Rogers is a kaleidoscope of colorful things to do and see. Discover just what you’re looking for in Rogers. Read
Many Ways to Enjoy Beaver Lake - By Lynn Atkins
When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers planned Beaver Lake in the 1950’s, the purpose was to control flooding on the White River, not to create 28,000 acres of recreational opportunities. Fifty years later, visitors to Beaver Lake don’t think too much about potential flooding or producing electricity. They come to the lake to have fun.
Many of them start in one of the 12 Corps of Engineers campgrounds that contain 670 sites and 14 picnic areas. The camping sites have electric and some have water and space for an R.V.
Picnic areas range from secluded spots where a covered picnic and grill promise peace and quiet in the shade to the modern 300 person pavilion with a full kitchen, rest rooms and a sound system in Prairie Creek. Most of the parks have play grounds and swim beaches.
Seven of the parks contain privately owned marinas that rent boats. Some rent pontoons and ski boats, while others deal in fishing boats. Some marinas rent tubes and skis as well and the marina at Prairie Creek has its own restaurant with drive up service for boats.
People who own their boats can put them in at one of the 17 boat ramps in the parks or many other ramps maintained by the county. Some of the boat ramps were once roads that have since been covered by the man-made lake.
The resorts around the lake are privately owned and many rent cabins as well as single rooms.
Beaver Lake is a great fishing lake, Aaron Jolliff of Hook Line and Sinker said. This year he’s expecting a great White Bass season because the lake has been high for the past two years. Fishing isn’t as good when the lake is high, Jolliff explained, but the high water provides shelter where the fish can spawn and that means, a year or two later, there will be a lot of fish. This year, a lower lake level will make the abundant fish easier to catch, he predicted.
Each year dozens of fishing tournaments bring visitors to Beaver Lake, Jolliff said. Many of them will return later because they enjoy not just the fishing, but also the facilities that surround the lake. Many stop at Hook Line and Sinker for equipment, bait or just conversation.
“It’s a pretty lake,” he said, and that alone is enough to bring people back.
The Beaver Lake Wake Fest is bringing a different kind of visitor to Beaver Lake. The wake board competition and festival has grown each year, sponsor J.J. Bauman of Arrowhead Boat Sales said. This year he’s expecting to break the lake record for the largest flotilla of boats when the spectators line up near Prairie Creek Recreation Area to watch the festival.
Competitors come from all over the south east, including a large contingent from the Orlando area. They’ll compete in categories from novice to pro.
The 2010 Wake Fest is scheduled from July 15th to 19th with a demo day and live music starting things off at Prairie Creek Park on Thursday, July 15.
Fourth of July fireworks are a tradition on Beaver Lake. Boat owners begin jockeying for the best view early in the afternoon and by dark hundreds of small crafts are anchored and waiting while their passengers swim and eat picnic dinners. The Rocky Branch Marina, whose fireworks show is partially paid for with donations, is scheduled for July third. Across the lake, Ventris Trails Resort will have their show on July second this year.
There are dozens of swimming events, company picnics and fundraisers around the lake each summer, Bland said. A sailing club keeps an active race schedule in the spring and the fall. And at the end of the summer, after people have had a chance to swim, sail, ski, wakeboard, fish and sunbath, there’s a clean up event where volunteers work together to get the lake ready for yet another summer of fun.
For more information about Beaver Lake or other attractions in northwest Arkansas contact Tom Galyon at the Rogers Convention and Visitors Bureau, www.visitrogersarkansas.com or call 800 364-1240.
History Makes Great Vacations - By Lynn Atkins
While some visitors enjoy the uninterrupted vistas that recall a young nation’s westward expansion, other visitors come to the Pea Ridge Military Park because it’s a place where two stories intersect. Although not well known nationally, events that happened near Pea Ridge shaped the nation we’ve all come to know.
Pea Ridge Military Park, a few miles outside of Rogers on Highway 62, is a favorite among a new kind of tourist – those interested in American history. The site of an important Civil War battle, the parks staff has been carefully restoring the property to resemble the farm lands that were its Civil War incarnation.
When the 4,300 acre site became a national park in 1956, modern structures were removed. Only the historic Elk Horn Tavern was saved. The original Elk Horn Tavern was burned by Union troops in 1865, but a replica was built shortly after.
“We have about 90 percent accuracy,” Museum Visitor Use Assistant Serena Rothfus said. The Civil War buildings can’t be replicated, she said, but the museum staff knows where they were located and will lay foundations in the right places to mark those spots.
