A scene from the past.This is a slightly tilted picture that I was allowed by Searcy Art Gallery to scan for this blog.  I don't think it was a postcard or it would not be so tilted.  But it is a great scene from the past.  Old cars, Coke signs.  Was it Headlee Drug Store or Headlee's Drug Store?The building was at the corner of Center and Spring Streets downtown and reportedly Headlee had two drug stores.  Searcy Sleuths, am I right about that?  I definitely remember the last Headlee Drug Store.  It was extremely popular with Searcy folks who came to visit with friends, drink coffee and have good food.The date?  Perhaps the age of the cars will reveal the approximate date.Thanks, Searcy Art Gallery. 06/29/2019

E. D. Wakenight Supply Co.This is a new one.  I had never seen this picture before.  I was visiting the beautiful Searcy Art Gallery and noticed lots of old postcard copies on an antique table.  While thumbing through them, I found this one and got permission to scan it for this blog.  There are several trucks and my guess is that the people were employees and owners.  I am also hoping that some Searcy Sleuth will identify where this location in Searcy was and the approximate year.  Notice there was a sign saying BEER SANDWICHES.  Did they make a sandwich out of beer or did they sell both?  Another good question for the sleuths.  And the cafe sign must have said City Cafe?Searcy Art Gallery is so interesting.  If you have not been by,  go by and enjoy history and beautiful art work and ... 06/27/2019

For sale by owner signThis sign has been a source of interest and humor.  At first this was just a big sign attached to a tree and folks wondered what it was going to say.Then the sign as you see above appeared.  It is unusual, for sure, and we are all eager to assist our service members.  As a REALTOR I don't usually feature a for sale by owner, but I am putting this online with the permission of the seller.Here's the thing that has won us all over.  THE DOG!  While driving by we noticed a dog near the sign.  OK.  Nice dog.  The next time we go by the dog has moved to another spot near the sign.  Each day the dog is in another spot. Then.....and then.....the dog has climbed the sign!  That feisty pooch guards that sign and we who drive by so often, smile each time.  I love the creativi... 06/19/2019

Truman Baker SignAt first, all you see in this sign is a car license plate saying Truman Baker.  It is pretty historic because Truman Baker has been gone a long time and so has the Truman Baker car dealership in Searcy AR.  Their best location, in case you are new to Searcy, was where Walgreen's is now.  Right there on that corner of Race and Main for years and years.This sign, however, is quite creative when you think about it.  Look at the second line, Race Street.  It has speed lines on it and is printed in italics which makes it look speedy.  There is no date on it so it must have been used to advertise a speedy dealership on a speedy street!!  Now you see that it was designed with creativity!Where did I get it?  Dragged from the attic and I don't know how long it was up there. 06/13/2019

A Surprise GiftAn unexpected package arrived at my office today.  The address was from a friend that I met through this activerain blog and developed into his listing a property with me and getting it successfully sold.  He actually carved this lion clock himself!  He grew up in Searcy AR and loves the Searcy Lions.  On the bottom it says "Hand made by Cliff Wiggs 2019."  He did this himself, inserted the clock which came with the correct time and a note saying that it can be reset and a new battery can be installed by prying the clock gently out of the wood.It is lovely, Cliff Wiggs, and I am so happy that we met through this blog!  Thank you so much!!! 06/10/2019

Mesmerized!I don't remember ever using that word before.  But it came to me as I watched out the window for approximately two hours as four guys trimmed and topped trees in our front yard.  I was unable to get away from the window as the bucket was moved all around the tree with controlled chain-saw drops from the trees.  See that tiny light fixture on top of the pillar at the driveway?  The company was skilled enough to not drop a single limb so that it would hit that fixture.This picture was taken as they were almost completed.  As the limbs dropped, two guys gathered them up and fed them into a wood shredding machine which spit the results into a truck to haul off.  They then cleaned up the yard and left the yard in perfect condition.That's why I was at least two hours late for work!... 05/26/2019

Johnny Cash's childhood homeWe traveled for miles and miles.  Not a lot of traffic but lots and lots of farmland on either side of the road.  Neither of us had been in this part of the country before.  We were leaving Searcy AR and going to Dyess AR to visit the restored home of the Cash family.  Valerie was taking a day off to tour history with this old mom.We traveled through several scenic small towns.  It made me think again about my blog, "The larger the tree, the older the house."  The main street (now the highway) would run through the center of the town and the yards had huge trees with nicely maintained old homes.We detoured for lunch and visited Wilson AR, a charming small town that has English Tudor style on all the buildings.  She knows I love English Tudor so she planned we... 05/19/2019

