HISTORIC WALKING TOUR COMES TO CALICO ROCK
Calico Rock, Ark.— The Arkansas Department of Parks, Tourism & Heritage brought their Walk Through History Walking Tour series to Calico Rock on November 9th. The tour is sponsored by the Division of Historic Preservation. The tour highlights historic locations and communities throughout Arkansas that tell about our past.
This is the second time the historic tour has come to Calico Rock. The tour included the Main Street Historic District and the East Calico Historic District. The oldest building in town was built in 1896 and was originally the Bluff City Bank. After the bank merged with the Peoples Bank down the street to form the State Bank of Calico Rock (now First National Bank of Izard County), the building became the U.S. Post Office. Later is became City Hall and is now part of the Calico Rock Museum & Visitor Center.
The other buildings on upper Main Street were built in about 1905. The lower Main Street buildings were all rebuilt in about 1926 after a fire from a spark by a passing locomotive destroyed all of those buildings.
The East Calico Historic District was once the booming commerce center of town. One of the most photographed buildings in this part of town is the original City Jail. The jail is the only building in East Calico where guests can walk into the structure and gain an understanding of the past.
For more information on historic Calico Rock, visit www.calicorockmuseum.com or call 870-297-6100.
Cathy Drew is a lifelong resident of the region that she loves to promote. She was born in downtown Batesville in the late ’60s, located in one of the eight counties she now enjoys encouraging people to visit.
Drew became associated with the Ozark Gateway Region in 1990 while working at the ad agency (The Media Market Inc.). The agency handled marketing for the regional association, where she and her co-workers produced an annual tabloid publication. She began working as the Ozark Gateway Region director in June 2000.
After Drew became director, she took the region to the next level by helping the tourism organization create a new website and moved it from the old newspaper paper tabloid publication to a color magazine format. She helped open a visitor center for the Ozark Gateway, allowing visitors to pick up information from the entire state 24/7. Over the years, Drew has helped the organization meet new marketing goals, such as in- and out-of-state marketing, assuring that all 100,000 copies of their magazines are distributed each year.
In 2016, she assisted in creating the first Ozark Gateway Region Golf Classic. The tournament continues to grow each year, allowing the organization to expand its co-op program and helping each county have dedicated promotion. Drew stays busy at Ozark Gateway as the ad sales manager, magazine editor, day-to-day office operations, trade show representative, and magazine distribution representative, all while ensuring that the region is represented all over Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Drew was featured in several local and statewide publications over the years, as well as the 1997 cover of the Ozark Gateway Region tabloid, along with her then 4-year-old son, Jon. She has received several awards, such as the Batesville Rotarian of the Year in 2010 and a three-time Paul Harris Fellow.
She also has served as an Independence County election commissioner for several years. She now serves as their co-election coordinator, helping with behind-the-scenes management of voting equipment, day-to-day election deadlines, and poll worker training.
Drew serves on the Arkansas Travel Council Board of Directors, is Batesville Rotary Club Past President, and is the Rotary Clubs’ current publicity chair.
In March of 2018, Drew was honored with induction into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame for her many years of dedicated service to the tourism industry.