The best way to learn about the battle, Rothfus said, is to begin in the Visitors Center where a half hour documentary, using Civil War reenactors, sets the mood. An expanded museum is scheduled to open in March, she said. Among the exhibits will be mannequins in full uniforms representing both the Confederacy and the Union. There will also be interactive displays and many artifacts that have been uncovered on the actual battlefield. A complete Junior Ranger Program with its own Pea Ridge patches is available for the younger visitors. Their goal is not just to educate visitors about the battle, but to paint of picture of how people lived on the small farms and in the tiny villages that were unexpectedly turned into a battlefield.
Next on the agenda is a trip around the park following the route of the Old Telegraph Road. The road was built in 1838, following the telegraph line, and once linked Springfield, Mo to Fort Smith, AR. The present park road is a seven mile loop that features eleven well marked stops. Each stop is a mini-history lesson and combined they tell the story of the two day battle that “saved Missouri for the Union,” as the park’s brochure proclaims.
Among the soldiers at Pea Ridge were two regiments of Cherokee Indians led by Brigadier General Stand Watie, the only Indian to reach that rank during the Civil War. In fact, Pea Ridge was the only major Civil War battle where Indians played a role. But it wasn’t the first time, the Cherokee people visited the area.
In 1837, a group of about 365 Cherokee stopped near the Elk Horn Tavern en route to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. They were traveling the infamous Trail of Tears.
Thousands of Cherokee once lived in the southeastern United States and by the 1830’s many had adopted the culture of the white man, but gold was found on Indian land in Georgia. A small minority of Indians signed a treaty, ceding their lands to the state. In spite of a successful Supreme Court challenge to the illegal treaty, the Cherokee land was seized and divided among white settlers. The Indians were forced to move west.
Local historian Monte Harris has spent years researching the Trail of Tears. It was actually more than one trail, she explained. Different bands of Indians took slightly different routes. The routes all ended in eastern Oklahoma between Tahlequah and Fort Gibson. The bands were accompanied by federal agents who arranged for some food along the way. It was the diary of one of those agents that documents a stop at the Elk Horn Tavern.
“They went on down Old Wire Road to Cross Hollow and then to Fitzgerald’s on the Benton/Washington county line,” Harris said. Signs, mostly along Highway 62, mark the trail. It’s not an exact route, Harris said, the modern highway strays from the original trail in some areas, but the signs serve as a memorial to a sad chapter in American history. There’s still a cemetery near Maysville where a hundred Cherokees who died along the trail are buried.
It’s not a coincidence that the Trail of Tears passes through the Civil War battlefield, Harris said. Both groups used one of the few roads that passed through the area, as did the Butterfield stage coach line.
“It was just soaked in history,” Harris said about the road and several groups, including the national park service, are working to preserve that history. The national park Visitors Center distributes a brochure that maps the “Trail of Tears” through Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas.
When the rich history draws travelers to Pea Ridge Military Park, they quickly learn there’s more than history to enjoy there. Locals know that the seven mile drive makes a wonderful bike ride or even a run for the more athletically inclined.
When the seasons change, the East Overlook provides a spectacular view. Some visitors return three or four times each year to photograph the view from the Overlook, Rothfus said. There are also 400 deer in the park that visitors love to observe.
Each June brings the Heritage Festival, hosted by the Pea Ridge National Military Park Foundation. It’s a family event that features “Civil War Stories” and local craftsman who spin, weave and shoe horses the same way their great, great grandparents did. Other, smaller, events are scheduled throughout the summer.
For more information about the Pea Ridge National Military Park or other attractions in northwest Arkansas contact Tom Galyon at the Rogers Convention and Visitors Bureau, www.visitrogersarkansas.com or call 800 364-1240.
Rogers Gains Fame Among Bikers - By Lynn Atkins
Each curve, each hill, each moment opens up a new vista of lush scenery, quaint towns and refreshingly cool waterways. Thousands of trees shade quiet by ways while friendly folks greet visitors and natives alike. Northwest Arkansas is quickly gaining a national reputation among one segment of the population.
It’s the “twistys,” Buck Blanchard of Pig Trail Harley Davidson in Rogers explained. Twistys are what bikers call curves and there are about 137 of them along the Pig Trail alone. The Pig Trail is just one of the rides that draws bikers to the area.
At one time the Pig Trail was the route that die hard Razorback fans took to watch their favorite team. Now the same road is becoming famous with anyone who likes to throw their leg over a motorcycle.
