The Case for Possum Pie.

Awesome Possum Pie at Front Porch Diner in Springdale.

I have been on a quest over this past year -- to discover the best pie in the state of Arkansas.  Turns out, there’s no really good way to determine this.  Our pies are as varied and unusual as our crops.  You can’t compare a grain of rice to a watermelon, and you can’t really compare a fried pie to a meringue pie.

But you can bring together a list of pies that contain all those tasty items, as I have done for the Arkansas Times.  The list contains five fried pies, over a dozen meringue pies and seven of the best possum pies I’ve found anywhere.

Sweet Treats in Lamar adds a vanilla pudding layer on top.

And it’s about this possum pie I want to speak.  See, it’s everywhere… and how we do it here in Arkansas is different from how it’s done elsewhere.  Elsewhere it can be any sort of white topping that obscures a layer of, well, anything -- peaches, pecans, apples, you name it.

In Arkansas, the Possum Pie consists of three layers -- a cream cheese layer (sometimes substituted with a sour cream or vanilla pudding instead), a chocolate custard layer and a whipped topping layer.  Most places serve theirs up on a pecan sandy crust -- ie, an unsweetened flour crust dotted with pecans.  Many scatter pecans over the top of their pies.

It’s served up in so many restaurants but is more prevalent in said restaurants in western Arkansas.  For those who are interested in making their own, here’s an easy recipe for two pies.  Yes, you’ll want two.

Stoby's classic Possum Pie.

Possum Pie (1 or 2 pies)

1 ½ stick butter
2 cups crushed pecans, separated
2 cups flour
1-8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
12 ounces Cool Whip, divided
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 box milk chocolate instant pudding
1 box chocolate fudge instant pudding
3 cups milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut butter into flour to make crumbly pastry dough.  Add 1 cup crushed pecans.  Press into two 8 or 9 inch pie pans or one 13"x9" casserole.  Bake 15 minutes or until flour starts to brown.  Remove and cool.

Cream together cream cheese and confectioners sugar.  Add six ounces of Cool Whip and beat until fluffy.  Spread over bottom of both pies.

Blend together both pudding mixes with milk.  Pour in on top of the cream cheese mixture and allow to set.

Spread remaining Cool Whip over the top of both pies and sprinkle with pecans.  Serves 16, if you’re lucky.

Barr's Junction's Chocolate Torte contains the same ingredients.

The pies can be frozen, though I recommend if you do so freeze them before you put on the Cool Whip and dot it on later.  Just looks better.

One more thing.  There is a case that can be made for the Possum Pie to become the state pie of Arkansas.  We have a state dirt, a state grape wine, a state bird, a state slogan -- why not create the Possum Pie as our state pie?  Comments welcome.

A curry and a spring roll at Green Papaya.

There are lots of restaurants on the main drags in Fort Smith — on Rogers Avenue, on Zero and over on Phoenix. There are also many restaurants off those drives that, if you’re not from around town, you’re likely to miss.

One of those is a great little Vietnamese restaurant called Green Papaya. It’s serving up more than just pho in a tight little restaurant catty-corner from Bob & Ellie’s.

Pieday: Chocolate Torte at Barr's Junction.

Sometimes the best things are found at the most simple of places. This chocolate torte was discovered by chance at a little convenience store-grocery-hardware store between Prescott and Magnolia, just because I needed a road break.

Went in to use the facilities. Came out and was told I needed to check with the lady behind the counter. It was after 3 p.m. and she'd already sold out of her other two pies of the day — but would I like a piece of chocolate torte? Well, of course I was.

And what was this chocolate torte? Let me tell you what... it was almost exactly what I have encountered elsewhere in the state as Possum [ie, the casserole pan version. Pecan sandy crust, a nice thick layer of slightly soured cream cheese, a thick chocolate custard and whipped cream on the top. The only thing it lacked from the traditional Possum pie was the sprinkling of pecans on the top.

It was fluffy, too, and that was splendid. It was eaten quickly with relish (I mean, I relished it, not that I put any relish on it) and remembered fondly. And it was found at a little spot in the road called Barr's Junction, the only store in the entire little community of Rosston. There you go.

Barr's Junction
6683 Highway 278
Rosston, AR
(870) 871-2426.
Sun.-Thu. 6 a.m.-7 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 6 a.m.-9 p.m. CC, no alcohol.

Do Up Your Deer.

November is apparently the best month for me to share recipes, and on the request of KARN’s Dave Elswick I’d like to share some of the recipes I’ve used with venison.  They’re a little off the beaten path, but they do offer a different take on the animal -- and after all, if you take a deer, you’ll have quite a lot to deal with.  At Dave's request, I'm also including recipes called in by listeners.

