In the County: June 4, 1953

From The Eagle Democrat

All the people visited this week live on the Banks Highway between Warren and Banks.

N.M. Forrester, who worked for many years in the local lumber mills, lives in retirement a short distance out of Warren toward Banks. A native of Rye, in Cleveland county, Mr. Forrester has lived in and near Warren for 54 years. Prior to his retirement, Mr. Forrester worked for the Arkansas, Bradley, Southern, Sallee, and Homer Burns Lumber Companies. Mr. Forrester has four children: Clark Forrester of Warren, William Forrester, who lives just down the highway from his father, J.D. Forrester of Fordyce, and Mrs. Erma Moseley of Warren.

Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Haygood live in a handsome home on the old Adams place just past Mr. Forrester's. Mr. and Mrs. Haygood moved back to the country four years ago after purchasing the Adams place. They moved out and then remodeled the house on the place into an attractive bungalow. Mr. Haygood is the local agent for the Metropolitian Insurance Company. The Haygoods haven't tried to go into farming in a big way since returning to the country from Warren, but Mr. Haygood does keep some cattle. Both are natives of Bradley county. Mrs. Haygood is the former Jessie Mae Parker of Crossroads and Mr. Haygood is from the same community.

Mr. and Mrs. Lige Williams have their attractive home a short distance down the highway from Mr. Haygood's place. Mr. Williams is in charge of the carpenters at the Bradley Lumber Company and prior to that was the builder of numerous houses in and around Warren. The Williams' have lived on this place for 32 years. When they first moved out here, the Banks road was just a winding, muddy pathway. They remodeled their house in 1941. Mr. Williams is a native of the Parnell Springs community and Mrs. Williams is the former Vera Burks. The Williams' have two children: First Lieutenant Durell Williams of Barksdale Air Force Base, Shreveport, Louisiana, and Mrs. Victor Morgan, who lives in a house close to her parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have lived in a house only a few feet from her parents since 1951. Mr. Morgan is a carpenter at the Bradley Lumber Company. Mr. Morgan is a native of New Edinburg. The Morgans have two children: Terry Dean, two years old, and Vicki Sue, three months.

Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Berry live across the highway from the Morgans and the Williams'. Mr. Berry is the fireman on the W.&O.V. Railroad. In the afternoons, however, he is engineer for the W.&S.R. Railroad. The two railroads use the same locomotive. The Berrys built their home here fourteen years ago. Mrs. Berry is the former Christine Knowles of Warren. Mr. Berry is the son of Howard Berry of the Ebenezer community. The Berry's have three children: John Newton, Mike and Phil.

Mr. and Mrs. K.E. Garrett live just down the highway on the same side as the Berrys. Mr. Garrett is a timber spotter for the Bradley Lumber Company. They've lived here for only two months. Prior to moving to the country, they lived in Warren. Both Mr. and Mrs. Garrett are natives of Hermitage. She is the former Pauline Ferguson and he is the son of Crumby Garrett. Mr. and Mrs. Garrett have two children: Sandra Gail and Ricky.

Mr. and Mrs. Wylie Hairston, who pioneered in the dairy business in Bradley County, have their home under a cool grove of trees a mile and a half from the city limits. Mr. and Mrs. Hairston married in 1910 and lived in Warren for ten years. While they were in Warren, they got their start in the dairy business by having one cow and selling milk to their neighbors. In 1920 they decided that dairying had possibilities and moved out on the Banks highway to test their theory. It proved practical and Mr. and Mrs. Hairston furnished the people of Warren with dairy products for 22 years. "We never could get electricity out here and the thing soon just got too big to do without electric power. We burned out three delco plants and when everyone went to the Service in 1942, we felt that we should sell our herd," Mrs. Hairston says. Since that time, the Hairstons have broadened their farming activities. Mr. and Mrs. Hairston have no children, "but they love everyone else's," said Earl Hairston, who was visiting his brother and sister-in-law at the time of our visit.

