GRAVETTE — Bob Kelley's life has come full circle. He's living today on the same farm where he was born. His home is on Kane Road near Georgia Flats. His grandparents' farm was down the road, just west of the Georgia Flats Cemetery. His dad, Robert F. D. Kelley, was a Gravette native and his mother, Ferne (Gilges) Kelley, was born on a farm near Maysville.
Bob grew up in Gravette and graduated from Gravette High School in 1965. He says his mother told him he should be a history teacher but he credits Charles Kelley, his high school counselor, with helping him choose a career path. He had no definite plans after high school and, since he graduated during the Vietnam War, thought he might be drafted into the military. The counselor asked if he would like to teach kids about careers and he thought that sounded interesting.
Kelley attended the University of Arkansas. He married Sandy Parnham in August, 1966, just after his freshman year in college. Their wedding day was a big day in town, Gravette Day, and the day the airplane was dedicated in Kindley Park. He received his bachelor's degree in education from the U of A in 1969. Shortly before graduation, he learned from a poster on the bulletin board at Peabody Hall, the education building, that there was a job opening in Salem, Mo. He moved to Salem in the fall of 1969 and began teaching vocational education there in a program similar to Arkansas' DECA program. He taught in Salem for 16 1/2 years.
Kelley received a call in the fall of 1986 asking if he'd like to leave teaching and come home to Gravette to begin operating the insurance office on Main Street. He agreed and spent several weekends traveling to Jonesboro to take classes preparing him for the insurance exam. After passing the exam to get his insurance license and being released from his teaching contract, he went to Columbia, Mo., and got instruction at the Shelter Insurance home office. He took over the Shelter Insurance office here in January, 1987.
The Kelleys have two children. Their son, Michael, lives in Orlando, Fla., and is employed at Disney World where he has worked ever since graduating from college. Their daughter, Kathleen Baker, lives in Bentonville with her husband Kent. Kathleen is employed by Precision Analytical Labs in Siloam Springs. The Bakers have given Bob and Sandy two granddaughters. Kentley, 17, is a senior at Bentonville High School and Kelsey, 13, is an eighth grader at Fulbright Junior High.
Kelley was the Shelter Insurance agent in Gravette for 27 years. He retired in January, 2014, on the same date he started the job. Soon after he retired John Mitchael, museum commission chairman, asked him about joining the commission.
"Now that you have extra time on your hands, we can use you on the commission," he said.
Although Bob was looking forward to spending more time with his family, he also agreed to become a museum commission member.
Kelley has long been interested in history. He was on the committee that helped compile the Gravette history book in Gravette's centennial year. One of his favorite experiences was a couple of years ago when Richard Page, Gravette school superintendent, invited him, John Mitchael and former newspaper editor Dodie Evans to speak to Gravette teachers at their back-to-school teachers meeting in the fall. The trio related events from Gravette history and a slide show of historic scenes was shown.
Kelley has a reputation as an excellent storyteller and he recalls, with a chuckle, that Page told the teachers, "Bob would never let something like the facts get in the way of a good story."
Kelley has no special area of interest on the museum commission. He says he just tries to help out wherever he is needed. He has assisted with the museum's "My Collection" exhibits and helped give tours of the museum, including two tours for second graders at the end of the school year. He and Sandy dressed in period costume, posed as Mr. and Mrs. A.E. Kindley and hosted the museum's "Come Home for Christmas" tours last year.
Kelley has worked to help the commission members prioritize projects. They plan to soon complete the barber shop and newspaper office displays in the museum annex and they would like to acquire the old home economics building to use for additional display space. The museum has a Facebook page now and Kelley says he would like to do research in the old Gravette newspapers, find significant historical events and post those events as occurrences "on this date in Gravette history." He would also like to see a brochure printed with history and pictures of Gravette's historic homes, especially those owned by the Gravette family.
In addition to his interest in history, Kelley is an avid baseball fan. He says, when he was a kid, baseball was the only sport for youngsters in the summer. He played for coach A.L. "Pop" Allum on Little League baseball teams and for coach Bernard McAbee in both Little League and Babe Ruth. Years later, he says, he played in a church league in Missouri "long after I should have quit."
Gene Stephens, a major-league baseball player who played for 12 years, mostly with the Boston Red Sox, was born in Gravette. Some of his early baseball cards listed his birthplace as Gravette. Later cards listed his hometown as Oklahoma City. Gravette youngsters treasured the cards mentioning Gravette, Kelley says, and "we thought if Stephens could do it, we could do that too."
Kelley saw his first major league baseball game on his senior class trip. The class went to Saint Louis and attended a game at Sportsman's Park between the Cardinals and the Giants. He got to watch Willie Mays hit a home run and see the Cardinal icon fly across the scoreboard. He later got to attend games in Busch Stadium and then the newer Busch Stadium, opened in 2006.
Kelley owns a baseball encyclopedia and several tickets from major league games, including a few from the 1944 World Series when the two Saint Louis teams, the Browns and the Cardinals, played each other. He has a collection of baseball cards but they're all Gene Stephens cards, prompting a young friend to ask his nephew, "Have you seen your Uncle Bob's baseball cards? They're all one guy."
When you see Bob Kelley, ask him about Gravette history or major-league baseball. But make sure you have some free time. You're sure to get a good story.
Community on 06/01/2016