Artwork for podcast I Am Northwest Arkansas®
Inside the Clinton House Museum: Preserving Fayetteville’s Legacy and Inspiring Community in Northwest Arkansas
Episode 327 • 8th September 2025 • I Am Northwest Arkansas® • Randy Wilburn
00:00:00 00:50:09

Share Episode

Shownotes

About the Show:

"It’s a home for everybody’s story."

       – Joshua Youngblood

In this episode of I Am Northwest Arkansas®, host Randy Wilburn takes listeners inside the Clinton House Museum, one of Fayetteville’s most historic homes and a true treasure of Northwest Arkansas. Joined by Joshua Youngblood (Board President) and Bailee King (Museum Director), Randy explores why this house—once home to Bill and Hillary Clinton—is much more than just a presidential landmark. The Clinton House Museum helps preserve Fayetteville’s long tradition of public service, welcomes guests from around the globe, and provides a space for community programs and school visits.

But with city funding gone and the museum now relying on private donations, the future of the Clinton House Museum is in the hands of the community. Whether you’re a local who’s driven by countless times or a visitor looking to learn more about the area’s rich history, this episode highlights why making a stop at the Clinton House Museum is a must!

Key Takeaways:

  • More Than a Presidential Home: The Clinton House Museum shares stories of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s early years, their marriage, and Fayetteville’s vibrant history from the 1920s to today.
  • Open and Accessible: The museum is FREE to visit, Wednesday through Sunday, 10am to 4pm. Families, students, and history lovers can explore the house, gardens, and rotating exhibits.
  • Community-Funded Future: With city funding gone, the museum operates on a super-lean budget and depends heavily on donations, memberships, and event rentals to stay open.


  • Cultural Hub: The Clinton House is “a home for everybody’s story”—hosting school field trips, community programs, art/photo exhibits like Andrew Kilgore’s iconic 1970s Fayetteville photography, weddings, and special events.


  • Inspiration for All: The museum offers a chance to see how two regular people from Arkansas went on to shape the world, inspiring visitors, especially young people, that big dreams can start right here in Northwest Arkansas.


  • Connected to Local Life: Located near Fayetteville Public Library and Fayetteville High School, the museum partners with local organizations and welcomes collaborations for group visits and community outreach.

All this and more on this episode of the I Am Northwest Arkansas® podcast.

Important Links and Mentions on the Show*

This episode is sponsored by*

Winetopia 2025

Apple Seeds Fall Dinner 2025

Try ONBoardNWA.com Today!

*Note: some of the resources mentioned may be affiliate links. This means we get paid a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you use that link to make a purchase.

Connect more with I am Northwest Arkansas:

Thank you for listening to this I am Northwest Arkansas podcast episode. We showcase businesses, culture, entrepreneurship, and life in the Ozarks. 

Consider donating to our production team to keep this podcast running smoothly. Donate to I Am Northwest Arkansas

Mentioned in this episode:

Signature Bank of Arkansas "Community Banking at its Best!"

FindItNWA.com

Looking to discover the best local businesses in Northwest Arkansas? 🌟 From cozy cafes to essential services, FindItNWA.com has got you covered. Connect with your local community with just one click and explore something great. Visit finditnwa.com today! #LocalBusiness #CommunitySupport"

FindItNWA.com

ONBoardNWA.com

Looking for your next career move in Northwest Arkansas? Check out ONBoardNWA.com, the hyper-local job board designed to connect job seekers with leading employers in our community. From entry-level positions to executive roles, ONBoardNWA is your one-stop shop for job opportunities right here in NWA. Take the next step in your career and visit ONBoardNWA.com today.

Transcripts

Speaker:

This week on I Am Northwest Arkansas, we step inside one of

Speaker:

Fayetteville's most historic homes, the Clinton House

Speaker:

Museum. President of the board, Joshua Youngblood and

Speaker:

Bailee King, museum director, share how this

Speaker:

landmark, once the first home of Bill and Hillary Clinton,

Speaker:

has become more than just a presidential footnote. From school

Speaker:

visits to and community events to preserving

Speaker:

Fayetteville's deep tradition of public service, the museum

Speaker:

plays a vital role in our cultural landscape. But with

Speaker:

city funding gone, the museum now relies on the

Speaker:

generosity of the community to keep its doors open. Tune

Speaker:

in to learn why this hidden gem matters and how

Speaker:

you can be a part of its future.

Speaker:

It's time for another episode of I. Am Northwest

Speaker:

Arkansas, the podcast covering the. Intersection of

Speaker:

business, culture, entrepreneurship, and life in general

Speaker:

here in the Ozarks. Whether you are considering a move to this

Speaker:

area or trying to learn more about the place you call home,

Speaker:

we've got something special for you. Here's our host,

Speaker:

Randy Wilburn. Hey, folks, and welcome back

Speaker:

to another episode of I Am Northwest Arkansas. I'm your host, Randy

Speaker:

Wilburn, and I'm as excited as always to be with you. Today

Speaker:

I'm doing a very special episode. I'm here with a dear friend of mine,

Speaker:

Joshua Youngblood, who has served with

Speaker:

me on the board of Ozark Natural Foods. And Joshua,

Speaker:

I'd been pestering him, saying I got to get to the Clinton House Museum

Speaker:

because he is, like myself and so many others in this community,

Speaker:

a glutton for punishment when it comes to serving on multiple boards. And

Speaker:

Joshua is the president of the board of the Clinton House Museum.

Speaker:

And so Joshua convinced Bailee King, who is the museum

Speaker:

director, to sit down with me today and have a conversation

Speaker:

about this. Well, I won't say it's a little known treasure, but it's

Speaker:

a treasure that we, we sometimes drive by if you're in the area of

Speaker:

Fayetteville. And you've always said, I've got to stop there one day.

Speaker:

Well, I want you to listen to this episode because I'm going to make a

Speaker:

case for why this needs to be at the top of your list of

Speaker:

places to visit when you come to Northwest Arkansas. If you, if

Speaker:

you're already living here in Northwest Arkansas, if you're in Fayetteville, you

Speaker:

gotta come and visit the Clinton House Museum. So I really want to encourage

Speaker:

you to check it out when you get a chance. So this is, and the

Speaker:

cool thing about it is we're actually doing this interview and they

Speaker:

are, the museum is open, so in the background you'll

Speaker:

hear A cacophony of sounds, of people coming in and out and

Speaker:

checking out the museum and seeing it for themselves. But we're

Speaker:

excited because this just shows you that this place is alive and well,

Speaker:

and this is another reason why you need to come down and visit. So,

Speaker:

without further ado, Bailee King and Joshua Youngblood,

Speaker:

welcome to the podcast. Thanks so much for having us. Thank you. Yeah,

Speaker:

Absolutely. Absolutely. How are you guys doing today? Good. Good. Doing real well.

