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Me, my motorcycle jacket, Jennie & pre-Civil War Home. Searcy AR

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Advantage

Good Times!

I dragged out my motorcycle jacket.  ( I only wear it for special occasions and this was a very special occasion).  My far-reaching blog had reached this lady from several states away.  She is the daughter of Judy Deener who grew up in Searcy AR and the grandchild of Richard Deener from Searcy.  Remember them?  They lived here a long time ago with Judy graduating in about 1954!

Jennie, shown above, had such favorable memories of her visits to Searcy as a child that she longed to return for a visit and contacted me through the blog.  She has no relatives left in Searcy but she drove for hours to get here when my good friend and a best friend of Judy's, Anita Hart Fuller, and I agreed to give her a tour.  The tour was one week ago.  Here is one of the main places that we were fortunate to visit!

deener house historic pre civil war

This is where her mother lived.  The address is 306 E. Center Street, Searcy AR.  It is called the Hicks-Dugan-Deener House and it has its name above the front door and may be hard to read in the picture below but it is on the Historic Registry as having been built about 1855 and is one of Searcy's few remaining pre-Civil War houses!

Story continued.....Her grandfather lived in the home next door, 310 E. Center, also on the historic registry, and we were fortunate to see it also and we are shown on the porch of it in the top picture.  She also visited other wonderful memory places and seemed to have been pleased with her trip to Searcy. 

Thank you, Jennie Jones, for loving Searcy and visiting.

Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

I'm glad Searcy cares enough about its history to preserve it, Barbara.  Not all communities do.

Aug 07, 2024 07:30 PM
Barbara S. Duncan

Searcy residents have torn down SO many historic homes.  I hate that they are gone.

Aug 08, 2024 05:39 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hello Barbara - I believe we can never be certain where our AR posts may be "discovered".   This one speaks much about what makes Searcy Arkansas special.   I am sure Jennie appreciated your thoughtfulness.  

Aug 08, 2024 03:36 AM
Barbara S. Duncan

I think she did and the blog really is far reaching.

Aug 08, 2024 05:39 AM
Don Thompson
Donthomp Associates - Sunnyvale, CA

Anita told me I had better get crackin' and comment on this blog.

Judy was a friend and we e-mailed each other over the years. She is missed!

I repaired the TV one time in that house. I had a nickname for Judy, Dingbat, and that was before Archie Bunker. The nickname was because of her unusual handwriting.

a dingbat is a typographical device other than a letter or numeral. It can also mean a eccentric person.

I sent Judy many of you blogs, Barbara. She enjoyed them.

Another blog about Judy and her home can be found here.

 

Aug 08, 2024 06:37 PM
Barbara S. Duncan

Yes, Don.  She and I decided we'd better check on you.  The building date is a question.  I got this date from Historic Register but the older blog that you mention has a different date.  Who can solve that?  Take care!!

Aug 09, 2024 05:03 AM
Jennie Jones

Hi from Virginia Beach! Barbara, I can't thank you enough for your generous hospitality and for getting me together with Ms. Anita and Ms. Mildred. My mother spoke often about growing in Searcy, and it was heartwarming and funny to hear Anita’s stories of my grandmother Elizabeth Deener (whom I never knew) and how she yanked my mom out of the Rialto movie theater for disobeying her. I don't have many pictures/mementos from her childhood, so it was extraordinary to see Anita’s photos - thank you, Anita!  And thank you, Mildred, for sharing the letter written by Grandfather; it was incredibly touching. We adored my grandfather and LOVED coming to Searcy. My memories of playing on the sidewalk of East Center St. and walking to town with my grandfather are still vivid. Going inside his house and my great-grandparents' house made me feel like I was back in time. Thank you so much to the owners of 306 and 310 East Center Street for allowing me to tour these special homes. I can’t wait for my next visit-PS- Can you believe I got in touch with you from Virginia Beach through your blog? It was meant to be:)

Sep 07, 2024 05:14 AM