Batesville's Own Bicycle Guru

By Julie M. Fidler
A 75-year-old Batesville man keeps in touch with his childhood through spokes, wheels and shining chrome.

Wallace Biddle still has his very first bicycle, a 1946 J.C. Higgins, red and white. His parents gave him the bike as a birthday present when he was 12 or 13. He put it into a barn when he began to drive.

Biddle grew up on a cotton farm southwest of Bay, between Jonesboro and Truman, in Craighead County. “It was a really small town,” he said. “There’s nothing there now. My dad ordered it (the bike) from the Sears & Roebuck catalog.” Sears’ store brand was the J.C. Higgins. Before that, it was Elgin, according to Biddle.

“It cost maybe $10 at the time,” he said. “It would probably cost $70, $80 or $90 now.”

Before he got his bike, Biddle would occasionally get a chance here or there to ride neighbors’ bikes. His family worked the cotton farm, and times were hard.

“I was proud of that bike,” said Biddle. “I’d clean it up every night before I went to bed. When we got our first vehicle, and I began to drive, I just put it in the barn. And it stayed up there all those years.”

About 20 years ago, he thought about the old bike and decided to get it out of the barn. It was still in pretty good shape. Biddle set out to make it “good as new.”

“That’s what got me started,” he said.

Bikes decorate his home, a shop, a garage and the yard, and are hung along a wooden fence in his front and back yards.

Biddle wasn’t born knowing how to repair or renovate bikes, and it has been a learning process. “I worked in a body shop for awhile after I got married,” he said. “They let me sand, and eventually I got into painting … on cars, that is.”

When asked what tools are involved, he said, “Just sandpaper and paint, basically.”

Fixing that first antique inspired him to do more.

He won’t work on just any old bike, said Biddle. He most enjoys ones at least 50 years old. “It has to be 50 years old before I’ll fool with it,” he said. “I like bikes from the 1940s and ’50s.” Bikes he says his family couldn’t afford when he was a boy.

“I have some that I always wanted when I was a kid but couldn’t afford, the ones that were more expensive back in the ’40s,” he said. “I have those ones now.”

When asked if he has a favorite brand, Biddle said, “Oh, I like to work on like them all. I don’t have a favorite. I guess some of them would be Western Flyers, Hawthornes, which used to be Montgomery Ward, Monarch, Rollfast, Schwinn.”

He estimates he has 40-50 bikes right now. Where does he get them?

“I bought most of them outright,” he said. “I find them all over, go to bike shows and bought a lot of them on eBay.”

Biddle said the nearest show is Springfield, Mo. He plans to enter at least one bike and is re-doing some previous work to make it “show quality.“

A triple-bypass heart surgery a year ago this month made Biddle put his hobby on the back burner, but only for a little while.

“It was probably three months before I was back at fixing bikes,” he said. “I feel great now; a lot better than before.”

He displays some of his bikes in his son, Howard Biddle’s, flea market on Malcolm Avenue in Newport. Howard Biddle said the enjoyment fixing old bikes gives his father has probably helped him stay so healthy. “He’s in better shape than I am,” he said.

Biddle has done a bit of remodeling for others, including a Monarch, an Elgin and a late 1960s Schwinn Sting-Ray Pixie.

“I haven’t made any money,” he said. “It’s just a hobby. I enjoy looking at them when I get through with them.”

Biddle has five children: Howard Biddle, Steve Biddle, Theresa Duncan, Jeanette Biddle and Laura Robinson. He has nine grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. He was the husband of the late Dorothy Biddle. He belongs to West Baptist Church of Batesville.

Shelter "Sweethearts" Need Home

By Julie M. Fidler
What better way to share the love on Valentine’s Day than to adopt a “sweetheart?” There are plenty of them at the Humane Society of Independence County’s animal shelter in Batesville.

Whether you’re a dog person or a cat person, there’s a sweet companion waiting for you. Many of the pets at the shelter have been there for years. Many were abused, abandoned and left to fend for themselves. Many are already house-trained, and all are spayed or neutered.

According to Bev Finch, executive shelter director, for a $50 charge, not only will you bring home your new companion, you won’t have vet fees to “fix” your friend (usually a cost of well over $50). Each pet has already had all its shots (except rabies and feline leukemia) and is guaranteed healthy.

“In six years, ONE female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies,” said Finch. “In seven years, ONE female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 kittens.”

