GRAVETTE -- They say, if you want something done, you should ask a busy person to do it. That saying seems to ring true with Gravette resident Mike von Ree. Even though he's quite involved with his family, his business and his varied interests, he always seems to find time to do whatever he's asked for his town and for the museum.
Mike von Ree is one of the five charter members of the Gravette Historical Museum Commission. He worked with John Mitchael to help draft the ordinance that was passed in June, 1995, to create the museum. He is currently serving as the museum commission's treasurer. He is a Texas native but has lived in Gravette 24 years, moving here in April, 1992.
Mike von Ree was born in San Antonio, Texas, in December, 1947. His family moved from there to Yuma, Ariz., where they lived a couple of years, then on to Henderson, Nev., where Mike grew up and graduated from high school in 1966. After high school, he went to trade school in Las Vegas for training in electronics and took a job with EG&G, which built information gathering equipment for the nuclear testing site there.
He then moved to the Los Angeles area in 1973 and began working for Hughes Aircraft. He stayed at Hughes for 18 years, building test equipment for weapons systems, and met his wife Susan there when she came in as a new hire in his department. Mike trained Susan for her job and they soon began dating. He says it took him about three years to talk her into marrying him.
When the von Ree family began to grow, Mike decided he didn't want to raise his children in LA, so he asked for a layoff and they moved to Arkansas. They stayed, at first, with Mike's sister and family, who live on 10 acres between Springtown and Highfill, and then lived in Bentonville for a short time before moving to Gravette. His daughter, Mary, was a freshman in high school when they moved to Gravette, Shannon was 5, Katie was 4 and their son Jeremy was 2; so the youngsters all think of Gravette as home.
When the von Rees lived in Bentonville, they would drive around and look for a place to buy. They liked Gravette and one day they drove by and saw their present home on Main Street. They saw the "For Sale" sign and Mike decided to buy the house before he ever saw the inside of it. He operated his business out of his home until he bought the studio and the house next door from Barbara Blumenthal after her husband Nate died.
Mike became involved with the community in 1994 when he became general coordinator for Gravette Day. He served in that capacity for six years and also joined the planning commission in 1995. He was appointed to complete Nate Blumenthal's term on the city council in late 1995 and ran for the position the next year. He served on the city council for 10 years, from 1996 through 2006, and became city recorder in 2008. His job title changed to city clerk when Gravette became a first-class city. This year will be his 20th year coordinating the annual Fourth of July fireworks show.
Mike von Ree is Gravette's city planner and is responsible for all zoning changes and lot splits. He has been actively involved in two large annexations, the community of Hiwasse and the areas east and west of Arkansas Highway 279 up to the Bella Vista city limits. He is also city treasurer, signing off on city budgets. He plans to keep doing these jobs as long as he can.
"I like being involved in the city," he said.
"Cooking is my hobby," Mike says.
He does much of the cooking at home, and he has used his skill to benefit the museum. He has cooked meat several times for barbecue sandwich fundraisers and once prepared full barbecue dinners with ribs, brisket or chicken and potato salad. He coordinated the chili cook offs with Mary McKee on Gravette Day for several years and his most recent cooking job for the museum was preparing all the chili served at Gravette's "Come Home for Christmas" celebration. He has also cooked Swedish meatballs for a couple of the Chamber of Commerce "business after hours" events at the museum.
Mike is not himself a musician. "I play the radio," he says. But he describes himself as a hard core country music fan. He recalls attending the "California Jam," a big musical event featuring seven rock and roll bands at the Ontario Motor Speedway in the Los Angeles area in 1974. As he and his buddy left the concert, they saw two girls sitting on a dumpster and asking for spare change to get home. He later learned that one of the girls was Susan, his wife, a few years before he met her. Mike and Susan attended a Willie Nelson concert at the Universal amphitheater in Los Angeles on one of their first dates. He has now been to six of Willie's concerts. He recently attended a Hank Williams, Jr., concert at the Walmart Amp and he already has tickets for a Doobie Brothers concert there in May.
Mike von Ree operates his business, Wizard's Works, next door to his home on Main Street. He makes trophies, signs and banners, makes, repairs and sells jewelry, changes watch batteries and watchbands. He also does desktop publishing, creating business cards, flyers and brochures, and makes and sells custom apparel. Susan worked for Peterson Farms and then was maintenance parts-room attendant at Simmons Foods for several years before going on medical leave last year.
The von Ree children are grown but Mike remains a dedicated family man. This week he has been enjoying a visit from his son Jeremy, who is home on leave from his Army post at Fort Campbell, Ky. Daughters Mary and Shannon live nearby in Fayetteville, and Katie is in Rogers. The von Rees have seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Yes, von Ree is a busy man. What makes his schedule all the more amazing is that he does all these activities from a wheelchair. He contracted polio in 1952, just a month before his fifth birthday. He walked with crutches and leg braces for many years until his back gave out, and he became confined to a wheelchair about five years ago. He drives with special hand controls on his vehicles and a van with a lift allows him to load and unload his wheelchair.
Community on 04/06/2016