Conference Schedule

Wednesday, October 6
6:00 p.m.- 8 p.m. Opening Reception at the Dickson Street Inn
Built in 1894 as the residence for local educator John C. Mitchell and his wife, this Victorian mansion, renovated in 2009, is in the center of Fayetteville’s entertainment district. The outside Veranda Wine Bar has great views of the W. Dickson Street Historic District and the campus.

Thursday, October 7
9:00 a.m.- 6 p.m. Bus Tour of U.S. 62 to Eureka Springs
Tour #1 passes tourist courts and motels of the 1950s and ’60s on U.S. 71B and then follows U.S. 62 as it winds through the Ozarks, with stops at Dinosaur World, Christ of the Ozarks, and Thorncrown Chapel, architect Fay Jones’s masterpiece, and Eureka Springs. Tour book and lunch at the historic 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa in Eureka Springs Hotel are included. Be prepared to walk over some hilly terrain.

8:00 p.m. Optional Evening Presentation: Howdy Folks! The Story of the Chuck Wagon Diner (an audio documentary) – Erin Dorbin

Friday, October 8
Symposium and Paper Session

Morning and afternoon paper presentations, SCA business meeting, and “5-minute stories” at The Cosmopolitan; group lunch at the offices of the Fayetteville Visitors Center included. 

Session A – Visions to Attractions

  • Maybe Christmas Wasn’t Meant to Last All Year: The Rise and Fall of Santa Claus, Arizona – Douglas Towne
  • Missouri’s Autoscope Theatre: An Ozarks Love Story – Thomas Gubbels
  • Building Arthur Nelson’s Dream – Karen L. Daniels

Session B – A Journey along the Road

  • Roadside Kansas – Patrick Zollner
  • Y’All Come Back Now: Hillbilly Iconography on the American Roadside – Rick Kilby
  • The Longest Road and Richest Legacy: The Commercial Roadside of U.S. Highway 20 – Darrell A. Norris

Session C – Saving our Roadside

  • A Monument to Carl Fisher in Utah – Rollin Southwell
  • Forgoing Demolitions in Dixie: The Preservation of Southern Roadside Sites Through Adaptive Reuse – Kelli Shapiro (withdrawn)
  • “Coney Island USA” – Michael Hirsch

Session D – Into the Roadside Future

  • Why American Roadside Attractions Will Never Die – Jeffrey Sward
  • The Bend in the Road: A Call for New Directions in Roadside Scholarship – Carol Ahlgren
  • Ozark Gothic: The Pilgrimage Chapels of E. Fay Jones – Callie L. Williams

Saturday, October 9
9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Bus Tour of U.S. 71 to Alma and U.S. 64 to Van Buren
Tour #2 will traverse U.S. 71 through the Boston Mountains between Fayetteville and Alma in the Arkansas River Valley and a short section of U.S. 64 into Van Buren. We will stop at Our Lady of the Ozarks Shrine, Vista Courts, Sky Vue Cabins, Artist Point, and Kopper Kettle Candies. Tour book is included. Lunch will be at Big Jake’s Cattle Co. outside Van Buren.

6:00 p.m.
Closing Group Dinner at The Powerhouse The Electric Light & Power Company began generating electricity in Fayetteville in 1888. After several moves, the company built this building in 1902, and it eventually provided electricity to a large portion of Northwestern Arkansas. The building was built on this site because the large spring under the building could be used to provide a means of cooling for the generators. The spring still flows into two hand-dug wells under the dining room. Today, the building has been renovated into a popular restaurant known for its steaks and seafood. We will dine in the private dining room.