It happened here, years ago

An effort got underway 40 years ago this past week to build a veteran's memorial in front of the courthouse in Piggott. The old memorial arch to the veterans of World War I had been removed during construction of the new courthouse in 1967.

In other news, the Hong Kong flu was sweeping through the Piggott School District and others across the country. In the past week the local district reported 35-percent absentee from those sick with the flu, and those trying to avoid it. Meanwhile, a circuit judge ruled that Marvin Grissom of McDougal must serve the full five year prison term he received for assault his young son.

At the Carolyn Theater this week the features included two James Bond hits, "Thunderball" and "From Russia with Love" and a couple of Matt Helm movies with Dean Martin, "Murderer's Row" and "The Silencers."

Checking the Friday night ladies bowling league standings, Brown Shoe is in first, followed by Roeder's Ben Franklin, Rebel Market and Taylor's Grocery. Patsy Ball had high game with a 167, while Una Graddy had high series with a 391. And congrats to Cathy Jane Jones of Rector High School for winning this year's Betty Crocker Homemaker of Tomorrow.

Mr. and Mrs. Shirley Benson had a new son Jan. 3 at Piggott Hospital and named the new arrival Steven Lee. Meanwhile, the sign is now up at the new Piggott State Bank drive-in facility and the Arkansas State Police report that 703 people were killed on the state's highways in 1968.

1979

Prominent local dentist Dr. L.W. Brannan, 79, died 30 years ago last week. He opened his first dental office in Senath in 1922, and opened the Piggott office in 1926. He'd been practicing in the area for nearly 53 years.

In other news, Who's Who at Piggott High School has been announced, and there was a tie for Miss PHS between Claire Roeder and Lesa McFarlin while Jimmy Mann was named Mr. PHS. Meanwhile, at the Carolyn Theater this week the feature was "Cat From Outer Space" while the lateshow was "Teenage Playmates." Coming up was a special engagement of "The Wilderness Family 2."

Five employees of Brown Shoe received the company-wide mis-mate reducation award, taking top honors from among 23 factories. The ladies included Virginia Hampton, Dorothy Gatlin, Jewell Gotthardt, Pamela Warbritton and Debra Arevalo. During 1978 the five packed 902,782 pairs of shoes, with only 35 pair returned from stores due to being mis-mated.

Coach Joe Black has been elected president of the new Piggott Jogging Club, which is meeting weekly at the old Scurlock Gym on Garfield. Currently 25 people have joined.

Another Clay County basketball tournament is history, with the Mohawk senior boys and girls taking second place honors. In the senior boy's final the Tribe fell to Rector 59-51 despite 23 points from Todd Watson.

1984

Following action by the Arkansas Legislature Piggott teachers will be getting a raise of $1,497 a year. Greenway teachers will see $2,082, Rector's is $1,786, Corning's raise is $1,744 but Knobel teachers will get nothing additional. Also in the news, Piggott State Bank President James L. Magee has announced that Paula O. Blackwell has been elected to the board of directors.

At the Carolyn Theater this week the feature is "The Man Who Loved Women" with Burt Reynolds, while the late show feature is "Campus Girls." In births to announce, Mr. and Mrs. Blake Tanner are proud to announce the birth of their first child, a daughter named Morgan Lee. She arrived Jan. 21 at Arkansas Methodist in Paragould.

This week's issue also marked a milestone, as our readers were introduced to new columnist and feature writer Peggy Johnson. Editor Ron Kemp noted that Johnson and her husband had built a new home west of Piggott, that she had previously written for the Blytheville paper and that she would be writing a column and feature stories. Her first column also appeared on that page and was titled, "The Special Plate" and was about New Year's resolutions. Kemp also noted that Mrs. L.W. Brannan would be writing a local news column, and that the new Mohawk Beat page would become a regular feature.

At the Clay County Tournament Tonya Swann and Marty Wallis led the junior Lady Mohawks to the championship, while the junior boys' title went to Greenway behind Kenneth Speer and Billy Hardin's play. Both senior titles went to Corning, with the Mohawk boys taking second behind strong games by Chuck Hope and Jeff Benbrook.

1989

The Piggott City Council passed a resolution 20 years ago this week encouraging the county to expidite building a new jail. Meanwhile, work on the new wastewater treatment plant is about 80-percent complete.

Jaycee week was observed in Piggott, and sheriff Darvin Stow was named Clay County Peace Officer of the Year at a banquet in Jonesboro. Births to announce this week included a son to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Adams of Piggott. Zachary Taylor Adams was born Jan. 6, in Doctor's Hospital at Poplar Bluff.

Tabby Reaves will play Emily Webb, and James Jones has the part of the stage manager, as rehearsals are underway for the PHS production of "Our Town." The Thornton Wilder classic will be staged for the public Feb. 11. And a 50th anniversary celebration is planned for Jan. 29 for Elmo and Blanch Cato.

Five years after writing her first column for The Piggott Times, this week Peggy Johnson wrote "Losing at Nintendo" about playing Super Mario on the popular game deck she received for Christmas. And customers at Stewart-Hinkle Value Market were invited to watch and play "Wheel of Fortune" each weeknight with gamepieces available at the store..and instant prizes of up to $1,000.

In sports, Mark Box had 11 points as the Mohawks fell to Clay County Central in the Clay County Tournament..later the Cougars fell to Corning for the title. The Lady Mohawks lost a pair to Hoxie, with Tory Smith and Tammy Belote leading the two teams in scoring. Smith has done well for the Tribe in recent games, but is still having trouble with her free-throws.