Beldens Go Hog Wild in Style
University Supporters Study Up on Razorback Memorabilia
Last updated Wednesday, August 29, 2007 7:27 PM CDT in Your Home
By Laurinda Joenks
THE MORNING NEWS
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Leslie and Ted Belden enjoy a dream home in Fayetteville -- a loft in the Campbell Bell building smartly styled by an upscale decorator. But down one hallway, the style breaks loose with the force of a wild hog. Razorback memorabilia fills Ted's study.
"We wanted to decorate with Razorbacks," Leslie Belden says, "but we hired a decorator, and he told us we couldn't put Razorback stuff in any other parts of the house."
In fact, the couple tried to mount Hog stickers in their shower, Leslie admitted, but the water and the decorator conspired to remove them.
Shelves in the study hold all things Razorback -- Christmas ornaments, books, toy trucks, framed programs, autographed footballs and a picture of former UA basketball star Corliss Williamson. Tickets for this year's games are stacked on the desk within easy reach for kickoff.
Leslie looks through the shelves for a Sooie Sue doll she had as a child, a Razorback version of Chatty Cathy, she says, and a bobble-head likeness of UA athletic director Frank Broyles. They're missing, and she suspects Ted took them to decorate his new Fayetteville office without her blessing.
Leslie appreciates the team jerseys on display. "They are a certain time frame, date specific," she says, like the 1994 NCAA basketball championship.
"I have a Darren McFadden jersey. I have it to wear, but he hasn't put his name on it yet," she says, confident she'll get the autograph some day. "But I think the best things are the silver hogs that go 'round and 'round in the wind," she adds, pointing out the pieces Ted custom crafted for the pergola on their deck.
"It's fun growing up in Arkansas. I always drive red cars. We dress in red for Christmas cards," she says, displaying a picture of the family in front of a red Volkswagen Beetle. A Razorback frame holds the cherished photo.
In her kitchen, Leslie climbs a step ladder to retrieve a serving bowl in red and white made for her at Different Strokes by a friend. Another friend presented the Beldens with a "Hog Wild" pillow which is in use on the couch in the study.
"I like the rare things you can't find just anywhere," she says.
Leslie says she spent a recent weekend washing red glasses with Hogs for the family's new skybox in Razorback stadium.
"We have tumblers, ice coolers, pitchers with Razorbacks," she lists. "Oooh, it's fun stuff. All Christmas and Valentine's decorations, if they're red, they're fair game. If you have a red color scheme, you can really go crazy."
"It builds the excitement," she says. "It's fun to be a Razorback fan. This could be your life."
The University of Arkansas recognizes the Beldens among their biggest supporters. Both are graduates of the UA, as are many relatives. Their daughter Melissa Werner married on the lawn of Old Main, and the family now yearns to teach 7-month-old Hayden how to call the Hogs.
Leslie, UA campus minister with the Presbyterian Church, serves on the board of the Arkansas Alumni Association and as president of the Women's Giving Circle. She and Ted both work with the school of architecture's Campaign for the 21st Century.
"We host a lot of university hospitality events," Leslie says. "Our entertaining events revolve around the university, not always the Razorbacks."
In addition to the study, the family's home in Jacksonville (which they maintain because Ted's company, Lamanco, is based there) sports a red color scheme and a marble sink in the shape of a Razorback, Leslie explains, and their Beaver Lake home is unashamedly Razorbacks, including a red hot tub.
"When you move here, it's no longer just football," says Leslie, who grew up near Jonesboro and moved to Fayetteville 11 years ago. "Baseball is so much fun. The Lady Razorback tickets are reasonable. It's track meets and tennis matches. It's chancellor's speeches.
"It's fun to be a Razorback," she continues. "I can't imagine going to a school that you didn't care passionately about."
Leslie says she buys Razorback paraphernalia at various stores -- but she doesn't go looking for it. "That's when I won't see a thing." She suggests So Inviting and EBeez for tableware and Duck Club Gallery (all in Fayetteville) for Razorback prints, including antiques and pictures of the stadium.
"They have really special University of Arkansas stuff," she says, "and they're good to frame anything you happen to have."
The Beldens also collect items at dinner auctions of various university programs. "That's where you get the special stuff like signed basketballs," Leslie says, "unless you have a really good friend who can get them for you.
"Anybody can decorate Razorbacks," according to Leslie. "You can find stuff in every price range. Wal-Mart has cute stuff, and the Razorback stores on the campus and in the mall are great. And for those who really want to go all out, Underwood's (Fine Jewelers in Fayetteville) has a baccarat crystal Hog that's red.
"We have crazy amounts of Razorback stuff," Leslie admits. That's why she now tries to limit her purchases to the unique.
"We have so much stuff now, it can't be just a hog or a pig," she says. "Now, it must be a Razorback.
"Razorbacks are scary, frightening. Razorbacks are runners. Razorbacks are fast. Pigs are lazy."
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