In an attempt to relive some of Searcy Arkansas's history we've been running pictures of  some old houses.  This is another one for my Searcy readers to think about and see if they remember it.  Where was it?  What is there now?  And if you want to name the person in the picture you can do that to. Fewer and fewer of these great old houses remain.  I deliberately drove over to take pictures of two houses on a street near downtown Searcy.  I knew they were in bad shape and wouldn't be around much longer.  Well!  When I got there one was already gone.  Demolished. Nothing but a lot remaining.  So I drove around and took photos of lots of the ones threatened by progress.  I have them in my inventory now!   03/23/2010

I'm putting this picture on my blog with no memory of where I got it.  It makes me think of the Great Depression and the work that was done during the 30's and very early 40's by the WPA and the CCC.  I put up a blog a few months ago regarding a relative's discharge papers from the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1941.  He was shipped from California back to Georgia and was about 17 years old. Could this have been in his estate pictures?  The first guy beside the truck stands like he did.  The amazing thing to me, and puzzling, is that the trucks are the same (at least in my eyes), they are lined up between rows of trees and it looks like a person may be beside each truck.  Were they ready for work? If any of you have an idea about what is going on here, comment and let me know.  03/20/2010

This postcard was run in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette by Steven Hanley, who has collected post cards for years and years and has a huge collection.  He runs one a day in the newspaper. This one has an explanation that at Armstrong Springs (not far from Searcy and only a memory now) in 1909 six mounted men and their dogs were about to go fox hunting.  Armstrong Springs was a small health resort that attracted visitors from far and wide because of its "miracle water" which was bottled and shipped across the nation.  The building shown here was a hotel.  When the resort faded, the location became known as Morris Institute, a Catholic school for boys.  Now the school is also gone but it lasted for a long time. When my children were growing up they'd see loads of "Morris School" boys in do... 03/18/2010

  Have you driven by and seen something like this? A good ole Southern country boy's reaction might be, "Why, them ain't nuthin' but hafatrees." In fact, I agree.  We find these half-trees a lot in the Searcy Arkansas area.  Entergy, the power company who services the area, sends out men in trucks with buckets and trims the tree away from the power lines.  Why they don't just tell the property owner that they have to cut the trees down escapes me.  Maybe they think half a tree is better than no tree at all.  This scene above is on Country Club Road and the Country Club is shown in the distance through the half-trees. 03/16/2010

A few nights ago we had the familiar tornado warnings again.  Hubby told me I'd better turn off the computer.  I put on my tennis shoes in case I'm blown away and wake up in some dark field with glass and tin all around me.  We didn't get hit but Center Hill Arkansas did. Again!  This is I think the third time Center Hill has been hit in the last few years.  A drive up to the area today showed the damages this time. I had blogged about some houses at Center Hill a few days ago.  It got those houses.  Look at these pictures.  They were taken at the same place I took the pictures for the earlier blog.  Thankfully, most of these were old, old structures with no occupants.  Center Hill is a tiny community about 8 miles from Searcy Arkansas and it seems to be a tornado magnet.  I'm wondering... 03/14/2010

Here's a rediscovered photograph of a house that used to be on East Race Street in Searcy Arkansas.  It was loaned to me by Dorothy Yarnell Warden, our historical oracle, and she tells us that it was built probably around the 1920's by R. A. Neelly, a relative of hers.  It replaced the cottage that we featured yesterday and was the reason for moving the smaller house.  It was located where the Sexton's Food Market is now. I love the lady on the porch steps and the curtain blowing in the open upstairs window.  Look how the street was not paved but there appeared to be sidewalks.  The wrap porch, which is still loved by so many people, was probably REALLY used in that era.  Now I tell people that if they're thinking of building a wrap porch, count on it costing almost as much as addition... 03/11/2010

