Bill and Joy Ward share memories from the past

Wednesday, August 27, 2014
MADELINEDEJOURNETTadvancensc@sbcglobal.net Bill and Joy Ward have been a part of the Advance Community their entire married lives.

Bill Ward has lived in Advance all his life, and, unlike most people, he remembers practically every detail of life in this small community, from the time when there were eight restaurants to the building of the new medical center on the old square.

"I used to have a photographic memory," the former businessman says. "But my memory isn't as good as it was before my heart surgery in 2005."

Joy Ward, Bill's wife, leans over and shakes her head. "He still has a good memory!" she whispers in her usual gentle, low key manner.

submitted photo Bill Ward graduated from Zalma High School in 1957.

The couple dated during the fifties, when most towns in southeast Missouri had movie theaters.

"Advance had a good theater," Bill says. "We could see first-run films every night. Bill Sherman owned it. It was located on the square, where the old Western Auto used to be. (Gospel Mission was the last business in that location) Sherman had a movie theater in Bloomfield, too. He was building one in Jackson, when he died."

Drive-in theaters were also popular during the fifties. The couple went to the Midway Theater between Dexter and Bloomfield.

submitted photo Bill Ward has been carrying this tattered photo of Joy Ward in his wallet since high school.

During the fifties, Frank and Ruby Clayton ran the Flamingo Drive-in, where they served good malts and burgers. Another nearby restaurant was the place to go after church on Sunday.

Just south, Mutt's Place attracted teenagers and adults from all over the area for a fun time. Dancing was a big draw at this establishment.

Bill Ward lists the eight eating establishments when he was growing up in Advance. The NSC writer attempts to keep the list straight: Mutt's Place, the Flamingo Drive-In, Musgraves' Restaurant, Cunningham's, Charlie Hinkle's Place on Highway 25 (where My Daddy's Cheesecake is now), Berry's on Highway 91, Snider's (across from MFA), Lottie & Archie's, and Dean's Place (on the square).

"We could get six plays on the juke box for a quarter at Dean's Place," Ward remembers.

There were over a hundred businesses in Advance in those days, including a bowling alley, which was located on the current location of the Bank of Advance.

"We had bowling teams," adds Joy Ward.

Bill Ward's family history goes back to the long-ago days when his grandfather worked for the T.J. Moss Company, the largest supplier of railroad ties in the country.

In 1935, Bill's grandfather and father, Ivan Ward, bought the store where the Bank of Advance is now and opened a general merchandise store.

In 1952, Ivan Ward moved the store to Charlie Prather's building on the square across from the park. The "new" building was owned by Irma and Lon Pullum.

When asked the year of this move, Bill Ward thinks back through the years for an event with which to connect the change of locations.

"They moved the store the year I got typhoid fever," Ward says.

"What? You had typhoid fever?" asks this reporter.

"Yes, I was flat on my back for three months," Bill relates. "I was in the sixth grade, and I had to learn to walk all over again. I was the first patient in Cape to get a mycin."

Bill and Joy ran the grocery store until he had his heart surgery in 2005. His mother and father, Velma and Ivan Ward, operated a clothing store on the north side of the building, which was later razed to make room for Cross Trails Medical Clinic.

Bill and Joy Ward have been married for 56 years, ever since they eloped, when they were just teenagers.

"We thought we were too young to be married," Joy confesses, "We didn't tell anyone except my sister, and she told my mother, who actually went with us. My sister was our 'best man'!"

The couple was married in Hernando, Mississippi, a popular wedding destination during that time period.

Bill and Joy Ward have three children--Scotty, 56, Ginger, 52, and Todd, 51.

They have six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, all of whom are an important part of their lives.

The Ward marriage can be most characterized by love, respect and a strong work ethic.

"She's been the glue that's kept this marriage together. She is a classy lady," admits Bill Ward, who has carried his high school sweetheart's picture in his billfold since she gave it to him on his 17th birthday.

"We always had a job," says Joy Ward. "We had to get up, get the kids off to school, and get to work. We didn't have time to get into other people's business. You can't be selfish in a marriage--you have to give more than 50 percent."

The Wards have been a part of the Advance United Methodist Church, she for 57 years, and Bill, all his life. Bill Ward still has his mother's old Bible, which continues to speak to him through the notes she penned in the margins.

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