2025.01.23 THROW BACK THURSDAY - FROM HOG HEAVEN TO HEIGHTS HOUSES PLUS CLASS NEWS
THROW BACK THURSDAY - FROM HOG HEAVEN TO HEIGHTS HOUSES PLUS CLASS NEWS
Here's another wonderful article from Jim Pfeifer:
On the sweltering afternoon of September 18, 1948, 27,000 fans (the largest crowd yet to watch a football game in Arkansas) came to the dedication of War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock to watch All-American halfback and Olympic medalist Clyde Scott lead the Razorbacks to victory over Abilene Christian College. Scott would be a first-round draft pick for the Philadelphia Eagles and War Memorial would prevail as the premier stadium in Arkansas for several decades. Considering that the University of Arkansas only has one game on its 2024 schedule at War Memorial, it may be surprising to learn that the University Board of Trustees were among the strongest advocates for building the stadium. Located in the then center of State commerce and population, the large modern venue was conceived to help keep UA sports remain in competition among America’s greatest teams.
Ray Burks, a native of Monticello, Arkansas, was a cigar smoking, good-natured graduate of the architecture program at Washington University in St Louis who partnered with fellow architect Bruce Anderson to design War Memorial. They chose for the stadium design, the curves, stylized lettering and artistic reliefs of the Art Deco style which had been popularized at a 1925 exposition in Paris. From Burks’ drawing board had also come the 1937 Museum of Fine Arts, another Little Rock landmark, designed in a similar style. Burks’ preserved museum entrance is a centerpiece of the courtyard of the vastly expanded museum which opened last year.
Ray Burks had also helped shape the residential neighborhoods of the Heights and Hillcrest, in styles revived from prior centuries yet presented with his own creative touch. The Gunn-Jones home on Longfellow Lane in the Heights is an example.
Holcomb and Shirley Gunn, owners of a wholesale electrical appliance company, directed Burks to create for their 1938 Heights home, a design influenced by early architecture they had seen on their New England travels.
Second owners Julie and Dr. John Jones have respected and preserved the artistry of architect Ray Burks, refraining from painting the handsome brickwork laid in Flemish bond courses (pattern of full and half bricks) and repairing instead of replacing original windows. Mrs. Jones, an accomplished interior designer, has limited additions to the rear of the home and repurposed original doors and detail when adapting the kitchen area to a modern lifestyle.
Ray Burks sadly did not live to see the Razorbacks win that first game in the stadium he helped design, passing away a few months before kickoff. He left for us a legacy of public and private architecture, which, thanks to those like John and Julie Jones, continues to make our Heights neighborhood and our city a handsome and more interesting place.
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1956 CLASS NEWS
JANE ELLEN MANNING, 86, of Little Rock, passed away on January 9, 2025, at her home. She was born February 12, 1938, to Edith and Irvin Humbard. She graduated from Little Rock Central High School, and married W.D. (Darrol) Manning shortly after. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Darrol; her siblings, Faye, Virginia, Nina, Betty, and twin brother, Jack. She is survived by daughters, Lisa Pearrow (Bill), Mona Hunnicutt (Doug), and Kelli Bradshaw (Dennis); grandchildren, Shea Pearrow, Charlie Easterling (Jimi), Davis Hunnicutt (Sarah), Brett Bradshaw (Caitlin), Blake Bradshaw; three great-grandchildren, and brother-in-law, Larry Manning. A graveside service for Jane will be held Wednesday, January 15, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Rest Hills Memorial Park, 7724 Landers Road, North Little Rock, Ark., 72117. PERSONAL NOTE: Jane's daughter married Carolyn Oates Pearrow's son. Carolyn's son printed each weeks Throw Back Thursday and took them to Jane since she hadn't entered the tech world.
Our condolences to Joel Hicks in the death of his sweet wife, Jodie. Joel was her caretaker for years before it was necessary to get more help. He moved to Atkins, AR, where his sister, Judy, lived and where Jodie could be in a facility close to their home. He visited her daily.
Olta Jo DeWitt Hicks ("Jodie"), passed away in Atkins on January 16, 2025 after a long-term battle with dementia and other age-related issues. She was born in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, in 1938 to Bonnie and Clarence DeWitt, and grew up in Muldrow, Oklahoma, and Fort Smith, Arkansas. She graduated from Fort Smith High School in 1956, then graduated from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1960 with a teaching degree. In 1960, Jodie married Joel Hicks from Little Rock, Arkansas, taught Home Economics at Siloam Springs High School until 1963, then had two sons while living in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She and her family moved to Little Rock in 1967, where she was an active member of the Mabelvale United Methodist Church, and where she developed a love of genealogical research and history. Jodie is survived by her husband, Joel T. Hicks of Atkins; her son Gene Hicks, and daughter-in-law Lesley, both of Little Rock; her son Don Hicks and her son-in-law, Bo O'Dell, both of Portland, Oregon; and her three grandchildren and their partners: Thomas Hicks of Little Rock; Amanda Hicks and Steevan Novero, both of Little Rock; and Caitlin Hicks and Ezar Holmes, both of Las Vegas, Nevada. She was preceded in death by her father, William Clarence DeWitt; by her mother, Bonnie Shermer DeWitt Been; and by her stepfather, Ted Been. Funeral services will be 1:30 p.m., Saturday, January 25, 2025 at Griffin Leggett Healey & Roth Funeral Home. Visitation will begin one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Jodie will be laid to rest at Pinecrest Memorial Park.
Our condolences to Nancy Long Mooser in the death of her pretty sister, Jan. You all probably remember her from the Class of 1954. Jan Long Dodd lived in Georgetown, TX. She is survived by two children and a great-granddaughter. Nancy and Jan remained close throughout their lifetimes.
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