Speaker:

Yeah, absolutely. Good. I love that. So, listen, I have a

Speaker:

number of questions that I want to ask because I really want to learn about

Speaker:

this location. This is for a lot of people that are just the

Speaker:

uninitiated and for listeners who've driven past the Clinton House Museum but

Speaker:

have never stopped in, how would you describe its

Speaker:

significance in Fayetteville's story? Well,

Speaker:

I'll jump in first, and I'm sure Bailee will have some other

Speaker:

good information for us, and we'll clarify anything that I misstate.

Speaker:

So that's an interesting question, because it's been a museum since

Speaker:

2005, so it has a role in the city as a museum,

Speaker:

which is important. And it's actually one of the only history museums in

Speaker:

Fayetteville. Fayetteville actually doesn't have a city history museum at all.

Speaker:

And so historical museums here are kind of a rarity. But the

Speaker:

house has been here for nearly a century or right

Speaker:

around a century. It's one of the best preserved examples of

Speaker:

early 20th century architecture. It's a Tudor Revival house. So it's actually

Speaker:

beautiful. It has lovely gardens that are open to the public even when the

Speaker:

museum's not open. It tells a super important story

Speaker:

as a house museum as well. And so, you know, there's different types of museums.

Speaker:

We're a house museum. And for the University of

Speaker:

Arkansas and for the city of Fayetteville to have this particular one, it's very special

Speaker:

because it's the only house museum that of course has two former

Speaker:

faculty members from a university in that town who went on to be

Speaker:

global, changing significant figures, political

Speaker:

leaders, social leaders, that they both lived here. And not only

Speaker:

did they both live here, they got married in the living room. This is the

Speaker:

house that some would say Bill used to convince Hillary to finally say

Speaker:

yes. So it's a special story. But as we say at the Clinton

Speaker:

House Museum, it's a home for everybody's story. So it's really

Speaker:

about Fayetteville from the 20s to the 70s

Speaker:

when they got married here to the present day. It's a public space that

Speaker:

helps preserve that story. Fayetteville had an amazing couple of

Speaker:

decades there from the seventies to eighties. Writers and

Speaker:

politicians and academics and all these people that were shaping

Speaker:

not just the future of Arkansas, but the future of the country and the world

Speaker:

were kind of all coming through here. And this house and this museum

Speaker:

captures that story really well. And so one of the things that's really

Speaker:

fascinating is to people that are still around the area or people that travel here

Speaker:

from across the country, come here, and then they see their stories here too. Yeah,

Speaker:

you were mentioning, Bailee, you were just saying how people come from

Speaker:

literally all over the world and will show up at the doorstep

Speaker:

here and want to see the museum. Yeah, definitely. We

Speaker:

get people from literally everywhere. And it's so

Speaker:

fun to see people from. They made

Speaker:

the 8, 10, 20 hour drive here

Speaker:

or they flew here just for this. They're really

Speaker:

inspired by the story of the Clintons and how

Speaker:

Bill grew up in a really small town. Hope,

Speaker:

Arkansas. Yeah, Hope, Arkansas. And that is really

Speaker:

inspiring to them. And they really are excited to come see this

Speaker:

place that totally humanizes him as a person

Speaker:

and not just this really iconic figure that we all know. But

Speaker:

yeah, it's really cool to see people from literally everywhere. I've met

Speaker:

people from countries that I've never met people from, so it's

Speaker:

great. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. You want to say something else? Yeah. Well, Bailee

Speaker:

was just sharing a story with us about people from Chile. Is that right? And

Speaker:

the last time I was in the museum on a weekend, I had a

Speaker:

large family from India come to visit. I've during

Speaker:

weekends where I've just been doing some work around because it's volunteer

Speaker:

board, doing some work around the house or covering the desk. I've had

Speaker:

people from Indonesia, I've had people from Mexico, I've had people

Speaker:

from Japan. I've had people from Europe, all over Europe.

Speaker:

And so it's amazing for Fayetteville to have a place that

Speaker:

when people are coming to maybe this part of the country, or maybe they're coming

Speaker:

specifically to Arkansas, they go here. Yeah.

Speaker:

You mentioned something to me, Josh, when we were talking a couple of weeks

Speaker:

ago about possibly doing this episode about what a lot of people

Speaker:

don't know is that this is one of the most visited

Speaker:

museums here in this area. Right here. I have

Speaker:

statistics to back up this. Yeah, well, we love statistics

Speaker:

and they help tell a story. And it's a story that, as you

Speaker:

mentioned earlier and is something that on the board and Bailee,

Speaker:

we're facing city funding, which the museum has had since

Speaker:

it is. It opened 2005. 2005

Speaker:

opening. It's always had city funding until just a couple years

Speaker:

ago we started winding down. And so the last of our funding will be gone

Speaker:

next year. That said, the museum averages more than 65

Speaker:

visitors a week. We have peak week visitation of over

Speaker:

100. Bailee actually tracked one week in June. They had

Speaker:

120 people come through the museum. And that's when school's not in

Speaker:

session, you know, a full time session. We get a lot of folks that are,

Speaker:

you know, they're coming with their parents, they're coming from Texas or somewhere else and

Speaker:

they're, they're visiting the U of A and they'll drop in. But that was during

Speaker:

the summer and we had 120 people come here. And when you're looking around,

Speaker:

whatever Google search you're doing or whatever

Speaker:

TripAdvisor or wherever you're looking, it's going to list the Clinton House. It's

Speaker:

going to say this is something to do and people do it. The conversation I've

Speaker:

had actually several times in the museum with visitors is that we were here

Speaker:

visiting something else like Crystal Bridges International

Speaker:

Draw. Fantastic museum. Right. So they were like, we wanted something else to do to

Speaker:

get a better sense of the area, to learn a little bit more history. And

Speaker:

the Clinton House was here for them. Yeah, I like that and I like it.

Speaker:

It's literally around the corner from the Fayetteville Public Library, which is also another

Speaker:

local draw. And kind of the two go hand in hand. You know, when

Speaker:

you think of the collection that the Fayetteville Public Library has

Speaker:

and then what the Clinton House represents from a historical

Speaker:

standpoint, I think it's important. There's a lot of history here

Speaker:

and this is something that people can really take advantage of. Can I

Speaker:

just say one little quick? Yeah, sure. You say it goes hand in hand. Actually,

Speaker:

on September 10th, the Clinton House Museum is co hosting an event with the

Speaker:

Fayetteville Public Library. Our good friends right down the road, which will be. The

Speaker:

writer Carolyn Staley will be doing a reading from her

Speaker:

book the Boy next door, my 60 year friendship with Bill Clinton. It's actually going

Speaker:

to be at Fayetteville Public Library. I saw that we don't have the. Parking at

Speaker:

the Clinton House Museum to host as many people as that would be. But of

Speaker:

course we do have free parking. But so it's going to be there again September

Speaker:

10th and it's co hosted by the Clinton house. And so for people listening to

Speaker:

this episode, whether they're listening to it, before that event, if it comes out

Speaker:

by then, or if they're listening to it, post that event. Do you do any

Speaker:

other partnerships with the Fayetteville Public Library at all? Yeah, we want

Speaker:

to start doing things with them just because

Speaker:

there's, like, so much opportunity there. Yeah. Our main partnerships that

Speaker:

we want to start doing, which also kind of closely related to the public

Speaker:

library, are, like, schools. Yeah. And

Speaker:

I went and talked to someone from the Fayetteville Public Library the other day, and

Speaker:

she mentioned how much they could help with that. Even doing kind of like

Speaker:

a conjoined field trip type of situation. Two

Speaker:

for one. Yeah. So there's lots of opportunity there, but, yeah, that's something we're

Speaker:

definitely, like, excited about in the future. Yeah. Well, I mean, and that's the thing.

