The Sound & Soul of the South

Explore the rich history of Dyess, Arkansas, the birthplace of Johnny Cash, and learn about the preservation efforts, cultural significance, and upcoming events at the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home managed by Arkansas State University.

Special Guest
Dr. Adam Long and Penny Toombs

Key Topics
History of Dyess, Arkansas as a New Deal resettlement colony
Johnny Cash's childhood and connection to Dice
Heritage preservation efforts by Arkansas State University
Cultural significance of the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home
Upcoming events like the Sunken Lands Songwriting Circle and Arkansas Roots Music Festival
Impact of the Mississippi River and Southern roots on American music and culture

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Dyess, Arkansas and Johnny Cash
01:55 Arkansas State University's Heritage Sites Program
03:59 History of Dyess as a New Deal Resettlement Colony
07:51 Johnny Cash's Family and Childhood in Dyess
12:01 The Cultural and Community Impact of Dyess
14:09 Restoration and Preservation of Johnny Cash's House
18:03 Tourism, Events, and Johnny Cash Legacy
21:55 Upcoming Festivals and Fundraisers
26:51 The Significance of the Arkansas Delta in American Music
31:59 Visiting Dyess and the Johnny Cash Heritage Experience

Resources
Arkansas State University - https://www.astate.edu/outreach/history-and-heritage/heritage-sites/dyess-cash/index.html
Arkansas Tourism/Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash - https://www.arkansas.com/experiences/discover/attraction-listings/historic-dyess-colony-johnny-cash-boyhood-home
Arkansas Delta Byways Tourism Association - https://deltabyways.com/

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Arkansas State University Heritage Sites, Historic Dyess Colony & Arkansas Delta Byways.  Order your free Arkansas Delta Byways Travel Guide today & start planning your visit!


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Creators and Guests

Producer
Charles Davis

What is The Sound & Soul of the South?

The Sound & Soul of the South spotlights destinations as they share the stories behind their community’s musical roots, legends, attractions, and vibrant live music scenes. Each episode explores how music shapes local identity, culture, and economic impact in destinations throughout the South—appealing to music fans and travelers seeking authentic, music-driven experiences.

Charles Davis (00:20.632)
Hello and welcome to another episode of Sound and Soul of the South. Charles Davis over here, Susie Cowan over there. And if you are noticing, I'm gonna let him in on the joke. It's not a joke, it's just a thing. Behind her is a beautiful, beautiful photo of the one and only Johnny Cash, the man in black. And that is kind of a hint at what we're going to be talking about today. We're gonna be heading to the state of Arkansas to talk about all things about the boyhood home of Johnny Cash and a ton of other things as well. So I didn't even get to say this.

How are you doing, Susie?

Susie Cowan (00:51.66)
You know, I'm just out here living the dream.

Charles Davis (00:53.678)
That's all we can do, Susan. That's all we can do. this one we are gonna be splitting up duties on this one. I had the pleasure of talking to Dr. Adam Long, the executive director over the historical sites at Arkansas State University. And who did you get to talk to, Susan?

Susie Cowan (01:08.751)
I got to talk to Penny Toons, the assistant director of the A State Heritage Sites, and you'll be able to tell I might know these guys a little.

Charles Davis (01:16.526)
You might know you she might have a little bit of of a history with these people, but that is a great thing because we get to talk about Johnny Cash and all the things that are associated with him, the things that you can see when you go down there to Dyess and check out all the things. And so this is gonna be a great history lesson, not only just about Johnny, but the entire environment that was the place that he lived growing up. So without further ado, let's talk to Dr. Adam Long.

Welcome back to Sound & Soul of the South. Charles Davis here with you, and I'm now joined by a great member of Arkansas State University, Dr. Adam Long. Good morning, Adam. How are you doing today?

Dr. Adam Long (01:53.196)
Morning, Charles. Thanks for having me.

Charles Davis (01:55.168)
I know thank you for being here. we've got a lot to talk about, especially when we're talking about the man that we're talking about, but there's a lot around that as well. First off, let the people know, Adam, what you do with Arkansas State University.

Dr. Adam Long (02:08.002)
Yes, so I'm the executive director of the of Arkansas State University's Heritage Sites program. So we operate four historic sites in eastern Arkansas along the Mississippi River, including the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home.

