Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Civil War Marker to be Placed at Oak Grove

This past Saturday, at the Faulkner County Museum's Holiday Open House, about 100 people were in attendance to see a Civil War marker dedicated.  This marker will be placed near the gazebo at Historic Oak Grove Cemetery and was made possible by the Faulkner County Museum and the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission.

Carol Rolf recently wrote an article for the River Valley Ozark edition of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette about the marker.  Oak Grove is very honored to have been chosen by the Museum as the location for its installation.

Be sure to read Carol's article (and see Eilish Palmer's photo) at this link:

Oak Grove and Central Landing



Historic Oak Grove Cemetery was recently featured in a front-page article in Conway's Log Cabin Democrat newspaper.  Michelle Corbet did a great job of interviewing the key people and summarizing how the cemetery and the city worked together.  Give the article a read when you get a chance, and be sure to thank the City Council and Planning Department for their help in making sure our historic cemetery maintains its character.  We look forward to seeing the Central Landing development take off!


http://thecabin.net/news/local/2014-10-30/historic-cemetery-included-central-landing-plans

Tombstone Tuesday - Guy Estes (1888-1944)


Guy Estes
b. 1 January 1888
d. 13 November 1944
Arkansas
1 Lieut. Corps of Engrs.


Guy "Big Dan" Estes enrolled at the University of Arkansas in 1909 where he decided to play football for the first time in his life.  Coach Hugo Bezdek saw promise in Estes and his six-foot three-inches, 240 pound frame.  He lettered with the Razorbacks four times and eventually graduated in 1914.  Shortly before World War I, Estes came to Arkansas Normal School (today’s UCA) as a math professor and coach of track, basketball, baseball, and football.  He soon joined the Army and served at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, and on the Mexican border.  After the war, he returned to the Normal School where he was known for interesting pre-season football camps including having his team hike 30 miles to Thornburg in Perry County where they would train and camp for 2 weeks.  Estes retired from his coaching duties in 1933, but continued to teach math and served as the Dean of Men.  During World War II, he performed pioneering work in civil aeronautics on the UCA campus as the coordinator for the first pilot training unit which helped prepare and train pilots to fly during the war.  As an avid wildlife enthusiast, Estes helped stock Lake Conway along with most lakes and rivers in Faulkner County for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.  In 1964, Estes was named to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame; in 2001, he was inducted into the UCA Hall of Fame.  The football stadium at UCA has been named Estes Field in his honor.[1]



[1] Bryant, Jimmy. "Guy "Big Dan" Estes: A Man for All Seasons." Unknown. University of Central Arkansas Archives. 22 February 2007 <http://archives.uca.edu/uca_History/Dan%20Estes.htm>.