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zakruti.com » Travels » Traveling in the USA by car
ARKANSAS: Decrepit Towns That Are Surprisingly Amazing - Johnny Cash's Childhood Home Visited

ARKANSAS: Decrepit Towns That Are Surprisingly Amazing - Johnny Cash's Childhood Home Visited

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Rating: 4.0; Vote: 1
ARKANSAS: Decrepit Towns That Are Surprisingly Amazing - Johnny Cash's Childhood Home Visited From most Arkansans. Ive seen some yes are in poverty, most are just right above low/low-middle class to high/high-middle class, Pretty good numbers though of up high middle and upper class (Usually from family of big farmers, or big businesses and such. Im from Piggott (Famous for two things, The beginning of the movie Face in the crowd stared by Andy Griffith, there was scenes of Piggott jail, and mentions of the town a few times, & also Author of For whom the bell tolls Ernest Hemmingway married a local and had a house their. Its literally right on the line to Missouri, but about 50m to Jonesboro. Litter thing kills me as a Arkansan, Its suppose to be a the natural state my fellow Arkansans & bypassers! However cant say much, you should see the Junk in our yard (better and worse then some of these) The pet situation we got is 6 dogs, that can go outside the back yard, into Im guessing a quarter/fifth acre of fencing, and had a few stray cats we feed, but their #s are decreasing (believe either toms moving on or Hawks or other things killing em off, Not sure. Believe Ive been threw in rest of the towns, maybe not Lepanto (not familiar with it, maybe not sure. Known I have Dyess. That at 32: 10 I believe is like a old farming bin/warehouse/maybe even distributing center.
Johnny is a legend and hero to me! I also love Black Oak (the band, Not entirely sure of if he has, but I have a friend of my fam & me that has probably made jewelry for them. Hes made some for Kentucky Headhunters, Blackstone Cherry (1 of the member is the son of the headhunters, Hinder, and many other, & also meet several artist. Also was a metal head a kid and still.
Loved your video BTW!

Date: 2024-01-28

Comments and reviews: 34


I was stationed in Blytheville Arkansas in the 70s, when the Air Force Base was still active. That would have been the time that it was at its biggest population. By the 80's it was on its way to being closed down, so the local economy took a huge hit. I was there from 76-78. I had a motorcycle at that time so I would blast through the backroads, rolling through little towns. I went through places like Black Oak, Osceola, Jonesboro, and took the Interstate 55 to Memphis.
Looks like it has lost nearly 10K population since the 70s. This happens in all of these towns, far from larger cities where the jobs are, where the schools are, where shopping for food and goods are not an hour away at a Walmart, where entertainment, restaurants and good doctors clinics/hospitals are located. Small towns are where old people die and young people leave. It's OK to look for a small town life but I know that none of those people, are looking to live in small towns like the ones you're going traveling through.

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Johnny Cash was born 30 minutes up the road from me. I know a few of his family members and had met him and June a few times when I was a kid.
His boyhood home is only open by appt last I heard. If you are a Cash fan it's something to see but it's not really something to plan a trip around. It takes longer to drive out to the house than it does to tour the place. The info you see inside is all things you easily find online all over the place.
All that trash you seen was because you came to a flood plain right after high water. Its all trash that has washed up from up stream. Still a shame so remember that one candy wrapper you don't think matters does when you and all the other litter bugs throw it away to somebody that lives down the river.

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One interesting story about Rivervale is that 2 rivers intersect there, with one passing under the other, thanks to the U. S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS. How, you ask: I have no idea. I grew up at Marked Tree, just a few miles from Rivervale, and I heard about the 2 rivers since I was a wee child.
Rivervale is also the hometown of Early Fires, who at one time was in the top 10 of career wins as a jockey in thourobred horse racing in the U. S. He possibly is still in the top 10, but it's been a few years since I checked up on him.

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Lepanto got hit pretty hard by those spring storms not long after you went through. I drive through there every day on my 424 mile loop from Little Rock, Lonoke, Carlisle, Des Arc, Wynne, West Memphis, Marion, Marked Tree, Blythville, Manila, Lake City, Jonesboro and back to Little Rock. I see a lot of towns that look to be slowly dying and it really makes me sad. I come from Australia and have been living in AR for the last 13 years. You dont see towns dying on such a scale back home.
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I read the book and couldn't wait for the movie The Painted House. It Amazed me, when he wrote such a book. It along with Skipping Christmas were delightful. You're not wrong about Johnny Cash. His music seemed to be all over the radio just as Elvis' was. Great artists came up during those times.
It's so sad to see the deteriorating towns. It would be nice if the people all got together and at least picked up the trash.

