B. Bart Henson – Memoria
by Mark Cole
Source: Huntsville Times obituary 21 March 2021
Bobby Bart
Henson left this world on March 15, 2021.
A native of Nauvoo, Alabama (near Jasper) and graduate of Minor High
School, Henson received an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of
Alabama in 1957, and his professional engineering license from the State of
Alabama in 1962. He spent most of his
career with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as an
Instrument Test Engineer in Huntsville, Alabama before retiring in 1990. He is survived by his wife Bettye, daughter
Rebecca (Jones), her husband Chris, and a granddaughter, Zoe.
Growing up in a
poor rural family, Bart enjoyed outdoors and had a large farm in Pulaski,
Tennessee that he and Bettye were very fond of.
He was not a hunter, but loved providing a sanctuary for wildlife. They built their home in Huntsville, Alabama
and lived there for over sixty years.
It’s a perfect microcosm of their lives, Bettye’s beautiful flowers and
plants, and Bart’s piles of books and rocks.
As I sit in the
shadows, looking up at the stars, my mind races to Bettye and the emotions she
must feel. Bettye and Bart were
inseparable, soulmates and best friends that even shared the same birthday
(different years). We pray for her
strength and peace.
I first met
Bart Henson at the Alabama Archaeological Society Winter Meeting held at the
Tennessee Valley Art Museum in Tuscumbia, Alabama in 2002. I still remember when I saw him, silver beard
and trademark cap, standing next to A.J. and Carolyn Wright. The two men were dressed in sports jackets
and slacks, exuding professionalism and confidence - a caliber of person in
education and experience far beyond my situation.
I had read
about the exploits of Cambron and Hulse, Mahan and Moebes, Futato and Knight,
Henson and Wright, from copies of the Journal of Alabama Archaeology loaned by
a friend. These men and women were
iconic to me, and became models of my approach to this great science, in this
great State.
Henson must
have noticed my eagerness and impatience through that first encounter, because
during a break he took the time to introduce himself, share some stories with
me and offer an autographed copy of his book, “Alabama’s Aboriginal Rock
Art”. I found him humble and kind, inquisitive
yet professional, and that day he made an important impression on a young,
naïve artifact collector.
Over the next
three decades, Bart and I became close friends.
We stayed in touch when Jen and I moved to Florida, and when we returned
our families spent a great deal of time together. We shared many wonderful meals with Bart and
Bettye, took some adventurous field trips, and shared many enjoyable phone
conversations.
Bart will be
best remembered for his work with Native American rock art in Alabama, and he has
been the author or co-author of several reports, books and hundreds of presentations
to local and regional groups on the subject.
Dr. Jan Simek of the University of Tennessee, a specialist in the field,
considers Bart his inspiration and hero.
That’s easy to see, given that despite Bart’s unparalleled credentials
he treated everyone with the utmost professionalism.
But to limit Bart
to the discipline of prehistoric art alone overlooks even more significant
archaeological achievements. Between 1962
and 1975, the Alabama Archaeological Society experienced its peak membership, but
was forced to evolve from its amateur roots into a more professionally oriented
Society designed to meet the growing demand of cultural resource management programs. Had this change not occurred, the Society
would have ceased to exist.
During those
seminal transition years, the Henson’s served in several leadership roles for
the Society, including President, Vice President, Board Members and Treasurer. Bart became the inaugural liaison to the
Alabama Historical Commission, appointed by Governor Guy Hunt, the last
avocational to hold that office, and likely the last ever to do so.
By the early
1980s, Bart and Bettye had become arguably the most important and decorated
avocational archaeologists in the United States. They received both the Award of Merit and the
Distinguished Service Award from the Alabama Historical Commission, the Outstanding
Member Award from the Alabama Archaeological Society, and in 2012, the Milt and
Bea Harris Lifetime Achievement award, the highest honor the Society can bestow
on a member.
There are a
thousand other stories that I could write about from my thirty-year
relationship with Bart Henson. About
DeJarnette’s escapades with axes, Carey Oakley and surface surveys in Madison
County. Ed Burwell telling Bart about
three other faces carved in rocks that were used as road fill in Highway 231
north at Meridianville. About the fluted
point site at Burwell Mountain. Trips he
took with Bettye to collect during holidays while relatives waited for dinner. Talks he had with Ed Mahan, Charles Brosemer,
Jack Cambron and many others.
I could tell
you about Bart’s hiring by Werner Von Braun, his proudest achievements in
testing astronaut biometrics, the time the monkey escaped in the NASA lab, and
much more.
But none of
that would be sufficient to communicate the respect I had for the man.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic, Ellis Whitt came to visit Jen and I from North
Carolina. While Ellis was here, we were
able to have Bart and Bettye over to enjoy the fellowship of a home cooked meal
in the midst of a trying year. The next
day, Bart, Ellis and I met Charles Moore at Heaven’s Half Acre (HHA) for a
field trip and a chance to recollect. COVID-19
had ramped up and a planned study of the sites had been delayed, but after
almost a year in quarantine, everyone was ready to stretch their legs a
little. Looking back, I’m glad we went –
I was with my heroes.
Alabama has
lost an iconic historian and researcher, and I have lost a friend. I will always wish for one more chance to pull
on my boots, get in my truck, and take Bart out for one more spin. Maybe one day, I’ll see him again.
For now, I’m
left staring at those empty, muddy boots, memories flashing through my mind, a
series of smiles, laughs and tears. That’s
the complexity of becoming friends with an icon, no matter what, no matter how
hard I try, I know his boots I will never fill.
Figure 1 - Left to
Right, Charles Moore, Ellis Whitt and Bart Henson at Heaven's Half Acre in October
2020
NOTE from A.J. Wright
Mr. Cole has graciously allowed me to post this remembrance of Bart Henson, which will also appear in a future issue of the Alabama Archaeological Society's newsletter, Stones and Bones. The illustrations and comments below are my additions.
I met Bart and Bettye Henson in the 1960's via my dad Amos J. Wright, Jr.'s participation in the Alabama Archaeological Society. I still have the American Heritage Dictionary the Henson's gave me when I graduated from high school in 1970.
