Author Archives: Dilynn Boyd

Discover Your Irish & Scots-Irish Ancestors: Ulster Lecture Tour

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Want to discover your Irish and Scots-Irish ancestors? Many people believe that researching Irish ancestors is impossible because of the destruction of the Public Record Office in 1922. While many records were destroyed, others survived and large collections have come online in recent years.

Join Fintan Mullan and Gillian Hunt from the Ulster Historical Foundation during their annual USA lecture tour (2 dates in ARKANSAS). Learn how to get the most out of Irish resources and records, gain strategies for breaking down brick walls, and grasp important historical context that may help fill in gaps in your research.

Whether you are just beginning your Irish research or have been at it for years, you won’t want to miss these workshops! Fuller contact details with additional information can be found at: www.ancestryireland.com/northamericantour2017

Saturday, 11 March – Bentonville, AR (9:00am–4:00pm)
Location: Bentonville Community Center / 1101 SW Citizen’s Circle / Bentonville, AR 72712
Host: Northwest Arkansas Genealogical Society
Tel./e-mail: 479-271-6820, [email protected]

Tuesday, 21 March – Little Rock, AR (6:00pm–9:00pm)
Location: Hillcrest Hall / 1501 Kavanaugh Blvd / Little Rock, AR 72205
Host: Arkansas Genealogical Society, Butler Center for Arkansas Studies
Tel./e-mail: 501-320-5711
Contact: Christopher Stewart – [email protected]

A Decade of Country Music: “Looking Back”

"Looking Back" 2 Comments

Reprinted here by special permission of the author, Cindy Beckman, a retired Conway High School history teacher who writes local history.

In 1979, KSSN 95.7 hired Bob Robbins (aka Robert Spears) away from KAAY and began broadcasting country music. Throughout the 1980s, KSSN grew to become the top country music station in Arkansas and by the early 1990s, was winning awards for being the top country music station in the country. Robbins would be the #1 DJ in the Little Rock market for 20 straight years. Continue reading →

I Heard It On the Radio, Part II: “Looking Back”

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Reprinted here by special permission of the author, Cindy Beckman, a retired Conway High School history teacher who writes local history.

When I was growing up in Faulkner County, the two main Conway radio stations were KCON and KVEE. Even though television provided us with visual entertainment, we still turned to our radio stations for local news, coverage of local elections, live local sports coverage and our favorite tunes.

Bill Johnson, who had been a KCON announcer while in college, became the general manager of KCON in 1962 less than a year after James Clayton, the founder, passed away. Johnson purchased Continue reading →

Heard It On the Radio: “Looking Back”

"Looking Back" No Comments

Reprinted here by special permission of the author, Cindy Beckman, a retired Conway High School history teacher who writes local history.

Conway may have had one of the first radio stations in the state when the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a license to Conway Radio Laboratories on October 2, 1923. KFKW operated at 150 watts on Tuesday and Friday evenings if Ben Woodruff, the owner Continue reading →