Dell Church of Christ

The Church of Christ was organized in Dell in August 1909. They met first at the Methodist Church but only for one night. A brush arbor was built which became their meeting place for a while.  The Dell School board then offered the use of the 1902 school for their services, which the members gladly accepted. Each Sunday the Dell Church of Christ held worship in the old school building on school grounds until 1915. During that year, they bought the building and moved it to its final location on Jefferson Street. Additions  were made in 1922 and 1928. In 1951, a new chapel was built and the old school/church building became classrooms. The church bell was originally the school's bell. It now sits at the home of Dell's mayor.

Around 2000-2001, my Dad (Curtis Duncan) and I asked permission to visit the Church of Christ in order to take photos--both for my research and because the fate of the church was questionable.  It was the first and only time I saw the interior. It was beautiful in its simplicity.

As I stepped inside the old school building turned classrooms behind the chapel, I felt I was stepping back in time. There was a definite difference in the architecture--a wonderful example of the skills of our early settlers. The wood floors, the old oak doors, the trim. Old black boards. I didn't want to leave. I couldn't soak it all in fast enough.

Daddy took the photos, while I tried to register the details in my mind's eye. That's the last time I saw it. Daddy headed for his darkroom; I headed to Virginia, where I lived and worked at Colonial Williamsburg.

In September 2002, I received a short note from my Dad. He wrote: 

"The Church of Christ is no more. They have been working on it for the past week, and still have some to go. They are down to the floor and foundation. To me it was a sad day because it had so much of Dell's history. It served the community in many different ways through good and bad, war and peace. . ."

I cried along with him. . .

  

THE COTTON BOLL 1939

Several years ago, this copy of the 1939 Cotton Boll was given to me by Mrs. Tom Craig. It is 11 1/2" X 8", handmade and bound by the Journalism Staff:

 

Editor	Jean Overton
Assistant Editor	Edith Jackson
Business Manager	Bonnie Brinn
Assistant Business Managers	Hazle Davis
	Maxie Riggs
Production Manager	James Baughman
Assistant Production Managers	Merle Bullard
	Curtis Perry
Sports Editors	Clementine Sheppard
	Blanche Ross
Social Editor	Adell Ketchum
Literary Editor	Allene Rylee
Art Editor	Catherine Johnson
Sponsor	Doreen Swaffar

 

Senior Class                     Junior Class

President	Ruth Henderson	President	Marguerite Simmons
Vice President	Jean Stacy	Vice President	Blanche Ross
Secretary & Treasurer	Bonnie Brinn	Secretary	Harriet Payne
Reporter	Clementine Sheppard	Treasurer	Mildred Whistle
CLASS ROLL:		Reporter	James Baughman
Bonnie Brinn	Jean Overton	CLASS ROLL:
Louise Brownlee	Curtis Perry	James Baughman	Adell Ketchum
Hazle Davis	Maxie Riggs	Muriel Bullard	Harriet Payne
Hoover Delbridge	R. C. Riggs	Nell Dean Davis	Blanche Ross
Ruth Henderson	Allene Rylee	Dorothy Farley	Marguerite Simmons
Clementine Sheppard	Jean Stacy	James Farley	Ralph Trammell
		Edith Jackson	Ray Trammell
			Mildred Whistle

Sophomore Class

Freshman Class

President	Joyce Gill	President	Allen Stacy
Vice President	Paraham Johnson	Vice Presidnet	David Boren
Secretary & Treasurer	Betty Armstrong	Secretary	Laura Gill
Reporter	Mary Lee Mooney	Treasurer	Emma Crawford
CLASS ROLL:		Reporter	Elsie Bowers
Betty Armstrong	Ouida Martin	CLASS ROLL:
Mary Arnold	Nancy McClain	Leon Avotin	Louise Hardin
Clyde Batten	Cecil Metcalf	Emma Barger	Farmer Jackson
Ruth Bell	Mary Lee Mooney	David Boren	Louise Meador
Cecil Benefield	Joyce Morgan	Elsie Bowers	J. B. Manley
Muriel Davis	Edna Sigman	Lero Burrus	Virginia Payne
Russell Delbridge	Mara Lou Sigman	Ethel Canamore	Kenneth Poff
Joyce Gill	Max Smotherman	Roy Canamore	Arthur Pruitt
James Grice	J. T. Tate	Emma Crawford	Nellie Privett
Dixie Jackson	Raymond Wilson	Vester Densmore	Laura Raines
Paraham Johnson	Fred Whistle	Curtis Downs	Leon Riggs
	Mable Jeanne Whistle	Carl Duncan	Allen Stacy
		Laura Gill	Ruby Trammell
			Betty Yelverton