Since 2002, when the doors to the shelter opened, the Humane Society has taken in 5,252 animals -- all at no cost to the county.

“We have assisted in helping 1,077 low-income families get their companion animals sterilized at greatly reduced prices at our spay/neuter clinics,” Finch said.

The Humane Society of Independence County holds fund-raisers throughout the year to cover the cost of the animals’ needs. Bark in the Park is one of those events. Finch said it was quite successful last year.

The event was held at Riverside Park in Batesville and drew a good crowd, she said. “There were activities and games for all ages. People brought out their pets, and it was just a lot of fun.”

The Humane Society is planning a “trivia night” for March as another fun way to raise money. Finch said she recently attended one such event in Mountain Home for an animal shelter there. She said people are divided into teams and asked questions similar to a game show. The exact date for the fund-raiser hadn’t been set at press time.

For those who would love to have a sweet canine or feline friend but, for some reason, are unable to adopt one, there’s still plenty they can do to help. Money is always good.

Finch said she appreciates all of the donations the shelter receives, not just the monetary ones. One can also donate time, and not necessarily a lot of it. “People think, if they’re going to volunteer, it’s going to take up a lot of their time,” she said. “Not so. You can sign up for a few hours a year, if you want.”

A volunteer dog-walking group meets every Thursday to take the dogs for a two-mile walk. Other volunteers are needed just to sit with animals at PetSense in Batesville each Saturday. The shelter keeps some cats at the store, which makes them more visible to customers. Dogs are brought in on Saturdays.

If you can’t give money or time, other donations are always accepted. Items such as cat litter and old bed sheets and towels are just as valuable, according to Finch. Other things the shelter always needs include laundry detergent, bleach, dog biscuits and cat toys.

The Humane Society of Independence County is located at #5 Environmental Drive, along Hwy. 167 North,
adjacent to the Recycling Center. Shelter manager is Lauren Howard.

The shelter is open Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5:30 p.m.; and Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The shelter is closed Sunday and Monday. The phone number is 870.793.0090. You may view adoptable pets by going to www.petfinder.com/shelters/AR65.html.

Thrift Shop Helps Domestic Abuse Victims

By Julie M. Fidler
BATESVILLE -- Now double the size, Family Violence Prevention’s resale shop is attracting some welcome attention for the organization that helps victims of domestic abuse.

Rebecca Riley, executive director of FVP, said the shop’s new location at 1280 North St. Louis Street (next to Tool Central) has increased visibility greatly. Formerly located near the end of West Main Street in a 3,000-square foot building, the new shop fills 6,000 square feet with clothing, furniture, appliances, housewares, knick-knacks, books and anything else one might need -- all at exceptional prices.

Riley said some victims of abuse, now clients, who have received help learned about the organization through the resale shop. The shop is governed by the board of directors of Family Violence Prevention, Inc., and pays two part-time employees. A new manager, Tonya Gibson, has just been hired at the shop. She replaces LaVonda Estep, who resigned to take another job.

The rest of the store is run by eight volunteers who put in many hours. “We have some very dedicated volunteers who almost work full-time at the shop,” said Riley. “We can always use volunteers.”

With more and more donations coming in than ever, due to the visibility of the new location, the shop will need more help from those who can spend some time sifting through donations.

Donations to the shop may be made during business hours 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Like the previous, smaller shop, the new store houses an “awareness section.” It includes T-Shirts decorated in memory of local victims and other items in remembrance of them. “That’s necessary to reserve that space,” Riley said. “The shop serves a dual purpose. It brings in some income so we can offer services, and it spreads awareness.”

Riley said the organization’s clients are able to use clothing, furniture and other items that are donated.

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Family Violence Prevention will host its second annual dinner and silent auction April 1. The event includes a 5-course meal, prepared by a chef. Local businesses donate items for the silent auction.

Last year’s event, “Silent (No More) … Dine to End Domestic Abuse,” was sold out with 130 in attendance.

This year’s dinner will be at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Batesville. Tickets go on sale in February at the FVP office in the basement of the Independence County Courthouse. They are $60 each.

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This past October, FVP held its 22nd annual candlelight vigil in remembrance of victims of domestic abuse across the state. Speakers at the vigil included Jayne Ann Kita, executive director of Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

During the vigil, the names of those who died due to domestic violence in 2009 were read out loud. There were 20.

During the same month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, FVP held a family event at Riverside Park to promote awareness … a first annual Celebrate Peace Event. It targeted children and youth and included games and activities.

