In the County: July 2, 1953

From The Eagle Democrat

All the people visited this week live in the Ebenezer and Pleasant Valley communities west of Warren.

Mr. and Mrs. Howard Berry built their home four years ago on the original homestead of Mr. Berry's grandfather, John C.R. Howard, who came to Arkansas from Granville County, North Carolina in 1868. Mr. Howard's old home was torn down only a short time ago and was only a few feet from where the Berry house now stands. Mr. Berry was born and reared in this neighborhood and has spent all his life here. Mrs. Berry, who was born in Dossville, Mississippi, is the daughter of the late A.T. Thurman of the Oakdale community. The Berrys have eight children. They are: Lawrence, Fred, Newell, and Wilson Berry, all of Warren, Mrs. Harold G. O'Connor of Houston, Texas, Frank Berry of Kansas City, Missouri, Ralph Berry, with the Air Force in Fairbanks, Alaska, and Jeanette Berry of Houston, Texas.

Mr. and Mrs. W.V. Tucker have lived in the Ebenezer Community "right around fifty year." Mr. Tucker was cleaning and polishing a beautiful new automatic shotgun at the time of our visit. It was a Christmas present, he explained, and he hasn't had enough time to get it well broken in. Mr. Tucker moved to this neighborhood from the western part of the county at the age of 2. Mr. Tucker says he got out of the cattle business at the right time, since he sold his cows in March. He had a small patch of corn and a garden. Mr. and Mrs. Tucker have seven children. They are: Mrs. W.L. Shannon, H.D. Tucker, Mrs. Frances Shaw, J.V. Tucker, Mrs. Ethel Henson, all of Houston, Texas, Mrs. Lucille Sandy of Galveston, Texas, and Bob Tucker of Washington, D.C.

Rev. J. Marvin Langston has been pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church for fifteen months, coming to this church from eastern Ashley County. A native of Calico Rock, Ark., and the grandson of two Methodist ministers, Rev. Langston was baptized a Baptist when he was 12 years old and has been a minister for 31 years. Rev. and Mrs. Langston have four children. They are: Lieutenant Autry B. Langston, with the Army in Korea, James L. Longston, with the Army in Japan, Bobby Gene Langston of Sacremento, California, Mrs. Phyllis Jane Burnette of Pueblo, Colorado. Mrs. Langston has three daughters by a previous marriage. They are: Mrs. Lavida Matlock of Welseville, California, Mrs. Verna Eyachener of Welseville, and Mrs. Tressa Gilliland of Schenectady, New York.

Mr. and Mrs. Silas L. Woodard have their home only a short distance down the road from the old family place. They've lived here for 20 years. Mr. Woodard, a former school teacher, is now the Bradley County Welfare Supervisor. He taught at Banks for many years. The Woodards have seven children. They are: Harold, Pauline, Hubert, Stephen, Elroy, Lathan and Wynette.

Submitted by Jann Woodard

In the County: July 9, 1953

From The Eagle Democrat

All of the people visited this week live in the Pleasant Valley and Farmville communities.

Mr. and Mrs. Troy Parnell have their home near the northern end of the Pleasant Valley Community. The place they live on is Mr. Parnell's old home. He was born and reared here. Mr. and Mrs. Parnell are mainly dairy farmers, selling their milk to the Warren Dairy. Farming, however, is only a part of Mr. Parnell's activities, since he is night watchman at the Southern Lumber Company. The Parnells had an acre of tomatoes this year and some forage crops for their cows. They have three children: Yvonne, Dean and Amy Sue.

Mr. and Mrs. Sherman "Tommy" Jones moved their house to a hill just across the road from Mrs. Jones parent's home in November. They did live at Farmville, but the roads in that section made it difficult for Mr. Jones to go back and forth to his work which is driving a taxi in Warren. Since the road in this section stays in good shape, they decided to move their house here. They farmed tomatoes this year as well as a garden, but they didn't have too good success with either venture because of the dry weather. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have two daughters, Fern and Imogene.

