MORE ON COUNTRY ROADS

Cliff Wiggs

Hello Ernie, While it may have been a "rerun", I sure enjoyed your article in the "Searcy Journal" a day or so ago. Always do!I've often thought about the old cliche, "You can't go home again". But I must have been there a thousand times or more, in my mind. I've traveled that dusty 12 miles to Searcy many times, looked at both sides of the road all the way there, and it only takes a couple of seconds. I remember very well where the pavement started or ended, depending on which direction you were going on hiway 36 west. It was just barely west of Mr. Claude Harrison's store. He had a big sign in front of his store that said "First Chance" as you were goin into town, and "Last Chance" as you were coming out.

I remember when 36 was paved in the early 50's, and how we'd longed and looked forward to the time. It was such a mess that first winter they worked on it that, in front of the "Robert Street place," cars would get stuck in the mud. Robert Coffey and his family were living there at that time, and he would pull cars out with the tractor, and charge them 50 cents. Pretty good money in those days for a few minutes work.

The memory is as great thing, isn't it? I hope I never lose mine. Take care, my friend, and may The Good Lord keep a’blessin’ you and yours.

Ernie Simpson

Good morning Cliff;

My Grandpa Lowrey had a blacksmith shop in the middle of Center Hill in those years, and the only thing I dreaded about going to see Grandma was that old gravel road. Our old model A didn't like that gravel, and it was hard to keep it in the road.

Yep, I'm thinking the road was gravel in the late '40s, as I remember. It was a big deal when they paved it.

Take care my friend.

Tom Pry

I think it was 1950 when they paved Hiway 36-west. We probably would’ve hated the graveled version, too, except that it was such a relief, so comparatively and wonderfully smooth, when compared to the bumps, ruts and potholes in what’s now North Valley Road, that it didn’t leave us any room to complain. And now they're almost finished making it four-lane to a mile west of North Valley ... with a nice concrete sidewalk all the way out to Honey Hill Road!

The changes we've seen .....

Which is one of the reasons we have this site.