Fort Smith History: May 15-21
May 15, 1904: Dedication services are held at the new First Lutheran Church building on North D Street. Pastors officiating are the Rev. Dr. F. Pieper, professor of theology and president of the Missouri Synod; the Rev. W.J. Kaiser of Little Rock; the Rev. P.F. Germann, former pastor of the church; and Pastor A.L. Rohlfing.
May 15, 1921: The first church services are held in the new sanctuary of First United Methodist Church, at North 15th and B streets.
May 16, 1975: Arkansas Gov. David Pryor tours Fort Chaffee, a refugee center for Vietnamese refugees.
May 17, 1898: Congress approves an act declaring the jail at Fort Smith a national prison, “for the confinement of persons convicted of crimes and misdemeanors in the United States courts and commissioners’ courts in the Indian Territory.”
May 18, 1910: James C. “Bud” Mars became the first person to fly an airplane in Fort Smith and probably the first in Arkansas. He was testing the aircraft in advance of a public flight demonstration that took place at Electric Park three days later on May 21.
May 18, 1999: The Fort Smith Girls Club officially changes its name to Girls Incorporated of Fort Smith.
May 19, 1991: The Fort Smith Trolley Museum officially begins operating Fort Smith Light and Traction Car No. 224 running a 1,200-foot route from the Fort Smith Trolley Museum to the Old Fort Museum and back again on abandoned Frisco Freight Systems spur track.
May 20, 1892: The first graduation ceremony for Howard High School, which served black students, is held. Judge Isaac C. Parker conferred diplomas to nine students, Exie Greene, Birdie Hope, Lelia Miller, Sophonia Ellis, Piney Bridges, Granville Hancock, Louis Bolin, Edward Greene and George J. Dean.
May 20, 1998: Paschal G. “Pat” Porta, well-known locally for his 39-year career in radio and television, dies at age 75. Porta’s KFSA radio show “Pat Porta, Inquiring Reporter,” which aired 1947-53, was so popular it often generated more than 100 pieces of mail a day, according to Porta’s obituary.
May 20, 1999: The Fort Smith National Cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
May 21, 1892: Judge Isaac Parker, Judge John H. Rogers and J.H. McDonough are elected to the city school board without opposition, and voters approve a 5-mill school tax. “We now have the most excellent school board,” the Fort Smith Elevator declared.
May 21, 2008: Lake Fort Smith State Park reopens six years after it closed and was relocated because of the enlarging of Lake Fort Smith and Lake Shepherd Springs into a single reservoir to meet future municipal water needs.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Fort Smith History: May 15-21
