YOU’VE GOT OPTIONS, BARBECUE PEOPLE. “THE RIB CRIB HAS THE BEST PRICES,” SAYS RESIDENT TERRI BRANNON, “BUT DICKEY’S HAS THE BEST OKRA.”
I HOMETOWN
RESTING EASY From brisket to the historic Black House, finding solace in Searcy By Heather Steadham Photography by Arshia Khan
DECEMBER 2017
have a slight toothache. I need to go to the bathroom. I’m at the edge of a headache. I’m tired from working 40-plus hours this week and taking care of a husband and three kids and finishing up my novel, and gosh darn it if my middle child didn’t bring home a stray dog two days ago. Come to me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, proclaims Matthew 11:28 on a billboard about 10 miles before I arrive in Searcy. Searcy. Home of Harding University. Seat of White County, and its largest city at 24,318 souls. Home of Gov. Mike Beebe. Holder of two Arkansas superlatives: the oldest known church building still standing (Smyrna Methodist) and the oldest Arkansas courthouse still being used for its original purpose. These facts? They don’t exactly portend a people inclined to rest. I arrive at Searcy Parks and Recreation’s Holiday Craft Fair preview (the full one scheduled for December 2) at the Carmichael Community Center. There’s a mostly cloudy sky today, as a forecaster would call it, and there’s just enough nip in the air to get me into a holiday-shopping mood. A primary-colored playground sits out front, and a little girl—appropriately clad in Santa-Claus red— squeals in delight as her dad goes down the slide with her. One synonym for rest is “peace.” Stationed just outside the entrance to the Craft Fair is Bonnie Graves, selling wares for Damsel in Defense. She tells me about the “Holla Hers” personal alarms and “Sock It to Me” kubotans and “Junk in the Trunk” auto emergency kits. “I also sell Tupperware,” she informs me. She moved to Searcy to semi-retire, and I ask her what makes her want to live here. “I wanted to slow down, get out of big-city Texas life.” It seems she found her peace, which, apparently, involves selling “Get a Grip” handheld stun guns. Inside the community center, I find baked goods from the St. James Ladies Guild and tchotchkes from Porcelain Painting by Glenda and the most amazing two-tone wood cutting and cheese boards from Father and Daughter Creations. But I stop in my tracks when I see a table festooned with whimsical lamps made from stacked teapots and teacups and sugar bowls and all things Alice in Wonderland. “I get pieces from Goodwill, Habitat, the Humane Society,” 94
Mykila Wages tells me. She has a booth at Family and Friends Emporium in Judsonia, a scant 7 miles f rom Searcy. One lamp in particular is especially delightful, candy-colored and centered around a flowered owl. “Dreaminess,” believe it or not, is yet another synonym for rest. Eighteen laps around the community center equals one mile. I walk one-eighteenth of a mile. On my way out, I see Jenn’s Unique Boutique. Jennifer Gregory’s day job is at Sowell’s Furniture (“It has all the best stuff! And we have decorators, so if you buy your furniture from us, we’ll decorate your room for free!”), and Jenn has no shortage of things I absolutely must see before I leave Searcy: “Dickey ’s Barbecue—their brisket is to die for. And Stu’s Brew, if you like coffee. And the town square. And the historic homes on Center Street, and the Black House on Race Road; it’s yellow, but it was owned by the Black Family. And the Rialto! They’re redoing it. And Spring Park! They’re putting in an ice-skating rink. I want to try ice skating.” It looks like I’d better get moving. Spring Park sits at the corner Arkansas Life
