By Dr. Curtis Varnell
I am getting a little old for this; that was my thought as I stepped from the ledge and plummeted more than 40 foot into the creek below. The trees on the opposite bank flew by as I descended and then plunged into the icy cold spring water of the half-bushel swimming hole on Shoal Creek. My toes pushed off from the rocky bottom and I rose to the surface, gasping for air and struggling to pull my bathing suit from around my neck.
Kids growing up in a city will never know the pure joy of swimming in the cold mountain streams found in mountains of Arkansas. Growing up, there were few public swimming pools but people in every community knew of locations where the water was crystal clear, pure, cold, and deep enough to swim and dive. Waldron had the Caddo River, Booneville had Jack Creek and Franklin County had the Mulberry River sites. Further east was Long Pool, Piney Bay, and the Illinois Bayou.
Several streams tumble off Magazine mountain and many form deep holes of water suitable for swimming. Near the town of Blue Mountain, enterprising individuals once constructed small dams, backing up enough water in a small stream to create two swimming holes. Tourists and locals would truck up the steep mountainside to enjoy the pools, the music, and the dance floors. I suspect during the depression era, other things than swimming also attracted them enough to brave the incline.
A small gully cuts under the highway near the Magazine visitor center and slashes to the north down the side of the mountain. As it descends, the gully collects more and more water and cuts even deeper into the mountainside. By the time it reaches Spring Lake road, it has become a roaring creek, wide and deep enough that one has to find the rock outcropping at Millard to cross safely. From there to New Blaine, a series of deep pools invite one to stop, enjoy the beauty, and to test the cool waters. Blue hole, the ford, bluff hole, baptizing hole, the rock, and the Methodist Camp were all outstanding swimming holes but none competed with the Half-bushel. Known as one of the top swimming holes in Arkansas, the half-bushel is formed as shoal creek cuts through Pine ridge. Shear bluffs rise on either side but shoal creek clings to the east bank, cutting its way through the hard sandstone. Resistant stone has deflected the creek into a bow, forming a projection of ledges that jut to the west. The water directly beneath the bluff seasonably varies from ten to more than twelve foot deep. An underground cold water spring feeds water into the basin year-round and the water is always icy -cold.
Locals have used the area for picnics and swimming for generations. The name half-bushel comes from the hole having the dimensions of a half-bushel basket which is located about twenty foot up the bluff. Some people dive and jump off the low ledges, brave ones try the half-bushel, the young and reckless climb to the top and take the plunge. My friend, Rickey Miller would actually get into the pine tree at the top and do a beautiful swan dive, landing right in the deepest and safest portion of the swimming area.
The first time I tried it as a teenager, I managed to get to the top. I discovered quickly that it looked high from the water below; from the top it looked like I was in an airplane. Being young, stupid, and impulsive and with a lot of young girls watching, I was too embarrassed to descend. Closing my eyes and inwardly praying, I forced myself outward and down. Rising to the surface, I screamed, probably not as much is exhilaration as in relief that I was still alive. I have tried in many more times since then, always with a little trepidation and fear, but also with the knowledge that those people in their puny man-made concrete ponds would never experience the pure joy and excitement of my swimming area. At retirement age, I think I have jumped for my last time but I reserve the right to change my mind.
