The Streets of El Dorado
by Lin Stone
El Dorado is south by deep south in Arkansas. It is found almost in Louisiana, in Union County at the Junctions of US 167m 82 and Arkansas 15 --- 276 miles east of Dallas and 120 miles south of Little Rock. It is 226 miles from Memphis, 340 miles from Houston, and 330 miles from New Orleans. Union Pacific and Short Line Rail Service are still functioning too.
You start finding the gold of El Dorado long before you get there. The road there in November is just a long string of OHS from the time US 167 branches off of US 65 from Little Rock's Interstate 30 to the rainbow at the end.
We came gliding thru the Sheridan area when the sun was just brushing the tree tops with golden halos. The trees gracing the road are all tall, straight and magnificent exclamation points with a statement to make. Mists of time rise up from the stretches of water to sift through the forest and seep tiny fingers upward into the sparkling leaves. Fresh colors, bright, and bold greet the eye every inch of the way, the greens especially suck up every creeping finger of sunlight as if the stars will shine only once in a million years. Heading south towards Fordyce (home of Paul "Bear" Bryant) as the sun rose there was just so much to see that I couldn't take it all in.
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Going over Saline River bridge is like going up to the top of a roller coaster where you can see for miles before plunging down to the other side. Saline river fills the bed. My eye was startled with mist, fog, yellow gold, red gold and startling green splashes of color like cellophaned candy hanging on a wall in candlelight.
Oaks, pines, even a grove of eastern
cottonwoods and the aspens stand out like strangers in the hosts. The trees
are dense all along the way, but good old Weyhauser has them thinned just
enough to let the sun slide through. The light splashes in sudden spotlights,
slurping over dots of isolated beauty in the morning dew. At every point
I could see deep into the forest,, to glimpse the pools of dripping sunlight
where it poured in liquid grace upon sacred groves.
Lift your leaves, o trees.. lift your leaves and salute the rising sun. Well it is with Indian trained eyes I look and nod in knowing grace that if man should encroach here in this hour, let it be with head bowed in reverence -- for Tash, the sun, has let down his angels' wings to brush the earth with the powerful medicine of heavenly splendor. Breathe deep here, o brother wind, and gust the sparkles of dew twinkling across the brow.
Most of the homes along the way are new, beautiful, gracious and clean with fall displays outside which trigger the funny bone. Older houses are there too. One house on the right just out of Fordyce was built with a hill, not into it, not upon it -- with it -- and the morning sun drenched it with soaking glory as we paused to gape. Beyond it, one pure golden tree in a grass-scalloped field was enthroned alone for no other tree dared draw close to be compared with its majesty.
Exciting little roads dart off to the side, and my mind's eye reaches out for the deer racked up beneath a favorite pin oak, waiting for the sharp twang of an unleashed bow to send him plunging through the honeysuckle with white flag flying.
Antique stores, rail fences, deep fields, clean yards, contented cows lined the way where the trees carved open to reveal them. Horses are like athletes of course and are only contented when racing the whirlwind.
Historical rumors record that Matthew F. Rainey became the first resident here by accident. One day in 1843 his wagon broke down at this point. Replacement parts were not available, so he held a sale of his possessions. Neighboring farmers were so eager to buy his goods that he realized he had stumbled onto a goldmine of opportunity.
Matthew set out to haul in more goods. Just one year later his wealth had increased to the point that he could donate 160 acres to Union County Officials wanting to move their county seat away from the Ouachita (Wash--ee--taw) River bluff area of what is now called Champagnolle. By 1851 the town had spread out to encompass 640 acres, and was then incorporated. 1921 found black gold bubbling there like a raging fever. On the tenth of January the Bussey Oil Well began to flow. It only took a few weeks for the population of 4,000 to burgeon to 20,000. By the end of October 460 wells were producing and ten million barrels of oil had been taken from a 5,000 acre area.
Downtown El Dorado has done far more than preserve its heritage, the town has built upon it, brought it to life even while leaping into the future. One FM radio station there, for example, boasts 100,000 watts of broadcasting power that reaches out to four states. El Dorado's commercial airline service offers daily passenger and freight schedules to and from the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
There are ten elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school, one college, a branch of the University of Arkansas Medical school, and one K-8 parochial school. The swimming pool at the Y is encased in glass and grabs the eye as you pass.
