Log Cabin Democrat Style:Time Passages 8/16/98

Published Saturday, August 15, 1998

Front Page

Local News

News

Sports

Opinions

Weather

Stocks

Features

Our Style

The Wire

Classifieds

Obituaries

Saturday, August 15, 1998Time Passages

The attractions: neighborhood, woodwork and potential

Last modified at 10:33 p.m. on Saturday, August 15, 1998

By VIVIAN LAWSON HOGUE

Cabin Columnist

The early 1950s was a time of great changes for Conway. The changes were coming about through the people, a series of world events, social mores, values, expectations, inventions and a little more money. The same can be applied to today's changes except where there was "a little more money" then, there is a lot more now and even more credit balances.

The 1950s changes occurred with the pace of a day's solar path -- slow, steady and predictable. One could absorb one change before another took place. Except for war and national epidemics, living here was quite uncomplicated. Consider our former status quo for a few moments.

The city's population in that year was 8,610 and you thought you could see almost all of it on a busy Saturday downtown. Times were "poppin'" in Conway even though the summer was miserable and would be more so for the next three years. Rain had been too plentiful and the temperature finally reached 101 degrees on Aug. 8.

But business was thriving. Kenneth Spatz had a new Cities Service Station at First Street and Harkrider. It had an exterior of white stucco with trim of porcelain-enamel bands of color. The emblem on top was lit by a fluorescent bulb. Wow! And apparently highway traffic was increasing, for it became necessary that year to install the city's first traffic signal at Harkrider and Oak.

Not too far away, the one-day-only St. Joseph Bazaar would be attended by 3,000 to 4,000 people. Farmers were losing their cotton and soybean fields to excess rain, boll weevils and army worms, so they would be free to attend, but reluctant to spend. Actually, the weevils and worms were the least of the problems since the rain would soon be replaced by a three-year drought.

Not-so-good times

So maybe life wasn't so good sometimes. What with local newspaper articles telling of the enlistments, Purple Hearts, and dead and missing in the Korean War, life became suddenly uncertain. Two Conway men were among the Army troops who, from 7 miles away, witnessed the first atomic blast at Yucca Flats in Nevada. Here at home, the 35-bed Conway Memorial Hospital was at full capacity due to a statewide outbreak of influenza. Combine these with the national polio outbreak, and individual security was shaky.

On College Avenue and every other street, we children had confidence that the trials of the world were thankfully being handled by the adults. It was our job to learn to play, mind our parents, respect our elders and obey the law. Most of that job was a pleasure; some was just the way it was supposed to be. Playing was no problem for the guys, but our neighborhood was short of females.

In my square block, there were about nine boys, two more across the street and several in other directions. There were four other girls in my age range. Since the boys and my youngest brother were somewhat of a "pack," it was my burden in life to try to maintain equality. It never happened, but I sure learned a lot about the "macho mystique."

What I was not allowed to do, however, was travel to neighborhoods beyond, shoot BB, cap or rubber guns and practice spitting. When the "troops" took off to fields afar, I was required to stay home and be a lady, whatever that meant. By 1953, we had our first television, so further entertainment was at hand.

The street immediately behind us, Simms Street, was even out of bounds for me. It was a street that, judging by architecture, developed in the 1930s, for there are three Tudor-style examples present. Having lived on a curbed street most of my life, I noticed early that Simms was uncurbed and remained so until recent years. This meant there was always plenty of water running down Davis Street beside my house, the better to build dams.

The only 2-story house

It was also hard to miss the only two-story house on the entire street. This home at 1721 Simms St., now owned by Renee Duncan, was the home of original owners Gerhardt and Margaret Grummer. The Queen Anne-style structure was built in 1910. Most or all of the block belonged to them and the rest remained empty for several years. By 1915, only one other home had been added, it being located on the west corner of the block. By 1935 there were three more.

This example of the Queen Anne-style does not contain some of the usual traits, but is still easily identified. Originally, there was a porch that extended along the west porch wall. The irregularly shaped roof is steeply pitched with a dominant hipped gable in front. The shiplap wood frame house contains boxed windows, a typical attempt to avoid flat exterior walls.

Classical columns

The classical columns are in use rather than the delicate turned porch supports of most. Cornice-line dentils provide decoration. There are several sets of windows in groups of three. It is fortunate that the wood steps and front porch are still in use and in good shape, as those of many other homes have been replaced with concrete either through modernization or necessity.

Renee is currently in the process of completing the application for her home's inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Most of her application is completed, with only photos of elevations lacking. She has obtained some information from Tony Grummer, 80, who was raised in the home. A brother, Carl, lives nearby.

