About Searcy's Old Searcy Arkansas

A recent newspaper article pointed out that cell phones have now surpassed the households opting for landlines. Fewer and fewer families are having landlines. They are dropping the landlines and choosing cellphones only. Verizon Communications Inc reported 39 million landline customers in March 2008 and 35 million a year later.

Over the same period Verizon's wireless customers grew from 67 million to 87 million! Some of those came from the company's acquisition of Alltel Crop. But the amazing thing is that many are going cell phone only. It saves money.

I hate that I can't go to the phone book and find old Joe Blow who lives at 800 Doe Street. How do we search for a cell phone?

And that brings up the picture above. The phone numbers for this Duncan New and Used Cars were on the sign. It says night phones 747 or 677 or something similar. Imagine! Three digit numbers! Most of the people here on this blog can't remember three digit numbers. In fact, neither can I because at my home we had NO phone!

The picture shows my husband and his father in front of the family car lot on Race Street in Searcy Arkansas. The business grew and grew and became Duncan's Chrysler Plymouth and Jeep until they sold the franchise in approximately 2004. It's a good thing they sold it when they did because they probably would have lost it this year when Chrysler decided to take away so many franchises.

Times change. Numbers change. We may not like it but it happens. We need to have a Treo and capture every phone number that we can because we can't go to the phone book and find it!

Here's another great old picture taken at Armstrong Springs, White County Arkansas. Armstrong Springs had a hotel where people came and stayed to drink the healing waters of the springs. Ruby Nell Woodson Moye loaned me the picture of this picture of the Armstrong family, Ruby's relatives on her mother's side. It is taken on the front steps of a house that still stands there.

Ruby said that her grandfather bottled and sold the water! Sounds like he was way ahead of his time in selling bottled water. He is the 4th from left, middle row. Armstrong Springs became Morris School and the road is now called Morris School Road.

This photograph of our old Smyrna Church on Highway 36 West taken in 1981 ? by one of the Armstrongs from Armstrong Springs was loaned to me by Ruby Nell Woodson Moye. She found it as she was cleaning out her desk and going through things long forgotten.

The church is now undergoing restoration. The photographer's composition is very nice. Most of us would have centered the church, wouldn't we? For another view and a little history of the church, click here. From this link you can find out a lot of White County history. Go for it!!

Yesterday's blog showed the class of 1952, Mrs. Knox's kindergarten class in Searcy AR. There were lots of beautiful children and one of my readers sent me this photo!

This photo shows the very first class that Mrs. Knox had. The White Country Historical Society says in one of their newsletters that at the end of the school year, the Child's Haven Kindergarten presented a program at the American Legion Hut on the Court Square in Searcy Arkansas. This photo was so early, however, that the program was held in the front room of her house.

Girls wore crepe paper dresses and bonnets made by Mrs. Knox!! Look at the intricacies of the dresses! One of the kids said that they were instructed not to get their fingers wet or do anything to wet the paper dresses or they'd have dye all over themselves!

The boys wore appropriate shirts and pants. I even have the names of this group. Left to right is Rose Mary Bradley, Gloria Eddy, Charels Ray Kibbee, Marcia Bagarella, Ronnie Moye, Ann Sowell, Billy Benz, Sherry Quattlebaum and Ernest Salkeld, Jr.

Thanks Sherry Quattlebaum Person for letting me use this picture!

I borrowed this picture from the White County Historical Society News, March 2009. It shows so many cute children on the porch of Mrs. Klyster Knox's home on North Main in Searcy Arkansas. The article stated that she started her kindergarten in 1949 with 12 children. It grew until it had 60 children and she had to add a building behind her house for the school. She operated the school for 25 years so lots of kids posed on this front porch for their class pictures. The little boy with cowboy boots on the front row is my husband's brother. The article names most of the children and lots of them are still in Searcy Arkansas.

The house still stands and is just as stately as it was when she began the school. It has a new owner but is still loved. Here's the way it looks now.

Just looking at each of these little children gathered for their school picture makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. What about you?

The same front porch.