On Saturday, 12 years and two days following the issuance of the Johnny Cash Forever Stamp, a ceremony renaming the post office in Kingsland was held in the Kingsland school auditorium.
Cash was born Feb. 26, 1932, on the Rivers farm a few miles north of Kingsland. In his honor, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed HR 7180 on June 3, 2024, to designate the post office in Kingsland as the “Kingsland Johnny Cash Post Office.” The Senate confirmed the House vote on Dec. 20, 2024. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law in January.
The bill was sponsored by 4th District U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and co-sponsored by U.S. Representatives Steve Womack, French Hill and Rick Crawford, all of Arkansas.
Beginning at noon June 7, U.S. Postal Service Customer Relations Coordinator, Julie Chuvy, began selling specially printed “Kingsland Johnny Cash Post Office” postcards for $5, complete with a June 7, 2025, commemorative “Johnny Cash Station” cancellation mark.
The postcard included two photos of the post office located at 80 First Street with a picture on the reverse side of the Johnny Cash statue recently installed in the U.S. Capitol.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The event was well attended and included postmasters from Cleveland County, Little Rock and North Little Rock along with a number of other postal employees.
In addition, David Ryder, representing U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton’s office, Yancey Kyle from Westerman’s staff and Arkansas state Sen. Ben Gilmore were on hand.
Other local officials in attendance were Cleveland County Judge Jimmy Cummings, Kingsland Mayor Karen Wiscaver and Rison Mayor Charles Roberts.
Over the course of the celebration, former Kingsland school student Laura Caroline performed a variety of country numbers, including Cash’s iconic, “Five Feet High and Rising,” about the flood in Cash’s boyhood home of Dyess.
Because of Cash’s service in the Air Force, the White Hall Junior ROTC honor guard presented the colors while Caroline sang the National Anthem.
At 1 p.m., an assortment of Johnny Cash stories and remarks were shared by family members and officials.
Cash’s first cousin Mark Rivers began by saying how he and Cash worked out a system so Cash could recognize Rivers’ letters when they came in the mass of fan mail that arrived daily.
“I’d draw a duck on the envelope, sitting on the water wearing a top hat, smoking a cigar. When his management saw the duck, they put the letter on Johnny’s desk,” Rivers said.
Rivers knew Cash as “Cousin J.R.,” not “Johnny Cash.”
“At a show in Jackson, Tenn., I saw something for the first time. Before the show, J.R. was exhausted from three months on the road and I thought he’d get booed off the stage that night. But when he walked into the spotlight, he came alive. I saw my cousin J.R. turn into Johnny Cash right before my eyes,” Rivers said.
In a final note, Rivers related how he had asked Cash toward the end of his 71 years if he knew where he was going when he died.
“He told me, ‘Mark, I know where I’m going and I’ll be waiting there for you. I’ve already been to a hell of my own making and the Lord’s not going to make me go through that twice,'” Rivers said.
Caroline told her first-hand account of meeting Cash on March 31, 1994, when he and wife June performed for the Kingsland Post Office dedication. Prior to the post office parking lot concert, Cash visited the first-grade class of Kingsland grammar school, in which Caroline was a 7-year-old student.
“Up to that point, I was only allowed to listen to southern gospel music,” she said. “So my parents sat me down and explained how somebody very famous was coming to our town. He came in the school and I watched him sing ‘Five Feet High and Rising’ and talk about touring and his family. Several members of his family were there lining the walls of our classroom. I thought, ‘This must be the coolest job in the world!’
“When he said he’d take a few questions, I asked, ‘Do you get to carry your family with you everywhere you go?’ He laughed and said, ‘No ma’am, we couldn’t fit them all on the bus.'”
Caroline recalled how she was excited to tell her mother about Cash’s visit.
“When I got home, I asked my mom if she was there when Rison flooded. She said, ‘Honey, it never flooded in Rison.’ Of course, I argued with her and said, ‘Johnny Cash said the water was five feet high in Rison.'”
“She laughed and said, ‘Honey, the lyrics are, ‘Five feet high and rising,'” Caroline said.
Gilmore said the June 7 event was an exciting day for Kingsland.
“Arkansas has given the world so many great gifts from Johnny Cash to Glen Campbell to Al Green. Johnny went off and did great things, but he never forgot his roots, never forgot his family and never forgot where he came from,” Gilmore said.
“It’s fitting we are here today honoring the Man in Black. I’m thrilled to have played a small part in the process,” he said.
Referencing Public Law 118-237 signed into law by then-President Joe Biden on Jan. 4, 2025, Gilmore concluded, “It literally took an act of congress to change the name of the post office.”
Kyle also applauded the community event.
“Obviously, Mr. Cash means a whole lot to a whole lot of people,” Kyle said. “Events like this really show how important he was not just to Arkansas but the whole world. He was not just a country singer but a storyteller. His influences cross genres and generations. He is a true example of humility, authenticity and compassion.”
In a display of gratitude for Westerman’s efforts in renaming the facility, Britt Talent, owner of the Cleveland County Herald newspaper, presented Kyle with a large, framed photograph of Cash surrounded by his family singing, “Will the Circle be Unbroken” during the March ’94 concert.
The commemorative plaque to be placed on the front of the post office was unveiled by Cash family members Knox Doster, Felicia Bryant Doster, Garry Rivers, Jonalyn Bryant Reep, Glenetta Rivers Burks and Mark Rivers.
Following conclusion of the program, Chuvy gave remarks.
“This is a great event to put together for Kingsland and the Cash family. I enjoyed hearing all the stories and seeing where Johnny came from,” she said.
