Arkansas/Mississippi bridge at Helena-West Helena Arkansas.
The January 2014 Arkansas State Parks Travel and Tourism Commission Meeting was held in Helena-West Helena. This beautiful river city in Eastern Arkansas is steeped in Civil War history, Mississippi River commerce, Southern culture and Music. Thanks to Julia of the Convention Bureau we experienced a bit of each. Plus we were treated to a delicious Southern Dinner in the wonderfully restored Pillow Thompson House. Below are a few pictures of the tour. Thank you Julia and the City of Helena-West Helena.
The awesome new Arkansas Visitor Center … just as one comes across the bridge into Arkansas. Well done!!!
A poignant reminder of the role African American slaves played in the Civil War
One of several messages reminding us of the inhumanity of slavery. This one reads: “Half of all U.S. slave children grew up apart from their fathers. On rare occasions, men and women were allowed to attend dances, sometimes at neighboring plantations”.
Closing personal thought: Just as the 40th and 50th commemoration ceremonies regarding the 1957 Central High Integration Crisis in Little Rock, remind us of that which we do not wish to ever repeat, the museums, Civil War Fort Curtis and monuments in Helena remind us of the atrocities of slavery and the tragedies of friends and neighbors fighting each other in deadly combat.
May we find answers without war, without hate, without anger, without judging others … may we find our future in Love.
Jim Dailey 
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