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Talking about a one horse town, but it’s typical here in Arkansas. They are all drying up here. El Dorado has lost from 25, 000 down to 18, 000s. My small town has lost about 1/3 of its population. Corrupt governments have cost so much schools are closing and consolidating all while taxes have doubled in recent years. Republicans have ruined the state and it has lost its innocence.
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It’s a shame that so many people are jam-packed into huge population centers like California where they can’t even afford to buy a home, yet there are places like Jonesboro where they could live well. It would be nice if the U. S. population were more spread out, instead of the extremes of sparse, desolate towns vs. massive unaffordable mega cities.
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Weird seeing Jones in a video. I live barely 30 minutes from where you were and I pass through that spot sometimes to pick up a coworker. Was hoping to see myself but I remembered he didn't start until a couple months after you recorded this. I was probably in Blytheville or Osceola about this time.
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Thanks for sharing & for talking about BOA. I was friends with an original member of the band that was from Monette. He passed onward awhile back, miss my bro a lot. I live in southcentral Arkansas & the litter is bad here too. The trash of Trash. Once again, thank you for sharing your great videos.
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LePanto is just how i imagine America to be, i dont care for big cities with high rise buildings, i am in England and i live in a village we dont have tower blocks except in the cities like London, Manchester etc, etc. i am a John Grisham fan and i have read A Painted House,
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All you guys that love to drive around and shoot your videos never say one thing about why these American towns are like this. Before all the free trade agreements these towns had factories and jobs. This is never mentioned in your videos or taught in schools these days.
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It's crazy seeing someone tour the small towns we drive through every day. I grew up in and currently live in a tiny town about 15 miles from Lepanto named Payneway. I drive through Lepanto and past Dyess every day on my way to work at the steel mill in Osceola.
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There may be a reason, but you seem to ignore the cafes and restaurants that are still open in these small towns. They say as much about the town and folks as a gas station. Really the watering hole of the community and often a great source of information.
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We farm a lot of land around Dyess, as well as elsewhere around the region. In your first opening shot, that big field on the right is one of ours. I always thought Dyess was kind of creepy for some reason that I can't quite put my finger on.
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I greatly appreciate your videos. They give me a better understanding of the United States. With respect to the Johnny Cash video on hurt, I think he was also signaling that all of life is meaningless, without knowing Christ as your Savior.
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Proverty isn't homes with junk in the yard. Houses with junk in the yard is simply laziness. Houses with nice cars outside and the house is in disrepair isn't proverty but people with their wants above their needs
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You really wanna know why the south is the poorest part of the country Because for the last 158 years, their focus has been on some form of hate instead of things that actually matter, like economics and education.
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Johnny did not have a name as a child. He literally was not named by his parents. He was called J. R. or J. R. Cash until he joined the Air Force in 1950 and a name was required. He told them John R. Cash.
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I got to see Johnny Cash In concert in March 1980. Fairly small venue in Kansas City KS. About 3rd row. I have come to appreciate it more as I have gotten older. I was only 16 at the time.
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Really interesting video, I get that there is poverty around in these small towns but that's no excuse for not keeping you front yard tidy. Anyway I look forward to the next one.
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Wouldn't you think the settlement homes, if they still exsist, would be out in a field somewhere since they gave them 20 to 40 acres and a smokehouse and a john as well as the house
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dud, city starts at minimum 100k inhabitants. what you show is a sour dwelling or at best a village. English language and definitions. ok USies have to always bragg and exagerate
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Although Jonesboro is a college town, i doubt you seen any pubs that you mentioned. I lived there, my son still does and it's a dry country as is most Arkansas towns or city.
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I lived in Blytheville, Arkansas from 76 to 2009 and Northeast Arkansas will always be home to me. Been to Dyess and Jonesboro, or as we called it JB, many times.
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The poverty level seems higher than that 17% well then look at imaginary numbers like -1 or what I'm saying is if. Only one-third of the population is left.
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That trash wasnt thrown on the ground there but washed down in flood waters
Wind blows alot if plastic into water bodies eventually ending up in the oceans

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You missed some valuable info on Rivervale. There’s a engineering marvel there where one river flows under another. Lots of famous horse jockeys as well.
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A lot of these Red states looks, what are the politicians doing stealing all the tax money. They are certainly not interested in their cities and towns.
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14: 19 just the thought of Johnny's Hurt breaks my heart. Which is the greatest pain, to live a life full of memories or a life not lived.
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You have to pay to go inside the house. You were at the Johnny Cash museum where it said the Dyess Theater. You pay there for the tour.
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thank you so much Joe and Nic for your informative Video ' Mr cash one of my beloved country singer May his soul rest in peace
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Several people have tried to copy your show but they just don't have the feel for it like you do a very good show thank you
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Ahaha. I went to watch the hurt video and came back to finish yours & cracked up when you said finish watching my video 1st
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Hurt by cash was brilliant. Also fan of nine inch nails. I stopped to watch the Hurt video. I think this house is in the clip.
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