Times Past
Photo above: It's thought that the eight Harlin brothers, sons of John W. and Mary Conkin Harlin, posed for this photograph in 1930 during the Bank of Gainesville's dedication of its second building, which was built in late 1929. From left: Jarrett, Charles, Frank, Johnny, Tan, Dewey, Jim and Joe Harlin. Jim Harlin was one of seven stockholders who started the bank in 1894, and Tan was the bank's first cashier. Johnny served as bank president from 1908 until his death in 1955. Below: The photo below, thought to have been taken in 1929, shows the old Gainesville post office building where Clara Harlin, standing, right, was postmaster from 1929 to 1933. (The name of the Harlin relative standing next to her is unknown.) The building served as the original home of the Bank of Gainesville from 1894 until 1929, when the bank moved into a new, nearby building next to what is now The Hair Shop on the west side of the Gainesville square. After the bank vacated this building, it was moved a few feet north, to a vacant lot next to the Central Hotel, and was used as the post office until 1945.
Ozark County News
July 26, 1894
The Bank of Gainesville opened for business Tuesday morning at 9 o'clock, and during the day received, as deposits, something over $6,000.
Last Friday morning, Charley Blood, the well-known traveling man, had quite a startling experience. While crossing a stream...
In this photo, thought to have been taken in 1919 or 1920, superintendent of Schools James B. Huffman and his son James Banker Huffman (1918-1993) stand in front of the old building on the northwest corner of the Gainesville square that housed the Bank of Gainesville (now Century Bank of the Ozarks). The photo is from the collection of the late John Harlin, former bank president and chairman of the board, who says the photo was given to him by the late W. G. Baker. The bank will celebrate its 130th anniversary July 24.
Ozark County News
July 9, 1903
T. J. Luna, prosecuting attorney, filed information against Robert McCulley Monday for carrying a pistol and firing it in the street. McCulley was arraigned before Justice H. Walker.
Phillip Decker, our old reliable lumber dealer of near Rockbridge, was in town Monday...
Although it can't be verified, it's thought that this photo, from the collection of Mary Louise Brown, is related to an item in the June 26, 1914 issue of the Times, below, that reported "quite a bit of excitement" over the arrival of three automobiles from West Plains.
Ozark County News
June 28, 1883
We learn that a few days ago Wm. Pumphrey, of North Fork, was feeding a sow which had young pigs. For some reason, Mr. Pumphrey took hold of one of the pigs when it squealed, and the old sow immediately "made for him." Mr. Pumphrey made a step backward, caught his...
Mrs. Maud Ford began crocheting afghans for her family around 1970. The one covering her lap is the first one she ever made. The one on the extreme left is one she is making for herself. The middle one is one she is making for a great grandson.
By Mary Ruth Luna
Reprinted from in the June 20, 1974, edition of the Ozark County Times.
Mrs. Maud Ford will celebrate her 89th birthday Sunday in much the same way she has spent most Sundays in her life - with a family dinner in her home in Gainesville.
As long as Mrs. Ford can remember,...
For more than 100 years, this grand house stood on what is now County Road 902 northwest of Theodosia. It was built by Joseph Everett Peacock sometime before his death in 1901 at age 39. Joseph had shared the home with his wife, Florence Emeline Maritt Peacock, and their four children. In 1903, the widowed Florence married her widowed brother-in-law, Henry Kelly Derrick, whose first wife was Joseph’s twin sister, Eliza Ann Peacock Derrick. Eliza had died six days before her 30th birthday in 1892, after giving birth to twins, who survived only seven months. Kelly brought his three surviving children to the second marriage, making the combined family of seven children both first cousins and step-siblings. Together, Kelly and Florence had four more daughters: Jessie, Glessie, Leah and Flossie. Those pictured are, front row, from left: Florence and Kelly Derrick and his three children, Lou, Joseph and Millie Derrick. Back row: Florence’s four children: Edith, Leroy, Arthur and Kelley Peacock. Later, Kelly Derrick had the second floor of the house removed, perhaps fearing a fire. On Oct. 21, 2019, a large tree fell on the house during a storm, damaging it beyond repair. This photo is from the collection of Sally Lyons McAlear, who suspects it may have been taken on Kelly and Florence’s March 7, 1903, wedding day, because Kelly’s daughters are holding bouquets of flowers. The little girl in the white dress, Edith Peacock Edmonds (1891-1948), was Sally’s maternal grandmother.
