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Congrats Finneys of C-town on winning ABC's, 'The Great Christmas Light Fight'
Posted on 12/23/15 at 6:27 am
Posted on 12/23/15 at 6:27 am
Crossett Man Wins Grand Prize on 'Great Christmas Light Fight'
Crossett family wins ABC's 'The Great Christmas Light Fight'
Congratulations, Mr. Sam Finney & family from Crossett on winning $50,000 on ABC's 'The Great Christmas Light Fight'!!! ... The Finney family has been displaying their Christmas lights & decor for 30 years, and I've been all but a few of those years, most years, several times per season. They hand light & make the majority of their decorations, adding more every year, and the only proceeds they take in are from a small donation box which they use to help with electric bills during the season, putting back into their display the following year, giving to their church, and helping those less fortunate. Being a very spiritual family, the true meaning of Christmas, "the reason for the season," is a main theme throughout the huge display, along with secular, patriotic, & whimsical themes. It truly is an incredible display, & for those who haven't seen it, it's worth the trip to SEARK. This honestly couldn't happen to a nicer & more deserving family. ... Thanks, Mr. Finney & family for your three decades of incredibly beautiful displays, and on doing the hometown proud!!
Crossett family wins ABC's 'The Great Christmas Light Fight'

Congratulations, Mr. Sam Finney & family from Crossett on winning $50,000 on ABC's 'The Great Christmas Light Fight'!!! ... The Finney family has been displaying their Christmas lights & decor for 30 years, and I've been all but a few of those years, most years, several times per season. They hand light & make the majority of their decorations, adding more every year, and the only proceeds they take in are from a small donation box which they use to help with electric bills during the season, putting back into their display the following year, giving to their church, and helping those less fortunate. Being a very spiritual family, the true meaning of Christmas, "the reason for the season," is a main theme throughout the huge display, along with secular, patriotic, & whimsical themes. It truly is an incredible display, & for those who haven't seen it, it's worth the trip to SEARK. This honestly couldn't happen to a nicer & more deserving family. ... Thanks, Mr. Finney & family for your three decades of incredibly beautiful displays, and on doing the hometown proud!!

This post was edited on 12/24/15 at 1:24 pm
Posted on 12/23/15 at 6:52 am to pioneerbasketball
I couldn't believe it, but was so happy for him & his family; they truly are very deserving. They definitely aren't well off, but sacrifice a lot & work very hard on it each year. I've been going to his display, for so long, it's just become a part of Christmas for my family, as well as most in Crossett & pretty much all of SEARK. Even those like myself & my family who no longer live there, make it a point to go back & see it at least once a season. I recognized most of the displays in the video clip. The one with the snowmen going up & over the cliff in the video is one of the displays from the first year. It's great to see the new things each season, but funny because the old ones are very comforting. A few years, a couple of the displays weren't put out because they were being repaired or re-lit or re-painted, and we all freaked out, wondering where they were!!!
... You should take a trip down this season & bring your kids; they'd love it!! They keep it lit through the first, I believe.

This post was edited on 12/23/15 at 6:53 am
Posted on 12/23/15 at 7:26 am to Arkla Missy
That's awesome, I'd love to take my mom but she couldn't walk it- I assume it's a drive thru thing?
I'm directionally dysfunctional, I've always wanted to try Craig's bbq. That's along the way somewhere right? Hmm...
I'm directionally dysfunctional, I've always wanted to try Craig's bbq. That's along the way somewhere right? Hmm...
Posted on 12/23/15 at 7:47 am to piggilicious
quote:
I've always wanted to try Craig's bbq. That's along the way somewhere right?
No, Craigs is straight east of LR almost halfway to Memphis, and Crossett is way down near the border of Louisiana.

Posted on 12/23/15 at 7:51 am to hogminer
Ok, thanks but poop. One of these days Craig's, one of these days...you will be mine.
Posted on 12/23/15 at 7:56 am to piggilicious
You can pick some up on the way to the Liberty Bowl!
Posted on 12/23/15 at 9:37 am to piggilicious
You are definitely directional challenged.
Who down voted the OP?
I miss holiday lights like this. Dallas just doesn't get into it at all. The best we have are the 1 million shopping centers lit up.
Congrats to this family. How fun!

Who down voted the OP?

