Some things haven't changed much!

So much has changed around the Pea Ridge area and the whole of northwest Arkansas that often our minds are primarily on those things that have changed. This time, I'm trying to think of a few things that haven't changed much. Of course it would be next to impossible to think of anything that hasn't changed at all, so the word "much" is important here, things that are "not much" changed!

The one which comes first to mind for me is the Shady Grove school house, located just outside town northwest on Arkansas Highway 94. The building has occupied its spot since 1922. In another five years, it will be 100 years old. It housed an active rural public school until 1929, when Shady Grove School was consolidated with Pea Ridge. It was during the 20 year period 1929 to 1949 that the era of the small rural public schools was coming to an end.

The 1929 wave of consolidations included Cross Lanes, Shady Grove, Sassafras, Possum Trot (Walnut Grove) and Corinth schools. In 1949, the consolidations included Twelve Corners, Central and Bayless schools, although elementary classes would continue at Bayless until 1954.

Since 1929, the Shady Grove school house has served many different community functions, hosting church services, revivals, music programs, singing schools, gospel singings, Vacation Bible Schools, country music programs, especially bluegrass, extension homemaker clubs and other community gatherings. Today it has become home for the Episcopal Church of Pea Ridge. Of course the old building is not entirely the same, the exterior has been renovated, and certain other modifications have been done, but it remains a rather steady and enduring Pea Ridge community landmark.

A second enduring older building is the white building on today's Intermediate School grounds, which we are using today as the School Heritage Building, a headquarters for the Pea Ridge Historical Society, and meeting place for several other community groups, such as Lions Club, 4-H Club and Alumni Association. Displays in the building are overseen by the Historical Society Museum, and feature school-related history, photos and artifacts.

The building was apparently constructed in the 1920s, or perhaps a few years earlier. The structure is designed and constructed on the same order as the east block of the old downtown business buildings, all of which were constructed between 1911 and 1920. The concrete block original building was built to house the school's fledgling vocational agriculture program, serving as both classroom and shop. In 1941 it was converted to the school cafeteria, and began providing hot lunches for students. It continued as "the hot lunch room" until 1964 when the "new" elementary building, with cafeteria, was built across the drive east from the original school grounds.

Still another surviving older building which comes to mind is the little fire station building located just on the other side of the CenturyLink buildings from the Pea Ridge Historical Society Museum. The Pea Ridge Fire Department was formed in 1950, with assistance from the then very active Pea Ridge Kiwanis Club. The original Pea Ridge Fire truck was built up on a 1948 Dodge truck chassis, with much of the mechanical work being done by Charles Hardy. The Historical Society is hoping to be able to open this original Pea Ridge fire station as a museum in the near future. One rather curious feature of the old fire station is a small pit beneath the engine compartment of the truck where a smouldering fire was used to keep the engine warm and easier to start. I'm told that the strategy was moderately successful, but the old fire truck was always a challenge to start and often delayed fire runs.

I have a wish to point up Webb's Feed and Seed as an enduring old building, but the Webb's building has been significantly modified through the years. Webb's is Pea Ridge's oldest enduring business, hailing from 1936. At one time the business occupied not only the current location, which at first was a truck loading/unloading area and feed storage facility, but also the building immediately to the west, which served as Webb's salesroom for many years. Also, the Webb's Hatchery building, which still stands across the alley from the former City Hall building (Tetrick building), has been significantly modified from the profile it had as a hatchery.

Several of our roads around the community take me back to the 1940s. That includes such roads as Ryan Road (the old Arkansas Hwy. 94), Sugar Creek Road, Gates Lane, Lucas Lane, State Line Road, Easterling Road and Hickman Road. Until 1950, most of our roads were gravel or dirt roads. As I recall, only U.S. Hwy. 71 and U.S. Hwy. 62 were two-lane paved roads. In the 1940s I would never have imagined that someday our road to Jacket, (now Hayden Road) would be a paved Ark. Hwy. 265, and traffic would be sailing by at 60 miles per hour.

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Editor's note: Jerry Nichols, a native of Pea Ridge, is an award-winning columnist, a retired Methodist minister with a passion for history, member of the Pea Ridge Alumni Association and vice president of the Pea Ridge Historical Society. Opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted by email at [email protected], or call 621-1621.

Editorial on 06/07/2017