The building resides in Arkansas City, Arkansas. Once, one of the crown jewels of Mississippi River commerce, the town fell from grace (well, at least for river commerce), when the great flood of 1927 shifted the mighty Mississippi main channel to the east leaving Arkansas City high and dry by far too many miles.
There’s more to this story than you see here. The good news is the story started on the photo of the week page at Corndancer dot com which is one click away. To see an old store, formerly a saloon, with a balcony front, at Arkansas City and get in on the start of the story, click here, a very cool thing to do.
The town butts right up to what was the main Mississippi River levee until the flood. Remnants of the former river trade can be found at the Moore Farms entrance to Kate Adams Lake which partially sits where the Mississippi churned by prior to the ’27 flood.
Checkin’ the levees
Continuing southward on the gravel road which tops the levee, I smirked when I recalled one of the standard goofing off terms, used by southern good ol’boys, to wit: “Checkin’ the levees.” The term could be used to cover a multitude of sins, some nefarious and some just for fun.
One of the better fun ones was to grab a six pack, pick up a buddy and drive around in a pickup truck with the windows down listening to Lynard Skynard.
It was perfectly permissible to substitute Led Zepplin, Jimmy Buffett, or another favorite performer. Or two, Then when a call comes in, your receptionist tells the caller, ” … he’s out checkin’ the levees hon.” My experiences along these lines of course, are from a former life.
On the way to Arkansas City, I saw this barn and gave in to the urge to shoot. This barn is sans the usual explanation. There was a house close by, perhaps with people who know. After visually reconnoitering the premises, the word “Deliverance” came to mind so I eschewed the visit. One never knows.
A thirsty lake
Eventually I arrived at the shores of a thirsty lake. Yes there was a lot of water, just not as much as one normally expects. Of course one generally wants to see lakes at their robust levels. However, when the levels drop, sights not normally available become, well, available. Such as the substructure of cypress trees. We had that opportunity back in March at Enterprise Lake. Also look here. In this case, the tree is not as big as found on the earlier trip, but it is off the chart on the dry scale. Can cypress get psoriasis?
The lake also reveals other artifacts and or junk as the levels drop. I wonder how many Ray Bans have been recovered since the the level has dropped. Will Jimmy Hoffa surface?
This doesn’t happen often
The new Mississippi River bridge connecting Lake Village on the Arkansas side and Greenville on the Mississippi side is taking shape. The shot below is from the temporary exit to the Cow Pen steak house on Highway 82 on the Arkansas side. The projected opening date is in “2009,” but we are in the fourth quarter, so we’ll see. The bridge will be the longest cable stayed bridge on the river. A new bridge over Ol’ Man River ain’t an every day occurrence.
As promised, here’s another sign from Joe Webb’s collection, a work in progress. He’s always on the prowl for new stuff.
Thanks for dropping by,
Joe Dempsey
Weekly Grist for the Eyes and Mind
http://www.joedempseycommunications.com/
http://www.joedempseyphoto.com/
http://www.corndancer.com/joephoto/photohome.html
Filed under: Behind the Scenes, but wait, there's more | Tagged: Arkansas, Arkansas City, Arkansas City AR, Arkansas City Arkansas, Enterprise Lake, former law office, Greenville Bridge, Greenville MS, Lake Village, Mississippi, Mississippi River, New Greenville bridge, saloon | 10 Comments »