I’m taking a pause (also famously known as procrastination) from writing to post a picture of my flowering clematis.
I planted this three years ago and this spring it has blossomed wonderfully.
photos
Inspiration From The Past
In “Storytellin’: True And Fictional Short Stories Of Arkansas” I write about a young boy, a midnight train, and the value of friendship in the tale “He A Friend Of Yours?” The title of the story is actually a question posed to the young boy by a train station employee.
Several of my family provided inspiration for the story not the least of which were my grandfather, father, and an uncle who all worked for the Rock Island Railroad in various capacities including railroad bull, brakeman, and conductor. All of their work began and ended with the Rock Island Rail Road train depot in the small town of Booneville, Arkansas. Not coincidentally, the fictional story’s beginning is set in and around a train depot.
In its heyday, the Booneville depot was a busy, thriving place, bustling with activity. I remember trips to the depot to either welcome or say goodbye to family members as they left for work or arrived after a working absence. More than once, I too, rode the railroad to and from Little Rock to visit uncles and aunts.
This picture of the Booneville train depot was taken in the early 1980s and reflects a mere ghost of itself in comparison to the days when it thrived. Built in 1910 originally as a railroad eating house, the building style is unique compared to the average Rock Island train depot in Arkansas.
The days of riding the rails from Booneville to Little Rock are gone forever now, as are my family members who worked on the line. Sadly, just a few years after this picture was taken the Booneville depot burned down and its stories mostly lost to history.
Clear The Cobwebs
On The Lake Fayetteville Trail. Blackberry in full bloom.
Into rewrite of Chapter 26 of my wip titled “The Corpsemakers” since very early morning. Hit an idea block on one of the sub-plots and a pesky antagonist acting out of character, dialogue stilted, not convincing. Hard to believe characters won’t play nice with your well-plotted scenario, huh? What’s a writer to do? Answer: Keep working on it!
By nine thirty, I was ready for a break.
Clear blue skies, no rain, no wind. A big change from the rains experienced recently. Time for a another bike run around Fayetteville to clear the cobwebs and get the ideas flowing. Hit Fayetteville’s wonderful bike trails, headed out around Lake Fayetteville and parts beyond.
Back home now after logging just over 18 miles and feeling refreshed.
Enjoying a quick meal of fish, cucumbers, and tomatoes before jumping back into writing.
Now, where did I leave that pesky, uncooperative character?
A Little Too Much Water
My previous post found humor in two canoes being pulled behind a plumbing and repair van. However, after more than a week of storms bringing massive rains to the area leaving roads, bridges, bike and hiking trails either under water, damaged, and/or washed away, having a boat might have been a good idea.
As an example, this is a picture of the beautiful War Eagle Mill now flooded from the heavy rains. The mill was originally built in 1832.
Photo by Clayton-Taylor FayettevilleFlyer.com
Too Funny
How big of a water leak is it when the plumbing and repair people show up with two canoes? Must be a whopper!
Saw this vehicle and trailer on my way home today. It’s a plumbing and repair van pulling a trailer carrying two canoes. I hope this guy is just heading to the lake to enjoy a beautiful spring day rather than responding to a water leak. Either way, it just struck me as humorous.
Looking For An Image For A Blog Post?
You may be in luck because nearly 200,000 images from the New York Public Library are now online and available for free use.
“The New York Public Library just released a treasure trove of digitized public domain images, featuring epic poetry from the 11th century to photographs of used car lots in Columbus, Ohio from the 1930s. Over 180,000 manuscripts, maps, photographs, sheet music, lithographs, postcards, and other images were released online Wednesday in incredibly high resolution, and are available to download…and images can be sorted by century, color, genre, or library collection.” – Andrew J . Hawkins, The Verge http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/6/10723680/nyc-library-public-domain-images-digital
View the public domain image collection here: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2016/01/05/share-public-domain-collections
Hiking An Arkansas Ghost Town
Jim Warnock and his dog, Hiker, trek the mountain trails of Arkansas exploring hills, hollows, and ghost towns such as Rush, Arkansas. Read about all his adventures and enjoy beautiful photos at ozarkmountainhiker.com. While you’re there be sure to read about how Jim and Hiker came to be trail buddies. Inspiring story.
Small communities like Rush are scattered throughout the Ozarks, Ouachita Mountains, and all across the state. Many of the sites Jim and Hiker explore are reminiscent of the locales featured in my short story collection. My thanks to Jim for sharing his post!
HIKING RUSH, AN ARKANSAS GHOST TOWN
I was pleased to find the old town of Rush to be a great day hike location! I was afraid the trail would be too short and tame, but it’s just right.
I could have spent the entire day exploring and ended up pushing the limits of remaining daylight. A van full of college kids offered me a ride while I was walking along the creek after my hike. It was nice of them to offer, but I said “no thanks” since the Jeep wasn’t far away. College kids who hike and camp tend to be pretty good folks.
Rush was a mining community that began in the 1880s and thrived in the 1920s when zinc was in high demand during World War I. Rush declined along with the demand for zinc and was finally abandoned in the late 1960s. According to Neil Compton, “by 1969 Rush was bereft of inhabitants except for Gus Setzer and Fred Dirst, an old miner who conducted tours into the mines for wandering visitors…”
Rush eventually came under the ownership of an industrialist who planned to make a tourist trap of the place, but he sold it to the National Park Service. I hate to think of what this place might have been if a developer had gotten hold of it.
Today, interpretive signs are placed along a short trail that loops through the center of Rush. A longer trail follows the mining level up above downtown. If you have several hours to spend, you can hike the 1.7 mile long mine route to the National Park boundary as an out-and-back.
A prominent structure is the blacksmith shop, an essential business for a mining community. This is the “new” shop built in the 1920s during the height of the commercial activity in Rush. Ore was transported down Ore Wagon Road to the White River and loaded onto barges. When trucks became dependable enough to transport zinc and replaced wagons, the blacksmith shut down his business and went back to farming.
This ore smelter is the oldest structure in Rush, built in 1886 by the claim-holders of the Morning Star Mine. They hoped the smelter would reveal silver in the ore. No silver was to be found.
This cart was next to the trail. I was impressed with its heavy construction and how it had stood up to the elements.
This large machine was next to the trail at the Clabber Creek end on Ore Wagon Road. I’m not sure what it was used for, but I was impressed with the large wheels and chain sprockets.
You’ll pass many mine entrances as you hike the trail. The grills keep visitors out of dangerous mines, but allow bats to come and go freely.
Finding “Boiling Springs” was a treat. The water was clear and cold. A grist mill was once located close by in Rush Creek.
What follows are several historic structures along the road in Rush. Many of these houses were built around 1890. I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into the historic town of Rush. If you’ve been there before, maybe my pictures will bring back good memories. If you’ve not visited, I hope I’ve inspired you to grab your hiking shoes and explore it for yourself soon. It’s a special place!
I was running low on light at the end of the day, but had to stop and photograph these daffodils that caught my eye. The inhabitants who planted these bulbs many years ago would be surprised to learn that their landscaping would be appreciated by a weary hiker on an early spring evening in 2015.
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Thanks to Jim and Hiker for sharing their adventures with us. And speaking of Hiker, here’s one of my favorites photos of the dog who loves the trail!
