Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

A newsletter for faculty, staff and students

September-October 2005 • Vol. 31, No. 5

Carnall alumnae celebrate building centennial

Carnall Hall alumnae and those involved in converting the historic first women’s dormitory at the University of Arkansas into the Inn at Carnall Hall gathered Sept. 17 to observe the 100th anniversary of the building’s construction.

CARNALL  HALL ALUMNAE — (Left to Right/Front to Back) 1st row: Mary O’Connor Marinoni, Amanda Lau (scholarship recipient), Amber Warman (scholarship recipient), Nancy Richards, Bettie Barnes Messner, Sarah Woods (portraying Ella Carnall), Billigene Reynolds Pedigo, Frances Barton Nutt, Emma Williamson Miller, Willine Runick Blagg, Nola Grubbs Mason, Betty McDonald Lilly; 2nd row: Betty Rice Magie, Betty McDowell Cobb, Martha Caple Barton, Billie Ratcliff Yates, Rita Simmons Parkerson, Mary “Hass” Middleton Maxoon, Patricia Crawley Crump, Sarah Barton Crosby, Mary Ellen Click Jenkins, M.D., Peggy Williams Payne, Zada Webb Dickey, Thelma Lorenzo, Grace Lee Harvey; 3rd row: Sherry Wood, Betty Littlejohn Harp, Wilma Spiller McCauley, Trisha Rains Goodson, Jane Tebow Dunagin, Martha Callahan Ward, Sue Wicker Davis, Billie Lazenby Dougherty, Velma Crow Ashburn; 4th  row: Margaret Gramlich Fimple, Ginger West Jeffries, Mary Ann Bounds Keeton, Leta Minton Snow, Mary Lou Proctor Murphree, Elsie Gray Hall, Ruth Cochran Turner, and Kathy Jones.

The event included an appearance by Sarah Woods of Fort Smith, who portrayed Ella Carnall, for whom the dormitory was named. She had been an associate professor of English and modern languages from 1891 to 1894.

Bethany Runyan Capps, a Bumpers College graduate with a major in Foods, Human Nutrition and Hospitality in the School of Human Environmental Sciences, helped organize the event. She is now director of catering and special events for the Inn at Carnall Hall.

Capps was the first student to receive a scholarship from the Carnall Hall Alumnae Scholarship Fund in 2003. Frances Barton Nutt of Lamar, MO., BSHE ’50, who was Carnall Hall president her senior year, started the fund. Nutt said the fund now totals some $70,000 and is continuing to grow with donations from alumnae.

Scholarships, which are for students in the Hospitality and Restaurant Management Program, were awarded in 2004 to Vicki Mansker and Janet Morgan. Scholarships of $1,000 each for the current year were presented to Amber Warman of Mt. Ida and Amanda Lau of North Little Rock.

Nutt is compiling a list of Carnall Hall residents. The list currently has about 2,500 names and is missing the residents from 1923 to 1944. Only officers were listed in UA yearbooks for those years.

Anyone who can provide names and photographs of Carnall Hall residents from 1923 to 1944 is asked to contact Frances Nutt: Phone 417-682-2906. E-mail Frannutt@sbcglobal.net. Her address is P.O. Box 175, Lamar, MO. 64759.

The centennial celebration included an exhibit of photos, clothing worn by residents in early years and other historical artifacts. A wedding dress worn by Frances Nutt was donated to the HESC collection of vintage apparel. The other items were donated to the Mullins Library Special Collections department.

A grand finale´ Carnall Hall centennial party is being planned for September 2006.