Speaker:

I mean, there is such a collaborative spirit in Northwest Arkansas,

Speaker:

period. Right. But especially in Fayetteville. I mean, I can speak to that.

Speaker:

I see that in Springdale. I see it in Rogers. I see it in Bentonville.

Speaker:

But Fayetteville certainly has that place of collaboration where people

Speaker:

like to come together and kind of join forces, because, you know, we're always

Speaker:

stronger together than we are separate. So that makes a huge difference.

Speaker:

You know, one of the things that Bailee's done since she's joined us, and we're

Speaker:

very grateful to have her services with us and her professional leadership, is

Speaker:

build a little bit stronger connection with some of those folks and building that collaboration.

Speaker:

So we've hosted an event from. And correct me if I get this wrong, Bailee

Speaker:

from the Arkansas Museum Association's Northwest Arkansas Chapter.

Speaker:

We hosted the whole chapter here that was in collaboration with the Shadowland

Speaker:

Museum and some other local folks. But we had museum professionals from around the area

Speaker:

here, which is really incredible, trying to tell our story. But also,

Speaker:

as you say, build those networks, build that collaboration, open up some more

Speaker:

opportunities for us. Cause as much as we would like to do things like

Speaker:

school visits and be able to support buses that have to have parking, you have

Speaker:

to pay the drivers and all of those things, or to create more

Speaker:

educational materials that we can hand out, it takes funds to do all this. And

Speaker:

so we need partnerships now, and we're trying to grow those partnerships, for sure.

Speaker:

So beyond the Clintons, this museum highlights

Speaker:

Fayetteville's tradition of public service. I know you mentioned that to me, and that

Speaker:

kind of stands out. Can you kind of maybe share an example of how that

Speaker:

theme comes alive in the exhibits here that we see in the

Speaker:

house? Sure. Well, the one for sure to

Speaker:

highlight is we have a room Dedicated to Hillary. Okay. So a lot of people

Speaker:

might think Bill, but Hillary had an incredible track record

Speaker:

of public service. She was on the faculty longer than Bill, and I

Speaker:

think it's about three years, two and a half years, three years that she was

Speaker:

on faculty. She did a lot of pro bono work. They're both faculty in the

Speaker:

law school, the U. Of A. But she did a lot of work establishing

Speaker:

Northwest Arkansas's women's shelter and domestic violence

Speaker:

support networks. And so that is the public service she was doing

Speaker:

as a faculty member. That, of course, translated right to Little Rock and then to

Speaker:

D.C. for both of them. Members of our board are people that are very

Speaker:

engaged in the community as well. So we like to tell that story. It's a.

Speaker:

The impact that the Clintons had. You can kind of trace it back here.

Speaker:

Yeah. Now, Bill came as faculty in 74,

Speaker:

75. Hillary joined him, and they were faculty here. And then he launched his political

Speaker:

career. But he launched his political career running for congressperson.

Speaker:

Right in the room we're actually sitting in right now. Oh, wow. There's a table,

Speaker:

which is the war. We're in the war room, and the table's right next to

Speaker:

us. And that was an unsuccessful campaign because he went up

Speaker:

against one of the most beloved politicians from Northwest Arkansas ever, John Paul

Speaker:

Hammerschmidt. But it launched here. And then a couple years

Speaker:

later, he was elected Attorney general. But all of the things that the

Speaker:

Clintons did, the organizing, the networking with the Arkansas

Speaker:

travelers, their supporters that are still in Fayetteville area or across the state,

Speaker:

across the country, those folks were coming through this house.

Speaker:

And then those people have long lasting impact. And if you love something like

Speaker:

the Fayetteville Public Library or any of our other great cultural

Speaker:

institutions around here, a lot of people that knew the Clintons back in the 70s

Speaker:

are the reason we have those things today. Yeah. And I'll just cite one example.

Speaker:

A good friend in there is Jim Blair, who everyone has great respect and

Speaker:

love for. Jim Blair. And library is named.

Speaker:

Is named after him. Yeah. What an impact he's had in the community. Huge

Speaker:

benefactor in this area. Huge benefactor, wonderful man and

Speaker:

good friends of Phil and Hillary, you know, in those early days, was doing that

Speaker:

work. You know, And I pose this question to both of you because I kind

Speaker:

of want to go. I want to just take a little tangent, a side tangent

Speaker:

in this conversation, just to ask with all of the people

Speaker:

that you've encountered that are friends of Bill or friends of

Speaker:

Hillary that can kind of speak to those early days,

Speaker:

did you get a sense of whether or not at that time,

Speaker:

people saw the potential for what Bill

Speaker:

ultimately represented. And I say that for a number of reasons. I

Speaker:

actually worked in Washington, D.C. during these

Speaker:

second Clinton White House. So during his

Speaker:

second term, I was there during a number of issues

Speaker:

that came up. During that time, I was working at ABC News. It was quite

Speaker:

an interesting time to go be in the White House and cover that. So I

Speaker:

have a perspective from that. And one of the things that my takeaway was

Speaker:

that President Clinton, he recognized

Speaker:

everybody and made time for everybody, had really, like,

Speaker:

an immense memory of people. And I've heard stories and I've told these stories

Speaker:

and talks about how he would connect with somebody and see them like 15,

Speaker:

20 years later and still remember their name, remember the dog that they talked about

Speaker:

and stuff like that. That's an uncanny ability. Right. Not everybody

Speaker:

shares. I'm curious to know what was the one thing that you've heard

Speaker:

from those friends of Bill or friends of Hillary about the early days

Speaker:

that was kind of like a prelude to what ultimately

Speaker:

became of the Clintons, the impact that they've had on this country,

Speaker:

how. And on the world. I mean, yeah, I can't as much

Speaker:

speak to my experiences with him in any way

Speaker:

or necessarily his friends, but I can much more speak to, like,

Speaker:

people who. So many of the visitors that come to the house have

Speaker:

something to say about him. They have some kind of personal connection

Speaker:

with him. And it's super interesting to think about

Speaker:

these people that are just visitors coming to see the house. So many people

Speaker:

have some niche example of they met him

Speaker:

when they were young or they went to the U of A when he

Speaker:

was teaching here. And it's so rare that

Speaker:

I. When people are, like, describing these stories that I don't

Speaker:

hear someone say, like, how charismatic he was or how thoughtful

Speaker:

he seemed, or like, how the second time they

Speaker:

saw him, like he did remember them. Like, it is so common

Speaker:

and like, the stories are always very similar in that way.

