Sheet Music I attended school in a tiny town in Georgia and I now think that when we gathered in the auditorium and a teacher led us in singing songs that the school was perhaps fulfilling a required music class.  When I was in college and majored in Art,  I was not required to take a music class because I already appreciated the arts.   SO......I know nothing about music.  I do not know what any of those note things mean when I see a sheet of music.  Now I wish I did because look what I have found.Othel Jones was a teacher in Searcy Public Schools.  He died and at his estate sale (he saved a lot) I bought a bunch of old papers and teaching stuff that he had.  I found this in the gathering.  It is a piece of sheet music written as you can see above by Claude H. Jones and Mary H. Eden. I... 02/07/2020

 Downtown Searcy 1980It  interesting to see this old ad that was in the Searcy Daily Citizen on 4/25/1980.  Davis Furniture now has a new owner and name, Young's Tire is no longer at that location.  The Commercial Printing Company is not there, vehicles have certainly changed and this picture makes the street appear shorter than it really is.  The Methodist Church is still highly visible in the background.BUT......Searcy AR does still have CLASS 02/07/2020

1978 yearbook picture...Harding College Searcy ARThis interesting picture is unusual in that there is snow on the ground and the kids had to be well-wrapped to get in that convertible for the Harding yearbook picture.  I found it in an old folder titled 1978 Harding yearbook ad pictures.    The house was at 609 E Race, according to the address on the building.  I remember it as a very attractive brick house that housed several businesses through the years including the Town and Country Real Estate business.  It no longer pulls up on actdatascout.com because it is no longer there. Harding now owns the lot and the lots around it.  The old car was used for advertising purposes.It would be nice if you can name the students!  And the car! 02/01/2020

Really OLD!Driving in downtown Searcy AR today is totally different.  This view of Arch Street South of the courthouse looks very wide.  Go there now and with huge pickup trucks parked on each side it does not look very wide.  This view seems to show dirt streets, antique vehicles, and a few people.  This one is dated.  1912.  So which do you think came first?  At first I thought the one in color was later but looking at it more closely I can see that the store beside Baugh's was brick in this one but appeared to be painted in the top one and the top one had more awnings.  Perhaps this lower one was before we had horseless carriages!  You tell me. 01/27/2020

A page from the past!  1959 Seniors.This is a fun old picture that has been tucked away for a long time.  This group of Searcy Seniors was to present a play on May 1 1959 at the Searcy High School auditorium.  I know several of them now but did not know them then because I did not grow up in Searcy.  I must say that the ones that I know now have not changed much.  They are still handsome folks!I wonder, after seeing this picture, whether it was a tradition for the seniors to perform a play at the end of the year.  Perhaps some of the ones in this picture can tell us.  The newspaper did not tell us the name of the play either! 01/21/2020

Mystery tissue paper order for dolls?This 4 page tissue paper copy of an order (I assume) for a lot of dolls has been in my attic for many years.  It was found in a throw-away cardboard suitcase found by me probably in the late 60's or early 70's as I made trips to the library and the park with my kids.  The box had odds and ends from the Searcy Library such as receipts for insurance payments and a response from the US Post Office saying the library  could ship books for less money and old folder dividers.  Lots of signatures are in there from important people in Searcy at the time.  E O Yancey, Ruth Fuller, Inez Bishop, Ellen Key, Wilbur Dobbins, G O Yingling and others.  Dates range from the late 40's to early 50's.But back to the subject......This old doll order does not seem to fit ... 01/13/2020

Homecoming Royalty in Searcy ArkansasHow thrilled folks were, way back then, to have their pictures in the newspaper.  This old clipping has spent many years in an attic or two (date is somewhere around 1964) so it is probably not as clear as we'd like it to be.  But it is good that the names are printed below the picture.The little boy with his hands in his pockets still lives in Searcy and owns Quattlebaum Surveying.  The little girl also lives in Searcy and is my step-daughter.  Aren't they adorable?   It is kinda sad that the newspaper business has declined and few people are subscribers anymore. Facebook may be helping fulfill the void but  I still like the historic ads and friendly photos from years ago.Here's another one from the attic.  It shows how TVs have also changed!  01/06/2020

