Trout Capital News
Volume II Number 6
Published by the City of Cotter, Arkansas
February 2006
Students
Create Cotter PamphletAt the request of Mayor Mosley, Josh Enquist, Brianna Reed and the students of Mrs. Amy Chamber’s class designed and published an informational pamphlet about the Cotter Community.
The pamphlet, in response to inquiries about Cotter, presents a short history of Cotter; information on lodging, restaurants and recreation; a list of important telephone numbers; and a description about our schools.
Per Mrs Chambers, the whole class participated in the project lead by Josh and Brianna, who did most the leg work. The final pamphlet features a picture of the Anglin-Tinnon Railroad Workers Memorial Statue on the front. Inside panels include a beautiful night photo of the lighted bridge reflecting on the river below and a photo of our Youth Center.
In appreciation for all their hard work, the City Council will present a Certificate of Appreciation to the class. Josh and Brianna will be present to accept the honor at the February City Council Meeting.
State Flower and Garden Show
By Margaret Beaver
The Glad Garden Club is again sponsoring a Mountain Home Charter
Service, Inc. bus trip to the State Flower and Garden Show, Friday,
March 3, 2006. Cost is $34.50 prepaid to the Glad Garden Club.
The bus will depart from the Mountain Home Bus Depot on 62SW at 7:00 AM;
stopping at Seawright Motel in Flippin to pick up more riders at 7:30
AM. There will be a short break stop enroute to stretch and get a bite
to eat. Arrival at the Statehouse Convention Center for the show will be
approximately 10:30 AM. Admission and lunch on your own.
There are numerous vendors of garden furnishings, garden art, plants and
bulbs, etc. etc. set up at the Center and the bus can stash even the
large objects purchased. Several expert speakers will be giving free
seminars on various gardening subjects throughout the day.
The bus will depart the Convention Center at 4:00 PM; stopping in Conway
for dinner break (on your own). Return to Seawright in Flippin will be
about 8:30 PM and at the Mountain Home Bus Depot about 9:00 PM. Deadline
for reservations is Tuesday, February 14, 2006. To reserve your space
for this long, but fun day, contact Sally at 430-5886; and “leave the
driving to us.”
Arvest Bank Donates $3,000 to
North Arkansas Youth Center
Winter Mayflies on the White
By George Peters
Mayflies
in January are not the hallucination of an obsessed dry-fly fisherman
like myself. In fact, I actually have a sample in alcohol I collected
December 15, 2002. These confused bugs are actually very small, maybe
size 30. While I am not an entomologist, the green body and slate
upright wing has convinced me that they are blue winged olives (BWO).
I am writing because I was again pleasantly
reminded of the winter hatch on January 5, 2006 at Rim Shoals. The hatch
was big enough to get rainbows sipping these little guys from about 2:30
pm to 4:00 pm. In low water they seem to hatch on the warmest winter
afternoons and may be more prolific when overcast exist.
A leader from nine to fifteen feet with seven X tippet is required. Low
clear water makes winter trout spooky. Cast at rises and attempt dead
drifts. My best BWO imitation is size 18 parachute adams but I am
presently experimenting with size 22 parachutes with light green, grey
or beige thoraxes. If I find the perfect winter BWO imitation you all
will be the first to know.
Featured Sponsor of the Month
Cotter Trout Dock
Ron and Debbie Gamble moved to Cotter from the Denver Colorado area with
their son Dillon. They had been looking for a business to buy as Ron
neared time of retirement. They thought they’d like a resort on Bull
Shoals Lake. They looked at businesses in Missouri, North Dakota, Iowa,
(which is the state of their origin) Colorado and Kansas.
They made the trip to Cotter and the dock looked exactly as it did on
the internet. They were immediately hooked on the dock and the area so
they closed the deal finding themselves a new home.
New to the trout fishing business, the first few months brought very
hard work and long hours. They found locals like Wayne Miles, Bobby and
Mike Flippin and others to be of immeasurable help. They also found that
their customers like these guys who know how to catch fish and how to
treat people the way people want to be treated. Some of the hard work
began to become enjoyable. Ron and Debbie are members of the Chamber of
Commerce. Now they are fully entrenched not only in the trout dock
business but in Cotter life.
