BEE ROCK

(Run originally 4/6/04 on our old site)

Harold Sullivan

Bee Rock was an important place to my family when I was growing up. We loved to take a picnic supper there near the river. We usually took along a .22 rifle to target shoot. Here is a picture taken there in the mid-‘40s, showing my Mom, Dad, Brother A.J., and me.

The Sullivan Family at Bee Rock

What a great place that was. We preferred it over Echo Dell, but we did go to both places. This was, of course, well before the Greer’s Ferry dam was built, and the river was a slow, muddy stream.

I enjoyed Don's trot-line story. When in high school, some of us would go out and fish the river by using old Clorox jugs as floats and tie on baited hooks to trail below. We would dump them in the river and follow in a boat. When one started bobbing we would row over and see what we had. Funny, I have no memory of where we would put the boat in the river, but it wasn’t Bee Rock, since there was poor river access there.

Another “feature” of Bee Rock was the stairs up the cliff to the Water Filtration Plant. I don’t remember how many steps, but there were a lot. What I remember about the steps were they were not uniform, either in height or width. The steeper the slope, the narrower and higher the steps. One had to really watch carefully to make sure not to trip. Of course, there were no hand rails. They were sure not OSHA-approved.

Earlier on here, there was talk of the great flood of Little Red River in the late 1940's. I remember it well, driving out 67 just around the curve and past the poor farm. The road was under water. Then, before low water dams were built to hold water for the Searcy supply in the summer, sometimes the river would get so low that they could barely pick up enough water for the town. Appeals would go out for conservation. After the low water dams went in, I don't remember that being a problem. I do remember being amazed that they could process that muddy water and make it clear enough to drink. The settling ponds at the Water Filtration Plant would have water cleaning in process: there were gobs of junk in the water being settled out with some chemicals. After two or three steps, the water was clear and ready for consumption.

A few days ago, I saw an article in the online Searcy Daily Citizen where a guy was hurt rock climbing at Riverside Park. From the description it sure sounds like the old Bee Rock. Maybe someone knows if it is?