Stolen Water, Forgotten Liberties

STOLEN WATER, FORGOTTEN LIBERTIES is a fascinating memoir detailing the life and experiences of Joe Barnes—husband, father, WWII veteran, and the owner of the largest canoe and fishing rental service on Arkansas’ Buffalo River. More than a personal memoir, however, it also tells the larger story of a community bound together by a river that provided sustenance and livelihood, only to see it all threatened when, in 1972, the National Park Service took control of the river, designating it a “national river.” Along with the designation came tough new rules and regulations, which many living along the river found ill-conceived and unfair, and a struggle to maintain a way of life that had remained largely unchanged for generations. Awarded an Honorable Mention at the 2015 Los Angeles Book Festival.

Jenny Barnes Butler

Jenny Barnes Butler has been an English teacher and a Licensed Professional Counselor. She has worked as a life coach, and as an adult outpatient therapist in private practice and in a community mental health center. She is married to Stan Butler and together they have three children and eleven grandchildren. They live in The Village at Hendrix, in Conway, Arkansas, and yet spend more time on South Highway 14, where they have property close to the Buffalo River.