100 YEARS AGO, 1918
♦ Plans were arranged for observing an eclipse of the sun at Arkansas State Normal School. The Normal science department provided pieces of smoked glass for all visitors and students. Professor E.E. Cordrey delivered a talk, illustrated with diagrams, explaining the case and nature of eclipses.
♦ Dr. C.H. Dickerson would open a hospital on Center Street as soon as the equipment arrived. The hospital would be open to all physicians of Conway and Faulkner County for treatment of medical and surgical cases.
♦ An announcement was made that the Palm Garden, a popular cold drink establishment owned by Sam and Charles Heiligers of Conway, was sold to Faber Hicks of Frauenthal & Schwarz. Charles Heiligers would leave within a few days to enter some branch of service, while Sam would serve as manager for Mr. Hicks at the Palm Garden until he was called by the local board.
75 YEARS AGO, 1943
♦ Paul Edmund Rose, 61, probably the state’s most widely known watchmaker and jeweler, passed away at Conway Memorial Hospital. Rose moved to Conway in 1921, continuing his watchmaking business and achieving fame in trade magazines for inventions and discoveries he had made in the art of watchmaking.
♦ The largest crop of Irish potatoes in Faulkner County’s history was moving to market. Lee Mode said he had purchased about 10,000 100-pound sacks, most were being shipped out of state.
♦ The Conway Ice Company plant at Front and Mill, shut down the past several years, was reopened by Arkansas Ice & Storage Company of North Little Rock. Paul Atkins was the manager. There was a shortage in the state and the Economy Ice Plant production of 15 tons daily wasn’t enough to take care of the city’s needs.
50 YEARS AGO, 1968
♦ Ernest Ruple, who played for the Conway Wampus Cats from 1960 to 1962 and the Arkansas Razorbacks from 1963 to 1967, signed a contract to play offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
♦ Carl Stuart, Conway High School principal since 1954, was named superintendent of Conway Public Schools, succeeding H.L. Stanfill who passed away earlier in the month.
♦ Mr. and Mrs. Hal Robbins moved to North Little Rock. Mr. Robbins, principal of Conway High School from 1949 until 1964, had taken a job with the Arkansas Education Association. Their home at 616 Davis was sold to First Baptist Church.
♦ The Farris Agency moved to new offices at 817 Parkway. The building formerly was occupied by the Charles B. Edward Insurance Agency.
♦ A new Baptist mission was being built at Highway 64 east and Milam Drive in east Conway. Sponsored by the Greenbrier Baptist Association, it was led by the Rev. Earl Stout.
25 YEARS AGO, 1993
♦ The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, effective in August, allowed some American workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family emergencies.
♦ James Bridges, 57, an Oscar-nominated writer and director who attended UCA, died of cancer. He returned to Conway in the mid-1970s to film an autobiographical movie, 9/30/55, about the impact James Dean’s death had on his life as a college student. Shot at multiple locations around Conway, many Conway residents served as “extras.” Bridges also co-wrote the 1980 hit “Urban Cowboy.”
♦ Frank Brannan’s Drive-in was celebrating 40 years of business in Conway, taking out an ad to thank friends and customers for their patronage over the years.
♦ David McCollum, sports writer for the Log Cabin, made history as the first writer to win the column-writing category in both the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and the Football Writers Association of America. It was the first year for the FWAA contest.
10 YEARS AGO, 2008
♦ The ceremonial first shovelful of dirt was thrown at the groundbreaking of Conway’s City of College Park, a youth softball park being constructed near Bob Courtway Drive and Siebenmorgen Road.
♦ PK’s opened in the Halter Building at Oak and Front Streets. Sisters Diana Allen and Celeste Flanagin owned the 30-year-old store, which had been located on Donaghey for several years.
♦ Hewlett-Packard announced that it would be locating a state-of-the-art customer service and technical support center in the Meadows Office and Technology Park off Sturgis Road and would employ 1,200 workers.
♦ Plans for a new highway exit around the Gold Creek area of Hwy. 365 were in the works to provide Hewlett-Packard with a new access to its property in The Meadows Office and Technology Park off Sturgis Road.