Ft Smith pt 2

On our recent short visit to Ft Smith, Arkansas, we stopped at the historic National Cemetery. 

You may not be interested in this post or the photos because of the subject matter. But you have to appreciate the history represented here.

The U.S. Army founded Fort Smith in 1817 as a military post on the Arkansas River.   Zachary Taylor, later the 12th President of the United States, commanded the 2nd Department, Western Division, here from 1841 to 1845. There's not a lot left of the original garrison except some foundations where rooms used to be and a restored visitor center.

I won't go into a long history lesson here, but Ft Smith was very much a part of the Civil War.
473 Confederate soldiers are buried in the Natl Cemetery. 

The saddest thing to me was the row upon row of unmarked graves - in fact, there are more than 1,400, many of them of Union and Confederate soldiers. I thought about their families, who never knew what happened to their loved one, were never able to spend time at their final resting place, and probably never really had closure.

There are some famous people buried here. Above is the headstone of Gen. William Darby. He led a group of elite soldiers in WWII who became the basis for our US Army Rangers.

Another famous person who you've probably heard of is "Hanging Judge Parker." Isaac Parker was assigned to the bench of the US District Court, which included the Indian Territory, to clean up the lawlessness and corruption running rampant as the country moved west. 

According to Wikipedia, he served 21 years on the federal bench, trying 13,490 cases. But of those, only 79 were actually executed (although 160 were sentenced to death). Our visit at the US Marshals Museum the day before taught us a lot about just how wild the territory was!

The gallows.

Under the gallows.

Not all heroes are famous.  

There are 164 national cemeteries in the US & its territories. There are roughly 17,000 veterans buried just at Ft Smith. Imagine how many veterans when you factor in all 164.  It's a sobering thought - how many thousands of men and women have served this country since its beginning.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

Day Trippin' - Ft Smith

We were looking for something different to do last weekend and decided on a overnight trip to Ft. Smith, Arkansas. We had stopped there a few years ago on our way back from the Steampunk Festival in neighboring Van Buren. We were surprised by the amount of history and planned to go back sometime for further exploration. It's only a 1-1/2 hour drive, so it was perfect for our simple getaway.

A new museum opened since we made that quick stop a few years ago. The US Marshals Museum opened in the summer of 2023. It's a beautiful facility and full of a history I'd never thought much about before.

Above shows the inside entrance to the exhibit. Below is a display of the document establishing the US Marshal Service in 1789 during George Washington's administration! Also on display are the badges worn through the years.

The exhibit rooms are organized around a center area called The Campfire, where stories are told of the evolving of the Marshal Service from its beginnings, the Frontier, and modern times. Each room focuses on these different eras with interactive displays, artifacts, photos, and much more. It's extremely well done.

This little visit got me interested in the new Taylor Sheridan series "Lawmen." It's planned to be an anthology with the first series being about Bass Reeves. His story is particularly fascinating because he was a former slave who became one of the most respected and longest serving of the Territory marshals. We read a lot about the Frontier marshals but it was the Oklahoma/Indian Territory history that was especially interesting to us.

The Hall of Honor bearing the names of 350+ Marshals killed in the line of duty.

Located on the banks of the Arkansas River, "The Museum features a unique exterior with a modified star-shaped design signifying the star badge worn by courageous U.S. Marshals. Inside, five immersive galleries educate guests about the critical, ever-evolving role the Marshals have played in upholding the Rule of Law, driven by justice, integrity and service."

You can read more about the museum and see additional photos at their website: https://marshalsmuseum.org/

If you like art, check out the Regional Art Museum. https://fsram.org/   We enjoyed two fascinating collections - one by Susan Chambers called "Back to the Garden" and another by over 100 artists who submitted their interpretations of "Beasts of the Imagination" in paintings, digital art, mixed media, and sculpture. Both were very interesting and worth the stop. (I love mixed media art!)

We made one more stop and I'll show those photos in the next post.

A Meditation on Resurrection Eve

This morning I dug out two old journals and read through them. I'm glad I wrote them, especially during the years when there was sooooo much going on in our lives. I guess I'm getting to the age where so many memories have accumulated, they sort of mush together. I needed to get some dates straight in my memory bank. Some things were enjoyable to relive and some things I had forgotten about.

(I always love visiting this old cemetery, Greenwood, when I'm back in the Ohio Valley)

When I was working at the church (a different one, many years ago) we were assigned days to share a short devotion with the rest of the staff to start the day. I saved this one and think it's appropriate to post for this weekend.

Matthew 28:6 "He is not here, for He has risen - just as He said.
Come see the place where He was lying."

Three sets of four little words - 

    He is not here

    for He has risen

    just as He said

That last set of four just keeps rolling through my mind. It's not really poetic phrase, like the psalms. It's not a specific promise. Yet those four words are loaded with assurance.

Just. As. He. Said.

   What else has God promised in His word?

   What else has He declared?

   What else has He written?

You can think of umpteen scriptures right now and probably a couple that you are especially standing on today.

