Museume to Host Book Signing with Ed Bethune

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Ed Bethune will launch the World War II story with a talk and book signing at the Randolph County Heritage Museum on Friday, July 22nd at 1:00 p.m.

The former 2nd District Congressman was born in Pocahontas, graduated from Pocahontas High School, practiced law and was deputy prosecuting attorney in Randolph County before becoming a special agent of the FBI.  While living in Pocahontas, his wife, Lana, taught English at Pocahontas High School.  He is the author of 3 books which are available at the museum:  Jackhammered, his memoir which includes the story of their rescue at sea in 1990; Gay Panic in the Ozarks, a legal thriller that has a photo of the Randolph County Courthouse on the cover. His new novel, A Pearl for Kizzy, has a fictional setting on the Black River.

As a long time member and supporter of the museum, Bethune will donate all proceeds from book sales to the Heritage Museum.

About A Pearl for Kizzy

49210703_High Resolution Front Cover_6302041Kizzy, a spirited child, lives with her family on a one-room ramshackle houseboat in Big Pearl, Arkansas. They fish, dig for mussels, look for pearls, and sell the shells to the button factory. It is a crude life made harder by the Great Depression, natural disasters, and prejudice.

At the onset of World War II, Kizzy befriends a young boy—a refugee from Nazi Germany—and a cultured young woman who encourages her to read and learn from Jane Austen’s books.

Kizzy yearns for a better life, but as she comes of age her dream of getting off the river is threatened by the evil Bully Bigshot and his Eugenics Center, a corrupt outfit that wants to rid the world of “river rats” like her through abortion and “better breeding.” … And there is Cormac, the lascivious man Kizzy calls her “make-do stepfather.”

Kizzy’s struggle mimics today’s culture war. Daring, but realistic, the novel examines love, pride, compassion, courage, hope, morality, and duty—the things that inform and shape our destiny.

 

First-Person History Series

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The Randolph County Heritage Museum is presenting a series of lecture/story-telling evenings during July and August. Local historians and long-time residents will discuss, from a personal and “first-person” perspective, various topics of local interest and lore.

The series will be held on Monday evenings at 6pm in the Museum Annex. Refreshments will be served.

  • July 11th – Women of Distinction in Randolph County by Ann Carroll
  • July 18th – The Foster family in early Randolph County by Jake Foster
  • July 25th – Growing up here in the 1950s and early 1960s by Frank Bigger, Carol Carroll, and Dick Olvey
  • August 1st – Growing up here in the 1940s and early 1950s by Virginia Stevens and Mike Dunn
  • August 8th – The “Point” by Anna Cook
  • August 15th – The Fourche River Valley by Harmon Seawel
  • August 22nd – Growing up here in the 1920s and 1930s by Ann Carroll

4th of July Weekend: Homemade Lemonade Demonstration

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July 3, 2016 1p.m. to 2p.m.

When the temperature hits 100+ today, we go inside and turn on the air conditioning. Join Park Interpreter Geoffrey to learn how people 200 years ago beat the heat without the luxuries of today. Learn all about the art of homemade lemonade making and how drinks were kept cool in Davidsonville’s time. Enjoy a glass of ice cold lemonade and then go explore the visitor center and other fascinating park exhibits.

Admission: Free

To learn more about these and other upcoming events call the park at 870-892-4708. Davidsonville Historic State Park is located fifteen minutes south of Pocahontas on Highway 166 South.