The Artiste Becomes a Man

My baby is 18 tonight. Nicholas Jon was meant to be Nicole Marie, as I was meant to be Julie Marie.

Well, as I was not a disappointment to my mother, Big Nick Jon was not a disappointment to me. He was, however, a handful.

He was due to arrive on my 30th birthday, March 3, 1993. How cool was that? But, did Nicholas do what was expected of him? Hell, no. He picked his own birthday.

In fact, he kept us guessing and waited until roads were impassible, due to a blizzard.

On Mon. Feb. 22, while his dad was at work and his Grandma Fidler and I were shopping, Nick let me know he was on his way. Grandma rushed me to Harris Hospital in Newport, where Nick’s doctor was. False alarm. His brother never did that.

Although we had timed our route very carefully to the hospital from the ’hood, we really hadn’t figured in a blizzard. Come Wednesday about suppertime, Nick decided to make his appearance. We got in the Neon and headed to Jackson County.

On the way, we saw a beautiful shooting star. I wanted to change Nicole’s name to “Starr.” However, I had chosen Vincent’s name, and it was dad’s turn. Nick made us wait through “Home Improvement” and well into Jay Leno. Then, we were rushed to the delivery room. It was fixin’ to get more difficult.

Nick, like his brother, was very active. He was constantly moving around, finding where he wanted to be and having hiccups when he wanted to have hiccups. When the doctor (a pockfaced substitute from Memphis because Dr. Jabez was busy murdering ducks) announced we had a boy, I was fine with that. When he told us the baby wasn’t breathing because he had wrapped his cord around his neck (just like his brother), I was pissed.

The little guy was blue in the face and not making a sound. That acne-ridden doc slapped the Dickens out of Nick, and Nick let him know otherwise.              

Since then, my little artist has not fallen in with the “in crowd.” I’m so proud of my boy. I know he’ll do well.

Happy Birthday, my Sweetie Pie/Stink Pot!

Love,
Mom

The Legend of the Great Teen Idol Hair Controversy

I guess everybody is aware of the biggest international headline making the news this week. Lybia? No. Huge earthquake in New Zealand? Of course not. Union laborers fighting for their financial well-being in Wisconsin? Don’t be silly!

I’m talking about JUSTIN BIEBER’S HAIR, people! Have you seen it? OMG. Now, he looks like he’s 17 instead of 7. What on earth ever shall we do?

Well, I am here to advise the “Tween” girls of today. Ladies, I’ve been there, and I know what you’re going through. This, too, shall pass. Trust me.

Way back in 1976, during a whole 'nother millennium, when I was your age, there was a total fox named “Tony DeFranco.” And you know what? He was from Canada! Ontario! His whole family was musical, too. AND … this boy loved hockey, could dance and had the face and voice of an angel. But, more importantly, he had the HAIR of an angel.

Tony and his brothers and sisters, the DeFranco Family, burst onto the scene when they were discovered by Tiger Beat magazine. Yes! Tiger Beat magazine in Hollywood. We had it in the old days, too, believe it or not. So, when Tony was only 13, he had a huge hit with a dreamy song called, “Heartbeat, It’s a Lovebeat.”

I was 10, and I was in love with a capital “L.” I slept, dreampt, ate and breathed Tony DeFranco. I even had my hair done like his beautiful wavy brown 'do for my big brother Bob’s wedding. I was also an Official Tiger Beat DeFranco Family Area Promoter for Peoria, Ill. -- meaning, the next time they performed in Peoria, I would get to meet Tony and the rest of the family backstage!!!

Then, suddenly, in the spring of 1976, as Tony’s 17th birthday approached, the story broke in Tiger Beat. See, back in those days, we didn’t have the Internet, Facebook, My Space, Twitter, IPods, cell phones, video games or even cable television, let alone entire TV networks full of shows aimed at girls my age! Yes … that is hard to wrap your brain around, but please try, and listen.

So, anyway … My April issue of Tiger Beat came in the mail. I subscribed, of course. What’s that? Well, the magazines were much like those you buy at Wal-Mart now-a-days, but instead of looking at them on your world wide web, we had to either buy them at stores or, with a $7.95 check from your mom, you’d get a whole year’s worth, PLUS a book called “Tony’s Secret Photo Album!” OMG.

I opened the magazine, and there it was … Tony with CURLY hair. I mean, what we called “an afro.” Yep. I closed that Tiger Beat in a hurry until I had a minute to think.