Downtown El Dorado itself, I promptly fell in love with. Boy I wish the whole world could have been there to see it through my eyes, for it was so wonderful. Restaurants with outdoor dining available, like Al's Corner Cafe right beside the Union County Courthouse, decorate the heart of downtown. I talked with the chef Angela Jenkins for about half an hour I guess, plus eating there. Oh, that food just made me float. My companion disgraced us and ate double portions, and this after we'd already admitted having lunch elsewhere too! Then I sat outside and watched the world walk by. One lady in particular caught my eye with a patchwork jacket with tatters of string snapping in the brisk wind.
The town has built flower containers
and flooded them with dazzling plants. On the corner across the street
was a big clock set on a watch-stem thin street pole.
An old time phone booth looked like it must have been ancient when Superman changed for his first date with destiny.
I did not feel locked in time as I toured the city; that isn't the point of El Dorado. There are no pretensions of any kind, just a solid wall of friendly people who are where they want to be and glad you could come to visit. Everyone seems to have more than enough time to stop and talk.
The streets are too narrow for all the modern traffic, but the people there all brake for tourists, smiling, nodding when they see us. Smiles flashed dozens of times as I gawked along. The courthouse there is immense, and inside (except for the restroom) it is spectacular still even as it must have been in 1927 The custodian smiled like he owned the place as I passed him. Indeed, the whole downtown area throngs with friendly people and the stores all look as if a master decorator set out to demonstrate just how deep her skills were.
The Olde Towne Store right across from the court house too, was the best attraction there for me. Naomi has created it so tastefully designed, so wholesomely stocked, so intelligently arranged, so welcoming in atmosphere, that I shall go back dozens of times. The display of herbal teas, health food vitamins, baskets, bird houses, bulk honey for $1.95 a pound, beautiful old pictures, real peanut butter, tiffany lamps and wonderful perfumes make this one shop stand out in a town where every shop there would stand out somewhere else. Oh, it has tables to eat at too, and a full sized kitchen with a sign that says: Love is Home Made.
Around the corner is a real, genuine soda fountain store. Beside it is the Best Bakery shop that won top honors in the Reader's Choice Award of the Arkansas Times after being in business for only 6 months, then won it again. Everything there is made from scratch. Huge gingerbread boy and girl molds are made of wood and hung on the wall. Full as I was, I still bought a dozen butter crisp rolls. The price was irresistible, only $1.89 Hours later I tried them and oh,,, delicious.
There is a walking tour laid out for you, and when I have seen all I want to see a few times, I intend to take it. Main attractions are the Court House, the Masonic Temple, Bank of Commerce Building, First Baptist Church, Lion Oil Building, Municipal Building, and eight other sites. Yawl come see it when you can.
The best food in the state that I have found is at AL'S
ON THE SQUARE at 200 East Main in downtown El Dorado, AR 71730 The phone
number is 501-863-0404 and the Fax is 501-863-0652 Angela Jenkins is the
owner, the chef, and you might as well call her the Vice President of Customer
Service as well.
The food is different, exotic, wonderful, delicious, exquisite, delightful
---- you name the adjective, the food here lives up to it and then jumps
over the mark. Angela sees to your comfort, personally, you get to dine
inside, outside, or under a canopy, plus, there is an upstairs dining area.
Even the napkins impressed me, the glasses, everything about the decor
is top-of-the-line good. Al's Corner Cafe is right beside the Union County
Courthouse, to decorate the heart of downtown. There are lanterns, flowers,
and of course, El Dorado itself, to enhance the pleasure of dining here.
On any day of the month, it is well worth the drive, from anywhere. But
Angela also has SPECIAL DAYS where the food and the atmosphere are out
of this world. Write to Angela for the next date, and make a date with
anyone you want to impress. Al's will do the impressing.
Fishing and hunting are not idle pastimes around El Dorado, but a sport actively pursued by one and all. When you see all the sacks of corn for sale in the convenience stores you wonder just how many chickens are being raised in this area.
Sherrel Johnson, President & CEO of El Dorado's Chamber of Commerce, can tell you.
When I entered the office there I was disappointed by the lack of information displayed. "Is this all you have?" I asked, on the point of backing out.
"What do you want?" she asked. I told her I wanted to know as much about El Dorado as I could find out without reading too much the second time in a secondary pamphlet. In just a matter of minutes she had put together a package weighing nearly two pounds, rejecting I don't know how much. One thing I noticed immediately, her information also revealed the challenges facing the area. Instead of hiding them, Sherrel put them up front where I'd be sure to see them.
"If you had to write a 30 word ad to promote El Dorado, what would you put in it?" I asked.
"Thirty words?" she scoffed. "Don't get me started, because I NEVER run out of good things to say about El Dorado."
You can reach Sherrel Johnson at 201 N. Jackson; El Dorado, AR 71730. Fone her at 501-863-6113 and her Fax number is 863 6115
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