Season 2, Episode 8

 Archeologist and the lives of early LA  residents

Dr. Carl Drexler

Long before those of us who speak our particular version of English inhabited what is now Lower Arkansas, early man inhabited the countryside. Dr. Carl Drexler is research archeologist for the Arkansas Archeological Survey stationed at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. He is intimately familiar with all periods of cultural development in this region and recently expanded upon them at a talk at the Columbia County Library.

Dr. Drexler was born three years before the release of the first movie featuring the exploits of Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr. and admits he did not see the series until his teen years. And while he may actually own a fedora, he prefers a different style of hat when he's working in the field. Unlike Indiana Jones, he does not use a bullwhip in his work, but he does have a nickname. You'll just have to listen to the podcast to hear what it is as we wouldn't want to make it to accessible by putting it into print.

And like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, there are stolen artifacts that need to be recovered. In 2006--before Dr. Drexler's assignment at SAU began--26 bowls and pottery objects valued at over $100,000 were stolen from the Survey headquarters on the SAU campus. The objects have been listed on the FBI's National Stolen Arts registry and may be viewed on the FBI's website at this link.  And while there have been reported sightings of some of the objects through the intervening years, the reports have not panned out. The mystery continues!

If you're interested in learning more about archeology in South Arkansas, check out the website of the Red River chapter of the Arkansas Archeological Society at this link.

To learn more about the first peoples to call Lower Arkansas home and find out Dr. Drexler's nom de guerre, take a listen to my interview by clicking the button below!

Season 2, Episode 7

 Solar eclipse is awesome!

John and Grace Harden

with Ella, Mitchell and Audrey

Take it from John Harden: the solar eclipse coming up April 8 is an awe-inspiring event with spiritual impact that you don't want to miss. As a father who took his family to see the last, John has first-hand experience. Back in 2017 they drove from Magnolia to Lebanon, Tennessee to witness the eclipse.

"You've got to get into the region of 100 per cent totality," John told me. "I drove eight hours to see it the last time, that's probably the extent I would have done it in 2017 but knowing what I know now, I would have driven two days for it. It is that much of a must see. It's incredible."

John recommended watching the weather forecast carefully.  Depending on what the regional forecast holds, you might want to get up early to go north or south to be on the line of totality.

"It's a deeply spiritual experience," John told me. "Some Bible passages will never read the same again after you experience this: Psalm 19:1, 'The heavens declare the glory of God and the expanse proclaims the works of his hands." And Genesis 1:3, 'Then God said let there be light and there was light.' These passages will never read the same."

John noted that many people are moved to tears by the experience of seeing the eclipse. He compared it to making a trip to the Holy Land. 

"The Holy Land will take you back to the time of Jesus, this (the eclipse) will take you back to the time of Creation," John explained. 

John also recommended getting to your location early, expect traffic delays and be prepared with food and water in the event you are stuck in traffic.

As you prepare to view the 2024 Solar Eclipse, take a moment to listen to my interview with John Harden by clicking the play button below.

Season 2, Episode 6

 What in the world is lymphedema?

Maddie Jo Stephens

Jamie Stephens moved to Lower Arkansas from Louisiana, so she was rightly confused when I told her the name of my podcast. But she’s been here for about seven years and she and her family are adapting to “Life in LA”, even though they’ve run into a challenge they weren’t expecting in the process.

“My daughter Maddie Jo was diagnosed at six years old with primary lymphedema which means that she was born with it” Jamie told me.

Lymphedema is tissue swelling caused by the buildup of high-protein rich fluid in the extremities. Primary lymphedema begins at birth while secondary lymphedema is acquired following trauma or cancer.

Jamie first noticed Maddie Jo’s condition following dance class when she was six. The day had begun like so many others.

“I got her home that evening,” Jamie told me.  “I was changing her shoe and her foot was two times bigger than the other one. I thought she broke it but it wasn’t broken.”

So began a search for a doctor with experience in treating primary lymphedema. They sought treatment in Magnolia, Little Rock, Shreveport and eventually got the diagnosis in Dallas. Many of the doctors she’s talked with have told her that she knows more about the condition than they do.

