Annual publication addresses pandemic, includes first color photos

The unique art deco architecture of the Majestic Garage at 134 Park Ave. made it a landmark for visitors and local residents. The station sold Esso gasoline and featured “all nite” service. Today the site is part of a parking lot. - Submitted photo
The unique art deco architecture of the Majestic Garage at 134 Park Ave. made it a landmark for visitors and local residents. The station sold Esso gasoline and featured “all nite” service. Today the site is part of a parking lot. - Submitted photo

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].

The cover of The Record 2020, the Garland County Historical Society’s yearly journal, features Gulpha Creek, a watercolor by Gary Simmons, one of Hot Springs National Park’s Artists-in-Residence profiled in the publication. - Submitted photo
The cover of The Record 2020, the Garland County Historical Society’s yearly journal, features Gulpha Creek, a watercolor by Gary Simmons, one of Hot Springs National Park’s Artists-in-Residence profiled in the publication. - Submitted photo
A crew works on Blakely Mountain Dam in March 1949, the month that construction began. The formation of Lake Ouachita led to the exodus of many residents from northwestern Garland County, including the towns of Buckville and Cedar Glades. - Submitted photo
A crew works on Blakely Mountain Dam in March 1949, the month that construction began. The formation of Lake Ouachita led to the exodus of many residents from northwestern Garland County, including the towns of Buckville and Cedar Glades. - Submitted photo
The Ohio Cigar Store, north of the second Thompson Building, after the massive flood of May 14, 1923. The Ohio Club changed its name to “Ohio Cigar Store” during Prohibition. - Submitted photo
The Ohio Cigar Store, north of the second Thompson Building, after the massive flood of May 14, 1923. The Ohio Club changed its name to “Ohio Cigar Store” during Prohibition. - Submitted photo
The main Army and Navy General Hospital building overlooks Bathhouse Row and Central Avenue, circa 1890s. Reserve Street is at the bottom of the photo. The fact that the federal government would spend $100,000 in 1887 for the construction of the Army and Navy General Hospital gave what was seen by many as a “government stamp of approval” for the therapeutic benefits of the thermal springs. - Submitted photo
The main Army and Navy General Hospital building overlooks Bathhouse Row and Central Avenue, circa 1890s. Reserve Street is at the bottom of the photo. The fact that the federal government would spend $100,000 in 1887 for the construction of the Army and Navy General Hospital gave what was seen by many as a “government stamp of approval” for the therapeutic benefits of the thermal springs. - Submitted photo

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