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| 6,000 at 'Hi Neighbor Day' |
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| Question: Do you have any information about "Hi Neighbor Day" that may have been held in Harrison several years ago? |
| Answer: The "Hi Neighbor Day" program was a highly successful project of the Harrison Chamber of Commerce in 1946. It was a gala affair designed to welcome and entertain customers and guests from out in the trade area. Working together with merchants, the Chamber retailer committee picked an uneasy time in Harrison to hold such a promotion, but the entire community responded in a positive way. |
| Held during the time of the "hot" 1946 wet-dry issue, the Chamber pulled the town, county and other outlying areas together for a big celebration that included contests, a parade, concerts and the grand opening of two new Harrison businesses - KHOZ and Hurley Motor Company. |
| The Hi Neighbor Day program began at 1 o'clock on September 26, 1946 with the local high school band performing at the new Hurley Motor Company building on North Vive Street, across the street from the Hotel Seville and just north of the First Baptist Church (Hurley Motors later sold to Verl and Murphy Hudspeth). |
| Then the band marched to the courthouse square for yet another concert followed by fun contests directed by Bailey Graham. Cash prizes were given to each winner in the following categories: |
| Heaviest man; |
| Heaviest woman; |
| Oldest man; |
| Oldest woman; |
| Tallest man; |
| Tallest woman; |
| Man with biggest feet; |
| Woman with biggest feet; |
| Largest family attending |
| This writer could not find a list of the winners, but if old Chamber records from 1946 have been saved and stored away, Pam Christie, present Chamber president, may be able to find more about this celebration and the contest winners. |
| The dedication of KHOZ began early that morning, when the station officially signed on. The public was invited to stop by and inspect the station and listen to local talent programs that included Terry Pillow in the "Singing Convention of the Air," and Mrs. Floyd Rogers and daughter, Joanne, inaugurating the Martin-Rogers Store program, "The Scrapbook." The station broadcast the entire day, with a remote from the downtown square featuring addresses by J. W. Trimble and Governor Laney. The first broadcast of a Goblin football game was the following Friday night when sports announcer Deno Nichols gave a play-by-play of the Harrison-Springdale game. |
| D. E. Fitton opened the Lyric Theatre free of charge for guests and customers from the trade area and showed the musical comedy, "Swing Your Partner." But the big climax of Hi Neighbor Day came at 8 o'clock that evening when the Hurley Motor Company gave away a new Ford car. More than 6,000 people were on the courthouse lawn for this moment - probably everyone had registered many times at the local merchants! |
| When the name of George D. Harton was drawn, there was a silence over the crowd. He was too surprised to speak out, and spectators shouted for him, "over here is the winner," to the judges. "I'll take it!" said Harton in a weak voice. Harton was a newcomer to Harrison and served as a vocational director for the school system. |
| No doubt the Chamber of Commerce was pleased with the results of Hi Neighbor Day in September 1946. Very few events have brought an area together like this one did. One must remember that everything was downtown - grocery stores, hardwares, mercantile and drug stores. KHOZ was built "out of town" in 1946 - and there were few businesses past the bend of the four-lane. |
| The Boone County Heritage Museum holds a wealth of information about Boone County and its people. Now observing winter hours, the museum is only open on Thursday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Beginning March 1, the museum will be open Monday through Friday. Located on the corner of South Cherry Street and Central Avenue, the museum is housed in the historic 1912 Harrison High School building, which was just recently listed on the National Register. Come spend an afternoon at the museum. |
| This column appears Fridays in the Harrison Daily Times. Mail questions to Boone County Heritage Museum, P. O. Box 1094, Harrison, AR 72601. Marilyn Breece can be contacted at bchm@alltel.net |
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