RECOLLECTIONS

50 Years Ago Pea Ridge Graphic Vol. 2 No. 42 Thursday, Oct. 19, 1967

The Blackhawks won the Homecoming game last Friday night 20-6 over their opponents, the Decatur Bulldogs, in the Pea Bowl. Before the game began, the 1967 Homecoming Queen, Miss Patsy Patton, was crowned. She and her court reigned over the game. Those in her court were LaVita Arnold, senior; Darlene Clanton and Judy Evans, juniors; Joyce Mahurin, sophomore; Gracie Arnold, freshman; Jean Brown, eighth grade; and Debbie Easley, seventh grade. The royal court was seated on the winning float, which belonged to the 10th grade.

A partial check of guest book records at the Pea Ridge National Military Park Visitor Center a few days ago showed that visitors from at least 48 states had been there this summer or early fall. Only Nevada and Delaware had no names signed to the register in the pages scanned. They may very well have been present on other pages. Visitors to the park are counted in two ways: by the Visitor Center door automatic counter and a road count. It was explained that those arriving by car include some who tour the motorized route on the battlefield and don’t stop at the Visitor Center and visa versa. The door count for August alone showed that the visitors totalled 21,385.

40 Years Ago Pea Ridge Graphic-Scene Vol. 12 No. 42 Wednesday, Oct. 19, 1977

The Twelve Corners Grange building was heavily damaged in a fire at about 10: 30 a.m. Thursday. Pea Ridge volunteer Fire Department Chief Sammy Spivey said the blaze was extinguished by four firemen and a number of other volunteers. He estimated the damage at about $5,000. He said the fire appeared to have started in the area of a wood stove which had been left burning after a meeting at the Grange building the night before.

A powerful Bulldog offense dominated the game Friday between Decatur and Pea Ridge, and handed the Blackhawks their first loss of the season by a score of 27-12. Blackhawk coach Ray Hoback said he was disappointed in the performance of the Pea Ridge defensive line which Decatur “physically whipped.” The loss left Pea Ridge with a 4-1 conference record, identical to Decatur’s. Mountainburg hosts Pea Ridge in this week’s game.

30 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 22 No. 42 Wednesday, Oct. 21, 1987

Pea Ridge is responsible for acquiring rights-of-way along stretches of Ark. Hwy. 265 that are within city limits, according to County Judge Al Norwood. The city will have to acquire rights-of-way in the event that the State Highway Department upgrades Ark. 265 from its intersection with Ark. Hwy. 94 at the north end of town to the state line. Norwood called Pea Ridge Mayor Mary Rogers Monday to confirm with her that the city understood that.

Even before their charter night dinner, Pea Ridge Lions Club members took on a big job to raise money for the Lion’s Sight Preservation project. Pres. Sam Ryan and several members spent Saturday at the Bella Vista Arts and Craft Fair picking up several barrels of trash. The money received went to the project, credited to the local club.

20 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 32 No. 42 Thursday, Oct. 16, 1997

The Pea Ridge School Board appointed Ron Mullikin as chairman of a committee for a new Pea Ridge High School. Mullikin approached the board on Monday with the idea of forming a committee to research financial options for building a new school, getting recommendations on the future building structure and educating the public on the need for a new high school. Mullikin said he would recommend the board get people who believe there is a need for a new high school on the committee. The voters turned down last month a ballot proposal that would have increased property taxes in the district by 6.6 mills to finance construction of a new high school. “The only ones that lost (referring to the failed millage increase proposal) are the kids.”

Members and friends of First Baptist Church of Pea Ridge observed the church’s 125th anniversary Sunday with regular services, a potluck lunch and a special service featuring two former pastors, Stanton Cram and Cliff Palmer. First Baptist Church of Pea Ridge was organized by a small group of loyal church leaders in 1872, in a building at Buttrams Chapel. Later the church moved to the same location as the present church building in the south part of Pea Ridge. At that time, it was called Missionary Baptist but later affiliated with Southern Baptist and the name changed to First Baptist of Pea Ridge, Ark.

10 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 42 No. 42 Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007

More new businesses are being considered in town as developers present ideas for a storage shed business and a skating rink to city building officials. At a technical review meeting earlier this month, Tim Lemons, representing Jim Skelton and Chris Johnson, presented plans for a climate controlled storage facility on land just south of Blackjack Corner on Arkansas Highway 94. Also discussed were parking lots for businesses in town, although no consensus was reached. The current ordinance calls for a “hard surface,” according to city building official Tony Townsend. Jeff Bates of Bates and Associates, Rogers, presented a proposal for a skating rink on property owned by Rex Littrell just west of Mrs. Neecy’s Daycare Center on Arkansas Highway 72 east of downtown.

Pea Ridge Elementary School students were evacuated from the two elementary schools Monday around 2 p.m. following the discovery of a note mentioning a bomb. Pea Ridge Police Chief Tim Ledbetter said school resource officer Lon Brown was notified by school officials of the note written by a sixth-grade student and began the investigation. Police and school officials evacuated the buildings for both lower and upper elementary while a search was made. Bentonville police assisted in the search with a dog trained to locate explosives. Nothing was located. The student was cited into juvenile court. Students left school without returning to the classrooms white the investigation concluded.