Charles Davis (02:22.264)
Yeah, yeah, no, and that's a that's a part of what we want to talk about. But I want to get into a lot of the other stuff there. What is the kind of I know you manage a lot of these sites, but kind of what is what is like the mission of what you all are doing over there at Arkansas State?

Dr. Adam Long (02:37.166)
Sure. So you know, our sites have a common story. They're about the the agricultural history of the Arkansas Delta, and that's, you know, that's where our university is is located in the Delta as well, started out as an as an AM A and school. so, you know, we're we're very much im involved in that history as well. and so, you know, part of our purpose is to preserve that history and to make it available for members of the public.

but the university also has a interdisciplinary heritage studies PhD program. So our sites also serve as labs for our graduate students.

Charles Davis (03:17.616)
no, that is that is awesome, being able to to not only preserve this stuff, but to pass it on down into future hands of of generations. So that that is a great thing there. Like I said, multiple sites on this that you all handle and manage. but this the one of the big pieces is you all do manage the the boyhood home of Johnny Cash. So first off, let's talk about the town that you're it's Dyess, Arkansas, right?

Dr. Adam Long (03:44.12)
Yes, Dyess. It's D Y E S S but it said dice like you know, like what you play board games.

Charles Davis (03:50.272)
Uhhuh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So talk a little bit about about the city itself, and and the town and and kinda how it got started because it started off as a colony, correct?

Dr. Adam Long (03:59.244)
Yes, correct. So it started in officially was dedicated in nineteen thirty five. so some families started moving in in nineteen thirty four. but it was a New Deal resettlement colony. So this was the the the Great Depression. and so of course that's a a national phenomenon, but in i in in Arkansas we had the addition of the nineteen twenty seven

flood of the Mississippi, the biggest flood on record that wiped out crops a few years before the bank failures and Dust Bowl and all of that. So you know there were many responses to this to this crisis, economic crisis. one of them was the was was President Roosevelt's New Deal, where w you know, they established

resettlement colonies around the country. ours was agriculture based, it was mostly farm families that were being being relocated. But there were resettlement colonies in other parts of the country with other you know, based on other industries, mining towns, factories, all kinds of things. but but Dyess was agricultural resettlement colony number one. and the founding

director W. R. Dice died tragically in a in a plane crash in the thirties and they renamed the colony after after him. So after that it became Dyess Colony, which does kind of roll off the tongue a little bit better than Agricultural Colony number one. So

Charles Davis (05:39.214)
Bit. A bit, yeah. Yeah. but no, that that's that that whole New Deal thing because that Roosevelt implementing that across the country was a big deal. No pun intended there. with the place that the country was in with the depression. Then for you to mention I had totally forgotten about that. the flood that just kinda wiped everything out. So it was it was bad across the country, but it feels like in the colony it was a

bit worse. So when we talk about that, kind of what have you all seen as far as like what the people what was the makeup of the people, like the the mentality of the people during that time? Because that had to have been a time where you had to come from hardy stock to live in a place like that at the time.

Dr. Adam Long (06:23.372)
Yeah, you you you definitely did. there the colony was set up for five hundred families, all from Arkansas. like I said, there were colonies around the country, so you know, other c all other colonies for other places, but but this was families from all all seventy five counties in Arkansas. there ended up set up for five hundred ended up being something like four hundred and eighty three

farmsteads because the river places by the river ended up not working out, that kind of thing. But but in addition to that there was there were federal workers, there was a hospital, school, cannery, factories, these sorts of things. So there was, you know, handful of those farmsteads mostly, but then there were also, you know, a town center with with federal workers.

and one of the really interesting things about Dyess is that it was the federal government was experimenting with all kinds of socialized programs to, you know, home economists, these co-op farming co-ops, these factories and sort of things that were, you know, other forms of New Deal experimentation that you know didn't necessarily last outside of the outside of the depression and on into the forties.

in the way the farms did. but we're you know, we're very very interesting in the context of the times.

