30 Years Ago: Symphony Guild hosted first Holiday Home Tour
50 Years Ago From the Herald and Democrat in 1966
In a game played at Subiaco, the Siloam Springs Panthers downed the Trojans 45-35 in a District 1-AA conference game. The Panthers overpowered the Trojans in the last quarter to emerge on top with a 10-point margin.
Larry Melson led the Panthers in scoring with 14 points and Jerry Elshout had 9 for Subiaco.
In a preliminary game, the Panther B team notched a 37-29 decision over Subiaco’s “B” squad. Thompson led the Siloam cagers with 9 points.
30 Years Ago From the Herald-Democrat in 1986
The Siloam Springs Symphony Guild hosted their First Annual Holiday Home Tour on Sunday, Dec. 14, from 1-4 p.m.
The tour featured two local residences, the home of Bob and Clara Knight, 517 N. Mt. Olive and Harry and Margaret Wirick’s Walnut Grove farmhouse.
The Knight house was built around 1889 for Mr. and Mrs. F.M. Axtell. At that time, the house stood on “180 acres of as pretty farm land as is to be found in Benton County,” the 1905 Industrial Edition of the Herald-Democrat said.
The home was bought by the Knights from heirs of Homer F. Kellem in 1976. The Knights restored the house without changing the original floor plan. The house has eleven rooms, including five bedrooms and three bathrooms. For the Holiday Home Tour, the Knight residence was decorated by Siloam Flowers and Gifts.
Harry and Margaret Wirick’s home on Walnut Grove Farm was purchased from the Carl family estate by Lillian and H.L. Wirick Sr. in 1935. It housed four generations of the Wirick family and the farm was being operated as a nationally-registered Hereford cattle breeding enterprise (at the time of the story).
Originally a cotton and tobacco farm, it was said Southern soldiers camped on the hillsides during their campaign in this area. The Victorian house was built around 1890. T. Gilmore and Merril Dorsey were commissioned to construct the home’s furnishings from walnut wood cut at the farm. Several outbuildings on the grounds dated back to the original homestead, including a woodshed and a smokehouse. Recent additions were an enlarged kitchen and dining room. For the tour, the Wirick home was decorated by Peace’s Flowers of Siloam Springs.
After touring the homes, visitors were invited to stop by Yellow Barn Antiques, located next to the Wirick residence, for a special open house. Also, “Savory Symphony Cheeseballs’ were sold at both houses as an extra fundraiser for the Symphony Guild.
10 Years Ago From the Herald-Leader in 2006
An anonymous donor gave a 1999 Freightliner Tractor truck to the Siloam Springs High School band. It was used to pull the 53foot band equipment trailer that was purchased by the band boosters in 2004.
“The donation was totally unexpected,” Keith Rutledge said.
Rutledge, Siloam Springs High School band director, said before the truck donation the band relied on donated trucking services to pull its trailer.