What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1309213
12 WHAT'S UP! NOVEMBER 15-21, 2020 Freeze Frame W e often think about statues being monuments to important historical figures or events," Marie Demeroukas begins. "But statues can be found at businesses, churches, tourist attractions, cemeteries, homes, cultural institutions, parks and town squares. Whether fine art, commercial art or folk art, many have backstories with interesting characters, differing purposes, wandering journeys and even a bit of mystery. And as we've seen with the recent move of the Confederate monument from the Bentonville square, statues can say something about a community, then and now." So it was that Demeroukas, who is archivist of more than a quarter of a million photos at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale, thought a program about statues might "be a fun way to explore local history." "It just popped into my head one day," she says by way of explanation. Statues step out in Shiloh Museum Sandwiched In Apollo William Sonneman opened the Apollo Theater in Springdale in 1949, outfitting the lobby with items purchased at Dallas Barrack's antique store, one a marble statue of the Greek god Apollo, which Barrack bought at an estate sale at the Goldblatt Mansion in Chicago. At first a cloak was draped over Apollo to cover his near- nakedness, but after folks got used to him, it was taken off. Following Sonneman's death in 1969, the theater changed hands. It wasn't long before the new owner got into trouble for showing X-rated movies. When he didn't pay his legal fees, his lawyer, Richard Womack, took matters into his own hands. He sent his son to retrieve the statue from the porch of the owner's home, in lieu of cash. And then Apollo disappeared from area history. With a fine bit of sleuthing, Shiloh Museum outreach coordinator Susan Young tracked him to the Nashville law office of Womack's son. Recently the run-down Apollo building was renovated and restored as The Apollo on Emma, a wedding and event venue. Tipped off by Young as to the statue's whereabouts, the venue's owners purchased Apollo and restored him to his former home. (NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo) Ole Paint In 1974, Richard DuFrene and Suzie Noland DuFrene built a grocery store in Hickory Creek, northeast of Springdale. About that time Richard's dad bought a fiberglass statue of a horse from White Stallion Trailer Park in Rogers. He sold it to Richard for $300, and Richard paired it with an old farm wagon outside the store. When the DuFrenes opened NWA Florist in 1980, the horse moved to Fayetteville with them. Wanting to do something fun for the kids, they held a contest at Butterfield Trail Elementary School, and every few weeks a class was invited to paint the horse. Following the contest, a number of organizations asked to paint the horse. Since then, Ole Paint becomes a horse of a different color nearly every month. Today Ole Paint stands near the florist shop in the Nelsons Crossing shopping center, ready for his next look. (NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo) Farwell's Dinosaur Park In 1967, Emmet Sullivan began work on Farwell's Dinosaur Park near Beaver Dam. It wasn't as much of a stretch for Sullivan as you might think. In 1936 he helped create Dinosaur Park in Rapid City, S.D. The Carroll County tourist attraction was a joint project between Sullivan and Ola and Maye Farwell, who provided land for the 60-acre park. When it opened in July 1968, it featured about a dozen dinosaurs spread along a 2-mile drive, including a 24-foot high, 50-foot long brontosaurus. In 1979, the Farwells sold the park to Ken and June Childs, who renamed it Land of Kong in the early 1980s. The park closed in 2005 and a few years later was named one of America's "10 Most Endangered Roadside Places." (Shiloh Museum of Ozark History/ Springdale News Collection) SPRINGDALE FAQ Sandwiched In: 'Monumental, Mythological, Memorial, Monstrous, and Merry: Figural Statues of Northwest Arkansas' WHEN — Noon Nov. 18 WHERE — Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale via YouTube COST — Free INFO — shilohmuseum.org or 750-8165 See Sandwiched Page 40