RISON - It's not every day in Cleveland County when someone from San Diego sets an intention to visit a landmark in Rison. But Monday's surprise visit from California native Julie Federico brought some welcomed insight and a new perspective of our town.
Federico sat down for an unplanned episode of the Free Range Conversations podcast to explain what brought her to Rison by way of Bob Abbott.
She is joined by Abbott, Pioneer Village President Marty Bowlin, and usual hosts Britt Talent, Roy Phillips and Douglas Boultinghouse.
Growing up in the crowded and over-developed parts of southern California, Federico al-ways longed to visit another definition of southern, the region where her ancestors originated before moving west.
She set out researching on Ancestry.com and began connecting with family members in Texas, Tennessee and Kentucky. Along her path of research and a name she was familiar with through friends, she stumbled upon an article about the Beard House, now located in the Pioneer Village.
Being an admirer of history and architecture, Federico said, "I kept saying to myself, when I get a chance, I want to go and see it. Because for that period, it's very unusual that it's preserved like that." She praised the efforts of Bob Abbott to preserve and restore the house that belonged to his grandparents.
Her meeting Abbott was one of multiple "godwinks" that aligned for Federico on Monday.
On a trip back from visiting family in Tennessee, Federico stopped in Pine Bluff to see the Martha Mitchell House, which Abbott had a hand in preserving.
She planned to make the trip to Rison to see the Beard House, but while at the Mitchell House, she turned around and saw Abbott Tachograph, and then Abbott himself returning to his shop.
Abbott offered to hop in the car with her and give her a firsthand tour of Rison and the Beard House, and a stop by the Herald office. Pioneer Village President Marty Bowlin joined them to give a full tour of the Village property.
Abbott said he was pleased to know the money he spent on the 1870s property that belonged to his grandparents was attracting people to Rison.
During the podcast, Federico shares her thoughts on the property and specifically the region (Rison and Pine Bluff) from an outsider's perspective.
By comparison in San Diego, "The trend is to buy up land and put up these big distribution warehouses, and they're everywhere," she said. "It's like being in a concrete jungle and you feel so far removed from nature and home." Coming to the south, she felt an appreciation for the sense of community and the simpler way people live and the tributes to the past.
"You come out here and think 'That's how it started!', she said. "It's beautiful that this country has that historic feature." Beyond the appreciation for detail and admiration, Federico feels an emotional connection to the south.
"My grandparents were from the south, and my auntie, they all came from out here," she said. "When I'm here, I hear them and I see them. You act like them." Being a far cry from where she's from, Federico said "I miss my grandparents so much, so when I come to this, I feel it to much more."
For more of Federico's story, as well as Abbott's memories of the Beard House and connections to the Mitchell House, home of the famed whistleblower during the Watergate scandal, stream the full episode now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and ClevelandCountyHerald.com