Speaker:

So, yeah, I think people definitely thought he could be something

Speaker:

big. Yeah. Yeah. One of the stories that I heard well

Speaker:

before I moved to Fayetteville, and as I'm old enough to have

Speaker:

gotten the chance to vote back in the 90s for president and was

Speaker:

following those campaigns. And one of the stories I remembered was

Speaker:

that his handlers would have to go look for him

Speaker:

sometimes, whether he was in D.C. or somewhere else. Cause he would have snuck off

Speaker:

to a Waffle House to go talk to people. Right.

Speaker:

And so talking to people, really seeing people and Wanting to know

Speaker:

what everybody thought, not just the people that are around him. One of the

Speaker:

amazing things about being on this board right now is that, you know that the

Speaker:

house they lived in 1975, that was a good long time ago. It

Speaker:

was about 50 years ago, 50th anniversary of them moving to

Speaker:

this house and getting married, but that was 50 years ago. And people are still

Speaker:

so convinced that of the impact that Bill and

Speaker:

Hillary could have made and did make. And so they're still sticking around. We have

Speaker:

board members that knew them back in the 50s. But what I'll say about the

Speaker:

house, and I think this ties to the Waffle House story, if you bear with

Speaker:

me, is that it's a humble house, it's a beautiful house. It's a

Speaker:

simple house. It's a place where they had a room with all of their books

Speaker:

because they were just out of college, so they had a whole room that was

Speaker:

nothing but their books because they read a lot. There's a room in the house

Speaker:

that has a setup with a gaming table because they like to play games together.

Speaker:

The kitchen and the decor and Bailee's, some really amazing stuff

Speaker:

lately. It's just a 70s house that, you know,

Speaker:

two folks trying to get started in their careers lived in. And this

Speaker:

is where that whole Clinton legacy kind of got going in this humble

Speaker:

house. And that says a lot. It does. I mean, you know, and I always

Speaker:

tell people, no matter where you sit on. On what side of the aisle,

Speaker:

you always have to, you know, respond when you see people

Speaker:

that are able to connect with folks like that. Just regular folks, too, because

Speaker:

I've heard stories, too. Not just Waffle House, but McDonald's and some others.

Speaker:

And we know some of those stories, but it's interesting to hear that.

Speaker:

And again, I have some friends that are friends of Bill

Speaker:

and Hillary, one that actually worked in the Clinton White House. And they

Speaker:

just told me, regaled me with one story after another after another.

Speaker:

And you're like, wait a minute, this can't be. But these are real stories, right?

Speaker:

And it's so cool to hear that. And so this. This house actually kind of

Speaker:

embodies that spirit, I think, which is why people are kind of

Speaker:

gravitated towards it and why people come here and visit and why

Speaker:

that if you're listening to this, you need to take time to come

Speaker:

and stop by and visit. If you're new to the area, if you're thinking about

Speaker:

relocating here, this needs to be on your. Your short bucket

Speaker:

list of places to go as soon as you get to northwest Arkansas because

Speaker:

it will give you a glimpse into this area and what makes the

Speaker:

Ozarks so special. You know, the museum did shut down during COVID and then

Speaker:

we. It was a took a while for us to get going again. A

Speaker:

nonprofit organization formed. We founded a

Speaker:

nonprofit in order to get the museum going again without the

Speaker:

city of Fayetteville's A and P commission managing it. Yep. So we've

Speaker:

made strides, lots of strides, bringing in Bailee, having some professional management here,

Speaker:

and that's all been great. But one of the other things that we've done is

Speaker:

we've just expanded ours. And it's free. It's free to the people to come to

Speaker:

this museum. We need support, and we do have a lovely box

Speaker:

right near the front, and we have lots of cards, and we have lots of.

Speaker:

And Bailee would love to talk to you about what donation or support could look

Speaker:

like, but it's free 10 to 4, Wednesday through Sunday. That's amazing.

Speaker:

So anyone that's in Fable can drop by and look at this humble but

Speaker:

beautiful house. Walk the grounds. Be right. We're really back

Speaker:

up against the bike trail that goes. That connects over to

Speaker:

Traverse and goes to the university. You can walk down the street right down through

Speaker:

the Fayetteville Public Library, right next to Fayetteville High School. So

Speaker:

right in the heart of things. Yeah, it is really cool. And I'm glad you

Speaker:

kind of teed me up for my next question, because you talked about. The museum

Speaker:

is free to visit, but it does face funding challenges, as do a lot

Speaker:

of museums. A lot of cultural arts centers are facing

Speaker:

more funding challenges now than ever before. What does

Speaker:

it cost to keep the doors open, and how can the community

Speaker:

help with that process? So our budget,

Speaker:

which is. I can't. I can't emphasize how lean of a budget

Speaker:

this is. This is amazingly. Doing a lot with a little. Doing a lot.

Speaker:

It's about $59,000. Wow. Yeah. And so that's to do

Speaker:

everything. We do the programming that Bailee has mentioned, working with schools. You

Speaker:

know, we host classes from Fable High School. She's meeting with elementary

Speaker:

and kindergarten classes in the next couple of weeks. We do all of that stuff,

Speaker:

actually having staff here supporting interns, controlling our

Speaker:

maintenance because we. The building itself is owned

Speaker:

by the University of Arkansas, but it's nonprofit. Is responsible for the maintenance. On a

Speaker:

100-year-old house. Yeah. That's a lot. Okay. So trying to

Speaker:

keep it up, you know, you know, up to specs, but then

Speaker:

also making improvements and all that takes funds and we're doing it right now on

Speaker:

$59,000 a year. If we really were doing

Speaker:

as much as we need to do, and if we were supporting Bailee at the

Speaker:

level that I would really like to support Bailee at, as well as getting some

Speaker:

more staff and getting some interns here, we would be closer to

Speaker:

$150,000 a year. And that's really what it takes to

Speaker:

have a museum that's still operating on a really lean budget. The

Speaker:

city of Fayetteville and A and P commission, when it was operating Pre pandemic, was

Speaker:

$250,000 a year. Okay. So that's what it actually took to

Speaker:

do everything. And I'll say that we do other things like host events, and we

Speaker:

can host weddings. We can do all of that. All of those things. Take cost.

Speaker:

Take cost. And so the amount of programming with the special events that

Speaker:

the museum used to be able to do, which we were really trying to get

Speaker:

back into doing, signature events, you know, a 70s theme party

Speaker:

celebrating Bill's birthday, a lot of fun things, garden parties that the

Speaker:

museum used to do, that was with $250,000 a year. Yeah.

Speaker:

And so to get back to that level, it's going to take a lot of

Speaker:

support from our friends and people. Fable and people around the world. So

Speaker:

there's no shortage of ideas and ways that you can really leverage this

Speaker:

cultural institution. But it's gonna cost money. Yeah. And I'll

Speaker:

just add one note that before the pandemic, it was also. It was a $10

Speaker:

admission. It was a $10 admission, and it was $250,000 of support

Speaker:

from the city. So we're doing an amazing amount of stuff, and Bailee is doing

Speaker:

an amazing amount of stuff, hosting people. As we had people

Speaker:

walk through just now, as we're talking. Right, right again, 65 people

Speaker:

a week, upwards of 100, sometimes with very, very

Speaker:

lean budgets. And if we had more support, and we're looking at some ways to

Speaker:

do that, and we'd love to talk to anybody about it, but if we had

Speaker:

more support, just think of what we could do. Yeah. And I'm curious to know,

Speaker:

is there any connection with the Clinton Presidential Library at all?

