The Piggott Blog

2006-02-09T06:15:00.000-06:00

When I last visited Piggott I noticed how spread out the town seems now. A lot of cottage industry and flea markets there but no major sort of industry. Anyone with any views on whether or not there are any plans for attracting more industry to Piggott or not?

2004-11-12T07:42:00.000-06:00

Estelle Constant Norred Lewis

Estelle was born today at 8:00 AM, 1919 in the front bedroom of Click for more detail: Rose Dale Farm. Hannah Brissenden was midwife for the birth. It was a bright and sunny day at Rose Dale Farm, both literally and figuratively.

Graduating in 1937, Estelle immediately took the State Teacher's Exam at the courthouse. Her first teaching job was at Hitt School. She would teach children in the morning and travel to Jonesboro to Arkansas State in the afternoon for her BSE. Later, she would teach veterans at night in Piggott.

On May 21, 1981, she was retired after 41 years of teaching. The community presented her with a plaque for her many years of service.

Happy birthday, Estelle !

2004-11-06T10:00:00.000-06:00

Piggott - 2104

Technicians tuning Piggott News Network tower

2004-11-05T11:09:00.000-06:00

Martha Gellhorn

Martha Ellis Gellhorn and Ernest Miller Hemingway were married on this day in 1940 in Spain.

A journalist, war correspondent, short story writer and novelist, Martha and Ernest started an affair that ended Ernest and Pauline's marriage. Martha's war correspondent career includud the Spanish Civil War (where she spent time with Ernest ) and went through the US Invasion of Panama.

"One of the great war correspondents of the century, brave, fierce and wholly committed to the truth of the situation." - London Daily Telegraph

Martha was born in St. Louis 8 November 1908 and attended Bryn Mawr. She wrote articles for New Republic, served the United Press Bureau in Paris and reported on the Spanish Civil War for Colliers Weekly.

"All politicians are bores and liars and fakes. I talk to people." - Martha Gellhorn

An accomplished novelist, Martha finished The Lowest Trees have Tops in 1967, an account of her life with Ernest. Their marriage lasted five years when Martha, the only wife to do so, divorced Ernest.

2004-11-04T14:32:00.000-06:00

Pauline & Ernest

Pauline Marie Pfeiffer and Ernest Miller Hemingway were divorced today in Spain, in 1940.

A wife who devoted herself to her husband more than her children, Pauline traveled with Ernest everywhere and even left her children in the care of others so she could be with him.

Pauline, who was sought after, rich, educated, a journalist with a large trust fund and a family support system that cared for Ernest and his needs, noticed signs from Ernest consistent with those he had earlier expressed. These were signs of a man having an affair like those with Pauline when he was married to his first wife, Hadley Richardson.

Ernest rewarded Pauline by having an affair with Martha Gellhorn, a journalist, war correspondent, short story writer and novelist.

2004-10-30T14:08:00.000-05:00

Ursula Hemingway Jepson

Ernest Hemingway's Sister, Ursula died today in 1966. Severely depressed, she had taken a large quantity of pills to kill the pain.

One time at a party in Florida, Ursula overheard poet, Wallace Stevens, talking to a friend. [ Stevens wrote some of his best poetry after he reached the age of sixty, including the collections Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction (1942), The Auroras of Autumn (1947) and An ordinary Evening in New Haven (1950).]

What Ursula overheard was Stevens making disparaging comments about her brother, Ernest. She left the party and immediately told her brother what she had heard.

Hemingway got to the party just as Stevens was saying if Hemingway was there, he would dispatch him with a single blow. Suddenly seeing Hemingway, Stevens tried his best punch, but missed. Hemingway proceeded to knock Stevens down several times. When Stevens finally managed to land a punch, he broke his hand on Ernest's jaw.

Both men later reconciled because Stevens did not want the publicity.

2004-09-29T16:11:00.001-05:00

Zelda Fitzgerald

Hemingway - The Sex Therapist ?

In A Movable Feast Hemingway counseled F. Scott Fitzgerald in Michaud's Cafe in France about his size. Paraphrased: "Scott said he had something very important to ask me. It meant more than anything in the world to him."

F "You know I never slept with anyone except Zelda."

