In Champion Trees of Arkansas, Linda Williams Palmer explores the state’s largest trees of their species, registered with the Arkansas Forestry Commission as “champions.” Through her beautiful colored-pencil drawings, each magnificent tree is interpreted through the lens of season, location, history, and human connection. Readers will get to know the cherrybark oak, rendered in fall colors, an avatar for the passing of seasons. The sugar maple, with its bare limbs and weather-beaten trunk, stands sentry over the headstones in a confederate cemetery. The 350-year-old white oak was once dubbed the Council Oak by Native Americans, and the post oak, cared for by generations of the same family, has its own story to tell. Palmer travelled from Delta swamps to Ozark and Ouachita mountain ridges over a seven-year period to see and document the champions and to talk with property owners and others willing to share the stories of how these trees are beloved and protected by the community, and often entwined with its history. Champion Trees of Arkansas is sure to inspire art and nature lovers everywhere.

"In Champion Trees of Arkansas, Linda Williams Palmer explores the state's largest trees of their species, registered with the Arkansas Forestry Commission as 'champions.' Through her beautiful colored-pencil drawings, each magnificent tree is interpreted through the lens of season, location, history, and human connection."--

The tragic, true story of Helen Spence, the teenager who murdered her father’s killers in the insulated lower White River area of Arkansas in 1931. The once-thriving houseboat communities along Arkansas’s White River are long gone, and few remember the sensational murder story that set local darling Helen Spence on a tragic path. In 1931, Spence shocked Arkansas when she avenged her father’s murder in a DeWitt courtroom. The state soon discovered that no prison could hold her. For the first time, prison records are unveiled to provide an essential portrait. Join author Denise Parkinson for an intimate look at a Depression-era tragedy. The legend of Helen Spence refuses to be forgotten—despite her unmarked grave. “Most memorably, Parkinson evokes the natural beauty of the White River itself. But more importantly, she’s given Helen Spence, daughter of the river, a sympathetic hearing—something in its pulp version of events Daring Detective did not.”—Memphis Flyer “Denise details Helen’s life, from the murder of her father to the horrific treatment she received at the hands of the law, including how prison officials seemed to entice her to escape a final time, with the attempt culminating in her murder.”—Only in Arkansas

The cross is one of Christianity’s most distinctive symbols, increasingly cutting across Catholic/Protestant and other denominational divides. Although the US acknowledges no official religion, a variety of both Christian and non-Christian denominations have flourished. Crosses dot the landscape, sometimes towering over it and at other times simply marking a grave or the site of a traffic accident, or providing a place for contemplation. Courts continue to decide whether it is better to remove long-standing crosses on public property to protect the separation of church and state, or whether removing such symbols might be misinterpreted as expressing hostility towards religion. Whether marking identity, triumph, love, grief, or sacrifice, the cross remains important in American life and continues to be the subject of works of art, music, literature, and political, religious, and social rhetoric, all of which this volume addresses in an accessible A-to-Z format.

While Fayetteville may be best known as the home of the University of Arkansas and the Arkansas Razorbacks, the city complements those offerings with broad cultural experiences and outdoor pursuits. Tucked within its rolling, wooded landscape are incredible unexpected experiences, both rural and urban. 100 Things to Do in Fayetteville Before You Die offers visitors and locals alike ideas and itineraries for food, shopping, recreation, history, music, and entertainment. Discover Fayetteville’s quirky offerings like Greedy Goats, which brings goats to visit you, or spend the afternoon horseback riding at Flying Q Farms. Buy some vinyl at Block Street Records, then go hear great music at George’s Majestic Lounge, which has been in business for nearly a century. Get lost in the maze-like shelves in Dickson Street Bookshop or learn about flying history at the Arkansas Air and Military Museum. Take in a seasonal festival or get your passport stamped when visiting all the breweries on the Fayetteville Ale Trail and turn it in for a prize. Longtime travel writer Jill Rohrbach has lived in Fayetteville for more than 30 years and knows all about the city’s iconic and lesser-known spots. In 100 Things to Do in Fayetteville Before You Die, learn about the memorable places that make the city so special.