Speaker:

Have you guys ever spoke to them? I mean, I know the Clinton

Speaker:

Presidential Library is down in Little Rock, but I'm just curious to know, has there

Speaker:

ever been any connection whatsoever with this property in the

Speaker:

library? So we have some. So there's several different entities that

Speaker:

are, of course, Clinton named Clinton because they're very influential.

Speaker:

There's the Clinton Presidential Library, which is actually part of the National Archives. So that's

Speaker:

a federal library that also has support from the Clintons and their support

Speaker:

networks. But presidential libraries are really government run

Speaker:

facilities in a lot of ways and they do amazing stuff. The Clinton Presidential Library

Speaker:

is incredible. And we do have good communications with them.

Speaker:

We've talked to them about collections before. We've. We've spoken about cross

Speaker:

programming. Bailee and her interns do Instagram and other social

Speaker:

media posts and some of that's cross referencing. There's also the

Speaker:

Clinton Foundation. Clinton foundation is doing a lot of incredible stuff around

Speaker:

the world. We don't have a direct line of support, but we do have

Speaker:

a member of our board is associated with the Clintons. I mean, with the

Speaker:

Clinton Foundation. And so we have a connection there as well. I'm curious to

Speaker:

know what are some of the roles that partnerships with schools or

Speaker:

local businesses and civics groups. Groups play in keeping the

Speaker:

museum relevant. You mentioned obviously busing. If

Speaker:

you bus kids here, there are some logistical challenges. But outside. Which

Speaker:

can be overcome. Which can be overcome. But I'd be curious to know how are

Speaker:

you kind of connecting with those different groups, so schools, local

Speaker:

businesses and civic groups in terms of just keeping

Speaker:

the museum top of mind with as many groups as possible?

Speaker:

Yeah. So during COVID obviously we were closed, but now that

Speaker:

we're open, one of my biggest goals is definitely to start reaching out

Speaker:

to schools because there's not that many places in

Speaker:

Fayetteville where kids can go for free and experience

Speaker:

the home that a political figure lived in and

Speaker:

learn about politics in a more hands on way.

Speaker:

So I think, yeah, that's where my goals lie there.

Speaker:

But we have two field trips coming up and hopefully many more

Speaker:

to come. As far as connecting with local businesses, this

Speaker:

isn't really a business, but we're trying to connect more with

Speaker:

Fayetteville High School. We're looking at getting some

Speaker:

gardening volunteers, which I think is a really fun way for their

Speaker:

students to get involved. Yeah. So there's lots of options,

Speaker:

lots of different ways. But yeah, I want to mention some new

Speaker:

programming we're doing as far as the space itself. And so we have

Speaker:

pivoted and are moving towards already Hammond Gallery space.

Speaker:

Okay. So we're currently hosting an exhibit from exhibit

Speaker:

showing by Andrew Kilgore. Okay. Who very

Speaker:

generously is working with us to sell prints here. And then there

Speaker:

is a portion of the sales of his prints. And these are the prints from

Speaker:

the 1970s. You might have seen Fayetteville in its funkiest in the

Speaker:

mid-70s. Right. 1975 was when he

Speaker:

took those, when Fayetteville was at its peak and that sort of era,

Speaker:

that counterculture era. But, you know, pictures of the farmer's market people own

Speaker:

Dickson. It's really an amazing collection, and so there's a strong

Speaker:

connection there. And we look to have some other photographers and other

Speaker:

artists. So we are. We're talking to Don House, another famous

Speaker:

local photographer, celebrated, incredible photographer. He's going to exhibit his

Speaker:

material here, hopefully, too, if that all works out. And we're also working with

Speaker:

arcegas, the local coffee roasters. Absolutely. Everyone loves our

Speaker:

Segas. And if you want a Clinton House blend of our Segas, you can get

Speaker:

it right here in the Clinton House Museum. Okay. They worked with us on developers

Speaker:

developing a special blend which the board got to help with, which is great. As

Speaker:

a coffee drinker, I really appreciated that opportunity. But, yeah, we sell those. And

Speaker:

I know Bailee was sending them around the country around Christmas time when we launched

Speaker:

it. It was very popular. We sell cards in our gift shop

Speaker:

from local artists. So we're looking to partner with local businesses,

Speaker:

really, that focus on what makes Fayetteville. Fayetteville, but also

Speaker:

what makes the Clinton House an integral part of Fayetteville. And so we're looking

Speaker:

to the space in that way. So it's such an incredible story to tell, the

Speaker:

story of Bill and Hillary in Fayetteville. But the house is a home to

Speaker:

everybody's story. So what else can we feature?

Speaker:

Having some exhibits that focus on public service in the city,

Speaker:

on the arts and literary scene. And I should mention that

Speaker:

several members of our board are faculty, and we have really good connections with

Speaker:

the faculty and the programs at the University of Arkansas.

Speaker:

So Bailee has done a great job of recruiting interns. Our current intern

Speaker:

is a U. Of A student. Okay. And we have strong connections with

Speaker:

marketing program over there, with history, with

Speaker:

hospitality, and so we've had good relationships with those programs. We've

Speaker:

also hosted classes from there. And so we had a public history

Speaker:

museum studies class visit with Professor Bill McComas, who's

Speaker:

kind of a legendary professor at the U. Of A. He brought his class here

Speaker:

just last year. And then my other role at the U. Of

Speaker:

A. As a faculty member and a volunteer here. I'm also the

Speaker:

associate dean for special collections. We have a cooperative agreement with the

Speaker:

department with special Collections, where we have the historical archives,

Speaker:

but we also do some cross programming there. Oh, okay. And so our folks

Speaker:

have been over, and I know that Shiloh has visited some other museums. So

Speaker:

we. We're really looking at how to grow our partnerships more.

Speaker:

And I think a lot of people don't realize how many museums we actually have

Speaker:

here in northwest Arkansas. I mean, there is a lot. I mean, Museum of Native

Speaker:

American History, the momentary, of course, Crystal Bridges, as you mentioned

Speaker:

earlier, the Shiloh Museum. I mean, the list goes on and

Speaker:

on. You make a good point. But I'll counter that with just

Speaker:

one little counterpoint. There is that in Fayetteville. Fayetteville has no

Speaker:

city museum. It has no museum about its history

Speaker:

besides the Clinton House Museum and the Air and

Speaker:

Military Museum, which is great and supported by the Drake Field at Drake Field.

Speaker:

And Drake Field is another national registry building. Clinton House Museum is on the National

Speaker:

Register, but the headquarters house is Washington County Historical Society

Speaker:

runs that. And that focuses on really 19th century history.

