Personal Challenge 2018 - Week 25

This is the 25th week of my personal 50-week States of the Union Challenge. Each week I research one of the 50 United States (in the order they attained statehood). I share tidbits of information about the state here on my blog and I create a card that is inspired by something about that state.

This week's state (the 25th one to attain statehood) is...

Arkansas

Date of Statehood: June 15, 1836

Here are some things I learned about Arkansas...

Arkansas has six geographic regions that span its borders: the Ozarks, the River Valley, the Ouachita’s, the Delta, the Timberlands, and Central Arkansas. There are 52 state parks within these six regions, not quite enough to place a state park in each of Arkansas’ 75 counties.

Arkansans help each other. Though one of the poorest states in the union, Arkansas is also one of the most generous states. Arkansans donated 6.3% of their discretionary income to various charities in 2011.

Arkansas’s forests could cover the entire country of Switzerland one and a half times.

There are 9,700 miles of streams and rivers in Arkansas. To help us visualize that, it should be noted we'd only drive about 2,813 miles if we left from San Francisco, California and arrived in Washington D.C.

The widest points in Arkansas’s height and width are only separated by 22 miles.

Arkansas is home to the first piece of land protected by the United States government for recreational use. First named Hot Springs Reservation, now called Hot Springs National Park, the land was protected before the concept of a National Parks Service was invented.

In the early 1900s, the state’s Hot Springs National Park boasted “the largest ostrich farm in America.” Birds from the farm, which could be purchased through a catalog, had their plumes harvested for feather pillows, hats, fans, and the like. Visitors to the park could watch ostrich races and ride ostrich-pulled wagons.

1. Magnolia, Arkansas, once boasted the world’s largest charcoal barbecue grill, measuring in at approximately 70 feet in length (and resembling a gigantic missile) … until a heated warfare between its creator, George Black, and an anonymous Texan prompted the latter to best Black with a 90-foot-long grill. You can read the story about this grill HERE.


The first woman elected to the U.S. Senate was Hattie Ophelia Caraway, née Wyatt, a Democrat from Arkansas.
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3. Arkansas produces more rice than any other state. Rice production in Arkansas is a $6 billion industry. 


4. Little Rock hosts an annual World Cheese Dip Championship. It’s only logical that such a contest take place in Arkansas—cheese dip was invented there in 1935, making its world debut in a Hot Springs-based restaurant called Little Mexico. Experts distinguish the concoction from any preceeding cheese spread or topping by its lack of meat or vegetable accoutrements—we're talking about pure gooey goodness, made of melty cheese (or Velveeta), a couple dashes of spices, and hot peppers (often Ro-Tel canned tomatoes and chillies) for kick.
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6. Brown-and-Serve Rolls were introduced to the world by Meyer's Bakery of Little Rock in the 1930s.
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2. The three largest diamonds ever found in America—which are among the largest ever found on Earth—came from Arkansas. The Strawn-Wagner, unearthed in 1990 by Shirley Strawn and now on permanent display at the Crater of Diamonds visitor center, is considered the first perfect diamond ever discovered.
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The largest freestanding rock formation in Arkansas, which is located in Eureka Springs, has a base circumference of about 10 inches and the top measures almost 10 feet across.

Ouachita National Forest reigns as the oldest national forest in the South.

Arkansas is home to two particularly bizarre phenomena. The first is known as the Dover Lights, an unexplained illumination that occurs in an uninhabited valley of the Ozark Mountains, allegedly visible from a neighboring overlook. Local legend attributes the lights to the restless spirits of Spanish soldiers who died looking for treasure. The second is a more terrestrial being. Known as the Fouke Monster, the Southern Sasquatch, or the Beast of the Boggy Creek, the unidentified cryptid in question was brought to national attention in 1971. Rumored to be seven feet tall, three feet wide, 300 pounds, and covered in hair, the troublesome cousin of Bigfoot has been said to destroy Arkansan livestock and farmland.

Sam Walton began his conquest of the world in 1945, with a loan of $20,000 from his father-in-law and a small variety store in Newport, Arkansas, where he established the practices that define present-day Wal-Mart: he kept prices as low as possible, stocked a wide range of goods, and stayed open longer than anyone else. 

Arkansas has more than a dozen communities named Oak Grove, but only one (in Carroll County) has a post office.

The World's Championship Duck Calling Contest is held annually in Stuttgart.

Alma Arkansas claims to be the Spinach Capital of the World.

Some unique laws in Arkansas include...

It is technically illegal to mispronounce “Arkansas” while in Arkansas. In 1947, in an effort to preserve the heritage upon which it was founded, the state officially instituted a law forbidding any mispronunciation of its name.

The Arkansas River can rise no higher than to the Main Street bridge in Little Rock.

Teachers who bob their hair will not get a pay raise.

A man can legally beat his wife, but not more than once a month.

It is against the law to honk car horns in front of a sandwich shop in Little Rock after 9:00 PM.

Other Little Rock laws include...

No one may suddenly stop or start their cars at McDonald's.

Dogs may not bark after 6:00 PM.

It is unlawful to walk one’s cow down Main Street after 1:00 PM on Sunday.

Flirtation between men and women on the streets of Little Rock may result in a 30-day jail term.

I've decided to go with this bit of Arkansas information for my card's inspiration... The Apple Blossom is the Arkansas state flower. In years past, Arkansas was a large producer of apples. The state flower was established back in 1901.  The beautiful Apple Blossom has pink and white petals with green leaves.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Supplies Used

Stamp Set: Flourishes Apple of My Eye stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections Black and 110# White and SU Garden Green CS and DP from my scrap file

Embellishments: Recollections Rhinestones