“It's not their fault, they don't tell you in medical school,” she said. “They spend less than 24 hours on the lymphatic system because it was considered not as important to body as say the circulatory system. In the last 10 to 15 years, they’ve come to find out it is just as important.”

While there is no cure, there are some treatments such as massages that can help to reduce the swelling.  Compression also helps, which requires the use of bandages, stockings or special garments.

One of the biggest issues facing children with the condition is finding shoes they can wear.

 “Kids with lymphedema in their feet cannot wear mainstream shoes,” Jamie explained. “If they do, you have to buy two pairs in two different sizes to make one pair and it's only certain brands that are like $100 piece so you buy two pairs to make one pair and that other pair has no use.”

Special garments may be required, but those are expensive also. A custom-made garment from Germany may cost $1,200 and the child may outgrow it in just months.

How has Maddie Jo adapted to the condition? It must be difficult with her classmates, I mused.

“Thankfully she's always gone to Emerson (Public Schools) and they love her,” Jamie said. “She's a butterfly, she does not let it get her down.”

If she notices other children staring at her, Maddie Jo takes the opportunity to strike up a conversation and explains the situation, giving a short course on lymphedema.

Her condition has led her to lots of new experiences:

• She was named the 2024 Ambassador for Children’s Hospital in Dallas, Texas;
• She connected with Ryan Seacrest and the American Idol judges through video message, and recently met Seacrest in person;
• She landed the role of Chip in Magnolia Arts’ production of Beauty & The Beast Jr.

Maddie Jo doesn't let the condition get her down and Jamie says she is always smiling, bubbly,  and eager to make friends. Her favorite saying is, "I love everyone, but I love Jesus more, even more than you, Momma."

Maddie Jo’s condition has led her mom to start a foundation, the purpose of which is to empower children battling primary lymphedema by providing essential support. This includes assistance with shoes and compression gear, but also to promoting awareness of the condition.

 One of the ways the foundation is promoting awareness is through a special event coming up March 2 at the Barn at Big Oak Hill near Emerson. A 5K Color Walk/Run will kick off at 10 a.m.  Participants will be doused with different colors at each kilometer mark, creating a unique outfit to mark the occasion.

 “We encourage all who participate in the Color Walk/Run to wear white shirts and shoes that you don’t mind getting color on,” Jamie said. After the walk/run, join us for live music by Brooklyn Fogle, great food by Crayston BBQ and shaved ice from Sub-Zero New Orleans Style Shaved Ice.

 There will also be information tables with brochures and T-shirts for sale. To register to run or walk, visit jorising.org or come early for the event to register in person. You can also follow Jo Rising on their Facebook page.

Hear my interview with Jamie by clicking below and share this post to help get the word out about the event and lymphedema.

Season 2, Episode 5

 Catching up with “The Voice”

Ken and Carol Sibley

It’s hard to believe a full decade has passed since the quintessential voice of Lower Arkansas announced not only his retirement but also his departure from Magnolia for eastern Tennessee. After more than 60 years with Magnolia Radio—KVMA and KFMV as they were known—Ken Sibley turned off the mic, hung up the headphones and left the studio. He and Carol moved to Collierville, TN, where three of their five grandchildren lived, of course with their parents. 

Ken had held nearly every leadership position imaginable in church, city and county, in addition to his work in radio. He’s a great bus driver and excellent story teller to boot, which landed him a short tenure as a charter bus driver in the Memphis area. He drove me on my first children’s church camp trip to Siloam Springs and loves to describe the forlorn look on my face when he dropped me and 20 rowdy kids off for the week.

I caught up with Ken through the miracle of modern technology and enjoyed the virtual stroll down memory lane. We reminisced about people we worked with and some of the programs that aired back in the day. Today’s generation can’t appreciate The Friendly Show, The Mary K Show, I Remember When, Hospital Calling. A few folks remember some of the commercials that aired through the years: Bill Bigley's "Throw away your plumber's friend and call your friendly plumber Broadway" was a fixture in the '50s and '60s; the Magnolia Insurance spot that began with "The Fire Alarm has sounded in Magnolia!"