If He rose from the grave JUST AS HE SAID, then you can rest assured He will bring to pass every other promise just as He said.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57

Among the Forces

On a recent trip to a vintage shop, I picked up an old looking book. I thought it would be perfect for doing some altered art, either on the book itself or tearing bits from the pages for collage. It was only $7.

The first sentence said "Fairies, fays, genii, sprites, etc. were once supposed to be helpful to some favored men."

"Oooo! I'll find some whimsical paragraphs and lovely verbiage here!" Or so I thought.

Then I opened to the copyright page and saw it was printed in 1898!  Now I don't have the heart to tear it up.

I skimmed through the book last night and was surprised by the content. It's actually written by a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Henry White Warren.  His purpose was to open our eyes to the amazing provision God made for us in every single molecule of His creation. (The sentence about fairies, etc. was to compare the imaginary beings of old stories to the great realities of the powers at work in creation).

Man's disobedience caused not only future souls to be separated from God, but was responsible for the perfect earth to deteriorate into something less than what the Lord intended.  Yet, God already had a plan in place for our redemption. What I never realized is, He also intended that the amazing powers of nature and physics serve us, to help us navigate, survive and thrive in this imperfect environment. His passionate care for us is evident everywhere we look. We just have to look!

"From the first mist that went up from the Garden the power of steam has been in every drop of water. Since the first storm the swiftness and power of lightning have been trying to startle man into seeing that in it were speed and force to carry his thought and himself."

Not only does creation benefit us, it teaches us about the almighty Creator of the universe. 

"Every flower and star, rainbow and insect, was meant to be so provocative of thought that any man who never saw a human book might be largely educated. And every one of these thoughts is related to man's best prosperity and joy."

It's always such a delight to discover new insights, new ways of thinking about the things of God. It just brings to life even more the scripture,

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

    his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Rt 66 Landmark

 As I'm going through folders looking for a particular picture, I came across one that I had intended to post a few years ago. I'm glad I didn't because there was more to the story later!

I was just doing a random photo drive one morning and went past this building. It's in an area that I seldom travel so that was the first time I noticed it. I thought it looked interesting and since I was stopped at the traffic light, I grabbed my camera and got a quick shot. It turns out that the street I was on is part of old Route 66 and the Brookshire Motel was considered a landmark. The Route 66 Commission was trying to save it, but fires in 2019 and 2020 caused so much damage it was beyond any kind of preservation.  I remember reading about the first fire and thinking "oh my goodness! I just took a picture of that building a few weeks ago!"  I'm so glad I did. 

(I put a watermark on this photo in case some hobbyist historian gets twitchy).

The Storm is Coming

This is an old Catholic church in my hometown. It sits up on a hill, so from a vantage point just a bit higher than this, I was able to shoot from eye level. The camera captured what I was seeing, but not what I was feeling. I used some technical magic to convey my impressions.

I was Catholic for a few years, undergoing the catechism after my marriage. In one session, I challenged the priest with a Bible verse that didn't jive with what he was teaching. His answer? "When there is a discrepancy between the Bible and tradition, we go with tradition."  Hmm.

Although there are aspects of Catholicism that I still love, I moved on to a Bible teaching non-denom a few years later. I am so grateful for the knowledge and understanding that I've gained from such excellent teachers, including how to study and discern God's word for myself.

This photo spoke to me of several things, but one in particular. Traditions of faith, all denominations, are being challenged and we might say, rightly so. As our understanding of the word of God increases, our faith should be growing and our relationship with the Lord should be deepening. Some of mankind's traditional thinking needs to be retired. And that goes for all denominations!

With the current pope in ill health, the Catholic church is about to undergo another transition. No matter who is chosen, or what course a new pope sets for them, God says this:

"I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

~Matthew 16:18

Covered Bridge & Pond Scum

I've always wanted to photograph an old covered bridge. I just haven't been to places where they are easy to find! On a summer trip back home a couple years ago, I did discover where one was located and I dragged my family out there for some photography adventuring.

I wasn't really happy with how the images turned out, and since I really do love to manipulate photographs anyway, here are a few artsyfartsy versions.

I do have fun adding ghostlies to photos, usually cemetery shots. When I edited this image with an X-ray filter, I thought an ethereal figure would add the perfect eerie touch. (note: I don't actually believe in ghosts.) 

I just did some light color editing on this one. There was sooo much bright green surrounding the bridge, that it overwhelmed the red color. I also had to edit out some graffiti that was popular at the time, an acronym referencing Joe Biden. Clearly the graffiti artist was not a fan.

But going back to the abundance of green, you can see what I mean in this photo. In addition to a bountiful number of trees, the water under and surrounding the bridge was totally covered in some kind of pond scum. There were shades of green every way you turned. 

By the way, pond scum has a fancy name - filamentous algae. Much more fun to say than "pond scum!"

So after a break from photography art and blogging, I've used this entry to dip my toes in the water again, so to speak, (but not the pond water). I've been editing some other pictures from that trip and will post them soon!