Pilot Truck Stop
Springdale, Arkansas
October 20, 2022
Another fun day wandering around northern Arkansas.
First up, Lamar!
Then onto Ozone:
More crooked roads!
First time I can recall seeing a shooting range in a national forest.
It is amazing how many churches there are in Arizona!
More about the Ozone Burger Barn here: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/arkansas/burger-barn-ozone-ar/
Fortunately it was not open when I came through town. Fortunately because it looks too good!
Next onto Nail and Deer, both located in Newton County.
Located in the Boston Mountains, Newton County can be described as mountainous, rural, and isolated. The land, once respected and protected by Native Americans, has come full circle with a large portion being protected by the U.S. Department of the Interior as a wilderness area.
Louisiana Purchase through Early Statehood
The area, rich with game and timber, was watered by the Big and Little Buffalo rivers. Until 1808, the Osage claimed the region, and between 1818 and 1828 the land was part of a reservation granted to the Western Cherokee. The county was part of Carroll County when it was created in 1833, and white settlers quickly moved in. A block of marble taken from a hillside near present-day Marble Falls was used to help build the Washington Monument. Although Jasper appeared on maps in 1840, it was not incorporated until 1896.
The state legislature created Newton County on December 14, 1842, naming it after U.S. marshal Thomas Willoughby Newton. After beginning his career as a mail carrier and serving as U.S. marshal for Arkansas, Newton was elected to serve in Congress after the resignation of Archibald Yell. John Belleh’s house on Shop Creek was designated the county seat until the designation was given to Jasper in 1843. The county had ten post offices by 1856.
The terrain made the area unattractive to land speculators, which was encouraging to people who could not afford land in other parts of the state.
A school opened at Mount Judea around 1860. Western Grove Academy opened in 1886. Hunting and small farms sustained the residents, and livestock grazed the rugged land. The difficulty in farming the rough terrain resulted in farms being located on the softer ground along the river. In 1850, there were fifty-one slaves in the county; by 1860, that number had decreased to twenty-four, with 3,369 white residents.
Civil War through Reconstruction
While neighboring Carroll, Boone, Madison, and Searcy counties saw a decrease in population and livestock in the Civil War years, the isolation of Newton County resulted in an increase in both at the start of the war. As in other counties, neighbors and families split as loyalties were divided between the Union and the Confederacy. Guerrilla warfare and skirmishes between Union and Confederate troops caused turmoil. Some residents lived in caves, while others fled. Former sheriff John Cecil led a guerrilla band in the county, operating against Union forces. Union soldiers destroyed the Confederate saltpeter works at Boxley, and Jasper was burned. Engagements in the county included three separate skirmishes in April 1864: Whiteley’s Mills, Richland Creek, and Limestone Valley.
After the war, families returned to their previous way of life. They grew corn, wheat, rye, oats, tobacco, and potatoes. Produce was shipped to Clarksville (Johnson County), Buffalo Shoals (Marion County), and Springfield, Missouri. Lead, zinc, and saltpeter were mined. The number of African Americans in the county decreased to seven by 1870.
Post-Reconstruction through the Gilded Age
Farming changed little in the county after Reconstruction. Smaller farms were prevalent, while larger farms existed near the rivers. Potatoes, apples, and peaches supplemented the main crop, corn. Cotton provided the cash crop for the Buffalo River valley. Lumber camps developed. Whether for added income or personal use, the production of moonshine made use of the surplus corn. A legend was born as “Beaver Jim” Villines became known for his trapping ability. Visitors went to Marble Falls and Tom Thumb Spring for the water’s supposed healing power.
Early Twentieth Century through the Modern Era
The 1900s brought increased population as outsiders moved to the county. Land speculators bought property. The county reached its largest population of 12,538 in 1900, including two African Americans. By 1930, no African Americans were reported in the county. The decline was attributed to isolation, economic factors, and race riots in nearby Harrison (Boone County).
Lead and zinc mining increased briefly to support the World War I efforts. One county resident, John Henry Pruitt of Fallsville, received the Medal of Honor twice for his actions during the war. Some resistance to military service existed in the county, leading to the almost completely bloodless Newton County Draft War in 1918.