Cotter
Trout Dock offers fishing in any way you can think of. They have float
trips for half day or all day. Camp trips of two to six days, with
camping at the campground on a private island. They can take you to the
North Fork or Buffalo River; in fact one of their mottos is “anywhere
anytime.” Cotter Trout Dock provides some of the very best food on the
river and plenty of it.
Debbie says, “I
do not want to make a million, just make a difference.” Next time you
are looking for a great fishing experience, give Ron & Debbie a call.
Tell them what you want and then watch it happen.
By Janie Burkhart
We hope you will enjoy this, the first in a series, celebrating life times and memories of growing up in Cotter. We thank Janie Burkhart for preparing the first article.
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| Helen Trimble, Christmas 2005 |
My mother, Helen
Deatherage Trimble enjoys the honor of being the oldest living resident
of Cotter.
She was born December 12,
1911 at Three Brothers, AR to Abner and Martha Jane (Mattie) Deatherage.
Grandpa was the Post Master at Three Brothers and is the one responsible
for giving the town its name. Many people think that the town was named
after three brothers while in fact the town is named after the three
mountains which are called Three Brothers.
Mom was nine years old when the family moved to Cotter, her father
starting into the real estate business. His first office was on Main St
downtown Cotter above Charlie Thomson’s drugstore. Years later, his
office was located on Second St. in the building currently the Law
Office of Drew Pearce. He maintained his office, Deatherage Land Co., at
that location until his death in 1957.
The first place they lived in Cotter was known as the Effie Combs house
(Joan Metts now lives there). They lived there about six months and then
moved to a house at Lithia Springs (currently Lithia Springs Bed &
Breakfast). They were there for about 2 years and then moved to a house
on Walnut Lane.
Two of mother’s older
brothers, Alton and John, were now working on the Missouri Pacific
Railroad and two of her older sisters, Beulah and Bertie, were school
teachers. Mother went her first year of school at Three Brothers. Her
sister, Beulah, was her teacher.
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| 1930 basketball team with coach, Luther "Dude" Tanner |
From 3rd grade
on she and her youngest sister, Ruby, went to Cotter School. Ruby is the
mother of J.D. Whitaker, of Cotter. When they were in the 9th grade,
they played on the girl’s basket ball team. Mom was the only 9th grader
to make the Senior High team. At that time girls only played half court.
Mother played forward and Aunt Ruby was a guard. Cotter, Lead Hill and
Viola did not have gyms, but played outside on dirt courts. The team
would all travel in the back of a 2 ton truck with a tarp thrown over
it. After these away games, the Cotter players would go home with the
opposing team players and spend the night. The first
year the girls
uniform consisted of sateen bloomers (came to just above the knee).The
next year they wore white trousers. Finally in 1930, her senior year,
they received uniforms.
In mother’s
senior year, a young man named Major Trimble came from Cartney to go to
school at Cotter to finish his education. Earlier he had had to drop out
of school to work and help his family.
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Three Brothers School, 1915 |
After graduation, Mom worked in Grandpa’s real estate office. She drove
for all his business as he had never learned to drive. She later went to
work at Mountain Home in the Relief Office. She was a case worker and
went all over Baxter County to the homes of her clients. She says the
people who were truly the neediest were the ones who asked for the least
and would tell her to help someone else who might be more in need. She
started out driving a 1933 Model A until she saved enough money to buy a
1939 Ford. She could and did fix her own flats and clean her spark
plugs.
December 13, 1936, Mom married
Major in the upstairs of the old bank building in downtown Cotter. For
several years they helped raise Dad’s brother and sisters. Dad never
minded hard work. During our years growing up, Dad worked at the Round
House (Mo-Pac RR) and then took up plumbing. In his later years, he
bought his old farm place in Cartney to raise cattle. In 1941, their
first child, Peggy Jo, was born. Tragically, she died of pneumonia at
the age of 9 months. Two years later, my brother Roger was born in the
home where our Mayor now lives. Seven years later, I was born in the
home our father built. In another seven years, my sister, Peggy, was
born in the same house. Mom still lives in this house. She and Dad lived
together for 58 years before his death in 1995.
