Day Trip to Mena

Today we drove to Mena to antique shop and visit an old armory. The armory was occupied by the Alpha Battery and Service battery back before WWII and during the Korea War. These units moved back in the late fifties to Van Buren and Lincoln. I don't know why but there is a new armory that was built in 1971 and a company from the 39th resides there. The old armory wasn't torn but was saved and today it houses a basketball court and youth teams were playing today.

The old howitzer in the top picture is sitting in front of the Nations National Guard Armory on Morrow Street in Mena. The gun is an M40 155mm howitzer that served with the 937th FA during the Korean War. The gun has A-7 painted on it and is in pretty good shape but needs a paint job.

Frank Lloyd Wright Two

We made our second visit to a Frank Lloyd Wright creation. Who knew that a FLW designed building was this close to home. We visited Bartlesville, Oklahoma this weekend and took the tour of the Price Tower in downtown Bartlesville. The Price Tower is Frank Lloyd Wright’s only realized skyscraper. Wright took his inspiration for the cantilevered design from a tree. The building was built for the H.C. Price company as it's headquarters. The outside of the building is dressed in copper. Notice the green parts of the building.

We had plenty of antique stores to visit in Bartlesville but that was a bust. We drove a few miles to the small town of Dewey and enjoyed several stores in the old downtown.

Our best buys for the weekend were made at the Expo Flea Market at the State Fair ground in Tulsa. I got a Saint Louis Worlds Fair Tip Tray and Dorinda found a Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition button from 1905. A good start to a long weekend.

Old Artillery

Two pieces of artillery one located in Tilles Park and one at the Armed Forces Reserve Center, Barling are pictured here. The 155mm gun in Tilles Park has been there since I was a youngester. I remember climbing all over it hanging from the barrell. The howitzer at the AFRC was just placed this past week. An Eight Inch M110A2 203mm Howitzer is from Desert Storm. We still have work to do on this gun, raising the barrell and lowering the spade. This howitzer could fire a high explosive projectile up to 30000 meters or about 18 miles. The most accurate weapon system in the world. Too bad the Army didn't think so. It was retired a few years after Desert Storm.