H "No, I did not."

F "Zelda said that how I was built, I could never make any woman happy. She said it was a matter of measurements. I have never felt the same since she said that and I need to know truly."

H "Come to the office."

F "Where ?"

H "Le water"

Both came back to the table.

H "You are fine. There is nothing wrong with you. You view yourself from above and look forshortened. We will go to the Louvre and look at the statues."

Afterwards, Fitzgerald was still in doubt about himself.

H "It is not basically a question of size in repose. It is the size that it becomes. It is also a question of angle."

F "But after what Zelda said..."

H "Forget what Zelda said."

2004-09-11T10:35:00.000-05:00

Listen to a portion of Ernest Hemingway's 1954 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech...

2004-09-10T09:20:00.000-05:00

1917 Arkansas License Plate

FOUND - License plate fell off motorcar in front of Rose Dale Farm.

Please post inquiries to Rose Dale Farm RFD Piggott, Arkansas.

2004-09-07T13:26:00.000-05:00

Temporary Flight Restrictions

A Piggott Blogger from Tulsa (a pilot) has sent proof of the President's travel path:

See the TFR (above) which appear as dark red circles, boxes, etc. which were in place, yesterday, the 6th, to cover the president's travels. They are defined laterally and extend up to 18,000 feet. No aircraft may enter except if on a flight plan and in communication with the ground.

2004-09-07T09:24:00.000-05:00

Marine 1

Monday afternoon, 6 September, a contingent of Sikorsky helicopters flew directly over Piggott. Perhaps they were stand-by protection and emergency evacuation for President Bush who was visiting in Poplar Bluff, MO at this time.

2 Blackhawks led the group North, Northwest, followed by 2 Blackhawks behind and further East of them, finally followed up-the-middle by what appeared to be a Sikorsky VH-92, Marine 1.

Their return path 2-3 hours later was SSE in same previous pattern........

2004-08-29T16:21:00.000-05:00

Bern, Switzerland

A Joyce on Hemingway:

Nettie Norred Sanders and Hyman Sanders, a superintendent of Pfeiffer Farms lived at 2nd and Orr in Piggott. Hyman was responsible for taking Ernest Hemingway hunting when he was in town. Often Hyman would take Ernest to Rose Dale Farm where Russell Norred and Ernest would go quail hunting.

Nettie was very Edwardian and didn't care for Ernest's Bermuda shorts and rough stories (she made him come to the back door when he came to the house).

A son, Robert Sanders and a friend, years later on a trip to Europe after graduation from college at University of Arkansas, were in a tavern in Bern, Switzerland when an esoteric question about Twentieth Century American novelists caught the attention of a gentleman at the bar. The question they offered out loud to each other was "What Hemingway novel did James Joyce like the most?" Overhearing this, the man turned around and said "I know the answer." It was Giorgio Joyce, James' son. He said "Father liked The Sun Also Rises best."

From The History of Rose Dale Farm

2004-08-23T09:16:00.000-05:00

A Farewell to Arms ( chapter 1 page 1 )

" All good books are alike in that they are truer if they had really happened, and after you are finished reading one you will feel that it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and the sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was. If you can get so that you can give that to people, then you are a writer. "

- Ernest Hemingway

2004-08-22T11:50:00.000-05:00

" If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. "

- Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon

2004-08-11T15:51:00.000-05:00
Bull in the Afternoon ?

11 August 1937 - Under attack from Leftist American writer, Max Eastman, Ernest Hemingway accidently bumped into him in Max Perkins' Scribner Publishing office and a major altercation ensued...

In describing Hemingway's literary style in Death in the Afternoon, Eastman previously announced with assertion that the book was filled with "juvenile romantic sentimentalizing over a rather lamentable practice of the culture of Spain." Eastman challenged Hemingway's statement that the spectacle was a tragedy, insisting that it was merely a case of men torturing and killing a dumb animal. Moving from the book to the author, Eastman then suggested that Hemingway's defense of and interest in the bullfight was prompted by his lack of confidence in his own manliness, which had caused Hemingway to adopt a 'literary style of wearing false hair on the chest.'