Charles Davis (07:51.714)
Well, yeah, it just feels like it was Dyess Colony was chosen to be experimental in in some pieces when it comes to that. They had to try out new things. They had to try to figure a way to get the economic engine of America running again. So yeah, it might have been throwing things up against the wall, seeing if it sticks, if it works, okay, cool. If it doesn't, we'll move on. but that that leads into how we get to the point to where this became the boyhood home of

Johnny Cash. So kind of talk about how the Cash family made their way into this this town.

Dr. Adam Long (08:28.402)
So the the Cash family was at the time in Cleveland County, Arkansas, in a town called Kingsland, kind of south central Arkansas, an hour hour and a half south of Little Rock. and Johnny was three years old at the time. he was called J.R. at the time. Johnny was a stage name. so so i everybody in the family knows him as

as JR. yeah, and the you know, the family needed assistance, applied for the for the colony and moved there in nineteen thirty five, when when J.R. was three years old. and continued to live in the colony you know, until until Johnny now I guess made it and and was able to move the family into Memphis first and then kind of, you know, around with him over the years after that.

Charles Davis (09:27.532)
Yeah, and and and it's to to like I say, you were talking about the the area that he was growing up in and the times that he was growing up in, it only to me makes sense that of the influence that living in that colony under the circumstances bred the type of man that he ended up becoming. what have you all seen about the history of him being down there that that you all can kind of parallel to like the stuff that

He kind of learned I I'm thinking like the hard work ethic and things like that through being there. But kind of what have you all seen has been the correlation between what he kind of became and what the city gave him as he was growing up?

Dr. Adam Long (10:09.39)
I think that you know one thing that's hard to communicate if you visit now, you know, after after World War Two, and you know, later parts of the twentieth century w as farm equipment became mechanized and farming operations became massive, you know, DICE the population dwindled. There weren't twenty acre farms anymore. There were farms farm by

Charles Davis (10:33.806)
Yeah.

Dr. Adam Long (10:36.758)
you know, farm families that live in other towns and these sorts of things. And so now when you visit, it it feels like you know, this house is preserved because of its historic importance, but not all the houses are are are preserved and it feels like, well he lived out in the middle of nowhere and you know, you have to be self reliant and pull yourself up by your bootstraps to do that.

But I think what's lost is what a big community it was, you know, five hundred families, probably about five thousand people in the colony, a school, a hospital, lots of families and kids around and that and that sort of thing. And if you hear Johnny talk about dice, he remembers it as as a a representation of how important it is for people in a community to help each other.

out and to help to you know lift each other up. And so I think it really shows up in things like his work for prison reform or his songs like Man in Black where he's really highlighting you know highlighting the plight of the impoverished and those, you know, needing help. and so definitely they would have been hard workers and and and that.

two, but I think that the y community there was was was unique for him.

Charles Davis (12:06.882)
Yeah, yeah. The I think just from hearing you talk about that, Adam, it is the the the part about him, the caring part of him, like I said, caring about people in less fortunate situations, the work that he did with the indigenous people of of this country going and recording the albums and and doing all those things and really being in touch with the surroundings around him and not just being so isolated and thinking about himself when it comes to that.

Well, let's talk about the house a little bit. It has been fully restored back to its original thirties and forties glory from what I have read. So kinda talk about the house and and what and what the house entails right now.

Dr. Adam Long (12:44.344)
Sure, so yes, it's been restored to when the the the Cassius lived there. They moved in in in nineteen thirty four. lived there. Johnny graduated high school in nineteen fifty. shortly after that the the the family moved into town, into the town center there and in in Dice. They continued to live in Dice for several more years after Johnny after Johnny left. But you know, the main the main period was while he was

was there from three to eighteen. yeah, and it's so when you moved to Dyess you received twenty acres that you then over the next few years paid back the the WPA for. one acre was cleared and had a house built on it. there were eight different styles of houses. They were

You know, it was government housing that they had designs. They shipped it in by train and assembled assembled there, you know. And so it was one of eight styles there. it's t two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a dining room. and there would have been six kids, two adults living there. So and that's yeah. Yeah, so not large for you know, by our standards now.

But compared to the the the sh shotgun shacks on on many of course sharecropping farms in the south, pretty pretty nice for the time.

