What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1472798
JULY 10-16, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 9 According to Monte Harris, programs educator for the museum, the exhibit features fascinating artifacts including a section of the Ruddick family coverlet that survived the Battle of Pea Ridge, letters, documents, and clothing from Civil War-era Benton County. But it also literally gives a face to those who survived the war years, Smith adds, via a gallery wall of portraits and new information about a Civil War era farm colony created near Bentonville with the help of Col. Marcus Larue Harrison "to assist and protect the suffering women and children of Northwest Arkansas." Asked what she hoped visitors take away from the exhibit, Smith quoted Lt. George Taylor, 17th Arkansas Confederate Infantry, 1861. "Heaven help a country where an army must linger be it friend or foe." "Lt. Taylor's sentiments expressed the reality that the Civil War brought destruction, heartbreak and change for many people regardless of their personal views or previous circumstances." 'A Dash of Apple Vinegar' Opening July 16, another new exhibit at the Rogers Historical Museum looks at the era when apples were the backbone of the Northwest Arkansas economy. Not only were trainload after trainload of apples shipped out of the region, but a second industry rose in prominence to take care of the "bad apples" — those more suitable for making apple cider vinegar. "The exhibit was inspired by a large donation of items from the Rogers vinegar plant that came to the museum in 2020," says Smith, who is also curator of the exhibit. "Together with items previously in the collection, we had more than enough to talk about the apple cider vinegar industry in Rogers. "The exhibit will include an antique workbench from the Rogers Vinegar Company plant, a number of coopering tools for making wooden barrels, and a wide variety of historic bottles and memorabilia related to the apple cider vinegar industry. There is even a hand- painted necktie advertising Rogers brand vinegar!" The plant was located at the corner of Second and Cedar streets, adjacent to the railroad tracks, and operated from 1905 until 2001. The Frisco railroad operated a private switch directly to the vinegar factory, allowing goods to be shipped in and out easily. "The impact of the apple industry and the apple cider vinegar industry on Rogers and Northwest Arkansas was enormous," Smith explains. "This area was nationally recognized as one of the largest producers of apples and apple products. It brought prosperity to Rogers and the surrounding area, and supported a variety of other industries including transportation, barrel manufacturers and packing plants." Smith hopes visitors to the exhibit "will appreciate how important the apple industry and the apple cider vinegar industry was to Rogers. While the apple industry peaked in the 1920s and the vinegar plants all closed, the industry was a major economic force in Rogers that laid the economic foundations for Rogers and Northwest Arkansas to be what it is today." FAQ 'Civil War in Benton County: Untold Stories' WHEN — Through Nov. 12; museum hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday WHERE — Trammel Gallery at the Rogers Historical Museum, 313 S. Second St. COST — Free INFO — 621-1154 or rogershis- toricalmuseum.org 'A Dash of Apple Vinegar' WHEN — July 16-Dec. 31; museum hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday WHERE — Collections Gallery at the Rogers Historical Museum COST — Free INFO — 621-1154 or rogershis - toricalmuseum.org The Gregory-Robinson- Speas vinegar plant was in operation in Rogers in the 1930s. The last vinegar plant in Rogers didn't close until 2001. This photo was taken inside the Cady Cooper Shop making wood barrels for the apple industry, c. 1920s. A new exhibit opening July 16 at the Rogers Historical Museum includes an antique workbench from the Rogers Vinegar Company plant, a number of coopering tools for making wooden barrels, and a wide variety of historic bottles and memorabilia related to the apple cider vinegar industry. There is even a hand-painted necktie advertising Rogers brand vinegar, says its curator, Rachel Smith. (Courtesy Photos) During the Civil War, people got their news through letters, magazines and periodicals and remembered loved ones through early photographs. A collection of passes, receipts and letters gives a glimpse into relations between civilians and the army during the Civil War. A bushel of corn illustrates the kinds of things that the army either bought or confiscated from civilians. A trunk displays items that the Van Winkle family might have taken with them when they fled Arkansas during the Civil War.