Barbara S. Duncan ABR, CRS, GRI, e-PRO Searcy AR

Pioneer Village, a part of the White County Historical Society, held an open house today. I attended. It was delightful and brought back so many memories. Here's the main house that is NOT for sale.

And here are few shots of the rooms inside it.

An amazing thing about this house was how many bed spaces it found. There must have been enough bedspaces (can't call them rooms) for 5 or more kids to have a sleeping spot. Here's a picture of one of the least favorable things from yesteryear....the out-house. But who ever heard of a log out-house?

Pioneer Village is located on Higginson Street in Searcy Arkansas. It contains a post office, general store, school house, blacksmith shop, a depot, smokehouse, barn and an old jailhouse in addition to this period house that is called the Gordon House. It is an on-going project with members of the Master Gardeners taking care of the grounds.

Today costumed members were greeting visitors and demonstrating crafts, arts, and everyday life from the past. One lady had a fire going with a pot of stew cooking. Walking through it, entering the buildings and visiting with the hosts made for a very enjoyable afternoon outing.

Sobering old photos! These pictures are sorta continuing the story we started a few days ago regarding the house on Arch Street in Searcy Arkansas that has been changed so much.

These are what we need when we are feeling as if times are awfully tough. Blogging buddy Anita supplied these photos of possibly some of her relatives, definitely at her home on Arch Street in Searcy.

The question is whether this man is absolutely worn out from working, whether the car hit the tree, or whether he is just doing what he usually does everyday. If he'd had air-conditioning and TVs as we have today, he'd not be doing the nap at this place!

Another question here. Is she exasperated because of the man's behavior under the tree? Is she just showing off her legs?

I can remember hanging clothes on a clothes line. If you had children and diapers it took a lot of hanging. Once we got a clothes dryer and my husband made the observation that he sure missed the smell of sheets hung outside to dry and perhaps it would be nice to use a clothes line again I didn't speak to him for days! And I said dirty words under my breath.

A new restaurant has opened at 2315 W Beebe Capps Expressway on the West side of Searcy Arkansas. Lots of vehicles have been parked around it saying that Searcy is trying it out. Searcy is great about going to a new restaurant and giving it a try. Usually ONE try! If the food is not excellent, that's it! It's not going to be around very long.

I gave it a try the other day. Here's what I liked best of all. The decor will bowl you over when you walk in the door. There are boats hanging from the ceiling, bicycles perched on dividers, old uniforms hanging from the ceiling. It is like visiting a museum and stepping back in time. You can feast your eyes on all the old stuff.

And the one who provided the old stuff, free of charge and doing the work himself, is our very loved builder Steve Ghent who moves old houses and restores them, who respects and loves history. He has collected these items throughout the years and used them to give atmosphere to this restaurant.

My friend and I had a very pleasant meal so the food is good at this new restaurant. I hope it is here for a long time. And if you see Steve Ghent tell him how much you enjoy his decorating this building.

The White County Historical Society has a collection of pictures on its website and they've said we can share them. Here's a great one of the train depot in Letona, Arkansas.

Letona is about 15 miles from Searcy and has 215 residents at this time.

We're exploring how the trains went to every little town and below is a picture of the Letona depot. But first we we found this picture of a young woman named Corrine Harrison Hart at about 1924 sitting at the depot. Corrine is Anita's mother. Anita is a contributor to this blog. Anita, do you think the man in the background is ogling your mother?

I love the depot picture because of the houses in the background. Letona, if you visit, still has a lot of houses with large lots. I'd have to go back to see if any of these are still standing.

One very interesting thing I discovered about Letona this year is that if you live in city limits you have to go to the post office to get your mail. I sold a house in Letona and the people were surprised, as was I, that the mail didn't run to the houses in the city. That would be good exercise if you walked to the post office each day.

Halloween parties are fun! The elaborate costumes that some folks buy or rent are amazing to see. We attended one last night and the star of the show could be this butler. He talks, he growls, his eyes shift and he makes you feels as if he is alive!! Or could come alive!! Or may be alive! After all, it was Halloween when spooks run free. Those eyes followed me all night long.

The guy on the left owns this spook and that guy on the right is the owner's twin!

And the couple on the right************************

*******************we were underdressed!