----- Original Message ----- From: Tracey Converse <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, August 29, 1999 6:58 AM Subject: [ARGARLAN] Yeeeee-Ha! Garland County Historical Society > >From Saturday's Hot Springs Sentinel Record.... > > Historical society moves to new building > Story by the staff > Garland County Historical Society has a new permanent home, thanks to > generous donors. > One of the most generous, Isabel Burton Anthony, initiated the fund drive > with a sizable challenge donation, in honor of her parents, Dr. and Mrs. > Frank Burton, Hot Springs natives, whose families were among the original > settlers of the resort community. > > The Society will move into the former medical clinic building located in > the historic district at 328 Quapaw Avenue. "We hope to be open in the new > quarters by the end of September," said Bobbie Jones McLane, chairman of > the fund drive. > > "The planning was a long and involved process. From the first time Isabel > Anthony visited the current headquarters, she set her sights on a new home > for the Historical Society Archives," McLane said. > > Anthony offered a generous personal pledge and spearheaded a drive to > find adequate housing for the burgeoning collections in the old archives > located in the Senior Citizens Center at 210 Woodbine. > > After looking at several sites, the board of directors approved the > building and felt it would adequately meet the Society's needs with room > for growth. > > "For the first time in our Society's 40-year history, a drive for funds > was launched," says McLane. > > The fund drive committee included Anthony, Marti Douglass Dalby, and W. > A. "Bill" Lerz. > > Many locals and out-of-towners answered the Society's appeal. Several > donors contributed funds of $2,500 or more for the privilege of naming a > reading room or archival area for members of their family. > > "We've enjoyed an enthusiastic, unbelievable response with a great deal > of help from so many people," McLane said. > > According to Isabel Anthony, the wonderful response from generous donors > has been inspirational. "We sent request letters suggesting amounts, > ranging from $25 up to $25,000, and the needed amount of funding was raised > in less than two months, with only a few outstanding pledges of funds," > Anthony said. > > The response from more than 1,000 mailings and some personal visits, > especially in this short time frame, is phenomenal, she said. > > "The result certainly reflects the interest the people of Hot Springs > have in preserving and creating history of our community." > > Since its beginnings in 1960, the historical society, one of the oldest > such organizations in the state, has grown because of the generosity of its > members, friends and sponsors. > > However, while membership expanded, quarters for the archives grew > smaller and more crowded. > > The outstanding collections maintained are a tribute to the contributions > of so many individuals, and now the ultimate gift - funds for a new home > with adequate space to adequately store all the society's material. > > Virtually all of the donations came from individuals, with some corporate > donors, the Morris Foundation, the Garland Anthony Trust, and as McLane > noted, "one very generous `angel' - Isabel Burton Anthony, who brought the > idea to life and instigated the fund drive > > <html> > Tracey Converse<br> > FREE Genealogy Forms Online!!!<br> > <a href="http://www.genrecords.com/" > eudora="autourl">http://www.genrecords.com/</a><br> > ****************************************************<br> > <div align="center"> > Listowner of the GRS E-Zine, GenTips, GenChat, GenSwap<br> > Webmaster of the Arkansas Genealogical Society <a > href="http://www.rootsweb.com/~args" > eudora="autourl">http://www.rootsweb.com/~args</a><br> > and the Central Arkansas Library System <br> > <a href="http://www.cals.lib.ar.us/" > eudora="autourl">http://www.</a>cals.lib.ar<a > href="http://www.cals.lib.ar.us/" eudora="autourl">.us</a><br> > </div> > ******************************************************</html> >