Recollections

50 Years Ago

Pea Ridge Graphic

Vol. 4 No. 7

Thursday, Feb. 13, 1969

Two new businesses have come to Pea Ridge within the past few days -- Jones Upholstery, located on the south side of Pickens Road in downtown Pea Ridge and the Harold Hurd Cabinet Company, occupying a building on the north side of the downtown business section. In both instances, it was actually Pea Ridge folks coming back home again. The Joneses are moving their business here from Bentonville, although they are continuing, for the present, to reside in Bentonville. Hurd, who attended school in Pea Ridge, is moving his business here from near Kansas City, at Olathe, Kan.

A graduate of the Pea Ridge High School has been named the 1968 national corn growing champion. He is Orin E. Ross of Rt. 1, Washburn, Mo. In claiming the national title, the Barry County, Mo., farmer rose above farmers from such corn producing states as Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska. He also was No. 3 in the DeKalb Corn Growers Contests for 1967. He explains that the two contests are judged differently. In the judging for the national corn growers association, there must be a minimum of 25 acres to be picked. Non-interested parties acting as officials measure the contest area, picking two rows and skipping eight. DeKalb also uses non-interested officials to measure the area and do the corn gathering, but they measure off one acre and pick all the corn in it. In both contests, the corn must be picked by machine. In winning the national championship, Ross had to compete with farmers in 34 states, all seeking the national title. He was one of only 17 of them whose yield was more than 200-bushels per acre.

40 Years Ago

Pea Ridge Graphic Scene

Vol. 14 No. 7

Wednesday, Feb.14, 1979

Trash collection in the city of Pea Ridge and action towards cleaning up the appearance of the city both ended up without resolution at the Thursday night meeting of the City Council. The trash collection problem, continuing from previous council meetings, was postponed pending preparation of a report and possible new ordinance by the city attorney. The clean-up the city matter got approval from four of the five council members on the first reading of the proposed ordinance and the council set a public hearing for all interested citizens to come, listen, present their arguments in favor or against at the next meeting.

"We now have three trucks worth over $75,000, 20 men, our rural association has doubled, our fire call dispatching service and procedures are far superior to other methods," these, and other points were made in his annual report to the City Council Thursday evening by Pea Ridge Fire Chief Sammy Spivey. Spivey stated that "the position of fire chief of the Pea Ridge Volunteer Fire Department is no longer simply a position, it has become a time consuming job with increased responsibilities."

Benton County Judge Al Norwood has a problem and he's requested the Graphic Scene to ask you to help him solve it. Please, he asked, "ask the people in Pea Ridge and along Lee Town Road to write to me at the Benton County Administration Building, Bentonville, and tell me whether they want the road to remain a county road as it now is, or, do they want it to become a Arkansas Highway 72 by-pass of Pea Ridge?" Judge Norwood explains that he's had comments both ways, along with an urgent request that the road be worked on, and needs to determine the desires of those people living along the road and in Pea Ridge who will be affected by the change should one take place.

30 Years Ago

The TIMES of Northeast Benton County

Vol. 24 No. 7

Thursday, Feb. 16, 1989

The Pea Ridge School Board spent one and a half hours in executive session Monday night discussing thee evaluation and extension of school superintendent Marvin Higginbottom's contract and the hiring of a new bus driver. The board unanimously voted on the one-year extension of Higginbottom's contract. Higginbottom has the rest of the school year to serve plus two more years. Higginbottom's salary will be discussed at a later time when more is known about finances, said board president Ronald Foster. The board passed a resolution authorizing the use of the Bank of Pea Ridge as the bank of the board's choice with Higginbottom being the authorized signee. In other business, the board established a policy for handling complaints.

The Pea Ridge City Council unanimously voted Monday night to appoint Billy Joe Musgrove as city marshal. Musgrove has been serving temporarily as marshal since the council decided last month not to renew the contact with Marshal Kelly Wallace. Musgrove approached the council requesting a decision whether he should remain temporary marshal or go back to patrolman while interviewing applicants for a deputy position. The motion passed unanimously that Musgrove will begin interviewing candidates for the deputy position immediately and will bring all candidates before the council at next month's meeting.

Chances are that if there's a student at Pea Ridge High School with a future in banking, it's Dale Reed. Dale's father is the president of the Bank of Pea Ridge. Dale said, "I'm thinking about" following in his father's footsteps. He said, "I probably understand banking more than the average kid would, being around it."

20 Years Ago

The TIMES of Northeast Benton County

Vol. 34 No. 7

Thursday, Feb. 18, 1999

Two long-time employees of the Bank of Pea Ridge have been promoted to assistant vice presidents. The employees are Kim Brown and Brenda Henson. Brown adds the title to her position of deposits service supervisor and sales coordinator. Henson was and continues to be a loan officer. Both joined the bank 15 years ago, starting as tellers. Bank president Barbara Owen said, "Kim and Brenda are both extremely dedicated to their work and intensely responsive to our customers' needs." Brown and Henson, are both graduates of Pea Ridge High School, and are Pea Ridge natives.

The woods have a special quietness this time of year. It's like the trees are in their deepest sleep of the long night of winter. Even when the wind blows and the crows caw, a certain silence prevails. Before long, the first prophet of spring, the bloodroot will bloom. In March the sarvis berry or shadbush will bloom and someone will think it is a dogwood which doesn't bloom until about the third week in April, right after the redbud have started showing their color. The eagles are moving around. A bald eagle was spotted east of Margaret and Jim Cheek's house about noon on Sunday and one perched in a post oak on Twelve Corners Road the other day. The woods have a lot to share with us. It's nice to know that even if our own lives are chaotic, their lives from the bloodroot to the eagle are set by some marvelous clock of life.

The new pastor of Pea Ridge Church of the Nazarene said that she was 10 years old when she decided to enter the ministry. The Rev. Kelly Yates said, "I was praying one night and God asked me to preach." Yates earned her bachelor and master of arts in religion at the Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Okla., where she was also an adjunct professor of religion.

10 Years Ago

The TIMES of Northeast Benton County

Vol. 44 No. 7

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009

Despite construction declining in the city and surrounding area, Pea Ridge Planning Commission members still have plenty of work to do. In fact, they can be better prepared for the future without being consumed with immediate needs. To that end, Mayor Jackie Crabtree appointed two more members to the commission, which approved increasing the number of members to seven and increasing terms from three to five years. Celia Scott-Silkwood, regional planner, spoke to city planners concerning the city's land-use map and master street plan. "We have new aerials and will be happy to help you," Scott-Silkwood said, adding that the city's current plan is a good plan, but growth has necessitated changes.

New members of the board of directors for the Volunteer Ambulance Service of Northeast Benton County planned to meet Tuesday in the VAS offices. Immediately pressing is the question to upgrade to an Advanced Life Support ambulance in order to meet the needs of the community. They are now a Basic Life Support service staffed by volunteers. Chartered originally Dec. 18, 1981, VAS is facing growing pains. Over the past 25 years, VAS has undergone many changes, not the least of which is the population growth of the area covered. The emergency service district covers the area on either side of U.S. Highway 62, extending from Rogers city limits on the west, to Pea Ridge on the northwest, the state line with Missouri on the north, Beaver Lake on the south and the Carroll County line on the east -- 125 square miles to be exact encompassing about 4,000 households, 20,000 people.