News

In this news article Nan Snider describes the gathering of hundreds of fans, friends and family members of the late Johnny Cash who came together in his hometown of Dyess on Sunday, February 26, to pay tribute to him on what would have been his 80th birthday. The birthday tribute also launched a national fund-raising campaign for the Dyess project, with events held around the United States. For the full article, click here.

This KUAR report, which includes audio and a printed transcript, covers the 80th Birthday Tribute to Johnny Cash in Dyess, including remarks from various family members. The story also provides a look at the beginning of efforts to restore the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home. Family members unveiled the cornerstone for the project (one of the original concrete piers) inscribed with “Established 1935; Re-Established 2012.” Click here to listen to the story.

The Oxford American magazine article, “Essay: A New Deal,” captures the return of Johnny Cash’s sister, Joanne Cash Yates, to the home where she and her siblings grew up in Dyess, Arkansas, to tour the home alongside the Arkansas State University restoration team and provide information for use in the restoration of the home. To view this article, click here.

This Rolling Stone article recaps  highlights of the 2011 Johnny Cash Music Festival, including remarks by the performers and set lists. To view the complete article, click here.

This AY (About You) Magazine article provides an overview of Johnny Cash’s career and the origins of the Dyess Colony. The article also explores Arkansas State University’s plans to renovate and reconstruct historic buildings in Dyess, including the boyhood home of Johnny Cash. To view this article, please click here.

Rural Arkansas Living, the magazine of the Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. published this special issue in June 2011 in advance of the first Johnny Cash Music Festival. The magazine features information and interviews related to the festival, the master plan for Dyess, plans for restoration of the house, and other stories related to Johnny Cash. Click here for a .pdf version of the complete magazine.

In this news article New York music writer Jim Bessman interviews Rosanne Cash, Johnny Cash’s daughter, about the proposed restoration of the Cash family home. The inaugural concert also is discussed, starring Cash’s children Rosanne Cash and John Carter Cash, his younger brother Tommy Cash, younger sister Joanne Cash, and John Carter’s wife Laura Cash, along with country music greats George Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Dailey & Vincent, Gary Morris and Rodney Crowell, as well as Rosanne’s and Crowell’s daughter Chelsea Crowell. For the full article, click here.

This online article from the National Trust for Historic Preservation is one of the first stories published announcing Arkansas State University’s acquisition of the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home in Dyess.  For several years, the National Trust worked with Arkansas State University in an attempt to save the house as part of an Arkansas Delta Rural Heritage Development Initiative (RHDI).  The article traces the history of the Cash family in Dyess, the deterioration of the home over the years, and efforts to work with the private owners to acquire the home. “The family recognized that the house might not make it through another season and the scope of work was beyond their abilities and resources,” says Beth Wiedower, RHDI director.  The house will become part of the town’s  master development plan, which includes restoration of other Works Progress Administration-era structures.  For the complete article, click here.

Arkansas Times article provides background on Dyess Colony, attempts of the town to focus on heritage tourism, and efforts of Arkansas State University to restore the Administration Building and the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home. The article, available here, also promotes the first Johnny Cash Music Festival as a fund-raiser for the boyhood home project.

Arkansas State University began on-site restoration activities in Dyess in January 2011 as part of an Arkansas Delta Rural Heritage Development Initiative. Oxford American magazine documented the early phases of the project as part of its SoLost video magazine series. You can view the complete article here.