper community awareof the Archives’ ongoing need for copies of Arkansas newspapers tomicrofilm. Not as many of the publishers are sharing newspaperswith the Archives as in the past. In this regard, the Friendspurchased two booths at the Arkansas Press Association ConventionTrade Show on June 29. One booth was occupied by Archives staffwho informed attendees about the gathering and filming ofArkansas newspapers in hopes of convincing newspapers to sendcopies to the Archives. The other booth was occupied by two ofyour Board members who promoted both the Archives and theFriends group.

Friends has purchased from the Arkansas Genealogical Society thelast five volumes of the Arkansas Prior Birth Index, vol. 11-15, forthe Archives from the Arkansas Genealogical Society as well asthree copies of the final CD of the database to be given to theArchives, the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives and theSouthwest Arkansas Regional Archives. These will be importantadditions to the Archives’ records collection and a major step inmaking otherwise hard to find records at the Department of Healthmore available to the researching public.

Please take a look at the Friends new website Ararchivesfriends.org.Now that we have a basic site we are looking for ways to improveand update it, for instance, with motion graphics. If you have anytalent and expertise in this area or have any suggestions, we wouldlove to hear from you. This is one way you could help yourorganization. The website will be crucial in the ongoing publicizingof the Archives and in attracting new Friends members which areneeded if we are to continue to contribute to the Archives.

Check out the testimonial videos that Gary Jones and JeanneRollberg have been producing for Friends. You can see them onFriends of the Arkansas State Archives Facebook page, on Twitter at#FoASA, and on the Ararchivesfriends.org website. If you would liketo make a short video sharing your sentiments as to the value anduse of the Archives please let us know.

Susan G. Boyle

Message from the President

Thank you for being a Friend of the ArkansasState Archives. Together we have managed tocontribute to the health and well-being ofArkansas’ premier archives, the one thatbelongs to each and every one of us andwhich we all feel an obligation to support andprotect.

Friends Welcome Dr. Richter

Dr. Wendy Richter with a Reception

AKANSAS STATE ARCHIVES

WELCOMES BACK

Dr. Richter said she returned to the job from Ouachita Baptist

University in 2018 because "it was always my dream job."

The new state historian and directorStacy Hurst, director of the Department of

Arkansas Heritage (DAH), named Dr.

Wendy Richter as state historian and director

of the Arkansas State Archives (ASA), a

division of DAH. Richter previously served as

director of the Archives, when it was known

as the Arkansas History Commission, from

2005-2012. She has over 35 years of

experience in archival records and research,

specifically in Arkansas history. She began

work on May 14 at a salary of $87,095.

“The work of the Arkansas State Archives is

very important, and I look forward to Dr.

Richter’s leadership of the organization and its

mission of maintaining the historical records

of our state,” said Governor Asa Hutchinson.

“Her understanding of and scholarship in

Arkansas history are an extraordinary gift to

our state.”

Richter holds a master’s degree in public

history from the University of Arkansas, Little

Rock, a master’s degree in heritage studies

from Arkansas State University (ASU) and a

doctorate in heritage studies from ASU. Since

2013, she has been an archivist and professor

at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia.

The work of Dr. Richter and her staff recently

earned national honors with the Baptist

History and Heritage Society’s 2017 Davis C.

Wooley Award for Outstanding Achievement

in Assessing and Preserving Baptist History.

Dr. Richter is an expert in the history of the

upper Ouachita River Valley, and Clark, Hot

Spring and Garland Counties. She has

authored, compiled and edited many

publications on these subjects.

Arkansas History Commission Chair Jason Hendren said,

“Dr. Richter is eminently qualified to serve as state

historian, and I look forward to welcoming her home.”

The other divisions of DAH are the Delta Cultural

Center, Historic Arkansas Museum, Old State House

Museum, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, Arkansas

Arts Council, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission

and Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

Article Posted By Max Brantley on Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 9:54 AM

www.arktimes.com/arkansasblog/archives2018/2018/03/21

Congratulations to Friends Board Member Glenn MosenthinThe county and local journals awards committee of the Arkansas Historical Association selected Glenn’s

article, “General Samuel Mitchell Of Gum Pond: “Planter, Politician, Masonic Leader,” as winner of the

Walter L. Brown Award For Best Article in a County or Local Journal in 2017. The award and

certificate was presented at the Annual AHA banquet April 20, 2018 by AHA President, Mark Christ.

