After much planning, work is finally set to begin later this month to restore Johnny Cash’s boyhood home in the eastern Arkansas town of Dyess. A ceremony is planned for Sunday, Feb. 26, which would have been Cash’s 80th birthday. The events are open to the public and will begin with a restoration launch at the Cash home at 2 PM.
Because it’s located on a small rural road, those wanting to attend are asked to take shuttle buses from the Dyess Community Center parking lot, on State Highway 297 at East 4th Street. At 3 PM the event moves to the community center, with daughter Rosanne Cash and other family members marking what would have been Johnny Cash’s 80th birthday.
The work is expected to take about six months, then, with the help of Cash’s brother Tommy and sister Joanne, furnishings will be added, similar to what the family had in the home.
Last August, a fundraising concert at the Arkansas State University Convocation Center featured Rosanne Cash and friends Kris Kristofferson and George Jones, and raised more than $310,000. Dr. Ruth Hawkins, director of Arkansas Heritage Sites at ASU, says this month’s event will officially launch a national fundraising campaign to raise the rest of the money needed. She hopes a total of $3.8 million can be raised, which would also go toward renovating the Dyess Administration Building, a theater, which will serve as an orientation center for visitors, and other amenities.
Read more at KUAR.org.