I sit outside on the second-floor balcony and savor a cup of coffee along with a cinnamon roll from the German bakery in Arkadelphia. I watch Friday morning traffic on U.S. 67 before returning to my room at the Captain Henderson House.
The last time the institution now known as Henderson State University faced a crisis as large as the one it now faces was 1929. The school was founded in 1890 as Arkadelphia Methodist College. The name was changed in 1904 to Henderson College in honor of benefactor Charles Christopher Henderson. It was changed again to Henderson-Brown College in 1911 to honor another benefactor, Walter William Brown.
Once my parents were no longer living, my sister and I sold the family home. That meant I had to do something I had never done find a place other than the house at 648 Carter Road to spend the night when visiting Arkadelphia.
We're walking through the historic Captain Henderson House, a structure that has fascinated me since I was a child growing up in Arkadelphia. I'm with Shane Broadway, vice president for university relations for the Arkansas State University System. Our tour is being conducted by Rita Fleming, vice president of finance and administration at Henderson, which is now part of the ASU System.