Seventh Grade

Eighth Grade

Glen Ashbranner	Thomas Pruiett	Grady Barrentine	Mary A. McDermott
Mildred Bell	Harley Reams	Cleatis Batten	Catherine Mooney
James Boren	Eddie Ray Riggs	Joy Baughman	Gail Overton
Adrian Burns	Mavis Ross	Evelyn Bradley	Mary Ellen Reams
Susie Crafton	Raymond Ross	Geneva Brake	Mary K. Rose
Richard Davis	Francis Tylee	Christine Cohea	Jeanette Simmons
John Farley	Nora Simpson	Virginia Crawford	Catherine Simpson
Dorothy Gill	Dickie Stacy	Vernell Grimes	Norene Stamey
Ophelia hardin	Marion Ruth Wells	Billy Hardin	Nathan Teague
Doyle Houston	Clem Jr. Whistle	Louise Hardin	Martha Williams
Wayne Payne	Claude Wilson	Grace Helen Kesler
Doris Peterson	Delmus Wyatt	Louise King
Vivian Privett

Dell Boy Scout Troop 255

Note: Daddy (Curtis C. Duncan) was scoutmaster in Dell for several years during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He often said he was lucky to have such a great group of boys. He involved them in numerous activities, including frequent camp-outs. Born in the Alabama hills, he had a love and respect for nature. I'm sure he passed some of his enthusiasm on to his scouts. In later years, he heard from several boys, thanking him for the good times they had.

Alan Hunnicutt, Bob Tusing, Richard Duncan-Copyrt CCDuncanPhotography

The stories below are taken from some of CC Duncan's memories, as told to me in a series of letters. . .

Dell Boy Scout Troop 255-Copyright CCDuncanPhotography

"Troop 255, Dell Scout Troop was sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Dell, Arkansas. I had thirteen young boys eager to learn and work for their badges. They all were easy to work with. We had loads of fun camping and being out in Mother Nature's world. I promised the troop if they would work on their badges and be a good scout, I would take them camping. They were. I took them camping each month from spring til school started in the fall. This was their reward for working and being interested in scouting. The first week camp was done at Camp Kai Kima at Hardy, Arkansas. The Memphis troop camp let us join them since the camp we used was sold to Cherokee Village. When we arrived they showed us the side of a hill and we had to use our camping gear. We could eat in the Mess Hall. The boys saw some snakes in the trees and on the ground. they went after those snakes, climbing the trees and running the others down on the ground. They took the snakes up to the camping office and they had a pen to put them in to be released when the week's camping was over. I can still see Allan Hunnicutt up in a tall tree with a black snake. He made it down. We had a good time and did appreciate the Memphis Troops for letting us use the camp."

Dell Boy Scout Troop 255 Camp-Copyright CCDuncanPhotography

"This district always had a camp-out in April each year. This was held in Walcot State Park, and you could always count on rain. We went over there one spring and the Luxora troop came in with new 'government issued gear.' They chose a site next to the Dell troop site. They did not know how to put up a tent or anything else. I told the boys to go over and see if they could help them. No. They didn't need any help. The troop put up their tents with the door facing up hill. This is a no-no. In the spring in Arkansas you are going to get some thunder showers. Especially if you are camping. Well, it rained a flood that night.The open doors of their tents funneled the rain into the tents. They had about a foot of water in the tents the next day. Our boys could not keep from laughing about it."

Dell Boy Scout Troop 255-Copyright CCDuncanPhotography

"The next year, we went to Viola, Arkansas, where Pine Tree Trail was still under construction. They had put some tents up with wood floors. There were snakes there, too. That first night a pack of dogs were running a fox or deer in the distance, and it did sound pretty loud. About 10 PM, one of the boys came over to my tent and said he was sick. I asked him several questions and realized that he was scared. The hound were laying down a good tune, and I told him that the hounds were having a ball chasing a fox. It was ok then and he went on back to his tent and went to sleep. 

There was a snake under the floor of my tent. I could hear it's scales scratching the wood as it moved. It didn't last long, so I went on to sleep.

So we both had an adventure that night."

 

"Ricky (Richard Duncan) and some others had been chosen for the Order of the Arrow. They had to go through a ceremony and then go out in the woods to spend the night. Richard spent his in a tractor track. I was really proud of the boys. I had three that got theirs (Order of the Arrow) the same night. It was a pleasure for me to work with such a fine group of young men. I enjoyed the troop and the troop scouts were always doing the right thing."

