Sometimes an illness can become a blessing when it affords you reflection time. The other day I was reflecting upon the beauty of the fall and was admiring the ancient oak tree that stands proud in my yard. It is more than 3 feet in diameter, which reminds me that it has seen many a leaf fall only to reappear in the spring. I thought about how many stories that tree could tell about the last several hundred years. Would it smile or frown at the progress made in its corner of Northwest Arkansas?
My love for Springdale grows deep. My great-grandparents moved here just before the turn of the century. I was told that they owned the land where the Catholic church now stands, where they ran a wagon rest stop. I was born at Springdale Memorial. I grew up in the “rough” part of town but even at that, we never locked our doors when I was a little girl. My neighborhood was made up of elderly folks who were always out on their front porches. Halloween was one of my favorite holidays as the neighbors went all out to make homemade goodies. Caramel-covered apples and a poke full of candies were a poor child’s pot of gold.
I could hardly wait to start school at Jones Elementary, even though the teachers and I had to come to a meeting of the minds over asking permission to go to the bathroom. I had never heard of such a thing. In fact, I learned rather quickly there were a lot of things for which one had to ask permission. At Christmas, without one worry about my safety, I proudly sold Christmas Seal stamps for the school — 1 cent each.
Littering was encouraged in our ditches. That was how I got my skating money with pop bottles going for 3 cents each. As soon as I got my dollar, I headed to the skating rink Mr. Ralph ran out on Highway 68 East.
Does anyone remember the Apollo Theater downtown, or the soda fountain at Joyce’s Drug Store? Across from Price Cutter (but it wasn’t there then) was Ben Franklin, which had better deals than Walmart. Did anybody attend the big rally for Winthrop Rockefeller held at Murphy Park when he ran for governor? Why, I declare the whole town became Republican as he brought Johnny Cash and June Carter in for a concert on top of a flat-bed truck and then fed everyone fried chicken. Life didn’t get any better than that.
How many dreamed of being a bull rider or rodeo queen? My greatest goal for many years was to simply ride a big ol’ spotted horse in my Rodeo Queen outfit and be able to do that two-finger salute down Emma Avenue in the Fourth of July parade. I finally got that big, spotted horse about six years ago — dreams do come true.
Does anyone remember the Besi Dream? I worked there for five summers in the early ’70s. We had the best hamburgers in town. Harvey Jones came in every day for his 5-cent cone of ice cream.
A little later I was lucky enough to be employed at Jones Truck Lines which for years was the best place in town to work. The past 20 years has been my most blessed while teaching math in Springdale schools.
Springdale has had its share of heartache too — the Safeway murders, the tornado that wiped out Elmdale market and the untimely deaths of several of our city leaders.
There were a few things that needed major improvement. Did you ever stumble upon the animal shelter of the 1960s? Well, I did one day. I was out exploring over in a field close to the old labor camps and came across a pitiful excuse of Springdale’s animal shelter. I watched in horror as the dogs were “put to sleep” by boxing off a small outside pen with plywood and then attaching a hose to a car muffler. To a young Elly May, that technique didn’t go over well. Kudos to Springdale for building and maintaining our nice shelter today. It is said a city is only as good as its animals are treated.
Yes, Springdale is a lot like my old oak tree — enduring and allowing life to move on. Each stage of our development has made us smarter and tougher while withstanding the storms — sometimes literally. We all have our own memories of Springdale. Anyone is welcome in Springdale as long as you live as a lady or gentleman. If not, don’t let the welcome sign hit you in the head on your way out of town. We are a community that laughs, cries and worships together.
Sue Parks is a teacher who grew up in Springdale.