It’s a small collection of streets that make up the neighborhood: Robin, Cardinal, Thrush, Lark, and Starling. Dove was added after all the history was made.
In the early 1960s when we first moved into Birdland, there were an abundance of lots available. There were several undeveloped lots on the east side of Robin near the circle where a baseball diamond, complete with backstop, stood. The lot sloped a little, and Buddah could hit a ball from home plate all the way into his front yard. On Cardinal, next to the Brook’s house, was an open field where we staged the 1964 Olympic Games. We had sprints, the long Jump and the high jump in that lot. Mike Dickson taught me to pole vault there. At the end of Starling, someone kept a pony and nearby stood the famous ‘U’ shaped tree. In the big tree behind the Parker’s house, there stood a three story tree-house which overlooked our series of trenches and fox holes. The tree house featured a zip line for emergency escapes. The block of woods north of Birdland has become the back nine of the Jonesboro Country Club, but back in the day it was just the ‘woods’. We often played ‘Army’ in the Woods. At the north east corner of ‘the woods’ sat the remains of the old ‘CC Camp’. During World War II, the ‘CC Camp’ had been a German Prisoner of War camp. Someone had a tall chain-link fence around the property to the immediate West of ‘the woods’. There were peacocks in there that always sounded like they were hollering ‘help’. North of the woods were train tracks followed by some soy bean fields, another train track and then finally, Arkansas State College. Somewhere at Arkansas State College, they had some buffaloes. At the intersection of Nettleton and Caraway, a left took you to the college and a right put you on a gravel road.
In the spring, everyone flew kites. If you think crossing the streams of anti-matter in the Ghost Busters is bad, crossing strings of a high flying kite is much worse. The wind seems to have always come from the south because our kites flew high in the sky, reaching over the woods. Invariably the string broke, and the kite was lost to the woods. Using wheels from dead lawnmowers, we built cars out of scrap wood and metal ‘for sale’ signs. These were the days of Sting-Ray bicycles. We used to ride them to the Tastee Freeze for a ‘Brown Derby’ or a cherry coke. In those days, that was a coke with a squirt of cherry juice added. Sometimes, we would comb the ditches on Nettleton for coke bottles so that we could turn them in and get money to spend the Tastee Freeze. Summer afternoons were spent playing baseball, and everyone wanted to call their team ‘The Cardinals’. We all pretended to be either Bob Gibson, who owned the mound, or Orlando Cepada, who had the coolest name in history. Summer nights were sometimes spent watching ‘heat lightening’ in the night sky to the east. Occasionally, we’d watch the skydivers leap from planes and drift gently on the wind over the Jonesboro Airport. This was the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, everything was aquamarine, and we all had to learn to sing Herman’s Hermit songs with a proper English accent.
As the 1960s faded into the 1970s, Birdland changed. Many of the vacant lots now had homes resting on them. The field where we had the Olympics now was home to Suzi Decker’s family. In the early 70s, many of us learned to drive in Birdland. Some of us were better at it than others. I remember one friend who, despite years of practice driving golf carts, somehow managed to mow down Dr. Simpson’s mailbox (and very nearly Dr. Simpson himself) on the way to an early morning class at Heifer High.
At some point in the late 1960s, rather than spending afternoons playing ‘Army’, playing football became the norm. As was usual, Dickson and Brooks taught the whole neighborhood to play football. Football purists will sometimes debate as to the greatest football game ever played was. Some claim it was the Ice Bowl in 1967 between the Packers and the Cowboys. Other folks will tell you it was a NY Giant’s game. I believe it was a game played on a cold, wet and windy Sunday afternoon in the empty lot on Lark with Mike Dickson as one captain, and Mike Brooks as the other. Each team had about four kids ranging in age from 6 to 12, and the game went on all afternoon. No one in the NFL can muster the level of effort put forth by every kid in that game. In the end, with eyes nearly swollen shut and proudly sporting evidence of bloody noses, we all went home covered in mud and absolutely exhausted. What we all remembered were the plays we made in the course of that wet, cold afternoon. I’m pretty sure no one really cared about score of the game. We played for the intense camaraderie and the pure joy of giving it all you had. I miss those days. I miss those friends.
