Another house gone.I wasn't surprised when I drove by this house a few days ago and saw that it was being taken down.  It has been in bad condition for a long time.....probably not livable.  But it was the subject of a blog or two because of its rumored history.  The address is 407 E Vine and it was once a part of the house on the West side of it (410 N Oak) thus I called it half a house.The bigger part of the house is in beautiful condition and when they were originally  combined the two were located facing Race Street on the corner of N Oak and E Race.  They were moved back so that a newer house could be built.  It is still there and is called The Watkins House.Here is the way it looked earlier.  The courthouse said it was built in 1915.  The other part of it was built in 1890 says th... 11/28/2021

 Historic Mayfair Hotel in Searcy AR is almost 100 years old.And I had the pleasure of a short guided tour today.  The picture above shows the Mayfair as it is today.  The town has grown up around it and its charm is still there.  I have done several blogs about it in the past.  I'll try to list some of them at the bottom of this blog so be sure to pull them up and read the comments.  Searcy Sleuths always provide so much information.This small sign was in the owner's office and he reported that it has been there since the hotel first operated.  It is more like a reminder for departing guests.  In the owner's office was this framed picture of the way it used to look.  It was built in 1924.  I have seen postcards of this view but not a large one.....possibly the original.....like this on... 10/26/2021

Memories!  You want memories!  We have found them!Let's assume you went to school in White County AR sometime from about 1950 to 1974.  W. E. Orr, from Judsonia, was instrumental in beginning and continuing a White County Girls' Basketball Tournament during those years.  It was called "The South's Most Spectacular Cage Tournament" with a new program made up each year. His daughter, Fonda McCarty,  has a wealth of not-used and saved programs from those years.  Go right now to That's Judsonia on facebook and find her comment and pictures about the programs.  Click here. She is selling the old memory books for $1 each!  They are SO interesting.  I was fortunate to have a few given to me earlier by friends and I treasure them and have done several blogs about the girls' teams that participa... 10/17/2021

Benjamin Clayton Black House in Searcy ARFound!  Another old newspaper clipping that has interesting history about the house.  Problem?  No date.Solution?  I checked Google to see when it was placed on the Historic Register and found that it was done on 11-20-1974.  That still does not date the article but helps with reading it.  And please do read it.  It gives some history about the Benjamin Clayton Black family.  Once your interest has been revived, travel to the house and visit it.  It is now our art gallery and is open certain hours, owned by the city and needs attention.  For another view of it (when it was a real estate office)  Click here   10/12/2021

Quilting BeeHere's a fun picture that was clipped and saved by someone in the past.  These Searcy ladies (who have no names except through husbands and we've complained about this in other blogs) are on the porch of the old house located in Pioneer Village in Searcy.  They have on period dress and are named.  It has no date saved so we can only guess about the time.  The one called Mrs. Jim Wilson is actually my sister-in-law with the nice name of Barbara and she was a Duncan before becoming Mrs. Wilson.  Some folks have said to me, "I know Barbara Duncan."  and they sorta disbelieve that I am now Barbara Duncan.  Look through them and see if you remember the ladies or the affair. 10/06/2021

Homemade Hammer?  Weapon?I stumbled across this the other day at my own home!  Has it been here forever? Did it come from one of my daughter's estate sales?  A gift from above for my protection?  I don't know but it is definitely interesting.  It is definitely made by hand by some person who needed a tool.It looks old and weathered and perhaps the scraped bark was to keep the hand of the user from bruising.  Looks like a tiny hole with perhaps a nail to keep the handle secure is on both sides. Searcy Sleuths may be able to add info.........  10/02/2021

 Silver Dining Car in BackgroundA few days ago we did a blog with a picture of a 1940's parade in Searcy AR.  In the background of that blog (click to see) were some old buildings that included our still existing Legion Hut and two other businesses.  This picture shows the buildings in better detail.  You can see the shorter one and it is called Silver Dining Car, Ralph's Place.  It was so like one that was in another blog that we need to show it to you also.  Click here to see it. In it we see Corinne Hart and her friend at the door.  When you go to it you MUST read the comments that tell all about the diners and where they were.  Some great Searcy Sleuths told us all about them back in 2008 when we started doing some blogs.In this picture I wonder what the cover on the car represented... 09/28/2021

1890 Built Kerr-Booth home on West CenterIt is worth a drive by to see the new look of a Searcy AR historic home.  The home is located at 611 W Center and sold recently.  It is on the Historic Register of Homes and is Victorian in style, located on a shaded (as this picture shows) corner with a big porch and a sidewalk.  Modern houses may not need huge porches but they could sure use more sidewalks in our subdivisions.Lots more pictures and information can be found at facebook Kerr-Booth House.  Try going there. https://www.facebook.com/611WestCenter/ 09/26/2021

 Chubbys Sandwich ShopWho remembers this?  Chubbys Sandwich Shop, with address of 2801 E Race, Searcy AR.   This advertisement was in the 1978 Harding College yearbook and I don't remember it.I checked to see what is located there today.  The location is at the entrance to Cloverdale Subdivision and now has First Community Bank on the corner.It looks interesting so do any of you Searcy Sleuths remember it or anything about it? P. S.  Are you aware of the huge controversy going on right now regarding the sign on S Main welcoming folks to Obecity USA?  The name Chubbys  might not be a good one for the present time!  09/22/2021

