We are very happy that you chose Searcy for your location!  If you are not familiar with Schulze Burge Biscuit Company,  they make Toast'em and Pop-Ups Toaster Pastries and Snackin Fruits Pastry Bars.  They are moving into the 500,000 sq. ft. building previously occupied by Maytag. They are going to employ around 250 people, this will be a great asset to our community.  Searcy has been so fortunate to have the gas exploration and now a new plant.  This will be a big boom to our economy and to real estate. WELCOME, SCHULZE BURGE BISCUIT COMPANY, WE ARE GLAD YOU ARE HERE!                                              http://www.maryjpaul.com   03/13/2009

I looked out the window this morning and it is March 12, 2009 and Mother Nature should know better.  It is Arkansas and we wore shorts two days ago!  There was ice all over our trees....again! I should have been able to predict it because the camelias have just bloomed.  Mother Nature always waits til the bush is covered with pretty pink flowers and then she attacks.  It's as bad as when Nutsy, Steve Smith's certifried assistant tries to sabotage Charles Buell, Nutsy's arch enemy,.......or that could be the other way around. This will probably be our last attack for the year.  Once she does in my camelias she chuckles and just moves on.   03/12/2009

The Sears Roebuck catalogs would say that payments were as low as $20 per month.  The "Puritan" 7 rooms and bath monthly payments as low as $40.  The "Newark" 6 rooms and bath monthly payments as low as $55. Notice those ads said and "bath."  That means one, folks.  Families considered a bath a luxury.  Now we feel we need one each.  These ads were also before "Truth in Advertising" because they didn't say for how many years and at what interest rate! The houses were ordered from the catalog and erected, I assume, on site.  Even I'm too young to remember ordering houses from Sears. Here's a suspected Sears house in Searcy Arkansas.  The reproduction catalog had one just like it. Here's one that is definite.  It may be on the Historical Register.  It's hard to believe these large homes c... 03/12/2009

My good friend Barbara Duncan is a Realtor in my board.  She always talks about me on her blog so I am going to do the same for her.  She has had this foreclosure property for sale for some time now.  If she had posted the pictures that I have here on her listing, the outdoors person would probably have jumped at this and would have been sold quickly.  Seriously though.  This is a good home and the inspection went fine.  While there with the buyer and the home inspector, up walks this deer.  He was real tame and looks like it is a neighbors pet because he had a hunter orange collar on.  He had little nubbs for horns and was extremely friendly.  He allowed us to pet him and just hung around with us.  It was pretty cool.  The buyer has two boys and they love the outdoor.  They will like h... 03/11/2009

Several years  ago my husband's mother was shopping in a flea market or a discount store and saw a lot of cheaply framed photos of people and things.  She did a double take when she saw this picture. She bought copies for all of her children.  I treasure it. It was a copy of a photograph of her husband's father when he was a young man.....with his 6 brothers!  They were lined up on this board for a posed photograph and they were all so handsome. They were all dressed basically alike also, just as young people today dress.   So if Searcy Arkansas folks are looking at this you're seeing the Duncan brothers, with my hasband Rodger's grandfather in the center. 03/04/2009

Merchants Grocer Co. and Peoples Bank were located on the east side of Courthouse Square in Searcy. The bank was chartered July 6, 1889 with a capital stock of $30,000 and folded during the depression, September 30, 1931, according to the Historical Society records. Here's another fantastic view of old buildings that were once on the square of Searcy Arkansas.  This picture came from the Historical Society's web page with the quote above.  The East side of the square is now home to First Security Bank.  Notice the dirt streets and the fence around the court house. The architecture of these buildings is so pleasing that I wish they'd been saved.    03/01/2009

Stories of ghosts and paranormal activity have always grabbed my attention.  I've always wanted to encounter the activity. Wednesday, Feb 5 2009, the Daily Citizen had an article about an old church having been visited by paranormal investigators claiming to have found evidence of ghosts in a vacant church in White County. It shows a picture of the guys who investigated, Joshua Wood and Gregory King and then it shows a picture of the ghost!  Right there on the door is supposed to be an image of the ghost!  They also had two little ghost kids talking.  The investigators say they have spent several hours in there and they use video cameras with night vision, flashlights and a K-2 meter, used to pick up electromagnetic activity. In case you click on the link above for the article, be aware... 02/26/2009