We did another blog once arguing about how one house can not have turned into "this" house and I lost the argument.  Here we have another interesting situation.  Our Searcy history oracle, Dorothy Yarnell Warden, loaned me this picture of herself in the front yard of her house which was on Race Street where Sexton's market is today.  The dress she has on looks stiffly starched and ironed and makes me think of my mother slaving over an iron which was heated at the fireplace and then carried to the ironing board to iron clothes.  (And we complain about hard work!) Here is the house now.  It is as stiffly starched and manicured as a house can be.  It was moved to another street in town and saved.  A drive-by was satisfying because it is in such good condition.  I believe Dorothy, if we cou... 03/09/2010

Cruising through Bald Knob Arkansas, which I have to do quite often because of properties for sale, I always delight in driving past this house. Last week I drove by it and snapped a picture.  It made me wish we had been able to keep more of the mansions that were in Searcy Arkansas and have been torn down for progress. Looking at the picture made me wish there were a few kids in the windows, which made me remember an old picture from the newspaper of a mansion in Searcy AR.  The mansion was torn down  so I put the two photos of them side by side!  Look what I discovered.  They are practically the same design with just a few decorative outside trims changed.  So now we have another job.  Were these builders the same and which one was built first.  Now I'm thinking that the houses are as... 03/07/2010

The Deener House always led to confusion on my part because I had heard the term used a lot and I didn't know exactly what they referred to. Some said the Old Deener House.  Well.....does that mean the Deener was old or the house was old? Anita, my blogging friend, says that this is the Deener house and she knew and was friends with the girl who lived there. It's now a daycare center.  Don't you know kids like to drive up to their school and see the A, B, C's on the side of the house?  According to the courthouse records, this house was built in 1895!!  That's getting to be a little old. Back to the story.  Anita says these next two pictures were made inside this historic house.  She loaned them to me.  They make me think of some handsome reluctant young man being cornered by some girl ... 03/04/2010

On the front page of our Searcy Daily Citizen today was this picture of a kindly gentleman holding a cage with a lovely squirrel.  The newspaper took liberty and called the squirrel a furry fiend!  Imagine!  A furry fiend! I looked closely and feel pretty sure it is my godson Nutsy, the Washington Certifried Home Inspector who works for Steven Smith in Bellingham WA.  Nutsy is caught here while trying to find my house.  He had no intention of going into a strange attic and getting caught in a cage! He probably got off at the wrong bus stop or if he was being shipped parcel post he was delivered to the wrong address.  He probably had a suitcase full of his outfits, too, and they may be lost.  He must be mortified to find himself in this predicament.  So I'm signing off this blog and go o... 03/02/2010

Looking through an old Historical Society book I found this house and just knew where it was located.  The nice curved porch support was unique.  So I decided to do a before and after shot.I drove by the house here just knowing I'd located the right house.  I snapped my photo and hurried back to the office.  This is a finely maintained older home located near Harding University and I drive by it all the time. WRONG! The houses are not at all alike. So while in a little surrounding town I saw that unique curved porch support again and snapped another picture thinking it could be it.  WRONG!   Yep, wrong again.  So I'm asking whether my Searcy readers can tell me if this Green Booth house is still in existence or was it perhaps torn down for a parking lot. The search is on!   I have some... 02/28/2010

When I go to Beebe Arkansas, a city about 19 miles from Searcy, and drive down their old Main Street, I admire the old look of the town.  It could actually be used for an old movie because it looks so authentic. This old building reminds me of one of my favorite buildings in Searcy Arkansas.  Check out the windows.  I can't resist giving this old picture first.    The modern version of this building is now shown below.    And the windows remind me so much of probably my favorite and perhaps most unchanged one in Searcy Arkansas.  They both also have corner entrances.    And then we have the old version of this fantastic building in Searcy Arkansas.  Note the drive-through window. Well, it might have been more of a WALK-UP window.  And it was Robertson's Drug Store at that time. 02/26/2010

This picture was posted on Facebook on Main Street Searcy's page.  I showed it to my husband who grew up in Searcy and he didn't remember it.  I'm putting it out there for folks who read this blog to see if they remember it and tell us where it was. It is certainly a very clear and lovely picture from Searcy's past.  Notice the brick paved streets.  It might be good for us to know when the city of Seary covered the bricks with asphalt. Would you call this front an Art-Deco type design?  02/25/2010