Congratulations Glenn on an award winning article!

Evin DemirelSecond of Four Speakers in Archives’

2018 Lecture Series

On April 17, author and journalist Evin Demirel was the

featured speaker at the Arkansas State Archives’ (ASA)

2018 Pen to Podium lecture series. The event was held at

the Department of Arkansas Heritage (DAH), in the

Diamond Room. (Research for his book was funded by the

BHCA, Curtis Sykes Memorial Grant). The reception

preceding the lecture was hosted by (FASA) Friends of the

Arkansas State Archives.

Upcoming 2018 Pen to Podium EventTuesday, August 21, 2018 ~ Michael Hibblen

Arkansas State Archives

2018 Calendar of Events

“Save the Date”

The Pen to Podium events are free and open to

the public, but guests must register online.

*August 9 - Black History Commission of Arkansas

meeting at the Archives, at noon and open to the

public.

*August 21 –Pen to Podium Lecture by Michael

Hibblen who will discuss his book Rock Island

Railroad in Arkansas. Michael, an author and

journalist, is News Director at KUAR. The event

will be held at the Department of Arkansas Heritage,

111 North Street, Little Rock. A reception with

drinks and edibles will begin at 6:30 and the lecture

will begin at 7:00.

*September 8 - Friends Board Meeting at the

Archives, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon.

*September 15 - Chinese Immigrants in the

Arkansas Delta, Pulaski Tech on I 30, 10-3, an

Arkansas Foodways Symposium, with Chinese

speakers and Chinese food.

*September 21 - Arkansas History Commission

meeting will be held from 10am – 11am at DAH,

1100 North St. Little Rock, open to the public.

*October 13 - Tracing Your Arkansas Roots:

Genealogy 101 will be held at the Southwest

Arkansas Regional Archives, Washington, AR, 9-

noon. Speakers are Diana Gilpin and Thea Baker.

Baker will speak on Document Analysis for the

Beginning Genealogist.

*October 27 - Genealogy Day at the Archives,

sponsored by the Friends of the Arkansas State

Archives, Arkansas Genealogical Society, Heritage

Seekers and the Black History Commission, 9-3 in

the Research Room at the Archives.

*November 8 - Black History Commission of

Arkansas meeting at noon in the Diamond Room at

DAH, open to the public.

*November 13 - Pen to Podium Lecture, Ben

Boulden, ”Hidden History of Fort Smith”, 6:30-

7:00pm, FASA will provide liquid

refreshments. Lecture is from 7:00 – 8:00pm.

President Susan Boyle and Vice President Lynda Suffridge represented Friends at the

Annual Arkansas Press Association Convention on June 9, held in Eureka Springs.

Newspaper digitization's - just one historic valued service ASA provides.

Saving Our Arkansas Heritage Summit

On June 9th the Black History Commission of

Arkansas presented “A History of Arkansas’s

Black Fraternal Organizations” at Mosaic

Templars Cultural Center. Pictured L to R: Friends

Board Member and presenter, Tamela Tenpenny-

Lewis; Tatyana Oyinloye, Coordinator African

American History (ASA) Dr. John Graves (BHCA),

Flora Simon (Presenter-Order of the Eastern Stars)

Stacy Hurst, Director (ADH); Blake Wintory

(Presenter FASA); Cleveland Wilson (Presenter,

Masonic Fraternal Order); Carla Hines Coleman

(Chair-BHCA)

Photos courtesy of BHCA and Friends Mobile Upload

Those that Answered the Call: If you were among the

approximately 125 people who attended the Summit Meeting on

March 24 at the Darragh Center to discuss the problems facing the

Arkansas State Archives and DAH, thank you!! For those of you

who were not in attendance, you should know that the large turnout

was heartening to the organizers. Historians, archivists,

preservationists, and history buffs of all kinds were there and eager to

hear and share concerns and experiences.