Happy Team of Youngsters.A friend just sent this picture  to see if perhaps I knew who the folks were.  It reminds me of the old training we had for writing reports.  Who?  What?  When?  Where?  All of these were important.  So who were these delightful boys who had probably just finished a game of softball or baseball.When was this.  Possibly a year could be given.What they were doing is rather interesting.  What are those things on the table?  Are those minature trees on the table?  And what is that in the hand of the man in the striped shirt?And finally, where was it?  A park with a picnic table for sure. That building in the background looks somewhat like the old Searcy Library in Spring Park.  Go here for a great picture of the old library.  So now we need some input from the Searc... 05/02/2019

Here's a blog that I wrote in 2010 that has had a lot of views.  40,283 views as of a few minutes ago.  Someone just commented on it and I went back to check it out.  I did have to smile again when I visited it.  It really is fun!  Here is the old blog.  Try it.  I am sure it is nothing compared to what can be done today but it is still up there with nice faces to watch speaking your words. I wrote a blog about a spooky voice saying to me, "Have a nice dinner.  I will call you tomorrow."  It was from a landline text.  The voice is robotic and mysterious sounding because you don't know who it is from.A blogging buddy sent me this fantastic web link and you need to visit it just as I did. Click here.  You'll meet Julie who will say whatever you type in.  She'll say it in different languag... 04/28/2019

On ebay right now is this great post card showing Searcy AR Public School.  The card is dated 1908 and that means it is VERY old.  I started thinking (actually assuming) it might be Searcy HIGH School but it says Public School Searcy ARK. Possibly it was the entire school for Searcy at that time?I may have put this picture up before because when I looked on my bulletin board, I saw a card just like it that I already have.  But it deserves another view and if you'd like a copy, hurry to ebay and buy it.  They must be pretty rare! 04/26/2019

 Duncans Car LotA few years back, this is the way 702 East Race Street appeared.  It was the home of Duncans Used Cars and also the Chrysler Plymouth dealership.  The small sign in the background says Duncans Used Cars and my husband says that it also said, "What ole Po Dunc says it is, it is!" An interesting part of the picture is the house on the left which has been gone for a long time.  Also interesting is seeing all those cars in the far background.  They must have been across Vine Street, which runs parallel with Race. I also believe there was a street between the white house and the car lot and it would be Hussey ST.  There are certainly no big towering trees anywhere around the location now.  Perhaps Searcy Sleuths can tell us what happened to that house and approximately when. ... 04/19/2019

Searcy Junior High Student Council1972 and 1973 picture from yearbookThis great picture tells a lot.  Look at the boys and girls and their dress.  Kids have always been fashion conscious and at this time mini-skirts were the rage for girls.  And look how short the skirts were.....and skirts were required to be worn by girls in Searcy schools.  If the weather was below a certain degree, probably way below freezing, girls could wear pants but as soon as it warmed back up they had to wear dresses or skirts again.  And speaking from my experience with a daughter at this age, they hated going back to the dress code.  It was not fair.  It treated girls differently from boys.   SO! On June 23, 1972, Title IX of the education amendments of 1972 was enacted into law. Title IX prohibited federall... 04/12/2019

Searcy ARAmerican Legion HutYou drive by this almost daily and think nothing about it but is one of Searcy's oldest and most historic buildings.  It is on Race Street across from the White County Courthouse.  It was constructed in 1939 with native fieldstone with funding support from Works Progress Administration (WPA).  It was placed on the U. S. National Register of Historic Places in 1991.What you don't see and if you are like me, you may have never seen the back of the building.  I took a picture and here it is.  It almost appears to be an add-on but only a Searcy Super Sleuth would know about that.It has been used for social functions and meetings since built.  Go back to this blog and see some important folks having a meeting in front of one of its two giant fireplaces.    04/07/2019

