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SPRING 2017 ISSUE 01 / VOL. 02
Above: I took an immediate liking to the Lum and Abner actors after seeing them on Harleys in this picture in the museum. Left: Arkansas’ nickname is the“ Natural State,” and it beckons travelers with some of the best riding in the country.
airwaves— the Lum and Abner Museum.
“ Lum and Abner”— set at the fictional Jot’ Em Down Store in the fictional Pine Ridge, Arkansas— was a wildly popular radio show from 1931-1954. It was based, though, on characters from an actual store in Waters, Arkansas, which changed its name to Pine Ridge in 1936. Since I wanted to drop by this unique, quaint little shrine to old-time radio, I took State Route 88 west on my way to Mena, Arkansas.
Mena sits on U. S. Route 71 at the end of a popular scenic highway, the Talimena Scenic Drive, which is Arkansas State Route 88 and Oklahoma State Route 1 from Mena to Talihina, Oklahoma. This is a marvelous ride any time, but it’ s especially beautiful in autumn. On this ride my destination was in the middle of the Talimena Drive, the Queen Wilhelmina State Park, which