If you were unable to attend please visit our Facebook page where we

have posted the speaker videos. Comments are welcomed!

“IN THE SPOTLIGHT”

Lynda Childers Suffridge graduated from the University of Arkansas atFayetteville with a BSE and MSE. Taught school in West Memphis, Arkansas,Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was on the faculty at Arkansas State University inJonesboro, Arkansas. She worked ten years in the Arkansas House ofRepresentatives as a Bill Clerk, and worked twelve years at the ArkansasHistory Commission [now the Arkansas State Archives]. She served on theBoard of the National Genealogical Society nine years, the last four as vicepresident. She is a past-president of the Arkansas Genealogical Society,Heritage Seekers, and Arkansas Pioneers. She is a member of GilbertMarshall Chapter DAR, Arkansas Pioneers, and T. J. Churchill Chapter, U.D.C.She currently serves as secretary of the Board of the United MethodistMuseum of the Arkansas Conference. She is vice president of the Friends ofthe Arkansas State Archives

She is the author of NGS Research in the States Series: Arkansas; co-author ofCanada/Kennedy Cemetery, Saline Township, Cleveland County, Arkansas:More Than Tombstones and Saline Township, Cleveland County, Arkansas,Justice of the Peace Ledgers 1879-1950 & Saline Township Records Abstractedfrom Dallas and Cleveland County Court Ledgers 1845-1959. She is currentlyworking on a book on the Schools of Saline Township, Cleveland County,Arkansas.

She retired after serving 17 years as editor of the Perry County [Arkansas]Historical & Genealogical Society Newsletter. She also was co-editor of PerryCounty, Arkansas: Its Land & People. Lynda was the 2007 winner of the“Arkansas Genealogical Society Family History Writing Contest Bobbie JonesMcLane Award” and was presented the “2008 Arkansas HistoricalAssociation Walter L. Brown Award for Best Family History in a LocalJournal” for her article “Descendants of Reuben Searcy and IsabellaMcDonald.”

Ms. Suffridge lectured for several years in Course III at the Institute ofGenealogy & Historical Research at Samford University in Birmingham,Alabama, at National Genealogical Society and Federation of GenealogicalSociety Conferences, and to state and local organizations.

Featured FASA Board Member

Lynda Suffridge

2018 Award Recipient

Dr. Lisa SpeerNamed for the Council of State Archivists first executivedirector, the Victoria Irons Walch Leadership Awardacknowledges long-term leadership of State and territorialarchives. This year’s recipient is Dr. Lisa Speer, FormerDirector of the Arkansas State Archives.

To view the award nomination form for Dr. Speer go to:https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2018/06/26/former-state-archivist-gets-national-award

Who We Are

ARCHIVES

The Black History Commission of Arkansas (2007) For years, historians worried that without a concerted collectingand preservation effort, the rich history of Arkansas’s black community would be lost. In 1991, State Senator JerryJewell sponsored Senate Bill 710, passed as Act 1233 of the 78th General Assembly. This act established the ArkansasBlack History Advisory Committee (ABHAC), and charged the commission with preserving the history of blackArkansans and promoting the teaching of black history in Arkansas’s schools.

The BHCA is composed of seven (7) commissioners appointed by the Governor with the approval of the Senate. Themission is to collect black historical materials for the state archives; to encourage research in Arkansas black history;and to cooperate with the Arkansas Department of Education in the development of African American historicalmaterials for use in public schools. We are interested in letters, diaries, journals, business records, photographs,church and lodge records, personal memoirs and anything else of a documentary nature that is related to AfricanAmerican history in Arkansas. Please contact us if you have such materials that you are willing to donate or lend forcopying. The address is Arkansas History Commission, One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201. Tatyana Oyinloye isthe Coordinator of African American History and the liaison between the BHCA and the Archives.

A branch of the Arkansas State Archives, the mission ofSARA is to collect and preserve primary and secondarysource materials pertaining to the history of southwestArkansas and its people, and to serve as a resourcecenter for historical research focusing on the uniquehistory, culture, and heritage of the area. SARA, whichwas founded in 1978 as a project of the HempsteadCounty Historical Society, with assistance from theArkansas History Commission, Historic WashingtonState Park, and the Pioneer Washington RestorationFoundation, is located within Historic WashingtonState Park. AHC acquired SARA in 2008.