Submitted by Jann Woodard

In the County: June 11, 1953

From The Eagle Democrat

All the people visited this week live west of Warren on the Banks Highway.

Mr. and Mrs. Clovis Hariston moved to their home near the Wylie Hairston place in December. They are in the process of remodeling their house and have the redecoration of the inside almost complete. A nephew of Wylie Hairston, Clovis assists his uncle in the operation of his farm. The Hairstons have one child, Joe Wylie. Mr. Hairston is the son of Earl Hairston and Mrs. Hairston is the former Nan Saunders, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Keith Saunders. Bulldozers and other heavy earthmoving machinery are working across the road from the Hairston place preparing a spot for Warren's drive-in theatre.

Mrs. Nettie Hatridge moved to her home close to the Hairston's in 1946. Before coming to Bradley County she lived at Locust Bayou, between Hampton and Camden. Mrs. Hatridge doesn't have any row-crop farming on her place, but she does have a few cows. She has no children.

Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Cooper live in an attractive white house down the highway from Mrs. Hatridge's place. Mr. Cooper has done no farming since he moved to his present home from Pleasant Valley six years ago. He drives a taxi for 44. Mrs. Cooper is the former Jerry Mormon, daughter of J.T. Mormon of Warren. Mr. Cooper is the son of Mr. and Mrs. C.A. Cooper of Pleasant Valley. The Coopers have three children, Marilyn, Randall, and Danny. Marilyn, the oldest, will begin school at Warren this fall.

Mr. and Mrs. Otis Ashcraft have their home next door to the Coopers. Mr. Ashcraft is a disabled veteran of World War II. They lived in their home here for five or six years. A native of Bradley County, Mr. Ashcraft was disabled in the Army truck accident. Mrs. Ashcraft is a native of Drew County. The Ashcrafts have one son, Billy, who is two.

Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Smith live back from the Highway about a hundred yards and down a little way from the Ashcraft place. The Smiths have lived here for seven years. Mr. Smith works for the Arkansas Power and Light Company and does a little farming "one the side." The Smiths also keep some cattle. Mrs. Smith is a native of Pine Bluff and Mr. Smith is originally from Glendale. The Smiths have one son, Donald, who is five.

Mr. and Mrs. Ted Thompson have their home on the north side of the highway just past the entrance to the Smith place. They've lived here for seven years. Mrs. Thompson, who is the former Bennie Lephew, was born and reared in Bradley County, but Mr. Thompson is a native of Green County (Paragould). An orphan, Mr. Thompson was reared in the Baptist orphanage at Monticello. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have nine children. They are: Corporal David Austin Thompson, who is in a tank maintenance outfit in Korea, Mrs. George Parker of Warren, Mrs. Guy Smith of Rye, James F. Thompson of Warren, Lawrence Thompson of Warren, Mrs. Marvin Cranford of Warren, and Lilly Belle, Gracie Lee and William Martin Thompson, all of the home.

Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Frisby moved to their home on the Banks Highway ten years ago after many years at Hilo. Natives of Union County, Mr. and Mrs. Frisby came to Bradley County in 1914. The Frisbys have eight children living. They are: Mrs. Mitchell Smith of Moro Bay, Robert Frisby of Hermitage, Mrs. W.J. King of Hamburg, Mrs. Clarence Wright of Marsden, Mrs. Charles Hickman of Pine Bluff, Oscar Frisby of Warren, Mrs. S.G. Sturgis of Magnolia, and Mrs. Dewey Bean of El Dorado. Mr. Frisby "does a little farming' and this year plans on corn, peas, and peanuts, but "the weather set me back," he says.

Submitted by Jann Woodard

In the County: June 18, 1953

From The Eagle Democrat

All the people visited this week live on the Banks Highway west of Warren.