When Interstate 540 opened, all the big trucks and many of the sports fans, abandoned the two lane highway to save time. That left it open for bikers. Like other small, two lane highways in the region, Highway 23 the Pig Trail is in good condition, Blanchard said, and that’s important to riders. So are hills.
“Flat rides are boring,” he said. There are few flat rides in northwest Arkansas.
Just when a rider thinks they’ve seen everything Northwest Arkansas has to offer, the seasons change. The cool greens give way to fiery reds and oranges and then the leaves drop off and show the rider a whole new set of scenery. Experienced riders who brave a winter ride, discover they’ve been riding by streams and lakes they never knew existed.
Both newcomers and long time residents can find new places to ride when they pick up the CVB guide to great rides. “Rogers Rides: A guide to the Scenic and Fun,” details five rides from 77 to 283 miles, using the areas smaller, prettier, and sometimes hillier roads.
It all begins with a trip to the “biker-friendly resort” that is Eureka Springs. Beginning in Rogers, the route follows Highway 62 through Avoca and past the Pea Ridge Military Park, turning east at Gateway and crossing Beaver Dam. The trip home is via scenic Highway 12 and takes the rider through the state’s largest park, Hobbs State Park and Conservation Area.
A 194 mile route to Van Buren is called My Way & the Highway. It uses the less traveled highways including 59, 303 and 282.
Another southern route takes the adventurous rider 283 miles to Havana, Arkansas. On the way is Mountainburg, Alma, Ozark, Paris, and Mount Magazine.
The Missouri Connection takes the rider north on 62, but it doesn’t end in Eureka Springs. The 252 mile ride passes both Beaver and Table Rock Lake, and then goes on to Branson. After Branson, the route continues to Bull Shoals Lake and then takes the rider south, back into Arkansas, through the quaint small towns of Harrison, Green Forest, and Berryville.
Finally, the “Hilly-Billy Ride” takes the rider out to Beaver Lake and then south all the way to Ozark and Clarksville, including a portion of the famous Pig Trail. It passes through a tunnel of foliage, bright with fall colors and cool and green during the hottest summer months.
Leaving Rogers to explore the region, riders discover plenty of rest stops where they can stretch, take in the view and compare notes with other riders. Riders always talk about the ride, Blanchard said. After all, for them it’s the journey that’s important. Slowly they’re spreading the word that Rogers, Arkansas is at the center of a biker’s paradise.
For more information about Rogers and nearby bike trails contact Ton Galyon at the Rogers Convention and Visitors Bureau, 317 West Walnut Street, Rogers, Arkansas, 470 619-3183 or go to www.visitrogersarkansas.com.
‘Posturing itself to be the best in Northwest Arkansas’
Rogers area offers a growing variety in its high-quality shopping experiences By Jamie Smith
Not too many years ago, people in Northwest Arkansas had to travel to Joplin, Mo., Fort Smith or Tulsa, Okla to find a plethora of national brand stores that provided a high-quality shopping experience, but that’s far from being true now.
These days, folks from those regions are known to make trips to Northwest Arkansas to find stores they don’t have near their own homes. A majority of the new stores are in the Rogers area with many locally-owned specialty shops that, together with the national stores, provide a well-rounded and complete shopping experience.
Christine Meier is the owner of Signed Sealed Delivered, which is a “boutique department store” that offers some gourmet food items, one of the largest scrapbooking supply stock in the area, gifts, stationery, florals and decorations.
“It’s a different level of department store,” Meier said. “Our focus is to be able to give specialty service. That’s what our customers want.”
The store offers classes and one-of-a-kind floral designs.
“We try to bring our creativity and their ideas together to create something special,” she said.
Signed Sealed Delivered recently moved to the Shoppes at Pinnacle Hills, which is located just off of exit 83 of I-540. The store moved to that location in 2009 after being located in a center just down the street about a mile.
Meier, who has lived in Northwest Arkansas since 1991, said the addition of shopping centers such as what can be found in the Pinnacle Hills area has improved the quality of shopping in the area.
“The whole approach to shopping is more modern,” she said. “I like the lifestyle centers. They give the idea of feeling special but also being a part of something bigger.”
The lifestyle centers, such as the Shoppes at Pinnacle Hills and the Pinnacle Hills Promenade, are open-air shopping centers that still provide the large number of offerings in one location like the traditional shopping mall, but the store entrances all lead to the outside. The centers are safe enough for patrons to stroll around at leisure, or they can find a parking spot right in front of their favorite store for a quick trip.
