Story by Rusty Denise Hale

From the many shops that line Main Street in "Old Hardy Town", to the waterfalls of Spring River, Hardy has drawing power that rivals the best tourism destinations in the country. Donna Cruse felt it was her duty to introduce the
outside to what this quaint Arkansas town had to offer tourists. She was determined to get the See Arkansas First Tour to set up and take notice no matter what.

When Donna Cruse became president of the Main Street Hardy Association, she knew exactly what was first on her agenda. She was intent on bringing more recognition to the superb allurement of our town. “I found this website, seearkansasfirst.com, and decided to email them," Donna says. "The first time I contacted them, the tour was all booked up, but they told me they would keep us in mind for the future."

After some time passed, Donna received an email from Karen Martin at the Department of Tourism asking if Hardy could be a stop on the latest tour. "I emailed back immediately and told her ‘Yes, Ma'am’," says Donna.

The tour was scheduled to hit Hardy on September 18th and Hardy was geared up and ready to go. "We had the street blocked off and the local radio station was here," she said. "Then we got a call saying the RV had broken down and wouldn't be able to make it."

"So I got together with Dale Maddox, the Vice President of the Main Street board and Jerry and Rhonda Messer of Cozy Candles, and we decided to just put on our own little block party complete with free hot dogs and door prizes in Thompson Park," she says. Undeterred, Donna marched on. "We handed out literature on Hardy and ended up serving about 130 hot dogs!" she laughed. Donna knew it was only a matter of time and that RV would be in our town.

The tour was rescheduled for September 24, and just as Donna had hoped, the RV rolled in as planned. "We had hot dogs donated by Petty Jean Meat company and free Cokes for the tourists," said Donna. "There were door prizes donated to raffle off including a Deluxe Camping set, a Schwinn Bicycle, a Kayak, and even a four-wheeler," she said.

"We are very proud of our town," said Donna. "We were excited to be a part of the tour; people need to see our town and they need to know about this tour," she said. "Hardy is a tourist town with a lot of rich, interesting history. We are the Antique Capital of the world," she states. "People from all over came to join us in this; folks came up from Powhatan and it was broadcast all over the news," she said. Needless to say, Donna's efforts were a complete success.

Donna Cruse knew all she had to do was get that RV to our town and Hardy would speak for itself. She had a plan and she made it happen. People from all over now know the charm and charisma of our enchanting little town. And they will, without a doubt, make it a point to come back.