Ponca was established on land sold to Ponca City Mining of Oklahoma. Tourists made the trek to Hemmed-in Hollow to see the rugged beauty of the area and the tallest waterfall between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains and to tour the “Ace of World Caverns,” Diamond Cave. One-room schools were forced to consolidate. With the rough terrain, lack of a railroad, and poor roads, farmers continued to work small farms. While the population of other counties decreased during the Depression, Newton County saw an increase, though tourism declined during the same period. The Lurton Furniture Factory produced chairs. By World War II, the company had become the Sutton Handle Factory and was selling its handles to the United States government.
Change came slowly. Newton County resident Ted Richmond opened the first library, a private endeavor called the Wilderness Library. Jay Smith opened the first airports, one at Piercetown in 1946 and the other in Boone County in 1951. Also in 1951, Newton County acquired its first paved road when Highway 7 was paved from Jasper to Harrison.
The 1960s and 1970s brought diversified change to Newton County. New residents arrived with the back-to-the-land movement. Santuario Arco Iris, an intentional land community founded by Maria Christina DeColores Moroles, serves as a refuge for women and children, especially those of color. The popularity of the comic strip Li’l Abner created interest in an amusement park, and with a name change, Marble Falls became Dogpatch. Dogpatch USA opened in 1968 and employed residents of Newton County and neighboring Boone County, both in the construction of the park and as employees. The amusement park never hosted the projected number of visitors (one million by its tenth year). When the comic strip ceased publication, the free publicity disappeared, and the park’s isolated location failed to draw the anticipated traffic. Financial problems brought changes in ownership, and after several attempts to revive the park, it closed in 1993. At the request of the residents, Dogpatch once again became Marble Falls.
The Buffalo River became the Buffalo National River in 1972. Under the National Park Service, such locations as Beaver Jim Villines’s home, Boxley Valley, and Lost Valley became tourist spots. The introduction of elk into the area from 1981 to 1985 resulted in Newton County being declared the Elk Capital of Arkansas in 1998. Founded in 2002, the Ponca Elk Education Center helps visitors to the county view the animals. Healthcare and social assistance provide the most employment in the area. Consolidation of the state’s rural districts forced Newton County’s schools to merge, leaving only three districts. Two of the districts include towns from surrounding counties. Western Grove is the only incorporated town, along with Jasper, in the county.
Located in Newton County near Ponca, the Big Buffalo Valley Historic District (also known as the Boxley Valley Historic District) includes a number of historic structures dating between 1879 and 1930. Also included in the district are a number of archeological sites representing prehistoric peoples. The sites in the district are scattered across the entire valley, which measures more than 8,000 acres. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 29, 1987, with the original application amended on November 7, 1990.
Additional historic sites in the county include the Little Buffalo River Bridge, the Newton County Courthouse, and the Parker-Hickman Farm Historic District.
Famous Residents
While at Washington University, the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, and Ford Hospital in Detroit, Newton County native Dr. William A. Hudson studied iodine levels in blood. His studies resulted in the production of iodized table salt in 1924. Newton County native William Stiritz was named chairman of Ralston-Purina in 1982. Area resident Tim Ernst is a wilderness photographer and noted writer. James Carl Hefley, a Mount Judea native, wrote the Way Back in the Hills series of books that was published from 1985 to 1996. His brother Howard “Ozark Monk” Hefley wrote the Way Back in the Ozarks books published in 1992 and 1993. Local artist Max D. Standley captured the moments before a Newton County plane crash in his famous painting, Crash on Round Top.
Nail is an unincorporated community in Newton County, Arkansas. The origin of the name "Nail" is obscure -- as in unknown. It is really nothing more than a country store.
The best thing about Deer is that the Deer public school teams are the Antlers.
Deer is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Newton County, Arkansas, United States. Deer is located on Arkansas Highway 16, 12.5 miles south of Jasper. Deer has a post office with ZIP code 72628.
It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 135.
Public education for elementary and secondary school students is provided by the Deer/Mount Judea School District, which includes:
Deer Elementary School
Deer High School
Deer Community College of Agricultural Science
Deer High School (DHS) is an accredited comprehensive public high school located in Deer, Arkansas, United States. DHS provides secondary education for approximately 95 students in grades 7 through 12. It is one of four public high schools in Newton County and one of two high schools administered by the Deer/Mount Judea School District.
It was previously a part of the Deer School District. On July 1, 2004, the Deer district consolidated with the Mount Judea School District to form the Deer/Mount Judea School District.
