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| 1940s 'Suit Club' on square |
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| Question: This continues last week's column about businesses that had once occupied the south side of the downtown Harrison square. By naming them, I hope this will "jog" your memory of those businesses you may have traded with through the years. |
| Answer: By the 1940s, Collier Auto Supply, owned by E. L. Collier, made itself known as an auto parts supplier on the south side, and remained there until the 1961 city directory shows a new location for Collier's on East Ridge Avenue. Today, this business has moved north to the Industrial Road area. |
| Checking an old 1940 phone book, the following businesses were on the south side: Gibson's Finer Foods, Russell Grocery, Collier Auto Supply, Barnes and Tucker Barber Shop, Imogene's Beauty School, Alma Faye's Beauty Shop, Martin-Rogers Mercantile Company, Sims Drug Store, Bennett's Drug Store (later moving to the northeast corner), Coffman & Coffman Druggists, Al Davis Plumbing & Electric, Hight Roofing & Insulation, Heuer Show Store, Plummer & Raney Men's Wear Store, and Security Bank, with Hudspeth Insurance Agency located upstairs. On the corner across from Walter's stood Tim's famous Chili Kitchen, with the site later becoming home to Arkansas Tire & Supply. |
| Wednesday, former resident Charles "Bat" Freeman of Botkins, Ohio, visited the museum and told of Plummer & Raney Men's Wear having a "Suit Club." You paid $5 a week, and if your name was drawn, you won a $65 suit. He remembered his name being drawn after he had only paid the $5 membership for a few weeks, so his new suit was quite a bargain. Laughing, he told that he chose a light blue double breasted affair, thinking it was quite "natty." |
| The 1950s saw more new faces on the south side: R. E. Rush, attorney, with an office above Martin-Rogers, Clark & Eoff Dry Goods, Morrison Drug Store, Eoff Paint & Wallpaper, Turney Grocery & Market, M&F Office & School Supply, and Bryant Electric. Carr's Cash Market had moved to the south end of the Crooked Creek bridge, later selling to Ray Phillips. |
| By 1955, Arnold Adams, Garvin Fitton and Merle Shouse, attorneys, had offices on the south side. Arkansas Acceptance Corporation, who may have financed your new car purchase, took its place as a local lender. Rowland Store bought out Clark & Eoff Dry Goods and later moved to the old Capital Café spot on the west side of the square. Keith Robertson, Rowland's manager who was blessed with a great personality and gift of gab, made it a fun place to shop for everything from underwear to outerwear. |
| It's hard to believe that Harrison had six drug stores in 1955. Bennett's on the north side, Coffman Brothers on the west, Morrison's, Sims, and Coffman & Coffman's on the south, and Joe Kirby's drug store just off the northeast corner of Rush Street. Soda fountains took their prominent place in most drug stores. Many remember when Sims and others had soda jerks to deliver your favorite beverage to the curb. This was several years before the 1950s, but it was special to take your date to a movie and then out for a soda! |
| McKinney's Men's Store, Steve Cavender's Bargain Store, Country Classics, Crest Variety Store, and The Style Spot are just a few more south side spots before the 1980s. We may have missed others, so if you remember some we did not include, give us a call at the museum and add to the list. |
| Pictures of old business places help record the past, and we invite you to share those you may have with the Boone County Heritage Museum. Located on the corner of South Cherry Street and Central Avenue, the museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. |
| This column appears Fridays in the Harrison Daily Times. Mail questions to Boone County Heritage Museum, P. O. Box 1094, Harrison, AR 72601. Marilyn Smith can be contacted at bchm@alltel.net |
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