1954 Basketball Tournament Fun Contest!I have been given several tournament programs from the 1950's in White County AR by Pat Holloway, a friend from way back.  They were of girl's tournaments that were very popular before some no-fun characters cut out all girl's sports! (Don't get me started on that!) We had no girl's basketball until Title IX changed that.Glancing through them, I saw this unusual page and thought how much fun this would have been.  I can't offer a prize but I will say that Miss Mystery still lives in Searcy and is actually giving me permission to share this.  Someone had written the name of the winner so I covered it with the yellow paper! Searcy Sleuths, let's see if you remember who Miss Mystery was!  09/14/2021

Early Porter Rodgers Hospital was on Woodruff Street.Here's a good picture of the old historic hospital that was named Porter Rodgers Hospital.  You can see the sign nicely.  It was on Woodruff Street in Searcy AR.  It appears to have been raining when the picture was taken.  History seems to say that the hospital started out as Wakenight Sanitarium and was built in 1920.  Dr. Rodgers bought it in 1943 and renamed it.  In 1947 a big addition was made to the hospital and brought rooms up to 50 or more.  This picture seems to show where a driveway had been and probably led to a house that was torn down for the addition.  It also shows what looks like a fine older home that had the addition attached.This picture was shared with me by Sherry Quattlebaum Person, whose father collected lots o... 09/07/2021

Shriner's Parade in 1940'sThis is a great old picture from the 40's and loaned to me by Sherry Quattlebaum Person, whose father saved lots of historic documents.  If it were larger the detail would show much better.  You could read J. D. Phillips & Son on the store in the background.  Beside it is the Silver Dining Car.  Then we have the American Legion Hut which has been in the news lately because it is being revived with a new roof and other repairs.  The Legion Hut was built in 1939 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.  The Historical Society is taking charge and getting some things done to it.  It is the only one of the three buildings that remains and is an important part of Searcy's history.Then the old vehicles are interesting and the brick streets show... 08/30/2021

 This "The Way We Were" photograph shows young girls gathered for a picture taking.  Searcy Daily Citizen once had a feature called The Way We Were and published lots of older photographs of folks around Searcy AR.  A family member clipped and saved SO many of the articles that I am having fun looking through them.  This one has no date but goes back a long time.  Read the names and you'll remember several of the girls.  I now need to do a drive-by and see if the house is still there.And here it is!  The records say this was the Royston home.  It is still lovely. 08/18/2021

Check all these names and see if you find a relative.  In this May 27, 1979 Searcy Citizen article and photograph names are printed and you might find a close relative.  They were to hold a class reunion.  I think they are a pretty handsome looking group.  Check them out. 08/16/2021

  Here's a picture of the original Smith-Vaughan store in Searcy AR.  I love the picture of the lady hurrying across the street with her package. This location was at the corner of Spruce and Arch where Sowell's Furniture is now located.  It still has the corner door entry which was evidently popular way-back-then.  The question for Searcy Sleuths is whether the phone for this store was truly 1, the number one.  That is what is on the ad and what motivated me to write this blog. 08/12/2021

Stark!  Beautifully unadorned building in Searcy AR.Driving along Booth Road might lead you past this building and you can't help staring and admiring it.  It can only be described as STARK. Extremely simple. Sternly plain. It is always perfectly maintained with the property mowed but it has no landscapingSo I did a little sleuthing.  I found that it was moved onto the property from the pumping station. Our "pumping station" is located on Highway 267 in Searcy but there is reportedly one in Georgetown also.  The person who moved it had been transferred to our town to work at the pumping station.  His name was A. W. Lawing and reportedly he rescued the steel building and moved it there possibly because the building was to be used no longer.Folks around Searcy know that the pumping statio... 07/31/2021

Welcome to a new subdivision coming to Searcy AR.  This sign has just gone up at the Corner of Sawmill Road and Country Club Road on the West side of Searcy AR.  The land has been in the Phillips family for many years and is now to be turned into a subdivision by Clay Hite, a popular builder in this area.  Hite has already completed several subdivisions in our town but this one may be the grandest yet.The sign says it is to be Belmont Estates, a grand sounding name.  We'll have to find out more from him about the name, the price range of homes and covenants.  It is a great place for a subdivision and I think it will be one that will be popular.  07/26/2021

It could be considered inappropriate of me to have just a week ago put up a picture of the popular Dr. Porter Rodgers and his prized bull. Here it is.  Click to pull it up.  Someone commented that he was the one who murdered his wife. Just a few days after that blog came out this new book was brought to my attention.It is a long, highly researched book about the murder.  It is written by Mike S Allen and Deana Hamby Nall.  It will definitely be a best-seller in Searcy AR.  The crime was such that people remember what they were doing when they heard the awful news.  I was teaching school and the teacher across the hall from me came over and told about it.  We were both frozen with fear and sadness.  I definitely remember it.I have ordered the book and it should be here in a few days.  I ... 07/21/2021

 It's collectible now!  I mean the chair, not the baby!  If you live in Searcy AR, you might recognize this street........if you are pretty darned old....... because the street has definitely changed.  What is surprising is that this old chair now seems to be collectible.  Why it is so large in this picture is the mystery.  Possibly the young child loved the chair and it was to be used in the photograph with him inside.The picture is over 70 years old.  The child had a good life and has passed on.  The chair may be out there somewhere with a new coat of paint and a proud owner who calls it an antique.Searcy Sleuths, can you name the location? 07/19/2021

THE CATTLEMAN MAGAZINE a photo by Roger B. LetzThat is the information on the back of the above photo. Searcy residents know the man in the picture, Dr. Porter Rodgers, a popular physician in Searcy AR.  He had cattle land and it looks as if he enjoyed his cattle and posed fully dressed up in suit and tie for this photo.  We can only guess at the date but it would have been some years ago because Dr. Rodgers has been passed on for several years.But the picture was impressive and was loaned to me by Sherry Quattlebaum Person and is worth sharing. 07/15/2021