50 Years Ago

From the Herald and Democrat in 1968

Army Sergeant Lawrence R. Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Smith of Westville, Okla., received the Bronze Star medal Sept. 9 at Ft. Campbell, Ky.

Sgt. Smith received the award for heroism in action while engaged in ground operations against a hostile force during his last assignment in Vietnam.

A squad leader in Company C, 5th Battalion of the 1st Infantry at the fort, Sgt. Smith entered the Army in September 1966 and completed basic training at Ft. Bliss, Texas. He had also received the Army Commendation Medal.

The 21-year-old sergeant graduated from Westville High School in 1965.

30 years Ago

From the Herald-Democrat in 1988

Siloam Springs scored three touchdowns in three minutes as the first half came to a close and went on to crush the Huntsville Eagles 48-13 in the Panthers' annual homecoming contest at Glenn W. Black Stadium.

The Panthers had already built a healthy 21-0 cushion when senior halfback Gary Dunlap capped a 10 play, 68 yard drive with a six-yard run that gave the Panthers a 27-0 lead with 4:06 left in the first half.

But the Panthers weren't through yet. On Huntsville's second play from scrimmage after the kickoff, cornerback Lawton Garrett, who earlier gave the Panthers a 21-0 lead by going 23 yards for a score after intercepting a pass, picked off his second pass of the game at the Eagle's 33, and returned it to the 16. After a penalty pushed the Panthers back to the 21, backup quarterback Chris Spence ran 21 yards for a touchdown, giving the Panthers a commanding 40-0 lead with 1:05 left in the half.

The 48 points was Siloam Springs' highest output since the Panthers clubbed Westville 55-6 in 1979.

10 Years Ago

From the Herald-Leader in 2008

The more than 150-year-old Hastie and George cemeteries in Siloam Springs had some welcome visitors. Boy Scouts aplenty descended on the historic burial sites in an attempt to restore dilapidated graves, clear wayward brush and mark graves that had long existed without identifying markings.

Matt Wilkinson, a member of Boy Scout Troop 84, spearheaded a project aimed at cleaning up the two privately-owned cemeteries that are in such close proximity to one another that they appear to be joined.

"I decided four or five months ago to make the restoration of the cemeteries my Eagle Scout project," said Wilkinson, a senior at Siloam Springs High School. "Most people don't even know they are there. It looks like one cemetery but it's actually divided into two -- the Hastie on the north and the George on the South."

Wilkinson first developed the idea from reading an article in the Benton County Daily Record about how Benton County looks for board members and volunteers and also funding for preserving cemeteries.

The cemeteries, located behind Walmart Supercenter near the Progress Avenue extension project, both seem to be full and haven't had a new burial since the late 1970s.

Listed among the cemeteries' 100-plus permanent residents are multiple Confederate soldiers and fallen soldiers of both World War I and II.