Mrs. Bernice Gentry lives on the north side of the highway two or three miles west of Warren. An employee of the Bradley County Hospital, she has lived here with her mother, for fifteen years. Prior to coming to Warren, she lived in Little Rock. Mrs. Gentry has three children. They are: Mrs. A.L. Colbert of Little Rock, James Gentry of Baytown, Texas and A/3c Bill T. Gentry of Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi.

Mr. and Mrs. Morgan O'Neill and their four children, Wayne, Joyce, Morgan, Jr., and Gary have lived in their home for four years. A garden is the extent of the O'Neills' farming activities. Mr. O'Neill works at the planing mill at the Bradley Lumber Company. Mr. O'Neill was reared across the river in Eastern Bradley County. Mrs. O'Neill is the former Grace Pennington of Warren.

Mr. and Mrs. Lester Ferguson have their home on the coolest spot we've found in our trips throughout the county. The Ferguson home is situated on a hill in a grove of large trees on the north side of the highway. Mr. Ferguson is an employee of the S.M. Dixon Construction Company. He has worked for the company for fifteen years. The Fergusons moved to their place in 1930 and built their nice home there in 1939. Mrs. Ferguson is the former Macie Temple of the Ebenezer community. Mr. Ferguson is a native of Rock Hill, South Carolina. The Fergusons have one child, Mrs. Claude Spraggins who lives only a short distance from them.

Mr. and Mrs. Claude Spraggins built their home just behind and west of her parent's home three years ago. Mr. Spraggins is a mechanic at Hargis Brother Sales and Service and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Allen Spraggins of Ebenezer. The Spraggins have one child, a cute three-months-old boy, Tim.

Claude Sanders, Gulf Refining Company distributor for this area lives on his old family place at the top of a hill on the left side of the highway. Mr. Sanders was the Standard Oil Company distributor for over 20 years and switched to Gulf a few years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Sanders have lived here for eighteen years. Mrs. Sanders was an Offut from Cleveland County.

Carter Lyon has lived all his life within a quarter of a mile from his birthplace. He's lived in his present home for thirty years. His home is located on the north side of the highway in a grove of trees. One of the few farmers we've encountered on this highway, Mr. Lyon is farming only corn this year. Mrs. Lyon is the former Geneva Neely of the Crossroads community. The Lyons have two children: Mrs. Billy Daniels of Warren, and Derwood Lyon, who is at home with his parents.

A short distance down the highway from Mr. Lyon's place, set back south of the highway, is a real Bradley County institution. This is Ebenezer Baptist Church, the mother church of the First Baptist and Immanuel Baptist churches in Warren. The Ebenezer Baptist Church was organized in 1854 by Rev. U.H. Parker, Rev. Robert Pulley and Deacon Irey Lee. The charter members were: Mr. and Mrs. Andrews (initial unknown), Violet Aiken, James Brown, Richard Brown, Mr. and Mrs. T.A. Coker, Mr. and Mrs. Hairston, A.M. Hairston, Nancy O'Neal, Mary Parker, and Rev. U.H. Parker. John C.R. Howard, who came from Granville County, North Carolina in the fifties and homesteaded land in this area, donated the land for the cemetery, church and school. Howard Berry, who lives on the old Howard homeplace is the grandson of Mr. Howard. The church has had the following pastors: Micajah Creed, Solomon Gardner, G.W. Morgan, Ira Pirtle, J.B. Searcy, W.E. Paxton, N.C. Denson, C.W. Harley, D.E. Gamble, H.A. Munn, M.W. Wayne, G.E. Holt, T.B. Rouse, D.R. Dunham, J.B. Luck, G.F. Filbreath, G.L. Bowles, Minor E. Cole, L.J. Tucker, Louis Gustavus, H.C. Barnes, Don Williams, Orville McGuire, John Martin and J.M. Langston, the present pastor. The Ebenezer church has had four buildings, one log and three frame. The present one was built in 1949 under Rev. McGuire's leadership. Some Sunday School rooms have been added and the church is planning to construct a parsonage.

