Historical Sketch.  SARA and the Foundation originated in 1975-1976 as a project of the U. S. Bicentennial Celebration in historic Washington, Arkansas (Hempstead County).  The local school teacher heading the planning committee, Mildred Smith, first thought about establishing a Black-history museum or a "research library"; but when she asked the advice of State Historian John L. Ferguson, an old friend, he told her, "Think big, Mildred!  Think archive!"  The project blended with his idea of setting up branches of the State Archives.  Washington, home of a state park, was ideal for a "Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives" -- "SARA" for short.

    The project gained immediate support from other groups in the area, particularly the new Hempstead County Historical Society led by Charlene Etter and Mary Medearis, also residents of Washington.  Those two joined Ferguson and Smith in organizing SARA.  Also contributing at this early stage was the Pioneer Washington Foundation, whose executive director, Parker Westbrook, lent important momentum.    

    Ferguson and his staff began training volunteers to "operate the archives for the coming year," with emphasis upon the continuing collection of books, records, and other material.  According to the plan, the State would soon appropriate funds for a full-fledged regional branch located in the 1874 Courthouse of Old Washington Historic State Park, a building then undergoing restoration.  The three women and over a dozen co-workers agreed to maintain their full support in the future.

           Left to right: John Ferguson, of Little Rock; Mildred Smith, Charlene Etter, and Mary Madearis.

Most of the original volunteers, September 1978.  For furter identifications, see the Newsletter

of the SARA Foundation, Fall/Winter 2008.

    In early 1978, still unable to move into the courthouse, the organizers decided SARA was ready for a formal launching, and they staged opening ceremonies in the nearby Carrigan House.  Mary Medearis was appointed Archives Coordinator.  Charlene Etter became SARA's first President; Mildred Smith, its first Secretary.  The enthusiastic volunteers were determined to keep the archives open six days a week:  "9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays (closed on Tuesday) and from 1:00 to 5:00 on Sunday."

    When state officials delayed the appropriation, John Ferguson and staff continued to provide training, equipment, and limited financing for the fledgling venture.  In 1980, the volunteers moved into modest quarters on the first floor of the restored courthouse and obtained a charter for Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives, Inc.  The board of directors was drawn from eleven of the twelve counties that had been created "all or in part" from an original, expansive Hempstead County.  The twelfth, Polk County, joined SARA the following year.

    In August 1985, after further delay of the original plan, the volunteers organized as the "Friends of S.A.R.A."  Thirty-eight charter members used various activities to raise $1,085 the first year, with much of that deriving from their popular winter festival, Christmas and Candlelight in Historic Washington.  The Friends' well-written Newsletter, along with SARA's widely distributed brochure, informed potential members and donors of the ambitious archival program. 

    The fundraising never waned.  At the Friend's birthday celebration four years later, reported the Newsletter, "Secretary Charlean Etter, who writes all SARA's  thank-you notes in longhand, presented [Archives Director] Medearis with a check for $6,000 for 1989 from FRIENDS OF S.A.R.A."   Soon fundraising began for an Endowment Fund -- launched by volunteers working on a "king-sized nine-patch quilt," a prize to be awarded in a raffle costing $1 per ticket.  A craftsman in the group, Carl Walker, enlivened the raffle by contributing a replica of a 19th-century quilt box.  The previous three years, Mr. Walker had donated three quilt boxes that brought in a total of $3,000.

    The Newsletter  and brochure also assured that the archives would continue to be flooded with donations of family records, books, county records, and other material.  With space in the old Courthouse limited to two rooms and a vault on the right side of the first floor, it was evident a new home would soon be required.

    The need was compounded by a broader educational program, which was still expanding.  Reports at SARA's board meeting in March 1990 reflected the process:

         Naomi Thompson announced a 'Spirit of the Archives' workshop for boardmembers and guests

      . . . in the archives.  'Anyone who wishes to know more about the many facets of SARA is urged

      to call . . .,' Lu Waters, chairman of the Community Support Committee, added.

         Margaret Harrison is preparing a mini-manual and workshop for librarians and teachers on

      SARA's historical materials.

         Steve Crow announced plans for student and pre-school field trips to SARA through Southwest

      Arkansas Educational Co-ops.

    In early 1990, the Arkansas Legislature responded by appropriating matching funds of $217,000 for SARA to partially renovate Washington's Elementary School, a spacious building on the west edge of town.  Although built in 1976, it had recently been vacated because of consolidation in the district, and was now being purchased by the Arkansas Parks Division.  The school's last principal:  Mildred Smith.

    By the time SARA completed the move to its new home, in 1993, it was prepared to operate as a full-fledged regional archive.  It reportedly had "run out of space" at the old courthouse some time before.  Now there was ample room for shelving, tables, equipment, exhibits, conferences, and an office (the staff settled into Mildred Smith's former two-room office).  Equally important, SARA now had a sizeable endowment to help pay the salaries of its Director and Office Manager/Archivist -- the two full-time staff who injected that day-to-day stability the founders and other volunteers had labored to attain.  Thanks to a recent memorial donation of slightly more than $134,000, there would be no financial strain for the foreseeable future.
    The benefactor was Curtistine Alice Parsons Walz, wife of the late historian Robert B. Walz, a charter member of SARA’s board of directors. Always a busy volunteer, Mrs. Walz joined the board in 1984 and served as Secretary/Treasurer.  In August 1985, she held a meeting at her home in Magnolia, Arkansas, and organized the Friends of SARA.  She died on May 30, 1994, six years after Robert Walz, and left the archives the $134,000.