Bald Knob, AR

I closed a property with long-time Bald Knob Arkansas citizens. During chat time, I showed them this wonderful picture of the bank in Bald Knob at an earlier time.

They said, "Oh, yes, and it is still there. But it doesn't look the same." I asked them to direct me to it and they did.

Here is what I found. : (

Modernized....Changed....No longer recognizable.....

That's why I say, "Please tell me this isn't the same place!"

Bald Knob had a passenger train that ran regularly. Trains still go through the city regularly. I once wrote a blog about the wrong side of the tracks. You can live on the wrong side in Bald Knob and wait a long time to cross the tracks.

The old depot is shown here. (To see it in its past glory go to the blog through the link above.) Note the building in the background which was the hotel or rooming house for passengers. And below is a closeup.

And another interesting building across from the depot is the old restaurant. One side gives its name.

But the other side is the best! It shows its age by having what Anita calls a ghost sign. War Bonds and stamps!

Bald Knob is a small town approximately 12 miles from Searcy Arkansas, the White County seat. Bald Knob grows on you. Despite the funny name, the town is a treasure with good places to eat, an appreciation for history, and friendly folks.

I bought this old card.

It shows the Market Cafe. The Market Cafe is still in existence with a loyal clientele. Look behind the cafe. See that Market Station filling station? It's still there also.

But now it has a new service. It's the Bald Knob Fire Department! Bald Knob appreciated the old rock architecture and put it to good use. I salute them!

Welcome to Cate and Daisy's most excellent adventure site. We will be adding blogs and pictures of our journey across the country in Babe the 1985 "ox"idized, blue Ford F150. Check back often for updates and please sign our guestbook! www.checkoutmytrip.com/zingare

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Stopping at my favorite seafood shop in Bald Knob Arkansas, I saw this truck in the parking lot. Being an old Art teacher I asked if the decor was permanent. They replied, "You bet!"

So I asked for a photo. You know how our simple little blogging minds now think. They posed readily and handed me their card. When I visited their website, www.checkoutmytrip.com/zingare the paragraph above was their welcome. So I think I have a picture of Cate and Daisy and what I call their "Happy Truck." But it could be Thelma and Louise!

My friend Anita sent me this great picture of a mansion in Bald Knob Arkansas. Bald Knob gets laughed at a lot because of its name. It really is NOT a town made up of old men with bald heads but a nice little town that used to be considered the strawberry capital of the world. Now the strawberries are mostly pick-em-yourself and strawberry stands alongside the highways that peddle fresh picked ones. The old berry sheds that used to have buyers from around the country stand empty now. Bald Knob is about 10 miles from Searcy Arkansas.

Folks still flock to Bald Knob for the best strawberries in the world and there is a little drive-in restaurant called "The Bulldog" that makes absolutely wonderful strawberry shortcake from fresh strawberries. There's also a restaurant called "Who Dat's" that serves cajun food. There's usually a line to get in at night. The little town probably has more good places to eat than any other small town in Arkansas.

Anita also pointed out the old telephone or power poles that are in the old cities. Note there is one on the side of the picture of the mansion.

Then note this close-up of one that she snapped a picture of.

She thinks, and so do I, that the poles are of interest because of the bars for climbing up the pole.

Says Anita, "Bob thinks it interesting that the prong thingeys don't start down very low - he thinks it's to keep little kids from trying to climb the pole. AGAIN, in my day, those were the poles and I don't recall any boy climbing up them. ask Dude."

Dude is my husband and he'd have been willing to climb one if they'd been restricted. So I like Anita's husband Bob's reasoning.

Anita also says, "I think now they either use a cherry picker on their truck or put spikes on their shoes." I think she's right. We never see anything but buckets at the poles anymore.

Did any of you ever climb a power pole?

The mansion, by-the-way, is still maintained meticulously and is a joy to drive by. Anita took black and white photos but those are azeleas and they'd have been dangerous to our eyes in color! So whe was being very careful with her camera!

Thanks, Anita.