RECOLLECTIONS
50 Years Ago Pea Ridge Graphic Vol. 2 No. 38 Thursday, Sept. 21, 1967
Five-year olds are supposed to be hard to keep still, but Jack Widener, proved it can be done. He handcuffed his foot to a chair — only to discover that the key to the handcuffs had been lost. When his parents returned home from school that afternoon, Jack’s older sister told them that the boy had been immobilized since 12:30, but that the telephone was out of order and she had no way to notify them. Al Koenke, local constable, tried his handcuff keys, but they didn’t work. Out from Bentonville came Deputy Sheriff Jack Saxon, who used a master key to free the boy. The handcuffs were a remnant of the days when superintendent Widener served as sheriff of Clark County.
After weeks of persistent effort by a group of mothers (Mrs. Franklin Miller and Mrs. Junior Webb particularly), the first kindergarten class for Pea Ridge area children was started Sept. 11. The class presently is being held in the High School gym Monday through Friday from 9 -11:30 a.m. on the same days the public school is in session. There are 12 children currently enrolled.
40 Years Ago Pea Ridge Graphic-Scene Vol. 12 No. 38 Wednesday, Sept. 21, 1977
The Pea Ridge Blackhawks unleashed a relentless, punishing running attack Friday night against the Farmington Cardinals and came away with a 36-14 victory, 3-0 season record and 2-0 in conference play. It was the first time a Pea Ridge team had scored against Farmington in four years and the first victory over the Cardinals since 1969. “We proved last night we are a team to be reckoned with,” said Coach Ray Hoback on Saturday morning. Total offense for Pea Ridge was 294 years. Farmington had 175 yards. Some other good things on Hoback’s mind Saturday morning were the pose and ball control demonstrated by his team… the Blackhawks had no fumbles and only 35 yards in penalties.
The annual Pea Ridge School Halloween Carnival will be held Saturday, Oct. 29. This year’s carnival will be a night event, 6 to 9 p.m., held inside the elementary school building. The Pea Ridge PTA sponsors the event. Royalty candidates for the carnival from each class are currently being selected and will be announced soon.
30 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 22 No. 38 Wednesday, Sept. 23, 1987
Attorney Charles Trantham, representing former Pea Ridge School District board member Andy Buck in a lawsuit against other board members and administrators alleging fiscal mismanagement, asked Circuit/Chancery Judge Oliver Adams not to dismiss the case, in a letter dated Sept. 9. No action had been taken in the suit for several months, according to records in the Benton County Circuit Clerk’s office. Trantham’s letter made reference to an advertisement the school district had run in the July 2, 1987, issue of the Arkansas Gazette asking former teachers to contact the district if they might be eligible for salary adjustments for years 1983-84 and 1984-85, years in which Buck alleges fiscal mismanagement. Trantham says the advertisement indicates that the district admits that the mismanagement occurred and is reason to continue considering the lawsuit.
The Pea Ridge PTA board members named chairmen and committees for 1987-88 when they met Sept. 17, according to president Bob Harmon. The board also voted to request Mayor Mary Rogers to assign morning and afternoon school crossing duty to the Pea Ridge Police Department, since no volunteers have offered to take on the task. The request includes the crossings at Pickens and Davis Streets and Pickens and Curtis Streets.
Bobby L. Flickinger, chief of Maintenance at Pea Ridge National Military Park for the past 10 1/2 years has accepted a promotion and transfer to the National Park Service’s Denver Service Center in Colorado. He will not be living in Denver, though. His first assignment will be the restoration of the President William Howard Taft home in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has just finished 120 days temporary assignments at Hot Springs National Park doing some restoration on the historic bath houses.
20 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 32 No. 38 Thursday, Sept. 18, 1997
There will be a new event at the ninth annual International Mule Jump, sponsored by the Pea Ridge Lions Club, on Saturday, Oct. 4, at Pea Ridge City Park. It’s called a nickel race. The race will be held for children 5- to 8-years of age and another for children 9- to 12-years of age. In both cases, $25 worth of nickels will be thrown on the ground and the children will pick up as many of them as they can find. Regular events will begin at 10 a.m. There will be 16 events this year, including two categories of mule jumps. Jim Cheeks will once again be master of ceremonies and the show judge will be announced.
For Sale: Two Bedroom house on 6.6 acres 6 miles north of Pea Ridge on KK Highway — 1/4 mile Hwy. frontage, storm cellar, pole barn, 2 workshops. $47,500.
10 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 42 No. 38 Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007
The polls opened early Tuesday for Benton County’s annual school elections. By noon Tuesday, 130 people had voted at the Emergency Services Building in Pea Ridge. In Pea Ridge, Rick Webb, the current School Board president, was uncontested. Pea Ridge and Gentry are the two school districts seeking a millage increase. Pea Ridge is seeking a 2.2 mill increase, which will bring the district to 45 mills if the increase passes. Money generated will be used to construct and furnish a new school to house kindergartners through second-graders. “It’s because of our growth in enrollment, especially in our elementary school,” Mike Van Dyke, Pea Ridge School superintendent, said. The district owns the land where the school is to be constructed. The site is in the northwest corner of the existing junior-high and senior-high school’ property and was purchased about two years ago.