David Faulkner is the senior general manager for the Pinnacle Hills Promenade. He moved to the area in 2006 when the shopping center opened.
“We have a lot of stores that are unique to Northwest Arkansas and to Arkansas as a whole,” he said. “We pull from places like Fort Smith and Joplin now because they know we have stores that you can’t find (where they live).”
Brenda Majors, marketing manager for the Promenade, agreed. Although she moved to Northwest Arkansas in 2009 from Oklahoma, she was no stranger to the shopping in this area, making several trips a year. She added that the ambiance and atmosphere at the center is another reason for patrons to visit. The center offers lighted towers and fountains, fireplaces, shows and many community events.
“The experience is exceptional,” she said.
Majors and Faulkner agreed that the future of the Promenade includes building on the success it’s already found.
“We want to take our core and build from that,” Faulkner said.
Steve Melody has operated Melody’s Choices for nearly 40 years in Washington County. When the opportunity came up in 2006 to open a store in the then new Pinnacle Hills Promenade, he jumped at the chance.
“It seemed to be the premium shopping spot in the area. A lot of the retail space was spread out but we chose the Promenade because it seemed to be the dominant (shopping area),” Melody said. “Rogers has been growing by leaps and bounds.”
Melody’s Choices offers gifts, unique toys, jewelry and many other specialty items. Melody said he believes that business will continue to improve as the growth continues. Recent “big box” stores have gone into the Promenade, including the first Target in Benton County.
“The whole area is developing,” Melody said.
Although he sees the larger stores coming in helping increase shopping in the area, Melody also strongly agrees that the small, locally-owned shops like his own are a vital piece of the retail puzzle.
“If every shopping center had all national stores, it would all just be the same everywhere,” he said. “It takes the local stores to add the flavor and change it up a little.”
Although much of the growth has come with recent construction near I-540, there’s still a plethora of unique, quality shops in the downtown area of Rogers. Clarice Moore owns Poor Richard’s Art and the Rabbit’s Lair, both of which are operated along with her family.
Her family has owned the buildings where the stores are located for generations and she didn’t want to give them up. The location for Poor Richard’s Art used to be an old-fashioned drug store and Rabbit’s Lair is an old bank building. Poor Richard’s offers local art on consignment (many of the artists also work as clerks in the store), furniture, etc. The Rabbit’s Lair is a fabric and fiber store.
“I’ve been in the Rogers area nearly all my life,” she said. “The quality of shopping here is very good.”
Moore said while the larger, newer stores near the interstate offer a certain type of quality and service, so do the smaller, locally-owned downtown stores.
“They all have their place,” she said.
A Variety of Museums Satisfy an Array of Visitors - By Lynn Atkins
For some people vacations aren’t complete without a trip to a local museum. Other tourists save the museums for rainy days when there’s nothing else to do. In the Rogers area there’s a museum handy for almost every avocation.
In downtown Rogers, visitors can find the Rogers Historical Museum, the Daisy Air Gun Museum and the small fire equipment museum at Fire Station Number One. A few miles away is the opportunity to learn more about modern business, art and American Indians. Visitor Centers at two local parks provide insight into both natural and man made history and finally, politics can be explored in nearby Fayetteville.
The Rogers Historical Museum was started by a group of volunteers in a former bank building in 1975, according to the web site www.rogersarkansas.com/museum/. In 1982, the museum moved to its own building, the Hawkins House. Later, the Key Wing was added for exhibits, offices and collections storage. The Hawkins House is now completely furnished as a turn of the century, middle-class home and guided tours provide a glimpse of how Americans lived during the Victorian era.
The museum has earned a list of awards and their traveling exhibits have toured for years, offering insights on topics like “The Life Atomic: Growing Up in the Shadow of the A-Bomb” and “Here Comes the Bride: Weddings in America.”
Locally some exhibits change every few months with titles like “Rogers Auto-Biography: An Automotive History of Rogers” and “Buried Dreams: 'Coin' Harvey and Monte Ne.” Permanent exhibits include “First Street,” a reproduction of a small-town Main Street of the turn of the 20th century, and “The Attic,” a hands on area for children of all ages. There’s also space for traveling exhibits from all over, with titles like "The Civil War: A Nation Divided."
The Rogers Historical Museum is located at 322 South Second Street in downtown Rogers and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is free.
