Author, JP to speak to Republican Party

Jimmy Young, the author of the book about growing up in Hot Springs called the “The Cigar Box Men,” will be the main speaker at the Republican Party of Garland County Thursday.

Young, a Republican who is the District 4 Justice of the Peace, will speak following the monthly meeting of the Republican Party of Garland County at the Family Center of the First Church of the Nazarene, 3804 Central Ave. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

Young was born in Hot Springs and is a sixth generation native with family roots dating back to the pre-statehood 1820s. Young’s great-great-great grandfather, Thomas Young, was among the first settlers in what is now Arkansas and Garland County.

Young wrote “The Cigar Box Men” based on the history of his family. The book includes entertaining stories on how Young grew up in Hot Springs at the end of the illegal gambling era in 1967.

The title comes from the use of cigar boxes by his family and others to hold cash, pawned jewels, bookmaking markers and firearms. The cigar boxes were always present on car seats, kitchen tables or behind the bars at most gambling and bookie joints.

According to the release, there were colorful members of Young’s family on both sides of the law, including the first duly elected county assessor, C.T. Gleen, who served two terms from 1874 to 1878. And his great grandfather Patsy “P.J.” Dugan who served as a member of Hot Springs’ first city board.

Young will tell a story of his family and about election corruption across the decades in Hot Springs and Garland County. He will also show a historical slide presentation chronicling how a “Wild West” town was civilized by people seeking better government.

Young is the owner of Young’s Lakeshore RV Resort, 1601 Lakeshore Drive. He is serving a second term on the Garland County Quorum Court. This presentation was originally scheduled for the May meeting, but was cancelled because of technical problems.