Upon their accidental meeting, both men exchanged pleasantries and Hemingway, grinning, ripped open his shirt to reveal his hairy chest. He then, still grinning, ripped open Eastman's shirt to reveal no hair. Then Hemingway, in a flash of anger, hit Eastman in the face with a copy of the review and a wrestling match ensued. Hemingway's temper quickly quieted and no damage was done to either man.

Each went on his way to relate to the press and others, his version of the encounter.

2004-07-25T08:52:00.000-05:00

       Learn More about Piggott
               and Hemingway

2004-07-24T13:43:00.000-05:00

Max Edog
Editor in Chief, The Piggott Blog

2004-07-21T07:07:00.000-05:00
Piggott Citizens - Expats - Interested Participants

                        Join The Piggott Blog.

Send an email to:   max.edog@gmail.com for your personal invitation.

Be a part of The Great Discussion !

2004-07-13T07:21:00.000-05:00
Charles Scribner, Jr. born today in 1921

" Looking back, I am bound to say that working with Hemingway was rather like being strapped in an electric chair. All the electrodes were always in place, and it would need just a flicking of a switch to ruin me......

I don't think it made me cowardly, but it made me nervous."

- Charles Scribner, Jr., concerning his on - off publishing relationship with his most famous and tempermental author, Ernest Hemingway.

2004-07-02T08:07:00.000-05:00
Hemingway Died Today at 61

Family Suicide History:

In 1961 at Ketchum, ID, Ernest took his life with a shotgun.

His father, Clarence 57, died in 1928 from a self-inflicted Civil War Pistol shot.

His sister, Ursula 64, died in 1966 from a drug overdose.

His brother, Leicester 67, shot himself in 1982.

His granddaughter, Margaux 41, died in 1996 from a drug overdose.

Skipping a suicide generation, Gregory 69 (son of Pauline and Ernest), died in 2001 from natural (sic) causes as Gloria in a Miami jail cell.

2004-06-30T08:33:00.000-05:00
Growing Up in a Small Town

You know everyone in the 4th of July Parade.

You can name everyone in your high school graduation class.

You know what 4-H is and can name all four H's.

You used to "drag main street".

Whey you said the "F" word, your parents knew about it within an hour.

You scheduled parties around the schedule of different police officers, because you knew who would bust you and who wouldn't.

You went to parties at a pasture, barn, gravel pit, or in the middle of a dirt road. On Monday, you could tell who was at the party because of the scratches on the legs from running through the woods when the party got busted.

You would never buy cigarettes because every store clerk knew how old you were. Even if you were old enough, they'd still tell your parents.

When you did find somebody old enough and brave enough to buy cigarettes, you still had to drive on country roads to smoke them.

You knew which ditch held the beer your buyer dropped off.

It was cool to date somebody from the neighboring town.

The whole school went to the same party after graduation.

You gave directions by people, not street names.

You had no choice but to date your friends' ex's.

Your car was always filthy because of the dirt roads and no one bought dark-colored vehicles.

Everyone considered a nearby town to be "trashy" or "snooty", but it was actually exactly like your town.

You referred to anyone with a house newer than 1970 as the "rich folks."

You thought people in the "city" dressed funny, until you picked up the trend two years later.

Anyone you wanted could be found at the gas station.

You saw at least one friend a week driving his tractor through town.

You had friends who occasionally drove a grain truck to school.

The gym teacher suggested you should build your strength by "bucking bales this summer."

All directions included "the stop light" as a reference.

You decide to walk somewhere for exercise and five people stop to ask if you need a ride.

Your teachers often called you by your older sibling's names.

Your teachers mentioned when they had your parents in class.

The closest mall was a long drive.

You thought nothing of seeing an old man riding through town on a riding lawn mower.

You've peed in a cornfield.

Most people went by a nickname.

- Al Lowe

2004-06-16T08:30:00.000-05:00
Piggott High School's wonderful biology teacher in the 60's used to say: "We don't want industry to come to Piggott. It will change our way of life."

She also used to say: "Don't worry about making a C on this test. We need street sweepers and ditch diggers."

And if she was particularly groused at your behavior in class, she would say: "You will be excommunicated, decapitated and boiled in oil."

She was loved for her total dedication to her profession and for her quirkiness. And she was very sincere about not wanting to change her way of life in a small town.