A different kind of history is accessible at the Daisy Air Gun Museum where visitors are invited to find their own childhood BB gun, according to their web site: www.daisymuseum.com
Daisy Manufacturing came to Rogers in 1958 and soon the corporate offices became the home of an impressive collection of air guns and company paraphernalia. In 1999 Daisy decided to take their collection public and The Daisy Museum opened in downtown Rogers. Since then thousands of visitors a year from every state and Canada have toured the museum. They learn a little about the company that originally produced windmills and went on to turn their promotional air gun into a flourishing business. One highlight of the Daisy tour is the chance to reminisce about the movie that made “Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle” a household word.
The museum is a non-profit corporation primarily staffed by Daisy retirees who are happy to provide a personal perspective for visitors. The gift shop has dozens of Daisy products available including collectible guns, nostalgic signs and posters and BB’s by the barrelful. The Daisy Air Gun Museum at 202 W. Walnut is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Although all seven Rogers fire stations are open to the public, Fire Station Number One in downtown Rogers is the home of the department’s museum where visitors can see the city’s first fire truck, “Old Hulda” and the hand drawn hose cart that preceded it. If the firefighters aren’t out on a call, someone will be available to answer questions.
While the entire art world waits impatiently for opening of Bentonville’s world class museum of American Art, Crystal Bridges, a preview is available in a historic building just off the Bentonville Square. The Massey Building, once a hotel but more recently the home of the Bentonville Public Library, is now hosting special events, traveling exhibits, lectures, movies and more for Crystal Bridges.
When Crystal Bridges is completed it will house a collection of paintings and sculptures by American artists from the Colonial period through the modern era. Meanwhile, a nature trail only a few steps from the square offers an observation deck that over looks the construction.
Around the corner from the Massey Building is the Five and Dime Store opened by Sam Walton in the 1950’s. In 1962, Walton opened the first Wal-Mart in Rogers and became an American Success Story, but he never forgot his roots and eventually, the Wal-Mart Visitors Center opened in that original Five and Dime Store. Visitors can see actual financial statements, profit and loss reports, and examples of early advertising, as well as the famous red pick up truck that Sam drove and his office, preserved for posterity. The Wal-Mart Visitors Center at 105 S. Main Street, Bentonville, AR is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 am until 5 pm. Admission is free.
Also in Bentonville is the Museum of Native American History with about 5,000 square feet of artifacts mostly collected by businessman David Bogle. The exhibits also include some on loan from the University of Arkansas and cover 14,000 years of Native American history. It’s located on South West O Street (Arkansas 72) and is open from nine to five Monday through Saturday with no admission.
Both the Pea Ridge National Military Park and Hobbs State Park have Visitors’ Centers that offer a crash course in the history and environment of Northwest Arkansas. Both Visitors Centers are open eight to five every day.
At Pea Ridge, the site of a Civil War battle that is said to have saved Missouri for the Union, a newly reopened Visitors Center featuring a documentary and interactive displays, is a popular first stop. The Visitors Center tells the story of the battle, but also the story of the people who lived in the area at the time of the Civil War.
At Hobbs, a brand new building is dedicated to the story of entrepreneurs who found a wilderness and built a community. There’s also information about the natural world, including the trees, animals and insects as well as an accessible nature trail for a first hand look.
A few miles away, the site of the Van Winkle Mill and home has become a handicapped accessible trail with information posted about both the history and the archeologists who are still uncovering it.
Two of the most famous residents of Northwest Arkansas were drawn here by the University in nearby Fayetteville and went on to impact the entire world. The first home of Bill and Hillary Clinton is now open to the public.
Both were teaching at U of A Law School, when Bill bought the house Hillary had admired. In 1975 they were married in the home’s living room.
Bill Clinton had already entered political life when he bought the small Fayetteville home which is now filled with memorabilia from his campaigns for the U.S. House and Arkansas Attorney General, according to www.clintonhousemuseum.org/home.html. Admission is five dollars and the museum, at 930 California Blvd in Fayetteville, is open Monday - Saturday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
For more information about visiting the Rogers area contact Tom Galyon at the Rogers Convention and Visitors Bureau, 317 West Walnut Street, Rogers, Arkansas, 479 619-3183 or go to www.visitrogersarkansas.com.
More than Crafts at War Eagle - By Lynn Atkins
For over fifty years, newcomers to Northwest Arkansas have wondered about the excitement that builds as October approaches. Each year, as the weather starts to cool and the trees begin to don their spectacular fall colors, visitors start to arrive. Since 1954, fall in Northwest Arkansas means craft shows.
The craft shows, a genuine grist mill still in operation and caverns that shelter endangered Gray bats, all located on the edge the state’s largest park, make the War Eagle area, a must see destination just a few minutes from Rogers.