I love this recipe for Venison Stew.  It combines deer meat with red wine for a nice, deep flavor best served when the weather is cold.  It also has mushrooms, which I love.

2 pounds cubed deer meat
1 pound mushrooms (any sort), sliced
1 cup red wine
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet French onion soup mix.

In a cast iron casserole or Dutch oven, sear the venison cubes.  Add the mushrooms.  Mix the remaining items and add them to the casserole.  Set in the oven at 250 degrees and allow to cook for four or more hours until the venison cubes fall apart.  Can also be made in a Crock-Pot, just sear your venison first.


Venison Philly Cheesesteaks
For this one, you want a meat slicer and a nearly frozen deer roast -- or when you get your deer butchered, ask that your deer roast be sliced wafer thin.  You’re looking for cross-section slices no more than ¼ inch thick.

1 pound wafer-thin venison roast cutlets
2 bell peppers, seeded and sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, smashed
Salt and pepper to taste
Bread of choice (6 inch hoagies work well)
Provolone cheese slices

Slice open hoagie rolls or spread appropriate bread.  Lay Provolone over the inside surface.

Bring skillet to medium high heat.  Saute peppers, onions and garlic until onion is translucent.  Add venison and Worchestershire sauce.  Cook for one to two minutes or until cutlets are cooked through but still moist.  Add salt and/or pepper if you like.  Remove from heat but do not drain.  With tongs, drop meat and vegetables into rolls on top of cheese.  Serves 2-4, depending on how hungry you are.

I talked about cooking venison in a medieval fashion on the show.  Here's a great recipe on the Gode Cookery website for Venyson in Broth, or more properly Venison Ribs in Wine.

John Philpot called in with this great venison recipe.  He and Phyllis Speer hosted "Arkansas Outdoors" on AETN for 20 years, and they always had great things to share and eat.  John says this is the most requested venison recipe they had.


Grilled Chili Crusted Venison Steak

1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
One venison steak, one to three and a half pounds, 1 ½ to 2 inches thick

Trim any fat off the meat and rub the mixture onto both sides of the steak.  Place it in a shallow glass pan and cover it tightly with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate it at least overnight.  It's better if you give it a full day -- and 36 hours is still all right.  Every 12 hours, turn the steak over.

Get a charcoal fire burning, and once the coals are covered with ash put that steak on the grill six inches from the heat.  Flip it once while it's cooking.  Give it 25 minutes for rare or 30 for medium.  Slice it up and serve it.

John says you can slice it with a fork.

Not a deer recipe, but John also gave this recipe for Mexican Eggs.

A pound of sausage
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 can Rotel
salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs
1 eight ounce package grated cheddar cheese

Crumble the sausage in skillet, brown it and drain it.  Add the onion, pepper, garlic and cumin and cook until the onions are soft.  Add Rotel and, if you like, salt and pepper and cook it all together.

With a large wooden spoon, make four little wells in the mix.  Break an egg into each well.  Cover tightly with a lid and cook until the egg is firm.  Sprinkle the cheese over the whole mess and let it cook until the cheese is melted.  Makes four servings.

John says Phyllis would crack the eggs in gently so they'd cook up where the yolks were still whole and runny -- but you can beat the eggs first if you wish.

One of our listeners, Fred, told us about a breakfast treatment for tough deer meat.  Take cubed up meat and throw it in a crockpot with garlic, black pepper, onion and white gravy.  Let it simmer all night long and serve it up the next morning over biscuits.

It's similar to what parts of my family has been doing for years for breakfast...

Skillet Fried Deer


1 pound deer minute steaks (1/2 inch thick)
2 cups + 1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 stick + 1 stick butter

Heat skillet to medium high.  Drop in a stick of butter to coat the bottom.

Get yourself a meat mallet and pound the holy fire out of the deer steaks until they are less than a quarter inch thick.  Sift together flour, salt and pepper.  Dredge deer steaks in flour.  Drop steaks into the browning butter and cook for a minute on each side or until golden on each side.  Remove steaks.

Add second stick of butter.  Whisk in remaining flour and continue to whisk until roux becomes the color of chocolate milk.  Serve over biscuits or grits.

Listener James called in with a different recipe -- for duck rather than venison.  Sounds good, too.

Stuffed Duck Breasts

2 duck breasts, butterflied
2 cups soy sauce
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 cup Worchestershire sauce
Cream cheese
Sliced jalapeno pepper
Bacon

Take duck breasts and butterfly them.  Marinate them overnight in a combination of the soy sauce, Worchestershire sauce and vinegar.  Next day tuck cream cheese and jalapeno slices inside, fold over and wrap in bacon.  Cook to medium heat.