Charles Davis (14:20.994)
Yeah, a mansion compared to everything else, when you look at it. but it but it like you say, it is not of the scale that we think of in in a big house at that point and to have that it that that it makes it more of a tight knit thing when you're in those types of spaces and and you're in spaces of that nature. So you have that you have that that house on the site and you like I said, we've talked about it a bit, you have a lot of the other stuff dealing with the New Deal and showing the impact that it has.

with it being on being associated with the campus and being associated with Arkansas State University, kinda what is what are the students' reactions when they start to interact with the the image and the legacy and the memory of what Johnny meant to that that part of of the country?

Dr. Adam Long (15:10.594)
Yeah, you know, I th we have a lot of gradu we we have a pretty large contingent of international students that work in our in our in our program. And I think that's it. Of course a lot of, you know, Arkansans know the story of Johnny Cash. but among our our international students, it's interesting 'cause they've often heard the name. Cash continues to be popular

internationally. Maybe they know him for one song or something. Something like that. Not the pool legacy, but enough to recognize him. But don't know anything about the New Deal heritage or the or the Great Depression, at least in terms of the story in the American South. But of course the Great Depression global phenomenon and these sorts of things, you know, can relate very much to to things that happened in other parts of the world. So I think it

yeah, I think they're they're surprised by that history that history of it.

Charles Davis (16:16.77)
Yeah, of the history of you know that and that makes us and that kind of rounds us into into my next question as well, being as you said, the the New Deal and the Great Depression wasn't a singular regional incident. It was a national epidemic that happened. and I think that that is an important thing when you talk about the South in general. So that leads me into this piece about we talk about music tourism and tourism in general.

But I in in some ways I believe we think and we look at it upon as the South is a little bit different. How do you view, you know, music tourism and things like that? But tourism about the New Deal and to tourism about all of that, what do you think about the South that makes it unique to other places that can have certain stuff like this? What makes being in the South with this so so special?

Dr. Adam Long (17:10.04)
Yeah, I think the the South is especially important to the formation of some of the the biggest Americana themes, you know, of of food and music, f for instance. but also things like the Mississippi River, you know, the first kind of really super highway in the in the country before

before the railroads came along, right? And that are so iconic to American history. that yeah, and that the you know, I think they are themes that connect that are associated with America throughout throughout the country, but have, you know, unique roots in the South.

Charles Davis (18:03.18)
Yeah, yeah. I I I love that you brought up the thing about the Mississippi because that is the thing to me that is the the the through line, in my opinion, of it is that everything had to come through the South at some point. And that's how news traveled before you had the internet or newspapers, before the railroad. That's how music traveled. That's how food traveled. That's how stories and traditions traveled. And and to me that is that is a big piece to why

To why it is important there as well. So as I always like to ask anybody that we do this show with, and especially with this, if somebody decided, you know what, I love hearing from Adam, I love what they've got going on. I I would love to know more about this. And if they decided they wanted to come down and hang out with you all and experience everything that they could from Johnny Cash to everything, what would you tell them to do when they came to visit you all?

Dr. Adam Long (18:57.292)
Yeah, so Dyess is located about forty five minutes north of Memphis. So Memphis is our easiest entry point for you know, by air and you know, by major interstate and those sorts of things. And of course Memphis is is has all kinds of of music history for those who who are, you know, really interested in exploring music, particularly Sun Studios with our with our connection to to to Johnny Cash. Yeah, yeah.

And then, you know, we we at the at in Dice we have museum on the on the and visitor center on the colony circle there where you can start and and tour the exhibitions and then sign up for a guided tour out to the out to the house. we also nearby off operate the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, which we always recommend to people. It's only fifteen minutes away.

And it's the headquarters of an agricultural union that was founded in nineteen thirty-four. so DICE is this, you know, federal response to the Great Depression. Well, this is the same time an organized labor response. and it is it's unique in that it was voluntarily integrated in the thirties and had both men and women in leadership positions.

in the thirties. so it it's an important step, you know, and some of those folks served as mentors for that next generation, you know, in the civil rights movement. It's a v very it's a connected but but less known story I think and worth visiting. And then I would also recommend on the on in the Arkansas Delta, especially Helena, Arkansas, about an hour south of Memphis

longest running blues radio program still okay is is broadcast every weekday. it's called King King Biscuit Time, named after its sponsor, King Biscuit sp King Biscuit Flower. but they have a big blues festival in the fall and you know slight slightly different style of music of course, but also an important American American form of music.