Deer High School is a Title I school that is accredited by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). The assumed course of study follows the ADE Smart Core curriculum, which requires students complete at least 22 units prior to graduation. Students complete regular coursework and exams and may take Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exam with the opportunity to receive college credit.
The Deer High School mascot for academic and athletic teams is the deer stylized as the Antlers with red and white as the school colors.
The Deer Antlers compete in interscholastic activities within the 1A Classification, the state's smallest classification administered by the Arkansas Activities Association. For 2012–14, the Antlers played within the 1A East Conference.
Deer fields junior varsity and varsity teams in basketball (boys/girls), baseball, softball, track and field (boys/girls), along with cheer and dance.
I thought the water tower was cool -- so I took too many photos of it.
On my way to Kingston:
Not just crooked -- very crooked!
Maybe an old lumber mill?
Kingston is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in northeast Madison County, Arkansas, United States.[3] It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 97.
Kingston was platted in 1853 by King Johnson, and named for him.
Kingston is located at the intersection of Arkansas highways 21 and 74. It is 18 miles east of Huntsville, the Madison county seat, by Highway 74, and 35 miles southwest of Harrison. Kingston is located in the Kings River valley. The stream forms the western edge of the CDP and flows north to the White River in Missouri.
Public education for elementary and secondary school students is provided by the Jasper School District, which includes:
Kingston Elementary School, serving kindergarten through grade 6.
Kingston High School, serving grades 7 through 12.
On July 1, 2004, the Kingston School District, along with the Oark School District, merged into the Jasper district.
Kingston, Arkansas | A Rural Ozark Town 26 June 2021 / Market, Musings, Ozark Crafts, Ozarks
There are some hidden treasures in the Ozarks. The tiny little town of Kingston, Arkansas in Madison county is one of them. It’s been my adopted home-base since 2005, when I moved up here from south Louisiana.
Something’s up in Kingston these days, though. It’s end of December 2021 as I write this, and I’ll return to update once the mystery is solved. Here’s the question: Why is someone buying and trying to buy all of the houses and buildings around the square? If you know the answer, please do share. A lot of us out here would love to know.
In the meantime, I’ll be curiously waiting to see what is done with the café and the old Bunch building, which I believe were both purchased by the same buyer who is trying to buy the rest of it. I’ll update that assumption, too, if it proves to be mistaken.
Update 12/31/21
Kingston is about to become a busy little town. This is a double-edged sword. Most of us like the relative calm, peaceful, quiet small town life. But more traffic going through can offer good business opportunities, too. It would be nice if those opportunities got taken advantage of by the locals, but a two of the best properties were purchased by someone else – still don’t know who. Regardless of who bought them, this could benefit town residents by providing close jobs and other possible indirect opportunities. The rest of the small store owners on the square can position themselves to take advantage of it still, if they want to.
What’s going on? The old Dogpatch USA site on Hwy 7 near Jasper is about to get a makeover. Johnny Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops, bought the property and plans to make a nature park out of it.
Why does that affect Kingston? Anyone going to the new park from areas north and northwest of us will most likely go through Kingston to get there. It’s what I consider to be the most scenic route, and it’s the most direct (as direct as anything is possible with our curvy, hilly roads). So that’s why investors have been contacting property owners in Kingston. Businesses, lodging, anything that caters to tourists will be great business ventures in the next few years. It will take some years before the park is drawing the traffic, but that day is fairly certain to happen in the not-too-distant future.
About Kingston
Our town historians John Little and Charlene Grigg have both passed on, and I didn’t take the time to gather information from them when I could have. So I’ve resorted to Wikipedia for the historical information. Kingston was born and named after King Johnson in 1853. That’s it. That’s all of the historical information at that source. I really, really, should have sat down with our historians before it was too late.
There are some wonderful comments below that add historical information about this area. I’m thankful to all of you who contributed!
Anyway, here’s a little about the modern-day Kingston. The town itself is tiny, consisting only of a simple square with a gazebo in the middle for the “downtown” portion and across the bridge heading north there is the school and a gas station. That comprises the “uptown”.
There is a short term rental near the square, and cabins in the surrounding area. Nearest hotels will be found in outlying larger towns and cities. I have a page on my site with local ‘home-away’ and cabin-type lodging. If you know of other places I can add to it, leave me a comment.
