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TUESDAY, April 20, 2021 / Vol. 7 Issue 16 / 75 cents
Restoration Complete for Early Pioneer Cabin by Warren Johnson
In the December 8, 2020, edition of the Voice, we featured a story, "Restoration underway for early pioneer cabin." The article highlighted the underway efforts by Dwight Wilson to restore the historic cabin, dating to 1850, having been used as a trading post and a residence for many families throughout the years. Dwight and his wife Judith, natives of Mississippi, had seen the old cabin for many years in their Van Buren County vacation travels to Branson. Twenty years ago, the couple decided to make Van Buren County their home. After purchasing land and beginning to settle in, Mr. Wilson made an offer on the
cabin but couldn't get close enough on the price to make a deal. In 2012, Wilson finally acquired the cabin and carefully disassembled it, encoding each log's ends by color and number. In the Spring of 2020, he began reassembling the big puzzle putting almost every hand-hewn log in its original location from one hundred seventy years ago. Last Fall, I spent a day with the Wilson's in awe of the transformation taking place. The outside of the cabin was nearing completion as he began work on the inside. At the time, he had hopes of having the project completed during the first half of 2021. Last week I was invited by the Wilson's to have lunch at the cabin with some
South Side students Water meter mapping for the City of Damascus with a new (and the old guard) crew learning the ropes. photo by Julie Nelson
Enjoying the company of friends and good food. of their friends. The completion on the outside and the inside transformation were nothing short of magical, leaving me to feel as if I had navigated time. As I sat at the picnic table beside the fireplace visiting with old and new friends, all of my concerns about the day melted away. I imag-
Sammy Ward standing in front of the 1955 Oldsmobile he restored.
ined the people who had occupied the same space we were sitting in and pondered who they were and what their hopes and dreams had been. As I looked around the room, I noticed a shelf held up by two wooden pegs in the big room's corner beside the fireplace. The little ledge displayed
a bible and a coal oil lamp with an antique chair adjacent to them in the nook. Mr. Wilson said, "This area was the Father's corner, sort of like an office. It is the place he would read his bible and newspaper See Pioneer Cabin on page 2
Anna Lou reupholstered the interior.
Restoration of an American Classic by Warren Johnson
The 1950s was the decade when American manufacturers released one exciting automotive design after another. The Oldsmobile division of General Motors focused on the future, ushered in high-performance engines, and introduced higher trim models with stunning design language and color combinations. In 1954, their cars became lower and longer, with the wrap-around windshield completing the new look. Cosmetic
changes came about in 1955, and the availability of eighteen different two-tone color options brightened the exterior. Sammy Ward recalled his brother-inlaw and sister who lived in Illinois visiting in a 1955 Oldsmobile 88 when he was a little boy. Sam said, "I thought that was the prettiest car I had ever seen, and I vowed then, If I ever have a chance and can get enough money together, I will own one." Sam's wife Anna Lou remembered passing through Mor-
rilton one day and seeing one of the antique Oldsmobile's behind a house while en route to visit their son in Russellville. Sam stopped and asked the gentleman if he would consider selling, but the owner was hesitant because he loved the car and intended to restore it. "We tried to buy it a couple of times," Sam stated. "One day, we stopped, and the owner told us he was having health problems and did not believe he would be able to carry out his dream of restoring it. If you still
want it, I will sell it to you because you and your wife love it and will restore it," Sam recalled. "He told me he had a four-door donor car in the woods and would let me have it too." The restoration took about four years for the Ward's to complete. Sam and his friend Keith painted the Olds twotone red and white in Sam's shop, and Anna Lou, an accomplished seamstress, reupholstered the interior. Sam dropped a 454 Chevrolet engine under the hood as
too much of the original Oldsmobile engine was missing. After the restoration was complete, the Ward's took the car back and let the man who sold it drive it, and they took photos with him sitting in the car. Anna Lou said, "It was a joy to see how happy he was to see his dream fulfilled.” The Ward's have owned Sammy's childhood dream for sixteen years, and it is still as eye catching as it was sixty-six years ago.
Mask Mandate to Continue at South Side Schools for a While Longer On April 13, 2021, during the board meeting, the South Side School District board of Directors voted unanimously to continue using masks through Friday, April 23, 2021. "The board cited two reasons for their decision. First, the district is in the middle of state-mandated testing. We truly need all of our students to be present every day. Consequently, the board wanted to increase the chances that large numbers of students would not be quarantined. Secondly, the Center for Disease Control and the Arkansas Department of Health now recommends that, with universal masking, students can maintain a distance of three feet in a classroom, not six feet. This means that if all students are masked and a positive case is identified, close contacts will not have to be quarantined. Therefore, requiring masks until the end of testing lessens the chances that large numbers of students will be quarantined. If masks were removed and a positive case identified, all students who come within three feet of the positive case would have to be quaranSee South Side on page 2
Cheer Team for 2021 - 2022 CHS - Cheer Team TOP LR Hannah Mooney, Abby Lowder, Maddison Duncan, Manager Greenlee Teague, Savannah Haines, Ashlyn Robinson, Erin Koonce, Coach Jamie Williams, Kristen Manion, Abigail Parks, Annabelle Sowell, Brianna Neal. BOTTOM LR Abby Hagans, Faith Qualls, Thomi Kennair, Erica Linn. Photo courtesy of Clinton Schools
Boy Scouts of America Troop 152 of Clinton presented the colors opening Thursday evenings Van Buren County Quorum Court meeting. Leader David Calkin drilled the boys to prepare for the ceremony.