It happened here, years ago

Marie Green, of Marie's Southside Café, invited readers to visit her for a meal or a piece of her famous pie 20 years ago this week.
(Times file photo)

[Click to enlarge]

A total of 5,444 Clay County voters cast ballots in the primary election 40 years ago this week. A runoff will be held between Judge Carl Ermert and Vernon Call, while S.B. Haley was elected treasurer. Re-elected were Vernon Morgan as tax assessor and Burness W. Dalton as sheriff and collector..circuit clerk L.D. Batey and county clerk Boyce McLeskey were unopposed. Meanwhile, in the state senate race it was Burrell Thompson of Paragould over Cecil McNeil of Rector by 129 votes in this county.

Denise Litzelfelner was crowned Little Miss St. Francis at their recent picnic, Kim Bellers was first alternate and Denise Watson was second…the remainder of the top five included Pamela Rogers and Sharon Neeley. Trainbearers and flower girl included Linda Smith, Linda Daffron and Patricia Gatewood. In other news, HeadStart students recently took a field trip that included a visit to the fish hatchery in Corning then a train ride to Poplar Bluff. There they toured radio station KWOC and the CocaCola bottling plant.

At the Carolyn Theater this week the feature was "Hawaii" while the late show was "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter"..and don't forget patrons for the early movie are always invited to stay for the late show at no additional charge. Meanwhile, at the grocery store.. Patterson's Grocery featured ground beef at two pounds for .89..spare ribs at .49 a pound and bread at two-loaves for .39.

And in sports, the final Little League standings were; Cate's Grocery 10-2, Clay County Propane 8-4, Otasco 6-5, A&W 4-8, Cargill and Sons 3-8, John Deere 3-8.

1978

A freak accident on I-57 in Illinois, 30 years ago this past week, claimed the life of Kim Holifield, 19, of Piggott. She was killed when the semi-truck her husband was driving blew-out a steering tire and crashed into a second big-rig. In other news, Brown Shoe marked the 100th anniversary of the company with an open house. The local factory boasted 507 employees..and the nine departments combined weekly pay amounted to about $70,000. Oh, and don't forget that the annual Greenway picnic is coming up and contestants are needed for the various pageants and contests. And plans are underway for the McDougal picnic on Labor Day.

At the grocery store, Greene's Market had Zesta crackers at .55 a box..and Duncan Hines cake mixes are .69 each..and at the Carolyn Theater this week.."The Bad News Bears Go to Japan" and the late show feature was Russ Meyer's "Super Vixen".

Also from the ads, long-time local businesswoman Thelma O'Dell Cargill has announced her retirement after 40 years, and she has sold her beauty shop on Second Street to Pay Causey.

The Brown Show minor league team took first place this year, coached by James Pollard and Bill Thompson. Team members included Todd Self, Blaine Cooper, Nicky Burns, Cliff Winberry, Timmy Milburn, Deron Pollard, Phil Toombs, Scott Allman, Whitney Thompson, Jackie Myers, Jody Morrison and Dale Wofford.

1983

At the Piggott City Council meeting 25 years ago this past week hospital administrator Betty Reams reported the ambulance service had lost $5,442 so far this year.. less than was predicted and budgeted. Meanwhile Bob Hoskins and Melvin Holifield spoke with the alderman about paving that was supposed to have been done in Lakewood Estates. That matter was referred to the developer. In other news, PHS has new football coaches following school board action. The new head coach is Jim Berryhill, who comes to us from Cross County, and Audie Tackett..who most recently worked at Wynne.

General Telephone has announced that calling card service is now available in the Piggott area..and everyone is reminded that the annual Greenway picnic is Saturday, Aug. 6..and the Clay County Fair will be held Aug. 23-27. And at the Carolyn Theater this week the feature is "Staying Alive" while the late show feature was "Sweet Throat".

In births to announce, a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Danny Gatewood at Piggott Community Hospital.. Emily Raye weighed-in at eight pounds and six ounces and was welcomed home by big sister Felicia.

At the store, Taylor's Grocery featured Ideal bread at three loaves for a dollar…Foremost milk was just .99 a gallon for two-percent..or $1.79 for whole milk..and 20-25 pound watermelons were $1.29 each.

1988

It was announced that Piggott residents will vote Aug. 9 on a sewer bond issue to finance construction of the EPA-mandated wastewater treatment plant 20 years ago this month. The total cost is estimated at $750,000. In other news, Piggott schools will start Aug. 29, and so far no candidates have filed for the open seat on the school board.

In a related story, Piggott eight graders all passed the state minimum performance tests this past year, Clay County Central also had 100-percent passage with Corning at 93-percent. Students at all three county schools scored above the national average on the Mat 6 tests given to fourth, seventh and tenth graders as well.

The PHS class of '83 held their fifth year reunion recently, Mr. and Mrs. Clifton Shride celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary July 16, and don't forget that the annual Greenway picnic is set for Aug. 6..the clean-up day is set and pies, cakes, fruits and vegetables are needed for the kitchen.

This week's paper also included a feature on a special book donation made by Dr. B.B. Layl to the Piggott Library. The book "Fletcher's Group" was written by Robert "Roco" Work about his experiences as a member of a B-17 flight crew in World War II. For 15 missions Layl had been a member of that flight crew as co-pilot.

In sports, the Clay County AA American Legion team finished seventh in the state after losing to Pine Bluff and Fayetteville in the state tournament at North Little Rock. They finished their season at 14-7

This week's edition of The Times also featured a photo of Marie Green, of Marie's Southside Café, as she invited folks to come by for a meal or just a cup of coffee and a piece of pie. ( her lemon ice box pie was my favorite, and even served as my birthday cake one year)