Winthrop Memories
Restoration committee hosting school reunion today
WINTHROP, Ark.—Winthrop School Restoration Committee will host the first Winthrop School Reunion today, re-creating memories of books, ballgames, parades, street dances and the country.
“Since Winthrop no longer has a school, this is an opportunity for the generations of former students, teachers, staff and just interested folks to come visit and reminisce,” said Pam Click, committee spokeswoman.
The committee was formed years ago to maintain the school.
“We have taken as our responsibility the chore of keeping the cafeteria and the school building in the best condition we can manage,” Click said. “The gym is not in good condition, and sadly, we just don’t have the funds for a new roof and floor. Every year, we have several fundraisers to help with expenses and repairs, so we rely on donations.”
The two-story red brick school was built in 1912, Click said.
“The sidewalks bear the names of graduates. It honors the ones who are no longer with us and delights those of us who walk it now with our long-forgotten thoughts of books and ballgames,” she said.
Click summarized the need for Winthrop reunions.
“I think these reunions present an opportunity to share our experiences, see old friends and teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria cooks (chocolate oatmeal and peanut butter cookies on Fridays), and though the town population has diminished greatly, we hope to continue to have events such as this for years to come because the ‘The Wolf (mascot) call never ends!’”
Stories abound about Winthrop’s past.
In 1994, Liz Whisenhunt dedicated her life to supporting the parent-teacher organization. Her daughters were active in school.
Then she became terminally ill with cancer.
Liz had always talked about wanting to fly in a helicopter. During a fall festival to raise money for the school district, the parent-teacher organization rented a helicopter and had her flown over the town.
The senior high boys’ basketball team had a record of 0-66. When the Wolves finally won a game, the celebration resembled a state championship victory.
The Winthrop schools closed and merged with Horatio’s school district in the 1990s.
When the school was open, the town had three small grocery stores, a cafe, a service station, a library and a video store.
The history of Winthrop is chronicled in the local library, where the eclectic collection of books fills varied tastes. The publications are written by a range of authors, from former President Bill Clinton, to playwright and novelist Truman Capote. There even are works on the ideas of Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud and the life of country comedienne Minnie Pearl.
In the video section, VHS films include “The Grapes of Wrath” starring Henry Fonda. The film shows the hope of escaping poverty by moving to California during the Great Depression. It’s a story familiar to grandparents and great-grandparents who left Southwest Arkansas to seek a new life without poverty.
The love of reading has kept the library open.
Lennie Crenshaw and May Smith were sisters who started the library after World War II.
“Miss May” had a store and would lend out books, which were stored in apple crates. The book man left a few books on his rounds. One time it was like a traveling library, she said.
The town’s love of reading is evident: The 7,000-book library has issued 250 cards, while the town’s population is listed at 186.
The books and films are just a reflection of the personality of the community. Nothing can be taken for granted or lumped into a category.
Click’s Hardware was a cornerstone of the community. The Arkansas Gazette (now Democrat-Gazette) published a feature about the store, stating that you could buy anything you wanted there, if you could find it.
Winthrop hosted street dances after sunset.
Dick Click, who was the owner of Click’s Hardware, loved to dance, and on his tombstone is the phrase “gone dancing.”
The town has even played its part in political history.
Winthrop Rockefeller started his 1968 campaign for Arkansas governor in Winthrop.
Rockefeller was wealthy, and he used some of the money to hire Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash and Carl Perkins to perform in concert promoting the Republican Rockefeller for governor. He rented a train to travel to Winthrop in the railroad caravan.
Hours after receiving the Truman Medal for Economic Policy in Kansas City, Mo., former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz visited at The Old Winthrop School Museum.
Shultz, who shaped world history, read Winthrop documents from the early 1930s about a man who spit on the sidewalk and was fined $1.50.
It was a surprise hourlong visit Oct. 1, 2008, for Shultz, who served in the administration of four U.S. presidents.
The Shultzes traveled to Winthrop to give his wife, Charlotte, a chance to visit the grave of her mother, Martha Morgan Smith, who is buried in the Camp Ground Cemetery near the town on Feb. 2, 2005.