ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leila Francis King is 17 and is a junior at the Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences.  She lives in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, which is located in Jefferson County on the Arkansas River.  Her father is currently the mayor of Pine Bluff.  She is the oldest of three children born to Helen O'Keefe King and F.A. Dutch King.

The family has always resided in Pine Bluff.  She lives at "Lone Oak," a house on Poplar Street named by her great-grandmother.  The English Tudor home was built in 1925 as a gift to Leila Coles Wilkins by her mother, Sallylu Anderson Coles.  The house has stayed in the family, with each generation residing there.

Leila was baptized Presbyterian, following a 150-year-old family tradition.  She attends First Presbyterian Church of Pine Bluff.

There are many interests in Leila's life.  She is an avid equestrian and shows Appaloosa horses.  She and her tri-leopard Appaloosa, Copper, have won many awards in English Hunter Under Saddle.  Leila was 5th at the 2001 Youth World Show in Oklahoma City in Hunter Under Saddle.  Leila also won the 1999 State Championship in English Hunter Under Saddle when she was 14 years old.  This is one of the most difficult classes in which to compete.

Other interests of Leila's include swimming competitions, tennis, and softball.  She is an athlete to the core, loving competition.

Leila maintains a 4.0 grade point average at ASMS where she is completing her junior year.

Through her experience of creating this website, she was surprised to learn that her family is so intertwined in the history of Pine Bluff.  Some sites that she included on her "points of interest" were at one time or another owned by her ancestors.  She has also learned how important the past is in molding and shaping the present and future.  This is why she is interested in the topic she has chosen.