First Habitat for Humanity home built in Siloam Springs
50 Years Ago From the Herald and Democrat in 1968
Price Jones Rambler, located at Highway 68 East in Siloam Springs, offered the following used cars on sale:
• 1967 Ambassador 4-door sedan, $2,095
• 1965 Classic 4-door sedan, $1,495
• 1964 Pontiac Bonneville 4-door, $1,395
• 1966 Ambassador, 4-door sedan, $1,695
• 1965 Ambassador 4-door sedan, $1,595
• 1966 American 4-door sedan, automatic, $1295
• 1965 Ford Galaxie 4-door sedan, $1595
30 Years Ago From the Herald-Democrat in 1988
Cobb-Vantress kicked off the first Employee of the Month Award with presentations made at all three locations — Arkansas, Missouri, and Georgia. Harold Higgins, initiator of the program stated that the main objective of the program was to recognize the outstanding workers at CVI in each geographic area.
Winners were selected by a designated committee made up of supervisors for each area. Each month, a winner was selected and awarded a $100 savings bond as well as a pewter CVI engraved mug.
The employee of the month for Arkansas was Larry Wright. Larry was the night security person at Bates Mountain Farm, Cincinnati, Ark. He had been employed at Bates Mountain for two years and his supervisor, Kyle Traegar, said Larry should be commended for his outstanding performance.
In the month of June, in the performance of his duties, Larry was instrumental in saving a house of hens from death. The total value of the hens was approximately $175,000. One afternoon the power cut off in the hen house and due to the temperature outside (high 90s), a breaker was also thrown on the back-up generator. Larry found the problem, restored the power and notified his supervisor.
10 Years Ago From the Herald-Leader in 2008
Since Rogers Habitat and Sugar Creek Habitat merged to create Habitat for Humanity of Benton County in 2000, the organization and countless volunteers had put up 54 homes. Believe it or not, the one speeding toward completion at 615 S. Maxwell St. was the first Habitat for Humanity home ever constructed in Siloam Springs.
“I couldn’t believe it when we found out this was the first one ever built here,” said Arvest Bank branch manger Kerstin Moeller, who spearheaded the project with coworker Clayton Smith.
Ground was broken on the single-level 1,100-squarefoot, three-bedroom, twobathroom home in May and the framing began on June 21. From there, it was a work in progress, with volunteers and area companies stepping up daily. Moeller said Habitat for Humanity was working on a tight timeline, as a dedication was planned for Aug. 14, just a few days before Heather Barbosa’s children — Adriana, 10, and Brandon, 7 — began the 2008-2009 school year.
Barbosa, a single mother, had been on the waiting list for a Habitat for Humanity home for nearly two years.