20 Apr 2015 Celebrating a 'simple, country life'

by Sonja J. Keith    
Todd Owens photo

Ninety-year-old Charles Day will tell you he’s generally had a good life focused on faith and family.

Friends and family recently gathered at Pickles Gap Baptist Church near Conway — a place the Day Family has worshipped since nearly the beginning of the church — for a birthday celebration.

Born in Conway, Charles lives today within a half-mile of where he was born on March 17, 1925, the only child of Meda Othal and Clarence E. Day. A 1943 graduate of Conway High School, he served four years in the Air Force as a ground crew radio man stationed on the West Coast. He returned to Conway and married Mildred Ball on June 17, 1947.

Charles graduated from Hendrix College with honors in 1949. He began full time work with his father at the Clarence Day store — a Downtown Conway fixture at 1012 Front St. “I worked there over 50 years with my daddy and my momma to preserve what they did.”

The store was an “old fashioned mom and pop” business that sold feed, seed, fertilizer and groceries. “It was a country store. We bought butter and eggs from the country and re-sold them. We catered to the country trade,” he said, adding that the store carried unique items including “real” country ham and other meats that he produced that were also shipped to all over the United States and overseas.

“Everybody in Faulkner County came to that store sooner or later,” Charles said. “There was no store like Clarence Day Store.”

Clarence Day Store operated Jan. 1, 1941 until it closed in 1986.

The Days had two sons, Tom and Tim, who also graduated from Hendrix. Charles and Mildred were married for 58 years before she passed away in 2004. “She was a very special lady.”

Another mainstay in the 90-year-old’s life has been Pickles Gap Baptist Church. “It’s the only church I ever belonged to.”

Charles cites Psalms 118:24 for his approach to life: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

In addition to his church activities, Charles is a member of the Conway Noon Lions Club. He is the oldest member and has been in the club the longest time, 65 years. Charles tries to remain active and still takes care of his home and mows his yard. He also enjoys photography and watching wildlife near his home.

His priorities include: 1) Love the Lord; 2) Love everyone; 3) Love neighbors as self; and 4) Do something for others every day.

“I’ve had a simple, country life,” he said, reflecting on his 90 years. “I’ve lived for the Lord and lived for my family.”