When originally determining our route north towards Indiana, where my mother lives, I thought we would go to Hot Springs, explore a little of western Arkansas and head to Branson, Missouri.  I posted a tentative route on my Facebook page and asked for suggestions.  My friend, Daniela Lankford, the librarian at Klein Oak High School, suggested we check out Bentonville and seeing Crystal Bridges Museum.  I knew the Walmart owner had lived around Bentonville, but I had never heard of Crystal Bridges Museum, so I did some investigation on her suggestion.  I’m so glad we followed her recommendation to go to the Bentonville.  We ended up staying in Bentonville five days since we did not like the previous place we were and left early. Bentonville and nearby Bella Vista were definitely a nice surprise for us. 

            Most people have heard of Sam Walton and his building of the Walmart empire.  He started out owning a Benjamin Franklin franchise in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas and that original building is now the home of the Sam Walton and Walmart Museum, which is free to the public.  It seems that the Walton family has invested in the town of Bentonville as their headquarters are located in Bentonville and their large complex of buildings includes a childcare facility, a dining hall, conference center, a gym and even an introductory mountain bike trail.  Mountain Bike Trail? Yes, that’s right!  In fact, the Walton family played a part in making Northwest Arkansas the Mountain Bike Capital of the World.

            Tom Walton, the grandson of the Sam Walton – the founder of Walmart, became a mountain bike enthusiast while attending college in Flagstaff, Arizona. Tom Walton brought his newfound love back to Northwest Arkansas and worked to make the area “the country’s best fat tire riding destinations,” according to Pike’s Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance. The Walton Family Foundation, of which Tom Walton is the Home Region Program Committee Chair, has invested heavily in the building of 260 miles of both singletrack and paved trails in Northwest Arkansas.  The Walton Family Foundation also funds the maintenance of those trails.  Now, neither Frank or I have ever been big bike riders, but some of those trails are really enticing and we are considering purchasing e-bikes for Christmas.  (Remember, we are not athletes, nor do we want to be. lol) Once we have our e-bikes, I believe we will be revisiting the Bentonville area ready to hit the trails – the easy, paved ones of course. 😊

            Another Walton, Alice Walton, the daughter of Sam Walton, has a love for art and she led the charge in the Walton Family Foundation’s involvement in founding the Crystal Bridge Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.  Personally, I have grown to enjoy and appreciate art over the years, but I’m by no means a “true” lover of art or very knowledgeable.  I know about some of the early American artists due to teaching them in my American history classes for many years.  However, when going to new places, I don’t automatically think about going to art museums.  Afterall, I’ve seen the National Portrait Museum, the Louvre, the Houston Fine Arts Museum, and many smaller art museums and exhibits…  I’ve seen works by famous artists and I appreciate them, but many times the cost of attending art museums seems a little steep. The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has solved that problem because they do not charge an admission.  Imagine, a free museum of American art so that everyone can see works by some of our most famous artists.  The buildings themselves are works of art / architecture and there are numerous walking trails outside featuring sculptures.  They even had a Clementine Hunter painting which I was excited to view.  Hunter, a primitive artist that lived near Melrose Plantation in Natchitoches Parish, was given an Honorary Doctorate from Northwestern State University in 1986, when I graduated. Two of my students also did a History Fair project on her that place third in the state competition.  

            To top off our visit to the Crystal Bridges American Art Museum, I was able to view my first Frank Lloyd Wright home in person.  The Walton Family Foundation purchased a Frank Lloyd Wright home, disassembled the house and reassembled it there on the grounds of the Crystal Bridges American Art Museum and it is also free.  Now, the Frank Lloyd Wright style is not my style, but I appreciate it and it was a joy to tour it in person. I found out that he is responsible for the term carport since he didn’t like garages that would house “junk.” The Walton family seems to be taking care of their hometown by providing jobs, art, culture, and mountain trails that contribute to making it a tourist destination. 

            Since our visit, I’ve urged some people I know who love to bike to visit Bentonville and I hope they will.  However, you don’t have to be a biking enthusiast to appreciate the area and enjoy your visit.  The weather was very nice when we visited in June, and we enjoyed walking some of the trails that are meant for bikes and walkers.  We highly recommend the Crystal Arts Museum and the Sam Walton Museum.  You can’t beat free!  Oh, be sure and buy an ice cream cone next door to the Sam Walton Museum, it’s good and fairly cheap!

Until Next Time,

Beth Cervenka

Come Explore with Us!

