Saturday, April 17, 2010

Some Things Never Change

Fayetteville 012 Last weekend LBeau and I traveled to Fayetteville for his annual meeting of the Arkansas Academy of Civil Engineering.  While he was closed up with a bunch of other engineers on a gorgeous Saturday morning, I took the time to visit some of my favorite places.  While Fayetteville has changed a lot since I was in school there in the '60's, my morning trek around town was proof that some things never change.

My first stop was 430 Assembly Drive where we lived with our oldest son Hunter when LBeau was in grad school in the mid '70's.  We rented this stone house on the west side of Mount Sequoyah and lived there for a little over two years.

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From there I continued to the top of Mount Sequoyah where this cross overlooks the city.  I'm not sure when it was erected, but it has stood in that spot since before my student days.

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Fayetteville 007 The Farmers' Market on the square was my next stop.  Begun in the 1970's as a way for local farmers to market their produce, the Farmers' Market has expanded to included craftsmen and musicians as well.

On this Saturday, the square was crowded with hundreds of folks walking their dogs, buying produce and flowers, visiting with friends and neighbors while listening to a variety of music.  With an election coming up next month, there was no shortage of candidates, and I got to visit with a friend whose husband is running for judge.

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I continued on to the campus, first walking past the Kappa house where I lived for three years.  This house was brand new the year I pledged, and from the outside it looks pretty much as it did in 1965.

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Fayetteville 011 Senior Walk is also proof that some things never change.  Starting at the front door of Old Main, Senior Walk winds for more than five miles through the campus and contains the names of every graduate since the founding of the University.  For years there have been rumors that the University was running out of places for Senior Walk and it would be discontinued.  Those rumors have proven to be false.

When I was a student, each time a new class graduated workers would pour fresh concrete and hand stamp each graduate's name in the walk.  In 1986, the UofA Physical Plant invented the Sand Hog, which etches the name of each graduate in existing sidewalks.

During my walk around campus, I located my name in the Class of 1968, along with the names of a couple of friends, one of whom reads this blog from time to time.  I also found LBeau's name as well as my sons' names.

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Every time I visit campus, I can't resist taking pictures of Old Main, which to most present and former students is the symbol of the University of Arkansas.  It too looks pretty much as it did during my student days except for the addition of a working clock on the south tower where blank faces once were.  Although the chimes in Old Main have rung every fifteen minutes for as long as I can remember, the clock was not added until 2005.

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FAVORITETHINGSBUTTON Fayetteville has always been one of my favorite places on earth, so I am linking up with Laurie on Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie.  It's always fun to read about everyone's Favorite Things.  Be sure to stop by and tell Laurie hello.

17 comments:

Baumbastic said...

Great pictures! I'm glad that your visit was while things were in bloom. It is so pretty in the spring.

Tricia said...

Isn't it fun to revisit places you formerly lived? I've been back to Athens only once since we left grad school there in '81, but would love to go back. I sent a link to your post to my sister, who was at the U of A in the mid-70s. She was a Zeta.

Anonymous said...

Kathy, i loved this walk down memory lane-thanks for the pic of our names-so thoughtful. Always great to see Fayetteville-i remember &appreciatd the tour you gave us at the KKG reunion. dianna

Sonia said...

Oh what pretty pictures...we live in Oklahoma but my hubbie used to do business in Arkansas...so I would tag along sometimes and now I enjoy visiting there especially in the fall when the foilage is turning...I love the farmer's market too. What a lovely trip!

Miss Bloomers

Sarah said...

Kathy, what a wonderful walk down memory lane for you. Thanks for sharing it with all of us. I love the idea of the "senior walk". I can't imagine that the university could ever discontinue that tradition.
Happy Weekend!

Blondie's Journal said...

What a lovely visit to Fayetteville. Never been but enjoyed your pictures. You have a lot of history there! Great post!

xoxo
Jane

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

You snapped some great pictures. You are good advertisement for our state and our university! Thanks so much for linking to Favorite Things. (Hope your dinner party was a huge success - I know it was a huge party!) laurie

Donna said...

Great post and pictures. What a neat idea to put all the graduates' names in the walkways!

D

Mar Mar said...

I read your blog,too, so I'm sure you just failed to mention that you looked up your sister's name as well as the names of her two children, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law on senior walk?

Anonymous said...

i love the square.. especially at Christmas time! great walk down memory lane.. thanks for sharing the great pics of home! [we'll be in Fayetteville in july!]

Kalyn Cavalier said...

We loved living in Fayetteville and can't wait to move back there someday! We bought our first home in August in Springdale.. being much less expensive, but we sure do miss Fayetteville (especially seeing Old Main and the pretty campus almost daily!)

Stickhorsecowgirls said...

Loved this post. Fayetteville is my birthplace, although I never lived there past the time I was a couple months old. Still, it is a treat to go and see my father's name and my brother's name, my nephew and niece's name in the sidewalks. I live in Little Rock but love it when I am able to visit "up north!" C

nanny said...

Love your details of U Of A and Fayetteville....great pictures! I think the sidewalks are so much fun to walk and read names...I love seeing my daughters name there!

xinex said...

Beautiful school, Kathy. It must be a wonderful feeling going back.....Christine

Sue said...

Thank you for the lovely tour...loved seeing your sorority house...it is so pretty...and it's always fun to do a drive by of old houses you once lived in...we do that every time we go back to Jersey....

Nel said...

What a fun journey! Arkansas is a beautiful state. I have been thru Fayetteville a time or two around War Eagle Craft Times. I lived around the Russellville area about 19 miles NE. Love Arkansas!
Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. Hope you will visit again.
until next time... nel

Unknown said...

Great post. Sorry I missed you while you were there. You've been tagged on Arkansas Bloggers. Come check it out.