If you've never heard Ken's radio voice, here's your chance to be introduced. If you've been missing that friendly patter, then here's a shot of nostalgia for you. Whichever category you fit into, just click the link below and enjoy today's program! 

Season 2, Episode 4

Making the (economics) message clear

Dr. David Rankin (left) with Steve Ford

As a young man, David Rankin had never given any thought to becoming a college professor, let alone an administrator of higher education. His mother had moved back to Arkansas from Tennessee--first to Hot Springs, then to Junction City--after his father had died in World War II and he had just begun college. After a stint at factory work, he decided he preferred higher education and was attending Louisiana Tech University.

"David, have you ever thought about being a college professor," asked E. Carl Jones, professor where David was then currently enrolled. "It never crossed my mind the first time," David replied. "Colleges of business are growing like wildfire and they need young instructors to come out and help," Jones told him.  He had just successfully completed a presentation the previous week in class and decided to give it a try. He was accepted to Middle  Tennessee State University and decided he liked the field, so he later began a doctorate program at the University of Mississippi, where he met another student from South Arkansas. That was Louis Blanchard of Magnolia, who went on to become a long-time professor of accounting at SAU.

Rankin told Blanchard if they ever had an opening in finance at then-Southern State College to let him know. After David and wife Toni had talked it over, he decided to submit a resume.

One day the phone hanging on the wall in their married student apparent rang and David answered it. On the other end was the president of Southern State!

"I answered the phone and he said, 'Mr. Rankin, this is Imon Bruce at Southern State College, and we want to offer you a job as assistant professor of business at'—and I had told Toni, if they will offer me at least $8,000 I’ll  go to SSC. He said, "We’ll offer you as assistant professor of business for eight thousand and forty dollars.' I said, 'Dr. Bruce, sign me up, I’ll be there.'" He began his career here in 1968.

David had married the attractive redhead--literally the girl next door in Junction  City--and the two have three adult children, all of whom live near the family home. John and Curt are involved in the family timber business and Beth Anne Rankin Baker recently completed her doctorate from Vanderbilt University.

David has a gift for making the complicated simple and interesting. The "dismal science" as economics has been called is something David is passionate about. Witness his latest book, The Economics of Freedom written by Dr. Rankin with the assistance of daughter Beth Anne. The two have been promoting the book locally and a copy is available in our local library or for sale in the SAU bookstore on the square in Magnolia.

The book is also available through his website, RankinEconomics.com, where you can read his blog posts or watch the two-minute videos on a variety of topics. It's even possible to see money growing on a tree as you take in topics like inflation, government regulation, and debt monetization, each in about two minutes!

He currently serves as the chairman of the Governor's Council of Economic Advisors, now under his fourth governor. When the current SAU president resigned to go to Henderson, the Board of Trustees asked Rankin to return as interim president while a search is underway for his successor. He will serve in that position until June and becomes what I assume is one of few to be former president, president emeritus and interim president of an institution of higher education.

Having read up on all of his accomplishments, I must admit to being somewhat awe-struck at the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Rankin, and not the least because I know next to nothing about economics. But David's ability to make a complicated topic clear and his unfeigned humility made the interview really fly by.

As a long-time student of leadership, I asked him what he thought were traits of an effective leader.

"First," he replied, "I think you have to do everything you can to get rid of the ego. Pride and ego is just a downfall and they can just carry you down."

And second, he says, is the ability to listen to people.

"You have to listen to people, you have to be a participatory person," David told me. "That doesn't mean you allow all the organizations to make the decision, but you want to know and you want to be where people can come and look at you and say, 'I've got a complaint.'"

If you want to listen to people, I highly recommend you take a listen to today's podcast. You'll then want to pick up your own copy of his book, where you'll learn the importance of freedom to our economic system. You'll also learn the "secret weapon", what David calls the "secret sauce" of capitalism that is available in few other economies.