WOW!How did they get the picture to look like this?  This was a long time ago, approximately in the 70's, when no one had tricky cell phones that do amazing things.  The young man was in the tree and another young man took the picture.  I stumbled upon it the other day and was once again stunned that this picture was made right in my own front yard by my own kids!  Looks like a snow covered tree in the still of the night....which it was not.  It is worth seeing again. 12/31/2019

What a cute card.  It certainly makes you take notice!This old card is from 1954 and has a calendar on the back.  The front, as you can see, reads "There is a difference IN SOFT DRINKS TRY C & C SUPER in the Sanitary Cap Top Can."The back of the card says, "IT'S 'SUPER' all year 'round."  Then there is a calendar for the year.  I assume this would have been to keep in your wallet in case you needed to check a date.I think it is a clever little advertisement but would it be acceptable today?      12/29/2019

Loaded downThis car has to bring memories to lots of people.  What did we call those things that covered back tires?   Hubby, the retired car dealer, says "fender skirts."  But he says he sees no seams so perhaps this car was just made that way.  And were those things  at the back called tail fins?  Yes, Hubby says all cars had them because they were the rage!  He said they all had whitewall tires, too.  And was this car loaded so heavily that it was lower in the back......or was that style?  Hubby says he thinks it was loaded so full that it made the back end hang low! This photo was found at an estate sale, unwanted by the family.  The back has this written on it, "The car just before leaveing For Columbus Ga. Ft Benning."  It should be a treasure!There is a load on the top, clothing ... 12/22/2019

Santa is Smokin'!In more than one way.  He is wide-eyed and ready to jump in the sleigh.....PLUS.....he is smoking a pipe!  I collect Santas in a small way and got this one from an estate sale a few days ago.  I didn't think much about what he was doing but once I put him in the herd, he stood out in the second way.  HE IS SMOKING A PIPE!Now many years ago, that would have been fine but in today's world, Santa would never smoke!  He is now politically incorrect!  Little kids could be influenced by our jolly-good-fellow's smoking.  Should I dump him or keep him?  12/16/2019

Elizabeth Gertrude DurhamThe pretty girl on the left was named Elizaeth Gertrude Durham and I think the girl on the right was her sister.  The picture dates back, way back, and the girls are dressed in very pretty and fancy outfits.  The hair styles appear the same with a huge bow at the back.Elizabeth Gertrude had an Arkansas future coming her way.  She married Ballard Holmes from the Searcy AR area and they lived on Holmes Road in Searcy for many years......long enough to have the road named for them.  They had 4 children.  All of the children have passed on but lots of grandchildren are still around.One is my husband, Rodger Duncan, and he inherited this lovely picture when his mother Wyndelene Holmes Duncan passed on.  I love the picture and wonder if anyone knows about the composit... 12/10/2019

Rare FindThese are so old that they are difficult to read but I finally got a good picture of the two so you can also see and read them.  They are full of interesting information.  First, the newer one is called a DOG TAX .  It was good for one year, I assume, and would have to be renewed......more tax!  It was a 1965 tag.  The larger one has the name of the owner, again I assume, who was Dr. George Harlan, who probably lived at 1106 East Race Street in Searcy, ARK.  His phone number was 689, the year was 1952 and the tag says it was for Rabies Vaccination.Note Dr. Harlan's phone was 689.  His house must have been at 1106 East Race.  That address does not pull up anymore but seems to be the location of several apartments located on the North side of Race across from land that Harding no... 12/07/2019

Beloved bicycles.I love old pictures as readers know.  I also can't understand why some families don't cherish their old snapshots of family.  The top picture above is an unknown person......cast aside by family who didn't want the old photos.  He seems to be so proud of his bicycle and it, as my husband says, was a NICE bicycle.The second picture above is a picture of my husband and his sister and his little brother.  With bikes!  The bike that he is beside was not a nice bike, as he remembers it.  If you look closely at his right leg you will see that he had to keep his pants rolled up so it didn't catch in the chain since it had no cover.  He said his first bike had no wheel covers either.  But he loved it!My first bike was a definite used one, too, with no pedals, just a metal piece... 11/29/2019

