The Story of Alvin Lloyd McNeil
By Cody Berry I recently wrote about Ewell Ross McCright who was a prisoner of war during WWII. Well, he wasn’t the only local veteran to have spent time in a POW camp. In the Gann Museum’s new exhibit, “My Country Called,” named after historian Arnold Wright’s book, we have some newspaper clippings and a … Continued
Introducing Our New Exhibit: My Country Called
By Cody Berry Over the past few months, I’ve been searching the building for anything that came from the 1940s in hopes of building a display on Saline County during the Second World War. This year marks eighty years since the end of WWII in 1945 and this is our tribute to the brave men … Continued
McCright’s Purple Heart
By Cody Berry I recently saw an announcement online about Purple Heart Day on August 7th. This made me think about the recipients of that award that I’ve been researching over the summer. One of them was a man from Benton named Ewell Ross McCright. McCright was born in Benton on December 4, 1917, to … Continued
Bauxite: The Death of a Dream
Pictured above: The Alcoa plant in Bauxite, originally built in 1952, but now owned and operated by the Almatis, Inc. By Cody Berry This week I wanted to cover the end of Bauxite as a company town. The end didn’t come because the mines were depleted or the aluminum industry shutdown after WWII. By 1944, … Continued
Saline County’s First Movie Theater
By Cody Berry The Bauxite Theater was built in 1918 and wcould seat 1,000 people. It was run by the town’s “Amusement Commitee,” which had 20 members.1 During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Bauxite Theater was much more than a place to watch news reels and Hollywood movies. In November 1930, after the … Continued
Saline County and the American Revolution
By Cody Berry Not too long ago I was walking around the Saline County Courthouse, and I took a few minutes to look at the many veterans’ memorials. One of them was placed in honor of Asher Bagley and Benjamin Bryant who had served in the American Revolution. I had heard of Benjamin Bryant before … Continued
The Bauxite Hospital
By Cody Berry Since our exhibit at the Gann Museum is about Bauxite, I wanted to share some information about their hospital. Construction began on the Bauxite Hospital in 1910 by what became the Aluminum Company of America, also known as Alcoa. The reported cost was $11,000, and by 1944 it was considered one of … Continued
70 Years of Caring at Saline Memorial Hospital
By Cody Berry On Friday, June 20, Kari Lapp and I went to a private event at Saline Memorial Hospital celebrating its 70 years of history. There was a very special ceremony led by Saline Health System CEO Char Boulch and County Judge Matt Brumley. During the ceremony we were taken on a walk down … Continued
Life of the USS Saline County
By Cody Berry Did you know that the U.S. Navy had a ship named after Saline County? There was and it served in both World War II and the Korean War. The USS Saline County was a landing ship built in 1944, but it wasn’t given that name until July 1, 1955. The ship’s function … Continued
New Acquisition: Civil War Minie Balls
By Cody Berry This time we are taking a break from the mines of Bauxite and the upcoming exhibit about WWII to announce that the Gann Museum has recently acquired something very special. Saline County resident Don Lucy came to see me on June 5 to donate a set of 18 Civil War era Minie … Continued