Most of us never know who we're going to run into from Fort Smith when we're traveling out of town, or how many folks we don't know come in and out of here for various reasons.

Local business leader Don Flanders and I were talking about this at the Fort Smith public schools' Partners In Education awards luncheon not long ago. He said he has bumped into Fort Smith friends at the Vatican in Rome, and in Athens, Greece.

Others from here have mentioned to me that they routinely see local friends and neighbors in popular American vacation cities like Branson, Orlando, Tunica, San Antonio and Las Vegas. And I know where lots of you live music fans enjoy going, too, because we've spotted each other at places like the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans and the W.C. Handy Awards in Memphis.

But what is it that brings people to Fort Smith and its neighboring cities if they don't live or work here? We hope you'll find answers to that question in this and every issue of Entertainment Fort Smith, as we point out attractions in our own backyards that recommend this area to visitors AND residents.

Take the recently remodeled (to the tune of $7 million bucks!) Fort Smith Historic Site, for instance. I didn't know until I was a reporter for the local newspaper that tens of thousands of people from all over America, and other countries, visited the Site.

In the years right before the killer tornado of 1996 damaged the important landmark, it attracted more than 100,000 visitors per year. Most of the out of towners were probably on their way to more popular vacation spots when they spied the Historic Site in their Rand McNally guides and stopped.

But with so much more for visitors to see and do at the remodeled Site, all the downtown and riverfrontdevelopments in the works and the nearby attractions you'll be reading about in this magazine - maybe some of those 100,000-plus visitors will start staying overnight, or longer.

Like I said, you never know who might be slipping in and out of here, because of something they find uniquely interesting about Fort Smith.

When I was in Memphis a couple of months ago doing Internet coverage of the W.C. Handy Awards, I talked to actor Morgan Freeman backstage and confirmed that he has visited our Historic Site in the past, unannounced, to research Bass Reeves. Reeves was one of the most outstanding U.S. marshals ever toride for Fort Smith's famous "Hanging Judge" Isaac C. Parker, and Freeman is determined to make a movie about the legendary lawman. While Freeman waited to help soul/blues star Little Milton present the Handy Award for Entertainer of the Year, we talked briefly about Reeves and Fort Smith. I've read about Reeves and seen his photographs, and he looks a lot like Freeman. Or vice-versa. So, I told the star of award-winning period movies like "Glory' and "The Unforgiven" I'd love to see him play Reeves in a good Western set in Fort Smith.

"Me too," Freeman said, with one of his cinematic, wry smiles. "We've been working on this for sevenyears. I've had four scripts, but none of them have been quite right. Westerns aren't very popular right now, so it's a hard sell. But I intend to keep on it. I want to do it if I have to make it myself."

Let's hope Freeman does get financing and the right script and shoots the film here, where Reeves actually lived and worked. And, while we're at it, let's root for film star Patrick Stewart (yes, the Star Trek captain) to get his wish to make a Western about a fictional U.S. marshal for Judge Parker.

Stewart reportedly wants to portray Oscar Schiller - one of the most intriguing of all the fascinating characters created by the late, great, Arkansas author Doug Jones - in a film version of Jones' action packed novel, "Winding Stair." That novel also takes place in Fort Smith and the Oklahoma lands around it that were once the Indian Nations. The book's movie rights have been optioned several times, but so far the story has never made it to the big screen.

It would make a whale of a Western, though, and should certainly be filmed in the places Jones brought to life in his novel.

In the months and columns to come, I'll try to keep you posted about these movie projects and all sorts of other interesting happenings in and out of Fort Smith. Some will naturally involve one of my favoriteentertainment topics - music. And, since I just mentioned Little Milton, you'll see in this issue's Events section that he'll be one of the headliners of the 10th Anniversary Riverfront Blues Festival next month.

Now, how could I end my very first Hot Stuff column without commenting on another musical 10-year milestone - the death of one of my all-time favorite musicians, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Stevie perished in a helicopter crash on August 27, 1990, but the vibrant legacy of electrified blues/rock the 35-year-old guitarist, composer and singer left behind raves on stronger than ever. As well it should.

Linda Seubold would like to thank the readers who voted her their "Favorite Print Journalist"in this year's "Best of the Best" Times Record Reader's Choice Awards. She's glad that readers are now enjoying her stories and columns in Entertainment Fort Smith.

Linda Seubold, editor of Entertainment Fort Smith Magazine, can be reached at lindaseubold@efortsmith.com. Read her archived columns and articles online.

---

Copyright © 2001 eFortSmith Media.com, Incorporated, P.O. Box 1341, Fort Smith, AR 72902

efortsmith.com and Entertainment Fort Smith are registered trademarks. All rights reserved.

HOME