Two Scoops You Jerk

Continued our adventure into Fort Smith where we visited the museum.  It was located just across the way from the historic site we visited yesterday.  This museum is basically a pictorial representation and some artifacts of Fort Smith's past.  Got lots of pics, a ride on a working trolly, and polished it off with root beer and coke floats in an old fashioned soda jerk drugstore located in the museum.  It was hot after the trolly ride and the 2 scoops of ice cream melting in home-made soda was really good!  The term used by a kid who made these in the past was "soda jerk" due to the action of jerking the handle to insert carbonated water into the syrup.

Historic Fort Smith

Gina and I came to Fort Smith not just to get away, but to see the historic aspects of the town.  We visited the Fort Smith National Historic Site.  Got some good pics and found out some interesting details of how the city was known as the justice center for outlaws, white movement west, a pivotal point with forced Indian migration, and the home of the famous hanging judge Isaac C. Parker.  While he sent 83 folks to the gallows (<50% actually hung), he was really a good guy in support of abolishing capitol punishment (provided there was firm punishment of some sort) and women's suffrage.  Although he hung more men in his 21 years on the bench at Fort Smith--more than any other man in history--his job of dealing with infamous outlaws such as Belle Starr and Cherokee Bill was justified.

One case, Rufus Buck, caught my eye. 

The Rufus Buck Gang was an outlaw multi-racial gang of members who were part African American and part Creek Indian.  They operated in the Indian Territory Territory of the Arkansas-Oklahoma area from 1895 to 1896.

Formed by Rufus Buck, the gang consisted of Lewis Davis, Sam Sampson, Maoma July, and Lucky Davis. The gang began building up a small stockpile of weapons while staying in Okmulgee, Oklahoma until killing U.S. deputy marshal John Garrett on July 28, 1895.  In one incident a salesman named Callahan – after being robbed – was offered a chance to escape if he could outrun the gang. When the elderly Callahan successfully escaped the gang killed his assistant in frustration. At least two women victims who were raped by the gang died of their injuries.

Continuing attacks on both local settlers and Creek indiscriminately, the gang was captured outside Muskogee by a combined force of lawman and Indian police of the Creek Light Horse, led by Marshal S. Morton Rutherford, on August 10. While the Creek wanted to hold the gang for trial the men were brought before "Hanging" Judge where they were hanged on July 1, 1896.  Following Rufus Buck's death, a picture of Buck's mother was found in his cell along with a poem written on the back:

Springhill (John Paul Hammerschmidt Lake) COE Park

It was time for Gina and I to get out and about.  It's hard when you work full time to get very far down the road and have time to relax at the same time.  Tends to happen on long weekends or in the rare cases when we take leave.  "Leave" = vacation days in our neck of the woods.  It was a choice of East or West for us as we've been South and North recently.  Memphis or Fort Smith.  We discussed and Fort Smith won out this time.  This COE park is 7 miles or so from the city.  Snapped off a couple pics of the site as I normally do.  Second is the Arkansas River behind our site about 200 feet or so.

 

 

It was around 2 pm when we arrived and we hadn't eaten yet, so after setting up and getting the air conditioning running, we looked for an interesting place to eat.  Gina has an iPhone app called Yelp and searched it and came up with a few interesting choices.  We ended up choosing Rolando's thinking it was Italian.  Not so, but man it was good.  Not your traditional Mexican food and probably not even considered Mexican at all, but rather South American.  Check out their version of cheese dip, called Queso Flamado.  The Flamado obviously means flame cause they lit it on fire at our table.  Gina had fish Tacos and I had a dish called Pallo Bunivenos.  I butchered it's spelling, but it was a very tasty chicken dish with a unique off-white rice and black beans with bits of cheese intermingled in a white sauce.  Good stuff Maynard.  

Here's some pics.

2 Squash and a Cucumber

No, not a kids book.  First take of the garden this year.  Can you get more fresh than that?  Sorry, not gonna post a pic as it may cause some laughter.  I will post pics of the garden as it is now along with the fruit trees.  I pruned them for proper production.  Next year, I may let them crop out.  We'll see.

Garden

Fruit Trees - Apples and Pears
 

 

Peach Trees

 

What Do These 2 Pics Have In Common

Take a look at these two pics.  What do you suppose they could have in common?  Stay tuned for more to come.

  

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