Posted by DEAN SKIP RUTHERFORD – Bald Knob, Ark., (population 3,210) is home to the one of the best — if not Arkansas’s best — home town drive-in restaurants. “The Bulldog,” which happens to also be the name of the high school mascot, serves some of the best home cooking I’ve ever had. Since Bald Knob is Arkansas’s strawberry capital and the home of the state’s strawberry festival, it’s only fitting that the Bulldog’s speciality is homemade strawberry shortcake. The barbecue, fried chicken, beef stew and homemade pies also give the shortcake a run for its money. Clinton School staffer Eric Wilson is a huge fan of the peanut butter and banana milkshake. Though having tried it once, I wouldn’t put it in my Bulldog top ten. I would opt for the calories from the Lemon Icebox pie.
I had Labor Day lunch at the Bulldog and during my time there at least 50 others were also dining. It was encouraging to see that kind of economic support for a small business in a small town.
Today’s Bulldog stop, however, was different than most. The Bald Knob school system is in financial distress, and unless approximately $2 million in private funding is raised by Sept. 24, the school faces consolidation or annexation. Neither option was sitting well with the folks having lunch at the Bulldog. But it certainly was the only topic of conversation — the Bulldog staff told me about $500,000 had been raised. If my math is correct, that’s already more than $150 for every Bald Knob resident. Usually when I make a Bulldog stop, people ask me about Bill or Hillary Clinton, but this Labor Day it was all about saving Bald Knob’s schools. As the late Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill once said, “All politics is local.” How true.
Fundraising is everywhere. Flyers promoting all kinds of events were posted on the restaurant door. Parked outside the Bulldog was a 2007 Suzuki Eiger 400. The all-terrain vehicle is being raffled off with the proceeds going to the Committee to Save Bald Knob Schools. The raffle tickets are $5 each or $20 for five tickets, and sales were brisk. (No, I didn’t buy a ticket). Other fundraisers I saw included car washes, bake sales and catered dinners. There are donation jars in almost every business, and workers are not hesitant to ask out-of-town visitors like me to contribute (which I did).
Bald Knob is less than 20 miles from Searcy, the home of Governor Mike Beebe. Prominent Little Rock advertising executive Wayne Cranford graduated from Bald Knob High. Former State Senator Bill Walmsley, now a Batesville, Ark., attorney, calls Bald Knob home. It’s a community rich in heritage and tradition. Here’s hoping it can save it’s school system which is so much a part of the fabric of this small but wonderful Arkansas town.
Donations can be made to an account at Citizens State Bank in Bald Knob or via the donation jar at the Bulldog. Tickets for the four wheeler are on sale until Sept. 22. If you have any questions or need additional information, call Bald Knob information and ask for the Bulldog.
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