Most of us don't know how to use our MLS to its fullest value.  I asked an agent this morning if she used the "rubber band" search. "What's the rubber band search?" she responded. Up until two weeks or so ago I also didn't use it because it was not something I had to have.  Searching in one area of our Searcy AR town, however, is difficult because it is not composed of one subdivision but it is considered an area.  Using the rubber band to search I could pull up everything in that area, so I called one of our more technology oriented agents in to show me how!  NEAT!! When asked by another one of my techie friends and an activerain blogger, Larry DeGroat, what he needed to teach in ten minutes at our weekly MLS get-together, I told him that we all need to learn that. He did a great job. ... 02/25/2009

Less than six months ago, the area in front of Searcy Country Club was wooded, filled with soaring pines and deer and skunks and opossums and other wildlife. Then we noticed heavy equipment out there clearing the area.  Then we noticed surveyors planning roads and a subdivision.  Hubby came home one day and said, "Well, the lots just took a big jump in price because they hit solid rock where they're trying to dig for the sewer lines."  Driving by it each day has been interesting.  Today I snapped a picture of their pretty little gate-house.  It will be Searcy's second gated community and the first with a gate-house.  What the gate-house will be used for is a mystery.  Perhaps it's just looks. It is attractive though!  I love the copper that is shiny and bright right now and the little s... 02/24/2009

Did you hear the latest news?  The church at fill-in-the-street has bought the two houses that are on their street and will be tearing down the old houses for a parking lot! Good news for the seller if he got a good price. Good news for the church if they get a good deal.                                     SOMETIMES BAD NEWS FOR THE HISTORY OF SEARCY. We have one builder, however, who loves history, old things and old houses and chooses to restore the houses and treasure the collectibles.  He will buy the old houses, move them to another location and restore them so that we still have a bit of history. Here's an example of one that he is working on right now.  It was moved perhaps 3 blocks to a vacant lot and it will look lovely when he finishes.  His name is Steve Ghent as you can see... 02/21/2009

This blog is written by my friend Don who comments on my blogs and loves the old town of Searcy Arkansas where he grew up.  To see his picture and his very first blog visit him here. ************************************************************************************ Remember what is was like to visit a childhood home? Nothing looked quite the same. Boundaries had changed, memorable trees were gone and replaced by others. The house may have been renovated or even torn down. On the left is a recent picture of my house when I was 8 years old. On the right There is me standing on the top of my father's Ford Model T truck in front of that house in Searcy, Arkansas in 1948. It's amazing the house is still standing. I remember a screened in back porch that overlooked a large lot with pecan, f... 02/20/2009

I wrote the following blog a few months ago in a state of euphoria because I'd received a royalty check from leased mineral rights.  The gas companies held a royalty owners meeting on Nov 10 which I did not attend.  They later sent me a nice letter saying they regretted that I was not there but they wanted to give me some information and a number to call for questions.  There was a very nice folder and a cap for me to wear.  This was shipped by UPS with Extremely Urgent on the package!  WOW!  Wonder how many they sent out.  ************************************************************************************* How many times have you heard this?  Perhaps with a little more class but the saying means the same.  It's smart to buy land because no more is being produced.  I've never met a ma... 02/18/2009

I was reading a few blogs the other day and they were talking about how much time they don't have to spend with family.  One of them had small children and I suggested that they take time to spend with them while they are young because before you know it, they will be grown.  I created a little video of my family with five pictures from the past five years. They do grow up quick. Two are now in college, one will graduate in May and the yougest a junior in high school.   I am a Realtor in Searcy, Arkansas and I sell new homes, existing homes, commercial property, farms and land as well as manage and own rental properties. If you are looking for real estate for an investment or a home, I will be glad to assist you! You can call my personal cell number at 501-278-7659 or e-mail me at Larry... 02/13/2009

