Blogging appreciation from WCHS!  Thanks!Searcy has noticed my blog!  I have written 2008 blogs since about the year 2008.  Activerain is a wonderful blog site and somehow lots of history has gone into my blog.  It was a surprise to receive this certificate of appreciation at the last meeting of the White County Historical Society.  The WCHS does a great job of making all of us in White County and Searcy AR more aware of the importance of history!!Thank you, WCHS!! 04/04/2024

Dressed with class. Over 100 years ago?This is an old, old picture but it shows how styles change through the years and how the men and women copied the styles.  Women evidently liked the ruffled collar and the fancy sleeves.  Note two bracelets alike, two necklaces alike, slim waists and pins!  Pins used to be worn and were stylish but how many do you see today? And how about that large bow at the back of one's head!!The lady in the middle, Gertrude,  ended up in Searcy AR. She married an Arkansas guy named Ballard Holmes and  lived on our now popular Holmes Road.  They built a large rock house in approximately 1916 that is still there, had 4 kids and helped Searcy grow.  I assume that family is why Holmes Road is named Holmes Road! 04/03/2024

Searcy AR grows. Library grows also.Barbara S Duncan, that's me, presented a lovely drawing of Searcy's first library to Darla Ino, Library Director of the White County Regional Library System.  The present library (remember it is moving to a larger one) did not have a picture of the first library which was small and charming in Spring Park.  Barbara offered them this framed print and they seemed glad to have it. It will be displayed in their "historic" room that has lots of interesting items.  I, Barbara, just wrote a blog with a postcard picture of the library.  Click to see it https://activerain.com/droplet/HZDy and from there you my go back further and see more about its construction. Try this one https://activerain.com/droplet/g52D. And another. https://activerain.com/droplet/5gms ... 03/28/2024

Lovely farmhouse.....now history.This charming house had its space on Country Club Road.  Land, barns, storage.  It was a typical outside-of-town farm, owned and operated by the same family for so many years.  Here is the remaining chimney. The house is gone.And here are a few of the typical farm buildings that the farm included and are still there.  They bring back good memories! Drive by!There is now a street called Seabiscuit going to the back of the farm where a new subdivision is being built.  The new properties will be within walking distance to Searcy Country Club. The city has come out to meet the historic farm and now we have a lovely     subdivision called Belmont Estates built by builder Clay Hite.  Searcy grows!! 03/27/2024

Remember this?  Library in Spring Park, Searcy AR.This card does not have a date on it but the place to put a stamp asks for a one cent stamp.  So how long ago was that?  Some of the old one cent stamps have become collectible.  When I became a Searcy resident, my children and I went to this library.  It was a small house near the entrance to Spring Park,  It was a charming little place and my kids loved going there.  I don't remember what the buildings in the background were.  Searcy Sleuths?  Do you remember?Here's another blog about the library and includes the ladies who might have helped with it. Click https://activerain.com/droplet/g52D 03/21/2024

Did you ever hear of the Silver Moon?  Did you go there?It was in Newport AR and it hosted soon-to-be-famous stars like Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Louis Armstrong, Conway Twitty, Sonny Burgess and many others. The club had alcohol, gambling, and live bands and could seat 800.I found this poster in a drawer in my house and I think Hubby was a patron back in the 50's.  Not me.  I didn't live in Arkansas.  He was familiar with the area and now there is a rock-n-roll highway that remembers it and other night clubs along the highway. I found this picture of it online.  Perhaps a Searcy Sleuth can give us a memory of attending this club or others on the rock-n-roll highway! 03/17/2024

Artificial Intelligence?MLS lets AI write our listed house remarks. They turn out to be awful descriptions with too much verbiage. So I am curious.  Let's test them, if you know how.  I don't know how but let's see if we could direct them to do a realistic picture of this house that was in Searcy AR and is now gone. Does it only write?So this old house, beautiful at the time, was captured in a drawing by Arni Anderson in 1974.  The location was at 311 W. Center Street and Townhouse Apartments took its place. Perhaps AI could search courthouses and find what it used to look like?Me?  I am impatient.  I have a copy of how it used to look.  Here goes!It was lovely, wasn't it! 03/08/2024

 Have you ever noticed that a yearbook may be called "Panther" or some name but you have a hard time finding the city that it is from?  Here are our Panthers but it was a search to find that they are from Judsonia AR. (Remember the city that was destroyed in 1952 by a tornado.)So what are they good for? They are historic for sure! Looking through them reminds you of your favorite or least favorite teachers, students that you had crushes on or hated, hair styles, clothing styles, sports events, school events of all kinds!  And these are from kindergarten to 12th grade.Yes, they could remind you of so much, things that make you sad and things that make you smile.  Be prepared to spend some time if you find some of the books from a long time ago.  Help me find an owner for these.  They are... 02/16/2024

 This newly discovered postcard is interesting and I have done a blog about this similar one below.  So I am wondering if some business person went around putting up little saloons.  Click here https://activerain.com/droplet/7s62 for the blog of the one below.  The gentleman above seems more like the saloon type and the gentleman below looks more like the business type who would start the franchise. Let us know if you have any info on Jack's Saloons! 02/09/2024

 Is this lovely!I had never seen one until this was discovered in a saver's house.  He collected all sorts of items that are now offered to the public at a sale this weekend.  I believe there are three of them to be offered.  The estate sale is at 104 Lynn Street, Judsonia AR starting in the morning.  Other offerings are shown on estatesales.net.I am amazed at the complexity of construction! 02/08/2024

