The Associated Press reported earlier this month that, as more outsiders migrate to the U.S. South, Southern accents are in danger of disappearing. While we don’t speak with the slow drawl common of most Arkansans, and use a lexicon that may seem alien to many, we’re proud Southerners with an uncanny ability to pinpoint one’s locale based on their regional dialect. In general, Arkansans sound different than Alabamians, and so forth. One of our more peculiar habits during vacation is to eavesdrop and stop a conversation to guess where the individual is from. We digress: what we found most startling in the AP’s report was that, in the past five years, some 5.8 million people have moved into the South from other parts of the country (or from other countries). Assuming we can agree that “the South” consists of 13 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Texas and the Virginias) and that each state has an average of 98 counties (we did the math), that means each of the 1,279 counties in the South had a population increase of 59,183 residents since 2020. That there’s a buncha folks, y’all. However, the growth hasn’t been divided equally, and each state likely has one or two booming metropolitans (Arkansas, for instance, has Fayettedalerogersville). Still, these outsiders are putting down roots somewhere, and assuming they’re buying property, Southerners are losing more than their accents: they’re selling off generational homesites and acreage (from this point forward we’ll be taking more copious notes at the courthouse when we record real estate transactions). This land hasn’t always been ours, but knowing that our heritage could become a thing of the past in a generation or two — well, that’s a jagged pill to swallow. Hold on to what you’ve got. Whatcha reckon?
Sure is quiet in town now that the college students have returned home for the summer. University parking lots are void of vehicles, and there appears to be far fewer cars with annoyingly loud exhaust traversing the streets. This is our favorite part of the year in Arkadelphia. The two universities collectively graduated more than 700 seniors this past weekend, and AHS is preparing to send off 122 more this weekend. Some will stay, some will go — it’s a natural part of the ebb and flow of any community. From our estimation, about 30% of this year’s Arkadelphia Promise Scholarship recipients will be attending Henderson State University this fall, and about 9% will be at Ouachita Baptist University.
Tomorrow, we’re going to get our act together.…