The Old State House Museum Associates' annual supper always provides guests with a bit of Arkansas history. This year, the program offered firsthand accounts of the deadly explosion at the Titan II Missile Complex on Sept. 19, 1980, in Damascus.
The supper was held at the museum, Arkansas' first capitol.
Speakers included Air Force missile hazard crewman Greg Devlin, who was injured in the explosion and whose story was told in the PBS American Experience documentary Command and Control. The film was also featured at last year's Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. Devlin brought a scrapbook of news stories chronicling the event to share with guests.
Other speakers were University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service Dean Skip Rutherford, who was an aide to former U.S. Sen. David Pryor (D-Ark.) at the time of the explosion, and Sid King of Clinton, owner of radio station KGFL-AM. King was in Damascus when the accident occurred and returned to the radio station to broadcast safety information to area residents.
Guests were welcomed to the supper by event chairman Nikki Lawson, and guest speakers were introduced by David Beck, president of the Old State House Museum Associates. The program was preceded by cocktails on the lawn and a Southern-style supper of chicken, greens, mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, with bread pudding for dessert.
The Old State House Museum Associates supports the museum throughout the year with various programs and fundraisers.
High Profile on 10/08/2017