Old-timers and new-timers in NWA (Fayetteville, Springdale: house, neighborhoods, high school)

[DC at the Ridge]

I realize this forum is largely about people moving in and out of the area and sharing information about it, but I would just like to remind people that not everyone in Northwest Arkansas is a newcomer. I remember when Wal-Mart was just a 5-and-10 on the corner of Walnut and Eighth, and when the only place to get fast-food hamburgers was a joint called Mr. Quick's at the corner of Oak and Eighth. I remember when, if you wanted a Big Mac, you had to drive to Fayetteville where there was only one McDonald's. There was a time when Old High in Bentonville was THE high school in Bentonville, and there was a time when, if you lived in Rogers and drove to Bentonville it was through countryside and farmland. Where Pinnacle is now, used to be (and this wasn't all that long ago) all farmland, none of the roads were paved or even named because they were only dirt roads used by farmers to get from pasture to pasture. The Old Dam Road led to a stream where kids would take their bikes and play in the water.

A lot of people move in to Northwest Arkansas, and see all the stores and housing divisions, and growth and they wonder why there aren't more parks, why are the roads so congested, when are they going to build more roads. To some of us, this past summer, who headed out to pick blackberries and found only roads and new neighborhoods, we wonder where did all this come from? When did they build this, what happened to the old house that was covered with lilacs in the spring, and where did the old Christmas tree farm go?

I'm not complaining about the growth, I'm happy to see the new schools, and new stores, the improved libraries, the hospitals and so forth. And I'll welcome all the other amenities that will come with the expanded tax base. But sometimes when people talk about the things lacking in Northwest Arkansas, I just want to say, it wasn't all that long ago when the Wal-Mart store you are griping about was grazing land for cows, and that golf course that's so expensive was pasture around an old pond that we used to ride horses down to so they could take a drink on a hot summer's day. All those stores between Rogers and Springdale, well those used to be apple and peach orchards. Harris Baking used to be in downtown Rogers, and the old brick streets reeked of the smell of baking bread in the morning, and kids rode their bikes down the twisty road to Lake Atalanta, to swim in the summer and to skate in the old rink in the winter. Not that long ago, well within the memory of some of us who aren't even forty yet.

DC

[sherrenee]

Originally Posted by DC at the Ridge

I realize this forum is largely about people moving in and out of the area and sharing information about it, but I would just like to remind people that not everyone in Northwest Arkansas is a newcomer. I remember when Wal-Mart was just a 5-and-10 on the corner of Walnut and Eighth, and when the only place to get fast-food hamburgers was a joint called Mr. Quick's at the corner of Oak and Eighth. I remember when, if you wanted a Big Mac, you had to drive to Fayetteville where there was only one McDonald's. There was a time when Old High in Bentonville was THE high school in Bentonville, and there was a time when, if you lived in Rogers and drove to Bentonville it was through countryside and farmland. Where Pinnacle is now, used to be (and this wasn't all that long ago) all farmland, none of the roads were paved or even named because they were only dirt roads used by farmers to get from pasture to pasture. The Old Dam Road led to a stream where kids would take their bikes and play in the water.

A lot of people move in to Northwest Arkansas, and see all the stores and housing divisions, and growth and they wonder why there aren't more parks, why are the roads so congested, when are they going to build more roads. To some of us, this past summer, who headed out to pick blackberries and found only roads and new neighborhoods, we wonder where did all this come from? When did they build this, what happened to the old house that was covered with lilacs in the spring, and where did the old Christmas tree farm go?

I'm not complaining about the growth, I'm happy to see the new schools, and new stores, the improved libraries, the hospitals and so forth. And I'll welcome all the other amenities that will come with the expanded tax base. But sometimes when people talk about the things lacking in Northwest Arkansas, I just want to say, it wasn't all that long ago when the Wal-Mart store you are griping about was grazing land for cows, and that golf course that's so expensive was pasture around an old pond that we used to ride horses down to so they could take a drink on a hot summer's day. All those stores between Rogers and Springdale, well those used to be apple and peach orchards. Harris Baking used to be in downtown Rogers, and the old brick streets reeked of the smell of baking bread in the morning, and kids rode their bikes down the twisty road to Lake Atalanta, to swim in the summer and to skate in the old rink in the winter. Not that long ago, well within the memory of some of us who aren't even forty yet.

DC

I so agree with you. I am only 27 and I can easily remember how NWA use to be, which is nothing like the NWA
of today. I was born here, I grew up here and I still remain here. On one hand the progress is good, it brings in more jobs, better economy and more to do. On the other hand I miss the place that I grew up in when life was much slower and simpler. I don't think alot of newcomers really and truly appreciate NWA for what it is because they don't know what it was.