Alas, I didn't get the name of our last caller, but he gave us these instructions for Venison Tenderloin.

6 inches of venison tenderloin
Marinade of your choice (Cajun marinade prefered)
1 stalk celery, cut into sections
1 carrot, cut into sections

Pierce the tenderloin with a knife.  Slide pieces of carrot and celery at intervals into the tenderloin.  Add marinade, wrap tightly and marinate overnight. Bake in aluminum foil for three hours at 350 degrees.

And then there was the contribution from Grav Weldon, who has become pesce-vegetarian but who still loves to hunt.  He referred me to this recipe for Venison Shepherd's Pie.

Have a venison recipe you'd like to share?  Add it to the comments!

The Mecca.

Mack’s Prairie Wings isn’t just another sporting goods store.  It’s a destination for duck hunters across the country.

When you go to Wings Over The Prairie, you may hit a traffic jam in the vicinity of the intersection of Highways 165 and 63.  People will pull off on the shoulder and leave their cars to walk half a mile or more… because there just isn’t any free parking anywhere near Mack’s Prairie Wings the weekend of Thanksgiving.

This sporting goods store has become a destination, the must-go place for duck hunters across Arkansas and across the country to gear up and get gone before hitting the swamps and fields for duck season.  It’s geared especially for the duck hunter, with everything from waders to duck calls to duck blinds and insulated oversuits to keep you warm.

Mack’s Prairie Wings is the vision of the McCollum family.  Back in the ‘30s, M.T. “Mack” McCollum had a hardware store in Stuttgart.  About that time folks started to come to Stuttgart en masse for the bountiful duck hunting they’d heard about.  McCollum found he had a lot more business for guns and whathaveyou than he did for his hardware, so in 1944 he opened a duck hunting store called “Mack’s Sports Shop” right next door to the hardware store.

In 1970 the McCollums moved out to Highway 79, and in 1993 that’s where “Mack’s Prairie Wings,” the mail order business, was born.  It grew and even more people started to make the pilgrimage to Stuttgart to visit.  In 2000 the operation moved to its current location on Highway 63 into a 50,000sf facility -- and that’s kept growing, too.  Today the whole shebang is more than 104,00sf and packed top to bottom with anything a duck hunter might need.

And I’m not just talking about hunting.  On my recent visit I walked in under the giant elephant head inside the front door and past cougars, bobcats, coyotes and all manners of ducks to explore the place.  The center, of course, is one of the best gun shops you’ll find in the United States, with actual gunsmiths and armory experts on-hand to make sure you get what you need.  To the left is everything you might ever need to gear up for going out to duck hunt -- waders, coveralls, headgear, socks and of course duck call after duck call.

The fun stuff is on the right hand side of the store.  I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that this is where Stuttgart teenagers get decked out for

their Wings Over The Prairie socializing -- with all manners of designer jeans, coats and knee high boots in evidence.  There are several aisles of T-shirts, belts and accessories.  And then there’s that one special department -- you know, the one with home furnishing such as camouflage couches, the best knives for filleting your duck, salsa and sweet jalapenos in jars and camouflage lingerie.

The variety and good humor makes Mack’s Prairie Wings just about the best place you can go to shop for your family and friends who believe duck hunting is more than just a hobby.

Mack’s Prairie Wings
2335 Highway 63 North
Stuttgart, AR 72160
(870) 673-6960
www.mackspw.com

A Bowl Of Chili, A Slice Of Pie And Thou at Sweet Treats in Lamar.

I’ve searched out a lot of places on my own for my pie quest, but this one came to me via Rex Nelson and his Southern Fried Blog. He mentioned this little place by Lamar that served up a great plate lunch and an excellent piece of pie.

But my timing has been horrible. I have literally missed out on lunch at Sweet Treats more than a dozen times. I always mean to stop by on my way up to covering stories in western and northwestern Arkansas, but I can never seem to make that 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday window. That is, until this week.

Now, I was hungry, and I was a bit surprised to find that there’s just one lunch special each day. And on this particular Wednesday that special was pork roast with scalloped potatoes, corn, roll and a drink. Okay, so I wasn’t going to be having the lunch special… which was a

shame, since it was cheap at just $5.45 (there’s even a half size portion for a dollar less). So, what to eat?

The rest of the menu is simple… a sandwich special for $4.25 with chips, a hot sandwich special for 50 cents more — both of which include a choice of turkey, ham or bologna. There’s a Frito chili pie and a chef’s salad.