Most of the kids who grew up in Birdland left by the early 1980s. Already empty nesters were moving out, and new families were moving in. More empty lots gave way to new homes. The Brooks built a new home on Robin. Birdland was changing again. At some point, they added Dove to the neighborhood.
I read this morning that one of the iconic homes in the neighborhood, the Parker home, was torn down yesterday. Mr. Parker, in a lot of very real ways, built Birdland. His home sat at the end of Robin on a hill over the circle. At some point Mr. Parker acquired a cannon for the front yard. I thought that was a nice touch.
So now the Parker home in Birdland is gone. I saw a photo. It’s a pile of rubble. The U shaped tree has been gone for years. No one even knows what a Sting Ray bicycle is. Today, the woods are part of a manicured golf course, and all that remains of the CC camp is faded memories and the occasional black and white photo. The Tastee Freeze was replaced by a strip mall with an insurance office. I doubt the neighborhood has seen a front yard football game in twenty years.
By the looks of things, it’s clearly not the same place anymore. All is not lost. If you close your eyes and pause just for a minute, you can remember. You will remember the music and the magic, the laughter, and the fun that was Birdland. It will live for ever in the memories we share and the stories we tell our kids and grandkids.
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I loved reading this! You are spot on and your memory is still serving you well. Thank you for sharing and recreating fun times back in the day!
We built our house on Thrush in 1968, and lived there for nearly 40 years. A wonderful place to live…Everything was close by. The neighbors were wonderful,
It was truly the best of times.
Thanks for the memories ✌
Great remembrance . Grew up on Cobb Street where my great grandfather bought the land in 1876
Of course the whole neighborhood is gone replaced by Dr offices and a giant parking lot for the hospital. The memories are still fresh in my mind. Jim
Cobb
Thanks for sharing. It seems like yesterday. I was born in the late 50s and still remember the Parker’s Inn, the log house/building on the corner of Nettleton and Carraway. That’s all was there at the time. From there back to your house, to the College was mostly woods, and driving down Nettleton this time of year was like driving through a tunnel for the big overhanging oak trees on the shoulders of Nettleton Road. Remembering the brown derby from Tastee freeze brought back memories like going to Roy Garrett‘s restaurant just down the street was a treat that we would look forward to going to all week. I met Matt in the early to mid-70s at basketball camp and became friends with he and the rest of the basketball players at Jonesboro high school that graduated between 75 and 77 and would play basketball any given day we can muster up more than four guys to play with. I still see him every once in a while, and he and his son used to lease Duck blinds from me for several years between Valley View and Weiner. Thanks again for the sharing of the memories. I will hold them in my heart forever. Your message touched many hearts today and on behalf of the rest that are reading, thank you for taking the time to do so.
That was awesome!
Birdland is still one of the best neighborhoods in town.
I can proudly say there have been several front yard football games, my boys and tons of others have continued that tradition. As with any neighborhood in any town new changes are made which never erase those wonderful memories, but plan for new memories. Even though I no longer live in Birdland, I know without a doubt it will continue to have kids making memories in front yards and new construction or remodels only improve the neighborhood.
For some reason my last post didn’t publish…
Birdland is one of the best neighborhoods in Jonesboro still today. Kids do still play football in the front yards, my boys were part of that tradition too!!
Changes always happen and Birdland is going through some great changes now. Looking forward to the next traditions and memories being made for sure.
Thank you Bill. They said they were not tearing down the house or I would have backed out. There are many memories with my family even though we had only been there since 2012. The loads of trash I picked up after being at the weekend at the lake or after vacations were a testimate to the children having fun in my yard and in my trees.
It’s so sad that the heritage of 1101 Robin Road is gone but never forgotten by those of us who appreciate and remember.
Well said my friend.
Julia C Martin Robinson
Love this, brought back so many wonderful memories. Birdland was the best neighborhood EVER !!!
Bill you captured our childhood lives so perfectly! Living in the “weird” house on Cardinal Rd was one of the happiest times of my life. Life was so simple, and full of great neighbors. You boys had fun but so did we girls! Had a neighborhood-wide Barbie wedding in a vacant lot down the street from our house. Also a pet show at same locale. Night time activity of kick the can was “ coed” however. Some days Mom did not even know where we had lunch! She just knew some great nice neighbor would feed us. Whew you really bright back memories Bill. Many thanks!