A long time ago the schools in little towns had carnivals and selected queens and kings for the carnival. They were connected with raising money for the school, unfortunately, so little kids who were nominated to be a king or queen had to collect pennies for votes.  Well, guess who would win?  Daddies and moms who had more pennies made sure their child won.  How about a Valentine Queen this year?  I'm using this as an excuse to publish these two delightful pictures of a little Queen, whether she wins or not.  This is Anita Hart Fuller on her bike and standing on the side of a vehicle. I believe that thing she is standing on was called a "running board."  (Now where did those things go?)  She was an adorable child and contributes to my blog regularly now that she is a vivacious adult.  ... 02/11/2009

Here's a great old picture that was loaned to me by a friend who paints great signs, Kyle Searcy.  He has an appropriate name, does he not?  Kyle Searcy from Searcy Arkansas, owner of Searcy Signs Inc.!!  He even painted a billboard for me!   I believe blog commenter Anita can probably name these guys.  He also loaned me the picture of the old historic Rialto Theater at approximately 1949.  His dad did the neon signs for the theater.  Kyle was trained as a sign painter by his dad and became just a skilled as the dad.  In fact, Kyle worked on redoing the neon just a few years ago.  If you need signs painted, try him. 501 279 0111 located at 509 N. Oak in Searcy Arkansas. 02/09/2009

The chart below shows how many Residential properties that the Searcy Board of Realtors sold that were listed in CARMLS (our Multiple Listing Service). It also gives you the average listed price, average sold price, the list to sale ratio and how many days it was on the market. This information can be useful to let you know what the market conditions in the Searcy Board of Realtors area is doing. As you can see, the number of properties sold in 2006 & 2007 is about 100 more properties than what was sold in 2008. One good thing about this, is the average sold prices have increased. This information alone is not the only information you need to look at to see what your property is worth. We'll need to look at the location, condition, age, number of bedrooms & baths as well as the square f... 02/09/2009

Going right along with our historical photofest of old Searcy Arkansas vs the new, I found this picture of the old Headlee Drug Store on the courthouse square.  The  building was changed from the drug store to a shoe store and now is an attorney's office.  This old photo really looks like the style of our friend Paula, who took photography as a Girl Scout project and recorded great scenes of Searcy.  She didn't know she had style then.....but she knows now!! Here's the way it looks now.  Don't you miss all the fabulous old lettering on the sides of the building.  Imagine a sign painter doing that work that long ago.  It's a shame it is now sandblasted off.   02/05/2009

Thursday I will be taking a CE class that is FREE!  First Community Bank has provided CE classes for Realtors for many years.  This class is free, they provide lunch and they have drawings with some really nice gifts! Our instructor is Ron Kelton, Kelton School of Real Estate, Jonesboro, Arkansas.  Ron is a great teacher and he makes his classes really fun.  First Community is a great bank and easy to do business with.  Thanks,  First Community Bank for providing this for us! 02/04/2009

She's had her picture in several of my blogs!  To see the blogs click on the links but the pictures are below.     I just noticed something!  Does she have on the same dress in both of these photos.  She's on the right in each one.   Her daughter contributes to my blog regularly.  The daughter's name is Anita Hart Fuller.  I call her Searcy's golden girl because she had such a sparkling childhood.  I've put her in my blogs a time or two also.   On January 28, 2009 Corinne Horne Harrison Hart attained the age of 100!  Corinne is known by everyone who has been in Searcy for a long time.  She's known for her memory and her wit.  One of her favorite stories is below.  It's about get-togethers a long time ago. Everyone came to town in their wagons and long-bed trucks, their wives and kids.  ... 02/02/2009

A few days ago I wrote a blog about the Mayfair Hotel in Searcy Arkansas and how it was very near a park that had healing waters. This old postcard shows that park at about that era, I'd think.  The spring was covered with this circular pavilion or gazebo and it was within easy walking distance to the hotel.  I visualize ladies in their long skirts parading arm in arm from the hotel to this little park.  The park now contains playground equipment and a much bigger pavilion as the next photo shows. But it also still contains the small pavilion too.   The library is still located in Spring Park and shows in the background of this photo.  When I first came to Searcy, however, the library looked like this.  It would be interesting if someday the city decided to reopen the springs! 01/30/2009