Page 5 - Tom Dillard News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

This is my 1,000th column published since August 2002. I had planned on retiring when I reached 1,000 columns, but I have decided to delay my departure until the end of the year. This column has monopolized my life for more than two decades, but it has been the opportunity of a lifetime for a guy who believes in the importance of state and local history and wants to share it with fellow Arkansans.

This is my 1,000th column published since August 2002. I had planned on retiring when I reached 1,000 columns, but I have decided to delay my departure until the end of the year. This column has monopolized my life for more than two decades, but it has been the opportunity of a lifetime for a guy who believes in the importance of state and local history and wants to share it with fellow Arkansans.

In last week's column I addressed the advent of the automobile in Arkansas. This week we turn our attention to the Smart family of Pine Bluff--which can only be described as the first family of Arkansas automobile dealers.

Victor Ashe notes political shift on state's high court, and says Jan. 6 rioter got what he deserved. Plus, birthdays!

Not long ago, as I traveled one rainy morning to Little Rock on Interstate 30, the traffic slowed to a crawl before coming to a complete stop. As I sat there surrounded by idling trucks and listening to the beat of the wipers, my mind turned to the days when automobiles first appeared on the rutted and muddy roads of Arkansas.