RECOLLECTIONS

PEA RIDGE — 40 Years Ago

Pea Ridge schools, scheduled to re-open Monday after the New Year holiday, were closed due to the second major snow of the season, resulting in headaches for road crews and major problems for farmers, factory employees, wholesalers and retailers trying to keep supplies stocked.

The trial date for a man accused of assaulting an officer of the law in Pea Ridge was set for Jan. 19 in the Benton County Circuit Court. H.T. Buchanon Jr., of Farmington, would appear in court to face the charges which arose out of an uprising of Farmington fans at a football game in Pea Ridge.

A well house was destroyed by fire about 6 p.m. that Saturday on the Larry Shaffer farm east of Pea Ridge. Involved in thefire was also an adjoining hay storage shed.

30 Years Ago

First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Rogers submitted an application to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board to permit the establishment of a branch office in Pea Ridge. After an agent in Little Rock reviewed the application, it would then be submitted to the board in Washington, D.C.

In a letter to the editor, Mrs. Charlie Crabtree suggested the thing Pea Ridge country needed most was a nursing home. She was willing to help out financially, by selling some lots in Pea Ridge or even their $60,000 home on Route94.

Shiloh sent two basketball teams to Pea Ridge Jan. 3 and both were beaten by the Pea Ridge Junior High girls and boys. The girls defeated the Shiloh girls 30 to 16, and the ’Hawk boys defeated theiropponent 41 to 25.

20 Years Ago

Pea Ridge Fire Chief Jerry Collins inspected fire destruction at the home of Irvin Wise at 603 S. Curtis Ave. the fire was reported at 3:25 a.m., by the time the fireman arrived five minutes later, the house was well involved in flames.

The U.S. Postal Service was seeking a suitable site on which to build a new main post office in Garfield, according to postmaster Richard Rakes.

He said a site of 47,000 square feet was needed.

The Pea Ridge School District was put on accreditation probation by the state the previous April and had until the first part of April 1990, to resolve its violations. The violations included too many students in kindergarten and an inadequate number of personnel for the number of students enrolled in high school.

10 Years Ago

The Pea Ridge School Board approved the purchase of two stateof-the-art scoreboards for each end of the basketball courts in the new high school. The cost of the scoreboards was $8,839.66.

Grandma’s Cupboard and Gifts offered “’Ole Homestyle Cooking” according to the sign at the old Mermaid Restaurant location on Pickens Road. Owner Ina Easter offered breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as a variety of homemade pies.

The year 1999 saw VAS answering 312 calls, surpassing the previous busiest year in 1993 with 306 calls. The VAS response area covered 125 square miles of northeast Benton County and averaged around 26-30 responders and drivers.