SARA offers a variety of research resources related toa 12-county region in southwest Arkansas thatincludes the counties of Columbia, Hempstead,Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Nevada,Ouachita, Pike, Polk, Sevier, and Union. MelissaNesbitt is the Archival Manager.

A branch of the Arkansas State Archives, the mission ofthe Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives (NEARA) is tocollect and preserve primary and secondary sourcematerials pertaining to the history of northeast Arkansasand its people. NEARA also serves as a resource centerfor historical research focusing on the unique history,culture, and heritage of the area. NEARA opened in2011, founded through a partnership between theArkansas History Commission and Arkansas State Parks,and is located within Powhatan Historic State Park.

NEARA collects material on a 16-county region inNortheast Arkansas, which includes the counties of:Baxter, Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Fulton,Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence,Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph, Sharp, andStone. Meredith McFadden is the Archival Manager.

“As a Friend of the Arkansas State Archives you also support the Black History Commission of

Arkansas, the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives and the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives”

Friends of the

Arkansas State Archives

The Friends group offers a variety of levels for

supporting the mission of the State Archives.

Basic Level $10

Sustaining Level $25

Organization Level $35

Benefactor Level $50

Lifetime Level $250

Corporate Level $500

*Receive invitations to pre-register for Archives’

events prior to the general public.

*Receive the newsletters of the FASA

and the Arkansas State Archives.

*Be eligible to vote in the annual members meeting.

*Have an opportunity to network with a community

of professional and lay historians interested

in preserving Arkansas history.

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS & BENEFITS

BECOME A MEMBER & SUPPORT FASA

Maylon T. Rice (Fayetteville)

Elizabeth Robbins (Hot Springs)

Mrs. Roy Roe (Pea Ridge)

Frances Ross (Little Rock)

James B. Rule (Maumelle)

Kitty Clay Sloan (Paragould)

Rod Soubers (Mountain Home)

Dr. Lisa Speer (Arkadelphia)

Dr. Frank Thibault (Benton)

W. Stuart Towns (Forrest City)

Linda Kay White (Hot Springs)

The Late Dr. Robert G. Sherer (LR)

Thea Walden Baker (Rose Bud)

Nancy Bartlett (Little Rock)

Bob Besom (Fayetteville)

Frank Bigger (Pocahontas)

James R. Bruce (Conway)

JoAnn Cooper (Cabot)

Ron Fuller (Little Rock)

Dr. John W. Graves (Arkadelphia)

Mary Heady (Monticello)

Sandra Hillier (Harrison)

Cheryl Nichols (Little Rock)

Gordon S. Rather, Jr. (Little Rock)

“Salutes” Our Twenty-Four

Life Members

SOCIAL MEDIA PROGESS

Life

VISIT US ON FACEBOOK ~ https://www.facebook.com/ARArchivesFriends

VISIT US ON TWITTER @FoASA

Since December 2017, Friends Facebook administrator and

filmmaker Gary Jones; Twitter coordinator and genealogist

Jeanne Rollberg; Friends board member Tamela Tenpenny-

Lewis' newsletter and Board Secretary Tim Nutt's recently-

established work on the FASA website has provided effective

outreach to more than 1500 followers.

Posted on our Facebook page are speaker videos from the

Saving Our Arkansas Heritage Summit, a Holiday Friends

video, Call to Action video, several Pen to Podium videos

and a Black History Commission video. The videos were

recorded and edited by Jones, who also completed post-

production work on them. We have promotions for previous

and upcoming Archives related events (including from

affiliate organizations) on the Facebook page which

includes approximately 115 minutes of video.

One of the Friends' media goals is to valorize the use of

the Arkansas State Archives for institutional, business, and

individual researchers. The testimonial videos that Jones has

completed and posted have spoken to these very areas.

Please visit our facebook and twitter pages, Like and Share!

Friends of the Arkansas State Archives

P.O. Box 259016

Little Rock, AR 72225

Your donations and membership are tax deductible! Please make payable to: