50 Years Ago: Spot gets test engagement of ‘Hawaii’
50 Years Ago From the Herald and
Democrat in 1968
For many years there was a hue and cry on the part of movie-goers in small towns that they had been obliged to wait what seemed forever before seeing top roadshow attractions in their communities — films such as “Hawaii,” “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “Dr. Zhivago” and “The Sound of Music.” Their contention was that there must be some way to bring high-production-value road shows to the local level much, much sooner.
After a series of lengthy discussions and negotiations, Dale Smith was eminently successful in prevailing upon Mr. James R. Velde, United Artists vice president and general manager, to have a test engagement of “Hawaii,” the immensely popular, reserved-seat presentation starring Julie Andrews, Max Von Sydow and Richard
Harris.
Siloam Springs was one of the small but important cities in the country where “Hawaii” was shown and it was thought that the experiment, if successful, might very well pave the way for a revolution in road-show policy.
It was decided that the test road-show engagement of “Hawaii” would be held at the Spot Theater for three days, Tuesday through Thursday, with one performance each evening and a matinee performance on Wednesday.
30 Years Ago From the Herald-Democrat in 1988
The Siloam Springs Panthers nullified a big Bentonville lead on the three-point shooting of Kirk Walters and Shannon Clark and made 10 straight free throws in the final 1:05, to defeat the Tigers 43-38 in the semifinals of the 1-AAA Tournament. The win advanced the Panthers into the 1-AAA Tournament finals against Mountain Home and earned them a berth in the AAA Northwest Regional Tournament to be held in Bentonville March 3-5.
10 Years Ago From the Herald-Leader in 2008
Ginger Macfarlan, 16-year-old daughter of Kevin and Laura Macfarlan of Siloam Springs, placed second in the Arkansas Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Voice of Democracy competition. The announcement was made Jan. 26 at the VFW banquet in Little Rock.
Macfarlan, a home-educated junior, represented the West Fork VFW Post. She placed first in the VFW’s District 1 to advance to the state competition.
In addition to cash and savings bonds awards from the post and district levels, she was awarded a $1,500 scholarship.
Macfarlan was also the writer of the Herald-Leader’s weekly column, “A Little Spice from Ginger.”