Dr. Adam Long (21:15.432)
And just outside of Helena's also in in a t a little town called Marvel is the Levon Helm, Boy Boyhood Home, you know, another big name in Americana music.

Charles Davis (21:26.028)
Yeah. Yeah, no, it sounds sounds absolutely amazing. And like I said, for all the work that you all are doing, that you and your entire staff are doing down there at Arkansas State, to preserve, as I said, this history of not only Johnny but the New Deal and and what the depression was and how these people not only survived but ended up thriving out of this and and as you said, laying down the foundations of some of the most American ideas that you can have were were formulated in places like Dyess Colony.

And we saw the the fruits of that labor when when we got to see what JR, as they call him, what Johnny turned out to be. Adam, thank you so much for being here with us today. Greatly appreciate you for all of the information. And once again, thank you for all that you all are doing over there at Arkansas State.

Dr. Adam Long (22:12.834)
Thank you so much. it was it was a pleasure.

Susie Cowan (22:16.14)
Well, welcome back to Sound and Soul. We are here with Penny Toombs from the boyhood home of Johnny Cash, with Arkansas State University. Welcome to the podcast, Penny. Hey

Penny Toombs (22:29.304)
Thanks for having me, Susie. So glad to be here.

Susie Cowan (22:32.782)
I know this is so exciting. it's so exciting because well, number one, Johnny Cash. And number two, I'm just so happy to be talking to you about this.

Penny Toombs (22:44.266)
I love it. I love to talk about Johnny. We've got Johnny looking at us in both both settings. Yay.

Susie Cowan (22:50.03)
That's right. That's right. the man in black. Man, so many fun stories we could start with. but I think that what what I'd like to start with is the events that your annual events you do around the boyhood home of Johnny Cash. Let's start.

Penny Toombs (23:06.552)
Hey, that's great. Our our biggest event is coming up in September 19th. we have Roseanne Cash comes. She's wonderful, comes every year, and invites some of her friends to join her. And it's a really cool, unique, intimate experience. It's called the Sunken Land Songwriting Circle. So this year Roseanne is coming with her

wonderful talented husband John Leventhal, and Ruthie Foster, who has her first Sun Record coming out like any day, and then Rhett Miller. They're all gonna be joining on stage. So unlike just a regular concert when they get up there and perform a few songs, they will actually be on stage together, talk about their songwriting process, and you know, really

tell those stories to the audience so the audience feels like they're part of the conversation. So it it's just a cool thing. But but there's more before that is is the reception. So would you like for me to tell you about the reception?

Susie Cowan (24:21.496)
Absolutely, might e might even have been my favorite part.

Penny Toombs (24:24.318)
right. So starting at five thirty on September nineteenth, we open the doors and we're at the Fowler Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas. So people come in and there's this grand hall and we have it set up with just there's there's a whole line of food. In the middle of that is the guitar. Martin guitar is kind enough to donate us a cash edition guitar each year.

That we have the artist sign, and then we ha keep one and put up in the museum. The other one we auction off. So it is like centerpiece, just incredible. And then we have all kinds of different foods. Now, the special thing about that is the recipes for these items come from Carrie Cassius cookbook. So Johnny's mom, Carrie, created a cookie.

And yeah, so we take those and we sit down with our our food folks here on campus and we go through the recipes and say, what you know, what do we think about this year? And they take those recipes and the theme this year is gonna be albums, which you'll be excited about, you know, the different decades of albums, and then we put her food items to that. So you know, it's just

Such an incredible event to where you know, people come and they get they get to eat, which is included with ticket price. they get to look at the solid auction gifts, they get to mingle. We have drinks, custom made drinks from Delta Dark Distillery, which I don't know, but your audience, if they haven't had Delta Dark Distillery, it is incredible. So you know all that's included in the ticket price, you get

food, you get free drinks, and then you get a concert.

Susie Cowan (26:21.782)
Man, it was so I I have to say I went last year and it was such an amazing experience and it's just something so special and you actually feel you feel the spirit of Johnny there with you know, his mom's recipes and his daughter on stage and it's just such a wonderful a way to immerse yourself in in the world that Johnny I don't want to say created, but what he was surrounded by.