Old Old Hotel.  Fireproof Hotel Adrian, Heber Springs, Ark. Did you ever hear of it? Neither had I but here's an old postcard that seems to prove that there was one.  Let's read what the nearly worn-out card says.  The first picture shows the building and two rooms inside with this written on it.  "Hotel Adrian, Heber Springs, Ark.  New, fireproof building.  Hot and cold running water, suites with bath, steam heat, and all modern up-to-date conveniences.  For any information address T. V. Metzger."The back of the card reads "Heber Springs, Ark, is famous throughout the whole country for its medicinal waters and pure, cool, mountain air.  Three kinds of sulphur water--arsenic water--alum, iron and magnesia.  No malaria--no mosquitoes, The best place in the South for stomach, kidney and l... 02/05/2024

Old Swinging BridgeIn October this old bridge collapsed.  It is at Heber Springs AR and had been closed to traffic in 1972, built in 1912, and could be visited as a walking bridge.  The report sounds as if several visitors were on the bridge and some youths started swinging it and it suddenly collapsed and folks were dropped into the water below.  Five died.  This picture was loaned to me and has ended up belonging to the Historical Society.I wish some news source would give us a brand new report about this tragedy.  How about that, Searcy Citizen?   01/28/2024

 What a picture!  Have you noticed how all the girls now want long hair, usually parted in the middle and hanging down over the chest?  Evidently, it was a style many years ago also.  I have loads of old pictures and came across this stunning photograph.Condition is not the greatest.  On the back it gives the name of Mary Burton and is a post card, never mailed.  It seems to have been the favorite way to get a portrait.  Another thing I notice is that the photographs are often taken in front of some hanging item in the background as you see in this one.And that skirt?  Definitely handmade.  I can tell by the hem!I do love the old photographs.  01/22/2024

Fifty Years Ago!Fooled you, didn't I.  It looks a lot like a week ago in Searcy AR.  This picture was taken in our yard many years ago. (The second picture is from the same yard.  A good dad did all this!)  Dads, at that time, put up tire swings for the kids to play on and in this second instance a tree house without trees!  Kids were chased outside to play.  No computers, no cell phones and just a small amount of TVs.  The tree is still there but not the swing.  If the swing was still there and kids were on it or near it there would be a cell phone in one hand! No doubt about it! Searcy Sleuth Don Thompson could probably make an illustration of that for us.   It might be too cold right now to chase the kids out!  Continue with Happy Holidays! 01/21/2024

Nice room, isn't it!  Well, it does look a little like snow on the chair and the floor.  No, it is not fake snow for atmosphere......it is REAL SNOW!  With the temperature in Searcy AR being about 13 degrees over the past hours and expected to be that for several days, one wonders who committed this crime!!  SNOW IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS HOUSE!  There is no roof over this area!I have had a long real estate career (over 40 years) and this is the only atrium that I have seen in Searcy AR. The owner loves the house and the atrium!  The house was built in 1968!I guess I am glad I don't own it right now!!  Do Searcy Sleuths know of another one??   01/15/2024

This could be the young 2024.All the cartoons today are showing the old worn-out 2023 child (now ancient) giving the new 2024 child a welcome and warnings for the new year.  This old picture from many years back has the same look as the 2024 child.  I wonder if this could be by a photographer in Georgia who became as famous as Disfarmer from Arkansas?  01/01/2024

A Least favorite gift through the years!Jokes abound about giving dads a tie for Christmas and how they hate each one because they are so ugly.  I think that they may have now rebelled and they no longer wear ties anyhow!  All of the folks that I asked if their husband wears ties said, "NO!"   I have inherited 27 ties.  I wondered about brand names and couldn't believe that the tag is still on one. The 4th from the left above has an attached $95 price tag on it.  Polo CR'05.  I assume it has been around since 2005.  My husband would never have paid that for a tie!  So perhaps it was a gift?  It has never been worn or the tag would be removed.........Strangely, it was my favorite of the bunch!    12/21/2023

 Old Searcy AR fun!What did kids do before they lived with computers and cell phones?  Stumbling upon a memory is always fun.  That happened to me today.  This wonderful aerial view of a husband-built tree house without being attached to a tree is a pleasure.  I moved to Searcy in 1967 and lived on McRae Street.  Hubby built this tree house (as we called it) for the kids.  I bought this trampoline and it seemed to be the first one in Searcy AR based on its popularity.  Two kids are on it in this photo. The kids could drag it from place to place in the yard and this shows it right in front of the treehouse.  I got a free view of the location now and it is not the same!  Thanks, Present Home Owner, for the tour!!Summary!  Kids today don't know what they are missing!!  12/16/2023

 Beautiful old doors! Blog repeated.Some interesting Searcy AR history has just surfaced and there are beautiful antique doors for sale.  At the corner of Market and Gum in Searcy stands Bliss Salon in an old building that the court house says was built in 1884 and was renovated a few years ago by Bliss Salon owners.  I did a blog about it and you have to stop now and go back to read the blog.  Click here, Those buyers loved the old doors that were either in or around it and took them home with them.  They were offered at an estate sale but there may be two left. Now at Ole Hippy for sale by Valerie Canepa at her booth.   Ole Hippy has so many beautiful things.  Go shopping!!  And do go back and look at the changes to the building at the corner of Market and Gum. 12/13/2023

Santa is tired!Antique chalk decoration for Christmas.I drag him out every Christmas and enjoy my sleeping Santa.  I bought him at a garage sale several years ago and he is a delight to have around.....so different!  I don't know how old he is but the original price is on the bottom  Let's look.There it is!  If you are old enough to remember going to the "dime store" with parents many years ago you'd perhaps remember how items were priced on the bottom with a marker.  This was 69 cents!  What would it be today?  Seems as if we can't buy anything for less than 5$!Have a Happy Holiday season!!  Thanks for reading my blog!!  12/10/2023