Ozark County News
June 21, 1883
The number of sportsmen increase daily at the pigeon roost.
Ozark county farmers are finding that corn and small grain are more profitable than cotton. . . . We are glad to note that no farmer in this county, so far as we know, is raising cotton as a crop this year....
Bug’s Cafe, Gainesville, 1950s This photo, taken around 1950, shows Bug’s Cafe on the former High Street (now Third Street) in Gainesville, mentioned in the 1954 Times Past item below, which reports that the cafe had reopened after remodeling. The cafe’s 1949 menu is shown, at right. Gainesville resident Barbara Rackley Luna, granddaughter of cafe owners John Lonzo "Bug" Farel and his wife, Grace, said in a February 2017 story in the Old Mill Run that both Bug and Grace cooked at the cafe. Their daughter, Dorcas Rackley, "waited tables until two days before I was born on May 23, 1948," Barbara wrote in the story. Soon after she was born, Barbara said, "Dorcas went back to work, taking me with her where I slept in hideaways such as the bread storage cabinet in the kitchen."
Ozark County News
June 7, 1883
A pigeon roost has been formed on the west side of the county near G. W. Webster's place. A party of men arrived here Thursday with nets, etc., to catch them.
Some of the merchants of this place have commenced freighting from West Plains.
Several applications to make...
The cow’s udder must be cleaned each time before hooking up the milker. Above, Nancy is wiping off the cleaning solution, preparing to prestrip this cow.
Reprinted from in the June 15, 1994, edition of the Ozark County Times.
By Marilyn Luna Tilley
The day starts at 4 a.m.. Not just today, but everyday. That’s the time the Kellys start to do the chores.
Troy and Nancy Kelly, of Dora, have a dairy farm. And as Nancy said, “You can’t get sick...
This photo, originally tagged “Spring at Sycamore,” is from the collection of the late John L. Harlin. It is one of several photos in an album of photos taken in 1913 by Henry Stark, official photographer of the Frisco and Union Pacific Railroad, when he accompanied E. Y. Mitchell here to create incentives for people who he hoped would “colonize” about 45,000 acres of Ozark County land. The album, believed to have been compiled by or for the late Johnny Harlin, John L. Harlin’s grandfather, was discovered several years ago in an old, unused vault at what is now Century Bank of the Ozarks, which was founded in 1894 by the Harlin family as the Bank of Gainesville.
compiled by Sue Ann Jones
Ozark County News
May 30, 1889
The grave yard below town was cleared off and the trees trimmed up this week by citizens of town. It is to be fenced during the summer for which a subscription has been taken up.
Boone & Mishler's marble shop at this place has just...
Jean Herd stands by the door of her fourth grade classroom at Gainesville Elementary School. The room has been cleaned and desks polished since school closed, but next year, when the seats are occupied again, Miss Jean will not be there - she retired this spring closing out a 31-year career in county schools.
Reprinted from the June 13, 1984 edition of the Ozark County Times.
by Sue Ann Jones
When Jean Herd retired in May [1984] after 31 years of teaching, she left behind a career that included other tasks besides imparting knowledge.
In 1953, when she began teaching, she presided over a one-room...
The Bakersfield High School golf team took home the first place plaque in the April 15 Clever Invitational Golf Tournament and another first place plaque in the April 12 Willow Springs Invitational tournament. The team, pictured from left, includes: Coach Micheal Mahan, Ethan Cotter, CJ Carey,...