RECOLLECTIONS

50 Years Ago Pea Ridge Graphic Vol. 3 No. 37 Thursday, Sept. 12, 1968

Donations made during the past summer for a proposed band in the Pea Ridge school system were turned over to the Pea Ridge Chamber of Commerce School Band Committee last week to be cared for and possibly increased until such a day as the school band becomes a reality. During the week, three contributions had reached the Graphic office. These brought the total cash on hand in the band fund up to $1,210.51. During the week since the Chamber officially took over the school band drive, two other contributions have been made. These brought the cash on hand up to $1,219.28. The drive was started when school superintendent Andrew Widener told a called meeting of interested patrons of the school last spring that the school could afford to hire a part-time band instructor if those interested in seeing a band established could raise the funds for the larger, more expensive instruments that are customarily owned by the school.

The Pea Ridge Jaycees last week voted to purchase a 16 mm movie camera for the Athletic Department of the Pea Ridge schools. Jaycee President Dean Messer said in announcing the project that the local school has needed such a camera for two reasons: To aid coaches in helping players look at films of a game to see possible improvements in the plays and to provide films to show scouts from colleges who might be interested in providing scholarships to local athletes if there were movies available of the players in action. The new camera was to be ready for the fall football season which began Friday.

Robert F. Holmes assumed his new duties this week was historian at the Pea Ridge National Military Park. He is a native of Enosburg Falls, Vermont, and attended the University of Vermont. He served overseas during the Korean War attached to the U.S. 8th Army.

40 Years Ago Pea Ridge Graphic-Scene Vol. 13 No. 37 Wednesday, Sept. 13, 1978

Queen Andrea Fletcher, 17-year-old Pea Ridge High School senior, is aiming for a greater kingdom over which to rule —she’s competing with 23 other Benton Countians for the title of Queen of the Benton

County Fair to be named at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept.

19 at the Bentonville Fairgrounds. Pea Ridge named Andrea Queen July 5 at the local fair. Now, with sponsorship of the Beta Alpha sorority, she’s competing again. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Fletcher, she’s aiming also for a career as a teacher of home economics.

Pea Ridge may soon have a Pizza Hut and from six to 10 new businesses or professional offices on the lost at the southeast corner of Leetown Road and Highway 94. The request to the city is being made by Atherton Properties, Inc., owners of some 67 Pizza Hut outlets in this region of the country and of Applegate’s Landing in Springdale and three other sites. Jerry Eddington told the Graphic-Scene that his firm will construct an “L” shaped building of 9,200 square feet with the Pizza Hut taking up 1,800 square feet. Depending upon the space requirements of other occupants, there could be from six to 10 additional tenants, he stated.

In the late night hours of July 25 and early morning July 26, three juveniles were hunting in Pea Ridge Battlefield National park. Their efforts resulted in killed deer and their arrest. John Knox, Park Technician in Natural Resources and Protection, with the cooperation of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s investigator, Vol Cowgur, arrested the juveniles and charged them with night hunting. Aug. 29 the judge ruled the juveniles guilty as charged, fined them. The three did not get the deer killed land they are paying fines. Knox noted that when found, the deer had deteriorated to such an extend the meat was not usable, so its value was totally lost. He explained that it is illegal to hunt in the Park at any time.

30 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 23 No. 37 Thursday, Sept. 15, 1988

The next time the Pea Ridge School Board meets, a new member will be sitting in the seat vacated by Kent Webb. It will be either Michael Small or Paul Arnold. Voters will decide next Tuesday which of the two will serve on the board for the next five years. Webb chose not to seek reelection. Also on the ballot will be the name of George Cowgur, unopposed for a five-year term on the County Board of Education and a question of a 27.3 mills school tax. Superintendent Marvin Higginbottom said that the school tax question is a formality. The taxes were previously voted as a continuing debt service tax and pledged for the retirement of existing bonded indebtedness.

Enrollment in the Pea Ridge schools is up by 30 students over last year, Superintendent Marvin Higginbottom told the school board Monday night. Higginbottom said that “as of last week, there were 675 students enrolled.” He said that at the end of the first nine weeks last year, there were 645 students enrolled int he Pea Ridge schools. The school district receives payment from the state based on the number of students enrolled at the end of the third quarter of the previous year, Higginbottom said. The enrollment then, he said, was 651.

