More ads from the old Woman's Missionary Society Cook Book. Notice I made a change which I had not noticed before. It is NOT Women's but Woman's Missionary Society Cook Book.
This ad is for Searcy Wholesale Grocer Co. and they ran two ads on the same page! One is for shortening and the other for flour. I looked at a few past blogs and did not find this particular store. Perhaps the sleuths will locate.
Tom and Charles, I'm glad you like my blog that often involves old Searcy AR history. Thanks for commenting.
Searcy Wholesale Grocery was the large building at the corner of Spring and Race. Can't remember what is there now.....It was next to Family Shoe Store and The Tot Shop.....then come on down to the next corner and you have the Security Bank. Address: 314 N. Spring. Office 177, Shipping Dept. 266.
It was owned or operated by the Rand family, I think. (Kenny Rand's father and grandfather)....Grafton Thomas was the bookkeeper there, and I THINK, way back in the day, our piano/violin teacher's husband, R.A. Ward was also a bookkeeper there.
Early bird Anita nailed it! The wholesale grocery was part of my back yard when I lived at 303 N. Main across from the First methodist Church. I have good memories of trucks coming up to the loading dock out back to deliver goods. What an interesting location cater-cornered from the Rialto Theater. I don't remember anyone just walking in and buying goods. Notice the ad says your retail groceryman can supply you with it.
Barbara, your cookbook is certainly a treasure trove of interesting ads.
Here's a picture of the building when it was called Merchant's Grocer Co earlier.
This picture comes from a previous blog from 2009.
Here's an edited Google Man view of what that area looks like now. That's the First Security Bank on corner of Spring St. and E. Race St.
Don, you are so quick. I had just searched for that blog and that picture and here you have it already!!! My question was whether it was the same place since the building has a different name on it. This one pictured is such a lovely building! I like it and the dirt streets. Wonder what year this one was taken?
Barbara, the buildings are the same. It would be interesting to know what the building housed before wholesale groceries. I would think that for the prominent location across from the court house it was something more important than a wholesaler. Think about a Wallmart distribution center in that location.
Note that my post was 12 minutes after Anitas. I remembered the earlier blog so it was easy to just get the pictures. I had spent a lot of time creating that Spring St. view though. It is a combination of a Google Man view and my photograph of that section of Spring St.
Don, that is a good view of the street as it is now. Maybe that building was an original court house! It does look very impressive. The building has something written over the door. Bank is one of the words and I can't make out the top word.
Harold Gene and Ludean, thanks for having better eyesight than I have. I couldn't make it out. Now it is up to Anita, whose mom worked at the banks, to tell us what it morphed into.
The Peoples Bank was chartered July 6, 1889 and failed during the depression and closed September 30, 1931 according to Muncy. There is a mention of the Security Bank April 9, 1932 on page 204 of Muncy's book so the Security Bank was probably already in operation just up the street from the People's Bank which must have been torn down and replaced with single story buildings as we knew them in the 40s and 50s.
Here are ad pages from the 1910 Searcy Revelle Yearbook for sale on eBay right now showing an ad for the Peoples Bank.
Here's the history of the First Security Bank from Wikipedia.
First Security Bank was chartered in 1932 in Searcy, Arkansas, under the name of Security Bank. In 1966, the name was officially changed to First Security Bank. The bank was originally located at the corner of Arch Street and Spring Street but in 1971 moved to its current location at 314 N. Spring Street, on the corner of Spring Street and Race Street.
Additionally, this piece talks about the Security Bank also.
Stephen Brundidge Sr. came from Alabama to near Searcy Landing and started contracting to build brick houses. He had a portable brickmaking machine and oven and made his bricks right on the job site using clay from along the river bank. The Quattlebaum Music building across the corner from KWCK radio station is made with his bricks. Recently in a conversation with Mr. R.R. Blansett, who used to have a shoe store downtown, he commented that the building he formerly occupied was built of Brundidge bricks. Incidentally, that building was the first city hall and jail, back around the turn of the century. It and the buildings next to it were removed to make room for expansion of the First Security Bank and more parking.
You guys (and gals) have just not been paying attention when I have written - several times - that my mother named the Security Bank. It was originally The People's Bank....she worked there. They wanted to change the name (don't know why) so they had a contest for the best name. Mother won, with The Security Bank.
Don, you are so good at the research part of this blog. Did Blansett's building hold the first city hall and jail or the one on this blog?
Anita, I have had to have my right hand discipline my left because fo this major oversight. My left hand has been slapped over and over. I need to go find your mom's picture in front of that bank right now. Thanks for the correction.
Click for the blog on Security Bank. Here is Anita's mom.
Barbara, I'm not sure which building R.R. Blansett is referring to as formerly occupied. If it was the Family Shoe Store where Paula won the camera that she took all those Searcy pictures or the one that burned in 1949 according to Muncy's book on page 377. The 1950 Family Shoe Store was located in those buildings across from the court house and near the First Security Bank.
I looked at some old Searcy maps and found reference to the Peoples Bank and Merchants Wholesale. Note the location of the Peoples Bank in the 1896 map which agrees with the blog pic and then the bank location in the 1919 pic where the Security Bank will be located in 1935. Question is was that bank the Peoples Bank in 1919?
Don, those are interesting. Looks like Peoples' Bank became an office and the Wholesale Grocery took over the vacant corner and the space behind. The 1919 one has a section that says "Ruins Old Well." And the bank then moved to the corner where it stayed for a long time. What about the old well ruin? Sigh.......there's another question to answer.
Don, we also see that the Merchants Grocer would have built right up to the bank instead of the two being built at the same time. But they do go so well together that they seem to be made for each other.
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