Schexnayder

From the trophy case in her living room, Schexnayder pulled out a frame with a big, shiny blue fountain pen mounted inside—the very instrument that Arkansas governor Bill Clinton used in 1985 to sign the interstate compact legislation that officially initiated the cooperation with Mississippi on the Great River Bridge project.

Interstate 69 Matt Dellinger 2010

“That would be Dorothy Moore,” said Charlotte Schexnayder, who was riding shotgun.

Interstate 69 Matt Dellinger 2010

Just above the couch, Schexnayder had hung a framed needlepoint sampler that read, DO NOT FOLLOW WHERE THE PATH MAY LEAD.

Interstate 69 Matt Dellinger 2010

But at eighty-four years old, Trice, like Charles Dean and Ancil Cox and Charlotte Schexnayder, seems motivated by a hunger for progress, a desire to leave a legacy.

Interstate 69 Matt Dellinger 2010

Charlotte and Melvin Schexnayder spent a night as guests in the Lincoln Bedroom, but they never got to meet with the Clintons.

Interstate 69 Matt Dellinger 2010

“They were just gonna sign it and mail it to us,” Schexnayder said.

Interstate 69 Matt Dellinger 2010

And because everything the river and the railroad once brought to a town—trade, work, wealth, bustle—comes today on concrete, community leaders like Schexnayder believe this highway is the rope the Delta needs to pull itself up.

Interstate 69 Matt Dellinger 2010

Judge McElroy was there, with Schexnayder, Cox, and Trice.

Interstate 69 Matt Dellinger 2010

“Napoleon just fell, block by block, into the meandering river,” Schexnayder said wistfully as we drove out of town along the levee.

Interstate 69 Matt Dellinger 2010

Charlotte Schexnayder spent her career explaining—and encouraging—the little things that set her town apart.

Interstate 69 Matt Dellinger 2010