On the front page of the Oct. 23 Eureka Springs Independent was a cutline “Take a Stroll Back in Time,” mentioning “Richard Thompson who started the Ozarka Bottling Company…” The cutline should read that Ozarka Water Company was founded, and patented, by William Duncan in 1905.
In our historical Cornerstone Bank Calendar 2020, the centerfold, “Ozarka Water – Eureka Springs” states that “Richard Ryan Thompson, after he had borrowed the money to exploit the Lake Lucerne addition, and with the assistance of his attorney friend, Claude Fuller, found an opportunity to buy the Ozarka Water Company from the receiver in 1924.”
Mr. Duncan was the first president and treasurer of the Basin Park Hotel and president of the Citizens Bank at 40 Spring St.
How do I know so much about Richard Ryan Thompson? Well, I served on the Bank of Eureka Springs Board with him for 15 years, and his youngest daughter, Nancy Thompson Whitaker, gave me his autobiography.
John Fuller Cross