GCHS to present two-part program

The Garland County Historical Society will present a twopart program at noon Tuesday at the Garland County Library. The public is welcome.

Jerry Butler will make a presentation about the underground aqueduct that carries Hot Springs Creek beneath downtown Hot Springs. Titled “A River Runs Beneath It,” the program is an outgrowth of his reading and research on the historic tunnel and of a recent trek he made through the

2 miles of underground waterway with Henderson University senior Evan Smedley. Half of the program will deal with the construction of the tunnel in

1800s, and the other half will deal with the condition of the Hot Springs Creek Tunnel as it is today. The program uses photos from the Garland County Historical Society archives and recent images taken inside the waterway.

Butler retired from college teaching and administration as Emeritus Professor of Communication at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. A native Arkansan, he dropped out of Little Rock Central High School in the aftermath of the integration crisis of 1957. Nevertheless, he went on to earn a Ph.D. at Southern Illinois University. He has worked as a teacher, small business operator, electrician, coal miner, cabinet maker and an consultant to engineering firms on topics related to birds. He has authored three books and more than 50 articles in newspapers and magazines related to outdoor-adventure, environmental issues and travel, but is perhaps best known for his writing on birds.

The other section of the GCHS program will pay tribute to the late Bobbie Jones McLane. In 1960, she helped organize and was a charter member of the society. She served as treasurer, co-editor of its journal, The Record, and executive director for decades. She was instrumental in the society’s acquisition of its archive building on Quapaw Avenue in 1999.

“We know how pleased Bobbie would be with our current building expansion. We want to take a moment to pay tribute to someone who did so much to bring us to where we are today,” said Executive Director Liz Robbins in the press release.

Submitted photo TUNNEL HISTORY: Workmen construct the Hot Springs Creek Tunnel, also called “Hamblen’s Arch,” in 1883-1884. This photo looks north across present-day Reserve Street. Jerry Butler will tell the story of the historic tunnel at the noon Tuesday meeting of...

Submitted photo TRIBUTE: The Garland County Historical Society will pay tribute to the late Bobbie Jones McLane at Tuesday meeting. Shown at the historical society’s archives building in 1999, Jones was a charter member and longtime executive director of the society.