            On what I thought was July 13, but was actually July 14, we headed to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to tour the Holy Land, gain insights by participating in the Backstage Tour, and view the famous Passion Play.  I was confused and it wasn’t the day of the play, but that’s another story.  On the way, I spotted a sign about Martin Greer’s Candies and pointed it out to Frank.  Chocolate was calling out to me, so as we came upon the store (in the middle of nowhere), we had to stop.  I reminded Frank that this was one of the reasons we chose this life – to be able to do spontaneous stops and enjoy. I sure did want some chocolate. Little did I know that this stop was going to really brighten our day.

            The first thing I noticed was the sign which indicated it was a father and son tradition.  I love stories like that. The very next thing I noticed where all the beautiful flowers sprawling everywhere in front of the small shop; of course, I had to take some pictures of them.  As we entered the small shop, we could see glass towards the back where workers were making candy.  There were also displays behind the glass with all sorts of chocolate delights.  How was I going to narrow down my choices and not spend a fortune?

As I looked around, I noticed several vivid paintings on the walls. A young lady came out to help us and explained that the largest one showed the original Martin Greer, Sr, his son, Martin Greer, Jr., and his son as toddler, in a room making candy.  She followed this up by pointing out that the owner of the shop was the artist and had done all the artwork in the shop.  That is not something you usually find in a candy shop, especially out in the middle of nowhere.

            About that time, an elderly man with a walker came into the shop from a side door.  The employee introduced us to Martin Greer, Jr, who began to chat with us. Originally born in Texas, because his father was in the military, we learned that his father began making candy in 1924. Just think, that is almost 100 years ago.  Mr. Greer was proud to say that he was 82 years old.

            Frank tells me I talk to too many strangers, but he chatted quite a bit with Mr. Greer on this occasion.  Mr. Greer pointed out some booklets on the side wall that he was selling, and I had to purchase the one about his years as a candy maker.  (He even includes his business plan in it.) When we told him we had retired and I had been a teacher, we learned the Mr. Geer had been an art teacher, principal, and superintendent.  He also happened to be Dr. Greer. He told us a little about the family history of making candy and then invited us to his studio next door.  I felt so privileged to follow him to his studio.

            The studio is covered in art, papers, some pottery, and the usual debris of having lived a creative life. Dr. Greer told his about his first job teaching art and how he was certified to teach elementary, but they wanted him to teach high school.  So, while teaching his first year, he had to go back to school to become certified for secondary education.  We commiserated over funding for schools and his first year he was allotted two cents for every art student for supplies.  That’s right – two cents.  In order to help with the funding of art supplies, Dr. Greer and his students produced animated films that were shown for an admission price and they also produced some puppet shows to augment the art fund. He even had some old 16 mm film in canisters of those animated films. 

            Dr. Greer was proud to show us a few pottery pieces he had done and how level they were on the bottom with a ridge.  I don’t know much about pottery, but evidently that was a big deal and he accomplished it on his first pieces. I nodded and smiled like I knew what he was talking about and complimented him on his pieces. 

            We learned during our time there that Dr. Greer’s wife had passed just the week before and he was grieving.  By reading his booklet, I learned that it was his second wife, and she is the one who insisted that the front had to have flowers and look inviting.  According to him, he would have been fine with fake grass.  lol

            Martin Greer’s Candies are made using “the best chocolate you can buy” and by “staying true to the recipes.  In his booklet, Dr. Greer states, “The recipes came from Rigby’s Reliable Teacher, published in 1897, and the recipes published by Bakers Chocolate in 1820.  Hand dipping is better than machine run chocolates.” Dr. Greer’s father’s advice was, “If your product is not better than what people can get at a store like Walmart, then the people will have no good reason to buy what you are making.”  They use Peter’s Chocolate, a milk chocolate, which was invented in Switzerland in 1875.  There is a lot of history behind these candies.

                Of course, Frank and I bought chocolate; I just forgot to take pictures of it before we ate it. Oops! We bought two pieces we could have right away in the car that had caramel, peanuts, and milk chocolate. YUM!  I had to have a small container of Rocky Road Fudge, and then an assorted box.  They make all the candies there in that shop, package them and even ship them.  According to his booklet, he has the tourist trade passing by in the summer, the locals buy from him around the holidays, and there is the shipping of his chocolates to the tourists who fall in love with his candies. I highly recommend Martin Greer’s Candies!

  If you are ever in northern Arkansas, please put Martin Greer’s Candies on the list of must stops.    You might not be as lucky as we were to meet Dr. Greer and see his studio, but you will surely love the chocolates! 

https://martingreerscandies.com/

Until next time,

Beth Cervenka

Come Explore with Us.

