items in our collections

J. K. Southerland J. K. Southerland’s poultry empire sprung to life in 1935 when his wife, Cleo, discovered her chicken had hatched a dozen eggs. When the chicks grew to pullets, J. K. sold them for $1.00 each, a huge amount of money in the midst of the Great Depression. Southerland recognized poultry could be … Continue reading »

Brooms We have recently acquired two brooms, one from Danny Dozier and the other from Mary Miller. The broom Danny presented to Old Independence Regional Museum looks similar to what we would consider a ceiling fan duster – a long pole with an oval head made of soft bristles  attached to it . Upon research, … Continue reading »

Hoosier Cabinets On October 12, Danny Dozier generously brought by his grandmother’s Hoosier cabinet for our Smithsonian Institution/OIRM “A Taste of Community” exhibit. This beautifully constructed cabinet is even more unique because it was purchased new in downtown Batesville from Crouch Furniture. Close examination of the butterfly closures dates the cabinet somewhere in the 1930s. … Continue reading »

Minute Man of America Restaurant Proprietor Wes Hall opened Arkansas’ native Minute Man of America restaurant chain in Little Rock in 1948. With steady growth, the chain reached 57 company-owned and franchised restaurants by the early 1970s, expanding beyond Arkansas to seven nearby states.  Raytheon Company took an interest in Minute Man, shipping its latest technology, a … Continue reading »

Grapette Working on the joint venture from the Smithsonian and OIRM has brought so many local histories to light for me. I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of others and the vast amount of knowledge our patrons have to share. One of the stories we will tell for the “A Taste of Community” exhibit concerns … Continue reading »