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A Victorian Christmas Is Celebrated in Dell 1994

 

(Story moved from the previous Dell, Arkansas website.)

Dell is a small town but the citizen's ideas are anything but small. In the early 1990's, town officials and Garden Club members began lighting Main Street at Christmastime with 1000's of tiny white Christmas lights. In addition, local residents added their own lighting displays. In 1993 the Garden Club raised more than $3000 in a fund drive that helped provide additional lights for city businesses and a window candle for each of the town's 135 homes. A friendly competition began among  local residents as they added more lights and figures to their own individual displays. Each night at dusk a steady stream of cars began making their trek to Dell from Blytheville, Jonesboro, Manila, Leachville, many Missouri towns and all places in between. For hours, line of cars slowly drove up and down each street, admiring the winter wonderland of lights.

 

 

      While watching the constant stream of cars one night in 1993, I thought how much fun it would be if the next year our family dressed in costume and greeted visitors with a wave and a smile. I mentioned this to my Mom, Irene Duncan.  " Why not include the town residents in our idea?" Mom decided to present the idea to the Garden Club at their next meeting.  The Garden Club was very enthusiastic and began making plans for Christmas 1994. Everyone in town was invited to participate. Each was responsible for their own costume, using guidelines agreed upon by the Garden Club. A party at the Duncan home was given for everyone who was participating. They were asked to wear their costumes and come enjoy some old fashioned cheer.

List of Costume Possibilities--by D Duncan

 

    Three nights per week during the two weeks before Christmas, costumed residents walked the streets of Dell, waving and smiling. Most nights they also gathered in front of the Brownlee Store where carols were sung. Local choral groups from schools and churches also sang. Santa was always present, talking to children, giving away candy. Hot apple cider and other refreshments were served inside the store and at the old Dell Gin Company office. The Victorian Christmas was a huge success for all. Record crowds visited us that year as the word spread.

    The following articles appeared in various area newspapers and give more details on the festivities. Photos were taken and supplied by Margarite Brownlee and Curtis Duncan. Take a look and enjoy 1994 again.

  

From the Blytheville Courier News, December 1994-"Dell citizens to celebrate a Victorian Christmas" by Lynn Maples, CN Reporter

 
    This Christmas Dell residents hope to take visitors back to a time when spit-polished shoes were in style and hot apple cider was still on menus.
    For the past three years, Dell residents have bedecked their city with a spectrum of lights at Christmas.
    This year they've added something different.
    For three days during the next two weeks, Dell residents will dress in Victorian clothing, walk the city streets caroling and serving hot apple cider to passing guests.
    Anyone who stops by the general store is welcome to join in the festivities, said Irene Duncan, one of the event organizers.
    The Victorian Christmas is an extension of the community's Christmas light display, and this year the community is hoping to garner a larger crowd of visitors.
    Last year the Dell was featured on the KAIT-8 weatherman Terry Wood. The television camera will not be on hand this year, but the lights will still brighten the night skies, Duncan said.
    "By Christmas the entire town will be lit up," she said. "everybody will be dressed in Victorian clothing, and we'll be singing around town and at the square."
    The city's display includes a Santa's Workshop complete with elves and Christmas presents, and the cotton gin will be open for guests to stop in for a cup of hot chocolate. Santa Claus will be at the workshop giving out candy and greeting children.
    What Dell residents are hoping spectators take with them is a part of the past and the true spirit of Christmas, Duncan said.
    "This brings the community together, plus it's fun," she said. "We just want people to know what Dell is doing for Christmas and invite everyone to come out and join us."

 (More photos later)

HISTORY THROUGH POSTCARDS

PICKING COTTON IN THE OLD SOUTH. . .

Although I love the prologue from the movie Gone With the Wind, we can only claim a few brief years between the 1920s-40s of any resemblance to the beautiful Old Southern Plantations, and then there were few. It never fails to surprise people when we tour them through the Historic District that cotton farms and plantations here in our part of Northeast Arkansas did not exist before the Civil War--or right after. We were late-comers to the Cotton industry. There were a few family run farms as early as the 1880s but they only farmed a few acres each. Until the early 20th century, it was swampland. No one wanted to move to land that flooded at least two to three times a year. . .READ MORE. . .

STEAMBOATS ON THE RIVERS. . .

Steamboat's A-Coming!! Steamboat's A-Coming!!

For those who lived along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, that cry was exciting. Steamboats in many ways were the only link our ancestors had to the outside world. . .READ MORE. . .

 

 MORE POSTCARD HISTORY COMING SOON. . .