The words “walking” and “hiking” are not associated with either Frank or me – at least they were not before we started our fulltime RV journey.  Now we find ourselves walking / hiking on a pretty regular basis. On our second day in Hot Springs, we headed out to Garvin Woodland Gardens and discovered a perfect place for walking and enjoying nature.  (Sadly, the entire time I lived in the Houston area, I never visited Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens.  That will have to change!  It is now on my list of things to do when we return to the Houston area.) The Garvin Woodlands Gardens was a wonderful experience for us, and I hope you will check them out when you are in the Hot Springs area.  (I hear Christmas time is just “magical.”)

            The weather was just perfect! Not hot and not cold, simply perfect.  We did arrive shortly after they opened at 10 a.m.; we walked the gardens, and I took a lot of photos as we followed the paths.  The hardest part was a slight incline up to a lookout point.  Don’t get me wrong and think we hiked the entire area. There is an “undeveloped” area known as the Hixon Family Nature Preserve that had a long trail around it and is noted for its birding opportunities.  We did not venture into that area or that trail.  The two miles and approximately two hours we spent was just right.  (There were lots of stops for photos and enjoying nature.)

            According to the Garvan Woodland Gardens website, the land for the gardens was clear cut in 1915 and Mrs. Verna Cook Garvan vowed never to let it be cut again.  According to the garden’s website, “Mrs. Garvan’s father had operated Wisconsin-Arkansas Lumber Co. and the brick company (Malvern Brick and Tile) before his premature death in 1934. Shortly afterward, she assumed control of the company’s various holdings as one of the first female CEO’s of a major southern manufacturing business and served in that capacity until her retirement in the 1970’s.”  That would be impressive today, but it is even more impressive that she did this in the 1930s. Mrs. Garvin had a rather interesting life. Her first husband, Lonnie Alexander, tried to commit her to a psychiatric ward in Florida when they were going through their divorce. OH MY! Finally, the divorce was settled, and she remarried in 1960 to Patrick Garvan, Jr. a wealthy man from New York.  They decided to remain in the Hot Springs area where they met.

In 1956, after the demise of Verna Garvan’s first marriage, she began developing the land into gardens and considered making it a future residence as it bordered Lake Hamilton. The plans for a home were scratched when her second husband passed in 1972.  She marked every tree and laid out all the paths. All the new plants were chosen by Mrs. Garven and she selected each location. She worked on the gardens for 40 years introducing thousands of plants. There are more than 160 different types of azaleas, so I would love to revisit the gardens in the spring when they are blooming. Mrs. Garvin chose award winning architect E. Fay Jones, of Thorncrown Chapel fame, and his business partner, Maurice Jennings, to design an open-air pavilion of native stone and redwood. It was under construction when Mrs. Garvin passed in 1993. She left the property to the Department of Landscape Architecture through the University of Arkansas.

            The paths are mostly shaded and are either paved or are packed gravel. Visitors are allowed to bring dogs on a leash for a $5 fee.  If I lived in the area, I would certainly purchase a membership and use it for walking and enjoying nature.  Please remember, before we started this RV life, I never walked.  I guess I’m starting to like nature and enjoy walking in different places.  Who knew?  As I told Frank, every area is different and interesting.  It’s not like walking in a subdivision where you just pass the same houses every time and of course in Houston in the summer, it is HOT!   

            There are different areas in the gardens with various styles of bridges as there are numerous small waterfalls. A children’s area features a maze of rocks for them to figure out, plus a waterfall and man-made cave. To top that area off, there is a treehouse bridge.  What child wouldn’t like that? Be sure to take your young children; they will enjoy the children’s area, the bridges, the waterfalls, and skipping down the paths.

Anthony Chapel, one of the famous “glass chapels” is located at Garvin Woodland Gardens.  Maurice Jennings, who worked with E. Fay Jones to design Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs in 1979, and the Mildred Cooper Chapel in Bella Vista, mainly designed the Anthony Chapel, the largest of the three glass chapels in Arkansas. It is gorgeous and a perfect place for a wedding for those with the money to pay for the venue.  I always thought the chapel was open air due to the way it looked in photos, but it is glass, six stories tall, and can seat 160 guests. (They do offer cheaper “elopement” packages.)

Photo courtesy of the Garvan Gardens Facebook Page.

            I don’t want to give it all away, but I urge you to check out Garvin Woodlands Gardens if you are in the Hot Springs area or even make a special trip to check it out. It is a $15 fee per person and children 4-12 cost $5 each. Those that aren’t able to walk the paths can do a Golf Cart Ride tour for an additional $15 per person.

Until Next Time,

Beth

Come Explore with Us!