Mike had multiple business phone calls yesterday, we did not have time to see several things we wanted to see. So we decided to stay another day in Little Rock. We had not had a chance to see the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Capitol or the Central Little Rock High School.
First up was the museum. We thought it would repeat what we had already seen - of the rural early days. But this was more middle class 18th Century.
This was a Grog Shop. Actually as I questioned the docent, it was a wayside inn. The bar below had tables where people could order food as well as booze. Upstairs were a couple of rooms you could rent.
Spanish silver coins - could be cut into pieces of eight to pay for something.
Here is a sample of a scale that the bar tender used to way the silver.
Bar keeper supplies.
The inn keeper would put interesting things on the walls to intrigue people. Alligators always worked.
The outside of the Grog Shop.
Inside one of the rooms was this Nanny's rocker. The enclosed part was for the baby. The nanny sat next to the baby and had her hands free to work on something as she kept watch over the baby.
One of the rooms rented was usually rented by a painter. The display was of paint supplies from the period.
If you had very little money, you could sleep in the "long room". Three people to a bed. Imagine getting there late and finding the only spot left was in the middle!
A home for a more well to do family.
A well on the property.
Could you imagine washing your clothes with this?
More rooms in family homes. Note the rotiserie in the lower center of the photo. The open section in the back would be set close to the fire in the fireplace.
I don't remember the complete story, but the gun below was used in a war of the period.
On to the publishers shop.
The editors office. Yes - he had a gun.
In this particular establishment - the presses were upstairs. Two apprentices slept up here and did the manual labor. The editor wrote all the articles for the 4 page newspaper and laid it out. Then the apprentices did the rest.
The words of the paper all laid out.
The devils tail - not quite sure how it worked, but love the name.
all the type sets are here.
Then on to the actual museum. We went to the native American section. So much information. We plaid $1.50 each to see all this information. I did not take a lot of photos. There were a lot more exhibits, but we were running out of time and energy.
Then on to the current Capitol of Arkansas.
The seal is projected onto the floor. Fun to see people walk through it - or carefully walk around it!
The Senate - from the gallery.
The ceiling of the Senate chamber.
Love this sign. How many people are actually going to exercise here?
Our last stop of the day was at the Little Rock Central High School. Tuesday we attended a Rotary meeting at the President Clinton Library. The speaker was the current Principal of Central High School. She talked about all the changes at the high school. She was been principal for something like 17 years. She talked about how she was trying to make the Little Rock Nine be a prominent part of the history of the school and how she wanted it to be a safe for the students. She also presented a lot of information about the diversity of the school and the number of graduates, as well as how many go on to college. But she also emphasized that not all students need to go to college. Some who go to technical school end up making more than college graduates. She was just as proud of that.
The school looks very well maintained. The money must be coming from somewhere!
Then we drove several hours to get to Fayettesville, AR. Our next adventure will be into the Ozarks
