I beg to differ with Willie Nelson.

Time doesn't just slip away – here at the office of Entertainment Fort Smith time whizzes by like a comet.

It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the printing of Vol.1, No. 1. Now, here it is one year and 240,000 magazines later as we go to press with Vol. 2, No. 1.

In our first year, we covered lots of fun stories and events, and received tremendously positive feedback from our readers. You've called, faxed, mailed and emailed us from all over our local coverage area, from Pennsylvania, Colorado, Florida, Texas and several other states, and even from other countries including Canada, Columbia and Australia.

We like it when readers let us know what happened when they got inspired by our feature stories and calendar listings.

Henrietta Easterling of Fort Smith wrote us about reading our first issue while on vacation in North Carolina. She added Clarksdale, Miss., to her itinerary after realizing she could make it to the Sunflower Blues and Gospel Festival before her vacation ended.

Several other readers told us about trying to make "Deener's Dumplin's" from our November issue. Berdena Borum makes a huge batch of the rich, tender dumplings for her family each Christmas. Only about half of you who told us you tried the "pinch of salt, glob of shortening" recipe reported success. One distraught reader said she made the recipe three times and never could get it right. But another mastered the method on the first try and raved about the results.

Writing about Billy Bob Lansdale's unorthodox farm crops in our October issue was a hoot, and his agricultural escapades gave me the idea for the American Gothic parody on our cover that artist Elizabeth Morsund executed so well. I'll never again see the Grant Wood painting without thinking about Billy Bob and his ostriches. Someone may have been pulling my leg about this, but after the Billy Bob story ran, I was told that while it's not on the menu at the Cottage Cafˇ in Van Buren, you can order a Billy Bob sandwich. If you find this to be true, let me know, OK?

Many readers have told us how much they like having so much entertainment listed in one handy publication – in our day-by-day calendar of events, kids calendar and live music listings.

So, of all the events and stories we've told you about during the last year which have been the most fun?

Have you taken Kids Editor Donna Payne's advice and gone for a swim in the soon-to-be-gone Olympic-size pool at Lake Fort Smith State Park?

Have you visited the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City since we profiled one of its distinguished members, Ken Boen of Fort Smith – the "Daredevil cowboy on a heavenly trail?" That story is soon to be reprinted in the Hall of Fame's Ketchpen magazine.

Did you get your first therapeutic massage?

Did you mourn the loss of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt along with our columnists Tracy Winchell and Bruce Stanton?

Did you try Napstering with instructions from music writer Joseph Self, or sample the music, books and food we've reviewed?

Did you tell your children about your grandmother's aprons when you took them to see the Fort Smith Art Center's "Apron Strings: Ties to the Past" exhibit?

Did you get to drive one of the snazzy 2002 Thunderbirds like we did? You didn't? Aww, that's too bad. Maybe you at least go to ogle them and the other classic cars in the huge Ford-sponsored Cruise on Garrison Avenue in July.

Did you dream of Electric Park?

Did you enter our Love Story and April Fools writing contests?

Did your children use the instructions in our Kids Section to make their dads a handmade Father's Day gift?

Did you "Commit to Get Fit" with Mayor Ray Baker?

Have you thanked any of our local businesses for being Partners In Education?

Did the free hot chocolate warm your freezing tush as you waited in line with your kids to catch the Holiday Express train at Creekmore Park, during one of our coldest Decembers ever?

Have you taken in a movie at Poteau's Tower Drive-In, one of this country's few surviving drive-in theaters?

Have you visited the National Historic Site, Fort Smith Convention Center, Fort Smith Public Library or Pendergraft Park – all of which we had to creatively photograph for print before any of them were completed?

Did you reconsider buying your child a horse after reading about my ornery pinto pony, Amigo?

Did my Beverly's Drive-Inn column stir any of your high school memories? Did you, too, see the UFOs of 1966 that Dave Ross' "rewinds" to this month?

Had you ever heard of heroic Crawford County Korean War and World War II missionary Nell Dyer before you read about her in our November issue? Did you thank a veteran for his or her service?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then our first year has been a success. If you didn't, we have a whole new year of entertainment ahead of us.

Let's have some fun!

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