Through the Cabin Window – April, 2017

100 YEARS AGO, April 9, 1917

♦  Dr. C.E. Benafield of Charleston, Franklin County, has rented a residence from George W. Clark on Locust Avenue and will move with his family to Conway next week.

Fourteen poll taxes were issued to Faulkner County women, making a total of 23 who will be eligible to vote in the primaries next year. They are: Mesdames Otto Whitington, Lyda Smith, Georgia Hendrickson, Lou Ella Aubrey, G.W. Clark, F.L. Scull, Ruth M. Burr, Lee Donnell, Lettie L. Piercey, Lillian S. Hamilton, Effie Lincoln, Emma Martin, all of Conway, and Pearl Glenn of Palarm Township and Sam Bush of Danley Township.

75 YEARS AGO, April 9, 1942

♦  Ivan H. Grove, veteran coach of Hendrix College, was named president of the Conway Rotary Club succeeding Frank Robins. Other officers elected were Dr. O.J. Wade, vice-president; W.E. Wimberly, secretary; Sam Adkisson, treasurer; and Nolen Irby and Cecil Culver, directors.

Only a ‘hand-full” of men are employed on WPA projects in Faulkner County while several months ago there were more than 1,500 men employed by the WPA here. Most of the WPA work in progress in this county was road work in the Camp Robinson rifle range area and in the northeastern part of the county.

50 YEARS AGO, April 9, 1967

♦  Ad: “Miloise Lyford wears two hats at First State Bank. She’s Executive Secretary and Assistant Vice President.” The ad continues: “Miloise Lyford is something special in banking circles. She fills two very important jobs. Reason is Miloise knows just about all there is to know about banking. That’s the kind of people we look for at First State. When we find them, we give them a job—sometimes two.”

The Conway Council on Human Relations sponsored a Community Affairs Forum about Conway’s Future. Forum participants were Harold Eidson, Elmer Fiddler, Robert Nabholz, Victor K. Ray, Pete Townsend and Charles Ward.

25 YEARS AGO, April 9, 1992

♦  Fire destroyed the cypress-log blockhouse at Cadron Settlement Park about three miles west of the city limits. Arson was suspected. The structure was not equipped with electricity or gas. Capt. Bart Castleberry, Conway fire marshal, said there was no doubt that it was an intentional fire.

The blockhouse was completed in 1979 after a three-year effort by the Chamber of Commerce and the Faulkner County Historical Society to construct a replica of the original blockhouse that was built on the site in the 1700s. The replica cost approximately $16,000 to build and was used for educational purposes.

10 YEARS AGO, April 9, 2007

♦  Choosing to Excel, a local healthy choices organization, had been using the facilities at the Greater Pleasant Branch Baptist Church, formerly the historic Pine Street School, for its summer programs since 1999. Choosing to Excel began using the space when it outgrew its former location. The church also provided two church vans. Around 175 children attended the six-week summer program according to Thelma Moton, executive director of Choosing to Excel. Reuel Shepherd, a retired Conway Public Schools science teacher and member of the church, assisted Moton in transitioning the church into a summer children’s center.