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Bella Vista Proud The Weekly Vista Wednesday, June 30, 2021 F 3C New Store Hours: Monday-Friday 10-5 • Saturday10-2 1731 Forest Hills • Bella Vista, AR Audrey's Resale Boutique Home Decor Art Jewelry Clothing seasons We are all about 479-855-3141 1739 Forest Hills Blvd. • Bella Vista, AR 72715 www.bellavistabeautysalon.com Betty Blakeley & Jennifer Osborne Bella Vista Beauty Salon Inc. • Foils • Coloring • Manicure • Pedi Spa • Perms • Waxing • Tanning • Massage Family Styling Center 1733 Forest Hills Blvd Bella Vista, AR 72715 479-715-8361 CAFE AND BAR FOOD IN IT'S NATURAL STATE Variety of Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Vegan & Organic Options HOURS: Wednesday through Saturday 11:00am-2:00pm 5:00pm-7:00pm Sunday 11:00am-2:00pm See menu at veggietable.online As a young cub reporter some 30 years ago, I was amazed to make the ac- quaintance of someone special. "Hello?" I would hear down the newspaper hall. Round the corner came a lady with a big flower in her hair, dressed out in a bath - ing suit with a skirt cover up. She wore flip-flops, handed me two typewrit- ten pieces of paper, and told me her name. "I'm Marilois Bach," she said. In time, I came to realize that Marilois knew every - one, and everyone knew Marilois. The retiree who loved Bella Vista came from newspaper and radio roots and could sniff out a good story anywhere. One of her favorite plac - es to do just that was at the pool. She found many a story at Kingsdale Pool, as she lounged in a floppy hat. She would drop off her column at the newspaper office before heading over to her poolside office. Marilois was known for the flower in her hair. She told me one time that she learned from a stylist that "older women" should be - gin wearing a neckscarf to cover up or distract from one's neck wrinkles. In- stead, Marilois thought a big flower on the side of her hairdo would keep lookers' eyes at that, instead of the wrinkles on her neck, she said, laughing. I learned a lot from Mari - lois. She knew the grass- roots way of accomplish- ing things. Perhaps the simplest: to ask questions. Sometimes, she might appear nosy, but she just simply wanted to know. She was fond of saying that Bella Vista was spe - cial for many reasons. She loved to write about "The Bella Vista Way" and its people. Her column, "The Grapevine," ran for 28 years. She also published a book, "Swingin' On The Grapevine." She looked for the good in people — and she al - ways found it. Marilois wrote about life, family, and people. She wrote more than once that, as a 3-pound, 8-ounce premature infant, she was not expected to make it through the night. She was placed in a shoebox with a hot water bottle as a "makeshift incubator." Perhaps it was living through a rocky start that taught her to look at the glass as half-full. Marilois always seemed to look on the bright side of life, and her retirement years truly became her golden years. Her friendliness and rep - ertoire with people gained her friends — and stories along the way. Marilois wrote in a spe- cial article for the second ever "Bella Vista Proud" edition, published in May 1995, that Bella Vista living is like none other. "It's like going to heaven without dying," she wrote. "That's the way we pioneer settlers expressed our feel - ings in those early days in Bella Vista." A friend, Dr. Bill Reiff, told Marilois that Bella Vista was a one-of-a-kind experience. "Everyday is like the 4th of July and Christmas and Mardi Gras, all rolled into one," Dr. Bill Reiff told Marilois after he first moved here from Okla - homa City. "I feel 10 years younger already and every day I feel younger. I bought this jazzy sports car and got out my old sax. I'm playing with the Moonshiner Band and having more fun than I ever had." Marilois wrote that those who came to the village "brought only good stuff… good intentions, good atti - tudes, good will." "There were no sta- tus seekers in the early days," she wrote. "Those who came had already proven their success or they couldn't have made it here," she wrote. "They had worked hard, raised their families, fought the wars and still managed to save for their retirement," she said. "They were look - ing forward to enjoying the fruits of their labor, as mentioned in Holy Scrip- ture. This was the Promised Land." Marilois spoke with Mr. and Mrs. Paul Desbien who moved here from Kansas City in the early years. "Golf was the attraction," she wrote. "They have happy memories of those early days when the population here was less than 600, and the only golf course was not crowded." The girl reporter wrote that she and her husband, Fred, found their way to the village after following friends, Ed and Frances Cox, who had already built a house here and had it on the rental plan. "My husband bought a lot the very first day in a blinding rainstorm, because he was afraid there wouldn't be any left!" Marilois wrote. "Our golden years have been shiny bright." Marilois captured many memories of Bella Vis - ta Village, documenting history that needed to be preserved. She often spoke of the special ability of Bella Vista neighbors to share, care and look after each other. She was, undoubtedly, one of Bella Vista's finest ambassadors. She simply wanted oth - ers to know that Bella Vis- ta's star wasn't just shiny for the sake of being spar- kly, but a strong beacon for good friends, neighbors, church — and a way of life. — Sally Carroll is a cor- respondent for The Weekly Vista. The opinions ex- pressed are those of the author. Sally Carroll Special to The Weekly Vista Columnist personified 'e Bella Vista Way' File photo Writer and columnist Marilois Bach (left) loved to write about "The Bella Vista Way." Here, she is pictured with Mrs. Helen Walton and Mrs. Pat Rice, after the three attend- ed a ladies' function. This reprint is from a 1995 "Bella Vista Proud" edition. Jean Berg, Bella Vista Photography Club Baltimore oriole beauty