It was cold. I wanted chili, so I ordered it — $3.75 with cheese ($3 with no cheese) and saltine crackers. For that I got a big bowl of chili packed with tomatoes and ground beef, a cumin and chili powder base that would be competition worthy. It was fantastic with saltines and rather filling, too.

But I had come for pie, and I went for the Caramel Pecan pie. It was interesting — there was a Pecan pie listed, too. The difference? Well, it wasn’t very evident when it first came out. It looked similar to so many pecan pies I’ve had here and there — made in an obviously hand-rolled blind baked flour crust and topped with pecans. One bite later and I knew differently. It was as if a pecan pie and a burnt sugar pie had mated and created offspring, praline-like flavor in a sugary cream. It was a quiet masterpiece.

At just $1.75 a slice, I figured it was no sweat off my back to take one to go. I went for the Possum Pie, and was delighted to find not only a tasty pie but one that had a little difference from other pies of the Possum variety. Once again, this pie was in a hand-rolled blind baked flour crust (as opposed to the popular pecan sandy version of the dish). Bottom to top it went whipped cream, chocolate custard, vanilla custard, whipped cream and pecans… a fine example and tasty, too. The flour crust gave the pie just enough salt to bring out the sweet flavors nicely.

Thing is, if you don’t know it’s there and you aren’t specifically heading to Lamar, you probably would never drop in on Sweet Treats. It’s on the inside of a curve in downtown Lamar, right on Highway 64 in a very unassuming building. But it’s worth a stop-in if you

are in the area. It’s only open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., so plan accordingly. (479) 647-0133.

UPDATE:  My friend Kerry Kraus and I dropped in at Sweet Treats in March 2014, to grab a lunch on our way back to Little Rock.  Check out her review here.

Everyone Has A Cornbread Recipe.

With the Arkansas Cornbread Festival coming up, I thought I might share two of my favorite cornbread recipes.  This first one is the closest thing I have to a Heritage recipe.  Great with PurpleHull Peas and a little iced tea.

Arkansaw Cornbread

2 cups War Eagle Mill White Cornmeal
2 cups War Eagle Mill unbleached all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon honey, preferably local
2 eggs
4 cups buttermilk
1 cup butter, melted
Vegetable oil

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Blend together dry ingredients with a fork (or sift if you prefer) in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, beat eggs and add honey, buttermilk and melted butter.  Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Let sit five minutes.

While the batter is sitting, heat up a 12 inch skillet on the stovetop.  When it’s hot, pour in about an eighth of a cup of vegetable oil and roll it around the inside of the skillet.  Pour in the batter and cook over high heat until the batter bubbles.

Place in oven and let cook 40-45 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.  Place a cloth over a cutting board.  Invert the pan over the cutting board and allow cornbread to fall out.  Use the cloth to turn the cornbread right side up and wrap tightly until ready to serve, warm.


And for something a little different, this is a soft spoon bread type cornbread, almost a pudding bread, that serves up well with stews or chili.  Add jalapeno pieces and a slug of garlic cayenne sauce if you want it spicy.

Sour Cream Cornbread


2 cups War Eagle Mill White Cornmeal
2 cups War Eagle Mill unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
2 eggs
2 cups sour cream
1 can creamed corn
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup Cheddar cheese
Vegetable oil

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, blend together dry ingredients with a fork.  In a separate bowl, beat eggs and add melted butter, sour cream and creamed corn.  Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

While the batter is sitting, heat a 12 inch cast iron skillet on the stovetop.  When it’s hot, pour in about an eighth of a cup of vegetable oil and roll it around the inside of the skillet.  Pour in half the batter, spread the cheese over it and pour over the rest of the batter.

Place in oven and let cook 40-45 minutes or until the cornbread is completely set.  Serve directly from the pan.

Burger Joint of the Week: Johnny B's.

A single ingredient can sometimes elevate a good burger to a great burger. That’s the case with the amazingly sweet yellow onions you’ll find on the signature burger at the El Dorado mainstay.

Hey Light! A childhood encounter with the Gurdon Light.

I have very vague memories of the light myself.  Honestly, I still couldn’t tell you if I’m remembering something that actually happened to me or if it was told to me and I just remember the tale.  I hope you enjoy it.

The boys were excited -- uncles and cousins of mine, all whooping it up out on the back side of the house.  There was a spur of excitement going through the tight little pod of young men hanging out on the carport.

One of them came in the house and strode past with big steps, crossing the dining area and swiping the phone handset off its cradle in one long swoop.  He spun the dial five times and paused, then started talking rapidly into the phone.  There was laughing around.