I miss holiday lights like this. Dallas just doesn't get into it at all. The best we have are the 1 million shopping centers lit up.

Congrats to this family. How fun!
Posted on 12/23/15 at 9:48 am to hoginthesw
Bet they get a few more visitors going forward.
Congrats to them I watched most of their segment but left for camp before winner was announced.
Nationwide contest so really impressive that someone from little ole Crossett would win.
Congrats to them I watched most of their segment but left for camp before winner was announced.
Nationwide contest so really impressive that someone from little ole Crossett would win.
Posted on 12/23/15 at 10:02 am to hoginthesw
quote:
You are definitely directional challenged.
oh you have no idea the amount of wrong turns i've taken in my life- both literally and figuratively.

Posted on 12/23/15 at 4:53 pm to Arkla Missy
Saw it and heard about it too, have you heard or seen anything, today?
Posted on 12/23/15 at 8:22 pm to piggilicious
Hey, piggi, I'm glad hogminer put up a map bc when you asked about Craig's, I was like, huh???
... Funny you brought it up tho, bc my brother was just talking about taking us all over there during the Christmas holiday. I've never had it, but hear it's pretty incredible, and as long as it's before New Year's Day, I'm good to pig out on some pig.
... I think it's about an hour & 1/2 east of Conway/LR?
To get to Crossett from Conway area, you go south thru LR, to PB, to the metropolis of Star City, although there's a hidden gem (literally) in the woods (literally) there - an amazing area of little speciality shops, called The Country Village, one being a jewelry/clock/watch/fine gift shop called Fuqua's, with some of the most gorgeous & largest selection of gemstones I've ever seen. People actually come down from all over the state for the rare gems like Alexandrite. Sissy's Log Cabin in PB doesn't even compare on the gemstones. It also has handmade cuckoo clocks & grandfather clocks which they make there, on the premises - you can actually watch them. There's also a huge selection of Waterford, & china collectibles, etc. Other shops in the village are a gorgeous leather shop w/handmade saddles, wallets, etc., candy shop, bakery, toy store, BBQ restaurant, steak house, catfish restaurant, bookstore, and some other stores I can't think of. No doubt, you know what I head directly for when I stop by there going back & forth between BR & Conway!!! I even by-pass all the tasty goodies in favor of the sparkly ones!!
... It's owned by a large family, who are just the nicest people. It's one of those very cool, quaint places literally nestled on very woodsy, cozy grounds, and the shops are all individual wooden buildings - very picturesque. Actually, I'm trying to find a pic, lol. Check them out on Facebook under The Country Village in Star City, AR.
So, after Star City, you hit Monticello, home of UAM & Ray's BBQ, which I've never been a fan of at all - Ray's, that is; UAM is ok. Lol - it's come a long way since I lived in Crossett. You'll see Ray's right on the side of the hwy. in Monticello, & might be tempted to stop - it's in an old building, same one since it's been in business for a ga billion yrs., and if you do, you very well might get lucky & get a good BBQ sandwich or platter, but every time I've tried it, mine has just never been very good at all, although others just rave about it. Hell, Podnuh's, the chain out of out of Monroe, LA, has MUCH better, imo. Anyway, Monticello is about 45 mi. north of Crossett, which you'll finally arrive at next if you veer to the right & take Hwy 133, the highway The Finney's light display is directly off of, instead of continuing straight south through Hamburg. Since the purpose is to see the display, that's the route I'd suggest, and tbh, there isn't anything to Hamburg anymore (not that there ever was - no offense H'burg peeps!!!
) especially since I think the Catfish Inn closed.
...
Continued next post ...


To get to Crossett from Conway area, you go south thru LR, to PB, to the metropolis of Star City, although there's a hidden gem (literally) in the woods (literally) there - an amazing area of little speciality shops, called The Country Village, one being a jewelry/clock/watch/fine gift shop called Fuqua's, with some of the most gorgeous & largest selection of gemstones I've ever seen. People actually come down from all over the state for the rare gems like Alexandrite. Sissy's Log Cabin in PB doesn't even compare on the gemstones. It also has handmade cuckoo clocks & grandfather clocks which they make there, on the premises - you can actually watch them. There's also a huge selection of Waterford, & china collectibles, etc. Other shops in the village are a gorgeous leather shop w/handmade saddles, wallets, etc., candy shop, bakery, toy store, BBQ restaurant, steak house, catfish restaurant, bookstore, and some other stores I can't think of. No doubt, you know what I head directly for when I stop by there going back & forth between BR & Conway!!! I even by-pass all the tasty goodies in favor of the sparkly ones!!

