OPINION | Tom Dillard: Last column remembers firsts
Editor's Note: To our great sorrow, this is Tom Dillard's last weekly column. We wish him all the best in this attempt at retirement.
Stories by Tom Dillard
-
-
OPINION | Tom Dillard: Cemeteries contain important pieces of Arkansas’ past
For readers who do not share my enthusiasm for cemeteries, please forgive this second-in-a-row foray into some of the burial grounds of Arkansas.
-
OPINION | Tom Dillard: Graveyards tell more than ghost stories about Arkansas
Cemeteries are great places to walk and contemplate. Each has a history.
-
OPINION | Tom Dillard: UA Press vital in recording history of Arkansas
This is my 1,000th column published since August 2002. I had planned on retiring when I reached 1,000 columns, but I have decided to delay my departure until t…
-
OPINION| Tom Dillard: Smart family makes mark on automobile history
In last week's column I addressed the advent of the automobile in Arkansas. This week we turn our attention to the Smart family of Pine Bluff -- which can only…
-
OPINION | Tom Dillard: From first cars inevitably came first car crash
Not long ago, as I traveled one rainy morning to Little Rock on Interstate 30, the traffic slowed to a crawl before coming to a complete stop. As I sat there s…
-
OPINION | Tom Dillard: Medicinal herbs in demand during Civil War
Today I saw a photograph of U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth. She was smiling broadly as she campaigned from a wheelchair. Among many other things, she is a double am…
-
![]()
OPINION | Tom Dillard: Ewell McCright another colorful Arkansas character
My friend Ray Baxter, a veteran lawyer in Benton, tells great stories about the late Ewell McCright, another member of the Benton bar. I came to know Ray when …
-
Tom Dillard: Dinner guests include Joe T. Robinson, Maud Crawford, Leslie Stringfellow
If I had the power to summon the dead, who would I invite to a Halloween dinner? Since Halloween is all about fantasy, please indulge my imagination as I selec…
-
Tom Dillard: Nonfiction’s best includes Blevins, Randolph, Dumas, Cone
Last week I reported on an ongoing and informal discussion among Facebook friends responding to my query about their favorite Arkansas writers. Having discusse…
-
Arkansas fiction: Our readers’ favorites
Recently I posted a query on Facebook asking readers to list their favorite Arkansas authors, one each in fiction and nonfiction. I received scores of replies,…
-
Tom Dillard: Favorite Arkansas authors include Donald Harington, Charles Portis
Recently I posted a query on Facebook asking readers to list their favorite Arkansas authors, one each in fiction and nonfiction. I received scores of replies,…
-
Tom Dillard: Eugene C. Morehart of Mabelvale stands out in Korean War
My longtime friend John Graves, just retired as a professor of history at Henderson State University, recently made me aware of his cousin and Korean War hero,…
-
Tom Dillard: ‘Homemade’ newspaper often outrageous
When it comes to making irresponsible and outrageous statements, Donald Trump cannot hold a candle to the late Joseph Weston of Sharp County. During the 1970s,…
-
Tom Dillard: Arkansas barber shops used to be more interesting
One of my earliest childhood memories involves getting a haircut -- a real haircut, by someone other than a family member.
-
Tom Dillard: Bees an important part of Arkansas history
For many generations, residents of Arkansas -- or what we today call Arkansas -- have exploited bees in search of honey.
-
Tom Dillard: Polio eradication didn’t come easily in Arkansas
One of my earliest memories involves standing in a long line to receive a polio vaccination. I was in elementary school at the time, and happy that this vaccin…
-
Tom Dillard: Can’t imagine life without ice? Neither could early Arkansans
The recent heat wave reminded me to be grateful for many things, not the least being the availability of ice. For our ancestors, ice made possible everything f…
-
Tom Dillard: Country stores sold most everything rural families needed
We would like to think of our Arkansas ancestors living lives of sylvan independence -- growing their own food and taking the game of the forests and the fowls…
-
Tom Dillard: Arkansas has long habit of getting hooked on drugs like opium, cocaine
Drug addiction has been a major problem in Arkansas and America since our beginning. Our ancestors drank huge amounts of alcohol. Nicotine was a drug of choice…
-
Tom Dillard: Three notable politicians changed course of Arkansas history
Many of the most interesting politicians in early Arkansas are not well known today. Three of those men are Thomas W. Newton, Elias Boudinot and Robert H. Croc…
-
Tom Dillard: Arkansas unfortunately remains land of missed opportunities
If there is any consistency in Arkansas history, it is our propensity to shoot ourselves in the feet. During the more than 200 years since our founding as a te…
-
Tom Dillard: Mineral Cove a treasure trove of raw materials and great stories
When driving from Malvern to Hot Springs on U.S. 270, I often take a short detour through one of the most interesting and unusual places in the state: Magnet C…
-
Tom Dillard: Centuries of monumental bridge-building helped build Arkansas
Arkansas' numerous rivers and streams are among the great assets of the state today, but for much of our history those same waterways were as much hindrance as…
-
Tom Dillard: Yell County grew up with two county seats and ‘True Grit’
Recently, while driving across the Arkansas River bridge connecting Russellville with Dardanelle, it occurred to me that had I been making that trip 100 years …
-
Tom Dillard: Railroads helped start aggressive immigrant recruitment after Civil War
Railroads play a huge role in the story of Arkansas. In addition to opening up the state, providing a means for participation in the national economy, and spee…
-
Tom Dillard: Heat waves, past and present, sometimes horrendous in Arkansas
I have just come inside after spending three hours hand-watering my vegetable garden and flowery landscape. I garden on the very edge of the Gulf Coastal Plain…
-
Tom Dillard: Murder and mayhem certainly existed in territorial Arkansas
Given the frightening growth in the murder rate in Arkansas and the nation, it would be easy to yearn for a time in history when we all lived in harmony and sa…
-
OPINION | TOM DILLARD: The curious tale of Whistling Jim
I wish we knew more about Jimmy Ward. A popular entertainer in Little Rock at the turn of the 20th century, Ward was well-known and obviously well-liked, judgi…
-
Tom Dillard: Hollenberg family played music and practiced good works in Arkansas
In conducting research on Arkansas history in old newspapers, I have often seen the names Hollenberg and Hollenberg Music Co. of Little Rock.
