Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

New business to also open museum

A new business is coming to town in March that could change the face of downtown Gurdon forever.

It is J.W. Raven Productions and will include a: museum, coffee shop, live entertainment stage, trading post and vendor market, photo studio and royalty free music videos.

It will be owned and operated by Jason Ward, 34, of Arkadelphia, who is working on a masters in history from Henderson State University and has a love for small towns.

"I have been in several small businesses, as my wife and I are raising three children and going to college. Misty will finish her bachelors in history the same time I get my masters degree. We are really interested in setting up the museum for Gurdon, as the history here is really interesting to us."

Ward said he would like to give the town his marketing skills and volunteer his time and knowledge toward reaching the goal of all downtown Gurdon businesses being full.

"We looked at several different small towns in this area but Gurdon has the best access to the interstate and seems like it has the best potential of waking up and thriving, like history bears out that it once did," he said.

"I plan to run some of my ideas for the downtown past the Gurdon Chamber of Commerce and hopefully the City Council. I need them to know I am here to help build up Gurdon."

Ward said he would like to see volunteers getting excited about redoing downtown Gurdon.

"If we all worked together, a lot of painting could get done in a weekend," he said. "My main thing is to get the people in to see what I am wanting to accomplish in March.

"Right now, we have the building leased from Jon Capps where the old Bills Dollar Store used to be, and my family and I are giving it a face lift," Ward said.

Has love for music

Ward is a former musician. He was the lead guitar player and singer for the Arkadelphia based rock and roll band of the same name as his new store; J.W. Raven Productions.

"The band did pretty good and lasted about two years," he said. "We would love to get a Main stage set up in the building and get to know the local musicians by inviting them to come on out and play."

Ward said he will be serving a variety of coffees, but will still serve old fashioned country coffee too.

"I want someone to feel like they can come on in and hang out, drink a little coffee and just relax," he said.

Ward said he and his wife have been renting at Whelen Springs, but will soon be living on Maple Street in Gurdon.

The couples children are: Timothy, 11; Hayden, 9; and Shyeanne, 5. They started attending the Gurdon school system this past fall.

The Wards will achieve their history degrees in 2007.

"I would just as soon stay in Gurdon if this works out with the museum and all. I believe we can put in an inexpensive booth rental for flea market stuff and use that to keep our building," he said. "With hard work, it will build into something."

Ward said he enjoys studying the history of a town that appears to be dying and figuring out what needs to be done to turn that process around.

"It is not a put down, but in order for Gurdon not to qualify as a dying town, there needs to be a serious effort to market this place to those rolling down that interstate," he said.

His wife, Misty, had some paint in her hair during the interview, as preparations for the March opening have already begun.

"I just hope this all works out," she said. "We feel like Gurdon has a lot more to offer than people seem to realize."

In Wards proposal to the Chamber of Commerce, he has written out a plan to help Gurdon come alive.

He states, "To basically restate everything I have discussed, it is time for Gurdon to be reborn.

"It does not matter the size of the contribution. It only matters the size of the heart in which it is given. And even though human beings are prone to destroy, the community spirit and the desire to have a better life, if harnessed, can be used to create."