Meant Jennifer Phillips!
Thank-you to Bill and everyone for sharing these great memories. It is heart warming that so many people have fond memories of our family home and Country Club Heights AKA “Birdland.” When my mother was late in life, the kids referred to the magnolia tree as “Heaven” and I know that title gave my mother a feeling of peace. Birdland continues to be one of Jonesboro’s most desirable neighborhoods with many people constantly renovating and improving homes. A relatively new tradition in the 2000’s was the 4th of July golf cart parade to the tune of “Rockin on Robin.” There have been several people who left Birdland, only to return years later. Examples include Ronnie Hedger, Mike Brooks, Barry and Kitty Ledbetter, Angie Stone (I think) and me. (after being gone 18 years). The cannon is still shot for “marryins and buryins,” most recently at Matt, Jr’s wedding at a venue west of Rogers, Arkansas. Keep the post coming. Best to all! Matt Parker
My husband, John Sifford, grew up at 1109 Thrush, where his 90 year old father, Dewey Sifford still resides. John was there from 1968-1999. He has awesome memories of the Birdland neighborhood. Including the Clarks, Abbotts, Beadles, McKinneys, Kirkpatricks, Snodgrass family, Stepkas, General Wood’s family, Clairdays, Rossas, Dowdys, Hedgers, and Burl Brown family. After Tastee Freeze it was the Kirkpatrick Drive Inn where Bill Clark and one of the McAughn brothers would dance to Carl Douglass’ – “Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting”. Several doctors have come out of that neighborhood.
What a great read & even better memory Bill! Thank you for laughter & wonderful memories. Every July 4th we heard the cannon boom! Christmas & New Years too as I recall. Although we were in different age groups, you & your family as our back yard neighbors were awesome ones to have. Daddy & Mother had opened Lucky’s Supermarket & soon followed our move from Glenwood Dr across town to Robin Road. Our home sat in between the homes of ASU Artist extrodinaire Prof Dan Howard & home of Geoffrey Pugh. My lil brudder Stacy played with his /your age groups of guys, Matt & Bert, Marilyn Hummelstein’s lil brother, plus Steve Emerson & Earl Bell were always in our home ~ trying really hard to pester me to death .I can remember hosing you guys off outside, removing mud from giggling little boys who’d played all afternoon long in great games. Our home on Robin Rd saw plenty of activities with Little League fun & yearly team bus trips to watch a StL Cardinal’s game, matchbox car races, go cart racing up /down Robin Road & basketballs all over our enlarged driveway. Plenty of fire baton twirling & early morning twirling practice occurred 1965-70 during hot summers in my JHS years & 1st ASU year. Dr Simpson’s daughter, Anne, came down the hill from your street to practice with her “majorette sisters”, ie, all of us in my front yard. Many times all 9-10 JHS Majorettes practiced in the street in afternoon cool shade of those gorgeous tall trees growing in yards of Grimes & Stone & Brown homes. I married in ‘69 leaving BirdLand., taking with me marvelous wonderful memories of a lifetime! One of last memories there was when Mike’s & my 2 yr old son spiked 105 temp in middle of the night & went into a temperature seizure. Daddy took off running across our backyard to grab your dad., jumping chain link fence next to you. Dr Garner jumped with him, running back in his pj’s & robe, your mom standing on carport shouting positive words of encouragement to all of us. Jackie was awesome. The phone was right there by his bed yet, that’s the kind of quick response interaction people had with neighbors in BirdLand. We were a complementary compassionate community fully prepared to try in providing whatever assistance was necessary as need arose for our neighbors of BirdLand. Bless your dad for coming that night. He stilled our fears as our son did grow out of those seizures. My parents & I were always so thankful Jerry Spurlock & Marie Parker told us about 1202 being “for sale” long ago. Childhood of a lifetime ♥️ Hugs,
Dana Greene Finan
Bill – Thanks for the great memories. – John(ny) Phillips