THE SPECTATOR, Ozark, Ark.

, Wednesday, October 9, 2013 - - Page 13

Love Makes a House a Home

by Clydene Overbey To me the house that I grew up in was a palace. My mama and daddy were the king and queen. I was the princess, and Norman was a prince. I never saw the cracks in the wall or the rotting boards on the back porch and steps where I played. I thought of the linoleum almost floating off the floor when the wind blew hard as a magic carpet and it was magical to me. I would walk back and forth on it as it came up around me. I thought it was a special thing just for me to enjoy. I loved watching the plastic curtains on the windows blow out from the wall and seem to float around. The house had high ceilings which made it cooler in the summer, but colder in the winter. When I was very young the bedrooms had no heat, so they were closed off and just the front room and kitchen had any heat. That was just a little open heater with a flame that came up out of each burner. The back was asbestos with stone burners in front of each flame that heated up. You still could only get heat if you were very close. I used to stand very close when Mama and Daddy were not looking. So close the backs of my legs would be red from the heat. Mama jerked me away one day when she caught me and she said she smelled my hair singeing in the heat. My hair was long and kinky and if it was kinked from the heat it didnt show, but Mama was convinced that it had burned. From then on I was threatened fiercely if I ever stood that close again. I dont remember ever doing so either. Mama could make a believer out of me when it was necessary and it was certainly necessary then. Later on there was one of the same kind of stoves in the back room that gave us some heat in the bedrooms. The roof was sheet iron, which was only a thin piece of tin that rusted and had to be painted with silver paint of some kind when my Daddy could afford to have it done. That roof was magical to me also when it rained. I loved to hear rain beating down on that roof, especially at night when I was snug in bed. It was such a peaceful and comforting sound. It made me feel protected inside and I would think of the people who may be out in the rain and didnt have my house and bed to snuggle in. I felt sorry for those who didnt have what I had. The house sat high off the ground on concrete blocks. No foundation, no underpinning. We would crawl under there in the summer and play in the dirt making mud pies and digging in the soft earth. In the winter Daddy kept potatoes and onions under the back side where it was a little lower to the ground. When he dug them from his garden they were laid out on the ground under a tree where it was shaded. Something was poured over them while they cured out. Then in the fall when it got cold they were put under the house. They didnt freeze or rot. My job was to crawl under there with a paper sack and bring some in the house for Mama to cook. The house was surrounded with trees for shade. Most of them were chinaberry and walnut trees. One big elm tree over by the tracks was where I climbed and played. I grew up thinking I had everything and I still think that. That house holds many happy memories for me and it was home from the time I was four months old until I got married and left for the first time. It will always be my home. No matter how old I get. As long as I live on this earth that will be the home of my heart and soul. In my heart the king and queen, prince and princess still live there. The house is still like it was then in my heart and nothing will replace that home until I leave this earth and go to my Heavenly Home. This world is not my home anyway. Proverbs 13:1 - A wise son [heareth] his fathers instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke. Proverbs 29:15 - The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left [to himself] bringeth his mother to shame.

FUNDRAISER PARTICIPANTS Ozark Walmart says Hats off! to these Rolling River Red Hatters who, in just over an hour Thursday, sold 144 pink and white cupcakes, raising $178 for Paint the Park Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness. Participating were (from left) Mary Darter, Lynda Harrington, Audine Walker, Jo Eveld, Darrell Heinrich, Kathy Palmer, Deloris Alberty and (not pictured) Jodie Hayes. Shown with the group is store manager Chad Graham who took part in the Paint the Park Pink Walk at Fort Smith Saturday, to represent Ozark Walmart.

FBLA Pictured front row (L-R): Linsey Farmer, Logan Chambers, CiErra Wachob, Haylee Hurst, Shayeleigh Sullivan, Holly Parrish, Shyann Willis, Danika Sanders, Ilian Holman, Rebecca Wheeless, Lexi McClellan, Haylee Griffin, Rylie Wagner and Madison Orrick. Back row: Hailey Kinsworthy, Morgan Wilson, Danielle Wheeler, Chelsea Howe, Hannah Rofkhahr, Eliott Dorrough, Ashton Tull, Lauren Woolsey, Scottie Stobaugh and Hannah Johnson.

Grenades Chapel reunion set Oct. 19

The annual Grenades Chapel reunion will be held in the Grenades Chapel community building located on Highway 352 East, Oct. 19. A potluck will be held at noon. Everyone is invited to attend. For more information call Velma Foster at 667-2386.