Population and Venues
Last I knew, the population was around 500. But most of the people live in the hills surrounding Kingston. And in those hills are a lot of crafty and artistic There was at one time more evidence of that, because we had an art and craft gallery for a couple of years. Now you’ll just have to hope for serendipity to strike. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch Lisa out in front of the old Cob’s store with her wares. More about that below, under the Pop-Up Businesses heading.
What other kinds of businesses are there you ask? Well, we have a feed store, realtor, library, cafe, and bank. And we *used to have* two antique stores, a general mercantile, and an art gallery, but now all but one of the antique stores are closed. Just out of the square, north on 21, we have a gas station/convenience store (it has a grill, too).
Pop-Up Businesses
On some weekends community members will set up a yard-sale or garage sale in the gazebo. And Lisa Davis, one of the square residents, has an assortment of crafts and critters she puts up in a pop-up show on weekends. It’s located at the old Cobb’s store, which is owned by her family but is no longer operated as a store. At her pop-up you’ll find plants, quail, chickens, ducks, rabbits, other random farm critters, and her arts and crafts.
A Pop-Up Art Show?
If you’d like to see any of my original artwork, I’d be happy to bring my tent down and set up an impromptu art show for you, too. I don’t have the time to go down and set up every weekend just to see if anyone will pass through and stop. But if you know you’re coming through and are interested in my Ozark pigment watercolor original art, I’ll be glad to put the tent in the car and make a pop-up!
Just email me to set up the day and approximate time you’ll be passing through town and I’ll be there with my earthy Ozark pigment nature paintings. You can see my online portfolio at MadisonWoods.art. If there’s a particular one you’re interested in, let me know. Sometimes they’re not on hand and are in shows. If that’s the case I can let you know.
I noticed all the creeks and streams I drove over were either completely dry or puddles of water. The leaves on the trees have color but it is muted -- a sure sign of a parched landscape.
I paused for a couple of hours in Hunstsville to get some lunch, shake out my bedding and sit in my lounge chair to enjoy the sun.
As I prepared to resume by trek to Springdale, I noticed on my map that I was generally close to Black Oak -- as in Black Oak Arkansas, the band from the early 70s. Whoa -- that thought took me back to Aiken Prep and the 7th or 8th grade when I first heard "Jim Dandy." Boys being boys playing rock & roll in the school's auditorium.
Black Oak Arkansas is an American Southern rock band named after the band's hometown of Black Oak, Arkansas. The band reached the height of its fame in the 1970s with four charting albums released in that decade. Their style is punctuated by multiple guitar players and the raspy voice and on-stage antics of vocalist Jim "Dandy" Mangrum.
History
The Knowbody Else
Black Oak Arkansas, originally named "The Knowbody Else," was formed in 1963 by some "high school pals" living in the area around Black Oak, Arkansas.[1] Original members included Ronnie "Chicky Hawk" Smith (vocals), Rickie Lee (alternately "Risky" or "Ricochet") Reynolds (guitar), Stanley "Goober Grin" Knight (guitar), Harvey "Burley" Jett (guitar), Pat "Dirty" Daugherty (bass), and Wayne "Squeezebox" Evans (drums).[2] At some point the band and Ronnie "Chicky Hawk" Smith agreed that a mutual friend named James "Jim Dandy" Mangrum would make a better front man, while Smith agreed that he himself would make a better stage production manager.
The band's first PA system was stolen from Monette High School. The group then cleaned out an old galvanized grain bin on the edge of town and began blasting out ear-piercing sounds that echoed their special blend of music that came from rock, gospel, country and blues influences. Members of the group were subsequently charged in absentia with grand larceny and sentenced to 26 years at the Tucker Prison Farm, a sentence that was later suspended. This led to their retreat to the hills of rural north-central Arkansas where they lived off the land and refined their musical style.
They also lived in Long Beach, Mississippi, and played at the local Lobe theater/dance hall and the short-lived venue, "The Black Rainbow." Some of their influences during this time were the Beatles and the Byrds.
The Knowbody Else moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1969 and signed a record deal with Stax Records. Their self-titled debut album (Hip Records #HIS-7003 [a subsidiary of Stax]) was largely ignored by the public. During this time the band became interested in psychedelia and Eastern spiritualism which, combined with their Southern Baptist upbringing, contributed to their sound.
