Going,
Going, Gone
A few
yesrs ago I talked with Tom Smith in front of the post
office. I was principal at Fayetteville Elementary School
when he, his brothers, and sister were students there.
Tom’s mother, Katherine Smith, was also a teacher at the
school during this time, so I have fond memories of the
entire family. Tom pointed out that a number of the
historic houses and buildings in the area had recently been
torn down. Some were in critical need of repair and others
were just in the way of “progress”. He specifically
mentioned the Stell House, the McCollum Home, the group of
stores where Willie Easons’ Cafe was, Mask and Nations’
Grocery, Kitchens’ Grocery, and Graves’ Restaurant. He saw
a need for historical documentation of these old homes and
stores before they are all gone. I whole-heartedly agree.
I appreciate the improvements being made, especially around
the Courthouse Square. While I can accept that changes are
inevitable, I like remembering my childhood when these old
structures were an important part of our community.
I spent many of my teenage hours at Mask and Nations’,
Graves’ Restaurant, and Kitchens’ Grocery. Miss Agnes
Kitchens hired me to work on Saturdays in her store when I
was only thirteen. Later I worked for Mr. Tom Nations on
weekends and during vacation time. I never worked for Mrs.
Clara Graves, but I spent a lot of my time in her
restaurant eating the best hot dogs in town.
The Stell House was built in 1912 by Mr. Walter Stell
across from where Melear’s Barbecue is located today. It
was a stately building with a large sweeping verandah. Mr.
Stell was quite old when I was a child. I remember him as a
very distinguished looking gentleman. He always wore a
dress shirt with arm garters just above the elbows and a
straw hat with a flat top (the kind that you see today at
political conventions). He would walk past my house each
day on his way to and from town, quite a distance for a man
of his age. He seemed to enjoy it. He smoked a cigar and I
could often smell his cigar before I could see him coming.
Although I was just a small child, he always recognized me
with a friendly greeting. Mr. and Mrs. Stell raised a large
family and their children have left a positive mark on this
community. One outstanding daughter was Mary Stell who
married Frank McFarland. The McFarland family occupied the
Stell House for many years and it became known by some as
the McFarland House.
The McCollum House was located on the large triangular lot
formed by Highway 85 and Beauregard Blvd. When I was twelve
we lived across the street from the McCollums. At this time
John McCollum, his sister Mary Lucy Jones and their mother
lived together in this house. Numerous times I’ve cut that
large triangular lot with one of those push-pull reel
mowers. Mrs. McCollum always paid me well for my work. I
recall late one summer evening when I was about seventeen,
my friend Tucker Day and I were walking past the McCollum
house. The McCollums were sitting on their front porch.
Mrs. Jones called to us and invited us to join them on the
porch. We talked for a while. Then Mrs. Jones invited us
into the house where she and Tucker played the piano and we
sang songs for about an hour and had refreshments. Mrs.
Jones could really sing. I think she sang at just about all
of the weddings, funerals and special events in town. The
visit was fun and there certainly wasn’t a generation
gap.