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My factoid of the day: before Sam built the first\nWalmart, he opened a small five- and- dime, called Ben Franklin (ultimately a\nfairly large chain.) Back when I had a house in Dorset, VT, next door\nManchester had the Ben, as we fondly called it. \nThe mother lode for all household minutiae, when it closed it was deeply\nmissed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next day we went to Eureka Springs, a town that reminds me of Woodstock NY some years back in its tie- die enthusiasm. There are lots of springs and the rather seedy but clearly great\u2013in-its-day Crescent Hotel. En route home we stopped at the fabulous Thorncrown Chapel designed by E. Fay Jones, a mentee of Frank Lloyd Wright. Thorncrown was built –almost entirely of wood– in 1980. In 2002 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places<\/a>; it also received a special Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe initial impetus for my visit was to see Crystal Bridges, the museum of\nAmerican art built by Alice Walton, Mr. Sam\u2019s daughter who is heir to the\nfamily fortune. The building, designed by Moshe Saftie, is stunning with raised\nsections sort of reminiscent of a turtle\u2019s shell, (or, since this is Arkansas,\nan armadillo). \n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n The museum\u2019s name comes from the Crystal Spring that feeds into the museum ponds and the bridges incorporated into its design. The architecture and the way the structure sits neatly into its Ozarks ravine \u2013bursting with flowering trees in early April\u2014is stunning. The collection, while boasting many outstanding works, lacks depth. On the grounds is a Frank Lloyd Wright House, a Buckminster Fuller dome, walking trails and pieces of sculpture. The whole is a strong statement about the importance of art in an area that doesn\u2019t have a lot of this magnitude. This is a link to the museum as a whole for those not buying a plane ticket: https:\/\/crystalbridges.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n And now for a true Southern dish: real pimento cheese\nthat bears NO resemblance to the stuff of my youth that came in a jar that was later\nrepurposed and used for orange juice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best Pimento Cheese Spread <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 \u00bd cups mayonnaise <\/p>\n\n\n\n 4 oz pimento (in a jar), drained and diced<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 tsp finely grated onion<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00bc tsp cayenne or to taste<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8 oz extra sharp Cheddar finely grated<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8 oz extra sharp Cheddar coarsely grated<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stir everything but the cheese together in bowl. Add\ncheeses mixing thoroughly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Serve as a sandwich, on crackers or baguette slices,\nstuffed into celery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You could yell \u201cWoo Pig! Sooie! (assuming you can\npronounce it) to honor the Razorbacks, the beloved U of AR football team– or\nnot. The celery stick bit is probably\ngreat with a Bloody Mary (as are many things.) Fayetteville, AR, is in the northwest part of the state which is very different from the rest of Arkansas as I was told repeatedly. My delightful host and hostess retrieved me from the airport (mysteriously known as XFN) and took … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/marigoldonline.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Thorncrown.jpg\")
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