Speaker:

And the university museum focuses on research that's been done by university

Speaker:

faculty and Arkansas history, paleontology, geology. But as far

Speaker:

as a museum that looks at history in Fayetteville, it's really just

Speaker:

us and the Air and Military. And Air and Military is really focused on

Speaker:

their incredible collection of airplanes. And we're looking at

Speaker:

story of Fayetteville from really the 1970s to present. So

Speaker:

my question for you here is when you think of all

Speaker:

of the generosity that you see in this area, what

Speaker:

stories of local donors or volunteers have inspired

Speaker:

you both with the work that you're doing here? Because for some people are

Speaker:

thinking, man, $59,000, it must be a tough haul to get

Speaker:

things done here. But you guys are making it happen and

Speaker:

you're making a lot with a little. But what are some of the stories that

Speaker:

have just kind of kept that motivation going and, you know,

Speaker:

waking up in the morning and coming here with a fresh eyes like, yes, today

Speaker:

is going to be the day. So, yeah, I mean, I had a

Speaker:

lady come through the museum last

Speaker:

week. She was, I think she was from Fayetteville.

Speaker:

So she was just making a casual stop in. She said the thing that many

Speaker:

people say, and they're like, oh, I've always driven by, but I've never been inside.

Speaker:

I was like, well, I'm glad you're here. You know, I told her, I was

Speaker:

like, well, enjoy, you know, let me know if you have any questions. And she

Speaker:

came back at like an hour later and with tears in

Speaker:

her eyes. And she was like, that was so great.

Speaker:

Like, I feel so inspired and I feel like

Speaker:

a little upset at myself for not knowing that this great place was like right

Speaker:

here, basically right next door to me. So, yeah, I think it's things

Speaker:

like that, like seeing people be so happy and

Speaker:

inspired by their experience here is like, yeah, it's great. Keeps me

Speaker:

motivated. Yeah, that's a big reward there. I want

Speaker:

to mention a couple of people that are really inspiring to me, and in particular,

Speaker:

Stephen and Lindsley Smith. And the museum would not be open right

Speaker:

now if not for all of our board members. But Steven and Lindsley,

Speaker:

who know the Clintons, and Steve was on staff of Bill's. And

Speaker:

Steve Zemeratus, Professor Lindsley was an

Speaker:

elected statewide official. And they really believe in public service and

Speaker:

they believe in the mission of this museum so much. And so Linsley helped

Speaker:

reset all of the exhibit to get us back open. Steve

Speaker:

did the paperwork to get us incorporated as a nonprofit with some other help,

Speaker:

and did a lot of work on grants, is advising on grants now. And those

Speaker:

are two people that have just given a lot to the area

Speaker:

and really believe in what the museum can do. And the people that are on

Speaker:

our board and the people that our board is talking to all the time have

Speaker:

a lot of stories like that, too. I mentioned Jim Blair earlier, and there are

Speaker:

other donors that, you know, have shown support in the past. We hope to

Speaker:

build that back up. And we have so many people that have done

Speaker:

incredible acts of generosity and service in Fayetteville.

Speaker:

And a lot of those people do know about the museum, and we hope to

Speaker:

build those relationships a little bit stronger. I'll say that we have a goal of

Speaker:

creating an endowment. And a lot of museums, particularly nonprofit museums,

Speaker:

have some sort of baseline of a

Speaker:

backstop or a foundation for future development.

Speaker:

We don't have one. And so that's something that we need to target on. And

Speaker:

we're working on how to get an endowment set up so that we don't have

Speaker:

to worry about year to year, that $59,000. That

Speaker:

might not happen next year unless we get some more funds up

Speaker:

to just to be perfectly honest, and we do have funds to go for a

Speaker:

couple years because of some generosity of the Smiths and

Speaker:

others, that we will make it. And I know that Bailee and

Speaker:

her folks are going to keep working hard and the board is going to keep

Speaker:

working hard, but to hit that 59,000 and to grow that and do

Speaker:

as much as we want to, it's going to take more support. So we want

Speaker:

to establish an endowment, and we want that endowment to pay dividends well

Speaker:

into the future and help us expand and really stay a museum

Speaker:

for. We'll keep the house going for another 50 years. Of whatever story

Speaker:

since 1975, and also to just really. To

Speaker:

do a lot more for the city and the community. Yeah, I think, too,

Speaker:

that one of the things that separate. That makes this place kind of special is

Speaker:

that the Clintons are still around. Right. So it's like, while you're

Speaker:

touching history, you're connected with somebody that's still up and

Speaker:

around and doing things on a regular basis. So

Speaker:

I think that's certainly cool. So one of the challenges I know

Speaker:

that you have is balancing preserving the home's historic integrity

Speaker:

while also using it as a modern community space for

Speaker:

events. Is that a challenge for you guys at all, or.

Speaker:

Yeah, so I hadn't. Before I hosted, I guess the

Speaker:

Arkansas Museum association was my first event that I hosted.

Speaker:

Yeah, it was a challenge, moving a bunch of

Speaker:

tables in and out of the house while also keeping in mind that the house

Speaker:

is a kind of fragile and, like, precious space

Speaker:

to keep reserved. But, yeah, it is a challenge, but it's a fun one,

Speaker:

so I'm okay with it. But, yeah, we are

Speaker:

rentable. Right. However, so. So tell me the different ways that

Speaker:

this space can be rented and what has. Historically, how has it been

Speaker:

rented? So there have been lots of events and

Speaker:

galas, and we've had cooperative agreements with legal

Speaker:

groups and with. Actually with the Clinton foundation and others. And

Speaker:

that relationship with the Clinton foundation still goes where you can use that as a

Speaker:

meeting space. Okay. So one of the things that, you know, we host weddings,

Speaker:

for sure, we can do that. We can host other meetings, professional meetings, but

Speaker:

as just a meeting space, a beautiful place or a place to do a

Speaker:

reading. I'm planning a reading, which Bailee and I are going to talk about

Speaker:

in the next couple of weeks. It's a class that I'm working with at the

Speaker:

U of A. And we're maybe going to do a reading of poetry here that

Speaker:

the. The students are working on, inspired by some people, poets that lived here in

Speaker:

the 70s, but as a literary space, as a meeting space, and then

Speaker:

as a venue, a really beautiful venue for a special occasion.

Speaker:

Yeah. And you said it has a garden out back, right? That's a garden, yeah.

Speaker:

Okay. Yeah, the first lady's garden. It's. The inside and the

Speaker:

outside of the house are just great vibes. But, yeah, the first lady's garden in

Speaker:

the back, it has, like, a flower dedicated to each

Speaker:

first lady, which is really cool. But, yeah, it's a neat little space

Speaker:

behind the house and then on both the sides. Yeah, it's got a lot of

Speaker:

beautiful brickwork. It's cool spots. Like, literally cool.

Speaker:

Yeah. Like, it's really nice. And then the kitchen

Speaker:

works. Bathroom works. Yep. You can have catering here.

Speaker:

Yeah. So the museum's really open to working with you on that, too.