Black Oak Arkansas
After several trips to Los Angeles, California, in 1970, the band was signed by Atco Records (whose parent label, Atlantic Records, once had a partnership with Stax) and rechristened Black Oak Arkansas.[2] Their self-titled debut album Black Oak Arkansas was released in 1971.[2] The record featured enduring BOA classics such as "Hot and Nasty", "Lord Have Mercy On My Soul", "Uncle Lijiah" (written in pseudo-tribute to Harvey Jett's real-life great uncle) and "When Electricity Came To Arkansas", which was accused by fundamentalist religious groups of containing backward-masked "Satanic messages" (possibly from a live performance of the song in which Mangrum utters "dog si eh" and "natas" three times). The band toured extensively, gaining a reputation as a premier live act throughout the early 1970s all across America, and later even in Europe. Keep the Faith followed in 1972, featuring the manic concert staple "Fever in My Mind". Drummer Wayne Evans left the band and was replaced by journeyman drummer Tommy Aldridge on BOA's next release If an Angel Came to See You, Would You Make Her Feel at Home?, which featured another enduring BOA concert favorite, "Mutants of the Monster" and expanded on the group's eclectic musical style.
In 1973, Black Oak Arkansas released their fourth LP, Raunch 'n' Roll Live, and took the rather unorthodox tack of including previously unreleased new songs on their first live concert album like "Gigolo", "Gettin' Kinda Cocky", as well as two more BOA classics: "Hot Rod", which features Dandy's sly double-entendre lyrics, and "Up", which spotlights Aldridge's marathon drum solo, a portion of which he played with his bare hands. The four new songs were originally recorded and intended to be included on the follow-up studio album to If an Angel Came to See You ..., but when Atco Records realized the band's true strong suit was their concert act, the live album resulted. Raunch 'n' Roll Live was re-issued in 2007 by Rhino Records as a 2-CD set containing both concerts that the original vinyl album was culled from.
The band's fifth album, High on the Hog, also released in 1973, ended up being the high point of BOA's career, peaking at number 52 on the Billboard albums chart. Ruby Starr also toured intermittently with Black Oak during this period, and her raspy voice can be heard on the group's remake of LaVern Baker's 1957 hit "Jim Dandy (To The Rescue)", which reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Baker's song was recorded at the suggestion of Elvis Presley, when he invited BOA to Graceland.
The band was riding high on the concert trail as well by this time, headlining large venues like Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium and Charlotte Motor Speedway, and the Royal Albert Hall in London, England. Black Oak Arkansas also played at the California Jam festival in Ontario, California on April 6, 1974. The concert attracted over 200,000 fans, and BOA appeared alongside Black Sabbath; Eagles; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; Deep Purple; Earth, Wind & Fire; Seals and Crofts; and Rare Earth. Portions of the show were telecast on ABC Television in the US, exposing the band to a wider audience.
The follow-up to High on the Hog, 1974's Street Party (featuring "Son of a Gun", "Hey Ya'll" and "Dixie", as well as a cover of the Motown classic "Dancing in the Street"), may have failed to maintain the momentum, but another 1974 release entitled Early Times, a shelved Stax recording by The Knowbody Else (now released on the back of their success and under the BOA banner), made up for lost time. Guitarist Harvey Jett left the band after Street Party and was replaced by Jimmy "Soybean" Henderson in 1975 and he debuted on the band's final studio album for Atco Records, Ain't Life Grand. This album included a snarly remake of George Harrison's Beatles classic "Taxman", as well as new originals like "Fancy Nancy", "Rebel", "Good Stuff", "Cryin' Shame", and "Let Life Be Good to You". The band signed a contract with MCA and promptly released X-Rated later in 1975, which marked the beginning of Black Oak Arkansas's decline. In 1976, they released two fairly nondescript and unsuccessful albums for MCA, Balls of Fire and 10 Yr Overnight Success, the latter as a five-piece band with the departure of Rickie Reynolds, who was more or less replaced on tour by keyboardist Marius Penczner during this period. Also in 1976, Atco released a final BOA contractual-obligation album, the poorly-recorded but high-spirited Live! Mutha, recorded on Mother's Day, 1975, in Long Beach, California. This recording saw a reappearance of Ruby Starr.