Grummer Hardware

Tony has told Renee that his parents, who immigrated from Germany, raised seven children. His father was a plumber and owned Grummer Hardware before it became Massey Hardware in 1943. The name "Grummer" is still present in the tile entrance to the store. Tony resided in the home with his mother until her death in 1969. The elder Mr. Grummer died in 1928.

The front door with its glass door, sidelights and transom lights, leads into a large foyer where the abundant and fine quality woodwork is plentiful. Hardware to operate the front door transom and all others are still in working condition, having never been painted. Bull's-eye trim tops each interior door.

All facings have a slightly curved surface compared to the usual flat examples. Pine floors are throughout the house and Renee has refinished all upper and lower floors herself. The walls are plaster over wood and Renee has used a feather duster to apply a contrasting paint shade, thus achieving a marbleized effect.

A sun room

To the left of the foyer is a sun room, which was once the side section of the wraparound porch. It was added by a previous owner. To the right is the den where some other previous remodeling steps included the recycling of some wood removed from walls where sheetrocking had been applied. Wainscoting of vertical one-by-seven planks was added and topped chair railing.

The adjacent dining room received the same treatment, the planks here being one-by-eights. It appears that French doors once divided these two rooms. All doors in the house are a four-panel type, in exceptionally good condition and thankfully never painted. All original hardware is present, and Renee is proud to still be in possession of the original skeleton key!

The neighborhood

Renee said she was attracted to the house partly because of the neighborhood, partly by the space and woodwork, but mostly because of the potential. She says, however, that, "The kitchen almost made me not want to buy the house. Nothing had been done to it."

There were no cabinets and everything was arranged as it must have been 90 years ago. The ceiling was lowered and crown molding attached; the walls were sheetrocked and new floors were installed. A large pantry was added to one corner. The old pantry was converted to a utility room.

Built-in cabinets were welcomed and an island containing the range and work space of green marble Formica provided efficiency. Wisely, she has let the beadboard wainscoting remain on the walls. Between the two 7 1/2 foot windows is a wide table with a single drawer. It was probably once a kitchen preparation table such as that used for rolling dough. When Renee has completed refinishing it, she will have the equivalent of more counter space.

A door from the kitchen leads to what was the old back porch. It will be one of the major areas of renovation. At present, it even still contains a shower. The beadboard ceiling was the most common type for homes for decades. The lack of air conditioning caused people to spend idle hours outside, so screening was common to most porches. In a corner of the back porch, there is another feature that was present in homes of the early century -- a well.

Most of the old homes here today still have wells, but they are unused, covered up, and floored over. Some are still used for lawn or garden watering in dry seasons. The majority are located under kitchens or back porches. As the town's first water lines came in, wells went out of use. But not the Duncan home. I had a mental trip into past times when I saw the cylinder bucket that can still be lowered and soon splashed into clear, cool water. Renee does not intend to render it useless, even though she plans to replace the porch with a deck in the future.

Origninal fixtures

The first floor bath has all its original fixtures and they are in fine condition. The claw-foot tub has been refinished, with the feet having been painted in gold leaf.

Following around the east rooms of the house, Renee showed me the bedroom that presented the greatest challenge. The challenge exposed itself when she stepped through the floor soon after purchasing the home. The floor was replaced, and other less traumatic renovation steps will be taken later. During the Grummers' ownership, this room was a favorite room for sleeping since it had a tin roof. The other downstairs bedroom will eventually contain a door leading to a future carport and another giving access to the sunroom.

Most of the rooms can be entered from an inner hallway which once contained a woodburning stove. Renee is in the process of texturing the walls' 1-inch-by-6-inch boards. Large French doors with the old frosted, textured glass panes lead back into the living room. In this area, too, are the narrow stairs leading to the upstairs bedrooms added by a previous owner.

The foyer at the top of the stairs is a small study area that is "making do" until a nook is finished that will accommodate such activity. All three bedrooms have walk-in closets. Convenient to all is the bathroom that was added in previous years. Another bedroom has a half-bath. Ribbon windows provide more light to this upstairs than most homes of this era.

Renee and her family moved from Hot Springs to Conway in 1992. She is employed in the office of Dr. Kevin Heath. She was especially interested in the quality of schools. That's understandable because she has four children. They are Brittany, 16, Jennifer, 13, Tyler, 9, and Chase, 4.

Renee was also attracted to the quality of life here. We like to hear newcomers say that, because we old-timers have worked and sometimes fought hard to maintain it. If only everyone who moves here could have the same constructive appreciation that Renee and her children have! Then, perhaps, another generation could be able to look back at their Conway and say, "Life was good!"

------

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Vivian Lawson Hogue is a member of the Old Conway Homeowners Association. Mrs. Hogue is a native of Conway and a teacher at Conway High School. Sources for these articles include "Faulkner County: Its Land and People.")

Log Cabin Democrat

Comments or questions?

Contact the webmasters at

Log Cabin Democrat