The annual Pea Ridge Fall Fest will be Oct. 15, general chairman Tommy Lynch announced this week. Lynn, organizing his first Fall Fest, said, “It’s going to be exciting; there will be something for everybody.” He said that the Fall Fest will be sponsored by the Pea Ridge Lions Club. The Fall Est will once again be held on the Pea Ridge School campus. Lynch said, “All non-profit organizations participating have been asked to donate their proceeds to pay for the new roofs on the elementary schools.”

20 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 33 No. 37 Thursday, Sept. 17, 1998

Questions remain about whether residents north and west of Pea Ridge will get potable water any time soon. The ea Ridge City Commission decided last week to set a Dec. 1, deadline for residents in the area to sign up to be a part of an 80-plus mile water line project. The project, called Summit, was initiated by residents in the area, who approached Pea Ridge about administering the project. Controversy, because of an exiting ordinance that requires residences contiguous with the Pea Ridge city limits to become annexed to Pea Ridge, discouraged Summit residents from signing to joining the project. The result was an independent movement by the original organizing committee to withdraw from association with Pea Ridge and begin and independent effort to establish a committee that could finance the project. Representatives of the Summit group met with the Benton County Quorum Court last week to request permission to create a board independent of Pea Ridge to fund a rural water system. The court turned down the request. David Meador, commission coordinator for the Summit project said, “all of the funding for the Summit project has been approved and is in place, assuming that Pea Ridge is the project administrator.

The Pea Ridge School Board approved a budget of $5,175,146 for next year as presented by bookkeeper Patty Curtis at the first meeting of the new school year Monday evening. David Dickey, representing the Personnel Policy Committee, presented concerns about the increase in insurance premiums, explaining that the increase offset their new pay raise, and they felt the premiums were too high. Total high school enrollment is now 291. High school Principal Gary Wayman said this year will be the last for small graduation classes, as the 12th grade class numbers only 51 compared to 87 for ninth.

10 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 43 No. 37 Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008

Even though Hurricane Ike was downgraded to a tropical depression over the weekend, the storm’s effects included a number of folks throughout Benton county losing power Sunday morning. In Pea Ridge, some customers were without power for about 24 hours beginning about 1 a.m. Sunday. Garfield and Lost Bridge residents also reported loss of power for a day. As of Monday afternoon, approximately 255 SWEPCO customers in the Benton county service area were still without power, said Peter Main, spokesman for SWEPCO. “That was down from our peak period Sunday,” said Main, who noted that at noon Sunday, 2,600 customers were without power. James Sanders, vice president of executive services for Carroll Electric Cooperative,

said that of the 86,200 customers in northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri, approximately 50,000 customers were without power Sunday morning. As of Monday afternoon, Carroll crews had restored power to about 8,000 customers, Sanders said.

Canning factories and county fairs go hand-inhand. The Garfield and Pea Ridge canning factories opened for operation in early to mid-August and usually were closing down at about the time the week long run of the Benton County Fair opened. Canning factories in Benton County were beginning to be established in the late 1800s with a continual increase in the number of factories up until the 1940s. Garfield folks who worked at the Pea Ridge canning factory were Bart and Gladys Green and Willie and Elsie Galyan. The tomatoes were run through the hot steam and delivered to the peelers’ stations along an oval track. Each peeler was assigned a number. The assigned number and a punch ticket was attached to metal buckets. There were about 35 peelers at this factory and they were all women. Peelers were paid an hourly wage with a bonus if the number of buckets of peeled tomatoes was sufficient.

It’s been a long road for Alex Wilson, a 17-yearold high school senior at Pea Ridge High School. Wilson was once a child living on the streets. By 5, he was caring for his siblings. But thanks to adoption, he is now in a loving home environment and a successful student. Wilson is one of 10 Benton County students amount 15,000 semi-finalists who are competing for 8,200 scholarships worth more than $35 million. Wilson will tell you it wasn’t easy. He came to Pea Ridge as a second-grade student from Reno, Nev., where he and his siblings were being raised on the streets. His biological parents were in and out of prison, motels and the children’s lives. Two people — Larry and Marion Wilson — adopted the children and brought them to Arkansas. “Pea Ridge Schools and Larry and Marion Wilson turned my life around,” Alex said. Wilson is student council president, a member of the band, jazz band, quiz bowl team and S.W.A.T. (Students Working Against Tragedy) member. Pea Ridge High School principal Rick Neal said everyone can find inspiration in Alex’s story.