Cotton, Keys, and Southern Hospitality: Osceola, AR [Jan 3-4, 2007]

Leaving Belleville, the stallions had yet to connect with Daniel’s brother Ed, who was a pastor in town. It was still unclear how the night would develop in this strange and unknown land for a bunch of Midwestern city boys. Thankfully, this routine of uncertainty was becoming old hat for the community builders, and they were keeping spirits high by telling ghost stories that were more humorous than scary.

The drive was shorter into Osceola and they rolled into town around 8:30pm, still confident they could meet some people that night. These visions were clouded, though, when they rolled into town to find abandon and run-down buildings lining the main road into town. It appeared as the only open hangout in town was a place called the Rebel Club, but the stallions were not that desperate to meet people. To make matters worse, Ed would not be able to see them until the morning.

After eating at one of the worst pizza buffets ever, the boys decided the most logical and safest option for the night would be to bite the bullet and stay and the Fairview Inn just off the freeway in Osceola. They were frustrated and tired, so one Campaign member busted out his best interpretation of “The Rock.” Some interpretive dancing also lightened the mood.

The next morning, the stallions were ready to hit the ground running and get to know the community of Osceola. In this unfamiliar territory, there were some fears about how nicely they would be received. Was that whole southern hospitality thing really true?

Breakfast was scheduled with Ed for 11:15am, so in the hour or so before that the boys took a casual drive through downtown Osceola. What they found was much of the same- abandoned stores and low income housing about. One house had “For Sale- $10,000” written on the window in marker. Others were completely boarded up.

One of the only stores left downtown was a place called Newcombs. Entering this store was really their first interaction with people in this community, and they were lucky to have a couple ‘southern belles.’ Danielle and Jessica graciously welcomed them into the community by giving them an “Osceola Winterfest” shirt. In addition, they told them to meet with Pastor Allen Rainey- ironic since the rain was now beginning to fall.

Now sitting in the Huddle House, where they were to meet Pastor Ed, the boys received a phone call promptly at 11:15 from Ed saying car trouble came up with his daughter and he would be unable to make it. Bummed but not crushed, the stallions were able to line up a 1:30 appointment with Pastor Rainey.

In the meantime, they notice a man with a think British accent taking some measurements inside the restaurant. When they got talking to this man named Joao, they realized he was an immigrant from South Africa, but was born in Portugal where he spent the first few years of his life. His stories of South Africa captivated the attention of the community builders as he explained how crime and justice were out of control in that country. In a large city such as Johannesburg, he would just hope that his car would not get jacked if he was simply inside a restaurant enjoying a meal. After a fascinating conversation with him, he was gracious enough to offer his place in Jonesboro, Arkansas for the stallions to stay the night. They would keep this in mind as their day progressed.

Joao and our waitress Sarah

Since the boys had about an hour to kill before the meeting with the pastor, the boys wisely decided to stop by City Hall. This would turn out to be an excellent decision. While the Mayor Dickie Kennemor was not in himself, his lovely assistant Tabitha was glad to hear our story and tell us more about Osceola history. In fact, she was so thrilled she gave us a miniature bundle of cotton along with a commemorative key to the city! This is all not to mention her calling Jennifer from the newspaper to come take our photo. Tabitha was another class act.

The Reverend Allen Rainey, Pastor of First Methodist Church was our next stop. Everybody the stallions had interacted with up to that point reiterated that Allen was the guy to talk to in town, so they were anxious to meet this character. Allen shared his knowledge of the community of Osceola and how it grew from the local factories but then suffered when these were shut down. Many housing projects and a Main Street revival program had been implemented to little or no effect so far. The Campaign members were amazed to hear there were 17 churches in town, of which 8 the Pastor called ‘white’ churches and 7 which he called ‘black.’ Interestingly enough, the churches are still segregated in the south because their style of worship is different between the tow. All and all, the Reverend was a great man.

It was now nearing mid-afternoon, but the fellas still had more places to see and people to meet before they left. They, also were searching for a possible connection in a city outside of Arkansas where they would spend that night. So they trudged on.

Next up was the home of the Osceola Times, as the stallions had heard this resided in the oldest building in town. When talking with recently-married couple Steve and Sandra about the paper, they learned Osceola has the longest streak of any newspaper in Arkansas for operating out of one building. While Steve talked of his football playing days at Ole Miss, Sandra took care of the boys by giving t-shirts and posters from Osceola’s annual Heritage Musicfest. They were also trying to make contacts in another city, however in doing so they were able to arrange a tour of the mansion in town, referred to locally as the Florida Mansion. Steve and Sandra were hopeful that Gene Cox, owner of the mansion, would be able to send them on their way.

Jennifer, Steve, and Sandra from the Osceola Times

The stallions pulled up on the brick driveway of this 11,000 sq. ft. masterpiece in complete awe. Although the house was undergoing renovation, the boys were still able to get the complete tour of the four bedroom estate that was built in 1951 and had been in the Cox family since the mid-50s. Gene tried his hardest to connect with his son in Mississippi, but unfortunately he was transferring form Ole Miss to Mississippi St. He did send the boys on an adventure down the road to the next town south called Wilson to a good friend with a daughter at Ole Miss.

The stallions realized this would be their last chance to connect with another community through this one, so they developed a contingency plan. They new that only two hours south through Memphis resided their good friend Ryan Frailich, now a Teach For America Corps Member in Clarksdale, MS. This would be their fallback over Joao in Jonesboro since they wanted to move out of Arkansas.

The stallions were welcomed into the home of Mike Gunn and his daughter Allison in Wilson, AR. The Gunn’s were as nice as could be, but unfortunately all of Allison’s friends at Ole Miss were off campus for winter break. Nonetheless, the stallions enjoyed the company of this gracious family.

Therefore, it was set in the stallions’ minds that they would be spending this night in Clarksdale, MS. Directly on the way was Memphis, TN, home of Elvis, where they hoped to spend a few hours passing through. What lies beyond Thursday night is still a mystery…