Rector celebrates Labor Day tradition
One of Clay County’s most treasured yearly events is the Rector Labor Day Picnic, set for Sept. 4-7, some 25 miles southeast of Corning.
Nearly every September since 1941, Rector has held the festive gathering, founded to raise funds for the upkeep of Woodland Heights Cemetery, an effort that continues. The first Miss Rector, Demetra Bradshaw, was chosen in 1944. During that decade, elaborately decorated floats and bicycles were featured in a parade, which happens this year on Sept. 7.
In the 1970s, the Rector picnic expanded to the entire Labor Day weekend. In the 1990s, the park’s Community Center was built to enhance the festivities.
The fun begins Sept. 4 with the Rector Saddle Club Rodeo, as well as the start of family, class and work reunions. The fun culminates on Labor Day morning (Sept. 7) with the parade from downtown to the picnic grounds in Veterans Memorial Park, along South Main Street just north of U.S. 49. Attractions at the park include a talent show, games, carnival rides, music and food.
For more information, visit rectorarkansas.gov/labor-day.
Rivers and history run through Clay County
The lawn of Corning’s courthouse is graced by a tall obelisk honoring America’s war dead. he lawn of Corning’s (corningar.gov) courthouse is graced by a tall obelisk honoring America’s war dead. The gleaming pillar rises outside the one-story building, which shares the role of Clay County’s seat with a nearly identical structure in Piggott, 25 miles to the east.
Inscribed on the Corning memorial is a message that blends a universal focus with a local one: “In honor and loving memory of the veterans of all wars, with a special salute to those from Clay County who gave their lives for our country. May they not have died in vain.”
Train town
The building of a railroad from St. Louis to Little Rock led to Corning’s establishment as Clay County’s seat with its incorporation in 1877. It was named for one of three men connected with the rail line, but which Clay remains unclear. By 1880, the community’s population reached 393 as oak and cypress products were harvested and shipped north. The next year, a second courthouse opened in Piggott to ease access to official business given the county’s swampy terrain.
Corning attracted light industry in the 1950s and 1960s, but most of those factories later closed. One of the city’s largest employers today is Clay County Electric and their fiber subsidiary, Clay County Connect. Other prominent employers include 1st Choice Healthcare, the Corning School District, Peco Foods, Inc. and Riceland Foods.
Parks and places
M.B. Ainley, Jr. Community Center, 536 E. Elm St., is the city’s main venue for indoor recreation. Its facilities include a basketball court, a cardio room, a weight room and a racquetball court, as well as conference and dining rooms.
Victory Lake Park, which partly surrounds the center, contains the city’s golf course as well as a fishing pier.
Two Corning homes are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Sheeks House, 502 Market St., is a wood-frame structure with a hip roof. It was built in 1872 and has been owned for most of the time since by Edward V. Sheeks and his descendants. He was one of the community’s first prominent businessmen.
Oliver House, 203 W. Front St., is an 1880 L-shaped structure with porches supported by Tuscan columns. It was built by J.W. Harb and bought soon after by Dr. J.L. Oliver Jr. The interior’s original woodwork includes two impressive fireplace mantels.
Dining choices include Parkview Restaurant, 1615 W. Main St.; Gigi’s Restaurant, 301 N. Missouri Ave.; Harold’s BBQ Restaurant, 1108 W. Main St.; American Dragon, 1504 W. Main St; Market 602, 602 SW Second St; and Twisted Toppings Pizzeria, 2000 U.S. 67.
Fishing and festivals
Tucked in Arkansas’ northeast corner, Clay County is a popular fishing destination. That is thanks in large part to the four rivers — Black, Cache, Current and St. Francis — that flow through the county’s 639 square miles. The Black River runs just southeast of Corning from its source in southern Missouri.
Wynn Park, on Kipper Lane off West Main Street (U.S. 62) hosts several popular events. Annual festivities include the Corning 4th of July Picnic, Easter Egg Hunt, Boo Bash and Hop Alley Rally, a spring festival held on Main Street. On the fourth Saturday in October, the Harvest Festival features crafts booths and displays of old-time farm equipment that mark the county’s agricultural history. Christmas in the Park salutes the holiday season each December.