05/25/2026
While working on the restoration of the historic Riverview, we found many hidden treasures along the way. Some safely tucked away behind a mirror or in a wall long forgotten. We found newspapers from Denver, St Louis and our local state paper. But one holds special meaning. The 1944 Arkansas Gazette faded and torn and crumpled.
Look closely and you will see a map of France with lines drawn marking the advancement of the allied forces.
I well remember the stories our mother told during yearly visits to the cemeteries in Izard co where “our people are buried”. Walking through the rows of gravestones, some so old you can barely make out the words, Mama would call the names from memory, tell their stories and help us know who they were and their place in our family history. Where they came from. Who they married. Their children’s names. How they died.
Listening to her detailed stories I can still picture in my minds eye men in military bearing the remains of a soldier home. She told of war rations, listening to the president on the radio. A delivery of a telegraph never was good news.
As for the Gazette, I often wonder who read it. Who brought it to the inn?Did guests gather at the table around that map? Did they pray for their loved ones? Did they fear the telegraph man?
“War is hell”
On this Memorial Day , may we find a way to live in peace with all people.
