Last weekend, I finally got the chance to head down to Dyess to visit the Historic Dyess Colony and Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash, which opened to the public last year.
There's has been quite the hubbub about the project for a while now. The notion is that the site can have a major positive impact on the development of heritage tourism in Mississippi County -- some have even uttered the phrase "game-changer" in connection with the project.
So I have been anxious to check it out for myself. To see what it was all about. To learn if the hype was justified.
And let me say, I was generally pleased with my experience.
There are essentially two parts to the Dyess project. The first part is a museum located in the restored Colony Administration Building, located in the middle of town. This museum tells the story of the Dyess Colony, a New Deal initiative of the FDR administration to give Depression-era farmers and their families a second chance at life. One of those families was the Cash family, and one room of the museum tells about how life in Dyess influenced the family's most famous member, music legend Johnny Cash.
The second part of the Dyess experience is a visit to the Cash family home, located down a gravel road a couple of miles from the town center. The Cash home has been immaculately restored to its 1930s condition, with the help of surviving members of the Cash family. Among the furnishings is the actual family piano, which was located and preserved for the project.
As the son of a high school history teacher, I have always enjoyed visiting historic sites, and I certainly appreciated what Dyess had to offer. It's a unique site in that what happened at Dyess wasn't necessarily pivotal in the course of U.S. history. It's not like it was Gettysburg or Independence Hall.
But the restored Dyess Colony tells one story of what life was like for several hundred families during the Great Depression. Walking the halls of the Administration Building, or wandering through the Cash home, you get a sense of how challenging those days were. Most of us are fairly familiar with the Great Depression and the New Deal from what we've read in history books. But a visit to the restored Dyess Colony puts a real human face on that well-known history. It gives you a sense of the soul of those days.
In other words, the Dyess project is as much about heritage as it is about history. Which is fitting because it is designated as an Arkansas State University Heritage Site. The Dyess Colony is one of several heritage sites operated by ASU, others including the Hemmingway-Pfeiffer Museum in Piggott, the Lakeport Plantation in Lake Village and the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum in Tyronza.
There has been some debate about the value of these heritage sites, and questions as to how much impact, especially economic impact, they can bring to the area.
Ultimately, I'm not qualified to fully answer those questions. I can only share my observations.
First, there is no doubt that such sites are valuable. As a society, it's crucial that we remember, and understand, our history. And there's only so much a textbook can tell you. As much as feasible, we need to preserve real places that tell real stories.
Second, I can tell you that these sites are bringing in a steady trickle of visitors. I visited on a Friday morning, and while the place was far from packed, there were several other visitors who were there the same time we were. Perusing the guestbook at the front door, it was readily evident that a small, but steady, flow of visitors makes it to Dyess throughout the week, many from far-off states. One family was even from Denmark. It's not Disney World, but people are coming.
Third, it's clear that heritage tourism is something that numerous travelers are seeking out. Last Friday, it was my dad (visiting from Iowa) and me, taking in the sites. In addition to Dyess, we also visited the remains of the German POW camp outside Bassett, had lunch at the Wilson Cafe and visited the Hampson Archeological Museum. But what was interesting was that we saw some of the same faces at each of our stops, people making similar "heritage tours." One family -- two adults and two kids -- was from New York. They told me they had been visiting family in Little Rock, and were taking time along the way home to see a slice of Americana.
I honestly don't know what kind of economic impact this kind of thing can have on a community. But you would have to be obtuse to not believe there is some. And it makes me wonder ... what is Blytheville doing to cash in on this kind of thing? Are we doing all we can to encourage families from New York and Denmark to add Blytheville to their heritage tour?
Because those families -- and their money -- are out there. And there is plenty of heritage in this community that we could share.
aweld@blythevillecourier.com