Ruth Hawkins of Jonesboro apparently hasn't met a historic landmark she didn't like. She certainly has shown her dedication to the preservation of such landmarks and other projects in the Arkansas Delta.
She has had her hand in the National Scenic Byways program, which recognized Crowley's Ridge Parkway and a segment of the Great River Road in Arkansas; Arkansas State University's Heritage Sites program, which she led, that includes seven historic sites such as the boyhood home of the late country singer Johnny Cash; and Arkansas Delta Byways, the regional tourism promotion association of which she serves as executive director. She also helped facilitate the Sam Epstein Angel family's gift of the 1859 Lakeport Plantation, now a museum, to ASU.
For these and other achievements, Hawkins was presented the Parker Westbrook Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2014 Arkansas Preservation Awards dinner, held Jan. 9 in the Annunciation Cultural Center in Little Rock. Guests mingled during a pre-event reception before sitting down to a dinner of bourbon-glazed chicken breast.
Jamie C. Brandon, president of the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas, welcomed attendees prior to dinner. Courtney C. Crouch III, past president, introduced master of ceremonies Matt DeCample and presented awards along with Brandon.
Other award recipients, in various categories, were Paula Dempsey for rehabilitation of Dempsey Bakery in Little Rock; the Argenta Branch of the William F. Laman Public Library in North Little Rock; Beth El Heritage Hall in Helena-West Helena; Gordon Wittenberg and Charles Witsell for their book Architects of Little Rock: 1833-1950; the Hot Springs Historic Baseball Trail; Jennifer Carman and Donna Thomas for rehabilitation and restoration projects in the Central High School Neighborhood Historic District in Little Rock; Clancy McMahon and Keith Newton for craftsmanship in restoration of the A.R. Carroll Drugstore in Canehill and the Frank Gibb House in Little Rock, respectively; and Rex Nelson for preservation reporting.
The alliance works to preserve the state's architectural and cultural resources and empower Arkansans to save and rehabilitate historic places, some of which might otherwise be lost to demolition.
-- Story and photos by
Helaine R. Williams
High Profile on 01/18/2015