The Official Newspaper of the Diocese of Little Rock
ATKINS — Remembering their roots is important for the parishioners of Church of the Assumption in Atkins.
That’s why the parish hosted a heritage festival to fundraise for religious education classrooms, as well as the repair of an iconic piece of sports memorabilia off of I-40.
Parishioner Louis Schmoll, a local farmer, said the idea of a fundraiser came from the encouragement of pastor Father Mauricio Carrasco.
“Father Mauricio encouraged us to go out and do more in the community — to be the word in body as well as the spirit,” Schmoll said. “We looked around the community for something that had to do with heritage. … We looked at something that was non-political and nondenominational, something that everyone could be a part of for the community to come together for a common goal. … And that’s when we remembered the Hog sign.”
The Hog sign is a well-known fixture on Crow Mountain off I-40 outside of Atkins and can be seen for miles. The bright red Razorback is accompanied by the phrase “Go Hogs Go!” above it, and “ATKINS” below it. The sign was put on the side of Crow Mountain in 1964 and has seen periodic repairs and touch-ups over the decades.
But now, the nearly 2,000 pound, 24-feet-by- 32-feet sign has seen better days — the 16-feet-by-24-feet Razorback on the sign is badly faded, and Schmoll believes the faded sign has hurt morale.
“This was a way for the community to enjoy one another and start making Atkins a better place,” Schmoll said.
Schmoll and others reached out to the business that repaired the sign 25 years ago. In 1998, it cost $10,000 to repair the sign. Today, it will cost $25,000. The Church of the Assumption is working together with a community group in town called People for a Better Atkins (PBA) to make this goal a reality. At the same time, parishioners are working to improve their religious education classrooms and install soundproofing, since the acoustics in the older classrooms are poor.
Schmoll came up with the idea for a fall heritage festival to fundraise, which was held Oct. 14.
In July, Schmoll and Father Carrasco planted corn and sold it to fundraise for the religious education classrooms. Any corn not bought for human consumption was fed to pigs that were prepared for the festival, and the corn patch was turned into a corn maze for families.
Guests could watch the Razorback football team play Alabama on outdoor televisions while eating food provided by local farmers and the community.
Festival attendees also participated in fun events, such as a history hayride, a mudslide, a bouncy house, historic cooking displays, old fashioned ice cream making, a petting zoo and shopping through the market section composed of local vendors. Food included duck jerky, fresh cracklins, smoked pork, rice and chicken.
Robert Schmoll, son of Louis Schmoll, stood beside a large smoker emblazoned with the family’s surname, saying his excitement kept him from sleeping the night before.
“I’ve been a member here all my life, and I think this is great,” Schmoll said. “I’ve had two hours of sleep — I was up until 5:30 this morning and laid down for about an hour in the backseat of my truck, went home for an hour to clean up, and I’ve been back over here since. This is fantastic, to raise money for the church and to save the Hog sign.”
Father Carrasco gave tours of the church to guests who were eager to see what half of the festival’s proceeds were going toward.
Inside, Pam Gilliam, a member of St. John Church in Russellville, said she came to the festival to see “how much the parish has grown.”
“Father Mauricio has done a wonderful job here,” Gilliam said. “As you can see, the church is absolutely beautiful. A lot of history here. When you come here you just feel the presence of God.”
For Gilliam, the festival and the town’s heritage are reminders of how fortunate we are to be in a time of peace and safety, compared to other parts of the world.
“The heritage of this church is absolutely wonderful,” Gilliam said. “We want to see that new sign get painted, and we hope … to increase the number of Catholics coming to this church. The population here is growing within the Catholic faith. … This reminds us of what peace we have here, to be able to come to a church – a lot of folks don’t have that.”
The festival attracted guests from all over Central Arkansas, with some festival volunteers and attendees coming from Little Rock, Conway and Russellville.
Jesús Gomez, a farmer and parishioner of St. John Church in Russellville, brought two dairy cows for the petting zoo.
“I brought my cows to give fresh milk to kids,” Gomez said. “We’re so happy to have everyone here.”
Mary Corkins, parish secretary at Church of the Assumption, said as time goes by, a community can forget its roots. But Atkins’ Catholic history is worth remembering.
“Our church is over a century old, and the settlers that came and worked the land and made the church did all of these amazing things,” Corkins said. “And it gets lost, especially with younger generations, because you don’t really appreciate it when you’re little and hearing these stories, until you get older and start seeing their significance.”
For Corkins, the festival is a “great way to pass on the legacy and traditions and stories of all those people who have come before you.”
Father Carrasco said the festival highlighted the town’s German heritage and a love of sports while also nodding to the struggles Catholics in particular faced.
“What they really want to bring together is the German heritage in this community and a way to celebrate that,” Father Carrasco said. “But being a small town, and especially not a very Catholic small town — at least not now; it might have been more at some point when the German immigrants arrived – we’re in the minority now. It’s a small town. That happens often. And so what we wanted to do was form some way of connecting to the local community.”
SEE MORE PHOTOS related to this story at Arkansas Catholic's Zenfolio page, and order prints if you like. You also can browse other photos taken by Arkansas Catholic photographers.Please read our Comments Policy before posting.
Article comments powered by Disqus
Bishop Taylor announces more pastoral appointments
Kenya and Adrian Soto: Parents going the extra mile
A-maize-ing: Atkins' corn crop sweet way to raise money
Two new priests get first assignments in Texarkana, LR
Planned Parenthood’s report shows increase in abortions
Don’t let misconceptions cause faith to waver
Seniors, whatever storms may come, Jesus will be there
Studio 3:16 offers new approach to teaching religion
After three decades, NLR principal plans to retire
St. Joseph a model of solidarity with immigrants
Two gifts after Jesus’ death: Virgin Mary and Eucharist
Why we have an altar, and not just a communion table
Pope: Wars should be resolved through nonviolence
Living relationship with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist
Order photo prints