No better place to live

Siloam Springs is by our choice the place we want to live. When we moved to the Siloam Springs area, the things we considered were the schools, the medical facilities and personnel, the churches, water sources, presence of a library and the availability of employment.

We found all here, plus John Brown University.

Everybody we knew in Texas and New Mexico was telling us we were crazy to move to Arkansas, that we would starve to death, etc., but we were confident we would survive the transition.

My wife and I had driven through Siloam Springs on vacation one year, and we were taken by the sight of Sager Creek and the town. Actually, the appeal of the personable little town was irresistible. I made the comment, "I think I would like to live here some day!"

Now, we have been here for 44 years, and we have never regretted our decision. There are numerous things to enjoy and participate in, and the growth of the town has been phenomenal. Of course, we made some really great friends, and many of them were very helpful at various times.

Our kids were 13, 12, 11, and 9 when we moved here -- two sons, two daughters. My wife has always been a great organizer, and she became friends with Nancy Van Poucke and together they looked for ways to make Siloam Springs even better.

Leah helped several other interested citizens develop the Sager Creek Art Center to showcase the talent that is available from Siloam Springs and John Brown University. After our kids had all graduated and entered colleges, she and Nancy decided there was a need for an emphasis on scholarships to help ensure that more children could afford to attend college. They initiated the current Siloam Springs scholarship program and agreed to handle the project for two years to determine the effectiveness of it. It has been a rousing success for decades now, and President Reagan commended the idea. Siloam Springs has supported such good ideas enthusiastically.

Both of our grown sons, Devin and Michael, have been many places in this world, traveling much more extensively than their dad, and they both have businesses downtown. They say they have found no other place that they would rather live than Siloam Springs. One of our daughters, Kim, lives in Tulsa. Our other daughter, Marisa, lives in Hot Springs.

We are close enough, therefore, to visit frequently. I suspect that we have several grandchildren who plan to have businesses or otherwise work here.

-- Louis Houston is a resident of Siloam Springs. His book "The Grape-Toned Studebaker" is available locally and from Amazon.com. Send any questions or comments to [email protected] or call 524-6926. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Community on 06/24/2015