RECOLLECTIONS
50 Years Ago Pea Ridge Graphic Vol. 3 No. 52 Wednesday, Dec. 25, 1968
Among the thousands of cities and towns in American, two happen to share the same name — and both are famous. Neither is a large city — in fact, the population of neither town exceeds one thousand. But the name of each is the secret its fame, for that name is Noel — the French word for Christmas. One of these towns named Noel is a neighbor of ours, Noel, Mo. And at this season of the year, both towns are receiving cards and letters and packages by the thousands to be postmarked and mailed from “the Christmas City.” We inquired about the matter at Noel, the week before Thanksgiving and learned that the Christmas mailing had already started arriving. Soon after that, the service clubs of the town would have set up their special tables in the post office lobby for stamping each piece of mail with one of the two special rubber stamps that decorates items mailed from Noel.
40 Years Ago Pea Ridge Graphic-Scene Vol. 13 No. 52 Wednesday, Dec. 27, 1978
Pea Ridge High School Bank Boosters report they are within $1,300 of reaching their goal for the purchase of new band uniforms and that they have already collected or had pledged $5,538 for that purpose. At the Band’s Christmas concert on Dec. 17, a model of the new uniform was displayed and the Boosters report “the response from the parents and supporters was great.” The organization has set a target date for collecting the remainder so that the new uniforms will be available for the band members for the spring concert.
Tony Fletcher, Jr., member of the Board of Education, School District 109, Pea Ridge, will offer for re-election to the board when his term expires in 1979 and the election is held March 13.
30 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 23 No. 52 Thursday, Dec. 29, 1988
What goes up must come down, but students in the Pea Ridge High School Trades & Industries Class had not intended the law of physics to be enforced so soon and in such manner. The students worked much of the fall to construct a pavilion in Pea Ridge City Park. The city agreed to furnish the materials to the class in return for the finished product, which was scheduled for completion before the Christmas holidays. High wind during the night of Dec. 19 leveled the nearly completed pavilion. Teacher Dan Johnson said, “It looked like it picked it off of that six by six. “It had to lift that roof completely clear. ”We lost very little lumber, I don’t think we lost $100 worth.” “We were just getting ready to put permanent bracing in it,” Johnson said, adding, “If we had had the permanent bracing in place, I don’t think it would have happened.”
The Pea Ridge School district is spending several hundred dollars to improve heating efficiency in the gymnasium, school superintendent Marvin Higginbottom said last week. He said that the gymnasium proper is heated by natural gas units that hang from the ceiling. Higginbottom said that the systems were designed by an architect but have proved to be inefficient. Now, he said, most of the air heated by the systems will be recirculated from within the building. “We’ll cut our gas bill at least half and you’ll be a whole lot more comfortable,” Higginbottom said.
20 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 33 No. 52 Wednesday, Dec. 30, 1998
There was a No. 51 printed on Thursday, Dec. 25. There is no No. 52 in the Vol. 33 book which would have been on Wednesday, Dec. 30.
10 Years Ago The TIMES of Northeast Benton County Vol. 43 No. 52 Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008
Ozark rocks have slowed down the rehabilitation of the city’s sewer line and continue to change the course of traffic at the elementary school. Boring beneath East Pickens Street at Klauss Lane, subcontractors hit rock — again and again — and a project that was to have taken four weeks is extending into the third month. This week, the drill bit got stuck, according to Ken Hayes, water and sewer superintendent. “The lines being replaced are all 8-inch lines… they’re about 40 years old,” Hayes said, saying some were from the 1960s and some from the 1980s. “It was projected to be a four-week job, but they hit solid rock. They’ve been pounding on the rock ever since,” he said, adding that at one point, workers were working in the 25-foot deep hole with jack hammers.
The face of cheer leading has changed over the years — the number of the members of the team, the stunts performed. Now, it’s recognized as a sport by the Arkansas Activities Association and college scholarships are available. Courtney Hurst has watched that change and been personally involved in it. A cheerleader in school at Pea Ridge, she is now the coach of the senior high school cheer leading squad. This year, that squad placed in the top half of the competitors at the state competition. “I had four cheerleaders get offers to colleges last year,” she said. “We hope people will recognize the dedication of these athletes and understand it is a sport and come to respect it more. “This is the first year the AAA declared cheer leading a sport,” Hurst said. They have school practices, group practice at an area gym, some have private stunting lessons and they sponsor many fundraising activities throughout the year to offset costs for camps and competitions. In addition to practices, performances and competitions, the cheerleaders also give back to their community, Hurst said.
Rezoning 20.14 acres on Ross Salvage Road from A-1 to A-1A is one of the items on the agenda for the Pea Ridge Planning Commission Board of Adjustments first meeting of the new year. The same property was presented to both planners and the City Council for a rezone to R-2, but was denied.