Harding College - Petit Jean Yearbook (Searcy, AR)

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Harding in Searcy . . . Heaven on Earth? Hvrding and Scarcy . . . xshcrc did one cnd and the nest begin? The two were so intcrttxincd so as to often seem the samc. Both xwrc syttonomous to many Harding students. Each one was unique in its own way, yet both sharcd many common attributes. The two grcw up together and bccuusc of that togetherness they became in- tcgratcd, Many students experienced a slight scnsc of culture shock when they came to Scarcy tor the first time. Not only was the town so small twith a population under llill teen thousandl, that it was impos- sible to get lost. but most of the xalttcs that had been abandoned in larger cities could be lound in Scarcy. lt uas a pleasant surprise to be able to lcaxc cars unlocked xtithout lcat'. Pcoplc still smilcd at strangers and getting acquaintcd was as easy as l'allinl ol'l' a log. E. C. Umbcrgcr commcntcd. ul was shockcd at the oumard friendliness hcrc. It was a changc to not have to drive 50 miles to get to do anything The question has been asked. thhich came first a Harding or Scarcy'r' Harding was a major in- u dustry of Scarcy. The majority of Hardingls work tlorcc wcrc Scar- cians. The school employed lour hundred and twcnty-l'ixc people from Scarcy and thc surroundingy area as staff. Without the school the unemployment rate would have been phenomenal. There were many indirect jobs created because of Harding's presence. Subcontractors who helped build the plant, thOsc employed by the many retail stores which owe their 18 Harding in Searcy lhw Hum: csistcncc to the business studcnts brought, and the many last llood outlets that linctl Race Stt'cct xwrc some of thescl The majority of in- direct jobs wcrc due to student business. Students brought in more than $7,000,000 21 year of uoutsidc'l cash. This l'igurc only included money paid to the university hhich in turn put it into the community in thc form of salaries, paymcnts l'or scrviccs, and paymcnts l'or supplics and equipment. Much of the money students

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B and the end is a new beginning. , RELICS of the early hours linger whispering the sweet freshness of thirst quenched. DA WN hwlmm wulh m-w hupm, .lrmh rrwryiav, and Ilu' lu'rwmml wrnml t'hum'u UNKNOWN ,muzlu'lllim await .s'Imlwm ul Ilu' ;'mmmvm'menl 0f cw'ry tluy. Wupcl ujlvn each in- dimluul u AIH't IrlI mm' of union with the wirin' .xlmlml luulv. , 17 New Beginnings

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spent directly in town went for food and gas. ll the average stu- dent spent only $l0 a week, an ad- ditional $128,000 was spent each month. Prime examples of indirect businesses created were the fast food chains. There was only one reason to justify the proliferation of fast food stores and that was - Dun II: IlltlHIl 1. WESTERN SIZZLIN em- ploys many Harding students. Assistant Manager. Mike Douthirt, readies the cash register for a busy evening. 2. HELPING keep the campus meticulously groomed, Matt Markley is one of the many Searcians that makes up the majority of Harding's work force. 3. THEpledge week con- cert billing this full, The Thrasher Brothers, drew both students and Searcians alike to an exciting evening of bluegrass and pop music. 4. CARS stream dawn Race Street Iowards town in search of a jhst-fooa' restaurant. a Don Holland A Dun Holland Harding students. An average town of comparable size could not support the number of restaurants found in Searcy. Some students felt that Searcy liked their money but not the stu- dents themselves. Rick Sisk, a senior marketing major from Memphis said, llMany students feel that the townspeople resent . .. them. The townspeople seem to think we are a necessary evil that has to be tolerated. Was this feeling justified? Don Diffine said no. According to Dr. Diffine, llOf all the college towns in which I have lived, the atmos- phere here is by far the best in respect to the relationship between the local people and the students. Of the hundreds of thousands of dollars that have been raised here in town, there would have been none raised if the townspeople did not like Harding. There may have been some truth to the rumor of resentment however. For those conducting business relations the ugly prob- lems of abuse and misuse occa- sionally reared their heads. Dennis Winnett reported, Many apart- ment owners feel that students do not take adequate care of rented property. Students too have periodic complaints about such details as leaking ceilings and paper thin walls. Rosemary Wil- son, Assistant Director of Admis- sions remarked, ul hear about the problems of the townspeople with the students. Bad check writing is a common example. However, proportionally students do not write as many bad checks as other patrons. And Harding aids the businesses in redeeming those that are written. Jaywalking on the way to church also generates a great deal of anger. ul just want to know why the students don't have to obey the law, one resident was heard to remark. Though a barrier might have ex- isted, it was not as tall or as thick as it could have been. The stu- dents and the townspeople got along much better than in times past. An open mindedness had de- veloped due to active involvement in each othersl affairs. Many of our faculty, such as Lott Tucker, served on the Searcy Chamber of Commerce. One hundred and thirty economics students col- laborated on a one hundred and fifty page book entitled, Locating in Searcy, Arkansas - Facts for Business and Industry, which had a direct influence on the decision of Wal-Mart and several other companies to locate in Searcy. Town participation in American Studies programs and concerts brought many to the campus that had never visited before. Increased involvement, open mindedness and charity opened the door to better integration and cooperation between Harding and Searcy. But Heaven on earth? Hardly. Just because Harding was the buckle of the Bible belt was no reason to expect to Find a Heaven on earth. Jack E . Zeigler - Don Holland 19 Harding in Searcy