A visit to Mena in Arkansas

A visit to Mena in Arkansas

When we were at the lodge in Queen Wilhelmina State Park we took a trip down the mountain into the valley to the small town of Mena.

Mena Railway station

 We had been there before years ago and it certainly had grown slightly larger but it  still was a small Arkansas country town. It was built around the railway as many of these small country towns were in the days past.

Mike at the station

So off we went to see the station. 
 It was a delight to visit. It had been turned into a museum  and contained all kinds of old furniture and railway artifacts and photos. 
The best part of the visit was meeting  the elderly lady volunteer and a couple of her friends, who had lived in Mena when they were young and were visiting again. They delighted in telling us stories from the past and it made the visit so interesting.

Portrait of early farmer

 Mike talked to the gentleman mostly about the trains that used to run through this part of the country and the farming folk that lived around.

 Exhibition of local people

 I spent a lot of time talking with the ladies about the lovely paintings they had displayed by a local artist. She had taken the time to paint  beautiful portraits of the local people and it was a delight to hear all their  stories.

 School teacher

It certainly made our day and  we were so pleased we had visited the tiny town.