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.
When we arrived home, this pretty little copperhead was placidly soaking in the sun. Our movement woke it up.
It was only when the copperhead moved that I realized a blue-tailed skink was only inches away. By the time I grabbed my phone, the skink had nearly escaped off the porch.
On April 15, 2012, McKinley Weems said this as he showed me his new iPad. He was only 91 then.
I got to brush up on my typing on account I’ve never done it before.
A little village of mushrooms on a stick I picked up to throw over the fence.
Just took this photo from the county road on the ridge looking towards the Kings River and Berryville beyond.
Wild squash or wild zucchini? I consulted an expert and it could be either.