As always, click below to listen to the podcast and be sure to share this with others. You may learn something about the "dismal science" you weren't expecting!

Season 2, Episode 3

Finding fulfillment in L.A. 

Jerome Warner

Not everyone who calls Lower Arkansas home was born and raised here; some became L.A. citizens for various reasons. And if you scratch just beneath the surface or sit and listen a minute, you'll find some fascinating stories that make this area such an interesting place in which to live.

Take the case of Jerome Warner, who retired to Southwest Arkansas from Northeast Arkansas to afford his children the same opportunities to grow up as he and his late wife Linda had enjoyed. Larry Price suggested I look up Jerome where he volunteers down at the Columbia County Animal Protection Society (CCAPS) Thrift Store and find out what makes him what Readers' Digest calls "My Most Unforgettable Character."

Raised on a farm in Eastern Colorado, his family raised wheat and cattle as their main crops. He enlisted in the U.S. Army right out of high school and served for three years, ending his time as a surgeon's assistant in San Antonio, Texas. He studied public administration after leaving the Army, which enabled him to land a teaching position at the University of Nebraska. 

He spent 27 years of his life researching and providing delivery of public policy, usually aimed at providing services the consumer needed for economic or health purposes. It's important work that needs to be done, and he worked at it in Nebraska, Missouri and eventually Northeast Arkansas. 

After working hard at his career he and his wife decided to settle in a rural area where they could raise their family on a farm as they had been. They looked first at East Texas, but eventually settled here in Columbia County. The couple apparently passed on their values and intelligence, with a daughter who is a pharmacist and a son who is a clinical psychologist!

At 81 years of age, one might think it's time to relax and take it easy, but that's not the path Jerome has chosen. He begins his day with either six or eight miles on the treadmill or bicycle, then usually heads down to the  CCAPS to put in several hours as a volunteer.

I read an article recently listing the eight habits of the happiest people in the world. They include eating a plant based breakfast, socializing daily, volunteering, napping, and having faith. I ask Jerome how he would rate on the happiness scale, and he gave himself a "B". 

As we wrapped up the interview and still thinking about happiness, I asked Jerome if he was happy he had moved to Arkansas those years ago.

"Yes," he told me thoughtfully, "I think all of us are happy with how everything has worked out.  We've had some various problems, difficult situations, but we've also had some very good situations. Thankfully, the good has won out."

Take a listen to this latest podcast and I think you will agree--you meet some of the world's most interesting people here in Lower Arkansas!

Season 2, Episode 2

 A better bagger is invented!

David Williamson

David Williamson hated bagging leaves and grass clippings, so he decided to do something about it. 

David's career path includes public school teacher, yard service operator, feed and seed store owner, real estate agent and now budding inventor. A native of Springhill, La., he's lived in Magnolia long enough to be considered a resident of L.A.  He and his wife Kim have three grown children and three grandchildren. It was during his nearly 30 years of lawn service provider that he developed his disdain for bagging leaves.

"We would often blow them with blowers, rake them on to tarps or sweep them up after mowing," David told me, "but getting them into bags was the worst part!"  In his younger days, David learned to pile the leaves up, hold the bag open with his feet and shove or rake them into the bag. It was back breaking and time consuming.

"In the yard service business, time is money," David told me. He needed a way to get the job done more quickly and with less effort.  Enter the idea for his invention, which he has dubbed "My Ultimate Bagger". He built a prototype and with the aid of a friend found a company that would mass produce and box them for shipping. In a surprisingly fast process, he had a container full of the device waiting at the port to be unloaded.

David has learned a lot in the process, and he is still learning.  Developing the idea for the product may have been the easiest part of the process. He's now working on marketing and publicity.

You can see the device in action on David's YouTube channel or visit his website, https://www.myultimatebagger.com/ to order one.

It's said when a better mousetrap is invented, the world will beat a path to it. Make way, world! A better bagging device has been invented! Take a listen to today's podcast and hear the next idea that Magnolia's budding inventor has in mind.