Penny Toombs (26:51.2)
Absolutely. And not just his, you know, big entertainment persona that he that he had, but really tying in those roots, kind of bringing everything together like, you know, like full circle. you know, you've got where he grew up, we have pictures of the house, we have little notes set out about the recipe and you know what that meant to the family, if it was his favorite dessert or whatever that might be. So

you you get that feeling that you're almost, you know, sitting in the house, you know, dining with the with the cash family and get a little bit of sneak peek into like what what they would have had and what what they would have prepared for the family.

Susie Cowan (27:35.842)
Man, that's so cool. And you brought up the boyhood home of Johnny Cash. so I know there's another story about how the house was decorated. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? yeah.

Penny Toombs (27:48.372)
That was incredible, incredible process. So it was in horrible shape when Arkansas State University acquired it. It was on the list of most endangered houses. So they got it and input from Tommy and Joanne, which are were Johnny's only two living siblings that that were alive at the time. you know.

bless Tommy, he has since passed, but during that process, they were communicating constantly with for instance the flower pots underneath the windows. Mama Cash kept purple and white flowers, sometimes pink, in those flower boxes. So that's what we keep there. We we honor that. on the inside.

You know, we have the quilt rack is still where it was. Her quilt, her actual quilt with her purse is on the end of the bed where it would have sat many of times. you know, one of the pictures that Johnny made frames, which he was JR, born JR, so you'll hear me say both names. you know, one of the picture frames that he had made and one of the pictures that he had put in there from a magazine.

you know, the family gave us items to put in that house. and just things that we couldn't get, like for instance, the dining room table, and my dining room table, you know, when I mean kitchen table, it sounds fancy, but we would send or they would send pictures to the family and say, Hey, what do you think about this? How how does this look? And they would get it as close to the original as possible. Like for instance, the couch ended up coming from California.

So so much effort went into making that as authentic as possible. And thanks to the Cash family for, you know, for giving us that insight because we wouldn't have known.

Susie Cowan (29:56.928)
Yeah, that absolutely. And I I have to interject here and say that my first visit to the boyhood home of Johnny Cash was in twenty eighteen. It's when the Arkansas Governor's Conference on Tourism was in West Memphis and we took a trip over. And I'm so glad I did because Joanne Cash sang to us on the porch. And I just I thought that was the coolest thing in the entire world. Johnny's sister sang to us on the porch of their of their childhood home.

Penny Toombs (30:15.426)
Yes.

Penny Toombs (30:25.1)
Yeah, we the last time that she visited, it was one of my, you know, top ten moments in my life. She wanted to have a meal in the house and so we invited her family, cousins, came in. We had like seventeen folks there and we set up in the house at the table, used Mama Casha's recipes and cooked for them.

And so I just stood back looking in and Joanne sat down and she said, Mama sat there, Papa sat there, JR sat there. And I'm telling you, I it tears, chill I still get chills thinking about it. It was just such an incredible experience. And that's what I love about the the family. They still remember that place and the roots and

You know, Joanne, we've got a video of her looking out that window in the kitchen and remembering when her mom stood there and she was by her side and first realized that JR had a gift, heard him singing while he was going out to pump the water. And so just those kinds of things, it it's just incredible. Absolutely incredible.

Susie Cowan (31:44.566)
And I am just so grateful to Arkansas State University the way they have protected and preserved this for the family, for all of us to learn more about Johnny so we can immerse ourselves in, you know, what he was surrounded with.

Penny Toombs (31:59.758)
And you have been saying we, me, I wish I was there for the entire process and I feel like I was on restoration, but of course that started with Dr. Ruth Hawkins and Paula Miles and then Dr. Adam Locke. So, you know, I came along a little later in the game, but I've heard so many of the stories and experienced so many things. I feel like I was part of it, which I think is one of the special things that our museum does and even the Arkansas Delta as a whole.

You feel like you're part of the family. So

Susie Cowan (32:32.718)
That's right. That's right. And the two ladies you just mentioned, I have said it more than once. I feel like Dr. Ruth Hawkins and Paula Miles kinda built the tourism industry in the Arkansas Delta. Yes. maybe not built but preserved it with their own hands. I've heard stories of them painting houses, making recipes, decorating.

