Book, "Fruit of Farkleberry"

 
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Book, "Fruit of the Farkleberry"
Book, "Fruit of Farkleberry"
Book, "Fruit of the Farkleberry"
Book, "Fruit of the Farkleberry"

Book, "Fruit of Farkleberry"

Object number2016.007.03
Date1969
MediumPaper, Ink
Dimensions9 × 6 in. (22.9 × 15.2 cm)
Credit LineOld State House Museum Collection
Terms
    DescriptionA paperback book of political cartoon drawings by George Fisher titled "Fruit of the Farkleberry". It is autographed by the artist. The cover of the book is green with "Fruit of the Farkleberry" written in large black font. It also features a drawing by Fisher depicting the heads of various prominent Arkansans as fruit growing out of a tree.

    The farkleberry has been long associated with Arkansas governor Orval Faubus due to Fisher's political cartoons. The tree is nearly unknown today, but its funny-sounding name has become a symbolic term referring to all things unique to Arkansas politics. Farkleberry is a common name for the tree species Vaccinium arboreum of the family Ericaceae and bears small, black berries that are appealing to birds, but not humans. It is generally not considered desirable or valuable. In an interview, Fisher stated that Faubus once supervised work along the highways in Franklin County. Faubus dressed up in overalls and carried an ax to make a show of directing workers who were clearing weeds. He was driven around to personally identify all of the ornamental trees that he wanted to keep standing to beautify the roads. Lou Oberste of the Arkansas Parks and Tourism Commission wrote an article listing all of the trees that Faubus saved from the ax. Fisher drew a political cartoon lampooning Faubus over the event and facetiously added the "worthless" farkleberry to the list of trees receiving the governor's pardon.

    George Edward Fisher was a political cartoonist whose work influenced and helped define Arkansas politics for a generation. Fisher was born on April 8, 1923 near Searcy, Arkansas. His father encouraged his interest in drawing and gave him the idea for his first published political cartoon, a sketch lampooning Governor Homer Adkins. Fisher attended Beebe College for a year while serving in the Army Reserves. In 1943, he was called to active duty and took art classes at the Municipal College of Art at Bournemouth while stationed in England. He also drew cartoons for his regiment's newspaper. His first position as a cartoonist was with the West Memphis News, run by World War II veterans determined to fight the abuses of Arkansas' machine politicians. After the West Memphis News closed in 1949, he began drawing political cartoons free of charge for the North Little Rock Times. His cartoons were an instant success and were used by other newspapers as well. He was finally hired on by the Arkansas Gazette in 1972. He worked for the Gazette until the Arkansas Democrat bought its assets in 1991, after which he drew for the Arkansas Times. Fisher passed away on December 15, 2003 of a heart attack at his drawing board in his Little Rock home.
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