I ran this ad because I was so impressed with one family's help in giving support to the children in their house search.  Grandparents had to advance the earnest money for the children but got it all back minus 94 cents.  The children got into a great house for 94 cents and will now get an $8000 tax credit! *************************************************************************************************** Mom and Dad, how'd you like to give your kid a house for a gift?  But no money required from you?  You need to be thinking of this $8000 tax credit for first-time home buyers that your kid can receive.  So you support them in their quest to find a house.  We give them excellent advice on the kind of loan to get (USDA RD can be obtained with no money down) and if their credit is good an... 02/24/2010

As I drive by this house very often I usually notice the roof again.  It appears to be in terrible shape.  In fact, you can see a roof under the roof and there may even be another one under that one. There is also a TV antennae probably left over from the 50's.  There is also asbestos siding which must have been the big thing in the 50's. I once had a house listed with this style roof and asked a roofer about it.  He said, "Well, it might look bad, Barb, but it ain't never gone leak." "Will never leak??" The roofer said the roof was too steep, therefore eliminating the leak problem.  I think about this statement and wonder if that's why this roof on an old house has still not been replaced.  What kind of statement could I give a potential buyer and feel guilt-free?  Perhaps some of our ... 02/22/2010

We wrote a blog yesterday with pictures of the Searcy Arkansas band members traveling, having fun and hopefully not getting into any mischief.  Summer rolled around and it became time to cool off so more pictures were taken.  Our photographer from the past, Paula, now shares these pictures.  She calls them the Des Arc boys and she's in two of the pictures with a couple of the boys.  I think she may have been sorta sweet on these guys.  Des Arc is a small town several miles from Searcy so whether Paula went there to swim with these guys she doesn't remember.   I like the idea that it may have been a camp. These are from the 50's and we do not recall where the swimming spot was.  Help us if you recogize the people or the spot.  Girls, remember the swimming caps.  They were supposed to kee... 02/21/2010

My friend Paula shares these pictures of some of the band members from old Searcy Arkansas on trips to outings.  She took these in the 50's and they are fascinating today.  We see in these photos the way they dressed then, the activities they participated in and their love of life.  They seemed to love eating, drinking (I hope they were not really drinking beer in the restaurant picture), bobby sox and short shorts.  I don't know what school buses look like today but I do remember riding on the buses that looked like this inside. If any of you readers see yourself in these pictures speak up and tell us which is you.  We promise to let the identification go no further.  Paula herself, because she was working the camera, probably doesn't appear.  But Paula, thanks for saving these gems.  ... 02/19/2010

My blog yesterday asked about whether this listed house was half a house.  Here's my proof.   The two houses are beside each other but face different streets.  Note on the blue house the old type windows that are the same as the white house.  You can also see the rock foundation in this picture. Also note the trim around the entrance door which once probably matched.   Now lets compare the sides of the houses.   They both have the same type rock foundation. The rock foundation on the white house is visible here. Look also at the windows on these sides.  Looks as if the windows matched then as now.  I guess this is where the house was split apart. My information came from Jessica Hawkins and she reported that the Lightle House on the corner of Race and Oak was built in the 1920's and in ... 02/18/2010

This delightful house on a close-to-town street in Searcy Arkansas is for sale.  It's a charmer.  It was built in 1876 and has been well maintained since then.  It was an antique store for a few years. Rumors, however, have always floated around that it is half a house.  That is not a derogatory remark about the house but a true statement, if true.  It was once connected to another house and the house was split.  So you Searcy sleuths need to let me in on the validity of this rumor.  And where is the other half?? 02/16/2010

All of the above is true for once.  This is not advertising puffery!  It is truly one of a kind.  It is going rapidly even as we speak.  BUT with temperatures below freezing here it may be around for a few more days. I must admit that I've never even seen an igloo before.  Or an ice house.  Or a snow castle.  So when I drove by this one, I circled the block and came back with my trusty camera.  It is located on North Main Street in Searcy Arkansas. 02/15/2010