“Hey!  Yeah, we’re taking the kids out to see it.  How about your bunch?”  He paused again, listening as I stood by the bar, peering up at him.  “Well, if you want to send the boys that’s fine.  The girls will be too scared.”

“I’m not scared,” I piped up.

“We won’t be out too late, but there are ticks out there.”

“I’m not scared at all,” I told him.

He looked down at me and kept talking.  “We’re about to head out.  Send them over.”  The phone handset went back down on the cradle and he bent over.  “You’re too young.”

“I’m not scared of anything!”  I insisted.  He took off back towards the carport, and after a moment I decided to follow him.  I must have been just five or six, but I was certain I was ten feet tall and bulletproof.

The trucks were being loaded up.  One of my cousins, still a teenager, saw me coming out and picked me up, setting me in the back of the truck.  They were all yammering on but I wasn’t paying much attention.

One of the guys wasn’t a relation but a friend of one of my cousins.  I knew his name was Marcus.  He had dark hair that swept over his eyes, and he had assumed a perch sitting on the wheel well.  “Y’all know the story, don’t you?”

Some of the boys nodded.  I nodded too, though I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.  Marcus continued anyway for the benefit of those who had shaken their heads.

“There was a lineman named Will McClain.  He worked on the MoPac line back in the thirties.  He got in a fight with one of his guys, a fellow named Louis McBride.  Fella beat him to death with a rail spike.  We’re gonna go see his ghost!”

I shivered, but I didn’t want the boys to tell I was afraid so I didn’t say anything.  Several of them yelled their approval, and two of them climbed back over the side of the truck to go hunt up a few more flashlights.  I checked to make sure my little Snoopy flashlight was working and tucked my legs up under my arms.

I heard my grandmother come out and call my name, but I didn’t answer because I knew she’d make me come back in the house.  It was getting on full dark and I didn’t want to wuss out.  I saw her go back in and walk past a few windows.  She was probably looking for me.

One of the cousins was passing a quart size glass Coke bottle around.  I reached out and grabbed it and took a sip of the hot Coca-Cola when it passed, just like the boys.  It went on, and I heard one of the uncles holler at Marcus -- “now don’t you throw that down, you drink that and put it on the carport.  There’s a deposit.”

The other truck started, and I crouched down even further, afraid my grandmother would come pull me out of the truck before we left.  Then the truck I was in started up too, and we were crunching down the gravel and out to the highway.

It was cold and quiet now.  The older cousins had migrated to the other truck for the most part, and I was sitting with a bunch of pre-teen boys hunched down against the stinging cold wind.  There wasn’t much point in talking, since the wind just whipped our voices away.

We drove through town, over the big set of railroad tracks through town then out onto Highway 67.  We made another turn on Stickey Road and drove until we got right by the interstate.  The trucks were parked end to end along the side of the road and we all piled out.

I paused for a moment, looking up at the interstate bridges overhead and wondering what sort of trouble I was going to get into.  There were already some of the older guys with their big Coleman flashlights walking east up the tracks, and they just kept pushing on.  No one argued the wisdom.  No one wanted to show they were yellow.

I turned on my little Snoopy flashlight and was bothered by how little it actually lit.  I decided my best bet was to stay in the middle of the tracks, and maybe I’d hear well enough to get off the tracks if a train came.  I couldn’t see much more than two or three feet in front of me with the little light and I kept it angled towards the ground.  There was some light cast ahead of me by the couple of guys behind on the tracks, and way ahead were the dancing lights from the big Coleman flashlights.

I could hear the older boys talking ahead of me, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying.  The screech of frogs and crickets was almost overwhelming, at first accompanied by the sound of passing cars on the interstate behind us.  The latter died out in favor of croaking and the occasional deep woods owl as we progressed further down the line.

The noise ahead changed as the guys reached the first trestle, the hollow thump of their shoes on the wooden crossties denoting the location.  I was extra careful on the ties, fearing I’d fall in the ditch below.  I wasn’t really worried about being hurt, I was more afraid of the embarrassment of falling in the mud.  If I was going to be as smart and strong as the boys I had to keep on going.

We weren’t far past the trestle when one of the guys hollered “Whoa!”  He clicked off his light and we all followed suit, standing as quietly as we all could in the sliver of crescent moonlight along the train tracks.  We listened, hearing a little rustling that could have been us or the wind or any sort of passing animal.  And then, someone hollered

“HEY LIGHT!”

… words that about knocked me out of my skin.  I bit down on my tongue to keep from crying out.  I was suddenly very scared.