Submitted by Jann Woodard

In the County: June 25, 1953

From The Eagle Democrat

All the people visited this week live in the Ebenezer community.

Mr. and Mrs. Dewey St. John have their home on a hill about a mile north of the Banks highway. Mr. and Mrs. St. John have lived here for six years. He works at the Southern Lumber Company and in his spare time does some cattle and a bit of row crop farming. Mrs. St. John is the former Arnette Reynolds of Drew County. The St. Johns have three children: Montez, Ronnie and Donna.

Mr. and Mrs. Bob Ragar have their own home a short distance past the St. John place. Mrs. Ragar has lived here since 1923. Mr. Ragar is surveyer for the Bradley Lumber Company and has served in this capacity for a number of years. Mrs. Ragar has two children: Mrs. James Owen Bryant, who is the wife of a Nashville, Ark., optometrist, and a former Home Demonstration Agent for Howard County, and Sergeant First Class Bill Givens of Atlanta, Georgia. Farming activities on the Ragar place are confined to feed crops.

O.M. Gill, who has lived in Bradley County only three months, works in the Naval Ordinance Plant at Camden. Mr. Gill commutes from his home on the Banks Highway. Prior to moving to the County, the Gill family lived in Hampton. Mr. Gill is originally from Hot Springs County. The Gills have three children: Otis, Shirley, and Doyle.

Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Gambill are in the process of constructing a new home. They've been doing this for two years, but since Mr. Gambill is a carpenter, he's doing it all himself--and that takes time. Mr. and Mrs. Gambill purchased their place in the country in 1941 and moved out in 1942. Both are natives of this area. Mrs. Gambill is the former Beatrice Stewart of Warren and Mr. Gambill is also from Warren. Mr. Gambill has the contract for the erection of a new school building at Wilmar and is currently working on that job. The Gambills have seventeen acres of oats and a small corn crop to help feed some cattle. The corn is a 4-H project of the Gambill's son, Jack, who is a member of the Banks Community 4-H Club.

Mr. and Mrs. W.B. Johnson moved to their home a short distance from the Gambill's in November. Mr. Johnson works in the Flooring department of the Bradley Lumber Company. The Johnson's moved to Ebenezer from Farmville. Gardening is the extent of their farming activities, but Mrs. Johnson does not expect much from the garden because of the extended drouth. Mrs. Johnson is the former Vera Perry of Rye. Mr. Johnson is a native of Banks. The Johnsons have three children: Dorothy Sue, Travis Lee, and Mary Louise.

Miss Ruby Adams lives on the old Adams family home with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Will Adams. Miss Adams has lived here all her life and her father was born and reared within a hundred yards of his present home. The Adams home is situated on a hill that is probably one of the highest points in Bradley County. "The wind really whistles by here in the winter," Miss Adams pointed out. Miss Adams has two brothers and two sisters. They are: Bryan and Jack Adams of Warren, Mrs. Barney Hargis, who lives just across the road, and Mrs. L.C. Smiley of El Garden, California.

Mr. and Mrs. Barney Hargis have had their home across from her parents for nine years. They built this home when they moved from Warren. Mr. Hargis is a carpenter and millwright and finished a job at Marshall, Texas, only a short time ago. Mr. and Mrs. Hargis have two children: Larry and Nancy Hargis. Their farming activities, too, are confined to a small garden, but since the garden is situated on top of the hill it has almost wilted away because of the heat and lack of rain.

Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Simmons have had their attractive home a short distance from Ebenezer Church for nine years. Prior to that they lived in Warren. A construction contractor, Mr. Simmons is currently engaged in the construction of Warren's new radio station. Mr. Simmons began in construction work a good many years ago, working with his uncles, Lige and Louis Williams. Mrs. Simmons is the former Irene Doggett of Crossroads. Mr. Simmons is a native of the Hopewell community. The Simmons' have five children: Janice, Jody, Rosemary, Joan and Steve.

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Submitted by Jann Woodard