Reminiscing in PB
Editor, The Commercial:
Having an appointment in Pine Bluff yesterday caused me to take an annual trip down memory lane as well. It is always with great sadness that I do so, yet the urge is always so strong to see again the places that were so dear to my childhood.
It breaks my heart to see houses that my family once lived in that were “home” to me, now nothing but shambles, left to rot away just as are landmarks like the Saenger Theatre and Pines Hotel.
Driving down Main Street I couldn’t help but think of the new library as being like a jewel in a hog’s snout — completely out of place among the boarded-up store buildings that once held thriving businesses: Conrey’s Drug Store with lunch counter; Buddy’s Sunshine Shop; The Coffee Cup; Baim’s Department Store; Kress’s; Newberry’s (with lunch counter); Pfeiffer’s Hat Shop; Rozensweig’s Department Store; Henry Marx Men’s Store; Cohen’s Department Store — and now, just nothing.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
I wonder if the mayor and council members will ever figure out what caused the difference? Not to forget the school. Why was it necessary to move photos and trophies of our State Champion Zebra teams (1951-1952) from McFadden Fieldhouse? It was our school too, once upon a time.
Jack Mayberry
Sheridan