But there was nothing.  We all looked around, then different male voices from around the track started chiming in.  “Nothing.”  “I didn’t see it.”  “Naw.”

“Nothing,” I chimed in.

“Who is that?” one of the guys asked, but no one answered.  I figured I was already in big enough trouble and started back towards wherever we were going, snapping on my light and angling it at the ground.

“What light is it, Marcus?”  one of the guys behind me asked.

“It’s supposed to be Will McClain’s lantern you see, but I think it’s his head.  Don’t ghosts glow?”

Another voice piped up “how far along is it supposed to be?”

“It could be about anywhere,” he replied.  “We gotta keep going.”

And on we went.  Two more times we paused, cut our lights and waited for some sort of light to appear.  It was a long trek.  My tennis shoes were starting to get damp inside and mosquitoes kept buzzing my head.  I saw the Coleman flashlights suddenly aim up -- seems we’d reached Highway 53 and had gone past where we were supposed to see the light.

And they all turned back, a few of the uncles heading past hurriedly, talking betwixt themselves about which trestle it was past.  We headed back down along a low incline hill a bit.  This time we were quicker, and I was nearly running to keep up.

And then I tripped.  My flashlight landed on the tracks and then fell over the side of the embankment.  My knee hurt from scraping the gravel between the cross ties.  I tried not to whimper.

Right about that time another halt was called.  The lights went out -- all but my little Snoopy flashlight, which was just out of my reach.  I crawled forward and finally got over to it, clicking it off just as one of the guys hollered “hey, there it is!  See it?”

“What?  Was that it?”

At first, I thought they were talking about my light, but then it was followed by “no, there it is!”

“Where?”

“Ahead!  See it bob?”

“Hey, Light!”  two of them hollered.  I tried to tell whether I could see a light ahead on the tracks or not.  I stood up and brushed myself off, peering into the darkness ahead.  I could see a little movement, but whether or not it was a light or the shadows of the guys on the track ahead of me I couldn’t tell.

For a few moments we were all quiet and still.  I think everyone was trying to determine whether or not what they saw was real.  And then Marcus again.  “See?  There he is!”

There was a whooping amongst the men, and I heard a couple of hands clapped on shoulders.  I was scared to move forward to try to see it better, since the lights were off.  But I didn’t want them to leave me out there in the dark, so after a few moments I turned my flashlight back on.

“Hey!” I heard from a couple of directions.  I scuttled down the tracks until I could see forms in front of me and killed the light again.  By this point other lights were flashing about and the moment had passed.

“Are we going to see it again?”  someone asked.

“Naw,” Marcus shouted for all of us to hear.  “We’ve probably done spooked him back to his grave.”

No one argued with that.  We all just kept walking down those tracks in the dark, slapping mosquitoes and trying not to trip.

When we got back to my grandparent’s place there was an affirmation from everyone that yes indeed, we had seen the ghost of Will McClain.  But I wasn’t convinced.  I was relieved to be able to sneak in with everyone and not get in trouble for going, but I kept my mouth shut and went and got ready for bed.  I scratched those mosquito bites until I fell asleep.

Years later I learned more about the light.  I also learned that folks from Gurdon have all sorts of different ideas about it.  Some say it’s light from Interstate 30 bouncing through the trees… but we were way deep off the interstate and besides, that light’s been seen since the thirties and I-30 came through years later.

Some, like my mom, swear it’s just swamp gas.  Others believe it’s light emissions from compressed crystals underground.

There have been all sorts of paranormal folks who have headed out and who say they’ve figured out that yes, there’s some ghost out there.  I’m not sure if I’ll ever be convinced.

I went out there a few weeks ago and took a look at the old tracks, both from Stickey Road and from Highway 53.  The tracks have been abandoned in the intervening years, and they’ve grown up quite a bit.  But while I was out there on those tracks, I heard a train approaching.  I heard the rumbling along the tracks and the whistle as the train approached a crossing, and it sent chills through me.

Of course, it’s from the line that still runs through the city of Gurdon, a town that had few claims to fame outside of the Gurdon Go-Devils. the International Order of the Hoo Hoo and Jimmy Witherspoon.  A town that’s earned a spot on the paranormal map.  Go figure.

Best Cornbread in Arkansas.

With the Arkansas Cornbread Festival coming up, it's time to take a look at some of the very best cornbread Arkansas has to offer.

Umami brings fusion cuisine to Russellville.

If you were to tell me when I went to Arkansas Tech that you could find good sushi in Russellville, I woulda laughed you out of the room. Sushi? Russellville? Wasn’t going to happen.
Of course, we’re talking 20 years ago now. Things have changed. And yes, you can find sushi in Russellville these days. And it’s even good sushi. Spicy, yes, but good.