Penny Toombs (32:54.754)
Yes. All kinds of so much. They paved the way, absolutely.

Susie Cowan (32:56.238)
yes. Well they

Absolute treasures. And what you and Dr. Adam Long have have done to continue the preservation and the storytelling. we are all just so grateful. but in true Susie and Penny fashion, we jumped right through the conversation and started talking about the fun stuff, the food and the recipes. so let's go let's take a step back and talk about your other event other than Sunken Lands fruits festival.

Penny Toombs (33:29.378)
The Arkansas Roots Music Festival. Yes. It is in April of of each year. We time it around. There's a Delta Symposium held here on campus, which is fabulous. So we have all kinds of workshops during during the day leading up Thursday and Friday leading up to the Saturday concert. But yeah, we ha we set up a stage in front of the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home.

And we have Arkansas artists that come and perform live throughout the afternoon. So each one will do like a 40 minute set and we'll switch in between. the past several years has been hosted by the fabulous Aaron Enderlin. and just, you know, we've had Cliff and Susan, which I know you're familiar with these names. I hope your audience will look them up. They're incredible. Adam Cambrick, Sophie Smithson.

you know, just incredible artists there. We've had blues and I just love it. It's it's such a special experience to be there and to just stand back and look and you have this artist performing and you see Johnny's house in the back and you just that feeling you get it's just incredible.

Susie Cowan (34:46.998)
And both of these events are fundraisers for the boy at home, correct?

Penny Toombs (34:50.53)
Yes, yes, that is true. The Sing of Lands concert is our biggest fundraiser of the year. like I said, we have probably five to seven items on silent auction that are incredible, like the guitar. And then we also auction off a meal for six in the Johnny Cash Boyhood home. So whoever wins that gets to come set up a time and we'll use Mama Cash's recipes.

and they'll eat at the table in the cash house. So that's another we have really special, you know, gifts. We have some signed merch from the artist and from John Carter Cash. so we just have a Wilson package which we'll talk about Wilson a little bit more in a bit. But yeah, we have some really incredible things that that that we auction off and our buddies down in Nashville, the Johnny Cash Museum

They're always fabulous about sending us some stuff.

Susie Cowan (35:51.51)
That's really cool. Man, the these events are so special, so unique. And if you want to learn more about Johnny Cash and his music, this is the perfect place to go and experience it all. so

Penny Toombs (36:04.512)
It is you know, what's important about the fundraiser is it's ongoing preservation. With any older home, there are restorations to do. And you know, this the house is is so precious and it it's such a gem. along with, you know, on our circle we have of course the administration building and the the original historic DOS colony you know, entities that

It's just so important to preserve those so we don't don't lose what we have.

Susie Cowan (36:38.934)
That's right. And I I'm just so grateful that y'all have done such a great job and that A State has really stepped up to the plate when it comes to heritage in the Delta. because it would just be such a shame for these stories to not be told and not have the opportunity to really learn more about Johnny, who he was as a person. that really, you know, that was the heart of how that how that music happened. Absolutely.

Penny Toombs (37:07.79)
Absolutely. I just want to shout out real quick on that note. one of the things we do a lot of programming with kindergarten through twelfth grade and one of the things that I always do with them is, you know, they've probably heard of of the Man in Black or Johnny Cash, but I we sit and we listen to the lyrics and I have them printed off of the song Man in Black because it tells you where his heart was at, who what kind of person he really was.

Was he a bad boy? Yes. Did he get in trouble? Yes. But those things he stood for, you know, the poor and beaten down and just if you haven't ever I know you have, but any of your audience listened to those lyrics, really listen to those and it it tells you what kind of person he was.

Susie Cowan (37:53.768)
So if somebody's coming over to the Arkansas Delta for the Johnny Cash experience at the boyhood home and let's say they had seventy two hours, where where would they go? What would they do? What would they eat? Sleep other musical destinations?

Penny Toombs (38:06.776)
Yeah.

