Ouachita Stories

“The Great War: Arkansas in World War I,” a traveling exhibit chronicling Arkansas’ role in World War I at home and on the battlefields, will be displayed in Riley-Hickingbotham Library on the campus of Ouachita Baptist University from Nov. 23 through Dec. 18. The exhibit will be on display in the library’s main floor lobby during regular hours of operation except school holidays.

Ouachita is just the third site to host this new exhibit. It is funded in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council, the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

“The Great War” exhibit includes 12 free-standing panels that showcase images from Arkansas’ State Archives, the Arkansas History Commission. Original documents, photographs, maps, drawings, paintings and artifacts illustrate the story of the war’s impact in Arkansas. The exhibit was designed to commemorate the centennial anniversary of America’s entry into World War I. The primary source materials illustrate the effects of the first modern global war on the 65 million people who were mobilized, including 70,000 soldiers from Arkansas.

In addition to the exhibit panels, numerous World War I artifacts from the History Commission will be displayed along with documents and books from the holdings of Ouachita’s Archives and Special Collections. Among the items included in the displays will be U.S., German and French helmets; weapons; an artillery shell; a mess kit; a flashlight used in trenches; and U.S. and German canteens.

“The exhibition of these rarely-seen items offers a special opportunity for our students and area residents to view authentic materials from World War I,” noted Dr. Wendy Richter, Riley-Hickingbotham Library archivist. “I hope our entire campus community will stop by to see the exhibit and gain a better understanding of the World War I experience in Arkansas.”

Guests are invited to view the exhibit during the library’s usual hours of operation: Mondays-Thursdays from 7:45 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fridays from 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m, Saturdays from 12 noon to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 6-11 p.m. For additional information, contact Wendy Richter at 870-245-5332 or [email protected].

 

Top photo shows soldiers on Ouachita's campus in 1918. The men are standing where Cone-Bottoms Hall was later constructed. The president's home can be seen at the far right.