The craft shows began with a county home demonstration agent who wanted to save the traditional art of hand loom weaving, according to www.wareaglefair.com. As early as the 1920’s Blanche H. Elliot was organizing seminars to teach the art form to young women. Northwest Arkansas Hand Weavers Guild was formed in the 50’s and that organization sponsored a week long seminar at Elliot’s War Eagle Farm.
It was the Guild that organized the first craft fair in October 1954 and it was also located on Elliot’s farm. The original brochure emphasized something that is still a draw today, the natural beauty of the area surrounding the War Eagle Creek. Besides the products of hand looms, the fair offered all kinds of handcrafted items, everything from rugs to oil paintings. From the very first fair, commercialism was barred.
The original craft fair at the War Eagle Farm was later joined by two others, one headquartered at War Eagle Mill and one at Sharp’s Farm. Together the three fairs drew an estimated 250,000 visitors last year, according to the Mill’s Fair Coordinator Barbara Lisle. Each year in May there is another set of craft fairs at the Mill and at Sharp’s Farm and last year those drew about 100,000 visitors.
But Craft Fair weekend isn’t the only time visitors flock to the War Eagle area. The Mill gets tourists year round, Lisle said.
The mill, a replica of the original 1830’s mill, was built in 1973 by the Medlin family, a family with an interest in natural grains, Lisle explained. Since then, it has produced a variety of organic grain products which are sold at the mill, local supermarkets and also nationally on the Mill’s web site.
There have actually been four mills on the site, the Mill website, www.wareaglemill.com, explains. The first was built by Sylvanus Blackburn in the 1830’s, but it was washed away when the creek rose in 1848. The Blackburn family rebuilt their successful business right away, but then the Civil War broke out in 1861 and the Blackburns moved to Texas for the duration. Both the Union Army and the Confederate Army used the mill at different times in 1862. It was the Confederate Army that burned it during the chaos that followed the Battle of Pea Ridge.
It was the son of Sylvanus Blackburn, J.A.C. Blackburn who rebuilt the mill in 1873. He sold the mill a few years later to devote his time to politics, but it continued to run until a fire of unknown origin destroyed it in 1924. When Jewel Medlin bought the land in 1973, only a foundation was left.
The replica mill runs every day, Lisle said, with a miller on duty to answer questions and demonstrate his craft. Children love to see how water powers the huge stones that turn corn into corn meal which may become bread, or chips, or tortillas, she said. Since freshness is vital to the organic products, sometimes the miller is producing only small quantities for demonstration purposes. Other times, he is actually producing the corn meal that will be packaged and sold in the store.
Corn is processed at the public mill and at a granary up the road, that isn’t opened to the public, other organic products are manufactured and packaged. All the grains are available at the Mill store. On the second floor of the mill crafts from local artisans are for sale. The top floor of War Eagle Mill is reserved for the Bean Palace Restaurant, open for “down home style” breakfast and lunch.
The mill is located next to the historic War Eagle Bridge forming a scene that has fascinated photographers and painters for generations. Two rocking chairs on the porch invite tourists to take a few minutes to sit remember the slower pace of life when the first War Eagle Mill was working.
A different kind of history is being preserved nearby. The privately owned, War Eagle Caverns, is home to hundreds of members of an endangered species, the gray bat. There are also hundreds of tiny Eastern pipistrelle bats. The caverns are closed from December through March when the bats are hibernating and the inner portions of the caverns are closed until July while the Gray bats raise their young.
Once the front caverns reopen in March, a one hour guided tour is offered seven days a week.
“Its good family fun entertainment,” owner Dennis Boyer said. A value package admission includes unlimited time in the above ground “Lost in the Woods” maze where squirt guns are provided on hot days. There’s also gem panning, a BBQ restaurant, a picnic area and nature trails. Often families spend the day at the caverns, he said.
No one knows how big the caverns are, Boyer said. Only about four miles have been mapped and only about half a mile is included in the guided tour. Once the inner caverns are open in July, Boyer can arrange a spelunker tour that goes deeper.
“It’s serious spelunking,” he said, “Prepare to get wet and muddy.” Older area residents say the caves extend miles into the country side with other entrances hidden in the Ozark hills.
The cave has been open to the public only since 1978, but it’s been used by men for much longer. The cave has sheltered Indians, Civil War conscientious objects, moonshiners, outlaws possibly including Jesse and Frank James and a family during one cold winter in the middle of the great depression. It was used in the filming of the movie “Frank and Jesse.”
