RECOLLECTIONS
50 Years Ago Pea Ridge Graphic Vol. 2 No. 29 Thursday, July 20, 1967
It began looking Sunday afternoon as if the dozen corners would not hold the crowd attending the 125th anniversary observance of the Twelve Corners Baptist Church near Pea Ridge. The capacity crowd filled every pew and spilled over on to the speaker’s platform. One of the oldest churches in the county, Twelve Corners was organized in 1842 in an upstairs room of the historic old Elkhorn Tavern. It was about 1851 or 1852, Seamster said, that the congregation outgrew the upper room at the tavern, so a log building was erected for the church at the site of the present building which is more than 70 years old. The log church building, like the present one, was constructed with 12 corners — a rectangular shaped main building, with smaller rooms at both the front and rear, giving 12 corners to the structure and thus the name of the church.
Fire, apparently started by lightning during last Wednesday evening’s thunderstorm, destroyed a large brooder house at the home of Mrs. Carmen Buttry in south Pea Ridge. The structure was already enveloped in flames when noticed, and Pea Ridge firemen summoned to the scene concentrated their efforts in saving a nearby building containing the switch to the spring water supply used in the Buttry home. Also destroyed were 150 bales of hay, a brush spray and other farm equipment, and several fruit trees nearby.
40 Years Ago Pea Ridge Graphic-Scene Vol. 12 No. 29 Wednesday, July 20, 1977
A robbery threat which was telephoned to the Bank of Pea Ridge Friday afternoon is thought to have been a “crank call,” according to Richard O’Connell, special agent in charge of the F.B.I.’s Fayetteville office, who participated in the investigation. When the call was received at the bank Friday afternoon, it was immediately reported to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office criminal investigation division. The sheriff’s office investigators notified the F.B.I. and stationed plain clothes deputies in the bank lobby as a precautionary measure. The Pea Ridge police were not aware of the incident until City Marshal Loyd Pifer, who was off duty at the time, walked into the bank as a customer and observed the plain clothes sheriff’s deputies. Pifer said Monday that he felt the sheriff’s office had acted improperly, overstepped its authority and jeopardized the safety of the community by failing to notify the Pea Ridge Police Department of the situation. Pifer said F.B.I. Special Agent O’Connell visited him in Pea Ridge Monday and apologized for not notifying the local police of the situation.
30 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 22 No. 29 Wednesday, July 22, 1987
Pea Ridge School Board members walked into a surprise party Monday night when they were invited upstairs by school superintendent Bill Alvarez during a recess from their special board meeting. Balloons and a decorated cake greeted them as Alvarez announced that the State Board of Education had that morning approved Pea Ridge schools as fully meeting new state standards. Pea Ridge is the third school in Benton County to meet standards officially. So far, only 61 of the state’s more than 330 districts have met the standards.
A five-member Pea Ridge employee manual committee met July 16 with ex officio member Mayor Mary Rogers and City Attorney Howard Slinkard to continue work on the city’s first comprehensive employee handbook.
20 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 32 No. 29 Thursday, July 17, 1997
Approximately 23 children living in the Pea Ridge School District were allowed by the Pea Ridge School Board Monday night to attend school in Rogers. These children have been attending Rogers district schools but this year Rogers administrators discovered that these students have not gone through the transfer p0ro-cedures required for students desiring to attend a public school outside their resident district. School Board members voted unanimously to release the students. The board briefly reviewed nine student applications to transfer into Pea Ridge School District from other districts but tabled making a decision until August when it will be easier to tell if there will be classroom space for additional students.
10 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 42 No. 29 Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Bill and Walter Mathews, owner/operators with McDonald’s Restaurants, Pea Ridge Mayor Jackie Crabtree and other local dignitaries met at 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 11, for the ground breaking for the world’s newest McDonald’s restaurant and the first in Pea Ridge. The restaurant will employ 60 people. Construction of the restaurant will take approximately 100 days. Plans are for the restaurant to open in mid-October.
Lon M. Brown, a six-year law enforcement veteran, has been named the new School Resource Officer for the Pea Ridge schools following action Thursday night by Pea Ridge School Board members. Brown, a native of Rogers, lived in Washington state before returning to Benton County several years ago. He and his wife have children in the local school system. School superintendent Mike Van Dyke said the possibility of an SRO had been researched for some and the school would be contracting with the city for the services of the certified law enforcement officer. The SRO will be on a 190-day contract, the same as the teachers, and the school will provide an office for him.
In honor of their 90-year anniversary and to show customers their appreciation, Collier Drug Stores has been offering customers a chance to come into any Collier Drug Store location to sign up for a chance to win a Disney World Trip Giveaway, valued at $4500. Collier Drug Stores has locations in Fayetteville, Farmington, Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove and Willow Creek/Johnson. Collier Drug Stores began in 1917 when the Collier family opened Red Cross Drug Store on the Fayetteville Square.