Chairing the 53rd Spring Tour of Homes for the Quapaw Quarter Association was a labor of love for me.  Held on Mother's Day weekend, May 13-14, 2017, and graced with two temperate and sunny spring days, it was wonderful to see hundreds of tour goers enjoying the beauty and history of the six Tour homes on Arch, Gaines and State Streets.  In addition to being our largest fundraiser, QQA's Spring Tour is rooted in our mission statement-"to preserver greater Little Rock's historic places."  By bringing people from all over central Arkansas (and the country) into historic neighborhoods to see quality of life and economic progress driven by preservation, we hope to recruit more neighbors to continue to preserve the City's oldest neighborhoods.

Just as the QQA is already working with volunteers and Board members on plans for the 54th Spring Tour, then-Executive Director Rhea Roberts and I began asking homeowners to participate in the 2017 tour in the summer of 2016.  A really good tour of homes combines history with the present-old homes typically go through cycles, sometimes converting to multifamily housing or sitting empty, depending on the people who own them and the economic cycles.  The homes are filled with stories, sometimes quite dramatic.  The present reflects the stories of the people who live in these homes now:  What attracted them to the home?  In what shape did they find it?  What have the current occupants done to add their personal stories to the life of the home? 

In the summer of 2016, we decided to focus on the increasingly lively Governor's Mansion Historic District (GMHD).  Containing some of the city's oldest and most architecturally interesting and historically significant homes, the GMHD neighborhood has recently been enhanced by remarkable growth of restaurants and other retail business on South Main Street (or "SoMa" as it is called), as well as the "Safe Streets" initiatives that have slowed traffic on Main Street and Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive (and soon, we hope, on Broadway!), making key streets more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly. As our Tour Committee came together and homeowners said yes to our invitations, we were able to put together a variety of homes and homeowners that reflected how neighbors who find, restore, and love old homes become the fabric of revived neighborhoods:

These six homes were the primary focus of the 53rd Spring Tour, but the weekend also included a welcomed return to the Arkansas Governor's Mansion for the Candlelight Dinner on Saturday evening, chaired by QQA Board member Molly McNulty; a friendly gathering and delicious food at the Mother's Day Brunch at Historic Curran Hall on Sunday, chaired by Marcella Dalla Rosa and QQA Board member Laura Sergeant; discounts and other special offers from SoMa restaurants and businesses, along with other great businesses and professionals who sponsored the Tour, including architects, contractors, and realtors who work in the GMHD. Also, University of Central Arkansas students of Ann Ballard Bryan and Pulaski Heights Elementary 5th Graders, under supervision of Sandra Fountain, researched and prepared educational information on other homes of interest along the Tour route, efforts once again coordinated by QQA Board member Toni Johnson.

As Tour Chair, I am especially grateful to our Executive Director Patricia M. Blick, who QQA hired in late January barely three months before the Tour and who jumped right in with marketing, publicity, and courting sponsors, and to Amanda Parker, who as Membership and Activities Coordinator, recruited volunteers, pushed out information as the Tour grew closer, and assisted wherever she was needed.

I am also grateful to those heading up the many key areas, without which the Tour could not be successful: QQA Board members Ashli Ahrens and Gabe Holmstrom chaired Marketing and Publicity; Jeremiah Gardner and Jim Metzger and their crew energized the multi--faceted Street Committee (Trolleys, ticket booths, champagne stations, portalets and much more); Callie Williams and Danielle Butler, Overall House Chairs and both professional preservationists, who provided research on homes and worked with House Chairs and homeowners on scripts and training volunteers; and Ryan Edwards heading up recruitment of the many, many volunteers needed for the Tour. 

Each of the great homes on the 53rd Spring Tour had a House Chair(s) who took primary responsibility for recruiting and organizing between 24 and 36 volunteer docents over three shifts to tell the story of their respective homes.  We are grateful to Representative Warwick and Jessica Sabin (Honorary House Chairs), Courtney and Amber Crouch (Sam Scull), Shalah Brummett (X.O. Pindall), Kathi Jones (Martin-Tunnah-Fulk), Donna Gay (Redding), Alyssa and Matt Frisby (Theo Sanders), and Mandy Stanton and Larry Connelley (Hemingway). 

To name every volunteer who logged many hours to help would take up far too much space, but suffice it to say that it certainly takes well over one hundred volunteers to put on a Spring Tour and related events. 

I briefly mentioned above the 54th Spring Tour, which will be held as part of the celebration of QQA's 50th anniversary as an organization (yes, the Tour is older than QQA!).  We will have very exciting news to announce about the 54th Tour very soon.  So watch for more Spring Tour news from the QQA - preserving greater Little Rock's historic places.

Chuck Cliett

Chair, 53rd Spring Tour

President, QQA Board of Directors