FBLAs attend District 1 Fall Conference

Ozark Middle Level chapter members of the FBLA (Future Business Leaders of American) went to the Fort Smith Convention Center on Sept. 30. Ozark Junior High had 24 middle level members attend the District 1 Fall Leadership Conference. We donated $50 to the Arkansas Childrens Hospital during the Parade of Presidents. Other foundations were there such as Make a Wish, Childrens Hospital, and March of Dimes. Also the local officers were installed. Our local officers are: Lauren Woolsey, president; Danika Sanders, vice president; Lexi McClellan, secretary; Shyann Willis, treasurer; and Ilian Holman, reporter. The keynote speaker was Judson Laipply. Laipply was a very inspiring man. He was tremendously funny and creative. He showed us that laughing actually increases your thinking abilities. Judson showed us there are three important things you should do if you are angered at a situation. The first thing is that you should just let it go and forget about it. If you cant do that, do something about it. Finally, if neither of those two steps suit you then just dont say anything at all and let it happen. At the end of his speaking he danced an updated version of his Evolution of Dance sensation from YouTube. The conference was very exciting. - - Ilian Holman

Jethro News
By Kendall Frazier I have been enjoying this cooler weather. The Campbell cousins reunion was well attended. It was held Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Monticello Historical Society at Shawnee, Kan. Joyce Aldridge, Tony and Alanna Contreras and I left Friday to travel to Kansas to attend the reunion. My parents, Mike and Loretta Frazier, spent the weekend in Branson. Congratulations to Paul and Christena Joy on the birth of their new baby, Ty Matthew Joy. I received another letter from Quita Ellison of Pasadena, Texas. Quita sent me information on the Patrick family, specifically the descendants of John Calvin and Sarah (Arrington) Patrick, Robert Lee and Kitsy Kentucky (Faubus) Patrick, and Dave and Rebeca Faubus. I am distantly related to the Patrick family through my late grandfather, Elbert Pug Frazier. John Calvin Patricks father, Jeremiah Patrick, was a first cousin to my great-greatgreat-great grandmother, Martha Patsy (Patrick) Ritchie (wife of Isom Solomon Ritchie). Quita Ellison wrote about a tornado that passed through the Jethro Community on May 7, 1929. The tornado destroyed the two-story school house and Kitsy Patricks four-room house and barn. Robert Bob Faubuss house was moved from the foundation. Quita asks if anyone has a photo of her grandparents, Robert and Kitsy (Faubus) Patrick, house that was destroyed by the tornado. Quita was born in that house. Happy Birthday to Kevin Doyle on Oct. 6; Maxine (Tillery) Reynolds on Oct. 8; Kelly Graham on Oct. 9, and Becca Carr on Oct.11.

Thank You!
I would like to thank all my loyal customers over the past 9 years for all their support and friendship. I have leased the Day N Nite Cleaners/Gift Connection to Zac and Leslie Case. It will be in the same location, 100 South 30th Street, with the same hours, Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Gelene, Latisha and myself will continue working at the cleaners. I do appreciate your business and hope to continue to serve you. Thanks again, Arlene Durning

Little Hillbilly Photo Contest

Old Fashioned Square Gathering Saturday, Oct. 19th
Sponsored by
All proceeds benefit Main Street Ozark

Attention Moms and Dads

Show off your little Hillbilly at the Old Fashioned Square Gathering. Enter your childs picture for judging on the day of the Square Gathering. RULES:
1. Submit a 5x7 photo ONLY, along with entry form to Main Street Ozark at 300 West Commecial Street or Priority Bank at 400 West Commercial Street, before Thursday, Oct. 17, at 5 p.m. 2. Picture will be displayed with donation jars. 3. Contest will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. Winners will be announced on stage promptly at 2:30 p.m. and will be awarded a piggy bank and $25. 4. There will be two age groups and a winner chosen from each age group. The age groups are under 2 and 2-4 years. 5. No photo will be accepted without an entry form and a 5x7 photo. 6. There is no entry fee.

Cedar Grove Church Homecoming Oct. 13

The Cedar Grove Church, in Caulksville, will have its first homecoming Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend and bring your lawn chairs, instruments and memories.

Name of Child:_____________________________________ Address___________________________________________ Phone:___________ Age of child on Oct. 19th__________ Name of Parent or Guardian_________________________