Speaker:

And there's. We have storage space out back, and then there's space

Speaker:

for a caterer to set up. So it's really. We can host a lot here.

Speaker:

You know, it's not the biggest venue in the world. Right. So if you're going

Speaker:

to have a thousand people come to your wedding, I don't think that Taylor and

Speaker:

Travis are going to be contacting us about being their space. Although. Yeah. You

Speaker:

know, reach out. Yeah, yeah. As far as. But

Speaker:

we can host a pretty good size event. That's cool. Speaking of weddings, do you

Speaker:

know what the official count was when Bill and Hillary got married here in the

Speaker:

dining room? I think six or seven in

Speaker:

attendance. Other than them, like, we're talking, it was really small. Parents

Speaker:

and maybe very close friends. Okay. And then they had a reception

Speaker:

elsewhere with a larger group. Okay. Very cool. Yeah.

Speaker:

But right in. You can stand right where they got married. And we have photos

Speaker:

documenting the event really happened. And of course, we have a replica of Hillary's

Speaker:

dress here as well that you can feel a little bit. I mean, there are.

Speaker:

Just looking around, there are all kinds of replicas and items

Speaker:

here. There's a dictation recorder. There's a typewriter. There are

Speaker:

pictures. Famous picture of Bill Clinton with President

Speaker:

Kennedy. I believe he met him because Bill Clinton was part of.

Speaker:

What was that? Boys State. Boys State. Right. Which still happens. Yes, yes. He

Speaker:

was president of Boy State. He was president of Boy State. Okay, interesting. So,

Speaker:

okay, so I got a question for you, and I know some people might be

Speaker:

wondering this. If a young family or a new resident in

Speaker:

Fayetteville visits, what do you hope they take away

Speaker:

from the museum? That's a good question. I

Speaker:

think one of the things is that I hope they take away a little

Speaker:

bit of inspiration and they kind of see, especially young people,

Speaker:

what kind of change they could make in the world,

Speaker:

regardless of the background they come from. But I also

Speaker:

hope people get a good feel of what it was like to live in Fayetteville

Speaker:

in the 70s, especially right now with our Andrew

Speaker:

Kilgore exhibit. I hope people walk in there and they're like, oh, that's what

Speaker:

Dixon street looked like. And then they go take a walk on Dixon street later

Speaker:

and they think of the house and think of what it would have been like

Speaker:

to be the Clintons or To be anyone living in Fayetteville in the 70s.

Speaker:

Yeah. Okay. For a family that's just moved to Fayetteville, I hope that they

Speaker:

find, literally, a home. I hope they find a sense of place

Speaker:

here. Sure. And one of the things I think the museum does really well is

Speaker:

shows how you can make a home here, and maybe you'll be president someday.

Speaker:

Maybe you will. Yeah. But to get a sense of place here.

Speaker:

So there's photographs on the wall that you know

Speaker:

of them back in the 70s, right in this space. One of my favorite objects

Speaker:

is something that's actually in our hallway. And I don't know if a lot of

Speaker:

people notice it, but I notice it every time I'm here, which is the poem

Speaker:

that Miller Williams read at the inauguration. Williams, who

Speaker:

founded the University of Arkansas Press, lived in Fayetteville, brought his daughter

Speaker:

back here to live when he joined faculty here, and then he ended up reading

Speaker:

that poem for his friend Bill when Bill was elected president.

Speaker:

And that. Just that connection to the folks here and how you can be

Speaker:

a part of that, it's really, really powerful. Yeah, I like that.

Speaker:

So, looking ahead, what are your biggest hopes for the

Speaker:

museum over the next five to 10 years? You said the endowment, which, you know,

Speaker:

certainly we're going to speak that thing into existence and tell people that

Speaker:

this is. This is really good fertile soil and good ground,

Speaker:

because not only are you supporting history, but you're also

Speaker:

supporting what is a powerful legacy right here in

Speaker:

northwest Arkansas. So what, you know, if all of your wishes

Speaker:

came true in the next five to 10 years, what would you hope to see

Speaker:

happen for the Clinton House Museum? Yeah, I mean, I can start.

Speaker:

I think just one of the. Just one of the things. One of the simplest

Speaker:

things for me is keeping the museum accessible.

Speaker:

I think, like, it's so special to have it be

Speaker:

completely free to any visitor, but also accessible in the way

Speaker:

of, like, better translation on, like, all of our

Speaker:

labeling, adding closed captions to our little

Speaker:

reels that run on our tv. Those are just little examples. But,

Speaker:

yeah, keeping and making the museum more accessible is, like, really important and

Speaker:

feels like a big goal for the next few years. But

Speaker:

the home is old and there's a lot of restoration. So

Speaker:

I'm really hopeful that we're going to be able to restore the facility,

Speaker:

address the accessibility issues that Bailee is keeping such a

Speaker:

careful eye on, and also make sure that it's going to stick around for a

Speaker:

really long time and protect the house. Help protect the house. It's a University of

Speaker:

Arkansas's Property. But it's the museum's mission, and

Speaker:

we really want to protect the house, but also to have

Speaker:

professional staff feel that it's a secure place for

Speaker:

them to work and that they can be really creative and innovative. And so to

Speaker:

be able to support a growing staff and really be able to do a lot

Speaker:

of programming. And for, you know, I'd love for those folks that drive by

Speaker:

and think, oh, I should go in someday. I would love for them to all.

Speaker:

All to stop by. That would be incredible. I just want to tell everybody that's

Speaker:

listening. I literally. Because my kids go to Fayetteville High School, as

Speaker:

do your. Well, some of yours. One of my wife's. Yeah. But

Speaker:

Bailee, did you go fhs? I went to Farmington. You went to Farmington.

Speaker:

Okay, close enough. That's okay. Still begins with an S. We'll include

Speaker:

that. But I literally drive by here multiple times a day,

Speaker:

every day, and you see that little flying pig

Speaker:

out there in the front yard. You can't miss it. You can see Harmon

Speaker:

Stadium from. I'm literally looking at the end zone of Harmon Stadium,

Speaker:

so. In the state championship signs. But it's just something about

Speaker:

this area and this place that I got it. I mean, coming

Speaker:

in here now and seeing this, and this is. I'm ashamed to say it's my

Speaker:

first time. And as a history major, as a historian, I should

Speaker:

have been in here a lot sooner. I've been living in this area for 11

Speaker:

years, and that was 11 years too long to not have

Speaker:

visited the Clinton House Museum. And so I really want to

Speaker:

encourage people listening to this to take the time out to come. It won't take

Speaker:

a long time. And I mean, Bailee, what she's doing here, what

Speaker:

Joshua is doing here, and the rest of the board is nothing short of

Speaker:

amazing. And I would encourage you to come check out this little slice of

Speaker:

history that's here and learn a little bit more about the Clintons and just

Speaker:

about what it was like living in northwest Arkansas in the 70s. Because I'm always

Speaker:

thinking, like, I'm always wondering what that was like. I mean, I moved here in

Speaker:

2014, 14. It's a lot different. I talk to people that are die hard.

