About Searcy's Searcy Arkansas

Each time I drive by this house and it is almost every day, I drive a little faster thinking that if one of those limbs comes down on me, I'm a goner!

Well, not really. But I always think that the tree is as historic as the house. This house is known, I believe, as the Deener house. I once had it listed and was fascinated by the features that dated back so far. Reportedly it was built in 1912.

The house is on Center Street in Searcy Arkansas, White County. In fact, here's the way it looked before it ever had a tree in the side yard. And before Searcy had paved streets. It's on the Register of Historic Homes and was placed there in 1982. It is so covered in trees now that you can hardly see the details but you can sure see this tree!

Just a quick glimpse of the front? Here you go.

The original fireplace looked like this.

My old friend called me today. She said it just as she always did.

"This is Lill [pause] Williams."

For the hard of hearing, the slow to catch on, the busy person....it was definite who was calling. There was never a quick, hard to understand, "ThisisLill," with the person on the receiving end of the call wondering who the devil this was. [Don't we get annoyed when someone calls and says, "This is John." Well, John who???]

Lill was my mentor when I started in real estate. We were on the phone each night comparing the day's events. She was a top-producer. She was smart. She was educated and motivated. She loved people. She made changes of importance in our Board of Realtors. She served as President of the Board. She helped start our Multiple Listing Service. She was a leader.

She taught me everything I know! She retired in 1992 and everyone hated to see her retire.

We had a party for her, a retirement party, at my house. She and her husband had plans to play golf, travel, read, and have a good time. They've done that. She called today to see if I was still selling because she didn't see my ad in a certain little Real Estate Guide. I assured her I'm still around and still missing her.

This cartoon was my parting gift to her. I figured it would take her a little while to master golf!

THANKS, LILL WILLIAMS! YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MY MENTOR!!!

The sun is rising.

We look outside. There is something in the trap! Another possom?

Get up close. What's that faint "Meoww?"

We laughed and the "Meoww" get louder and more plaintive and more insistent.

So this is what she shouted.

I'M SORRY THAT I SAT ON THE TOP OF THIS TRAP AND GLOATED!

I'M SORRY THAT I LAUGHED AT THE OTHER ANIMALS CAUGHT IN THIS TRAP!!

I'M SORRY THAT I'VE BEEN CATCHING AND EATING BIRDS!!!

I'M SORRY THAT I WAS GREEDY AND TRIED TO GRAB THAT PUTRID SAUSAGE BEFORE THE POSSOM CAME AROUND!!!!

I'M SORRY THAT I LAID OUT ALL NIGHT AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHERE I WAS!!!!!

I'M SORRY THAT I TURNED UP MY NOSE AND WOULDN'T EAT THAT CHEAP DOLLAR STORE FOOD THAT YOU TRIED TO FEED ME!!!!!!

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OKAY! OKAY! OKAY! I'M SORRY THAT I KILLED AND ATE THAT SORRY RAVEN THAT BELONGS TO THAT HOME INSPECTOR IN WASHINGTON CHARLES BUELL....

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Now please let me out of this cage!

This may be of interest to Searcy history buffs. What kind of house is this?

I call it a "pumping station house." If you know Searcy you'll probably remember that these houses were brought into the city of Searcy or around the city of Searcy and set up on various lots.

The pumping station referred to the gas pumping station on Highway 267 South. My understanding is that these were sorta like employee "on base" housing and were given away or sold mighty cheap to either employees or whoever would move them off the premises.

They date back to around the 50's and they were all basically the same. I've sold a few during my career and we can tell they're pumping station houses by the glass bricks around the front door, the pitched roof with a very different kind of shingle. Some folks think the shingles were unsightly but my sources told me that the roofs were made of slate. Therefore, this house has the original roof, probably over 50 years old!!

They usually had a screened in porch and I think this one does too if you notice the difference in the color of the asbestos shingle. They didn't have a stick of plywood but were all wood including wood floors. The kitchens had metal cabinets. Probably lots of them also had the asbestos siding, a definite no-no now.

Most have been changed considerably and become unrecognizable but doing my drive-through a neighborhood today I saw this one right in front of me. My original source said they built extremely well. Perhaps that's why so many are still in use.

Correct me, Searcy, if my view of history is wrong...............................

The new goal for the real estate offices is to offer one-stop shopping. Our RE/MAX Advantage Realtors office at 1507 East Race in Searcy Arkansas has a mortgage originator, a closing company and a Post Office!

As we scurry back and forth from one office to another we can't help passing by Stacy, who is at the front office of Executive Closing and Escrow. But she changes! We do a double-take every few days as we walk by. She goes from looking like this with hair flying in every direction to looking like this.

So we say, "What happened to your hair?!"

She says, "It's natural. My hair is this curly."

We say, "How lucky you are to have curly hair!"

The next time we walk by we say, "What happened to your hair!!"

She replies, "I flat-ironed it this morning. I was in the mood to have straight hair."

We call her our chameleon which refers to a person or thing (I don't want to say lizard) that can change their appearance on a whim.

Wikipedia says, "Chameleons" are also people who can change their personality and appearance with ease, morphing into a seemingly different person, such as an accomplished actor or model. We think Stacy fits this description perfectly.

There's also disagreement among our folks on which style they like best. I'm old so I remember when curly hair was to be shown off and loved like Shirley Temple and I can't imagine ironing out curls. Little Rainey, who has been a subject of this blog before likes the straight look. You can cast your ballot if you're so inclined. Just put your vote in the comment section.