What’s more startling to me is that you can find it in a very suave environment complete with black and red fixtures, downtempo music and trendy booths. It’s like a piece of urbanity has taken root in a town best known for being the home of “Redneck Tech.” That place is Umami.

I tried it out on a whim a few weeks ago. It was a nice kicked back weekday night and I wanted something refreshing and cool. The place was hopping but my dining companion and I were quickly ushered to one of the rare corners with a little light. If there’s anything Umami lacks, it’s light.



We decided to try a little bit of this and that, deciding to share a couple of rolls and some hibachi grill. We split the starter bits — my dining companion’s miso was on the typical side but good; my salad with ginger dressing was rather heavy on the ginger dressing but was also good. There you go.

We shared some Vegetable Hibachi ($11.95, with the soup and salad) and paid the extra couple of bucks for the fried rice. It was a nice fine collection of vegetables, including some rather plump mushrooms and substantial bits of zucchini, which I enjoy way too much. Umami isn’t outfitted for teppankayi cookery at the tables, but everything came out nice and hot, and the rice was pleasantly nutty.

And then there were the rolls. Now, I have to say this: Umami is an Asian fusion restaurant, unlike its sister restaurant Onami across town over by Tech. The sushi is spicier. MUCH spicier. We shared the simple Spicy Tuna roll ($5.75) — which was a bit overly spicy for my taste but paired up with a bit of cucumber in the roll for a little heat control. It was more than pleasant.

What we really adored, though, was the big fat Rich and Famous Roll ($11.95), a fat and handsome oversized roll similar to a Rainbow Roll, but filled with lots of fish. It took the beautiful colors of a traditional Rainbow and tied them all up and about with salmon, tuna, eel and avocado, stuffed with smoked salmon, crab and avocado. The big pieces were almost too heavy for chopsticks, but they were thick and plentiful and a meal in themselves.

I do plan to return at some point and try more food — it had been the intention to try more things on this trip, but the food was extraordinarily filling. I am curious about the Bayou Bites ($7.95 for crawfish battered and served with lime sauce), Japanese Curry ($5.95 served over white rice) and the Sake Six Pepper Ribeye ($17.95 for a 10 ounce ribeye and fixings). I’m also curious to see whether they actually manage to sell any Baja Tacos — tacos made up with fried crawfish and mango salsa. And seriously — I have never seen Sausage Fried Rice anywhere else.

You’ll find Umami on North Elmira north of Main Street, a block south of Parkway. Check out the Facebook page or call (479) 967-8889.

The Starting Point.

Gibbs Grocery and Hunters Outpost south of Sheridan has been the place where hunters prepare for modern gun season in the area for 36 years.  

Used to be folks from all around central and south central Arkansas would migrate to one particular area the morning of the start of deer season.  They’d come by truck, some with four wheelers, all with their hunter orange and their guns and line up dutifully at checking stations like Gibbs Grocery and Hunters Outpost for the annual right of passage -- registering their first kill of the season.

Some would have bucks in the back of their trucks, other does.  A few lucky guys might have two in the back, ensuring the deep freezer at the house would be full for the winter.  Once they’d parked they’d come up and go find someone to register the kill for Game and Fish and then head off to get the deer processed or to butcher it at the house.

It’s a little different these days.  This, like the past couple of years, will be a lot quieter for the Gibbs and their kin at the little store south of Sheridan.  Sure, there will be all sorts of folks coming through at oh-dark-thirty in the morning to pick up a little breakfast and maybe some pimento cheese for later in the day, but since Arkansas Game and Fish put the registration of taken deer in the hands of the hunter with online and phone registration, there’s no need for the grand display of deer huntery that had happened before -- no trophy shots, no big brags, no photographs, just maybe an email here and there later on down the line from a victorious trip to leased lands along the river bottoms.

Yet still Gibbs Grocery remains and even thrives, with a fresh coat of bright green paint and the ever-buoyant attitudes of its staff.  It’s a place for family.

***

The Gibbs bought themselves the place along Highway 167 South some 36 years ago, when their son Alan was getting ready to go into the second grade (and when I was about, oh, two years old).  They offered a place to get some gas and a quick bite for down the road.

But the place grew.  Buddy and Barbara got the place up and going and added in the feed and seed, the various camouflage apparel, the scopes and guns and whatnot.  Taxidermied examples of what could be found in the woods out that way were brought in, mounted and displayed on any available surface.  Buddy’s son Alan grew up and started his own business, Gibbs Archery Manufacturing, which took off on its own and whose Easy Sling has become one of the top selling bow slings in the world.

