With the fragrance of lilacs flirting with my nose, I lay open the April 27, 1967 edition of the Eureka Springs Times-Echo. The lead story is the upcoming county-wide vote on issuing bonds to fund the construction of a $720,000 hospital in Berryville. There is a full-page advertisement signed by 84 local residents against it, and a quarter-page advertisement in favor of the bonds. I guess we know how the election turned out.
Of course, Holiday Island wasn’t always called Holiday Island, but did you know it was once called Hollydale Island? I didn’t. A front page article announces the change of name from Banach Island to Hollydale Island. This makes sense because the 4800-acre property that includes the island was owned by the Holly Corporation of California.
Reby Nelson’s house on East Mountain burned down and both she and her daughter Rose Brown were hospitalized with burns. Reby Nelson was my wife’s great-grandmother.
Two spelunkers exploring Onyx Cave at the invitation of owner Ralph Schmidt discovered 425 additional feet of passageways and an underground waterfall. J.D. Fletcher and family purchased the Devil’s Dive Resort on Table Rock Lake. Mr. and Mrs. Cecil R. (Pete) Birchfield are congratulated on the April 20th birth of their daughter Stephanie Lynn. The Eureka Drug Company is having a close out sale on all record albums, including their one remaining copy of the very popular The Sound of Music.
Local family doctor Ross Van Pelt spoke to the high school on the dangers of using narcotics not prescribed by a physician. He especially warned against falling prey to heroin.
In Berryville, both the Oklahoma Tire & Supply and the Ben Franklin Store are selling all their merchandise and fixtures and calling it quits. Also in Berryville one can attend showings of A Fine Madness starring Sean Connery and Joanne Woodward.
The US Army is in need of volunteers, especially those with previous military experience. The recruiters in Fayetteville say to call collect if interested in joining up.
And so I close the April, 1967 newspaper and take a moment to admire the blossoming redbud trees on the hill.