Black Oak
Following continued diminishing returns of the band's record sales (yet while still remaining a consistent concert draw), Mangrum dropped "Arkansas" from the group's name (in an attempt to downplay their Southern-ness) and replaced everyone except Henderson and even altering his own vocal style in an attempt to sound more mainstream (and ostensibly impress music critics in the process). The other members of the "Black Oak" lineup were Greg Reding (guitar and keyboards), Jack Holder (guitar), Andy Tanas (bass), and Joel Williams (drums). Black Oak released two albums on the struggling Capricorn Records, Race with the Devil in 1977 and I'd Rather Be Sailing the following year. Neither album sold well. In 1978, guitarist Shawn Lane joined the band at age 14 and toured with the band for four years.
Post-Capricorn Records
In the early 1980s, Dandy temporarily left the band for health reasons, but Reynolds kept the band going with former Zorro bassist Jack Brumby, AW Zeugner, and Les John. Bob Simpson took on lead vocals at first, but was later replaced by Randy Ruff for almost three years, until Mangrum's return. In 1984, the band released Ready as Hell. Though the name "Black Oak Arkansas" was on the album cover, "Jim Dandy" appeared above it in larger type, almost as if it were a solo effort. Ready as Hell featured a heavier sound with pinch harmonics and keyboards featured throughout. The album was also Rickie Lee Reynolds's first recording with Mangrum since the MCA years. In 1986, The Black Attack Is Back continued the heavy style of the previous album and featured the particularly adventurous track "I Want A Woman With Big Titties". Again, "Jim Dandy" received top billing on the album cover (though "BOA"—the band's initials—did appear above the frontman's name). Like its predecessor, The Black Attack Is Back made no commercial headway. In 1992, the band released Rebound, this time under the band's aegis, with similar results. Things changed little with 1999's The Wild Bunch, which was released under the name "Jim Dandy's Black Oak Arkansas".
James Mangrum has continued recording and touring with a series of different Black Oak lineups, up to the present day. Black Oak Arkansas currently enjoys a loyal fan following. However, the later lineups have yet to duplicate the level of album sales that the original lineup generated in the early-mid 1970s. Jim Dandy is credited with inspiring Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth's image and onstage persona. In addition, in the 1980s former Maine State Representative Chris Greeley once 'opened' for them as a member of the rock band Toyz.
Singer Ruby Starr died of cancer on January 14, 1995.
Original Black Oak Arkansas guitarist Stanley Knight (born on February 12, 1949 in Little Rock, Arkansas) died on February 16, 2013, four days after his 64th birthday following a brief battle with cancer.
Black Oak-era guitarist Jack Holder (born Richard Jackson Holder Jr. on August 26, 1952) died from cancer on January 13, 2015 at the age of 62.
Former guitarist Jimmy Henderson (born James David Henderson on May 20, 1954) died on March 5, 2016, at age 61.
Original and long-time guitarist Rickie Lee Reynolds died September 5, 2021, after being hospitalized with COVID-19 and then suffering from kidney and heart failure.
The return to Atlantic Records
The band released an album for Atlantic Records/Atco Records on October 15, 2013, titled Back Thar N' Over Yonder. The album contained five newly recorded songs and 10 previously unreleased 1970s tracks which were produced by Tom Dowd. The new songs featured a line-up of original and current members. Reunited originals Jim "Dandy" Mangrum, Rickie Lee "Risky" Reynolds, Pat "Dirty" Daugherty, and Jimmy "Soybean" Henderson, were joined by current drummer Johnnie Bolin, bassist George Hughen, guitarist Buddy Church and lead guitarist Hal McCormack. The first single off the record "Plugged In And Wired" was released August 26, 2013. The band toured to support the album.
Underdog Heroes
On May 24, 2019, Black Oak Arkansas released Underdog Heroes, their first album consisting of all new recordings in 30 years. The album featured founding members Mangrum and Reynolds.
After Black Oak, headed to the community of Beav-O-Rama. Beav-O-Rama is an unincorporated community in Springdale Township, Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The coordinates of the site locate it on a small tributary stream valley about one-half mile north of Niels Bluff on Beaver Lake, approximately three miles east of Springdale and south-southwest of Sonora.
The area used to be in the country but sprawl has begun to invade. Huge new houses (MaxMasions) on multiple acre lots.
I completed my wandering for the day in Springdale where I faced awful traffic -- it was a rude remindered of the traffic in a rapidly growing area.
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