New HBO Series has Arkansas Roots
July 18, 2008 9:23 AM
Zoie Clift
Travelarkansas@gmail.com
Some interesting news came across my desk that I wanted to share. Characters
created by Arkansas writer
Charlaine Harris will soon make the transition to the screen in a new vampire series
set to air on HBO.
Harris has called Magnolia home for the past 20 years and her 24 books have
been published around the world. The series, True Blood, is being directed by Alan Ball of Six Feet Under fame and is based on Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire novels, one
of the most popular being From Dead to Worse. The base of the show revolves
around Sookie Stackhouse, a barmaid living in Louisiana
who can read people's minds. The series is set in a world where vampires can
live out in the open, thanks to the development of synthetic blood that allows
them to survive without feeding on humans.
Keep an eye out for the series if you get a chance. It debuts Sept. 7.
Oscar-winner Anna Paquin (The Piano, X-Men) stars as Sookie and British actor
Stephen Moyer is Bill Compton, a 173-year-old vampire.
Celebrating a Movie Icon – and Arkansas Landmark
July 17, 2008 2:57 PM
Kerry Kraus
Photo Courtesy Turner Classic Movies
Most people in
Arkansas know the trivia tidbit about
North Little Rock’s Old Mill appearing in the opening credits of the 1939 movie classic
“Gone With The Wind.” On
August 6, the mill and surrounding
T.R. Pugh Park will celebrate its
75th anniversary.
This got me to wondering – how in the world did MGM plus the producers and directors of the movie know about the building and what made them come all the way to
North Little Rock to shoot it?
Surely there were other mills a tad closer to
Los Angeles than ours.
I started asking around.
First on the list were my good friends at the
North Little Rock Visitors Bureau.
Elizabeth Elizandro’s response was, “
From what I have heard, it was some stock film” but she wasn’t sure. She suggested I contact the North Little Rock History Commission.
Cary Bradburn was kind enough to reply saying basically “we don’t know the answer to your question.” He then went on to say, “James P. Faucette,
North Little Rock’s third mayor, lived in West Hollywood in southern
California from 1917 to the mid-1930s. Faucette was a friend of Justin Matthews [builder of the mill] and the two men corresponded on a regular basis. However, I have found nothing concerning your question in the Faucette papers at the
ButlerCenter. Most of the personal letters are from the teens. I suspect that the Faucette connection had something to do with it.”
So, I guess we still have a “history mystery” but it just adds to the romance surrounding the mill.
Activities scheduled for the celebration include a rededication of the park along with speakers and local dignitaries, refreshments and items for sale marking the occasion. Members of the following families have been invited to attend: Justin Matthews, Frank Carmean, the architect/builder who designed the park setting and the mill itself; T.R. Pugh, for whom the park is named; and
Senor Dionicio Rodriguez, the master craftsman responsible for all the exquisite concrete work. The public is invited to attend the festivities which begin at 7 p.m.
The Old Mill is located at Lakeshore Drive & Fairway Avenue in
North Little Rock. Call 501-758-1424 for more information.
Eat in Springdale’s Famous Pink Building
July 7, 2008 4:06 PM
Jill M. Rohrbach
jillsjourneys@gmail.com
If you’re in or near Springdale and hungry for some good home cookin’, Neal’s Café is THE place. In fact, it’s an institution where people not only gather to eat but also to talk politics and socialize about the business of the day.
You’ll find it at 806 N. Thompson, which is also Ark. 71B. 
You’ll spot it by looking for the famous pink brick building it has called home for 64 years. In 1944, Toy and Bertha Neal started serving homemade meals with a varied menu featuring fried chicken fried in iron skillets. At Neal’s you’ll also find catfish, chicken and dumplings, meatloaf, chicken pot pie, smothered steaks and homemade pies and rolls. Southern Living recognized Neal’s Café as one of the top places in America to eat fried chicken on its July 2004 Web site.
Micah Neal is now manager of the café that his family started and that his father Don Neal owns. They also serve up salads, sandwiches and burgers and breakfast like only grandma can make. I recommend Don’s Special – biscuit, sausage, egg and cheese with gravy poured on top for $3.99.
Neal’s Café is open from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. For Carry-Out orders call 751-9996 or 750-0090.
Horseshoe Lake Celebrates Independence Day
June 28, 2008 6:43 PM
Kimberly J. Williams, travel writer
DeltaTraveler@gmail.com
Horseshoe Lake, a scenic oxbow lake located east of Hughes along the Great River Road, is ready to celebrate! Since late April, the lake has been back at its full level for the first time since 2005. At almost 3,000 acres, Horseshoe Lake is a popular fishing and boating destination for residents of the Arkansas Delta and the region. The town of Horseshoe Lake is hosting its annual Independence Day activities beginning on Friday, July 4. The day will start with a 5K run. Registration begins at 6:30 a.m. and the run starts at 7 a.m. at Bonds Marina. For those who prefer bicycling, the Tour de Horseshoe Bicycle Race will begin at 8:30 a.m. Both races give participants a great opportunity to enjoy the beauty of Horseshoe Lake.
On Saturday, July 5, activities and games will be held throughout the day at the Surf Club. A boat parade will start at 6:30 p.m. at Clyde’s Boat Ramp. As evening gives way to dark, the sky will light up with fireworks! According to Pat Bonds, Horseshoe Lake resident, the fireworks display will kick off right before 9 p.m.
To learn more about the activities being hosted by Horseshoe Lake, phone 870-339-3381.
To find out more events commemorating Independence Day, click here.
Arkansas’s Road Food
June 20, 2008 8:20 AM
Anyone who does any amount of traveling at all knows who Michael and Jane Stern are.
They created the crème de la crème of dining guides years ago and named it
Roadfood.
These food experts have traveled the country, looking for good home-style cooking located off-the-beaten path.
Their books have created a whole new genre of travel – foodie travel, cuisine travel or cuisine culture.
Whatever it’s called, it pretty much began with the publication of
Roadfood.
And, bless their hearts, in a November 2003
Gourmet Magazine article, they stated "
Arkansas is known as one of
America's foremost pie states…"
Recently I was lucky enough to receive the “revised and updated” version with 200 new listings. As I always do when I receive such a book, I immediately look at the Arkansas selections. Though I’ve lived here my whole life and feel like I’ve eaten my way through the state, there are still a bunch of places out there I haven’t discovered.
Feltner's Whatta-Burger, Russellville
Wagon Wheel Restaurant, Greenbrier
Their comments make interesting reading – and they also make you want to go jump in the car and visit one, no matter how much gasoline costs.
You gotta eat, right?
You can order a copy of the updated
Roadfood guide along with others written by the Sterns, plus read their recommendations, on
www.roadfood.com.
They are all great books to keep in the car – ready to go when you are.
What are your favorite “Roadfood” places in
Arkansas? Which dining establishments do you think should be suggested to the Sterns for the next edition? E-mail me your suggestions at
NaturalStateBlogger@gmail.com.