Store is full of memories

The weathered gray wooden boards are more than 16 inches wide and stand vertically around the old building which is about 24- by 30-feet. For more than 40 years, it served its community as a post office and store.

For the last half its existence, the Glade Post Office and store sat unused surrounded by weeds on the edge of a hay field.

But, for the first half, it served the little community of Glade, Ark., near the White River. Now, more than 50 in the Glade Historical Society are trying to move the store back to Glade near its original site.

The original site is beneath Beaver Lake. The store originally sat on the banks of the White River before Liss Williams moved it to property outside of Pea Ridgewhen the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began filling Beaver Lake in the early 1960s, according to two of Williams children, Stanley Williams and Pat Heck.

“Dad moved our house up the hill,” Heck said, “and the store was moved to a farm in Pea Ridge.”

“When the lake was low recently, we were able to get the original foundation stones and move them back to the property,” Heck said.

It cost about $400 to move the store the first time, Stanley Williams said. Now, he said it will cost nearly $8,000 to move it.

Heck said the Glade Historical Society has four newsletters a year, four meetings a year and usually has speakers at the meetings. The rest of the organization’s time is spent having fundraisers. She said Doris Briley donated land on which to set the store/post office across from the old Coal Gap School.

The application for the Glade Post Offce is dated Feb. 2, 1903, Heck said, and was originally signed by Simon McGinnis. Over the years, the post office was on different sides of the river from LaRue to Glade. She said postmasters over the years included:Simon McGinnis (who served twice), George W.

Donaldson, Luther Fine, Mrs. Lila Huddleston Raymond Nichols. She said theGlade Post Office was discontinued in 1945.

To donate to the Glade Post Office relocation project, mail donations to SamReynolds, treasurer, 20916 Slate Glade Road, Garfield, AR 72732. The organization is incorporated, Heck said.