Outstanding In Their Fields

Gretchen Baerg Gearhart was born in Fayetteville -- at City Hospital in 1932.

Carolyn Reno moved to Fayetteville from Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1976.

But both will be honored Sunday for their "enduring contributions to preserving and celebrating the history of Washington County. The two will be feted as Washington County Historical Society Distinguished Citizens at a luncheon at 12:30 p.m. at Mermaids Seafood Restaurant in Fayetteville.

Reno has been collections manager for 32 years and assistant director for 10 at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale, and Gearhart is a longtime contributor to the Arkansas Historical Quarterly and Washington County Historical Society's Flashback.

"In her collections capacity, Carolyn not only documents and preserves the more than 100,000 objects in the museum's collections, but she also does heavy research in Washington County history in order to provide background information on people, places, events and artifacts of the county," her nomination reads. "While the results of her research tell the thousands upon thousands of stories of our history, her expertise and thorough knowledge of that history inform the material culture of our county and allow it to be shared through exhibits, programs, and online resources. ... Carolyn's been in the historic preservation field in Washington County longer than anyone else we can think of, and her genealogical and historical knowledge of Washington County is profound and amazingly accessible at the asking of a question."

In addition to her volunteer work with the Washington County Historical Society, Gearhart has written local histories on such groups as St. Joseph Catholic Church, the Cooperative Emergency Outreach ministry and the Friends of the Fayetteville Public Library, her nomination reads.

The luncheon also serves as the annual meeting for the Washington County Historical Society.

-- Becca Martin-Brown

[email protected]

NAN What's Up on 10/07/2016