It happened here, years ago

Groundbreaking for the new Gossard plant on Piggott's east side was held July 23 with an expected completion date of Dec. 1. Local civic leaders in the group photo included James L. Magee, Francis Knuckles, Bill Irby, Mayor Ernest "Buck" Thomas and Lloyd Russell. The area's mayors also posed for a photo, and that group included Buck Thomas of Piggott, Dave Pillow of St. Francis, Buck Millikin of Greenway and Leslie Dunlap of Pollard.

Also in business news, Cate's Piggott Plaza Grocery has been sold to Marlin and Wayne Stewart and ownership will transfer July 31. Wayne has recently been employed at Greene's Market. Charles and Myrtle Southard are opening a new branch of their Paragould jewelry store at 272 West Court, in the former Haye's Insurance building (one door west of the current Times office).

At the Carolyn Theater this week a return engagement of "True Grit" and "The Sterile Cuckoo."

Mr. and Mrs. Myron Low of Wilhelmina, Mo. are proud to announce the birth of their new daughter, Lana Gail. She was born July 18 at Dunklin County Memorial at Kennett.

And Brenda Tate was named Little Miss St. Francis 1970. Her alternates were Janina Kay Whitehorn and Karen Williams. Cynthia Lynn Duncan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Morris of St. Francis, won the baby contest and second was Kimberly Dawn Grimes, daughter of Joan Grimes of Piggott.

1980

The annual Greenway Picnic is set for Saturday, Aug. 2 with Jerry Carroll and Deon Reagan serving as emcees. Also in the news, two Piggott teens were injured when the motorcycle they were riding ran off West Clay Street in the past week. Ray Stow, 18, and Vickie Winton, 18, both sustained numerous broken bones--but according to police could have been injured much more seriously had they not been wearing helmets.

Two bicycle riders on a trip from Vermont to Dallas made a stop in Piggott recently. Susan Halvorson and Harvie Porter stopped along the 1,800 mile journey to visit Emma (Potter) Harris, Halvorsons's aunt.

At the Carolyn Theater this week, "Bronco Billy" was held over.

The local Cub Scouts held "Critter Races" competing with entries they had captured prior to the meeting. Divisional winners included Gary Moody's toad frog, Jonathan Moody's lizard and David Wylie's dry land terrapin.

And new to the city, tan in minutes not hours at the Piggott Beauty Lounge as they have installed a tanning booth. The ad noted that booth, which stood upright, met FDA regulations set earlier that year.

The Little League All Stars beat Campbell to take first in their tournament, led by manager Dr. Larry Winberry and Coach James Pollard. Team members are Steven Benson, Sam Williams, Jr., Nicky Burns, Bobby Gary, Rex Jordan, William Midkiff, Michael Lewis, Jeff Coons, Tim Wilburn, Allen Wylie, Whitney Thompson, Matt Hollis, Deron Pollard and Cliff Winberry.

1985

Production is now underway in the 22,000 square foot Magee plant, with 14 on the payroll. Plant manager Ted Hackworth was pictured along with employees Kenneth Fort, Billy Seal and Pat Colter. Meanwhile, sad news out of South Carolina, as Rector native Janet L. Hill, 31, was killed when she apparetnly fell from the back of a pickup.

Groundbreaking was held for the new auditorium for the Piggott General Baptist Church. On hand were--James King, Roy Stender, Vaughn Webb, Wayne Featherston, Andrew Menser, Rev. Terryl Almond, builder Lester Edwards, Jr., Neal Mayberry, James Morris, Charles "Sonny" Potts and Steve Champ.

At the Carolyn Theater this week--more Clint Eastwood with "Pale Rider."

Births to report include a son to Mr. and Mrs. David Whaley of Piggott July 23 at Arkansas Methodist in Paragould. They've named their new son David Colin.

Plans are now underway for the Arkansas Sesquicentennial to mark the state's 150th birthday. Local chairs Audie Niewald and Mary Jesse Greene were pictured with media representatives Charles Isbell of KTEI and Ron Kemp of The Piggott Times. The occasion would be marked in June, 1986.

The Piggott Cemetery Association reported that profits are up from the previous year for the annual picnic, as they cleared just over $8,000. And bowing to public pressure Coca-Cola Classic hit the shelves as the public shunned the "new Coke." Carl Howard Williams, III, (who worked as a stockman at a local supermarket) was the first local resident to purchase a carton of the new-old Coke and was shown enjoying the beverage.

1990

After serving as mayor for 16 years, Orville "Shorty" Schultz of St. Francis announced he was not seeking re-election and would retire Dec. 31. A native of Piggott, the 82 year old Schultz noted he intended to remain active in several civic efforts despite his retirement, including Gov. Clinton's advisory committee.

The annual Greenway Picnic is set for Aug. 2, with Terry Burdin serving as the emcee. And Piggott Community Hospital has announced the "Vial of Life" program for storing important medical information. Pictured preparing to distribute the vials were Narene Simpson, Gwen Duckworth and Troy Jenkins, EMT.

A meeting was held at Junior Wiley's office for the purpose of organizing the Republican Party in Clay County, an effort encouraged and aided by Dr. Roger Cagle of Paragould. The group will meet again Sept. 11 at Betty Haskins' office in Corning. Congrats to Amanda Bagwell, daughter of Jay and Virginia Bagwell of Piggott, as she was crowned Little Miss Peach Blossom at the annual pageant in Campbell.

A murder investigation is underway at Corning, following the discovery of the body of a Doniphan woman in the trunk of her car behind a business in the city. The victim had apparently gotten off work at Darling in Corning, and was reported missing when she didn't return home.

Piggott Little League took fourth in a tournament at Rector, losing to Corning then beating Rector and Marmaduke before being eliminated by Kennett. The Rector game featured a thrilling come from behind, sparked when John Mowery doubled in two runs and eventually stole home. Chris Lemmons later doubled and was driven in on a Benji Myers single to tie the game. Lemmons added two more RBI to secure the win.