From her station closest to the front window, Carol Bateman has seen Bella Vista change over the last 33 years. She owns Generations beauty shop and will retire at the end of this year.
Her shop is located in the first strip mall built in Bella Vista. When she opened the shop with her sister, Nancy, her niece was planning to open a flea market and call it Generations. The two sisters knew they would be working with all age groups, so they borrowed the name.
The strip mall looks over U.S. Hwy 71B, across from Sugar Creek Center. In 1986 there was a dress shop, a men's wear shop, an exercise studio, a business that sold balloon creations for parties and at the end, a video rental store, along with Generations.
Across the street, where CVS is now, there was a check-in place for the RV Park, which was then located along the creek. One time when the park flooded it took campers vehicles down the creek.
"I watched them build that bridge," she said, about the Mercy Way bridge over the creek. Traffic used to go over the dam, but a woman was killed when she drove off the dam and a new road was needed. It took a long time, she remembered. Watching from her window, it seemed as if the engineers spent months moving piles of rocks back and forth across the future road way.
Neither the school, nor the veterinary clinic were there until after the bridge was built. There was a stable where you could rent horses where the school is now and the parking lot where the Veteran's Wall is now, used to serve a little red building where you could rent paddle boats to use on Lake Bella Vista.
"There was a lot to do in Bella Vista back then," she said.
"I watched them build the movie theater and then I watched it close," she said.
When Generations opened, the Country Club was the place to go on Saturday night. They men wore jackets and the women had their hair done. They danced to the big band music and the food, she remembers, was wonderful.
There were only about 2,00o people in town so it was easier to keep the amenities up. A little brown bus brought clients to her from Concordia. She still has Concordia clients, but now they ride in a Lincoln town car.
The shop was busy throughout the '90s.
"We charged a lot less," she said, "but we were making real good money."
In 2015, Bateman was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was old enough to retire, but she couldn't leave her customers. They had become her family. She cut back to part time.
She still has clients who come in regularly to have their hair set on rollers along with a younger generation that wants their hair blow-dried. Her oldest client is about to turn 104.
"I'll be 76 in January and I'm ready," she said about retiring.
A different beauty shop is set to move in and a new observer will get her window station where she can watch the city grow.
General News on 12/25/2019