GENTRY -- Though Jack has spent a little time in the hospital lately, even receiving a pacemaker a few weeks ago, Jack and Alma Lampkins of Gentry are set to celebrate a milestone in Jack's life that few ever reach. Jack turns 100 years old on Thursday, March 19; and a special open house to celebrate the occasion is being planned from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday at the home of friends Sandra and Eddy Thompson, 407 N. Nelson, in Gentry.
Jack was born on March 19, 1915, in Pocahontas (in northeast Arkansas) and came to Gentry with his family in 1922.
"We moved to Gentry with a team of mules," Jack said, adding that his parents worked for Allens and Feemsters.
Jack said his mother used to work as a cook at the old Elberta Hotel (then located on Gentry's Main Street at the current site of the new Arvest Bank building).
Jack said that in his younger years he used to be friends with Bob Bever and Ross Wilmoth.
"You name it and we done it," he said.
Jack and Alma described Gentry in the days when even the main streets were gravel and water was drained from Main Street in a wooden trough. The booming town had a grocery store, movie theater, tavern and numerous other businesses.
"Movies (in Gentry) were 10 cents," Jack said, "and you could buy a knee-high (a tall soda) for a nickel and a hamburger for 8 to 10 cents."
Jack said the roof of the movie theater caved in years ago.
Each year a carnival came to Gentry, Jack said, and set up on Main Street near the hotel. He said it had a Ferris wheel and other attractions.
Jack and Alma described sale barn days in Gentry, saying that every Monday there would be auctions at the sale barn, located behind what is now Twice But Nice on Gentry's Main Street. Each Monday furniture and other goods would be sold in the mornings and cattle would be sold in the afternoon, Alma said. People came from all around on sale barn days, she added.
A wooden jail was located behind the current police department, Jack said, and he described how an acquaintance of his once set it on fire from the inside.
Jack and Alma have been married for 49 years and have known each other for 53 years. Alma was born and raised in the Gentry area, first at Bloomfield and later in Gentry. She said her uncle owned and operated a grocery and dry goods store in Bloomfield. Both Jack and Alma were married previously. Jack has two sons who live in Lawton, Okla., and Alma has a deceased daughter.
The couple met in 1962 when Jack was building the Franklin Electric building in Siloam Springs -- now a DMT Services warehouse and truck terminal. He was staying at the Park Hotel in downtown Siloam Springs for $1 per day at the time, he said. The Hotel is now Inn at the Springs, 201 West University, in Siloam Springs.
When Jack met Alma, he asked a friend how old she was and learned she was nearly 30 years his junior; he decided to stay away. When his friend told him she had already been married and had a child, he thought differently.
According to Jack, he saw Alma walking down the street and pulled up along side her and told her to "get in here."
"She's been in here ever since," Jack said.
While at first being accused of robbing the cradle, the couple doesn't hear that much any more. Alma said people still are amazed when they learn she is only 71, nearly 30 years younger than her husband.
The couple has lived in numerous places because of Jack's work in construction as a cement finisher. Among places mentioned were Benton, Mt. Ida and Stuttgart and locations in Oregon, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Jack's work in construction meant moving often for jobs.
Alma said Jack helped build a hospital in Mt. Ida and a courthouse in Stuttgart, adding that few others could claim having hung laundry out to dry on the courthouse square in Stuttgart. Jack said he also poured concrete sidewalks on Gentry's Main Street.
While hard work over the years may have kept Jack strong, he attributes his longevity to work left to do, saying he doesn't look back at what is past but ahead to what needs to be done.
"The Lord's got something for me to do yet," Jack said. "I've got to live for that day."
Jack said he'd like to tell the younger generation -- the kids -- about history and the things he's learned over the years. He says he wants to tell them, "Don't do as I've done; do as I say."
He also says he wants to tell kids to read the Bible and tell him the things they've learned.
Jack also said God has been good to him, allowing him to see 100 years.
The Lampkins have made many good friends over their years in Gentry. One friendship came about when Lori Johnston saw Jack sitting out on his porch in the heat of the day and she stopped to give him a bottle of water. Since Jack, who likes the heat, sat outside almost every day, Lori would often stop and bring him something to drink.
After several days of this, Alma said she finally had to find out who this young woman was who kept stopping and bringing her husband a bottle of water or pop and telling him to drink it.
"I told her, you have an advantage over us. You know who we are but we don't know who you are," Alma said of first her conversation with Lori. At that point Lori introduced herself as Lori Johnston, the mayor's wife and a neighbor. The friendship has continued to grow.
"She calls us every day to check on us," Alma said, "and they often bring us food and gifts."
Alma said she told Lori they could never repay her for all the food and things she has brought them, and Lori explained she was not doing it with any expectation of being repaid.
"Now, she'll call and say she was driving by and noticed someone must have left a couple of sacks of groceries on our porch," Alma said.
Alma said Lori regularly brings them food that is pre-prepared or only requires heating in the microwave because she knows it's hard for me to stand up for long in the kitchen. "She knows we like soups and brings us all kinds of soups," Alma added.
Alma also spoke of the kindness of Kenny and Teresa Farmer from their church, Victory Baptist in Gentry. She says no day goes by without Kenny checking on them and encouraging them. When Jack has been in the hospital, Kenny has always come to visit, she said.
Another friend, Naomi Cooley, on Jack's 99th birthday, posted a sign in the Lampkins' front yard saying that people should honk when they passed by because Jack was 99. People were honking their horns all day, Alma said.
This year's birthday is special, though, since it's Jack's 100th, and Sandra and Eddy Thompson thought a reception was in order and agreed to host the event on Saturday. A big cake is planned for guests; but since Jack prefers pie, Alma is planning a favorite pie for Jack.
And, if Jack has his way, there will be more birthdays to celebrate. "I'm going to live to be 112," Jack said.
General News on 03/18/2015