I never lived in Holly Grove but as a young boy I visited my great aunt,Hattie Franks, several summers in the 1970's. She lived across the street from the Methodist church. My father, Roy Johnson, grew up in Holly Grove and was the son of the aforementioned Mr. and Mrs. Will Johnson. He was supposedly the founder and mayor of Deep Ellum when it existed. I visited the street corner where my father owned one of the "juke joints". Family story goes that when it opened they needed a piano and my dad "borrowed" his mother's piano and painted it red to use in the place. I don't believe any of the Johnsons are left in the area - my uncle Bill Johnson passed away a couple of years ago and his children no longer live in the area. I would like to know if anyone has any recollection of my father or the houseboat on Maddox Bay. It was apparently quite a site to see.

I ran across this note by my grandmother, Katie Thompson King, in which she noted what it was like to live in the era preceding many of the modern conveniences we take for granted today. She was born July 7, 1905, at Viney Grove, Ark., and lived most of her life in Holly Grove.

"We had books but I remember when we didn't have an electric washer and dryer, telephone, radio, TV, plastics, Kleenex, toilet tissue (Sears Roebuck catalogs substituted for that and at an outdoor toilet), toothpaste (we used a mixture of soda and salt), floor polishers, power mowers and power saws, hot water heaters, electric lights, electric refrigerators or food freezers. ... We didn't have window screens until I was about 12 years old. No penicillin and other antibiotics. The tender loving care of the family doctor and parents, with the limited supply of medicines, brought us through many illnesses."

The story behind the photo on Page 2 of the Historic Photos - Nathan Newby

"The photo of the young lad holding the watermelon in the back of my Dad's truck is most probably Nathan Newby, cousin of Marion Deaton..This photo was taken when Jimmy Grimes, Herbert Shaw, Byrl Shaw and Bobby Lambert were cutting up pine slabs at a sawmill and delivering firewood to people with fireplaces.  We just about broke even on our expenses, but we had a lot of fun and got in real good shape for football that fall."
-Bob Lambert

-- Edited by Danyelle McNeill Fletcher at 14:39, 2005-11-14

Concerning Deep Elm:

In the  late thirties Deep "Ellum" was very well known in the tri-state area of Tenn. Miss. and Ark.  Dances were held upstairs with live bands.  People came from all around to those dances.  I remember my sisters wearing a "no break" card on their wrists listing the men who had the 1st, 2nd, etc no break dances.  That meant no one could cut in when they were dancing.

The only words I can remember to the song of the Deep Ellum Blues were: "When you go down to Deep Ellum put your money in your shoes, cause those women at Deep Ellum got them Deep Ellum blues,  Oh sweet daddy, momma got them Deep Ellum blues."

I was visiting in Holly Grove about a month ago and was devastated at what was left of down town and the school.  Sooo sad.

Thankfully, I have very fond and clear memories of growing up there.  From 1933 until 1942 I had the pleasure of living in, what I thought,  the greatest place in the world.

This is a followup to Harry Manes' post just above:

I ran across this brief news item that appeared in Carrie Rengers' "Paper Trails" column in the Oct. 11, 1996, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The title is "Them Deep Elm Blues":


No doubt blues fans at the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena this weekend will head to the Blues Corner for a visit with owner Bubba Sullivan.

But, for as much as he knows about the blues, there's a question that so far has stumped Sullivan. It pertains to "Deep Elm Blues," the lyrics of which were printed in this space in September.

"That's kind of a little mystery I've been trying to solve over the years," Sullivan says.

A DeWitt resident says the lyrics printed here were incorrect. He says they are: "Now when you go down in Deep Elm/ Put your money in your shoes/Cause the women in Deep Elm/They got them Deep Elm Blues."

Sullivan has been searching for the song for some time. He knows that Helena native Roosevelt Sykes recorded the song but didn't write it. Sullivan says the DeWitt man may know of what he speaks, though.

There's a Deep Elm, Ark., which is not much more than curve in the road near Holly Grove (not too far from DeWitt). However, Sullivan believes the song most likely refers to Dallas' Deep Ellum (how some folks pronounced "elm"), since not to many people are familiar with the Arkansas location.

People have been looking for it," Sullivan says of the song. "If you can't find it, then it bugs you."

Perhaps with the concentration of blues knowledge in Helena in the next few days, someone will have the answer.



-- Edited by Jane Dearing Dennis at 00:16, 2005-07-03

monroe county has another claim for memories, 3 blues songs; east monroe blues, dust my broom, and deep elm blues, were all written about my daddy's juke joints. mr. hermon was issued the first beer license in monroe county, immediately following the repeal of prohibition. his joints brought crowds of people from as far as memphis, start friday eve would last until sunday morning. my daddy hired tractors with flat bed trailors that traveled the counrty side and bring in folks who would have no other way of getting to monroe township.the delta was the birth place of the blues, helena, clarkesdale, memphis and even monroe county had a major influence on the presentation of a musical genre that was and is a lasting memorial to a way of life that was spoken in a form that was the truth for all our previous generations. i've spoken to a few old timers and they recalled those places immediatley with great memories.

