I was born and raised in Arkadelphia, AR. I still have family living there.You wanna piss me off, just start talking bad about it. I don't think the people that still live there and call it home really understand my loyalty.
I grew up going to see my Grandma who worked at Wells, hung out at Sterlings, Ben Franklin's, watched The Legend of Boggy Creek at the Royal, and got threw out of Woody's News Stand for hanging around too much reading comic books. I ate many a burger from BJ's Burger Ranch. Well at least once a month when my Dad would buy them. Then they started selling live worms and my Mom refused to let us get something after that. I had ice cream in a cup with the little wooden spoon from the dairy. I had grilled cheese with those big toothpicks stuck in it and pickles from the drugstore. I used to look at the bikes at Otasco and think about cool it would be to have one.I drove around the Sonic and the Pizza Hut until I'm sure caused the rut in the road. I can remember going to, I think, JCPenny's and going up the stairs and getting a pair of jeans with them hard-assed patches in the knees. I played football from the 5th grade. I played on the Packers, the Buffalos, the Beavers, and the Badgers.
During high school (mine was the 3rd class at the new one), I worked at the movie theater. Yeah, we used to have two screens. I used to go to the bus station, pick up the movie (in cans) Thursday night. I would go back and "thread" it up then play it. There's a few of us who had sneak viewings of some real classics. We had dollar night at midnight on the weekends for college students who showed an ID. It would be something different than the regular movies. Something like Rocky Horror Picture Show. We had matinee double features on Saturday afternoons for the kids. Boy, that was a hoot! I worked at the gas station in Caddo Valley that eventually would be next to McDonald's. We had four pumps and an oil changing bay. The old man who I worked for me told me, "There's always something to do at a gas station. If you have time to lean, you have time to clean." Not sit on your butt and try and dictate and sway policy to the folks that live in my hometown. Sorry, you deleted my post.
Jobs. When Reynolds folded, it's like the town just gave up. I was young but I could see it. All the folks that made the money from there kept living off it (can't blame them), while everybody else just existed. After I was grown and tried to go back "home" I worked at Red Ball Oxygen, I had the privilege of selling the liquid oxygen and mapp gas to cut up the machinery in Reynolds that was hauled out in the parking lot. Kinda made me sick.
Fafnir, apparently was going to be a bust before it even started good. Again, too many local cliques involved with who got hired, promoted, etc. You can argue. Regardless, it's gone.
Service jobs are about all Arkadelphia has left. The old saying is, "If you don't make anything, you don't make anything". College kids and lake traffic is all that seems to keep it going. Everybody I hear is, "Im going to Hot Springs to go shopping. Or maybe to Benton." The lake business is too seasonal. Plus, Caddo Valley gets most of that. That's a whole different topic. I still don't get that whole feud thing.
Then you've got the land owners around the interstate. One person, in my humble opinion, primarily stymied growth in my hometown for years. And I think in some regards, still does. There was so much potential, but he thought he was sitting on a gold mine and I guess, relished in the fact. Him and his cronies completely controlled the businesses (and the lack thereof) in that area. And damn everybody.
Gas prices. Are you kidding me? See the above paragraph.
Keep in mind, there are two companies that provide over 600 jobs each within 30 miles. And big percentage of them live in Arkadelphia. Every time I have visitors to the place I work for, we go out to meet and eat after hours, somewhere in Arkadelphia. I make it a point. I think effort and leadership can make some type industry happen. It doesn't have to be huge. Capitalize on the colleges. Look at the curriculum and see what most majors are in. Something to keep students in the area.
Arkadelphia must take charge of it's own future. There is so much discussion about volunteering. I couldn't agree more. It's just called effort. Then the mayor "fires" a volunteer baseball coach because he won't do what a "high-powered parent" tells him he should do with his son. That makes the state news. Kinda sends a negative message about my hometown.
I'm sorry that you decided to delete my post. Keep pumping gas. I will fight for my hometown until the bitter end. There are a lot of good people in Arkadelphia. It is in a lot better shape than a lot of places. It's good sometimes to look inward and ask the question, "What can we do better"? But be prepared to hear the responses.
I had to leave because I had to raise a family and my work experience and expertise didn't allow me to do it there. But I use every excuse to come back as often as possible. Sad for both of us. But I am hopeful.
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