The first born of Billy Ray and Joan (Dobbs) Smith, Grandson of Chester
Everett and Maude Leona (Corbin) Smith and Delford and Callie Mae
(Moore) Dobbs, born June 6th, 1954 in Smith's Clinic in Bradford
Arkansas. Bradford is a small town just five miles down what use to be
U.S. Highway 67, from Russell Arkansas.

Russell, Arkansas, is the small hole-in-the-road town nestled at the
foot hills of the Ozarks, and it is there that Joe began his life in a
small four roomed framed home, without the benefits of running water or
an indoor bathroom. He grew up enjoying the simple pleasures of life,
pumping water from the ole hand pump, romping in the hay fields of the
farm, eating fresh grown strawberries, blackberries, and grapes
straight from the vines, drinking ‘Ole Beauties' milk straight from the
source, watching the beautiful hills turn all those wonderful colors
that only the Ozarks can deliver, watching the apple, peach, pear, and
dogwood trees burst open with their blooms in spring, sweating in the
dog days of summer when it was so hot that the only way to cool off was
by riding your bike like the wind with your dog ‘Tippy', a collie,
chasing by your side, and looking out that window at the winters when
the hills and trees became a winter wonderland from the sun glistening
off the snow and ice, while he was warm and comfortable by that pot
bellied stove. And Family. Always family, there when he needed them.

Like the time he needed them to sew up his leg and new over-alls, that
he had gotten for his birthday, an event that made him think he could
jump that fence,  just like his Grandpa.  Like the time he needed them
when the neighborhood bully was picking on him, and his Dad taught him
how to fight for the first time, to win. Like the times when he fell
and his Mom picked him up, cleaned him up, kissed away the hurt, and
placed that all important band-aid over the hurt. Like the times that
Granny made those fresh homemade cinnamon rolls on the old wood cooking
stove.  Like the times that Grandpa took him squirrel hunting with him.
Like the time his Dad let Joe Ray help him with the painting and the
boy painted the porch that wasn't suppose to be painted. And the he
replied "You mean booger you, I thought you were my Buddy?" And his Dad
was. These are the times that he grew in, the times that shaped his
mind and soul. And these are the things that still touch him today.
 

He began his formal education there in that small town of Russell, in a
three room school that housed six grades. The first and second in one
room, the third and fourth in one room, and the fifth and sixth in yet
another room. In his first and second grade he was the only boy, of
course there was only two girls too so he wasn't completely out number.
He always got to be ‘Fall Festival King' but the girls had to take
turns each year. He had it made there and then, if he would have only
known it. But in his third year of schooling he was transferred to the
school in the big city of Bald Knob, Arkansas. Where he finished out
his high school education and completed his rounding out by
participating in such activities as football, basketball, track,
baseball, served on school paper & annual staffs, student government,
and most activities that were available them. He had two drawings that
were displayed at the state capitol and at the college, he had a poem
published in the Arkansas Gazette in about 1970, but there are no
traces of any of these now. He graduated 2nd in his class only to this
one girl who didn't take all the hard classes like he did, the
chemistries, the physics, calculus, geometry and the numerous other
hard classes.  Everyone encouraged him to go to college and become a
doctor, a fine field for someone like him. But what did they mean by
someone like him. He was just like everyone else.

He didn't really want to become a doctor, but so many people were
counting on him to fulfill their dreams and plans for him. After all no
one in the family had graduated from college much less become a doctor.
And that was his destiny. But that wasn't his dream it was everyone
else's. But in 1972 away to college he went, to the University of
Arkansas, to become a doctor. But as all dreams that are not your
dreams do, they quickly became a nightmare. He failed 10 hours of his
first semester, after testing out of three years of math and two years
of science. How could that be. Was it because he was partying too much,
that was part of it. But it just wasn't his dream. So he transferred to
Arkansas State University to try something else, but the spark was
gone, his only want now was to go to work and be like everyone else. So
he dropped out and went to work, working construction, various types of
building trade work and of course pipeline work. For a man can't be
from Bald Knob, Arkansas and not work on the pipeline. In Bald Knob
they give boys union cards instead of birth certificates when they are
born.

In 1976, he traveled to the great state of Alaska to work on the
Trans-Alaskan Pipeline, called by some, one of the greatest
undertakings by modern man. It transverses 798 mile of some of the
roughest territory in the United States. But oh, what a view. This was
the first time his heart was broken, for he had asked his favorite girl
back home to marry him and she had agreed, only to break his heart when
he returned to the barren waste lands of Alaska. What happened to that
view, it was gone. Once he finally returned to the lower forty eight
states he continued to work on the pipeline and building trade works
including a couple of nuclear power stations. He traveled to nearly all
the states in the United States. He was trying to forget, to get lost,
or maybe to find his old self. In 1982 he finally received that degree
that he had started only 10 short years earlier. Not as a doctor but
with an accounting degree, thanks to the IRS, who inspired him to
change from an engineering field into the accounting field after
auditing him and taking the money he had saved to return to college on.
This caused him to have to have to work a full time job at night (as a
meat cutter), a part time job during day (school bus driver), and full
time student. But these were some of his most fun times in his life, he
was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, and served as their
president when they won the Smythe award for best chapter in the
nation.

After graduating college, his first two jobs involved sales. The first
one was selling insurance, a job that he hated with all his heart. The
second one was selling industrial chemicals, better but still not his
cup of tea. It was during this time that he developed the idea for the
organization known as DGA or Distinguished Greeks of America. An
honorary organization that recognized junior and senior members of
fraternities and sororities all across the nation. He started this
organization and published a directory of his first recipients. It was
an idea that should have been his life's calling, but he thought it was
necessary to find a real job. Something that was steady and dependable
and would put food on the table. Constantly and Consistently. So he
went to work at Land O' Frost. A local factory where he worked on the
factory floor. His first job there was shoveling chickens from combos
into barrels, to be processed into lunch meat. He quickly advanced
there due to his education and work skills. There was one promotion
after another, until he was promoted to a level of incompetence, as so
many are done in the work field today. So once again he found his self
changing fields but with one big change. He had met his life's mate,
Debourah Sue Arnold, while working there and they were married on
September 14, 1985. They enjoyed many years of marriage and continue to
today, probably the best thing that ever happened to him.

After being ‘let go' from Land O' Frost he decided to do some computer
consulting work as an independent consultant and computer instructor.
This worked great for a few weeks until he caught up on everyone
problems. After all there really weren't that many personal computers
back in the 1980s, he should have waited a few more years. So he
returned to what he knew best Construction. It was hard on him to start
with, after all he had been working behind a desk for several years and
was a little out of shape. Once again he found himself being constantly
promoted, to lead man, supervisor, foreman, general foreman,
superintendent, and final area superintendent for a large construction
company. Until he had finally had it with all the politics and back
stabbing and said enough is enough. He threw in the towel and went back
working his tools. He slowed down, started working only a few weeks out
of each year and started enjoying some of those same things that was
talked about in the first couple of paragraphs of this text, with one
exception he started a new hobby. One that takes up a lot of his time
but one that he probably enjoys more than anything he has ever done
before. GENEALOGY. If he could only make a living doing it, wouldn't
his whole world be great.

If it hadn't been for Joe, I'd still be sitting here twiddling my thumbs over the Dobbs line.
Joe, this rose is for you:)  You deserve SO much more just for putting up with
me.  Thanks for being such a great cousin:)

Joe Is Researching the Following Surnames is Earnest:
Dobbs/Smith/England/Barnes/Scott/Oaks

Joe Ray Smith
302 Newell Road
Bald Knob, Arkansas  72010
 

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