As one approaches Jonesboro, Arkansas, one encounters a settlement called Otwell (marked with an "S" on map below)---just short of Cash, AR.  That pretty much describes present-day Otwell, both geographically and economically.  It also describes the history of the Otwell clan in Arkansas---perpetually short of cash.

Not far away---as a crow flies, but it's a mystery as to why one would---is Ralph, Arkansas.

   (This is the route for a pickup. A crow would find shortcut.)

The mayor of Ralph (marked by "E" on map above) complains constantly about the cost of replacing the road signs---renegades named Ralph keep spiriting them away.  Call it highway robbery.  We were content only to take a picture, not the sign itself.

Now that we have explored our Arkansas birthright, perhaps it is about time we went traveling to Otwell, Indiana.  We might discover if there is any connection between the Hoosiers of southern Indiana and the Hogs of north Arkansas.

Ralph relaxes in vine-covered city park of Ralph, Ark.

For whom the bell tolls:  The God-fearing flock of Otwell

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A Glance into Rear-View Mirror:  The Biography

Native Hot Springs---Nation's Oldest National Park
 

Academic Vantage Points:

University of Arkansas (1947-48)

Northwestern University (1948-51)

Harvard University (1959-60)

  Nieman  Fellows, Class of 1959-60
    Front: Dominic Bonafede, Satoshi Otani, Shan Shen, Louis Lyons
    (Curator), Robert Plumb, Veetikad Eswaran, John Murphy.
    Rear: William Lambert, Edmund J. Rooney, Jr., Neil V. McNeil, John
    Burby, John Samson, Ralph Otwell, Thomas Dearmore,
Peter Braestrup, Howard Sochurek.

Career Way Stations:
 

Hot Springs (Ark.) Sentinel-Record (1942-44)

U. S. Army (1944-47)

Daily Northwestern (1948-51)

Pacific Stars & Stripes (1951-53)

Chicago Sun-Times (1953-84)
 

(Copyright 2001, Universal Press Syndicate)