The story was, Tony had gone swimming with his family in the ocean, and he let his hair “air dry.” See, till this point, Tony had always very carefully blown his hair dry with an old-fashioned, hand-held dryer and, I imagine, a round “straightening” brush.

Well, this led to months and months of internal debate for me. I consulted my Mom. “He’s a cute boy,” she said. She found it safe to ride the fence.

I showed my Dad side by side pictures to get his opinion. “Shhhh!” he said. “The weather’s on!”

I asked my big brother, Mike, while he was fixing his bike in the driveway. “Who cares?” he said. “He’s fat, and he looks like a girl either way.”

No help there. I consulted my closest girlfriends, but alas, they were with the opposite camp --- Donny Osmond and his brothers. Every Tiger Beat reader knew we would never see eye-to-eye on that particular issue. My 57 DeFranco pen-pals were split pretty much down the middle.

That’s when it hit me! This was Tony DeFranco we were talking about! MY Tony. My future husband. Who cared how he wanted to wear his hair? By the time Tony’s 17th birthday rolled around at the end of that August, I had accepted Tony just the way he was, curly Canadian white-boy afro and all.

And you know what, girls? Tony and his family never had another record as big as “Heartbeat” after that. We watched him lose to Donny, and we took it with our chins in the air and our shoulders held high.

You know what Tony’s doing today? He’s a very happy family man, a very successful real estate agent in California, and guess what? He’s still a total fox!

So … see? Nothing to worry about!

www.tonydefranco.com

Depression-Era Photo Inspires Artist's Journey

By Julie M. Fidler
A Batesville artist, inspired by an old photograph, made a week-long trek along Route 66, stopping here and there to set up her easel and paint.

On Feb. 22, Aline McCracken, a part-time art instructor at University of Arkansas Community College in Batesville, opened a month-long exhibit of water colors she painted on her “sentimental journey.”

In 2005, McCracken found a photo of her father and two uncles, taken during the Great Depression. The three brothers (McCracken’s father, Russell Cantrell, and two of his brothers, Vernon and Doyle) traveled west to pick fruit. They came back and forth from Arkansas, stopping to play music to earn gas money. At the time, they used the well-traveled Route 66.

McCracken knew two of her friends, Stacey Spraggins and Renee Ramsey, would enjoy seeing parts of the famous route. Spraggins, who McCracken said is “fascinated” with Route 66, planned a trip that would take them through five states from Springfield, Mo., to Santa Rosa, N.M.

“Father, Uncle Vernon and Uncle Doyle were three of six children,” said McCracken. “The picture was taken after they’d been in California several years and came home for a visit in Fulton County. They bought this car … Daddy played his banjo. He sold it when I was born, to pay the bill.”

Doyle stayed in California to raise a family while the other two brothers came back to north-central Arkansas.

The three women set out in McCracken’s car because it was the newest, and because it was a PT Cruiser. “What better way to see Route 66 than in a ‘cruiser?’” said McCracken.

However, the car broke down in Santa Rosa, N.M. While they waited for repairs at the dealership, the friends unloaded all of their supplies and painted in the lobby.

“We painted while we were there,” McCracken said. “We took 1,200 photographs between the three of us. People in those towns would follow us around and give us advice and give us presents.”

McCracken had seen part of Route 66 in its hey day. “I was on that road in 1964 in a Volkswagen with a friend from Georgia,” she said. “It was a lot of fun.”

The three traveled through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico.

The artist’s exhibit features watercolor paintings of the road itself or things around it.

Some of the paintings on display have already won awards. “Santa Rosa Angel” won first prize in the still life category at the Grand Prairie Festival of the Arts in Stuttgart. It shows a statue of a child angel on the grave of a young girl.

A painting titled “40 Over, 66 Under” won third place in the landscape category at the same festival. “To find Route 66, one must have a guidebook,” McCracken said. “Many places in the old ‘Mother Road’ are covered by the new interstate highway. In this scene, 66 is a weed-covered trail which curves under and around I-40.”

“That whole trip was just one fantastic adventure after another,” she said. “Art’s more than just paint on paper.”

The exhibit, “Route 66: Springfield to Santa Rosa,” is on display at University of Arkansas Community College in Batesville in the Roy Row Sr. and Imogene Row Johns Library and Academic Building. The show lasts through March, and it is open free to the public.