Over the years, Gibbs has seen its biggest boom over two days in November -- the day before modern gun season and the day it starts.  It never fails -- the Friday before the start of the hunt folks come in from everywhere to provision up, grab a bite to eat and get their license for the year.

That particular Friday usually starts off around five in the morning.  There’ll likely be a few guys already parked out front, waiting for the store to open to get their cup of coffee and their license for the year.  Some will sit at one of the little yellow booths in the middle of the store and start swapping hunting lies and big buck stories.

They sit in an environment wallpapered with hunts of the past.  When this place was still a checkpoint for Game & Fish, Polaroids were taken of just about every trophy deer, turkey, boar or duck.  The Polaroids are beginning to fade, though.

We dropped in at Gibbs Grocery for a bite and noticed one thing right off the bat -- since last year, the Gibbs have painted the exterior bright green.  Inside it’s not much different, though amidst the stuffed deer heads, foxes and the eponymous deer butt on the wall there was spotted the head of a small T-Rex.  We hope that’s a joke.

Sat down for a quick bite to eat before the next stop, which my photographer was just snapping away.  The girls behind the counter looked at him for a moment, but paid him no mind.  Miss Barbara, on the other hand, made fit to comment about the action.

“You shoot a pretty camera,” she said.

“Yeah, I was wondering just what it was like around here on opening day,” he asked as he took another shot.

“Y’all aren’t from around here?” she asked.  When he replied in the nugatory, she started on about all the hunters that would stock up here.  “We get people that come back every year, only right the day before.  It’s like family.  They always come back.”

I noticed that in amidst all those Polaroids there were now emails taped to surfaces like the walls and the deli counter.  “The internet makes it different, I bet.”

“They don’t bring them deer here any more, no, they go do that on the computer or the phone now,” she told me.

We ordered a snack… my photographer choosing a Lemon Icebox pie.  I wanted a slice of pecan pie but moreover I wanted some of the pimento cheese from inside the deli case, and Miss Barbara obliged.

We went and picked drinks out of the cooler, but when I started to offer to pay she waived me off.  “You can pay whenever, as long as you pay before you go.  I’m a pretty good shot,” she said, indicating she could pop off a couple of rounds at a deadbeat customer from the counter to the edge of the parking lot.

Over that marvelous old-fashioned pimento cheese on wheat, we chatted back and forth.  She told me people still came out right before hunting season began, but it’s not like it used to be.  “There’d be people lined up all along the road back a ways, waiting their turn in.  It was like homecoming.”

“Do they still do that?”

“Not as much, but they still come.  Day before the season we’ll have our busiest day of the year.”

We shopped around a little while we were there and found all sorts of stuff beyond the convenience and grocery store up front.  There were all sorts of displays of things like Remington knives, duck calls, gun scopes and various guns.  There were also motorcycle leathers, bags and feathered leather vests.  You honestly could fuel up, dress up and dress out for a real adventure here.

When we were headed out the door, Miss Barbara hollered after us.  “Y’all comin’ back for hunting season?”

“I think we just might,” I hollered back.  And you know, I think I will.  I want to see what it’s like right before the big day.  I want to hear some of the tales that will be shared over hot coffee and sausage biscuits and pimento cheese, and see if whomever got that deer butt stuffed and mounted will be back to explain that particular sense of humor.

I know the place will be packed, no matter what year I return.

***

Technology and the internet has changed the nature of the hunt over the past decade.  Instead of the check points around the state a decade ago, today checking a kill is just a click or phone call away.

Steve “Wildman” Wilson of Arkansas Game and Fish says it’s been a logical progression.  “We started out changing the system by allowing certain deer camps to check their own deer, before we all had computers.  Now they can call in to Telecheck (the AGFC hotline phone number), they can go online or even now, there’s an app for that.”

Has the change affected the number of deer taken each year?  “It’s actually gone up.  We think the new system is easy, it’s what customers want.  Most people comply now, we make it so easy.  It’s also helping us gather statistics easier, year to year.

AFGC's Deer Checking App

“It makes it easier for us to set special seasons, too.  Used to be, with all those checkpoints out there, our guys would visit every one of them and get done with everything about the time it was time to hunt again.  Now we can make a better determination on when to schedule hunts.

“We have a special hunt this year in several zones, a doe-only hunt before the regular season.  We’ve determined from the numbers that there’s too high a doe ratio down in those areas.”

You can learn more about how to check your game by visiting the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission website at www.agfc.com.  There you’ll find the link for online checking and a link to the AGFC game checking app.