Gann Museum Day 

By Cody Berry  Did you know that former Benton Mayor Lynn Moore and former County Judge Lanny Fite issued proclamations naming May 18, 1999, as “Gann Museum Day?” I didn’t either until I started looking through our many, many scrapbooks at the Gann Museum this week. At that time, the Gann Museum’s executive director was … Continued

Bauxite’s Reaction to Pearl Harbor 

By Cody Berry On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, which propelled the United States into WWII. The Arkansas Democrat’s top headline that day read “Japanese Declare War,” above pictures of a battleship on fire and planes flying over the island. That day the Japanese bombed Manila, Honolulu, Pearl Harbor, and … Continued

WWII in Bauxite, Arkansas 

By Cody Berry  In recognition of the 80th anniversary of VE Day on May 8, 2025, I wanted to write about what life was like in Bauxite during the Second World War. Legislation passed during the Great Depression allowed workers to organize, bargain collectively, and to have more control over their employment. Union activity began … Continued

More About Aluminum 

By Cody Berry  This time, I want to talk more about aluminum. Recently, I was looking for items to use in an exhibit on WWII, and I found a few small books about the Reynolds Metals Company and the Hurricane Creek Plant which operated in Saline County for many years. In a book from 1950 … Continued

From Alumina to Aluminum: The Hall-Heroult Process  

By Cody Berry  Last time we covered the Bayer Process which takes the alumina out of raw bauxite ore. This week we will cover the next step in the aluminum making process. In 1880, a 20-year-old first year student at Oberlin College in Ohio named Charles Martin Hall started his research into the production of … Continued

How Bauxite Built a Town

By Cody Berry  We at the Gann Museum are pleased to announce that the museum has reopened after a very cold winter. Our new exhibit “How Bauxite Built A Town: 1896-1984″ pays tribute to the people who labored in and around the bauxite mines of Saline County during that time. The town of Bauxite holds … Continued

Lynda Hollenbeck: A Legend in Saline County Journalism 

By Cody Berry  Photo above of Lynda Hollenbeck courtesy of Destin Davis at the Saline Courier.  On January 6, I learned about the passing of a legendary figure in modern Saline County history, the great Lynda Hollenbeck. Lynda was born in Cotton Plant, Arkansas on August 8, 1941, to Paul and Lillie Parnell. A graduate … Continued

Who was Mrs. Gann? 

By Cody Berry  Since March is Women’s History Month, I wanted to write a bit about some Saline County women. Last week I recounted my meeting with the local chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, so this week, I wanted to talk about Mrs. Gann. Unlike Dr. Gann, Sr., who was … Continued

A Visit with The Daughters of the American Revolution 

By Cody Berry  A while ago when I was working at the Benton branch of the Saline County Library, I met Mrs. Belinda Jones, Organizing Regent of the Saline Crossing Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. She asked if I would be interested in having her group of ladies at the … Continued

Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes 

Photography above provided courtesy of Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes. By Cody Berry  Way back when I was writing entries for the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, its editor Dr. Guy Lancaster, sent me an Arkansas Times article about Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes by David Ramsey. Dr. Lancaster asked if I was interested in writing an entry on Barnes … Continued