…how a small Southern town made a big noise. By Denise White Parkinson Suggins children of Arkansas in their natural habitat Cast of Characters: Jean Petite: Art School grad arriving in Iron Gulch to open the town’s first Art Center Colonel Crackerfrakkin: Evil slumlord and owner of the local mining industry Mrs. Crackerfrakkin: Wicked wife of the Colonel; fancies herself an interior decorator ...
By Denise White Parkinson Actress Natalie Canerday Natalie Canerday—stage and screen actress, comedienne, postmodern Southern Belle—is not so much elusive as just plain busy. Catching up with the divine Ms. Nat is a gratifying experience; only do not attempt to find her on Facebook, Twitter, or via email. “I don’t own a computer,” she confesses, grinning. Ms. Canerday is therefore best appreciated in person, old-school, where her flashing dark eyes and smoky-molasses drawl can be fully enjoyed. Over the past two years, she has completed three films, a television pilot, two webisodes and a play about iconic Arkansas photographer Mike Disfarmer. Earlier this summer, she joined an ensemble cast for the Rep’s production of August, Osage County. ...
Helen of the White River A play in three acts based on the life of Helen Ruth Spence, 1912-1934 by Denise White Parkinson adapted from my book CHARACTERS: Spirit of Hattie Caraway, first female Senator elected in the U.S. Helen Spence, a girl from the White River Delta Jasper, a tow-headed country boy LC Brown and John Black, elderly men LC Brown as a child (played by same actor as Jasper) ...
Buzzy in Cherry Creek Dear Sir or Madam: I am writing to state my opposition to the project proposed by Clean Line Energy Partners, LLC (“CLEP”), which has failed to meet criteria required for the Department of Energy (“DOE”) to participate in the Plains & Eastern transmission project (“Project”) under Section 1222 of the 2005 Energy Policy Act. The studies cited by CLEP in its updated application fail to prove there is an “actual or projected increase in demand for electric transmission capacity” satisfied by the Project. This is reinforced by the Project’s lack of subscription in the form of Power Purchase Agreements (“PPA”) or other contractual obligations. Most significantly, the entire process for this proposed project has been discriminatory from the outset. ...
Casey made a birdhouse! The nomadic life offers beguiling mysteries, but until one comes home, a full sense of homecoming remains unfelt. I never knew until now what home feels like, except for fleeting childhood memories of the White River and the old houseboat at Clarendon, our family’s summer place. My great-grandfather’s houseboat made a cozy retreat, set up on the riverbank— a vacation home of fishing and campfires and cookouts. At least it was until the Corps of Engineers washed it away. The Corps exiled my family, the same as other families of River People. Our city place in Little Rock was a red-brick Craftsman bungalow with a shiny green roof made of row upon row of semicircular clay tiles. We lived there thru the best years of childhood. The roof being so spectacular against the red brick (especially after a string of Pine Bluff rentals), my sisters and I promptly made up a song that went “Nipple roof, nipple house, dum-da-dum-dum nipple house!” repeated endlessly. ...
On my day off from MidAmerica Science Museum, I drove to Stuttgart’s Museum of the Grand Prairie toting the last pieces of the puzzle: the exhibit “Delta Rediscovered: Arkansas County.” After putting together easels, setting it up with the help of the great folks at the Museum and touring the grounds, I am happy to report that Helen Spence has led us to a beautiful place. The Lost Archive of Dayton Bowers is home at last, among dear friends! ...
Today, driving out of the Ouachita hills to come to Little Rock and pick up the most important flashdrive of my life, I reflected on the wonderful folks I have gotten to know over the years, fellow lovers of Arkansas History. The road back to the White River, my lost family history and the rediscovered photographs of the Arkansas Delta – it’s been a wild ride, thanks to my forever buddy LC Brown and our unsinkable muse, Helen Spence. ...
lower White River, bayou bridge, circa 1900, by Dayton Bowers By Denise White Parkinson I journeyed many miles through this topsy-turvy world of love and loss before I found I did not have to walk alone. When I sought out a wise old river-man I had heard about, I gained a buddy for life. LC Brown shared his story, taking me back to my lost ancestral home (well, houseboat) on the White River, haunted as it is by the ghost of Helen Ruth Spence. I listened wholeheartedly, marveling as something invisible took tangible form. ...
Unclean Line Secretary of Energy U.S. Dept. of Energy 1000 Independence Avenue SW Washington, D.C. 20585 Dear Secretary Moniz: I am writing to express my misgivings regarding the “Plains and Eastern Clean Line” project slated to sever the state of Arkansas for the benefit of a limited liability corporation (“Clean Line Energy Partners”) that possesses no track record or accountability. The company’s project to cut across the entirety of the Upper White River watershed, which makes up 3/5 of the state of Arkansas, poses the greatest threat to the Lower White River Delta since the Great Depression. ...
Pet Solutions By Denise White Parkinson The bypass was doing its job. The concrete divider cupped the ass-end of town, siphoning travelers from highway to strip mall and back. Along the shoulder, a ditch lined with chain link held trash thrown from passing cars. The city’s tacky gray lint screen stretched for miles. Or was it a seine net? The young woman wondered, gripping the steering wheel. Tractor-trailers thundered by as she took the nearest exit. “An in-seine net,” she punned, smiling down at her silent, shivering passenger. She had spotted the abandoned puppy on the bypass and saw no choice but to rescue it. After all, it was February—spiteful, hateful month. She made for home, somewhat exceeding the speed limit. ...