Fearless man vs. bull.This photo reminded me so much of the Fearless Girl statue facing down the Wall Street bull in Manhatten.So what is going on?  A disabled bull who needs food and therapy is being approached by the bull's owner in Searcy AR and the bull's owner wants to be sure the bull is not pretending to be down and charges.  Bull's owner has brought food and encouraged words of love and affection.What happens next?  Darned if that bull didn't start recuperating and after months and months of being unwell and hardly able to get around, he is up and walking and eating!  He, who had a funeral almost planned, is coming up with the other cattle to eat and be praised.So what's the lesson?  That bull probably needed to know someone cared and knowing someone cared gave him the determina... 04/03/2019

Captivating, isn't it?At times you see something that just grabs you.  That is the way I was with this old portrait of a Searcy boy who passed away a few months ago.  At the very bottom right it looks as if it is noted as 7 years old and then above that it definitely says Mitchell- E Smith......possibly the person who took the picture and then did a bit of  hand-tinting for embellishment?The handsome young boy was Jody Taylor  and his daughter let me borrow this picture for this blog.  It was not framed and appears to have had some neglected treatment, which makes it more interesting.  My memory of some old photos indicates that the photo had a few things added to it, like the lines for the shirt and shirt button and a few gray strokes in the background.   An example of hand-tinting pho... 03/25/2019

 Even this heavy piece of equipment looks tired.  It has just helped remove another Searcy AR house.The property at 1307 E Market St. IS no longer.  Well, perhaps the property IS but the house that sat on the property is gone.  We knew it was coming because it was going further and further downhill. I took the picture below just a few days before a friend sent me the one above.  I remember when it  was on the market and sold in 1987 and it was lovely.  Because I used to drive by it every day when I went to our RE/MAX office, I could see the deterioration daily.  So  here is our final salute to a once lovely house on historic Market Street in Searcy AR.  03/19/2019

A meeting at Searcy AR Legion HutLook at this historic photo that was loaned to me by the White County Historical Society for this blog.  They challenged me to name the people shown in the picture.  I contacted a few Searcy Sleuths and can identify all except the young man in the center and we also could not find the purpose of the meeting.  Perhaps someone out there can name him.Notice the huge stones that make up the Legion Hut.  Note the curve for the fireplace.  That took some skill from the rock experts.Now the ones in the picture are, standing left to right, Cecil Tedder, Daryl Hickman, Herb Bacon and Jim Wilbourn.  Seated from left to right, Mac Angel, Mabel Whitehurst, Nelson James, the one we don't know, Anamieca Carmichael, Kathleen Blakely and Mary Formby.  If I spelled names... 03/18/2019

You are driving along minding your own business in the historic part of Searcy AR and see this site.     OOPS!  another one bit the dust!  Another house gone!So you start wondering exactly which one it WAS that IS no longer.  I love the way we can go on-line now and see what used to be at that site.  So I did that.  Here's the picture of the house.  It looks pretty bad here and definitely it had been going downhill for awhile but it had the prettiest trim in years past and it probably had a great history.  I need to find another picture of it from its earlier days.  And its date of construction, according to the courthouse records, was 1945.  If some of you Searcy Sleuths have additional information, share it.  And, so long,  607 East Market.  03/13/2019

The Rendezvous CafeWho would have believed that the old give-away match book covers from years ago when almost everyone smoked would be somewhat collectible today?  Well, evidently they are.  This one from Searcy AR's beloved Rendezvous Cafe is now on ebay with a sales price of $4.99.  It is historic in giving its phone number of 223 and saying it had 24 years of service already!So what year might this have been?  It was probably before we had the abbreviation AR for Arkansas instead of ARK.  Zip codes started in the early 1960's.   The old Rendezvous building is still there  but you'd never recognize it.  One of my favorite pictures of it is found here.Another thing is a little bit puzzling.  How did that hard-to-spell name come about in a little-bitty town like Searcy AR?  Quickly,  l... 03/02/2019

Elvis Presley?  Who remembers Elvis?The whole world remembers Elvis and I assume most of us LOVE Elvis Presley!  I just discovered Elvis in another way.  Quilt panels or other types of cloth panels for making memories of Elvis.  Daughter is having an estate sale in Searcy AR on March 8, 9, and 10.  She discovered a whole second building on the property that houses all kinds of fabrics, quilting supplies and even a giant quilting machine.  She will be showing lots of pictures of items for the sale at Estatesales.net a few days before the sale.My surprise, however, was learning that fabrics can be bought with themes of all kinds from horses to flowers to hunting to dogs to cats to Disney to....to....to....ELVIS!  So if you have an interest in sewing, quilting, or other crafts, be sure to ... 02/27/2019