The following is an interesting website that concerns itself with this issue and more: Small Towns:

2004-06-01T12:01:00.000-05:00

Rural Rebound
Rural Renaissance
Urban Expatriates
Booming Boondocks

Most rural areas in the United States are now growing at the fastest rate in more than 20 years. Rural population gains between 1990 and 2000 have been both extremely widespread and substantial. Fueled by an influx of migrants from urban areas and fewer people leaving, rural gains since 1990 are near record levels. They reflect a sharp reversal of the trend of the 1980s, when most rural (nonmetropolitan) areas lost population. This is only the second period or widespread nonmetropolitan growth in 80 years.

Nonmetropolitan areas - those without an urban center of 50,000 or more - gained 5.2 million additional residents (10.3 percent) between April 1990 and April 2000. In contrast, such areas grew by only 1.3 million during the 1980s. Almost 74 percent of the 2303 rural counties are now growing, compared to only 45 percent during the 1980s.

- Kenneth M. Jackson, Calvin L. Beale, "The Rural Rebound Recent Nonmetropolitan Demographic Trends in the United States.

2004-05-26T13:02:00.000-05:00
Bloglossary

Blahg ! - An exasperated phrase often uttered after becoming frustrated with ones weblog.

Blogcessive - Compulsive - Checking a favorite weblog of yours every hour or more during the course of the day, just to see if it's been updated.

The Blogeyman - A mythical monster known to hide under beds and in closets that attacks webloggers who neglect posting for long stretches of time.

Bloggage of the Arteries - An unfortunate event that occurs when too many links present themselves at one time. Instead of posting them all at once, it's best to space them out lest you suffer from "Bloggerrhea." (see below)

Bloggerrhea - Posting to your weblog many times in a short period of time.

Gang Blog - A blog that's updated by a large group of people, instead of just going solo (aka 'monoblog').

"Keep on Bloggin' in the Free World" - Hit song written by Neil Young about the comfort of weblogging in non-communist countries.

Pavlovs Blog - An obscure weblog with tons of links to information on conditioned responses and meat powder.

Statuatory Blog - A weblog run by someone underage.

Totally Blogular ! - Derived from surfer lingo, this term refers to a radical weblog (dude).

Blogocialists - Small-minded neanderthals who try to control information in a small town

2004-05-22T09:42:00.000-05:00
Getting Married in Piggott

"A couple could get married across the state line in Piggott, Arkansas in a large vault at the court house for $20.00, without a blood test. Which was required in Missouri. This was also where most of the kids at home went to get married. Most of the couples had to lie about their age, because the girl was supposed to be 18 and the boy 21. Jamie and Glenn were married there by Judge French (a shirt-tail relation on the McClure side), so they got a Freebie. Saturday was the big day there for marriages. This gave the couple the entire weekend to make whoopee."

Footnote: A few wedding ceremonies took place in Piggott, Arkansas, the following manner (without the knowledge of the JP) if the couple getting married did not look the required age, (because they were not old enough) a friend would stand in as the bride / groom or couple. The ceremony would take place and the license handed to the waiting young person / couple by the couple or person who 'stood in,' (as it was called) when away from the court house.

From "The Beulah Mae & Marvin O'Dell McClure Years"
By Charles McClure, Owasso, Oklahoma

2004-05-14T09:16:00.000-05:00
Small Town Heaven and Hell

Baby Boomer Edition

Small Town Heaven is where:
Gregory Peck is the City Attorney
Henry Fonda is the Mayor
Katherine Hepburn is the Newspaper Editor
Mickey Rooney is the Juvenile Delinquent
Jimmy Stewart is the Loan Officer
Lionel Barrymore is the Doctor
Eve Arden is the School Teacher / Librarian
Andy Griffith is the Sheriff
Bishop Sheen is the Religious Leader
James Mason records the phone messages for the Chamber of Commerce
Rocky and Bullwinkle is the favorite cartoon
James Thurber is the Class Clown
Ernest Borgnine is the Village Idiot
Grace Kelly is the Girl Next Door, and
Paul Newman is the Town Rounder / Rake (who ends up marrying Joanne Woodward, our Girl Next Door Runner-up)

