Some of the office characters who grew up in Searcy were reminiscing about the alleys in Searcy downtown and what stories they held.
The alleys are still there. I can't help wondering what they were really designed for. Walking? Driving through? Picking up garbage? Drunken sleep-offs? (Oops! I take that back.) Making repairs on buildings? Parking the mule team?
If you have ideas about the alleys, tell us. Here are a couple of alleys of today.
Barbara - I have no idea what the allies were used for. I remember walking in a part of Fairbanks, Alaska where the bars were and seeing a moose leaning up against a building in an alley. You do see some strange things in alleys. Thanks for the blog.
We have some old alleys in an old part of Vancouver called gastown... an infamous one in particular named Blood Alley (no clue how it got it's name... I can imagine though) - A few years ago - some entrepreneur saw what the rest of us didn't - he set up shop smack dab in the middle of the alley. A wine and cheese restaurant - it's FANTASTIC! The first time I went there - I had to ask a homeless guy if I was going in the right direction.. I think it's so unique - here's a pic! 
Barbara, we don't see alley like this much in Marion. Is it common in Searcy?
Well, my memories of the alleys are: Delivery trucks used them. Could have been useful if there was a fire in the kitchens of the restaurants. Long ago, blacks had to enter from the back and eat in the kitchens, I personally am glad that isn't true anymore. Probably I missed the most important reasons.
We don’t have too many alleys out here in San Diego, but in Texas it was rare not to have an alley. When I was growing up in Kingsville, they alley was where all the trash cans were, and judging from the sloppiness of many people, I can understand why trash was kept in the alleys. The streets would have looked horrible all week long with the trash out front, especially after all the dogs tipped the trash cans over each night.
Of course, without alleys, where would the alley cats live?
I thought alley ways were for fire protection...you know so that firetrucks and other service vehicles could get through. Any firemen out there know if that is true or not?
Lots of older towns still have alleys. It sometimes causes confusion with property lines and who is supposed to maintain them. Little towns seem to have lots of alleys but not the manpower or funds to keep them manicured so it is up to the good nature of property owners to maintain out of the goodness of their heart...which most do. Of course little towns don't have too much trouble with people living in the alleys but cats seem to be drawn to the trash bins that occupy most of them, thus...Alley Cats! I'm not a big cat person myself but I guess the cats keep the rat population down.
But the cliche'...Right Up My Alley...did that start because alleys used to be cleaner and kids used to play in them and it was familiar ground...or was it because it was dark and in their dark deeds specialty...or just because it was close, like in horseshoes.
I love the south with all of the cliche's. It confuses so many who are not familar with their useage but I do wonder how many of them began.
I have some stories about the alley in the first picture (113 Market). Not historical this time, but personal.
Back when I was a freshman at Harding, this building was vacant. On the side of 113, there was a very old and very odd door. It was wood, tattered and the doorknob was a good foot lower than on most doors.
We would actually take walks downtown just to see "the door." All of 113 at that time had an air of creepiness around it (especially for college students with nothing better to do). Eventually, the present business bought the building and began gutting it. The Door came off its hinges and one day we walked through the routed interior of 113 and found The Door lying on its side in a back room. It was late in the afternoon, so we casted long shadows. We took some pictures of our shadows casting over the fallen door, then left. I haven't seen it since.
I do feel like the disappearance of The Door was sort of symbolic of smaller businesses creeping back into downtown, as now there seem to be fewer decrepit buildings and more life.
Steve, I'm curious. Had the moose been drinking? LOL
Emily, that's a classy alley! In fact, I think he took away the alley and made a street!
Rita, I think alleys were common in Searcy. We have had to file papers many times to close the alley and divide the property between the landowners beside it. Downtown they just remain open.
Ludean, you did mention some reasons for alleys that I hadn't thought of.
Russel, I loved your comment and especially the one about the cats need alleys! When I lived in Lubbock Texas we had an alley behind the house and that is where garbage was picked up also.
Debbie, you raised good questions and I don't know the answers. Definitely the fire trucks of today, as huge as they are, couldn't get in our little Searcy alleys. The ones who discussed alleys in our office did speak about dastardly deeds committed in the alleys so perhaps that was the reason for the saying.
Luke, good story with an almost sinister feeling. Surely you kept a picture of the door and the shadows to share with us? Remember the old song, "Green Door"? It asked what was behind the green door.
Cliff, that was a kid's treasure chest! I can imagine hoards of kids gathering in that alley for the funny books. I wonder if they secretly enjoyed giving the kids a treat? Sorta the same as my throwing out some bread for the crows in the back yard. Their happiness makes me feel good.
Cliff and I have similar memories. I too frequented the trash bins behind Sterlings Five & Dime. The time I scrounged stuff wasn't as lucrative as Cliff's though. I remember doing it in 1942 when I lived about two blocked from that alley. The only thing I remember was a piggy piggy bank with the curly tail missing.
Another alley I frequented was the one behind Headlees and Safeway. I remember finding hypodermic syringes complete with needles. That wasn't so strange to me because my grandmother had diabetes and took two shots of insulin a day. Sometimes I gave her shots and it was hard finding a spot without hard tissue to stick in the needle. We also sharpened the needles on a flint stone. I seem to remember tubes of some kind of salve.
Now as to the expression 'right up my alley" , my research found some interesting comments like:
RIGHT UP ONE’S ALLEY, TO BE [also RIGHT DOWN ONE’S ALLEY]: To be in one’s particular specialty or to one’s precise taste. The word ‘alley’ has long been used for one’s special province; Francis Bacon so used it in his essay ‘Of Cunning’ (1612): “Such men . . .are good but in their own Alley.” “Up one’s alley,” however, is a 20th century [[first half of]] turn of phrase. Margaret Carpenter used it in her novel ‘Experiment Perilous’ (1943): It isn’t up my alley at all.” [cf. ‘not my cup of tea’]
kDon, as usual you came through with the answer. I just remember hearing these things and have no knowledge of where they originated. Probably some old hillbilly heard a gentlewoman say "not my cup of tea" and he made loud guffaws and changed it to "it aint up my alley neither, honey."
Ludean, what fun you'll had. Notice the kids playing with syringes and they survived! What a change!
Ludean, how did we survive???? One thing for sure, we were creative and could make a toy out of anything. Who needed TV and texting and mobile phones and computer games?? LOL
Barbara, I thought I had a pretty good time in my youth. I loved to play softball with the other kids in a cow pasture. We would also go to the movies and then go home to our neighborhood and re-act the movie. At least, we were playing with our peers and everyone knew everyone else. I can't always remember all the kids at school that I once knew, but I do remember the neighborhood kids. I think I had good childhood friends, and all this in Searcy, AR.
Godmother,
I have been wrecklessly attacked and there is an implication that I will be "et." This is from Mr Charles. Please go in and lift him off the ground by his ear again.
http://activerain.com/blogsview/2141813/sooner-or-later-he-will-end-up-on-the-grill-
Godson
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