Mr. and Mrs. C.A. Cooper, parents of Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Parnell, have their home on the top of a hill across the road from the Jones home. Mr. Cooper was seated in the shade on the eastern side of his nice-looking home brandishing a .22 rifle when we visited him. Sparrows, he explained, had driven away the Martins which usually are around his place. "I just thought I'd sit here in the shade and see if I couldn't kill off some of the sparrows." A native of Pansy, in Cleveland County, Mr. Cooper moved to this place seventeen years ago. Two years later they built their new home. Mr. Cooper retired from farming a short time ago because of ill health. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have four children: Mrs. Parnell, Mrs. Jones, J.W. Cooper of Warren and Charles Cooper, who is at home with his parents.

G.W. Doggett has lived in the Pleasant Valley Community for 71 years. He has spent all his life on the place where he is now living with his son Ralph Doggett. Mr. Doggett's father came to Bradley County from Alabama. Though he has retired from active farming, Mr. Doggett still works a small garden. He has five children: Mrs. Vera McDiarmid of El Dorado, Leonard Doggett of Pleasant Valley, Mrs. Verna Graham of Hermitage, Ralph Doggett and Oris Doggett.

Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Doggett have lived across the road from his father's home for fifteen years. Mrs. Doggett is the former Mabel Sweeney and she, too, was born and reared in this community. Mr. Doggett works for the Bradley Lumber Company. They have three sons: Edwin, James and Charles.

Mr. and Mrs. Walter Y. Mann have lived in the Pleasant Valley Community for 39 years. They built their new home here six years ago. Mr. Mann is unable to work, since he suffered a paralytic stroke some time ago and gets about only with a cane. Despite this, he says, he is much more comfortable since he had the stroke. All his life, prior to the paralysis, Mr. Mann had suffered from bronchial asthma and had been unable to "sleep a full night." Since the stroke, however, he hasn't had a single attack of asthma. The Mann farm is handled by the Mann's two sons, Ray and Fay. Ray Mann lives a short distance from his parents home and Fay lives in the house with them. Each of the twins is married but neither of them have nay children. The Manns have one daughter, Mrs. Anice Murphy of Crossett.

Submitted by Jann Woodard

In the County: July 16, 1953

From The Eagle Democrat

All the people visited this week live in the Pleasant Valley Community and on the Banks Highway.

O.F. Doggett built his home in the Pleasant Valley community following three years service in the Infantry in the South Pacific during World War II. Mr. Doggetts wife, the former Ollie Sweeney, is the Pleasant Valley Correspondent for the Eagle Democrat. Mr. Doggett's crops this year are suffering from the extended drouth, but he still hopes for rain. Mr. Doggett drives a school bus for the Hermitage District during the winter months. Mr. and Mrs. Doggett have two children, Larry and Phyllis.

Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Kelly have lived in their home near Farmville for two years. The farm was the Kelly's old home and he built a house there and came here from about two miles west. Mr. Kelly is a farmer. The Kellys have four sons: Preston, who works for the State Forestry Commission in Bradley County, Wilson of Brooklyn, New York Leonard, of Fort Worth, Texas, and J.W. Jr., who works for the Bradley County Farmers Association in Warren.

Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Tate are the parents of the late Charles Tate, the first Bradley County man to be killed in World War II. He died on March 1, 1942 and the Martin-Tate post of the American Legion is named partly for him. Mr. and Mrs. Tate moved to their home on the Banks Highway in 1946. Mr. Tate was born in Beebe, but was brought to Cleveland County near Hollis Special when he was one year old. He moved to Warren in 1919 and worked for the Arkansas and Bradley Lumber Companies. Mrs. Tate was born near Locust Bayou and lived in Clark County and Wright City, Oklahoma, before coming to Bradley County. The Tates lived at Pattsville before moving to their present place. Mr. and Mrs. Tate have three surviving children: Rupert Tate of Warren, Mrs. John Parker of Akron, Ohio, and John Tate, who is serving as a gunners mate on a Navy sea-going whip in the far east.

