Contributors: Tim Mulvihill, Jared Pebworth, Michael Evans
Congratulations to Kathy Cande on her retirement from the Arkansas Archeological Survey after 37 years of service! Kathy started with the Survey in 1987 as a Project Archeologist for the Sponsored Research Program (SRP) which dealt with archeological contract projects usually associated with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. One of her first projects with the Survey was assisting Dr. Marvin Jeter with the analysis of artifacts from the Goldsmith Oliver II site. Kathy directed research and authored dozens of reports for contract projects across Arkansas. She also assisted in the development of the DELOS artifact cataloging system and wrote the user manual for the program. Continuing her role as Project Archeologist, she also became the Laboratory Supervisor for SRP during the 1993-94 fiscal year, managing and supervising all the ongoing laboratory inventory and analysis. In August of 2013, she was appointed the Survey’s Cemetery Research Coordinator managing the preservation and research on historic cemeteries. Her research interests have included archeological textile analysis, archival research, the colonial Southeast, and historical archeology.
Throughout her career, she consulted and worked with multiple outside agencies on research and historic preservation, including Arkansas State Parks. At Davidsonville Historic State Park, she led a multiyear project of archival research and excavations to relocate many of the former structure locations, reporting on the findings and assisting with the design of new exhibits at the park. This work also guided the digital reconstruction of the courthouse and two taverns at the site which was developed by the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST) of the University of Arkansas. Another project was completed at Jacksonport State Park, the site of a mid-nineteenth century town and former county seat of Jackson County.
Some projects involved federal agencies and lands, including creating and updating a complete set of computerized catalog data for archeological collections from Arkansas Post National Memorial. She also directed a project for the National Park Service, cataloguing and packaging nearly 44,000 artifacts from archeological excavations conducted from 1985–1988 at Fort Smith National Historic Site, with all project records—including field notes, photographs, excavation data, and analysis notes indexed and scanned—and a completed database provided to NPS. She directed many reconnaissance surveys on federal land including one along the Buffalo National River.
Kathy authored Spradley Hollow Habitations which was the report on the Arkansas Archeological Society/Survey’s 31st Annual Training Program conducted at a group of rock shelters in Newton County made possible by a challenge cost-share agreement between the Arkansas Archeological Society, the Arkansas Archeological Survey, and the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests.
Another major project was her research and excavations at the Rice House and Looney Tavern, two early nineteenth century log houses near Dalton, Arkansas which had been donated to the Black River Technical College by the families who originally owned them. This was a restoration project which was part of a long-term educational project known as REACH (Researching Early Arkansas Cultural Heritage). Both structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Other projects involved assisting Dr. Skip Stewart-Abernathy with the salvage of a shipwreck along the Mississippi River exposed during a drought; working with Jared Pebworth and Michael Evans (who worked with Kathy on many of these projects) to document and map three late nineteenth–twentieth century African American cemeteries in Helena; and supervising the inventorying, analysis, and storage of the Ashley Mansion collection.
Kathy was a member of the Register of Professional Archaeologists, was on the Survey’s Publication Committee for many years, and served as the editor for Arkansas Current Research for the Southeastern Archaeological Conference Newsletter and the Gulf States Current Research for the Society for Historical Archaeology Newsletter.
Kathy authored educational flyers for the Survey, authored or co-authored web articles for the Survey’s 50 Moments series and the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. She has given many public presentations on Arkansas archeology/history and provided tours of the archeological lab to visiting scholars, schoolchildren, and other groups.
Many of us enjoyed working on field and lab projects with you Kathy, with your calm demeanor and wonderful sense of humor. Thank you for all your efforts to preserve and research Arkansas’ past. Enjoy your retirement!
