The Red Wing Shoe Factory: Nine Points of Interest

1. The factory is located behind the Mt. Ida Elementary School in Mt. Ida, Arkansas (pop. 924), and the elementary school is located behind the Public Golf Course. The golf course has one hole, of approximately 125 yards, 3 par.

2. If you live in Mt. Ida, and you don’t work at the Red Wing Shoe factory, you probably work at the Dairyette, the True Value, or for the National Forest Service. Not many people work for the Forest Service.

3. If you’re driving down Hwy. 270 and you pass the Red Wing Shoe Factory, you should stop speeding. This is because the factory is located opposite the Mt. Ida city limits sign, and any Montgomery County police that are nearby will immediately pull you over.

4. If you get pulled over outside the Red Wing Shoe Factory, you should try and get the policeman started talking about the river. If you can give him concrete information as to the height of the river, that’s good.

5. Despite being a factory, the Red Wing Shoe Factory has no sign warning you about trucks turning or entering the highway. The nearest sign of this sort is located 12 miles away, down Hwy. 27, in Norman (pop. 113), outside the Weyerhauser paper mill.

6. Sometimes you can smell the Red Wing Shoe Factory from the local fairgrounds, which are about 100 yards down the road. They have Team Penning contests there in the spring, at which you should yell, “Pick up the trash!” This lets the competitors know that a calf has escaped the pen.

7. A number of outlet stores in Hot Springs, Arkansas, distribute Red Wing Shoes. I do not know if any of these shoes come from the Mt. Ida factory.

8. Some people who work at the Red Wing Shoe Factory live in Oden, Arkansas (pop. 62). Oden has a winning record against Mt. Ida in basketball. Not all the people on the Oden High School basketball team live in Oden.

9. As you’re leaving Mt. Ida, and you pass the Red Wing Shoe Factory, you should let up on the gas and coast down the hill that runs past the National Forest Ranger Station. This will give you a feeling of immense freedom, especially if you have the windows of your truck rolled down.