I found a sheet of paper with historical information about Holly Grove and HG people - I'm not sure who wrote it, but here is what's written (I've copied it exactly as it was written):

Dr. Parker and Taylor were first doctors. Lived in house on corner down from Blanche.

 Riners lived on Genevieve's street in early years - (?) mother's family - The two Riner brothers came from Miss.

 Jim  (looks like Laer) & Arch Laer had store where Miss Helen Bowles had store (there's an arrow that points from Jim to "house and raised family)

 Mr. Jim  & Miss Julia Walls' family lived in country - 'till he built in town.  Julia, Milton, Louise, and May - gin, farm land with Mr. Walk Patterson

 Mr. Walk built house across street

 Grandma Smith sold house across the street - sold it  - Auntie's mother came from Lambrook - left it to Miss Georgia - Aunties mother moved from Lambrook

 Miss Nannie and Miss Bee Johnson lived in house next to Will Mayo and Lodge.  Miss Nannie married Mr. Knoll and lived with ...(?)

 M(?) Lambert's house - Bennets from Helena built it

Jude Trice's mother and Mrs. Walk Patterson were sisters

son - Phil Trice and wife Vida

 Old Peete House where Miss Jessie lived was where the Peetes live now in Holly Grove

 Old house south with pecan trees was old Dial home where Mr. T.G. was raised

 Next house north was family named East - jack of all trades, sold fish

 Mrs. Roberts - after Mr. Roberts died, Captain Mull courted Mrs. Roberts

Depot - Uncle John Smith - Uncle Mose (black) would roll Grandma Smith up to meet the train every evening at 5 p.m. to see her son - worked on railroad

Train went from Clarendon to Helena every night and came back next a.m.  Uncle John Smith (engineer) was Susie Renfro's brother

 Two banks - one across the street from the other - Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Abramson, Mr. Matthews

 

Let's see....I got the idea to do this after working on a scrapbook for my dad. But ultimately,I started this project for several reasons. First and foremost, my family helped settle the town of Holly Grove - my ancestors were some of the first to live there. Second, I love history and have been into genealogy for about ten years now. And third, I've noticed that so many small towns are, slowly but surely, turning into ghost towns. And so many of those towns have had rich histories that haven't been recorded. Holly Grove, for me, is personal. My roots are there. I have fond memories of visiting my relatives as a kid. My dad, Dan McNeill, has wonderful memories of growing up there. And both my Aunt Shirley McNeill Crawford and my late Aunt Susie Sims Creed both have/had such fond memories of being there, too. I've hated knowing that there wasn't much left of the town and its history hasn't been recorded for posterity. I thought it would be so terrific to record some of the history through stories told by people who lived there. It's easy to find and record names and dates, but the stories that make up the living, breathing part of a town are so much more interesting. I'm hoping that this project will turn into something invaluable - a compilation of history and memories.
As I said above, my dad is Dan McNeill. My grandparents were D.A. and Snooks McNeill. My ancestors were Matthews and Renfros.
I should also say that over the years, I've heard so many other people talk so fondly of their time in Holly Grove. I thought it might be fun to give people a forum to meet, share memories, and record history in their own words! And I'd like to use what is written here in an historical compilation about Holly Grove (if people will allow me to do so).
I hope you all enjoy the message board!!

http://home.comcast.net/~dfletcher20/
Monroe Co. genealogy

Anna Lee Barham Hamilton

I attended school there from 2nd thru 7th grade at which time my mom remarried and I moved back to Memphis. My grandparents were Mr/Mrs. J.B. Grimes..My grandmother, Rubye, managed the school cafeteria for years. She passed away a couple of years ago. I have many fond memories of my years at Holly Grove and forged many friendships that continue to this day. My email is humes65@midsouth.rr.com if anyone wld like to chat. Regards to all! Anna Lee

http://elvistyle.com
link to Anna's Steak House

Julian Johnson

If there was a door to Hogwarts in Holly Grove, it was Tom Cameron's antique store. What Rod Serling could have done with it is unimaginable. Ditto what Jane said about it above.

Jane Dearing Dennis

Mr. Tom Cameron's junk shop was one of my favorite places in Holly Grove. It was the epitome of a "junk" shop -- crowded, dusty, rickety, overflowing with a little bit of everything. It was
located on the south side of main street downtown, next to the old movie house. It was a fascinating place, even a little scary (as was Mr. Tom -- due to cancer or some illness, he had had part of his lower jaw removed, so he had this sort of crooked face.) When I was about 12 years old, I yearned and yearned for a cranberry colored pitcher and glass set (why in the world I wanted it at that age I can't recall.) I don't remember the price, but it was far beyond anything I had saved up. When he began making plans to close his store (probably early
70s), my mom went in and secretly bought the set for me. It's now in my dining room -- full of Holly Grove memories!!