Mom, Dad, all their children and all their grandchildren graduated from
Cotter school. Today, Roger and his wife, Wanda, have Trimble’s Training
and Boarding Stable on Ninth St., Cotter. I am married to Jack Burkhart
who retired this past February as Cotter’s Chief of Police and Peggy,
the City of Cotter Water Supervisor and Recorder- Treasurer, is married
to Steve Hammack. My children, Drew and Jill, and my sister Peggy’s
children, Andrea and Kaleigh, still live in Cotter. My son-in-law, Grant
will soon be opening Dearmore Insurance here in Cotter. Jill and Grant
have two children, the fourth generation to be raised in Cotter. Kaleigh
follows in Mom’s footsteps- she is currently playing on the 7th grade
basketball team.
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| The Trimble family. Left to right Peggy Hammack, Janie Burkhart, Roger Trimble, Helen and Major Trimble. |
At 94 years of age, Mother is still alert, smokes her cigarettes and has her good sense of humor - she enjoys telling and hearing a good joke. She has lived a full and happy life in Cotter and enjoys her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Just think of all the changes she has seen and, hopefully, all the ones she has yet to see.
Ward I Councilman
By George Peters
Last Thursday, the City Council appointed me to replace Peggy Dunn, who resigned from Ward I Council position. My goal is effectively to represent the people in Ward I. Since there was no election campaign and I have not been out to canvas those residents, I need some assistance. In the near future, I will be contacting you to understand your interests and needs from city government. And I hope you will feel free to contact me if I can be of any immediate assistance. I can be reached at 870-404-7757.
Feb 18 Saturday Club, 2pm, Spring House
Please come hear our local historian, Anne Ramey, give a program on Red Bud trees. Questions, please call President Judi Sharp 492-4483.
Feb 20 2025 Meeting, 7pm, Spring House
As always, you are invited to come and help Cotter become the community as envisioned by the University of Arkansas Community Design Center in 1999. Call co-chairmen Carolyn Gill, 435-2207 or Peter Pietz, 435-2000 if you have questions.
Feb 23 City Council Meeting, 6 pm, City Hall
Feb 27 Book Club, 1pm, Gassville Library
The Cotter Book Club meets on the last Monday of every month at the Gassville Library at 1:00 pm. Thanks to the cooperation and help of the Mountain Home Library, we hope to have multiple copies available to check out for the following month’s selection. This month we will be discussing West With the Night. For more information, call Sharon Peters, 435-5555.
Mayor’s
Corner
By Mo Mosley
I
usually take the end of January as an indicator that winter is at least
half over. If that is the case, it has been a pretty easy winter for us.
However, I’ve also found that thinking that way can lead to a terrible
March and April, so I will let it rest.
When this is printed we
will be a couple of days past “Arbor Day” in Cotter. The City declared
January 31, 2006 as Arbor Day – the day on which we planted the City
Christmas Tree and some new trees in Big Spring Park. Quinn Berry’s Tree
City group has now fulfilled the requirements for Cotter to become a
Tree City USA. When all is complete the Tree City USA grant will return
most of the investment we have made as well as cover the cost of an
Arborist to trim the trees in the city. All of Cotter should be grateful
to Quinn and his group for what they have accomplished and are currently
planning to do. Thanks Quinn.
As I am sure everyone has heard we
are having a water rate study prepared. We hope to have it complete by
February 9, 2006. As mentioned before, we have not had a water rate
increase since
A bookkeeper told me that the people who have to bring news of finances to those responsible, are looked at as if they were a dentist. So I guess the news I bring can be likened to a root canal. However we look at it, all of us have to realize we must generate more revenue from the water system for the water system. The City Council and myself pledge to all of Cotter that we will not raise rates more than necessary.
On a happy note, we have a lot of construction going on in town. Several new houses are in various stages of completion. We welcome the new homes and the folks who will live in them.
Remember Valentines Day is February 14th so get your “honey” some flowers or candy or both and above all make sure your honey KNOWS you love her/him!!!!!
We thank all our sponsors, commercial and
private, who make this paper possible and we thank all those who provide
articles and other information of interest. To help support the Trout
Capital News, please contact Tina Berry 435-5577
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Special Thanks to
Bill and Annette Pettit |
This newsletter is published monthly by the City of Cotter and focuses on organized activities. It is edited by Mo & Theresa Mosley and Tina Berry. It is printed by Good Impressions Printing. It is also published electronically at www.troutcapitalnews.com. If you have information to contribute, please e‑mail it to Tina Berry at smberry13@hotmail.com, drop it by City Hall, or mail it to PO Box 9, Cotter, AR 72626.