CHEROKEE VILLAGE — The sounds of bagpipe music and the stories of Scottish settlers in north-central Arkansas will take center stage during the Spring River Gem & Mineral Club’s upcoming meeting on Friday, Oct. 2. The event will feature speakers Kenton Adler and Jimmy Bell and will begin at 10 a.m. at the Thunderbird Center, 62 N. Lakeshore Road. Visitors are welcome to attend free of charge.
“We will intersperse our talk with bagpiping and explain why the Scots left Scotland for the New World and how they wound up in this part of Arkansas,” Adler noted in a statement promoting the event. He added that the discussion will also delve into the Scottish connection to Lyon College in Batesville, including its Scottish Heritage Program and its annual Scottish festival.
Adler, who serves as the director of advancement for Lyon College’s Scottish Heritage Program, has played the bagpipes for more than three decades. A seasoned instructor, he is a principal teacher for the Oklahoma Pipe and Drums organization in Oklahoma City and regularly teaches new pipers at Lyon College’s Scottish Arts Summer School. Adler is also the longest-serving piper in the history of the Lyon College Pipe Band. His wife, Nancy Love, is a fellow band member.
Jimmy Bell, the other featured speaker, hails from a family of pipers and drummers and has won gold medals at prestigious solo competitions in Maxville, Ontario, and Kansas City, Missouri. Bell, whose father was born in Scotland, has also earned the North American Championship title. He has been the pipe major of the Lyon College Pipe Band for 23 years and serves as a senior judge on the Scottish Professional Judges Panel. Additionally, Bell is a former president of the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association, a governing body for bands.
The Spring River Gem & Mineral Club hosts monthly presentations on a variety of topics, including geology, archaeology, paleontology, and Ozark history. Club membership costs $15 for individuals and $25 for families, and members have access to features like a club library, field trips, and silent auctions. During this month’s meeting, attendees can bid on items in an open silent auction, including mineral and fossil specimens starting at 25 cents, and on a secret auction item—a 20-inch Xiyun jade necklace. A book sale will also be open to all attendees.
Those looking for lunch after the meeting are invited to a Dutch treat meal at Sabor del Rey, located at 3055 U.S. Highway 62 in Hardy, at the intersection of Stone Creek Road and Arkansas Highway 175.
For more information about the event or the Spring River Gem & Mineral Club, call 870-847-3109.