Jan. 6, 2022

The Schoolhouse Rock! series premiered on ABC on Jan. 6, 1973. The first season featured Multiplication Rock, short cartoons showcasing multiplication tables set to music by singer and songwriter Bob Dorough. Did you know Dorough was born in Cherry Hill in Polk County, AR?! The Schoolhouse Rock! series later included Grammar Rock, History Rock, and Science Rock.  Outside of his work on the children’s series, Dorough was a renowned jazz musician whose career spanned more than 70 years. He passed away on April 23, 2018. For more information, visit https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/bob-dorough-620/.

This Southside High School drill team was the first group to be accepted into the National Drill Team in 1987-88. Laura Grigsby, team captain, and five of her senior teammates were invited to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in November, 1987 wearing these uniforms, with other drill teams from across the U.S. The performance was staged in front of the Macy’s Department Store, opening the parade for TV viewers.  Laura told her mother that “this was one of the best things in her life.”   (OIRM, Grigsby, Beverly collection)

Southside High School Drill Team, 1987-88. Top row, L to R: Unknown, Jennifer Reynolds, Laura Grigsby (Cowan). Front row: Ginger Bachman, Jerry Mead, Lisa Earls.

Copy of a photo of little Margaret Young McInteer Miller, age 2 years and 5 months, born in New York City on November 19, 1908. Her mother took her to the New York Foundling Hospital, saying she was unable to take care of the infant and wished to give her to the Catholic hospital. Before she left, the mother gave her the name “Margaret Young.” Margaret’s mother never again inquired about her welfare.

When Margaret was two years old, a nun took her and other foundling children to board one of the Orphan Trains, heading west. Margaret was wearing the clothes shown in the photo.  The foundling hospital had received a request for a little girl of that age from a Catholic couple (Mr. and Mrs. Patrick McInteer) in Enid, Oklahoma. The hospital sent a notice that the child would be arriving. This notice had a number on it that would match with the assigned number of their requested child on the train. (See number 26 on Margaret’s coat.)

Margaret’s adoptive father was a large property owner in the county. He and his wife had no children, so Margaret was welcomed with great love. Mr. McInteer died suddenly before the adoption was complete, but it was still approved. She grew up in Oklahoma, but moved to Batesville, AR later in life when she married Herman Miller in Newport, AR, in the early 1960s. She owned a business “Margaret’s Antiques” until her death in 1983. (OIRM, Sturch, Margaret collection)