Hope, Arkansas

Hope, Arkansas is known for several things. First, we are the home of the world's largest watermelon which weighed in at 268.8 pounds. Here is a video from YouTube of Ivan Bright out in his melon patch. Mr. Bright has since passed on but his son is carrying on the tradition of growing LARGE melons. If you've ever seen the daytime game show, "Let's Make A Deal", they often had a large wagon of watermelons behind one of the three final curtains. Mr. Bright donated those melons every year for the show. I've also heard advertisements, on the radio, for Mr. Bright's melon seeds. They sold for five dollars a seed and I've heard these commercials in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Here is the video:

Second, Hope is known for the 52nd president of the United States; Bill Clinton. Bill is my third cousin on my mother's side of the family. When my mother was a teen-ager she babysat bill while Virginia, Bill's mother, was in nursing school. Bill's "Uncle Buddy" was my mother's father and my grand-father. Bill still keeps in touch with us and stops by Hope to visit when he is in the area.

Third, Hope is also known for Mike Huckabee who served as Governor of the state and also ran for the presidency several years ago. My wife and Mike were good friends while growing up in Hope. They both graduated in the class of 1973 and Mike held the classes 30th reunion at the Governor's Mansion.

So, that's a little history about Hope, Arkansas. You can find us off of exit's 30 and 31 along Interstate 30. Stop by and visit.