If you've lived in the Natural State for even just a few months, chances are you've heard of the phrase "Arkansas Traveler." It applies to a song, story, painting, minor league baseball team and special certificate presented to out-of-state VIPs by the governor and secretary of state.
The origin of the Arkansas Traveler starts with a legend that says Col. Sandford C. Faulkner composed the music and lyrics to a song that became known as "The Arkansas Traveler" after an encounter with a squatter somewhere in the Ozark Mountains around 1840.
Faulkner was in the area campaigning with several of his friends who were running for various political offices. Supposedly, Faulkner came upon the squatter playing a fiddle tune but was frustrated because he could not finish the piece. The squatter wasn’t very friendly to the strange traveler, but when Faulkner asked for the fiddle and finished the tune, the squatter quickly warmed up to him and even offered him some homemade moonshine. How’s that for Arkansas hospitality?
Faulkner spun the tale and played the tune all over Arkansas and the surrounding states. But many modern-day historians believe that while Faulkner wrote the tune and came up with the tale, the encounter with the Ozarks squatter never happened. In 1987, the song was adopted by Arkansas' General Assembly as the official state historic song.
In 1856, Edward Payson Washbourne, an artist from Dwight Mission, Arkansas (near present-day Russellville), was inspired by the story and the tune of the Arkansas Traveler and painted the scene from the tale when the traveler meets the squatter. In 1859, J.H. Bufford of Boston made prints of Washbourne's painting. Below the print, the Arkansas Traveler’s melody line appears, as does the phrase, "Designed by one of the natives and Dedicated to Col. S. C. Faulkner," making it clear that Faulkner was the Arkansas Traveler and the author of the story.
Unfortunately, Washbourne did not get to enjoy the painting’s fame for long; he died in Little Rock in March 1860. No one is sure what happened to Washbourne's original painting, but the Arkansas State Archives claims to be in possession of the restored original.
The Arkansas Traveler is also the name of an award bestowed on notable people who, through their actions, serve as goodwill ambassadors for the state of Arkansas. The certificate features a print of the Arkansas Traveler painting and is signed by the governor and secretary of state. The award was created in early 1941 by the General Assembly and was first presented to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in May 1941.
Probably the most popular use of the term Arkansas Traveler belongs to the Double A minor league baseball team, the Arkansas Travelers. The Travs started play in 1966, and through the decades the team has been affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Anaheim Angels and now the Seattle Mariners.
The team's home field from 1932-2006 was the iconic Ray Winder Field, named for the team's first general manager, in Little Rock. In April 2007, the Travelers began play in the new Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock. Sadly, after numerous unsuccessful attempts to save it, Ray Winder Field was demolished. The site now serves as a parking lot for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
The term Arkansas Traveler is also the name of a tomato that originated in the early 1900s in the Ozark Mountain, as well as a brand of boat that was produced right here in the Natural State from the 1940s through the 1970s.
There is one more thing known as the Arkansas Traveler, and it's my personal favorite: my pontoon boat. It’s not historic and doesn’t make for an interesting story, but it seems to make family and friends want to visit me more often, especially in the summer. Speaking of summer, I hope all of you dear readers have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and don’t forget the reason we celebrate.
A proud sixth-generation Arkansan, Darrell W. Brown is a lover of all things Arkansas. He lives on Lake Norrell in Saline County with his wife, Amy, and two beloved Boston Terriers. You can find him on Facebook and Instagram at AllAroundArkansas.
Comments
Post a Comment