Twist, B.B. King, & Lucille

On State Highway 42 in the Delta region of far northeast Arkansas is an almost deserted little town named Twist. As unlikely as it sounds, a little known incident in Twist led to a name all blues fans know.

One night in the mid-1950s, B.B. King, was performing at a club in Twist, Arkansas when two men got into a fight over a woman named Lucille and knocked over a kerosene stove. A fire resulted and in his haste to escape, King left his guitar inside the burning building. Not having money to replace it, he ran back inside to retrieve it and narrowly escaped death. From then on, as a reminder to never do such a foolhardy thing again and to never get into a fight over a woman, he has named all of his guitars Lucille. When he was 82-years-old, King said, “About 15 times a lady has said, ‘It’s either me or Lucille.’ And that’s why I’ve had 15 children by 15 different women.”

I'm not a huge fan of the blues, but I certainly know of B. B. King, have listened to his songs and have heard of his guitars named Lucille. When I saw an interview with him and he told the story of what happened in Twist, I decided to go see Twist for myself. Normally I make these little adventures by myself or sometimes with a male friend for company, but this time and much to my surprise, my wife and youngest daughter agreed to go with me and we made it a family outing. Heck, we even took along Riley the Wonder Dog.

Twist is about 2 1/2 hours by twisty back roads from my home. It's not that long if you take the interstate, but unless forced  by circumstances beyond my control, interstates are not for me. From Wooster, we passed through such bustling suburbs as Rose Bud, Bald Knob, Hickory Ridge, Cold Water, BirdEye, and Cherry Valley before arriving in Twist.

We arrived in Twist on a Saturday afternoon at 1:30 to find that except for two old dogs, the town was deserted. To call Twist a "town" is extremely optimistic. We saw not another car on the little 2-lane road during the last 15 minutes of driving there and never saw a another person in the 30 minutes we were there.



The Twist guard dog.

Even the two dogs were bored with the pace of life there. One of them laying beside the road gave one little bark when I pulled up within 10 feet of him and his buddy, but when I got out of the car with my camera, he decided I wasn't worth the effort and never moved from his comfy spot in the shade of a fence post. His buddy, perhaps a little more bored with being bored, got up and ambled across the street toward me. He barked a few times and then when I ignored him, he slowly angled away until laying down again in the side yard of one of the few houses that looked like someone might actually live there.

Sleepy town of Twist

Unfortunately the club where it all happened is apparently long gone as I could find no traces of it nor any resident old-timer to ask. I drove through town, but not a creature was stirring and when I came back through and stopped to take a few more pictures, even the lone watch-dog that was on the job just laid there in the grass, one eye open, watching me for a few seconds before ignoring me completely.

I guess Twist used to be a lot more than it is today, just another faded relic of times gone by with an interesting story to tell that begins with, "At one time..."
 

Postcard From War Eagle Mill

In northwest Arkansas, the prettiest part of the state in my opinion, a few miles east of Bentonville, home of Wal-Mart, and Fayetteville, home of the University of Arkansas, and only 25 miles southwest of Eureka Springs is one of the few surviving water-powered grist mills, the only working mill in Arkansas, and what is thought to be the one and only under-shot (the water flows under the wheel instead of over it) water powered mill in the whole U.S. of A. War Eagle Mill is situated in a wonderfully peaceful rural setting; wooded with some open fields, the War Eagle Creek running beside it (which powers the 18-foot cypress water-wheel) and a wooden-decked single-lane bridge crossing the flowing water.

The history of the mill began in 1832 when the first one was built by an 19-year-old man and his wife,  Sylvanus and Catherine Blackburn after he came upon the site while traveling west looking for a spot to build a home and raise a family. A talented builder he was as the home he built in 1831 is still standing and in use today. Being the only mill within 25 miles, a long distance back when you hauled your corn in a horse-drawn wagon over rutted trails, theBlackburn Mill proved to be a great success and very profitable.

In 1848, a heavy rains flooded the valley and the mill was pushed into the river and washed downstream. When the the water receded, Sylvanus and Catherine rebuilt the mill and expanded the structure to mill lumber as well as grain.

In 1861, when the civil war broke out, Union troops came into northern Arkansas and there were several battles in the area. Sylvanus took Catherine and their nine children to safety in Texas and borded up the mill. The Union soldiers moved into the area and for a short time, used the mill to grind grain for the soldiers. Confederates headed to the valley and the Union forces retreated. The Rebels used the mill for several days, but then moved on for the upcoming battle at Pea Ridge. Seeing they couldn't hold it, the Confederates burned the mill so the Union forces could not use it again.

After the war ended in 1865, the Blackburn clan returned to their still standing house, but the Mill was gone again. Sylvanus’ son, James Austin Cameron Blackburn took on the task of reconstructing the mill for a third time, which he finished in 1873. The Mill, now the largest in Arkansas, grew even more prosperous. Lumber cut at the War Ealge saw mill was used to build much of Fayetteville, AR.

J.A.C. ran for the Arkansas Senate and when he won, he didn't have enough time to perform his Senate duties and run the Mill, so he sold it to a family named Kilgore. They operated the Mill until 1924 when, for the second time, the Mill burned down by a fire of unknown cause.

Jewel Medlin purchased the property in 1973 and he became intrigued with the old mill foundation. Jewel, his wife Leta and daughter Zoe Medlin Caywood, searched and found blueprints for the third mill and rebuilt it for the fourth time.

Today, the mill is famous for it's organic grains which have no additives or preservatives, sauces, jams and other healthy food items as well as the Bean Palace Restaurant, it's on site eatery which serves food made with ingredients made at the mill. They also host a wonderful Arts and Crafts Fair each Spring and Fall. For more information, see their web site - http://www.wareaglemill.com/index.html.

If you are into hiking, biking, or bird watching, the mill is just down the road from Hobbs State Park Conservation Area. From an easy 1 1/2 mile trail with benches and picknic tables to an interconnected series of trails covering 21miles, you can find whatever level you might want.
http://www.wareaglemill.com/Media/internal_pages/adventure/pdfs/WarEagle_HikingAdventure.pdf

From Little Rock, go west on I-40 about 115 miles to AR-23 at exit 35. Turn right (north) on AR-23. You will go through the Ozark National Forrest, a really pretty drive in itself. Continue north into the town of Huntsville where you will need to carefully follow signs and get on AR-412 W/N. Continue north and west on AR-412 for about 11 miles until you can connect to AR-303 north, which is also known as CR-98 and High Sky Inn Road. You will come to the mill and fair area after about 7 miles. Watch for the signs.