Options. So many options. so yeah, I mean there are a a few options I'm gonna throw out here. So Jonesboro, which is where I'm actually in right now, my office is based on campus. Jonesboro has a fabulous downtown area with live music. They have, you know, shops owned by locals. It's just there's so much to do and see here. Breweries, it's just

a great experience. And of course we, you know, our hotels, you have your embassy suites, your comfort in. And when I'm saying that I know the folks that that operate both of those. So it's just continues that family type experience. You know, there's just really good folks here. so you could do do a day in John's Burr, check out what there is you know, around here, the shooting complex, our nature center, then go on down,

You're to visit the Johnny Cash Boyhood home, which you have to. it's in the little town Dice, Arkansas, population 339. right beside that, we have one of our other museums 15 miles away, the Southern Tenet Farmers Museum in Tyronza. Incredible story. I call that our hidden gem. We can do a session about that another time. but then on down the road from there is Wilson, Arkansas, which has an incredible

vibe going on. They have a boutique hotel, they have the Wilson Cafe, they have Sniff that makes, I mean, just incredible. They have live music just about every night as well, and especially for sure on the weekends. seasonal according to you know winter or summer, but fabulous there. you have the National Cold War Museum in Blyville.

Penny Toombs (40:03.618)
you have moving on to Sultana Disaster Museum in in Marion. Then you have West Memphis and the blues. They have a blues festival, so you could time it around that. and then going on to Helena. I love and adore Helena. They have the Edwardian Inn, which is such a unique experience to stay in. I hope that everybody looks that up and goes by.

Food's great. and then of course you have Delta Dirt Distillery that you can go and visit there. which they are generational farmers of sweet potatoes who have taken and made their own gin and vodka out of their sweet potatoes, internationally recognized. So, you know, you can meet Harvey and Thomas there, they'll tell you about their story.

And you know, cause you've experienced they welcome you in just like your family as well. So they ship all over. So I just love the folks at Delta Dark Distillery. yeah, and then you know, go on further down to Stuttgart. If anybody's a hunter, that's the duck hunting capital of the world. So there is so much to do in the Delta. fishing, hunting, i you know, I'm trying to think of

all the different things and there's just so many with music being the center that ties us all together from the top of the Delta to the bottom because you have, you know, Louie Jordan, Sister Rosetta Thorp, you have Marvel and the I'm a Leave on Helm. I mean, there's so much here. So so yeah, that's that's a seventy two hour or one week trip you could come and spend in the Delta.

Susie Cowan (41:58.574)
Well, I just wanna thank you so much for coming on, Penny, and telling us all about the Boyhood Homer Johnny Cash, Sunken Lands Festival, the Arkansas Roots, Delta Roots Festival, and those are annual events. And so if you can't make it this year, map put it on your calendar for next year. and I think we should all just go visit the Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash.

Penny Toombs (42:19.062)
Absolutely. Let me know and I'll meet everybody and we'll have a big party.

Susie Cowan (42:24.428)
Sounds fantastic. Thank you so much, Benny.

Penny Toombs (42:27.266)
Thank you for having me.

Charles Davis (42:29.038)
Okay, that is the conclusion of this week's episode. my gosh, we learned everything about the boyhood home from Johnny Cash. And I kinda need to try some of those recipes that they're doing down there. I know. I need to check that out. but it seemed like you and Penny had a great time talking to each other.

Susie Cowan (42:44.456)
She invited us to come down for the Sunken Lands songwriter circle any time and that's where they do those appetizers from Mama Cash's cookbook. So, you know, when you're ready to take a trip to the Arkansas Delta, just let me know.

Charles Davis (42:56.678)
that's gonna have happen here real soon. we wanna thank a few places and people who are who are doing all the great things down there once again. We wanna thank the Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash. We want to thank the Arkansas people over at Arkansas State University, and we wanna thank the Delta Bow Way's Regional Tourism Association for everything that they are doing to cultivate these areas and to provide this space, not only for the people that are here now but for future generations. So it's a great one. Great job there, Susie. Once again, phenomenal job.

thank you all for listening. Make sure you go to StreamTheCreek dot com and check out all the podcasts that we have there, not just this one. But with that being said, this is the end of this episode of Sound and Soul of the South Soul for Charles Davis and Susie Cowan. We will see y'all next time.