So what does this mean?I found this picture at an estate sale.  There were other pictures of the same lady with normal snapshots taken outside the house.  So you could see that a picture had been cropped so that it was placed in this coffee cup.  But WHY was she in the coffee cup.  Was Camel Cigarettes paying her to advertise?  There appears to be a man's hand holding the cigarette (actually smoking it because you can see smoke) and the cigarette lighter is on the table.  Perhaps it was a romantic thing with his saying that she was all he could see no matter what he was doing?Have you ever seen a picture like this??  11/13/2019

This pretty little house that once had a front porch is on its way down.  While driving by I did my usual OMG reaction to seeing this one almost gone.  And then I started remembering that its neighboring house was already gone!  So, Searcy Sleuths, what was the neighboring house?  Ok.....here's the picture.  The White County Court House still has the two pictures on line.The one on the left is gone.....with no signs of it left.  They are/were both owned by the Dale family and David Dale had told me they were going to remove the rock house for more room for the dress shops that now operate on each side of these two houses.  Several years ago this was the location of Francis Dale's Antiques and I bought lots of antiques from them.  The grandchildren have turned the shops into dress shops ... 10/31/2019

We have published the old Plaza Theatre picture before but this time it has the names of the band members.  I have always loved the looks of the building and the perfect way all the band members are sitting and standing.  The sign to the right on another street says, "Varner's Cleaners & Tailors.  We clean everything.  Phone 81."   Movies were HIGH WIDE AND HANDSOME, EBB-TIDE, and DOUBLE OR NOTHING.The picture was taken by Faucett-Hogue Photo Co of Litle Rock, ARK and was loaned to me for this blog by Shirley Baugh of Searcy.  I believe it was saved by the first boy, front row, left to right, Dale Van Patten.  Do you see any girls in the band??? 10/29/2019

Where was it and what were they doing?This picture has Nov. 1952 written on the back.  The front lower corner says Novak Bald Knob Ark.  The water tower has something that looks like " ...national ......Co" written on it.  Could it have been International Shoe Co.?So, Searcy Sleuths, can you tell us where it was and what was going on?  The people seem to be dressed nicely and there is a crowd.  Perhaps someone was speaking to the group.  There are lots and lots of light poles.  I really like the picture and think you will too.  It was loaned to me by Shirley Betts Baugh for this blog.  Thanks, Shirley. 10/21/2019

Giant!  One giant of a movie!I was watching Giant, the 1956 movie that is still a great movie and one that I had not seen since it was first shown.  One memory is still sad.  I heard that James Dean, my idol at the time, had died.  In fact, he died before the movie was released.Anyway.....back to the subject.  Anita Hart Fuller, our super Searcy sleuth for history, insisted that I pay attention to the movie when two beauty operators come out and deny service to a character because she is Mexican.  She said one of them was a Searcy girl who went to Hollywood to become a movie star.  I am going to let Anita explain the end results of Martha Gene's leaving Searcy.  Above, however, in the center is Martha Gene Randall in the movie scene.  Below is Martha Gene's photo from the 1945 yearbook.... 10/17/2019

Kathi Raines at The ArtistryI stopped by The Artistry at 802 S. Main, Searcy AR today and almost didn't get away.  It is a creative artist co-op with retail shops and a learning center.  Kathi Raines is the artist/owner.  I have known Kathi for years but didn't realize all the creativity that has gone into her business.  Lots of people are showing their artwork/treasures in the shop.  I saw the picture above and had to admit, "Kathi, that IS you!"  My daughter had described The Artistry as a "happy place."  So this is the perfect happy face of Kathi Raines, and it had to come home with me so that I could brag about the art work and exhibits at this happy place.  You cannot look at this picture and not smile.  At the moment she did not know who the artist was but I suspect the artist was... 10/12/2019