For many years the Lyon College library has maintained a treasured collection from Hail Bryant. Mr. Bryant was a student at Lyon in 1946 and became a prominent businessman in Batesville, adventurer, and caver. Bryant explored Half-Mile Cave in Fifty-Six, Arkansas, now known as Blanchard Springs Caverns, one of the most famous live caves known in the world. His wife, Faye Bryant, who recently passed, became one of the first women to explore the Blanchard Springs caverns.
These photos are among dozens in the collection, along with the hand-drawn maps of the cave. Bryant also gave us many of the newspaper clippings from national publications about the discovery and mapping of the national treasure. And we also have a collection of blueprints he designed and drew for many local and regional buildings in the Arkansas area. These probably won't be scanned, but they will stay in our collection for viewing upon request.
I myself visited Mr. Bryant with an Arkansas College geology class in the 70’s to see his amazing mineral collection. He later gave this collection to our science department and they grace the display cases in the Derby Center at Lyon College.
Times are changing and now we can digitize this collection. The project has started and and someday our families and anyone in the world with a laptop will be able to see this epic adventure. Thank you so much, Hail and Faye Bryant for this wonderful collection. We treasure it and will share your generosity for future generations of cavers and young people interested in the exploration of the unknown.
Below are a few of the very "cool" images in our archives.
These guys are getting their gear ready to go cavin'. Gotta love those white walls! Circa 1960
There are miles of underground rivers in the Blanchard Springs Caverns.
This Bible verse found in the cave was very appropriate for the times. In the 60's, when the cave was being explored, the Cuban Missile crisis had just been averted and Americans were looking for safe places if there really was a nuclear holocaust.
This is one of our first woman cavers, Mrs. Faye Bryant being lowered down the 75 foot hole.
The skeletal remains of a possible Indian found in the cave many years ago.
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