Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

Hot Springs National Park lies within the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas, approximately 50 miles southwest of the capital city of Little Rock.   Hot Springs Reservation was established by Congress in 1832, and transferred to the National Park Service in 1921, making it the oldest property in the National Park Service inventory, even older than Yellowstone National Park.  The predominant feature of HSNP are the 47 protected hot springs which flow freely from the ground, and the eight historic bathhouses which are located on the famous “Bathhouse Row.”

There is a public observation tower located on a mountaintop above Hot Springs, and for a nominal charge you can ride an elevator to the top of the tower.  From the observation deck you are afforded a 360 degree view of the surrounding area.  The area known as “Bathhouse Row” is located below the tower, and the view of the town from up high is shown in the following photograph-

The bathhouse row area is worthy of exploration.  The buildings in this area have been preserved and restored, and the architectural styles are varied and beautiful.  This bell tower is just one of many interesting features that can readily be viewed from the street.

On a terrace just above bathhouse row there exists a beautifully tranquil and inviting hiking path which is constructed from brick formed into intricate patterns.

Along this path are many of the protected hot springs from which the town (and park) were named.  The photograph below is just one example of the many springs along the cobblestone lined walkway.

There are eight historic bathhouses located along bathhouse row.  At this time, five are operating and open to the public, with steam baths, sitz baths, and massages as part of the services offered to visitors for a fee.  The National Park Service has set up it’s headquarters and visitors center at the old Fordyce Bathhouse near the center of bathhouse row.  The Fordyce Bathhouse is not operational, but rather is restored and open to the public  for self-guided tours.  It is very interesting to tour the Fordyce Bathhouse.  You will see many beautiful stained glass works of art, such as this stained glass ceiling located on the top floor of the building.

Within the Fordyce Bathhouse you will also encounter unexpected works of fine art, such as the sculpture shown in the photograph that follows. 

For those interested in the actual workings of a bathhouse, the Park Service has done an admirable job of preserving the equipment that is necessary for a bathhouse’s operation.  The photograph below shows a control manifold that is used to regulate the temperature of the spring water before it is introduced into the baths and showers.

The sweat chambers shown in the next photograph were a very popular part of the bathhouse experience.  Personally, I think they look like instruments of sadistic torture, and I do not think I would have opted to enter one without coercion.

After a ride up to the top of the observation tower, followed by a foot tour of the historic buildings along Bathhouse Row, a look around the Fordyce Bathhouse, and perhaps some bathing in one of the five operational bathhouses, you might enjoy taking a ride around Lake Hamilton, which is located just south of the town of Hot Springs.  If you are lucky, you might just find an elusive pot o’ gold at the end of a rainbow!

 Ozark Folk Center

Just outside the quaint little town of Mountain View, Arkansas, exists a wonderful state park called the Ozark Folk Center.  The mission of this park is to preserve and present to visitors the pioneer heritage of the Ozarks region.  Last year Retta and I spent some time at the Folk Center, where we were able to enjoy a day filled with American folk music and displays of living history.

The park strives to recreate an authentic pioneer village, and many of the living history displays are housed in original log houses scattered about the grounds.

The photographs above and below show two of the log cabins that the visitor is able to examine and stroll through.  It is my understanding that these two cabins were disassembled at their original location, and then reconstructed within the park.

The best part of the Ozark Folk Center are the living history displays which occur throughout the park.  In an era where we are accustomed to mass production, it is both interesting and educational to witness how many common items were produced in the past.  For example, we all know what is required today in order to sweep the floor.  We go to the local super store, where we fork over $4.88 to buy a broom produced in Malaysia or China.  But in the past, in order to sweep the floor you had to first make the broom yourself.  This process entailed the searching for, and gathering up of all the components that made up a broom.  Straw would have to be found to create the broom head. Proper wood had to be found, cleaned and dried, and only then could you begin the process of weaving the straw onto the broomstick in order to create a functional broom.

In the photograph above, the craftsman shows a visitor how the process of making a broom occurs.  One of the things that I enjoyed most about the Ozark Folk Center was the fact that you could mingle with the craftspeople, who were delighted to show you all the nuances of their skill.  By the time this demonstration was over, I felt as if I could produce a half-way decent broom on my own, should the need ever arise.

This friendly lady was demonstrating how the pioneers would bake various treats.  The kitchen was equipped with many of the utensils, ingredients and appliances that were in use in days gone by.

The print shop pictured above was the means by which books, magazines, and newspapers were produced in the past.  In this day and age, when virtually anybody can become a publisher with a computer and simple printer, it is interesting to think about all of the technology that has evolved over the years.  Today, we can publish anything we want to at the mere push of a button, but in the past it took all of the machinery pictured above to create the most simple reading matter.

Now that we have swept the floor, baked some treats, and printed a newspaper to read, we might want to wash up before enjoying our fresh-baked snack.  Since there was no market available to purchase soap, it was necessary to make your own soap in the past.  The Ozark Folk Center has a soap making demonstration that shows all of the steps involved in producing a bar of soap.  Today, this might be an enjoyable hobby for some, and a full fledged business for others, but most of us would probably prefer to just pick up a bar of soap or two at the local market.

The woman in the picture above uses this loom to demonstrate various weaving techniques and patterns to visitors.  Throughout this room were several looms, each with  weaving projects in various states of completion.