The caverns and the restaurant are also accessible by boat.
For more information about the War Eagle area contact Ton Galyon at the Rogers Convention and Visitors Bureau, 317 West Walnut Street, Rogers, Arkansas, 479 619-3183 or go to www.visitrogersarkansas.com.
Growing a Trail System - By Lynn Atkins
Just minutes from the center of Rogers, close to busy Hudson Road, a concrete path leads to a wooden boardwalk flanked by wild flowers and wild life. A stones throw from busy thoroughfares, the new trail through the wetlands seems to be miles or possibly years away from the hustle and bustle of modern Rogers. It’s one small section of what will some day be a fifty mile loop around Rogers dedicated to cyclists, runners and walkers.
The Rogers Greenways and Trail system began with a vision – actually a visioning process. In 2003, the Rogers Lowell Chamber of Commerce gathered many of the area’s citizens and asked them what they saw for their hometown in 2020. One group looked towards the future and insisted that Rogers needed a trail system and they’ve been working towards that goal ever since. The Chamber’s Greenways and Trails Committee still meets to advise city planners on the developing trail system.
One of the best places to access the trails is the trail head at Cambridge Park at the end of North 37th Street, according to Dana Mather, senior vice president at the Chamber and a member of the committee. There’s parking, restrooms and a pavilion in the park. Straight north from the park is a trail that leads into Bentonville and to the Northwest Arkansas Community College. Head east and find the boardwalk that provides a path through fragile wetlands and eventually leads to land reserved for the future Rogers Sports Park. A turn to the right leads down to Olive Street where a crosswalk with its own traffic signal has been installed a few yards from the Olive Street Park. Olive Street Park on the corner of Olive Street and 24th Street also offers parking near the trails. From that park the trail continues south to Walnut Street.
If you don’t mind making a big loop, you can travel about four miles on the section of trail near those two parks, Jennifer Bonner of the city planning department said.
There are also several short segments of trails near New Hope Road and Interstate 540 that will eventually be connected to become the nine mile long Osage Creek Trail. One special feature planned for the Osage Creek Trail is an interactive rain garden that will feature ecological displays while it protects a key portion of the Illinois River Watershed. There will also be a two and a half acre park with a playground when the project is completed, Lori Stone of the city’s planning office said.
Newer subdivisions in the southwest parts of the city were required to set aside an easement for a future trail system, Bonner explained. Eventually the trails will head up into older neighborhoods on the northeast side and that may be a little more complicated, but the master plan is already in place using many flood ways and utility easements. The master plan includes five interconnected trails that add up to 50 miles that will circle the city, linking schools, parks and neighborhoods.
The oldest trail in the Rogers system may be the natural surface trail that begins downtown and leads to Lake Atalanta Park. According to the city website, www.rogersarkansas.com, the trail was established in the 1930 and passes close to Frisco Springs which is marked with an informational sign. Between the trails and the road that circles the lake, Lake Atalanta Park has long been a favorite area for walkers.
Many of the larger towns in Northwest Arkansas have a master plan for their trails and someday those will connect, according to Matt Mihalevich, the trails coordinator for the city of Fayetteville and a member of the regional transportation committee. The effort has gotten a lot of support from the Walton Family Foundation, Mihalevich said, and someday residents will be able to ride a bike from Fayetteville to Bella Vista.
If bike riders choose to follow the Heritage Trail, they’ll get a free history lesson along with their exercise. The Heritage Trail will incorporate portions of three historic routes; the Trail of Tears, used when the Cherokees were forced to move from their homelands in the more settled southeastern states to Indian Territory in Okalahoma; the Butterfield Stage Route, the world’s longest stage coach run that once moved mail from Missouri to San Francisco and Civil War troop movements. The trail uses many existing right of ways and was developed in concert with each city’s master trail plan. Unique signage and information brochures will make the Heritage Trail easy to follow.
“It’ll be a huge draw,” Mihalevich said. People want to bring their bikes on vacation, he said, and they’ll come from all over the southeast, he predicted.
Meanwhile local residents will be able to commute safely by foot and by bicycle. When the trails are complete, people all over northwest Arkansas will have another way to enjoy the natural world within a few steps of their homes.
For more information about trails or other attractions in northwest Arkansas contact Tom Galyon at the Rogers Convention and Visitors Bureau, www.visitrogersarkansas.com or call 800 364-1240.
