What's Up!

May 16-22, 2021

What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!

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8 WHAT'S UP! MAY 16-22, 2021 COVER STORY 140 Years And Counting BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette L ooking down a photo-filled wall in the Rogers Historical Museum's Key Wing, Director Serena Barnett has a unique perspective on the past 140 years of the city she calls home. She can see the image of the first train that pulled into Rogers on May 10, 1881 — hence last week's 140th birthday celebration — and she can see the winner of the photo contest created to bring the past into the present. Along the way, Barnett — who curated the exhibit titled "Rogers Through the Eye of the Lens: 140 Years of History in Photographs" — has grown attached to some personal favorites: • A World War I troop train leaving the Rogers Frisco Station in 1917. "These men were some of the over 500 soldiers sent overseas from Rogers and throughout Benton County," she explains. "This photo pulls at my heartstrings as sadly, for many of these men, this image portrays the last time that they were to see home." • A photo showing a crowd standing outside the museum during the Fourth of July Bicentennial parade in 1976. "The Rogers Historical Museum was established in 1975 as the city of Rogers' U.S. Bicentennial heritage project to help preserve our local history," Barnett explains. "RHM opened on Oct. 25, 1975, at its first location inside the old bank building on First Street. Over the past 46 years, RHM has worked hard to achieve its goal of preserving the history of Rogers and the surrounding area. As the current director, I'm proud to report that today the museum has grown to include over 60,000 collections objects and has recently expanded its facilities to accommodate future growth with addition of the newly renovated Newt Hailey Ford Dealership and Eversole Collections buildings. RHM is also currently the only American Alliance of Museums accredited museum in Northwest Arkansas." Rogers Historical Museum helps city celebrate The photograph selected to depict 2021 in the permanent "Rogers Through the Eye of the Lens" exhibit was taken by Gabrielle Campbell. "It features Campbell standing alone inside the Rogers Towne Cinema lobby and social distancing stickers on the floor, a tell-tale sign of what the current 'normal' looks like in our pandemic-related world today," says exhibit curator Serena Barnett. (Courtesy Photo/RHM)

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