Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Dancing Into History
Eureka stroll introduces community’s characters
The name Irene Castle might not immediately ring any bells, and even fewer people might recognize her as a former resident of Eureka Springs. But that will change after this weekend’s Fourth of July Birthday Stroll.
Castle was a stage name for Irene Foote and her husband, William Vernon Blyth. At the turn of the 20th century, the couple danced their way onto Broadway, hitting the pinnacle of their popularity in 1914 in Irving Berlin’s first smash hit, “Watch Your Step.” They also helped introduce jazz, ragtime and African-American dance music to a new audience, and Irene was a fashion icon.
Vernon died in a plane crash in 1918, and Irene continued to work in vaudeville, Hollywood and on stage for many years. In 1954, she moved with her fourth husband to Destiny Farm in Eureka Springs.
Castle is just one of the characters audiences will meet during the second “Birthday Stroll,” which celebrates the birth of Eureka Springs on July 4, 1879. According to Kent Turner, who is directing the production for the Eureka Springs Historical Museum, other historical figures will include Sue Darby, a teacher; Mother May Magdalene de Pazzi, a nun who helped start the Eureka Springs hospital; and W.O. Perkins, whose lumber mill created much of the gingerbread trim for Eureka’s Victorian-style homes.
“Every year we pick an area of town and walk through,” Turner explains. “There are so many historic buildings and so many notable people, we don’t have to walk very far to stop at a house and re-create a character.”