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You're invited to the White River Memoirs Exhibition

Artwork from the White River Memoirs exhibition in January, 2013

The Spoken History of the White River of Arkansas and Missouri has begun...

The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, in partnership with author / photographer Chris Engholm, is conducting interviews for White River Memoirs—the Spoken History of a Liquid Legend.

And we need your help.  We are recording interviews with people and families who have lived along the Upper and Lower White River.  These folks include commercial fishermen, outdoor guides, artists, merchants, loggers, farmers, journalists, dam operators, riverboat residents, and others whose lives have been connected to the river. 

If you have White River recollections to share, we would like to include them in this important community memoir.  We are also seeking family photographs of the river and its related lakes and dams to illustrate these remarkable stories to be made available for all to enjoy.

Please contact Chris Engholm at chris@chrisengholm.com to set up your interview.

An inviting swimming hole near Winslow, Arkansas in the Upper White River watershed.

Who Are We Talking With...? The 35 White River Interviews

Though it took some time to build up trust with prospective interviewees, I now have assembled the needed 35 contributors.  The interviewee list looks like this:

1. Director of historical society and museum in Bull Shoals
2. Brown trout fishing guide in Bull Shoals
3. A bait shop and campground owner in Lawrenceville
4. 90 year-old publisher of The White River Journal in Des Arc
5. Fish market owner in Des Arc
6. Retired game warden in Maddox Bay area
7. Commercial catfish fisherman in Clarendon
8. Wife of a famous bass boat manufacturer
9. Biologist and river rat in Batesville with long family history in region
10. Director of the Lower White River Museum
11. Farmer and duck hunting guide in Cotton Plant
12. River rat retiree in Searcy with long family history on the Red and White rivers
13. Curator of museum in Jacksonport
14. 80 year-old river rat on the Des Arc Bayou
15. An expert on Monte Ne and Coin Harvey
16. A White River photographer in Winslow
17. Professor of Folk Studies with focus on Civil War along the White River
18. Grand daughter of artist/photographer in Augusta
19. Father/son river rats in Augusta who have salvaged historical relics from the river
20. Circuit judge and early mercantile store owner in Des Arc
21. Husband-wife publishers of a newspaper in DeWitt
22. River rat in Des Arc who routinely catches 55 pound catfish
23. A playright and expert on Civil War battles along the White River
24. Curator of the Brinkley museum who spent early years on the Cache River
25. Author and photographer of a classic photo book about the White River
26. Dam engineer
27. Senior retired river rat in Searcy who recalls fishing/hunting before dams
28. Director of river conservation group active on Cache and White rivers
29. Soybean magnate and barge company owner in Augusta
30. Two brothers, a poet and watercolor artist, who create White River-related art
31. Well-known historian in Clarendon
32. Underwater guide located on Tablerock Lake
33. Author of “Rivers To Run” book and other titles
34. Director of movie filmed on the White River in 2011
35. Longtime musician of Delta Blues in Cotton Plant

WRM Project Receives Grant

Newsflash!  The White River Memoirs project is now the supported in part from a grant provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Department of Arkansas Heritage.  Many thanks to these organizations and their board members for providing essential grant money to launch this project.