The recent blitzes of snow, sleet and freezing rain incline an Arkansas traveler's mind toward indoor fun. A best bet for a winter day trip when roads are passable is one of the state's varied museums of note.
Here's a grab bag of candidates outside the Little Rock metropolitan area for a March museum visit very likely to enlighten and/or amuse. Admission is generally free. More information can be found online at arkansas.com.
• Arkansas Grand Prairie Museum, Stuttgart. The local German-American heritage is vividly evoked here by artifacts and photographs. There's also a very popular Waterfowl Wing, along with vintage farm machinery and a mock-up of Stuttgart's Main Street from the turn of the 20th century. Call (870) 673-7001.
• Arkansas Natural Resources Museum, Smackover. Formerly the Arkansas Oil and Brine Museum, this site northwest of El Dorado focuses on the oil boom of the 1920s. Amazingly, the Smackover Field in 1925 ranked No. 1 in U.S. oil production. Dioramas and outdoor derricks tell the rough-and-tumble story. Call (870) 725-2877.
• Arkansas State University Museum, Jonesboro. A skeleton of a prehistoric North American mastodon, the largest animal ever found hereabouts, greets visitors on the ASU campus. Wide-ranging displays give "a taste of the rich cultural and natural history of Crowley's Ridge and the Mississippi Delta." Call (870) 972-2074.
• Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville. Thanks to the largesse of Wal-Mart billionaire Alice Walton, Arkansas' most spectacular museum is a world-class showcase of American art. The collection runs from Colonial times to the avant-garde present. A hiking trail meanders past 17 contemporary sculptures. Call (479) 418-5700.
• Delta Cultural Center, Helena-West Helena. An entire gallery here is devoted to music of the Delta. Earphones let visitors hear the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson, Johnny Cash and Levon Helm. The center does a splendid job portraying "the women and men of the Arkansas Delta, their triumphs and tragedies." Call (870) 338-4350.
• Grant County Museum, Sheridan. One of the jolliest attractions at this history-rich spot is the relocated Mill Town Cafe. Looking ready to serve the lunches it dished up until the 1960s, it has signs advertising Mr. Goodbar candy, Nehi soda and Chesterfield cigarettes. A posted menu lists hamburgers for a dime. Call (870) 942-4496.
• Hoo-Hoo International Headquarters and Museum, Gurdon. A wacky sense of humor infuses the timber building owned by the International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo. Home office for a fraternal order of lumber-industry people, it proudly displays the "Largest Known Board," measuring 50 by 96 inches. Call (870) 353-2661.
• Mark Martin Museum, Batesville. NASCAR luminary Mark Martin has attached a spiffy racing museum to his Batesville vehicle dealership. For speedway buffs, the better part of a day could be spent savoring the autos and cavalcade of memorabilia. Martin's scrapbooks and diaries add a personal touch. Call (870) 793-4461.
• Potts Inn Museum, Pottsville. Punsters would call this collection a "potpourri." Housed at a mid-19th-century stage stop for the Butterfield Overland Express, its attractions include a doll display, an array of designer women's hats, vintage farm equipment, antique medical instruments and oodles more. Call (479) 968-8369.
• Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, Tyronza. An inspirational story of inter-racial cooperation during the 1930s Great Depression is told in the Delta hamlet of Tyronza. The museum ably aims to "preserve the history and promote the legacy of sharecropping, tenant farming and the farm labor movement." Call (870) 487-2909.
Style on 03/10/2015