This article from the October 2, 1913 edition of the Arkansas Democrat newspaper in Little Rock tells of a dead man found on the road between Berryville and Eureka Springs. Earlier in the day, the man and George McCall had had a conversation.
In the Grandview Cemetery of Carroll County, Arkansas stands the tombstone for Lin and Clara McCall.
Lin is a simple enough name, so it’s difficult to explain why his name is recorded as “Harolden S. McCall” in the family Bible.
The 1900 Census has his name spelled Len. The 1910 Census has Lin. His 1910 marriage is registered as Len, but he signed it as Lin. His First World War draft card shows Lindell Harelton (instead of Harolden).
The obituary for his father George Robert McCall gives his name as Lemuel. Serving as an election official for Kings River Township, he is listed as Lon McCall. For the next draft registration in 1942 he is Len A. McCall, but signed as Lin A. McCall.
In 1977, the Social Security Administration has his name as Lin Harldon McCall. I do not have the sources at hand, but I also have noted that he used the first name spelled as Lindele and the middle name of Hardler.
By 1859, John Smith McCall and family had left Jackson County, Arkansas and relocated to Wise County, Texas. The family spent about a decade in Texas before returning to Arkansas and settling near the Kings River. Because of this decade in Texas, the family avoided direct involvement in the violence of the Civil War. Even so, both John McCall and his son George enlisted in the Texas State Troops at Decatur, Texas. The unit was tasked with maintaining order in unsettled times and as a defensive force if necessary.
Jack McCall told me of the accidental death of his uncle Royal S McCall on the family farm long ago. I was a bit surprised when I found it mentioned in the September 21, 1888 edition of the Arkansas Gazette newspaper. Royal is buried in the Shady Grove Cemetery. The “G.W.” instead of “G.R.” was a fairly common typographical error when newspapers referred to George R McCall.
In a legal sense, George R. McCall’s Kings River farm was passed down to a new generation on January 27, 1968. It was on this date that the ownership of the farm transitioned from Clara McCall to her son Jack and his wife Betty.
This column is from the September 8, 1916 edition of the Berryville Star Progress newspaper. It reports the building of the stone cellar on the George Robert McCall farm that I spent many hours playing on as a kid. To cool off on a hot summer day, we’d go down into the dark cellar and sit by the wooden shelves of sealed mason jars. It’s interesting that the cellar was built by “Merion Ray.” I would guess that he is Charles Marion Ray, the father of Clara McCall who we called Grandma.
The November 25, 1910 edition of the Berryville Star Progress newspaper reported the marriage of Lin McCall and Miss Clara Ray. At Lin’s death at the age of 71, the couple had been married 47 years.
A legal notice appeared in the June 15, 1933 edition of the Madison County Record newspaper requesting that Arkansas Governor Junius Futrell either pardon or parole Ess Southerland.
The November 9, 1933 edition of the Berryville Star Progress newspaper reported the death of Oscar Elwood Southerland of Rockhouse, Arkansas. He was the second son of Elmer “Ess” Southerland and his wife Jennie Olive Pinkley Southerland. Soon after, Ess Southerland left Arkansas and 1935 records show him living in the Manzanola area of Colorado.
Following are just two examples of George Robert McCall being referred to as “squire”. I assume he’s earned this title due to his prosperous farm, leadership in the local Baptist Association and many years serving as Justice of the Peace. The first instance is from the April 5, 1907 edition of the Star Progress newspaper and the second is from the June 12, 1908 edition. The second example demonstrates sloppy typesetting as it should obviously be “Squire G.R. McCall.” Kings River and Cross refer to the Carroll County townships the men are from. Cross Township is north of Grandview on the west side of the Kings River and borders Missouri. Kings River Township is also on the west bank of the river and includes Grandview, Rock Springs and the Walker Settlement.
For thirty years, O’Connor’s Texaco Service Station operated in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. In about 1954, Duane O’Connor bought an old Dodge Power Wagon so they could offer a wrecker service, too. Over the years he bought a number of different wrecker trucks to be used in the business. The one pictured below is a 1955 model Chevrolet truck. He eventually sold this vehicle to Howard Weems. Duane operated the wrecker service until his back gave out in about 1980.
My sister bought a copy of the 1954 annual yearbook of the Eureka Springs High School. Below is the front cover.
Next is the list of students and faculty sponsors who comprised the staff of the 1954 edition of the annual yearbook. There are several familiar names on the list. Donna O’Connor, for instance, is my wife’s aunt. Tommy Walker is the father of Laura Loudermilk who was the maid of honor at my wedding. Many of the surnames listed represent the oldest families of Eureka Springs and the Western District of Carroll County, Arkansas.