Speaker:

Northwest Arkansas, Arkansans and

Speaker:

Arkansas. Arkansas, yeah. Either way. But I talk to them and they talk

Speaker:

about, yeah, this place has changed so much. And I always wonder, well, what was

Speaker:

that change like? And you talk about the Kilgore prints and in the

Speaker:

photos, and that gives you a glimpse into it. But coming into this

Speaker:

house, it is so well preserved and so well put together, you

Speaker:

really get a feel for what it was like in Fayetteville in

Speaker:

1975. Yeah, that's very well said. And I think

Speaker:

that gets to one of the things that I really hope that the museum and

Speaker:

the house can continue to do, because you do hear from people a lot that

Speaker:

fable's changed, or it's not the fable that used to be, but

Speaker:

this house can be that place where the culture and the history

Speaker:

and the richness and the community that makes fable, fable will be

Speaker:

preserved. It will be here for people to come visit and know that. And if

Speaker:

we're here, then, you know, that fable isn't gone. It's just, you know,

Speaker:

you just gotta visit the museum to find it. That's it. Real quickly. One

Speaker:

little known fact or factoid about this space that when

Speaker:

you share it with people, they're always amazed to hear it. Do you have one?

Speaker:

Ooh, yeah. I think there's, like, not. People

Speaker:

always ask, like, what did Bill and Hillary do to the house?

Speaker:

And I always, like. I'm like, well, not a lot. They were busy people, as

Speaker:

we know. But there's a little. There's, like, tiling

Speaker:

in our. Like, next to the fireplace, and it's bright blue,

Speaker:

and it really doesn't, like, go with anything else in the house, but it's adorable.

Speaker:

And Bill laid it himself. Did he really? He had to, like, learn how to

Speaker:

do it, but he laid that tile. And I always think There was no YouTube

Speaker:

back then. I know. Yeah. So that's a fun fact.

Speaker:

I love that fact, too. And, you know, it's a. It's a Tudor Revival house.

Speaker:

There's a specific style, and that's called an ingle nook. Little the Little

Speaker:

Heart. It's very cool. Very cool looking. The fact that it's an angle nook with

Speaker:

bright blue tiles that Bill laid, I think is just perfect. Another

Speaker:

thing was that. I just think it's fascinating because I was this kid in

Speaker:

graduate school and had too many history books. I was in history graduate

Speaker:

school. It seems like forever and forever ago, but they

Speaker:

made their own bookshelves, just like we all did. They stacked cinder blocks

Speaker:

and boards and they. They had old school. Old school for ikea.

Speaker:

Yeah. We don't have. We don't have an exhibit of a makeshift bookshelf,

Speaker:

but to think of them just living here, like, just doing life,

Speaker:

normal. Like normal people get on the floor listening to records,

Speaker:

reading books and playing in the future, that's pretty amazing. Yeah.

Speaker:

Well, you know what they say. Don't despise small beginnings. And when you think of

Speaker:

the arc of the life of both Bill and Hillary Clinton,

Speaker:

it is not just presidential, but it is monumental

Speaker:

in the impact that they've had both here and beyond, you know,

Speaker:

outside of the United States. So I think this is a great place to come

Speaker:

just to kind of witness the beginning of that arc of the

Speaker:

lives. The lives of Bill and Hillary Clinton. And those lives

Speaker:

are continuing to be lived on a daily basis. So this has been great.

Speaker:

Bailee, for those that give us all the data points

Speaker:

about coming here, the hours when you're open, and then give us

Speaker:

the website address to go to if anybody wants to visit that. Yeah, the

Speaker:

website, I believe, is clintonhousemuseum.org and then

Speaker:

so when you come to the house and find our address online, it's 930

Speaker:

W Clinton Dr, but there's parking all around the house, lots of free

Speaker:

parking. And then we are open 10 to 4,

Speaker:

Wednesday through Sunday. Yeah, yeah. It's a great place to stop. You

Speaker:

guys can go get some lunch down on Dixon or up on the

Speaker:

Square and then shoot over here. And, you know, you can probably see

Speaker:

this place in about. I mean, do it real justice in about 45

Speaker:

minutes to an hour. And really have seen and done a lot,

Speaker:

and you still have your whole day. Yeah. And of course, we have social

Speaker:

media channels with Facebook and Instagram. Instagram's a lot of fun.

Speaker:

We have lots of posts up there that's always good to follow. We have more

Speaker:

than 10,000 followers on Instagram, which is amazing. And so that's

Speaker:

a good way to find out some stuff that's happening, too. And the website

Speaker:

clintonhousemuseum.org is. It actually has lots of information on them.

Speaker:

And it's amazing the number of people that just go to the website as they're

Speaker:

doing, like, students doing research projects. Yeah, yeah. Cause there's good biographies,

Speaker:

a little bit about fable, the history of the house. There's a lot there. Well,

Speaker:

we want to encourage everybody to take both Bailee and Joshua

Speaker:

up on checking that out online. We'll put all of this information in

Speaker:

the show notes. I'm even going to take a picture of this little nook in

Speaker:

the handiwork of President Bill Clinton that he did back in the

Speaker:

70s for you to check out for yourself, but don't allow the pictures to

Speaker:

do it justice. Come here and see it in person, and I think

Speaker:

you'll really benefit from that. But without further ado, Bailee

Speaker:

King, Joshua Youngblood, thank you guys both so much. And I just want to

Speaker:

say, you know, because it's so hard, the work that you guys do sometimes is

Speaker:

thankless. But I want to say thank you for being good stewards of

Speaker:

this wonderful building and the history that it represents and

Speaker:

just, you know, keep going. And know that there are people out there that are

Speaker:

going to continue to support you, and hopefully we're going to see that endowment

Speaker:

come to pass. So thank you so much. Yeah, thank you.

Speaker:

Absolutely. Well, there you have it, folks. Another episode of I Am Northwest

Speaker:

Arkansas. I hope you enjoyed it. I finally got to the Clinton House

Speaker:

Museum. Listen, I'm telling you guys, you need to come here and visit. Just

Speaker:

take an hour out of your day. Come here on a Saturday, come on a

Speaker:

Sunday after church. Check it out for yourself. And if you do that, please

Speaker:

reach out to me. Let me know what you thought about it. I'd love to

Speaker:

hear your thoughts. And then please, if you're at the museum, let them know that

Speaker:

you heard about it first here at the I Am Northwest

Speaker:

Arkansas podcast. But I appreciate all you guys. We'll be back next

Speaker:

week with another new episode of I Am

Speaker:

Northwest Arkansas. I'm your host, Randy Wilburn, and we'll see you soon.

Speaker:

Peace.

Speaker:

We hope you enjoyed this episode of I Am Northwest

Speaker:

Arkansas. Check us out each and every week, available

Speaker:

anywhere that great podcasts can be found. For show

Speaker:

notes or more information on. On becoming a guest, visit

Speaker:

imnorthwest Arkansas.com. We'Ll

Speaker:

see you next week on IM Northwest

Speaker:

Arkansas.

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube