GRAVETTE -- As the Gravette Historical Museum celebrates its 20th birthday this year, five of the museum commission members are also celebrating their 20th year of membership on the commission. Louise Evans is one of those who has been a member since the museum's beginning. She remembers working on the model of Gravette which was built for display at Gravette's centennial celebration in 1993.
When Johnny Varner, Gravette barber, wanted to build a layout of the town centered around a railroad track, he recruited John Mitchael, current commission chairman, and others to help him with the project. Louise, along with Dean and Wilma Fladager, helped recreate some of the buildings. She was a valuable asset because she had gone through the old newspapers and made notes. She became a resource for information on what businesses were in town and where they were located at the time depicted by the model, the 1920s. She recalls going to Varner's home and working on the buildings.
Louise is a lifetime resident of the area. She was born Louise Kelley, west of town at Beaty, and lived on Honey Creek Road, just off Beaty Road. She attended Beaty School through the third grade and completed her education in Gravette when Beaty was consolidated with the Gravette school system.
Louise attended beauty college in Miami, Okla., after her graduation from Gravette High School in 1958. She came back to Gravette and operated a beauty shop vacated by Eulalia Lowry for a few months. When Lowry moved back to Gravette from Oklahoma, Louise opened her own shop, the House of Beauty, on Main Street. She rented the building from Henry Manos and Dick Oswalt, who operated a real estate office next door.
Louise and Dodie Evans were married in 1960 and she continued to operate her beauty shop a year or two after their marriage. Kelly, their daughter, was born in 1961. Kelly now lives in Owasso, Okla., and the Evans' two granddaughters, Kristen and Katie, and great-grandson, Reece, also live in Oklahoma.
The Evans family moved to Rogers in 1962 where Dodie worked for Press Publishing Company. They returned to Gravette in 1963 and in January, 1964, Dodie began operating the Gravette News Herald, which he leased from Jack Galbraith. Galbraith owned a print shop in the same building. After closing her beauty shop, Louise worked with her husband at the newspaper until 1986.
Louise again opened her own business on Main Street in 1988. She operated P.S. II in the former Bank of Gravett building until 2000. P.S. II was a retail clothing store which also offered accessories, jewelry and gifts. The shop's inventory included several of Louise's crafts and woodworking creations. She once made and dressed a line of 26 dolls and named them, one beginning with each letter of the alphabet.
After her research in the old newspapers, Louise wanted to write a history of Gravette. She worked with Bob Kelley, Mary Flo Edmiston, Chris Conant and Arlee Blankinship to compile the history of Gravette that was published in the town's centennial year.
Her biggest project for the museum has been obtaining and restoring the old class pictures for the "school room" in the museum annex. She made a display for Gravette Day in 1998 with the current class photo and other class photos from years ending in eight, back to the first graduating class in 1908. In 1999 she added the class photos of classes ending in nine. She has continued with the project, adding photos donated by individuals and, where no composite picture exists, making her own by copying photos from old yearbooks. Since the last composite photo was made in 1964, she has made display boards with photos of each class, which can be seen in the school room at the museum.
Louise is also on the committee for the Lee Cemetery on Beaty Road, where her family members are buried. She and Virginia Todd set up a table there each Memorial Day weekend to raise funds for the cemetery's maintenance. She helped plan Beaty School reunions until the last few years and she is also very active in her church, the Gravette United Methodist Church. She compiled a history book and photo album for the church, has served on various church committees and has prepared and served food at many funeral dinners and fellowship suppers.
General News on 01/13/2016