Looking Back 10 Years Ago: Thompson family takes d-tour for Down Syndrome
50 Years Ago From the Herald and Democrat in 1967
Kenneth Lynch, local artist, received the Best of Show award in the watercolor division at the 10th Annual Arkansas State Festival of Arts in Little Rock. The award Lynch received was $200 and invitations to exhibit at the Fifth Invitational Exhibition during the 11th Annual Arkansas State Festival of Arts, April 28-May 1, 1968; to have a one-man show at the Painted Portrait Gallery in Chicago; and to have a oneman show at the Arkansas Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock.
Lynch’s “Peach Blossoms and Old Farm,” at the time, was hanging at the East Second Library in Tulsa, Okla., in a two-man show sponsored by the Artists Guild and was featured in the Tulsa World Sunday.
30 Years Ago From the Herald-Democrat in 1987
Matt Pearson of Siloam Springs won the 6th annual Dogwood 10K Run, easily outdistancing Ray Bennett of Cabot, Ark., by over two minutes. Pearson, who won the 1983 Dogwood 10K, became the first two-time male winner of the Dogwood 10K. He finished the 6.2 mile course in 32:28.
Betty Johnson of Siloam Springs won the women’s division with a time of 47:04, beating Beth Crane of Bentonville by over a minute. Marilyn Jackson of Siloam Springs finished third with a 48:56.
Rodney Mabry of Springdale won the fun run in 7:50, beating Siloam Springs Panther cross country runner Todd Simmons, who turned in a 8:15. Another Panther harrier, John Ryan, was third in 8:16. Lady Panther trackster Lucinda Thomas was the female winner in 9:15.
10 Years Ago From the Herald-Leader in 2007
A Siloam Springs family of eight children and two adults planned to ride 1,300 miles on bicycles to increase awareness of Down syndrome and raise money for Down Syndrome Connection of Northwest Arkansas.
The Thompson family called the 16-day journey “d-tour,” and it would take all of them from Fayetteville to the Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville, Fla.
Kathy Thompson, president of Down Syndrome Connection of Northwest Arkansas, and her husband, Toby, wanted to raise awareness for the group that supports families who have someone with Down syndrome.
Their 11-year-old son, Jon, was born with the genetic condition and they wanted to show that he is not so different from anyone else.
The family planned to leave at 8 a.m. May 12 from the parking lot of the Walton Arts Center for the journey that would be completed on Memorial Day.
Kathy and her oldest daughter planned to drive the support vehicles and Toby, who ran in the Boston Marathon the previous year, would ride the entire trip on a bicycle.
Tax-deductible donations could be made to Down Syndrome Connection of Northwest Arkansas.