Mrs. J.O. Temple lives diagonally across the highway from the Tates. Born in the Crossroads community, Mrs. Temple has lived in this neighborhood since she was nine years old. She has lived in her present home for four years, moving to it from only a short distance away. Mrs. Temple has one daughter, Marthaline Atkins who lives on her brother's place.

Joe Faulkner bought his place in this community in 1926 and has been farming here ever since. Dry weather is hurting him this year, as he only has several small patches of corn, peas and a garden. He also has some cotton in. Mr. Faulkner got out of the cattle business "just in time" as he sold his cattle off a month ago. Mrs. Faulkner has five sons: Hillburn, Jesse, A.G., and Everette, all of Camden, and Harvey Faulkner of Little Rock.

Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Haygood have lived in this community for many years. Their nice-looking home is situated on the north side of the highway set back in a grove of trees. Mr. and Mrs. Haygood have had truck patches and corn this year, but the yield on all their crops has been poor. Mr. Haygood and his daughter-in-law, Mrs. A.G. Haygood, had a tomato patch "on the halves" on Mr. Haygood's place and though they got a good price, their yield was very poor. The Haygoods have three sons: A.G. and O.W. Haygood of Warren and Kermit Haygood of Prichard, Alabama, and two daughters, Mrs. Warner Neely of Warren and Mrs. Herman Crouch of Benton.

Submitted by Jann Woodard

In the County: July 23, 1953

From The Eagle Democrat

All of the people visited this week live north and east of Banks.

Mr. and Mrs. Hoye Moore have lived in their home on Highway four near Banks for fourteen years. Mr. Moore worked at the Naval Ordnance Plant in Camden until a short time ago, when the economy measures by the Administration in Washington cut out some of the work. Mr. Moore was drilling a well in the bottom of a small pond at the time of our visit. Pond isn't the right word, since it was stone dry. "I felt a little moist place right here, so thought I'd go down a few feet to see what I could find," he exclaimed as he wielded a post hole digger. Mr. Moore is originally from Tinsman, but he came to Banks as a young man. Mrs. Moore, who is active in Home Demonstration work, was Mattie Mae Whittington of Banks before her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have three children: Jimmy Moore of Camden, Betty Moore, who is in business school in Little Rock and Roy Moore, who is at home with his parents.

W.C. Loomis is one of the old settlers around Banks. He moved to his home just this side of Banks in 1905. Born near Lanark, Mr. Loomis lived at McGehee and Kingsland before returning to Bradley County 48 years ago. Still farming, Mr. Loomis has in cotton, corn and lespedeza this year. Mr. Loomis is the father of thirteen children--nine sons and four daughters, eleven of whom are living. His sons are: Claude, Trave, Cornelius, and John Ira, all of Banks, D.L. of Marianna, Preston of Hardin, Texas, and Francis of Fort Lewis, Washington. His daughters are: Mrs. Pervy Stuart of Gravel Ridge, Mrs. James Johnston of Banks, Mrs. Pearl Sparks of Houston, Texas, and Mrs. Myra Mulvary of Houston. Mr. Loomis has 32 grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

Mr. and Mrs. James N. Johnston have their attractive home across the highway from her father's home. Mr. Johnston is working near Malvern for R.H. Bouligny, electrical contractor of Charlotte, North Carolina. The North Carolina firm is building high-voltage electric power lines through that section of the state. He has worked near Malvern for seven or eight months. Tomatoes were the extent of the farming activities on the Johnston place this summer. They weren't very successful, however, Mrs. Johnston said. Both Mr. and Mrs. Johnston are natives of Banks. They have six children: Gilbert, with the air force at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, Buddy, who finished high school at Banks last year, and Larry, David, Ginger and Reed, all at home with their parents.

Mr. and Mrs. V.M. Bratton will have lived at their present place eight years in November. They purchased their place from Freight McMurry, who had owned it for fifty years prior to that time and moved here from the Blue Springs community north of Banks. Prior to her marriage, Mrs. Bratton was Mary Nichols. Born in Ashley County, she was brought as a child to Blue Springs. Mr. Bratton was originally from a few miles east of his present home. He works for the woods section of the International Paper Company out of Hampton. Mr. and Mrs. Bratton have three children: Mrs. H.J. Whitley of El Dorado, Mrs. Laverne Faulkner of Camden, and Joe Carroll Bratton of Camden.

