CONWAY — Plans are moving right along for the development of the Pine Street Community Museum.
“Things are going really well,” said Anthony Wayne Hoskins, chairman of the executive board of volunteers planning the museum. Hoskins said the museum will focus on the history of the Pine Street School, families, churches and businesses in the traditionally African-American community.
“Charles Finkenbinder, [chief deputy attorney for the city of Conway], has been a blessing,” Hoskins said. “He has filed the papers for us to be a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.
“That was the one ‘big elephant’ in the room,” Hoskins said, smiling. “I thought it would take a long while to get that done, but he’s taken it and run with it.”
Hoskins said the committee “is getting a lot of good response from people wanting to help.
“We’ve got people working on IT (information technology), … Facebook, creating a website, social media,” Hoskins said. “They are involved in IT in their professions and are really a big help.”
Hoskins and others will present a program on the planned Pine Street Community Museum on Thursday during the Faulkner County Historical
Society’s annual meeting. Thursday’s meeting is set for 6-8:30 p.m. in Courtroom A of the Faulkner Country Courthouse, 801 Locust St. in Conway. The meeting is free and open to the public.
Hoskins said speakers at the meeting will include former Pine Street School students Lloyd Hervey, assistant professor at Philander Smith College; Leona Walton, longtime volunteer in the neighborhood, including working with the Pine Street Backpack Program; and Mary Beard, founder of the Pine Street Free Clinic, which is no longer in operation.
Following the program, members and guests will have an opportunity to visit the Faulkner County Museum and see some of the artifacts that have already been collected for the Pine Street museum. Refreshments will be served.
Hoskins said he has received “so many things” since the committee announced plans for the museum last year.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Hoskins recently told visitors at the Faulkner County Museum. “We are hearing so many different stories … stories that we want to preserve for history and include at the museum.
“My parents, Sylvester and Gladys (Starks) Hoskins of Detroit, Michigan, both attended Pine Street School,” he said, showing visitors his dad’s letter jacket that is displayed prominently in a glass storage case at the Faulkner County Museum. “I knew he was an athlete — football, track, baseball and basketball— but until we started making plans for the museum, I never knew my mother was a cheerleader.”
Lynita Langley-Ware, director of the Faulkner County Museum, is acting as an adviser to Hoskins and the Pine Street Community Museum Committee.
She described the artifacts she is housing in the Faulkner County Museum as “a teaser.”
“All of this, plus more, will go back to the Pine Street Community Museum,” she said. “We will pack it properly and send it back where they can store it until the museum opens.”
The memorabilia will remain on display at the Faulkner County Museum until April 30.
Hoskins said the Pine Street Community Museum will be housed at Greater Pleasant Branch Baptist Church, which sits on the site of the old Pine Street School.
“We have been talking with the pastor, and he tells us that he will let us know ‘soon’ where we can set up the museum,” Hoskins said. “It might be in the gymnasium or maybe in the educational building, which was the Pine Street elementary school.”
Langley-Ware said the Pine Street community has a long history in Conway and Faulkner County.
“It is important to interpret that history and keep it on display for all to see,” she said. “I am excited about partnering with Mr. Hoskins and the museum. I am learning so many things about the community that I didn’t know.”
Hoskins said Langley-Ware “has been a help … a big, big help.”
Ree Walker, a Faulkner County Historical Society board member, said she and the organization are “very excited to be a partner with the Pine Street Community Museum.”
“We are excited and honored,” she said. “We want to help bring the story of the Pine Street community to all residents of Faulkner County. We hope people will attend Thursday’s meeting and hear what is planned for the Pine Street Community Museum and how they might help bring it to fruition.”
Other business at the Faulkner County Historical Society’s meeting Thursday will include a report from Rebekah Bilderback, president, who will recap the year’s activities and share plans for a Faulkner Facts and Fiddlings issue that will feature the Springfield-Des Arc Bridge that has been relocated to Beaverfork Lake Park.
For more information on the Faulkner County Historical Society, visit faulknerhistory.org.
For more information on the Pine Street Community Museum, email Hoskins at Hoskins.anthony@gmail.com, or call or text (501) 548-4978.