STORYTELLING

     There is, perhaps, no better way to preserve Arkansas's heritage than through the art of storytelling. The beauty of Arkansas and the individuality of the people who call it home are passed from one generation to the next through stories. It may be stories about one's own descendants or one of the numerous colorful legends of Arkansas. Have you ever heard the one about Petit Jean mountain or marveled at the story of the mysterious shining light that appears after dark on the former railroad tracks near Crossett? What better way to keep Arkansas's past alive than through the sharing of stories.

Historic Arkansas Museum

Isabelle Brownlee, wife of James Brownlee, resided in the house built by her brother-in-law Robert Brownlee during his travels to California from the late 1840s to 1852. Visitors to the Historic Arkansas Museum may meet Isabelle or her slave Tabby, both characters in the museum's living history program, at the Brownlee home. Here Isabelle tells visitors her tales of travelling to Arkansas from Scotland and of her brother-in-law's activities in the California gold rush. Tabby shares with visitors her life as a slave and the rocky relationship between Isabelle and herself. Visitors to the Historic Arkansas Museum's McVicar home may meet Luther, a slave to James McVicar in the 1840s. Luther secretly learned to read at prayer meetings led by Wallace Andrews, a minister at Mt. Warren Chapel (currently Wesley Methodist on the Philander Smith College campus in Little Rock). Luther tells visitors about the dangers of a slave learning to read and the day his master discovered this ability. The museum's director of living history, Curtis Tate, portrays Luther.

Arkansas Arts Council