Stone County to remember World War I with words, music

Robbie Cruse Purdom, left, and Renee Rushing Carr take a look at some of the items in the World War I exhibit that is on display at the Stone County Museum in Mountain View. The museum will be the site of a special program — World War I Experiences of Stone Countians — at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Robbie Cruse Purdom, left, and Renee Rushing Carr take a look at some of the items in the World War I exhibit that is on display at the Stone County Museum in Mountain View. The museum will be the site of a special program — World War I Experiences of Stone Countians — at 2 p.m. Sunday.

— Stories of World War I will come to life at 2 p.m. Sunday in a program in the Edwin Luther Auditorium of the Stone County Museum.

World War I Experiences of Stone Countians will feature original songs written by Charley Sandage and performed by the trio Harmony, featuring Robert and Mary Gillihan and Dave Smith, who perform regularly at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View. The event will also feature a World War I exhibit on display in the museum. The Stone County Honor Guard will present the colors.

The program is free and open to the public.

The event is one of several World War I commemorative events being held throughout the state during May, which is Arkansas Heritage Month, sponsored by the Department of Arkansas Heritage. The theme of the month is A State of War: Arkansas Remembers World War I.

Renee Rushing Carr, community volunteer and chief financial director of the Rural Community Alliance, headquartered in Little Rock, spearheaded the local program.

“I conceived the idea for this program, … and they did the work,” she said, referring to Sandage, singer/songwriter, performer, recording artist, music producer and educator; and Robbie Cruse Purdom, retired teacher and publications director of the Stone County Historical Society.

“When I heard the theme of Arkansas Heritage Month was World War I, I knew Stone County had veterans who served in that war and had stories that needed to be told,” Carr said. “They needed to be brought out while someone still remembers hearing them. … They needed to be documented.

“I got with Robbie, and we put together a program. Then we talked to Charley to see if he could compose songs that told the stories. He had already done his Arkansas Stories series and presented them all over the state, and I knew there were stories yet to be told right here in Stone County.”

Purdom said 747 Stone Countians registered for World War I during the first registration period.

“We don’t know exactly how many ended up serving, but we do know 11 died, … some from disease, some from injuries,” Purdom said. “We have 230 World War I veterans buried in Stone County cemeteries, and we know one is buried in France.”

Purdom said Alfred Ray Hinkle was the first World War I casualty from Mountain View. The local American Legion Post is named in his honor.

The Stone County War Memorial on the courthouse lawn honors fallen veterans of both World War I and World War II.

Sandage, who was the first program director at the Ozark Folk Center, has written three new songs featuring local stories relating to the Great War. He will also present a fourth song “already in existence, but that will fit in nicely,” he said. “In total, we will present four songs.”

Sandage said the first song the group will perform is “Never Made It Out of Camp Pike” and is a tribute to Ephraim Rushing of Rushing, who was Carr’s great-uncle.

“He died at Camp Pike from measles and the flu,” Sandage said. “This strain of the flu was called the Spanish flu, which heavily affected military installations in 1918, including Camp Pike in North Little Rock. Fort Riley, Kansas, was the most affected installation in the United States, and Camp Pike was the second hardest hit.”

Sandage said the second song on the program is “The Other Soldiers” and is a tribute to Holliman “Shorty” Hastings, muleskinner. Hastings was originally from Mississippi and trained with soldiers from Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana. He settled in Stone County after the war.

“His first assignment at Camp Beauregard was as a stable sergeant,” Sandage said. “They had to move men and equipment by wagons, which were pulled by mules and horses. Dogs were used as messengers, as were pigeons. Canaries were even used in the trenches to detect gas.

“This song is about the ‘other’ soldiers … the critters … that had a part in World War I,” Sandage said.

Sandage’s third new song is called “Replacements.”

Sandage said troops from Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi got into the conflict a little late.

“They often wound up in what were called ‘replacement camps,’ set up very near their landing ports,” he said. “Many simply replaced soldiers that were killed in combat.”

Sandage learned about some of these men from Carr, whose father, Rodney Rushing, was superintendent of the Rural Special School District in 1976. The school had invited some of the World War I veterans to speak, including John Perry, who, Sandage said, felt like he was a “replacement.”

Carr said these stories were recorded on cassette tapes.

“We finally found the tapes at the museum at Camp Robinson, and my cousin, Anthony Rushing, got them transferred onto a DVD,” Carr said.

The fourth song by Sandage is “Kansas City Star.”

“During the early 20th century, the Kansas City Star mailed out a weekly edition, the Kansas City Star Farmer,” Sandage said. “At that time, it was said to have the widest circulation of any newspaper. It opened up a window to the world to people here.

“We’ll begin the program with the first verse of this song:

“‘We read it in the Kansas City Star. … The boys are coming. … They’re coming home at last.’

“And we’ll end the program with the last verse:

“‘Another German chancellor is starting up again. … They’re asking us for ships and tanks and next they’ll want our men. … But we’ve got our own problems here trying to feed our kin.

“‘Thank you kindly, we’re not going cause we’ve already been. … You can read it in the Star. They’re starting up again.’”

A special 80-page World War I publication edited by Purdom will be available to families of World War I veterans who attend Sunday’s program. Extra copies may be available for purchase at a later date.

The Stone County Museum is open from 1-4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April through October, at

206 School Ave. in Mountain View. The museum is housed in a 1928 building that was built by the Mountain View School District to replace the Stone County Academy. The Stone County Historical Society, the city of Mountain View and Stone County purchased the old school in 1984.

For more information on Saturday’s program, contact Carr at (870) 615-2195 or rushingcarr@gmail.com.

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