Title: The Boys of Markham Hill and Prodigal Girl, by Carol Widder
** Background on my song “The Boys of Markham Hill” **
Like many people, Markham Hill holds a very special place in my heart and in my family’s history. My husband Mark Widder, born in June of 1954, was raised on Markham Road. He played and roamed in those woods his entire childhood. It is a part of his very being. In high school Mark did housework and mowed grass for Mrs. Joy Markham and Mrs. Evangeline Archer. There were so many wonderful stories of these two sisters and the history of the place. My favorite story is one about Lightning, the Widder family donkey, who escaped from his own pasture, then went up to the corral on Markham Hill and let out all their horses. They say that Lightning and the horses joyfully galloped all the way to campus before they were rounded up. The horses came back willingly, but Mark’s father had to tie Lightning to the back of his Model A and drag him back on all fours.
My grandmother’s best friend Ruby Maze, class of 1920 something, worked at Joy Markham's equestrian camp up on Markham Hill. She too had so many stories and memories. After Mark and I were married and had children, we created memories of our own, like going up to Markham Hill every November to collect mistletoe for the Christmas season and visiting the largest dogwood tree west of the Mississippi. We were so sad when the hill was closed off and we could no longer wander through the beautiful woods.
Markham Hill is a jewel that should not be disturbed. It should be turned into a historical park and nature preserve. Let our current and future children take trips up there to learn about nature and history. Don’t let this opportunity disappear. The early 20th century structures, the Grecian pool, the flora, the fauna, and the wildlife are all treasures that should be protected and preserved. This could be a magical legacy to the people of Fayetteville.
I wrote “The Boys of Markham Hill” about my husband and his brothers. It is dedicated to the Widder boys and all the men and women who grew up playing on Markham Hill. Verse 1, the Chorus, and Verse 5 are:
David, Stephen, Mark, and John, the boys who I’ve been told
Grew up in the woods of Markham Hill in days of old.
Running, playing in the trees and wildlife all around,
Their hearts were filled with joy, among these ancient hallowed grounds.
So, it’s hi, hi, ho, the boys of Markham Hill,
This Ozark home in Arkansas they loved and always will.
So, it’s hi, hi, ho, no matter where they roam,
Markham Hill will always be their sacred childhood home.
David, Stephen, Mark, and John, their youth did fade away,
Brown-eyed boys whose thick dark hair thinned out to silver grey.
Their eyes are slowly fading but their minds just never will
Forget those childhood days of growing up on Markham Hill.
** Background on my song “Prodigal Girl” **
I met my husband Mark when I was sixteen and he was eighteen. I had come to Fayetteville for the U of A Music Camp. Mark had just recently moved back from Switzerland where his father and family were on sabbatical. I was at the initial Music Camp picnic and Mark was riding his 10-speed bicycle around, scouting out girls. We were introduced by a mutual friend and we started dating. He was very unhappy to find out that I was only a sophomore in high school in Springfield, Missouri and not a recent high school graduate like himself. The year was 1972.
I came to college on a symphony scholarship playing double bass in the orchestra. Mark lived on 1660 Markham Road from birth until age 21. We fell in love walking and wandering on Markham Hill. Mark entertained me with stories of growing up on Markham Hill. I got to know the neighborhood crowd pretty well. When I was 19 and Mark was 21, in the summer of 1975, we were married in the back yard of his home. Lewis Chesser, “the shade tree preacher” who lived across the street in the Methodist parsonage, performed the ceremony. Lewis just recently passed and we will miss him dearly.
The first time I drug Mark away from Markham Hill and Fayetteville was for me to attend graduate school in Madison, Wisconsin in 1983. His family was not too happy with me for taking him so far away. After four years Mark insisted on coming back to Fayetteville to get his teaching degree. He would consider no other place to live and go back to school than Fayetteville.
Once we returned home from Wisconsin, we stayed here for an additional 13 years and raised our two daughters Katy and Heidi. I became very restless. Unlike Mark, I had never lived in another country. This is something I desired very much. Mark and I went to an international job fair for teachers and landed a job in Moscow, Russia for a two-year contract. The year was 2000. At the time I was actively playing music in many groups, including Clarke Buehling and the Skirtlifters and a trio called Chardonnay with Judith Paz and Denise Nelson. I also jammed and played with my friends Pete Howard, Joel Emerson, D & B Minor, and others. Neither my friends nor my family were happy about me going away, so I wrote this song called “Prodigal Girl”. Like the last verse says, “When I’m done with wandering, I’ll toss my traveling shoes. I’ll come right back here where I belong. Hope my friends and family will love me just the same, when this prodigal girl comes back home, to Markham Hill, in Fayetteville”.
Well, we did come home, and now it is twenty years later and we are still here. We may not physically live on Markham Hill today, but Mark’s family home is still on Markham Road, and we consider Markham Hill a part of our family and our heritage.
* Prodigal Girl *
Verse 1
It’s time to say good-bye. I guess the story’s true, another restless heart can’t settle down.
Your friendship and your love you know just couldn’t be any sweeter, but I’ve gotta get away from this ole’ home,
On Markham Hill, hmmm in Fayetteville, hmmm Markham Hill.
Verse 2
Thirteen years have gone by since the last time I left home. I tried so hard not to be a rolling stone.
I put my restless heart inside a suitcase on the shelf, and so many nights I felt so all alone,
On Markham Hill, hmmm in Fayetteville, hmmm Markham Hill.
Chorus
You think I’m running away, but honey I ain’t runnin’,
You think I’m running away from my home by Markham Hill.
Just ‘cause I’m far away, don’t mean home doesn’t matter,
Just ‘cause I’m far away, my heart is here to stay,
On Markham Hill, hmmm in Fayetteville, hmmm Markham Hill.
Verse 3
I was just eighteen when I came to Markham Hill, got married in the summer, settled down.
Raised two fine young babies right here near Markham Hill, raised them up to love this old hometown,
On Markham Hill, hmmm in Fayetteville, hmmm Markham Hill.
Verse 4
When I’m done with wanderin’ I’ll toss my travelling shoes, I’ll come right back here where I belong.
Hope my friends and family will love me just the same, when this prodigal girl comes back home,
to Markham Hill, hmmm in Fayetteville, hmmm Markham Hill.
Chorus
You think I’m running away, but honey I ain’t runnin’,
You think I’m running away from my home on Markham Hill.
Just ‘cause I’m far away, don’t mean home doesn’t matter,
Just ‘cause I’m far away, my heart is here to stay,
On Markham Hill, hmmm in Fayetteville, hmmm Markham Hill.
My goal is to make a more professional recording of both “The Boys of Markham Hill” and “Prodigal Girl”, and have other musicians help me. I hope you enjoy my rough drafts below.
Link to “The Boys of Markham Hill”:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TFIRcmYRqsY&feature=share
Link to "Prodigal Girl":
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tw9NRDJU8Xs&feature=share
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