“One of the things that I think was important to our production team on ‘The Arkansas Traveller’ was that we were all born and raised in Arkansas, and we all loved Arkansas,” former Arkansas Education Television Network senior producer Dale Carpenter said. “The stories of the show were introduced by John Reeder. We’d take him to a location in Arkansas, and he would introduce the various stories for the program that week. Our closing was always the same. He would say, ‘There’s so many roads in Arkansas with interesting stories along the way, but the best thing about them is, they all lead home.’ That’s how we felt about it. We were doing stories about Arkansas. That program got distributed to other places in the country, but to really appreciate ‘The Arkansas Traveller’, I think you have to love Arkansas.
The Arkansas TV original production “The Arkansas Traveller” shares stories about the state, its history and the people who make up the state. “The Arkansas Traveller” will air on Thursdays in January, starting Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. as part of our “From the Archives” series. You can also watch on demand at myarpbs.org/youtube.
“There’s so many roads in Arkansas with interesting stories along the way, but the best thing about them is, they all lead home.” – John Reeder, host of “The Arkansas Traveller”
Alaskan Roots, Arkansas Grown
Though based around Arkansas, “The Arkansas Traveller” actually finds its roots in Alaska. In 1986, Don Rinker, a former director of an Alaskan public television station, was hired to become the new director at AETN.
“He had done a magazine show in Alaska, and he brought it with him, and thought we should do the same thing because it was really popular there,” Carpenter said. “We were told this was a show about Arkansas. They’re stories that we’re to tell in depth. They’re not full-blown documentaries.
“We would go to different locations in the state and tell a little bit about that place. The idea was to tell stories about Arkansas, its people, and its history. It was pretty much up to us what we did. The stories were not too hard to find because we had grown up here, and we knew where the good stories were, and we knew people who could help us find them. It really took off and had a strong following from local viewers. We had a blast doing it.”
“The idea was to tell stories about Arkansas, its people, and its history. The stories were not too hard to find because we had grown up here, and we knew where the good stories were, and we knew people who could help us find them. It really took off and had a strong following from local viewers. We had a blast doing it.” – Dale Carpenter, Senior Producer of “The Arkansas Traveller”
Finding the Stories
Though Carpenter said his team was small, they received ideas from around the station and people from around that state who would tune in.
“We were all from the state, so we knew a lot of good stories already,” he said. “But we had a lot of good resources. Anyone at the station could contribute story ideas. We didn’t have exclusive control over it. If someone came to me with an idea for a story and they wanted someone to come work on a story with them, it was kind of voluntary work. It wasn’t extra. A lot of people wanted to do that because they had a story that they thought would be good for a show.”
“The story ideas came from everywhere,” Carpenter said. “They came from people we knew and people who would watch the shows and call us. A guy called me one time and told me he could whistle the theme song of our show backward. I sent Travis Walls to his house to record this man whistling. When he brought it back, we put it in the tape machine and played it backward, and by golly, he could, so we used that as a show closure.”
“A guy called me one time and told me he could whistle the theme song of our show backward. I sent Travis Walls to his house to record this man whistling. When he brought it back, we put it in the tape machine and played it backward, and by golly, he could, so we used that as a show closure.” – Dale Carpenter, Senior Producer of “The Arkansas Traveller”
Favorites and Competition
Three episodes of “The Arkansas Traveller” will air on Thursdays through January. Episodes show rural life around the state and the artists and photographers around the state who have created lasting art. Carpenter said the stories airing in January are among his favorites that came from “The Arkansas Traveller.”
The main crew for putting “The Arkansas Traveller” were photographer/editor Morris “Mo” Emison, producer/editor Pele Saubers, photographer/editor/producer Debbie Finley and Carpenter.
“We all had our unique styles,” Carpenter said. “Mo and Pele weren’t afraid to pause a bit and let you hear and see. They just knew how to tell a story in a relaxed way. They knew how to use music. The way Mo shot the video, he understood the value of a close-up. He would get details of a face or a room, and those tell stories.
“It was just a joy to watch those stories done with that kind of care. That’s what we strove for. We were kind of competing against each other. We didn’t watch each other’s stuff until we finished with them. We’d all sit down and put these shows together and see what we got. We were all nervous because we felt that our most important audience was to each other. I really enjoyed that part of it, too.”
“It was just a joy to watch those stories done with that kind of care. That’s what we strove for. We were kind of competing against each other. We didn’t watch each other’s stuff until we finished with them. We’d all sit down and put these shows together and see what we got. We were all nervous because we felt that our most important audience was to each other. I really enjoyed that part of it, too.” – Dale Carpenter, Senior Producer of “The Arkansas Traveller”
How To Watch
“The Arkansas Traveller” will air Thursdays in January, starting Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. as part of the “From the Archives” series.
“Rural Life" airs Thursday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m., which shares stories of Loyd Nesbitt, small town radio and Columbus, Arkansas.
“Photography” airs Thursday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m., which explores the work of Disfarmer, Toba Tucker and Thomas Harding.
“Artists, which shares the stories of Al Allen, Anita Huffington and E. Fay Jones, airs Thursday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m.
How To Watch on Demand
“The Arkansas Traveller” is available to watch on demand at myarpbs.org/youtube.