An intimate gathering of about 50 family, friends, and professional associates recently honored former Arkansas Gov. James Guy Tucker and celebrated a national grant designated to process his papers.

The $136,851 grant, given to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Center for Arkansas History and Culture, is the largest National Historical Publications and Records Commission award in the state to date.

The NHPRC is part of the National Archives and Records Administration.

Tucker’s collection spans 746 cubic feet of materials, including letters, legislative documents, legal papers, campaign materials, and photographs that cover a wide range of political, social, and economic issues of national and international importance.

“Arkansas history and culture–that’s what these papers are about. They are not about me,” Tucker said, in brief comments to the audience.

“They are the papers of the people and the history and the culture of Arkansas. They’re a part of our shared history as people, as a state, and as a nation. That is true for all papers of this type gifted to institutions to preserve the history of our time. They reflect what we did together.”