Mr. and Mrs. E.W. Bradford have their home a short distance north of Banks on the Warren-Camden road. They've lived here for two years and prior to that time lived at Center Ridge. Prior to her marriage, Mrs. Bradford was Iva Carter of Hampton. Mr. Bradford is originally from this section. He is cutting pulpwood at the present for Sidney Holmes, an independent contractor in this section.

Submitted by Jann Woodard

In the County: July 30, 1953

From The Eagle Democrat

All of the people visited this week live north of Banks in the Blue Springs and Center Ridge communities.

Mr. and Mrs. H.C. Hearnsberger have lived at their present home north of Banks for eight years. They are doing some truck farming, but at the time of our visit the drouth had drastically reduced their yields. The Hearnsbergers have lived in the western part of Bradley County for 27 years. Mrs. Hearnsberger is a native of Arkadelphia and Mr. Hearnsberger is originally from below Camden in Ouachita County. Mr. and Mrs. Hearnsberger have nine children living. They are: Curtis, who is in the Air Force in Japan, James, Mrs. Faye Garrett of Dumas, Texas, Mrs. Nishie Fritts of Banks, and Betty, Bill, Harris, Floyd, and Barbara Hearnsberger of the home.

Byron Hudson lived on his place on the Banks-New Edinburg road for 47 years. He was born in Warren but was brought here by his parents shortly thereafter. He does only a little farming and his vocation is log hauling. We visited Mr. Hudson on one of the hottest days of the summer, but the big trees around his home made it one of the coolest places we've found this summer. The Hudson place was homesteaded in the late 1800's by Mr. Hudson's grandfather and has been in the Hudson and Morgan families since that time. Mrs. Hudson is the former Ruth Goodheart of LaFayette, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Hudson have two sons, Mack, who is a lineman for the Meyers Construction Company in Little Rock, and Gene, who is a painter. Gene is currently working on redecorating the interior of Hampton High School.

Mr. and Mrs. George Hamaker have lived on their place north of Banks for 31 years. They built their present home in 1940 and are one of the few exclusively farming families we had met so far in that section. Mr. Hamaker has been in this neighborhood most of his life but he was born and reared around Warren. Mrs. Hamaker is the former Lizzie Reaves of this community and is a cousin of Senator Lee Reaves of Warren. Mr. and Mrs. Hamaker have two sons: Reaves Hamaker of Warren, and Robert Hamaker who is at home with his parents.

Mr. and Mrs. H.L. King have an attractive while home on a hill just past the Hamaker home on the Banks-New Edinburg road. They've lived here 12 years and built their home when they moved to this place. Mr. King has farmed the place for the past two years and had a fairly good start in tomatoes this year. Hail, hot weather, and too much rain, however, ruined his crop. He has good stands of cotton and corn, nevertheless. Mrs. King is the former Beulah Sessions of Calhoun County. Mr. King was born near Wilmar and moved to this neighborhood later. Mr. and Mrs. King have one son who lives at Tinsman.

Mr. and Mrs. R.C. Bradford have lived, off and on, in this neighborhood for many years. They've gone to other places occasionally, but so far they've always come back. They've lived here in their present home for nine years. Mr. Bradford was born and reared to the age of 12 near Mobile, Alabama. His parents came to Arkansas, bringing him along, at that time. Mr. Bradford farms and cuts pulpwood. Mrs. Bradford is the former Willie Risher of Banks. The Bradfords have eight children: Mrs. Jessie W. Parrott, who has just returned from some time spent with her soldier husband in Japan, Mrs. C.H. Davis of Camden, Mrs. Thelbert Cockrill of Houston, Texas, Norman Louis Bradford of Houston, Staff Sgt.. Lamar Bradford of Dallas, Carlton Bradford of Houston, Sue and Carolyn of the home.

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Submitted by Jann Woodard