Biography of Vander HUGHES, Scott Co, Arkansas

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Contributed by Delaine Edwards.
July 6 1999

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THE ADVANCE REPORTER
Thursday, March 23, 1967
Spotlight On...
VANDER HUGHES
	When this familiar phrase is heard, "A friend in need is a friend 
indeed," many people place Vander Hughes in the front row of those they 
know to be their friends indeed. And there are few adult citizens in this 
area who have never met Van. During his some forty years of public 
service as a mechanic in Waldron, it would not be easy to assemble enough 
figures to indicate how many times this expression has been heard: "If you
want it fixed, take [it] to Vander Hughes."
	Van's grandfather, Rice Hughes, made wagons. He moved from Tennessee
to Waldron two years after the end of the War Between the States. Van's 
father, G.G. Hughes, was a blacksmith.
	Van completed a course in auto mechanics in a Kansas City school in 
1916. His first employment as a mechanic began in 1922 with Arch Shirley 
who had the Ford automobile agency here. After ten years with Shirley, 
Van and Bryan Denton (now doing business in Waldron as Denton Motor 
Company) established a partnership which lasted 15 years. Later, Van 
established his own shop near his home north of Waldron on Highway 71 
where his friends in need bring gadgets to be mended...wood as well as 
metal. His knowledge and experience in mechanics is acknowledged and 
appreciated by others who are engaged in similar fields.
	While Van is welding your broken stove cap lifter, or sealing a hole
in your aluminum bake pan, or perhaps building up a worn tooth on the gear
of your favorite diesel engine, he will keep you entertained by telling an
acceptable joke-or he will swap ideas with you on planting peanuts when 
the moon is right, or the best way the war in Vietnam could be won. 
Whatever the subject, Van is always on your level when conversing with 
you; and you'll feel better after a few minutes' or an hour's visit with 
him.
	Van's only helper in his shop is his wife, Chloe, who drops in 
occasionally when her housekeeping chores permit a visit to the shop. Van 
and Chloe were married in 1924 and they have 2 daughters, both married.
	Van and Chloe are members of the Square Rock Methodist Church, and 
both are active in church and community affairs. Van is a member of the 
County Welfare Board.
	"The best way to stay healthy is to keep busy," Van said recently. 
Evidently he has a good point. He's 67 years young, and he's always busy.