Come walk with me
Borrowing from a favorite poem, “Come Walk With Me,” by Charles Clevenger, let us take a slow stroll. This walk will take us through only a few of Bauxite’s close communities that make up what we now call Bauxite. It will take a few minutes to complete our walk.
Come take a walk with Me
Before your life has passed.
There are beautiful things to see and do So we must not walk too fast.
We will start in the southeast corner of Saline County in a small community called Tull. On the third Sunday in May each year, folks who call Tull home and friends from across the country gather at Ebenezer United Methodist Church for Old Folks Singing. This annual event was started at this same location in May 1885 and has continued for 137 years.
During the opening program of Old Folks Singing, there will be a sincere welcome to the singing of old hymns and reports of what has happened since the last gathering. It is the start of a full day of celebration in Tull. Always a favorite song is “Angel Band” and “1-2-3-4-5-6” to put a grin on everyone’s face.
Old hymns from The Christian Harmony songbook and The Cokesbury Hymnal vibrate off the church walls until a break at noon for dinner on the ground and a slow stroll through the adjacent Ebenezer Cemetery.
After a break for lunch, attendees gather again in the church for more singing. Special solos and guest song leaders have their choice of which old song will entertain and make a joyful noise while at the same time bring back fond memories of home.
Walks through Ebenezer Cemetery are made to review the gravesites and share special memories of those who have been laid to rest there. It all ends after hours of one more special day for the ever busy Tull community.
The Tull School District consolidated with Bauxite School District in 1949 and has made numerous contributions to Bauxite with outstanding talented students that helped put Bauxite on the map.
Come walk along with Me;
We will share so many things.
There are paths that need exploring, Where your spirit can soar on wings.
Another special small community closely knit with Bauxite is Mt. Olive. As one old timer wrote about Mt. Olive on an unsigned page, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Mt. Olive is an unforgettable Saline County community that flourished during the poverty of the Great Depression, only to succumb to the prosperity of the recovery.”
In one journal, it was written that Mt. Olive had a large school district with the consolidation of the Reed, Mars Hill and Salley Schools that were scattered throughout the community. It was one of the first districts in Saline County to run a bus route to transport school children.
This thriving community at one time also had a cider mill, grist mills, sawmills, sorghum mills and rich community family life centered around the school and church. Mt. Olive was a place where people gathered, especially on Saturday night, for special entertainment called “play parties.”
Word would spread quickly through the community of a party location. Transportation was usually by horseback or wagon, and walking was always an option. Names of some of the games at play parties were “Chase the Buffalo,” “Four in the Middle,” and “Swing ’em on the Corner.”
Some of the local romances were started at these parties. If a boy chose the same girl as his partner for each game and she consented, she would most likely let him walk her home after the party, and the romance was kindled.
Overheard at a Bauxite Reunion a few years ago, I recorded a story of a man named Harold who lived in Mt. Olive. Harold said back in his younger days when he went anywhere, he had to walk or go by wagon pulled by an old mule.
One Saturday night, Harold’s friend named John stopped by his house and asked Harold if he wanted to go to the singing at a local church. They boarded John’s mule-drawn wagon and headed for the Saturday night entertainment.
After being at the singing for a a couple of hours, Harold and John decided it was time to leave. As they approached their mode of transportation, they discovered that someone had painted the old mule green.
Mad and ready to get even, Harold and John stormed back inside the church and got the preacher to stop the singing. John then loudly demanded to know who painted his mule green.
From the back of the church, a six-foot-six, 250 pound, burley gentleman stepped forward with his arms folded across his massive chest and said, “I did. What are you going to do about it?”
After quick observation and without hesitation, John replied with a weak smile, “I just wanted to let you know that the first coat has dried and the mule is ready for the second coat.”
The beauty of life is precious,
A gift to be cherished each day. So as you stroll along with Me,
Enjoy the treasures along the way.
In addition to Tull and Mt. Olive, Shaw is another local community that is closely connected with Bauxite and has contributed much to keeping the Bauxite School District alive. Shaw received its name from its first settlers, the Hiram M. Shaw family.
Shaw Schools have had a tremendous influence on the area for many years. Most community activities and entertainment centered around the school and local churches. Shaw School District consisted of three schools, Shaw School, Cedar Grove School, aka, Rucker School, and Pleasant Hill School. The school district reached its peak enrollment in the 1930’’s. Shaw School District consolidated with Bauxite School District in 1949.
If you come and walk with Me,
Through the pages of your mind,
You’ll take away nothing but memories, And leave only your footprints behind.
There are several other small communities that existed before, during and after the company-owned town of Bauxite was established by Alcoa in 1906. Bauxite can boast along with any big city of its nationally famous football star, internationally known opera star, plus a Pulitzer Prize nominee, and many other well-known names who have helped keep Bauxite on the map and thriving.
As of July 1,1969, Bauxite was no longer company-owned and maintained by Alcoa. Three years later, on June 29, 1972, residents of a small community at one time called Swamp Poodle signed and filed a petition in the County Court of Saline County, Arkansas, in the Matter of the Incorporation of the Town of Bauxite .
The petition was granted by the Court of Saline County and on February 13, 1973, the incorporated Town of Bauxite elected its first mayor, Aulton Earl Perryman, City Clerk Charles Patrick, Aldermen Earnest V. Wiley, James Mcclain, Carl W. Holiman, Buddy Barlow and Clay Camp, Jr., the first local governing team controlling Bauxite City Hall.
Bauxite School District remains one of the best in the State of Arkansas and excels in all levels of education and extracurricular activities sponsored by the school. Each year, a variety of superior talents emerge from the expanded Bauxite School District and all of them keep a special bond with Bauxite - “Once a Miner, always a Miner.”
As usual, these are Miner Memories and some of them are not so minor.