Oden, Arkansas
The First Baptist Church on the hill opposite the Oden Public School. A fellowship hall now adjoins to the left and the entrance is covered with a porch. Now in 2007 there is now a steeple on the roof and the church chimes can be heard up to three miles away chiming the hour during daylight hours.
The Arkansas Democrat
Gazette 15 January 2005
Oden Baptist Church 1181 Arkansas 88 West Oden (870) 326-5513
WORSHIP 11 a.m. Sunday
PASTOR Brother Richard Posey resigned. 2007. Rev. Posey is now back in
Glenwood. The church is looking for a pastor in 2010.
ATTENDANCE 35
DENOMINATION Southern Baptist
CHURCHES IN ARKANSAS 1,450 *Source - Arkansas Baptist State Convention
MISSION STATEMENT "The mission of the Oden Baptist Church is to worship the
living God, share Christ, encourage obedience to him and serve the needs of
people in the community."
HISTORY The church was organized in 1916 "right where it's standing now," said
its pastor, Richard Posey. The current building was built in 1950 and had
several additions since then. Currently, members are renovating the sanctuary.
Throughout its history, the church has served the community in the ways it does
now, Posey said, noting that the population has remained fairly constant for
decades. The church is one of five in Oden, the third largest town in Montgomery
County. The other congregations are Independent Baptist, Missionary Baptist,
Primitive Baptist and Methodist. "We've pretty much got them covered," he said
of the community's 220 or so inhabitants.
ABOUT THE PASTOR Posey began his pastoral career at the church in October 2000
after he retired from Halliburton. He was based in Oklahoma and was a principal
manager for business development, overseeing international sales. "I had
felt like the Lord called me to the ministry when I was 18 years old," he said.
"I didn't run from Him, but I ran from the call." He and his wife, both
Texarkana natives, wanted to return to Arkansas. He attended seminary classes in
Little Rock and accepted a call to the Oden church.
PROGRAMS One way the church serves the community is by sharing its space. "Our
church turns into City Hall once a month," Posey said. A gardening club meets
there, and the church also serves as the lone polling place in town for local,
state and national elections.
Church members are involved in Helping Hands of Montgomery County, a ministry of
churches throughout the area. A quarterly men's fellowship in the county also
ministers to neighbors in need by building wheelchair ramps, repairing leaky
roofs and taking monetary donations to people who have lost homes in a fire.
Sunday School classes are offered for elementary age students, young adults, men
and women, Posey said, noting that there's currently a gap in the demographics
of members that accounts for the absence of teen classes.
WHAT'S NEW When the newly consolidated Ouachita River School District-Oden
Campus needed another classroom for its preschool pupils, the church offered its
fellowship hall. Church members also built a playground for the kids to use.
The church has organized a vocal group called the Roundtable
Singers. The eight members sing mostly Southern gospel music, Posey said.
They'll be singing at First Baptist Church of Pencil Bluff at 6 p.m. Jan. 30.
2005
EVENTS The church's small choir performs a Christmas cantata each year.
When the local Fellowship of Christian Students puts on its annual Christmas
play, the church helps with refreshments. And members help to organize a
nondenominational tent revival each fall at an empty lot in town.
NEEDS "Our church has a real sweet, sweet spirit," Posey said. "We don't want
for anything. ... We need more people to do the Lord's work and to look for
needs in the community. "
1916 - C.C.
Roberts
1956 - 58 Thurlow Lee (son Jason Lee)
1967 - 70 Jerry Hargrave (wife Brenda Hargrave)
1976 - 78 Bernard Rusert (wife Glenda Rusert)
2000 - 07 Richard Posey (wife Marilyn Posey)
2008 - 10 Daren Drury
2011 - 13 Jerry Hargrave
2013 - 16 David Teem
Oden United Methodist Church. Est. 1880 with the Oden cemetery in between this building and the Macedonia Church building.
Oden school is the brown roofed building on Hwy 88.
The old bank at Oden was built by Elbert Milton Carrier. Photo July 2001New York Times; Nov 22, 1930; p. 7 Four Shut in Arkansas
Little Rock, Ark, Nov. 21 Arkansas banking interests were strengthened today by the consolidation and reorganization of many of the sixty-seven banks closed or suspended. One national bank and three small State institutions closed today. They were the First National Bank of Rector, the Oden State Bank of Oden, the Montgomery State Bank of Mount Ida and the Caddo Valley Bank of Norman.
The only stop sign in Oden. Photo July 2001
To your extreme right, west on 88, there was a store there where the black car is parked. Marvin Mullenix ran a garage and Myrtle Mullenix had a little cafe.
To the left in the building that is standing in the photo Laura Cobb Huddleston had a beauty shop and a barber shop. Men's haircut were 35 cents.
Calvin and Viber Lawrence had a small snack / grocery/ general store to the left.
Then there was an alleyway
In Kelly Mckay operated a gas station, lube jobs, had a hydraulic lift that he raised cars up.
The entire block of buildings were demolished in 2018 and the site leveled.
Oden, Arkansas. "Once Upon a Town." Jan. 1st 2020
Photo credits above: Olwyn 1998 - 2005.
Paul Rusert bought the Oden store in late 1960s. They sold groceries, made the best balcony sandwiches with as thick a piece of baloney you wanted. They sold feeds, and had a pot belly stove for many years right in the middle. Good place to catch up on the latest gossip - town happenings. They sold it in the early 1990s.
The 'Old Oden Bridge' was dismantled in 1977. Photo courtesy of Diane Singleton
Oden Challenge biking down Brushy Rd in 2012Montgomery County ArkansasGenWeb Project
