The COVID-19 pandemic forced a lot of changes in Garland County in 2020, but if there is one constant, it has to be The Record, the yearly publication of the Garland County Historical Society.
The Record 2020 is now available to the public for purchase, although this year it is available by mail only.
Copies of the 61st edition of the publication have already been mailed to all members of the society. Because of COVID-19 concerns, no members were able to pick up their copies at the society's building at 328 Quapaw Ave.
"Our authors were undaunted by this year's challenges. Despite the pandemic, they produced outstanding articles that explore Garland County's rich heritage," Liz Robbins, executive director of the society and editor of The Record, said in a news release.
There was one change to The Record this year, but not in a negative sense; the publication features its first color section.
The section includes works of art from Hot Springs National Park's Artist-in-Residence program, in an article by Christopher Thrasher and Abby Hanks. The cover is a watercolor of Gulpha Creek by artist Gary Simmons, one of the artists highlighted in the article describing the Artist-in-Residence program.
"They shine a light on talented artists who have been inspired by the park's beauty," the release said.
Other authors include Wendy Richter, who writes about how life in the ordinary communities of Buckville and Cedar Glades "transformed into an extraordinary experience" as the Blakely Mountain Dam project forced their exodus starting in the 1920s.
Clay Farrar reviews Ron Cockrell's "An Administrative History of Hot Springs National Park," sharing some of the book's "most intriguing facts about what is arguably the United States' first national park."
Ronald D. Greenwood reports on perennial presidential candidate and master orator William Jennings Bryan's Arkansas and Hot Springs connections.
Julia "Bitty" Martin delves into the early development of Lake Hamilton as she tells about Dodson Acres and Burchwood Bay, a story that is "about love as well as land," the release said.
Don Duren takes the reader back to a "warm October day in 1953" when Major League Baseball legend Jackie Robinson came to Hot Springs.
Ron Fuller "brings to life Hot Springs' historic Whittington Avenue neighborhood, sharing his memories of growing up there in the 1950s and 1960s. As a complement, the journal presents photos of the junction of Whittington, Park, and Central avenues through the decades."
Julie Brenner Nix writes about the Ohio Club, the oldest continually operating bar in Arkansas, and its many identities over the years since 1905.
Clyde Covington presents a photo-essay about early Hot Springs service stations.
And Gail Ashbrook and Robbins relate what Garland County residents were concerned about in 1920, and document in photos the COVID-19 pandemic's effects on Hot Springs in 2020.
"Some of these photos are reproduced in color on the back cover of the journal," the release said.
"We're very grateful to the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities for partially funding the journal's printing. I hope the articles and the many photographs in The Record 2020 increase understanding of Garland County's past and present," Robbins said.
The public can purchase the journal for $25 with $5 shipping and handling at garlandcountyhistoricalsociety.com, by mailing a check to GCHS, P.O. Box 21335, Hot Springs, AR 71903, or by calling the society from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays at 501-321-2159 or emailing [email protected].