So, after Star City, you hit Monticello, home of UAM & Ray's BBQ, which I've never been a fan of at all - Ray's, that is; UAM is ok. Lol - it's come a long way since I lived in Crossett. You'll see Ray's right on the side of the hwy. in Monticello, & might be tempted to stop - it's in an old building, same one since it's been in business for a ga billion yrs., and if you do, you very well might get lucky & get a good BBQ sandwich or platter, but every time I've tried it, mine has just never been very good at all, although others just rave about it. Hell, Podnuh's, the chain out of out of Monroe, LA, has MUCH better, imo. Anyway, Monticello is about 45 mi. north of Crossett, which you'll finally arrive at next if you veer to the right & take Hwy 133, the highway The Finney's light display is directly off of, instead of continuing straight south through Hamburg. Since the purpose is to see the display, that's the route I'd suggest, and tbh, there isn't anything to Hamburg anymore (not that there ever was - no offense H'burg peeps!!!


Continued next post ...
This post was edited on 12/24/15 at 5:35 am
Posted on 12/23/15 at 8:25 pm to Arkla Missy
Tbh, there isn't a lot left of C-town anymore either since Koch bought out Georgia-Pacific. It's declined so badly in the past 20 years, it's barely recognizable to me. It was a very cool little town growing up, being only an hour north of Monroe & west of Greenville, MS, with the Quachita River running through it, and Lake Chicot just to the east, one county over. It was a rather well-off little town with plenty of water activities, community pride, good schools, good athletics, school spirit, etc., and if you didn't know of it & hadn't seen it for yourself 20-30 yrs. ago, you'd think I was lying through my teeth. Literally a handful of people my family knows are still there; and zero of my friends I went to high school with are still there. Its population continues to decline each year, and honestly, I wouldn't let a child of mine attend the public schools there. It hurts my heart.
... Seriously, there are no decent local restaurants anymore which is a shame considering Tommy's Catfish Shack (literally) served the best fried catfish I've ever eaten, and have never had any as good since anywhere in the country. The Millwhistle used to serve really good steaks, prime rib, shrimp, gourmet burgers, etc., but it no longer exists, PLUS, it was a private restaurant/club, so it had a liquor license (Crossett is in Ashley Co., which is dry, at least on paper
) & was the only place to get a cocktail with dinner besides the country club, which is laughable now. ... HOWEVER, C-town is home of the brother of John Huntsman, the founder & owner of Johnny's Pizza, SO, Crossett has Johnny's at least!!! Lolol ... It's really great pizza, definitely the best chain because it doesn't taste like chain pizza; truly tastes homemade. Also, a little known fact except to locals is that Crossett has THE BEST footlong hot dog, ever, and it is sold at a little privately owned dive of a grocery store, about the size of a large convenience store, called The Minute Shop. It's one of those places that always smells great bc turkeys & hams are smoked to order, as well as other meat preparation. No lie, I've never been to a visitation at the home of someone who's died, or to the the family's home after a wake, or to any holiday party at a home or office where meat & cheese trays from The Minute Shop were not served - including my own family. Lol
... So, this place has got a footlong chili dog, made with extra finely ground beef & pork that's not like traditional coarsely ground chili meat in chunks, and it's not soupy like chili; it's more like finely ground meat for tacos, but with chili seasonings & some kind of sauce, but not too much so that it's dripping. As a matter of fact, it doesn't drip at all, but still has tons of flavor. They are purely delicious & I swear, I've met people from other states who traveled to Crossett on business who actually knew of this footlong hot dog, and one guy begged the owner to give him the recipe, but of course, he was unsuccessful - probably because no one really wants to know what's in it. Hahaha. The store is old & not the cleanest place in the world.
... Which reminds me, Crossett does have some obligatory gross Mexican place I've attempted to dine in once, & will pass in the future, as well as some Oriental or Asian "cuisine" eatery, which from what I understand, serves frozen spring roll thingys which are sold at Target or Walmart as one of its "delicacies" & the good folks of C-town think they're eating authentic sushi. Lulz ... First of all, I don't do sushi; the closest I get to it is tuna served rare, but if I was going to eat sushi, it damn sure would not be in Crossett.
... So, if you want to dine in Crossett, definitely go to Johnny's for pizza, The Minute Shop for a footlong chili dog, or Andy's for a decent ham & cheese sammich, burger, or GREAT biscuits & sausage gravy for breakfast. There's also a Waffle House, I think, & some other chain crap, but I'm trying to give you the local flavor. Lolol ... I'd suggest going east about an hour to Greenville, MS to the original Doe's, or south to Monroe, LA to Cotton, Sage, The Warehouse, or my personal favorite, The Mohawk - best oysters ever, including Nola, but everything there is exceptional including the atmosphere - like you stepped back in time to the '40s & '50s. Seriously, they've got much of the original decor in the original building from the 30s or 40s when it opened. ... Y'all definitely should go down to Crossett to see the Finney's display, get a footlong hotdog, then go on over to Doe's in G'ville & Mohawk in Monroe!!! It'll be an adventure!!! Hahahaha !!! If y'all really go, let me know when, & I might be able to meet you in Crossett!!
Sorry for the book; I was attempting to hit all the highlights.
... Oh, that reminds me, be sure to BYOB!!! Everything is dry southward past Pine Bluff!!!! (At least if you don't know the bootlegger, & mine probly isn't living anymore. HA!! )