You may have noticed in all of the photographs above that there doesn’t appear to be many people gathered around the crafts persons.  At the time that we visited the Ozark Folk Center, we pretty much had the grounds to our self.  I do not know if this is the way it is at the Folk Center all of the time, but we were there in mid-June of 2005, and the place was not crowded at all.  We had a wonderful time visiting the park, and I especially enjoyed the ability to have one-on-one conversations with the craftspeople throughout the park.

Although I do not have pictures to show about the music, I still must comment about it now.  Mountain View, Arkansas is considered by many to be the American folk music capital of the world.  On any given evening, you are welcome to pull up a lawn chair in the town courthouse square, where you will be treated to musicians performing traditional folk music.  Since there is plenty of space around the square, many individuals and groups may be performing at any given time.  There are places around the square to buy snacks, such as hot dogs and hamburgers, but Retta and I opted for ice cream cones.  Lapping up the ice cream, while sitting in a lawn chair and listening to talented musicians play traditional American folk music is a wonderful way to spend the evening. 

The town hosts the annual Ozark Folk Music Festival, as well as a host of other traditional American music festivities.  The Ozark Folk Center has daily concerts in several venues in the park, so that visitors can listen to traditional folk music the year round.   I highly recommend a visit to Mountain View if you have the opportunity.

William J. Clinton Presidential Center

 

Today’s field trip takes us just south of the Ozarks to Little Rock, Arkansas, where we will visit the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum.  The Clinton Library is the newest of eleven Presidential libraries administered by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.  Besides the Clinton Library, I have visited the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and birthplace cottage located in West Branch, Iowa, and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library located in Simi Valley, California.  The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri is on my list for a visit in the near future, and I aspire to see the seven additional Presidential Libraries in the course of my lifetime.

The first thing that one tends to notice upon arrival at the Clinton Library site is the unique architecture of the building itself.  I have seen this building in photographs, in video, and through the lens of my camera.  And none of these depictions of the building do it justice.  My meager photographic skills certainly can’t, but maybe they will whet your appetite to see for yourself some time. 

The grounds of the Clinton Presidential Center lie along the banks of the Arkansas River, next to an old railroad trestle that is in the process of renovation.  The area is beautifully landscaped, and though it will take many years to achieve the mature lushness that surrounded the Hoover Library in Iowa, or the wonderfully aromatic rose garden at the Reagan Library in California, it is in a remarkably pretty location.

As you begin to acclimate to the unusual architecture, you begin to notice all kinds of little surprises, such as this interior/exterior transition which is viewable from upstairs only –

The public exhibits are contained on two floors, with an open mezzanine allowing for an unimpeded view of the facility.  I was impressed by the spaciousness that this design presented, as opposed to the museum-like, one room leading into another room design of the Reagan or Hoover Libraries.  It allows the visitor the opportunity to see where the crowds are gathered at any given moment, and to divert to an empty section of the Library, which makes the visit much more enjoyable.

It is interesting to note the bookcases that are situated at the ends of the exhibit sections, which hold the large blue binder shelves.  Contained within these binders are some of the actual archived and indexed presidential documents.

The Clinton Library and Museum exhibits seem to have been designed from the ground up to be a more hands-on, interactive experience than I encountered at either the Hoover or Reagan Libraries.  The Cabinet Meeting Room is recreated in actual scale, and visitors are encouraged to sit around the cabinet table to explore the issues that were current at the time of the Clinton administration.

Interactive touch screen display panels are built into the Cabinet table, and a surprising amount of information is accessible directly from this system.  You are encouraged to ask questions of the docents, who are knowledgeable about many aspects of the Clinton presidency and Presidential protocol.

Scattered throughout the building are varied signs and symbols of America and the presidency, such as this rug that lays on the floor of the Oval Office replica.

First Ladies in America have a history of White House re-decorating, from flooring to furnishings, from art to landscaping, and everything in between.  But the one item that gets updated most often seems to be the White House formal dinnerware.  The display at the Clinton Library of a complete formal table setting was gorgeous.  Since I am pretty sure I will never be invited to a White House dinner, it was nice to see how I might have dined if I were.

A self-admitted car guy, I couldn’t resist snapping a few pictures of the Presidential Limousine.  Forget the sit-down dinner with all the fancy china and crystal and all, I would rather just be invited for a few laps around the block in this baby!  Can you imagine what it would be like to be chauffeured around in the Presidential Limousine, motorcade entourage and all?

I guess no tour of a Presidential Library should end without some mention of politics, and this one won’t either.  The concept of the Presidential Libraries administered by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration is to make available to historians, scholars, and the American public the complete record of the subject administration, accessible in one convenient location.  This has been achieved at the three Presidential Libraries that I have visited.

An additional function of these libraries, through the museum portion of the facilities, is to present a portrait, a legacy if you will, of the President depicted.  The materials that are displayed to the public, and the manner in which they are displayed are generally under the control of a foundation created by the former President in question.  It stands to reason that controversial positions of an administration are presented in the best available light by the library’s foundation.  So in the sense that what is displayed, and how it is displayed is cherry-picked, you might argue that you are viewing revisionist history at times.  I will not argue with that point of view, but I will point out that all three Presidential Libraries that I visited seemed to be equally adept at “shaping” events to suit the image they wanted to portray.

So my (unsolicited) advice is this – visit every Presidential Library you can, and take away from them all of the knowledge and history that they have to offer.  Take off your political hat and put on your historian’s hat when you enter the front doors, and be thankful for the opportunity to get an inside peek at selected American presidencies.