The Inspirational Activity was a display of various sewing items used by homemakers in past years. Vintage clothing, an antique quilt, sewing baskets, older patterns, and pieces of lace and tatting, along with an old Singer sewing machine, were displayed. Elizabeth Daigle read a vintage poem titled Grandma’s Sewing Basket.

During the business meeting, President Cooper recognized Jana Cowgill, a member of the society, as the recipient of the Walter L. Brown Award for the Best Family History Award presented by the Arkansas Historical Association for her article titled “The Tapestry: Hall, Wayland, Skidmore, and Cowgill Families” presented during the 2011 Fall Quarterly Meeting and published in the October, 2011, Izard County Historian publication. Cowgill received one of the ten awards given to county and local journals around the state at a ceremony during the Association’s annual banquet on April 13, 2012, at Fayetteville.

Suzanne Runsick, Chairman of the Projects and Events Committee, announced the Annual Essay Award Winners. Paige Yutsus, a sophomore at Calico Rock High School, and Kaylee Guthrie, an 8th grade student at Izard County Consolidated High School, received certificates, $35 in prize money, and a subscription to the society publication for submitting their essays.

Dr. Brooks Blevins, a Violet Hill native, was the speaker for the program. He is the Noel Boyd Associate Professor of Ozarks Studies at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. He reviewed his latest book titled Ghost of the Ozarks: Murder and Memory in the Upland South, which was released in March by the University of Illinois Press. The book details the 1929 murder of drifter Connie Franklin and the rape of his teenage fiancée in Stone County, Arkansas. The arrest and trial of five men for these crimes brought national attention to Stone County. Blevins recounted the events of the murder investigation and trial when a man claiming to be the murder victim – the “Ghost” of the Ozarks – appeared to testify.

The Hospitality Committee, composed of Suzanne Cook Runsick, Dot Byler Sanders, and Beth Peck Cooper, presented “Fruit of the Vine…and More”, a historic look at fermentation as a food preservation technique and the rise and fall of the Ozark “Moonshine” industry. The committee’s historic research and recipes were included in a complimentary booklet titled “Fruit of The Vine” presented to the members and guests.

The refreshment tables featured grapevine focus with floral arrangements in antique crockery surrounding by display board of vintage photographs. The various arrays of treats, included “spirited” and “non-spirited” goodies, were all homemade by Joan Mabry, Loye Dean Lawrence, Bill and Chieko Johnson, and Delmus and Betty Johnson, the Hosts and Hostesses of the meeting, using vintage recipes.

Held on April 13, 2012, in Fayetteville, the award was presented to Jana Cowgill of Mountain Home, author of “The Tapestry: Hall, Wayland, Skidmore, and Cowgill Families”, which was published in the October, 2011, issue of the Historian. Also present for the presentation of the award was Mary Cooper Miller of Batesville, Editor of the Historian.

Cowgill, who owns the Cowgill Insurance Agency at Mountain Home, is a graduate of Calico Rock High School and the University of Arkansas.

During her research on the Hall family, Jana discovered her ancestor John Hall, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, was a native of King and Queen County, Virginia. In his later years, he moved to Williamson County, Tennessee. His descendants were listed in Izard County, Arkansas, on the 1850 census.

Cowgill received one of the ten awards to county and local journals around the state. These annual awards were presented during the banquet. The theme for the 71st annual conference was “A Divided Arkansas” commemorating the Arkansas Sesquicentennial observance of the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States.