Sorry for the book; I was attempting to hit all the highlights.

This post was edited on 12/24/15 at 5:37 am
Posted on 12/23/15 at 10:54 pm to PygmalionEffect
quote:
Nationwide contest
National Championship

Print the mf'ing shirts.

Posted on 12/24/15 at 4:51 am to PygmalionEffect
quote:
PygmalionEffect
quote:
Bet they get a few more visitors going forward
HA!! From what I hear, they've been getting a steady stream of out-of-towners for about a week now. I have no idea what the C-town restaurants are gonna do. They're all mostly fast food, but I doubt the service is going to be very prompt at all. They're not equipped to be this busy in the Winter; only during the Summer for baseball tourneys do they get very busy on a consistent basis - oh, & the rodeo.


quote:
Congrats to them I watched most of their segment but left for camp before winner was announced.
I think everyone was pretty shocked, and were just happy for Mr. Finney that he was even in the competition that far. His display is truly awesome, but everyone in Crossett is just used to seeing it every season, so we already know it's great, but kind of new to be acknowledged for it nationally. I know that the Monroe & El Dorado stations, KNOE 8 & KTVE 10, used to cover it pretty regularly, but I don't think LR's KATV 7 has barely touched it over the years until now, not sure about the other LR stations. ... That's not unusual, tho. We used to joke that we belonged more to NELA than Arky, & that if we ever got blown off the map by a tornado, LR wouldn't know a thing about it,



quote:
Nationwide contest so really impressive that someone from little ole Crossett would win
Yes, it is!!! Yaayyyy C-town & Finney family!!!



This post was edited on 12/24/15 at 12:54 pm
Posted on 12/24/15 at 5:12 am to Arkla Missy
Good Lord.
You could have included the table of contents.
You could have included the table of contents.
Posted on 12/24/15 at 5:22 am to pioneerbasketball

This post was edited on 12/24/15 at 5:24 am
Posted on 12/24/15 at 6:43 am to Arkla Missy
Now I want to go to Crossett just so I can cross check all of that.


Posted on 12/24/15 at 9:56 am to Arkla Missy
Good stuff Piggy! Fellow former Eagle here as well.
Went to the Finney's last night, hour and twenty minute wait, but well worth it. Mr Finney was out and about taking pics beside the trophy when we were there. Cops are on the scene directing traffic and at 11:00 they block off the entrance and send anyone still in line home, so go early enough to make sure you get in. We got in line at about 9:05 and were one of the last to get in FYI
Went to the Finney's last night, hour and twenty minute wait, but well worth it. Mr Finney was out and about taking pics beside the trophy when we were there. Cops are on the scene directing traffic and at 11:00 they block off the entrance and send anyone still in line home, so go early enough to make sure you get in. We got in line at about 9:05 and were one of the last to get in FYI
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