Amateur theater groups thrive thanks to community support
- By Lynn Atkins
From the very beginning, members of the Rogers Little Theater knew they wanted to concentrate on quality shows. It wasn’t easy for a group of amateurs without a permanent location to produce really good shows, Kaye Cotton, a member of the original Board of Directors remembered, but even early on the theater group was supported by the Chamber of Commerce and the business community. Now, as they prepare for their 25th season, the Rogers Little Theater still enjoys community support.
“Some people have been season ticket holders since the very beginning,” Cotton said. Business people realized that live theater adds to the quality of life in their hometown, she explained, and that was key to the group’s success.
Their first production, “Barefoot in the Park,” was performed in the Rogers Townhouse, an assisted living complex that later became Peachtree at the Lane. The stage was lit by homemade lights which traveled with the group when they moved to other venues including an elementary school cafeteria, the old Rogers Youth Center (now the Activity Center), and the high school auditorium. For years, they staged dinner theater productions in the crowded banquet room of the Hickory House restaurant in Prairie Creek. During those years, the audience put up with packed conditions, folding chairs and very basic scenery, but they kept coming back, Cotton remembered.
In 2000, the Rogers Little Theater celebrated the reopening of the Victory Theater in downtown Rogers. The Victory Theater, a former movie theater had been purchased by the group in 1994 and was completely renovated. With the help of local caterers, the dinner theater tradition continued. Finally, the group had a full size stage with storage, dressing rooms, scenery and real lights.
But even with outstanding community support, the theater faltered and almost went under in 2008. It was the city of Rogers that saved it.
“The city were the guys with the white hats who rode in and paid off the mortgage,” Cotton said. The building, the Victory Theater became city property, but was leased back to the Little Theater so performances could continue. There was also a capitol campaign that began with a matching grant from the Walton Family Foundation to pay off renovation debts. “It’s taken a tremendous load off the leadership of the Rogers Little Theater,” she said. “We didn’t know if we could continue. It was so difficult to keep up with the loans.”
To celebrate their 25th season, the theater surveyed their patrons and gave everyone the chance to vote on which plays they would like to see again. Six favorites, including “The Odd Couple” and “The Sound of Music” will make up the 2010-2011 season.
A lot has changed in 25 years, Cotton said. In recent years leadership of the group has been spilt between two boards. The Board of Directors handles the business of the theater, while the Board of Producers handles the creative issues. Cotton, her daughter Kasey Cotton and Ed McClure were on the original board and are still working to bring the arts to Rogers.
The lobby of the Victory Theater is as an art gallery with shows changing with each theater production. Musical groups, both amateur and professional, and professional theater groups perform in the theater when it’s not in use by the Little Theater group.
Recently, the group added the “Spotlight Theater,” a former dance studio on Walnut Street that is used for children’s programs including theater camps for kids for 4 to 16. It also provides extra space so if the Victory Theater is in use by another group, rehearsals can continue around the corner.
Although some members of the Little Theater work on every show, some others are attracted by the specific productions. Actors who are willing to travel have choices in Northwest and so do area theater patrons.
In Springdale, the Arts Center of the Ozarks began as an outdoor theater forty-four years ago, operations director Erin West said. Later, they built their own venue in downtown Springdale that can seat 450 theater goers. Each year the ACO stages six to eight Main Stage productions, 12 art shows in their gallery space, a series of travel films that attract up to 200 viewers, classes for adults and children and their Christmas tradition, the Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
The Village Players in Bella Vista use Northwest Arkansas Community College, in Bentonville for some of their productions. There are usually three or four a year, director Kathy Forbes said, and she always tries to cast at least one newcomer in each production. Their summer musical - “Hello Dolly” this year -moves to the Arend Arts Center at Bentonville High School.
For those whose taste goes to more elaborate productions, The Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville brings Broadway productions to Northwest Arkansas. The 2010-11 Broadway calendar includes “Disney’s Beauty and Beast,” “Young Frankenstein” and “Mamma Mia.”
The theater that was built by a unique partnership between the City of Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas and the Walton Family Foundation, opened in 1992. Plans are now being made to expand the program, adding an additional site somewhere in Northwest Arkansas.
Meanwhile, programming includes workshops, classes, concerts and special events like “Chopped in the Ozarks” and “The Art of Wine.”
Art galleries, dance studios and concert series round out the arts calendar in Northwest Arkansas. Like the theater groups, they flourish because of the community support they find in northwest Arkansas. For more information about Northwest Arkansas, contact Tom Galyon at the Rogers Convention and Visitors Bureau, www.visitrogersarkansas.com or call 800 364-1240.
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