My Book: Rock Island Railroad In Arkansas

Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas is a collection of mostly historic photographs of the once great line that had a huge footprint in the state before being shut down in March 1980. The book was released by Arcadia Publishing in April 2017 as part of its Images of Rail series. It’s available from most major bookstores in central Arkansas, online retailers, or click on the cover of the book to order a copy from the publisher. It’s available in hardcover, paperback and a digital edition for Kindles or iPads.

I put the book together including photos taken by Clifton Hull, Bill Pollard, Edward Wojtas, Earl Saunders and others, drawing from the resources of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture, the North Little Rock History Commission and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. I also included many of my own photos from the years after the railroad was shut down, documenting what was left in the state.

While I had been researching the Rock Island for decades, mainly recording oral histories with former employees, preparing a book of high resolution photographs was a totally different challenge. I have to thank Dr. Bill Pollard, a railroad historian from Conway, for his assistance in scanning old photographs and slides from his collection. I couldn’t have done it without him.

Speaking in what was the Rock Island’s Little Rock Passenger Station

My first lecture on the topic was held April 4, 2017, the day after the book was released. Appropriately enough, it was in what had been the Rock Island’s passenger station for nearly 70 years. It was built in 1899 for the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad, which was soon acquired by the Rock Island. Today the building, which was abandoned for decades, has been beautifully restored and is home for the Clinton School of Public Service. The graduate school is part of the University of Arkansas System and is adjacent to the Clinton Presidential Center.

It was great speaking there because when I first started researching the Rock Island and going out to look at the grounds in the late 1980s the building was boarded up and had an uncertain future. Thinking about all the activity that had taken place there related to the subject I was speaking about was amazing. It was also an honor to be part of the school’s speaker series which has hosted world leaders, U.S. Supreme Court justices, Pulitzer Prize winners, astronauts and Oscar winners, among others. You can watch my full presentation below, which was filmed by the Clinton School of Public Service, or at this link.

Appearing on Arkansas PBS

While I had been a regular panelist on the public television network’s program Arkansas Week, I was surprised and pleased to be invited to be a guest on the half-hour interview show Barnes and… to discuss the Rock Island. AETN even ran an ad promoting the show in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper just above the television listings.

The program aired Monday, July 17, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. and can be watched below. They included several photographs from the book and it was a nice conversation, not only about the railroad, but the politics in Arkansas after the shutdown when a proposal was introduced in the legislature for the state to buy the rails and lease them to another railroad. That had been done in other states, but fierce opposition and lobbying from competing railroads kept that from happening.

I’ve also been able to speak about the book to groups around the state or take part in book signings. Below are other events scheduled for the book. Copes of the Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas can be purchased at these events. I’ve also included some press coverage I’ve received.

Speaking about the Rock Island on the Arts & Letters radio program

It was a great treat to discuss what got me interested as a child in the Rock Island after witnesses their trains no longer running in front of my elementary school. I shared my experiences and audio of some interviews I had recorded over the years with former Rock Island employees and it was incredible having original music recorded by local bands especially for this hour-long program.

The program aired on Little Rock, Arkansas NPR station KUAR-FM 89.1 on Friday, March 23, 2018 at 7 p.m. and was rebroadcast the following Sunday at 9 p.m. You can also listen to the entire program below.

AUDIO: Hear the Arts & Letters episode “Gotta Catch That Train,” on my book Rock Island Railroad In Arkansas.

Presentation on the Rock Island at the Department of Arkansas Heritage

On August 21, 2018, I spoke at the Department of Arkansas Heritage about my research on the Rock Island Railroad, and a project underway to move and save from demolition the railroad’s 100-year-old depot in Perry, Arkansas. Also present was Buford Suffridge, president of the Perry County Historical and Genealogical Society, which has been overseeing the preservation effort. I invited him to the podium to share his thoughts about the project which seemed like such a long shot a year ago when we first discussed the idea.

I also included a slide show, mostly of photos featured in my book Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas, which was released in 2017. I also featured a few recent photos of the depot that we’re hoping to preserve. Thanks to the Department of Arkansas Heritage for inviting me to speak as part of its Pen to Podium lecture series.

 

Previous events and media coverage:

• Saturday, April 1, 2017, Arkansas Railroad Museum, 1700 Port Road, Pine Bluff, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., book signing.
• Tuesday, April 4, 2017, Clinton School of Public Service, 1200 President Clinton Ave, Little Rock, 12 p.m.
• Friday, April 14, 2017, Historic Arkansas Museum’s Art Night, 200 E. 3rd Street, Little Rock, 5 to 7 p.m., book signing.
• Friday, April 14, 2017, UA Little Rock University News.
• Saturday, April 15, 2017, Wordsworth Books, 5920 R Street, Little Rock, 1 to 3 p.m., book signing.
• Thursday, April 26, 2017, Interview with KASU radio in Jonesboro.
• Saturday, April 29, 2017, Arkansas Literary Festival, Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center, 602 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, 4 p.m., lecture and book signing.
• Saturday, May 27, 2017, 100th Anniversary Russellville Depot Celebration, 320 West C Street, Russellville, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., book signing.
• Saturday, June 17, 2017, Barnes & Noble, North Little Rock, 11 a.m.- 1 p.m., 4000 McCain Blvd, North Little Rock, book signing.
• Monday, July 17, 2017, interviewed for a half-hour episode of the public television program Barnes and… on the Arkansas Educational Television Network, which is the local PBS outlet.
• Wednesday, August 2, 2017, Butler Center for Arkansas Studies’ Legacies and Lunch, Darraugh Center at the Central Arkansas Library System’s Main Library, 100 Rock Street in Little Rock, 12 p.m., lecture and book signing.
• Tuesday, August 8, 2017, Perry County Historical and Genealogical Society, Milam Library, 609 Aplin Street, Perryville, 7 p.m., lecture to discuss effort to preserve the former Rock Island depot at Perry.
• Monday, January 22, 2018, White County Historical Society, Harding Place Retirement Center, 801 Benton Ave, Searcy, Arkansas, 7 p.m., lecture.
• Tuesday, March 13, 2018, Perry County Historical and Genealogical Society, Milam Library, 609 Aplin Street, Perryville, 7 p.m., spoke with the group about its ongoing efforts to preserve the former Rock Island depot in Perry, Arkansas.
• Tuesday, August 21, 2018, Arkansas State Archives, Pen to Podium: Arkansas Historical Writers’ Lecture Series, Department of Arkansas Heritage Diamond Room, 1100 North Street, Little Rock, Arkansas, 6:30 p.m., lecture.
• Saturday, October 27, 2018, Barnes & Noble, North Little Rock, 12 p.m.- 3 p.m., 4000 McCain Blvd, North Little Rock, book signing

As a companion to the book, I’m also preparing a podcast series of maybe 10 to 15 episodes to include interviews I’ve conducted with former Rock Island employees and others with a connection to the railroad.