NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

When Marilyn was growing up in Pineville, Missouri, the Arkansas state line was almost like the Berlin Wall. If her family left the county, it was to go in any direction except south. The roads were terrible and there wasn't much to see or do once you got there. She doesn't remember going to Bentonville (only 20 miles south) more than two or three times before she went to college. Her first visit to Fayetteville was when she was a sophomore in college considering whether or not to transfer to the University (she decided to go to MU in Columbia, a day's journey away because it seemed more a more promising institution).All of that began to change with the creation of Wal-Mart. Like it or not, the company has made a huge impact on the entire area of NW Arkansas, SW Missouri and NE Oklahoma. NW Arkansas has become the home of trendy shops, restaurants and now a world class art museum and complex.

Marilyn recently saw a story in a news show from Arkansas that she thought would be interesting to our readers:

 

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- President Barack Obama has signed a new initiative to increase foreign tourism to the United States as part of his plan to boost the economy, which could create more than 1 million American jobs in the next 10 years.

Northwest Arkansas, particularly Bentonville, is reaping a lot of those benefits already.

"In the last two years, in downtown Bentonville, we've had 123 jobs open up," said Ed Clifford, president and chief executive officer of Bentonville and Bella Vista Chamber.

Travel and Leisure Magazine named Bentonville as one of the hottest destination spots in the world and the only place in the U.S. in that category.

"That has a big impact on not only Bentonville and Bentonville's hotels and restaurants, but all up and down the corridor here in northwest Arkansas," Clifford said. "That set the stage for a lot of visits to northwest Arkansas by lots of people from a lot of different areas."

Kathryn Roberts, director of Member and Guest Services at Crystal Bridges, said because Bentonville is the home of Walmart and now Crystal Bridges, foreign tourism is on the rise in the area.

"We track where our visitors come from, and already, we've had 30 countries represented from the Virgin Islands to Spain, Mexico and England," Roberts said. "Many of those people stay here and eat or go out to lunch or dinner, and spend additional dollars at close by hotels and bring great commerce to our area."

The article from “Travel and Leisure” magazine mentioned above can be found by clicking here. Who would have dreamed little Bentonville that before Wal-Mart was primarily associated with its connection to the Battle of Pea Ridge nearly 00 years before would become a topic of conversation all over the world. 

Marilyn has long maintained that the construction of Crystal Bridges would have a major impact on the area ever since she learned about it in the late 1990's. She believes that it will attract artists and others who will want to move to the area and find that McDonald County a cost effective place to live. It will enrich the culture and raise the standards for education  –  issues that have long concerned her.

If anybody is interested, we have a couple of cabins nearby for sale.

Lucky

Comments

[Mary DeLand]

Lucky, Ironic that your family never went south,Marilyn! When I was growing up there we went south for Christmas nearly every year. My mother's relatives lived in Alma, Arkansas so we knew the route well. We often attended the Benton County fair in the fall of the year. There were roadside vendors selling all kinds of veggies and fruit. My mother favored the concord grapes. We often visited Sam Walton's 5 & 10 in Bentonville. It was a fascinating store with lots of cheap merchandise; the kind we hillbillies loved! I'm so glad the growth in that area is raising the standard of living; we look forward to visiting Crystal Bridges!