-
Tom Dillard: Arkansans have often carried U.S. colors abroad with success
A few weeks ago I wrote about 19th century diplomats from Arkansas. It was not a pretty picture, especially the appointment of Solon Borland as America's first…
-
Tom Dillard: Quesenbury tallied a lot of ‘firsts’ in Arkansas journalism
No man in 19th-century Arkansas was better known than William Quesenbury (pronounced Cush-n-bury).
-
Tom Dillard: Memories of a powerful band of brothers live on in Little Rock
The role of the Ottenheimers in building the economy of Arkansas and its capital city is a remarkable story.
-
![]()
Black Arkansas farmer Taylor Henson strikes oil in 1922; speculators scurry to Malvern
Taylor Henson had a dream of producing oil on his land near Malvern, an area not known to have petroleum reserves. In the final years of his life, Henson made …
-
Tom Dillard: Arkansas tree from ancient times still makes mark on state
May is Native Plant Month in Arkansas, and that is all the excuse I need to celebrate the bois d'arc tree.
-
Tom Dillard: It started small, but Van Buren County finally hit a home run
Van Buren County in north central Arkansas is the location of Damascus, a tiny village astraddle the main highway between Conway and Harrison. Located along th…
-
Tom Dillard: Arkansans abroad succeeded quietly and failed loudly as diplomats
The war in Ukraine is bloody testimony to the need for conducting international relations by peaceful means. Arkansas has produced a number of diplomats, some …
-
Tom Dillard: Hot Springs’ epic battle with burgeoning blaze left destruction behind
The recent loss of homes in Colorado to a wildfire reminded me of a 1913 fire which practically gutted Hot Springs -- the worst in Arkansas history. The city l…
-
Tom Dillard: Throughout history, newspapers are community diaries of Arkansas
My heart sank recently upon reading that the newspaper in Warren, The Eagle Democrat, will cease publication if a buyer is not found soon.
-
OPINION | TOM DILLARD: Arkansas jails have history of great — and failed — escapes
We have few jailbreaks in Arkansas, but that was not the case during most of our history. While inmates still manage a break out occasionally, the chances of s…
-
Tom Dillard: History gives women’s clubs credit for libraries and more in Arkansas
The founding of the Arkansas Federation of Women's Clubs in May 1897 was an important date in the state's history. With a new century approaching, women throug…
-
Tom Dillard: Prescient Arkansan worried US underestimated threats posed by Russia
More than a century ago, Clifton R. Breckinridge, an Arkansan serving as American minister to Russia, clearly recognized that Russia posed a threat to American…
-
Tom Dillard: Time travel might not be as much fun as one might think
I am not a candidate for time travel. Still, I think of it, especially when reading about a topic of special interest, or a subject dealing with unusual aspect…
-
Tom Dillard: Professional football franchise failed to score in 1960s Arkansas
Given the football-crazed nature of Arkansas, one might wonder why the state does not have a professional football team. In 1967, a group of investors launched…
-
Tom Dillard: Life’s work has resulted in a priceless collection of Arkansas books
I began collecting Arkansas books and imprints in 1969 while an undergraduate history major at what is today the University of Central Arkansas. While I do not…
-
Tom Dillard: One remarkable blind man saw his way to success in early Arkansas
I have always been fascinated by how well our ancestors dealt with physical adversity. Early Arkansans had to cope with everything from birth defects to accide…
-
Tom Dillard: Arkansas suffered loss of many preservationists in 2021
The Arkansas history community lost to death some important leaders, writers and volunteers last year. Our collective heritage is safeguarded by a remarkably s…
-
Tom Dillard: Arkansas 100 years ago is far away and surprisingly close to home
When I was a child, the concept of a century -- 100 years -- seemed so long that it was only theoretical. I was in junior high school during the centennial of …
-
Tom Dillard: By any other name, lynching of Black Arkansan still murder
Lynching victims deserve a place in Arkansas history.
-
Tom Dillard: German immigrant found America wasn't land of plenty he had hoped
German-speaking immigrants have been coming to Arkansas since the territorial period; not only did most of them make a home here, they often thrived. Today, ho…