Small Town Hell is where:
Alan Dershowitz is the City Attorney
Dabney Coleman is the Mayor
Katherine Hepburn is the Newspaper Editor
Bruce Dern is the (not so) juvenile delinquent
Jim Bakker is the Religious Leader
Michael Milkan is the Loan Officer
Vincent Price is the Doctor
Larry Flynt is the Librarian / Schoolteacher
Rod Steiger is the Sheriff
Burt Lancaster runs the Chamber of Commerce
The Flintstones is the favorite Cartoon Program
Oscar Levant is the Class Clown
Sam Donaldson is the Village Idiot
Judy Garland is the Girl Next Door, and
Jessi Ventura is the Town Rounder / Rake (who ends up marrying
Joan Collins our Girl Next Door Runner-Up)

- Raoul Hashimoto

2004-05-11T09:03:00.000-05:00

Editor in Chief - Max Edog
TM 2004 Copyright RDF

Max Edog Accepts New Position as Editor in Chief

"I will strive to invite interesting members to The Piggott Blog.

From time to time I will create posts relevant to the mission.

Thanks for the opportunity to work with this blog."

- Max Edog

2004-05-10T07:18:00.000-05:00
The Search

"The Search is what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life. To become aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something. Not to be onto something is to be in despair."

Binx Bolling in Walker Percy's The Moviegoer.

2004-05-05T07:43:00.000-05:00
A Moveable Feast

Published today 1964

Fiction is autobiographical.......EH is nosgtalgic, remorseful, boozy, bitter and unkind in his reflection on his 'Ex Pat' years in Paris. He breaks with Gertrude Stein ostensibly because of her homosexual behavior with Alice B. Toklas. Later Stein and Sherwood Anderson would muse publicly about Hem's copying their writing style. Stein's Jamesian influence and Anderson's continual publishing and writing support were substantial to EH development as a writer. This would add to the view that Hemingway always destroyed his relationships with those who would help him in life.

Sylvia Beach (owner of Shakespeare and Company bookstore) was a favorite.
Click to learn more about   Sylvia Beach

Hem always regretted his leaving Hadley. Their years were the best for Him.

2004-05-04T06:58:00.000-05:00
Birthdays
Heloise 1919
Audrey Hepburn 1929
George F. Will 1941
Pia Zadora 1956
Randy Travis 1959
Lance Bass 1979

Deaths
Moe Howard 1975

2004-04-19T12:08:00.000-05:00
I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to be doing but I've been asked to take part in The Piggott Blog.

I must admit that as a Parks & Tourism employee who works a great deal on www.Arkansas.com, I find it hard to imagine any town being able to do any kind of promotion without having a good web site. Every community that has something the tourist would be interested in should have one, in my opinion. Piggott has a great attraction in the Hemingway Pfeiffer House and the new Matilda and Karl Pfeiffer Museum will just add to it. Pumpkin Hollow is another great attraction though its biggest draw is seasonal. Two bed and breakfasts plus the Crowley's Ridge National Scenic Byway -- all of these lay a good foundation for tourism. The more visitors that come to Piggott, the more new attractions and businesses will need to be developed. It's a win-win situation for everyone.

2004-04-18T09:09:00.001-05:00
Sign Posts:

It appears that the Piggott Chamber of Commerce has been working on getting a website developed since 2002........

According to one member, the Chamber has been trying since the 1990's.

Take a look at this website:

It took less than 1 month to create.....for a town with 3000 population.

???

2004-04-18T09:01:00.000-05:00
"For it is better to know something about everything than to know all about one thing. This universality is the best."

Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662 ); French Scientist and Philosopher

2004-04-08T06:58:00.000-05:00
" Talking about things that are understandable only weighs down the mind. "

- Alfred Jarry, 1873

2004-04-03T07:49:00.000-06:00
Town Life in Arkansas

Every traveler going south from St. Louis can recall the average Arkansas village in winter. Little strings of houses spread raggedly on both sides of the rails. A few wee shops, that are likely to have a mock rectangle of facade stuck against a triangle of roof, in the manner of children's card houses, parade a draggled stock of haberdashery and groceries. To right or left a mill buzzes, its newness attested by the raw tints of the weather boarding. There is no horizon; there seldom is a horizon in Arkansas, - it is cut off by the forest. Pools of water reflect the straight black lines of tree trunks and the crooked lines of bare boughs, while a muddy road winds through the vista. Generally there are a few lean cattle to stare in a dejected fashion at the train, and some fat black swine to root among the sodden grasses. Bales of cotton are piled on the railway platform, and serve as seats for half a dozen listless men in high boots and soft hats. Occasionally, a woman, who has not had the time to brush her hair, calls shrilly to some child who is trying to have pneumonia by sitting on the ground. No one seems to have anything to do, yet every one looks tired, and the passenger in the Pullman wonders how people live in 'such a hole.'

Two months later the 'hole' will have changed into a garden. The great oaks will wave a glossy foliage of richest green. Men will be ploughing in the fields, and the negroes' songs will float through the open car window. The house yards will be abloom with Japan quince and lilacs. The very shop windows will have a dash of fresh color in summer bonnets and piles of new prints. Then the stranger will awake to the charm of the South; and were one to leave the train and to stay in one of these unimpressive towns for a few weeks, he would come to appreciate that charm.

- by Octave Thanet, published in The Atlantic Monthly, September, 1891

2004-04-01T15:52:00.000-06:00
What is a Blog ?

A Blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "Blogging" and someone who keeps a Blog is a "Blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no background to update and maintain the blog.

Postings on a Blog are almost always arranged in chronological order with the most recent additions featuring prominently.

Have you Blogged today ?

- Piggott BlogPhile

2004-03-31T17:25:00.000-06:00
Maintaining a cutting edge view of Piggott's potential, all the while networking with any and all persons associated with the quaint little town should bring about flourishing prosperity when combined with an open mind and a strong determination.......Anything is possible.....HLD

2004-03-30T13:05:00.000-06:00
Marketing Piggott to the World......

"A Chamber Board Member just sent this rationale for a new Chamber website to the Blog.

20 REASONS FOR ESTABLISHING A PIGGOTT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WEBSITE

1. To Establish a Presence

a. Open the Door
b. Show Directions
c. Offer Mailing LIsts
d. Offer Maps and Promotional Literature

2. To help Members Network

a. Supply Contacts to attract Members' Sales Leads

3. To make Business Information available

a. Find a Local Business
b. Learn about our Local Community

4. To serve our Members

a. Market to the Marketplace - "Got your Business Covered."

5. To heighten Public Interest

a. Where to go - What to do ?

6. To release Time Sensitive Materials

a. New Local Codes
b. Community Changes

7. To sell our Members' Products and Services

a. Example: $50.00 / Month
b. E-Commerce Enabled Site for Members
c. Shopping Cart System for Member Sales
d. Hosting Member Sites
e. On-line Payment System
f. To assist Website Development

8. To reach Desirable Demographic Markets

a. Move with the Winners

9. To answer frequently asked questions

10. To open International Markets

a. World - Wide Presence

11. To create a 24 hour service

12. To make changing information available quickly

13. To allow feedback from members and their customers

a. Feel the pulse of Business Activity

14. To reach the Media

a. Arkansas Tourism Market

15. To reach Education and Youth Markets

16. To stimulate state-wide Public Interest

17. To reach Specialized Markets

18. To Cross - Communicate more Professionally with

a. Local Markets
b. Arkansas Markets
c. Domestic Markets
d. International Markets

19. To more efficiently control Advertising Costs

20. Time is of essence.......

2004-03-30T06:53:00.000-06:00
To quote Frances Cornford, born 1886:

"Every public action, which is not customary, either is wrong, or, if it is right, is a dangerous precedent. It follows that nothing should ever be done for the first time."

2004-03-29T13:49:00.000-06:00
Hello to anyone from another resident of Piggott. When and how do we get some new industry to look at Piggott and maybe consider coming here?
bella1

2004-03-29T07:23:00.000-06:00
Welcome to The Piggott Blog !

Please post any ideas, suggestions, thoughts, recommendations, etc. for the beautification, restoration, marketing, advertising, rejuvenation, etc. for Piggott, Arkansas.

Thanks !