Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Beautification Project Set

The South Clark County Jaycees are in the process of acquiring the matching funds for one of the community beautification projects. The club chose the wall project. The chapter will choose a wall in the downtown area to have a mural of all the history made in the city. The wall that has been chosen is the building owned by William Norman, next to the lot where the old Gurdon Hotel once stood. Some of the history is the gravesite of Lewis Merewether Randolph, the last territorial secretary of the Territory of Arkansas and the grandson of Thomas Jefferson. He was also a friend of the Dickens family from the Kansas community. The first airplane to be built in Arkansas was by the father of Marcus Lowe of Gurdon. The first black plumber in town in the 1940's was Henry Harper. The first black marshall was Charles Anderson and the first bush shredder to be built and patented was by C.B. Foshee Sr. Gurdon was also known as the brick capital of the world and the stopping point for the coal burning engines. A lot of history was begun at Gurdon. The Jaycees hope to depict it all in the mural. The Toys for Tots campaign is now in progress. Toys for Tots is a project to collect toys and clothing for needy kids for Christmas. The Jaycees will also have the Angel Tree this year. The Angel Tree will have angels on it with children's names. An individual can choose a boy or girl angel and get a present for them. The plans are to have three trees this year to service more needy kids in the community. The trees will be in Piggly Wiggly, First State Bank and Horizon Bank. An ornament will be given as a token of appreciation to those submitting gifts for the needy. The Jaycees are seeking community support with these projects. To volunteer or contribute to the efforts contact Kenneth Harper at 353-4025 or Joe Rutherford at 353-2411. The first 5-K run was a success, according to Harper. It was held at the conclusion of the Forest Festival. The Jaycees had 200 runners participating. A special thanks to Melissa Franklin, school counselor, for allowing the Jaycees to incorporate their project with the students. Students helping were Nikki Jennings, Tonya Arnold and Tiffany Haynie, eighth graders. If you are interested in joining the Jaycees call Harper or Rutherford.