50 Years Ago
From the Herald and Democrat in 1970
Bun Drive-In, highway 68, west, on Dec. 11 and 12, observed their Grand Opening. The specialties were 1/4 lb. 100% beef hamburgers, of the best grade, and all bought locally, fresh, along with your choice of Mexican foods.
The Bun Drive-In was the only place in town with a drive-in window.
Free rides for the Grand Opening were available in the Meadow Gold Space Ship.
The manager said he hoped he didn't experience the fate of a Missouri friend. College students "swiped" the Space Ship, set it up behind the girls dorm and had a field day running it before they were requested to return it.
Hours for business were 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
"To serve the people of Siloam Springs and area with courtesy, cleanliness and good food" was the aim of the manager and employees.
25 Years Ago
From the Herald-Leader in 1995
Cherry Wood Center. The name sounds as if it were a place to relax, a place anyone would like to call home. Of course it is not; but its residents could help find a place that sounds just like it.
Butch and Suellen Coleman of Coleman & Company Realty Inc. built and moved into their new location at 801 U.S. Highway 412 west, near MovieTime Video, offering Siloam Springs and its surrounding areas real estate service. The business had been in operation for more than 10 years at its former location in Spring Creek Village and had expanded. "We needed to add more space and growth area," Suellen Coleman said. "We doubled our square footage and added computer equipment to offer better real estate service to the public," she said.
The Colemans had nine full-time employees that served the Arkansas and Oklahoma areas. The sales staff at Coleman & Company Realty Inc. had been with the Colemans for more than 15 years. "They were with us before we went into business for ourselves. We consider ourselves a family unit. I think that helps the public....We work well together," she said.
10 Years Ago
From the Herald-Leader in 2010
In the bootheel of Benton County, an amphitheater would beckon big-name music groups and fans to the countryside venue.
Osage Creek Performing Arts Center would sit between hills and pasture along Logan Cave Road, a gravel road about 10 miles east of Siloam Springs.
It is scheduled to open in 2011, said Greg Smith, owner and president of Osage Creek Performing Arts Center.
The amphitheater itself would have seating for 5,000, but the surround hillsides would allow for more than 15,000 people.
"It almost makes me think of Woodstock," said Mayor David Allen, before the ceremonial groundbreaking for the project.
A small town in southwestern New York gave its name to the massive rock music festival that took place on farmland nearly 60 miles from the town in summer 1969.
On a cool and windy morning, about 50 people attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the amphitheater.
Smith said two big acts had been booked there for the next year.
"My dream is becoming a reality," Smith said.
He said he wouldn't release the names of the performers until after Jan. 1.
Talent like Jimmy Buffett, Carrie Underwood and Kenny Chesney were a few names Smith hoped to headline there.
Architect Leslie Persohn of Newport Beach, Calif., said the amphitheater would be built with a post-beam structure and could handle any type of musical event.
Persohn said the surrounding hills would create a natural amphitheater effect.
"Very rarely has an architect been blessed with such a site," Persohn said. "It creates a terrific opportunity for something like this."
Allen said he used to ride the school bus along Logan Cave road.
"How can you get a better place acoustically and visually than what God has provided here," Allen said.