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Display cases full of shimmering coins and some other goods sit for sale in coin enthusiast Rickey Knuckles' shop, Bella Vista Coin, in Village Center. Knuckles said his shop is essentially an extension of his own coin collecting hobby in addition to an attempt to fill a niche in Bella Vista. When he moved into town, Knuckles said, he would often go out to eat and browse magazines about coins. He got a lot of questions, he said, and realized most Bella Vistans didn't have anywhere to go and ask. He grew up in north - eastern Arkansas, he said, in a sharecropping family. When his father took him into town to pay bills and pick up supplies he would often spend time at a boys club, which included a coin club. The young boys in the club were given access to 100 coins, he explained, and permitted to exchange a coin for another in the pile of mostly pennies. He would occasionally get lucky and find a dime to swap his penny for, he said, and this taught him to look at those coins very carefully. That club, he said, sparked his interest and after living in several states across the country he even - tually returned to Arkansas to retire, which provided some time to pursue his hobbies. The shop has been open about a year and a half, Knuckles said, and it is starting to get into the black. But in addition to mak - ing some coin, Knuckles said he'd like to provide a resource to the communi- ty and give people a place to see what their coins are worth and discuss curren- cy. Knuckles said infor- mation is something he doesn't mind parting with. And if anyone wants to just swing by and talk, he said, he's got chairs and a coffee pot. "I prefer to think of Bella Vista Coin as a hangout," Knuckles said. Uniquely Bella Vista 8C F Wednesday, June 27, 2018 The Weekly Vista In Bella Vista 479-855-9069 www.bvstbernard.org Saturday Mass @ 5PM Sunday Mass @ 9AM One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Come Visit Us! WELCOME TO ST. BERNARD CATHOLIC CHURCH ellisfabrics.com M-F 10-5 joeellisupholstery.com M-F 8-5 8822 W. McNelly Rd, Bentonville (1/4 mile E of Walgreen's in Bella Vista) 479-657-6868 Don't m s th ! Come check out our new B A R G A I N R O O M ! ! Hundreds of new small bolts, markdowns, and remnants at great pric• !! Unique Businesses Coin shop fills a niche Keith Bryant kbryant@nwadg.com Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista Rickey Knuckles, proprietor of Bella Vista Coin, stands at the counter with merchandise on display. Wall honors Bella Vista veterans Keith Bryant kbryant@nwadg.com Bella Vista is home to nu- merous veterans as well as a monument to veterans. The Veterans Wall of Honor includes an array of curved, layered walls, each embedded with bricks that bear the names of veterans. The wall, which was completed in November 2004, is the result of several people putting in countless hours of work. It started when Veterans Council of Northwest Ar - kansas member Leonard Eisert brought the idea to other veterans at American Legion Post 341. "We all worked hard, you know, to put this thing together. And it all worked well, raising the money and selling the bricks," he said. "You gotta hand it to the guys that did it." Gloria Sperry served as recording secretary on the Veterans Council of North - west Arkansas during the wall's construction while her late husband, Jim Sper- ry, was the president. He was a legion post commander, she ex- plained, but after discuss- ing whether a wall was feasible with Eisert, they realized the legion couldn't do it alone and talked with the now-disbanded VFW Post 9063, which agreed to give a portion of its land for the wall to sit on. People started working to make the wall a reality around 2001, she said, and the veterans council was formed with 11 initial directors. Fundraising was split amongst those members, legion and VFW members, who worked together to sell bricks, which were put together by Emerson Mon - ument in Springdale. "There was a big push to sell," she said. Sperry made up an order form, which included what goes onto each brick, and worked on a directory for the bricks and helped to decide and confirm the layout while reviewing ap - plications — which proved tricky, she said, because several people purchased a cluster of bricks and want- ed family members and friends together. Because names were placed as they came in and people were kept together at their request, she said, names are not in any par - ticular order on the wall. "If you look at the wall there's no rhyme or reason to it, but that's why," she said. Her own family pur- chased nine bricks, she said, including one for Jim Sperry, his father, grandfa- ther, and uncle, their two sons and grandson. But brick sales weren't able to cover the whole cost, she said. Board member Norma Wentworth donated Walmart shares that sold for enough to cover the remain - der of construction costs — which is why her name is on the fountain at the center of the memorial site. That's where the money came to get us over the hump and get us started," Sperry said. Ground broke in 2002, she said. "It was quite a process," she said. "It was a lot of work, it was very fulfilling work." She's very proud of the work she and Jim put in to make the wall a reality, she said, but she also appreci - ates the work the commu- nity put into it. "Everybody just pitched in. A lot of community came in and helped out," Sperry said. Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista A fountain sits at the center of the Veterans Wall of Honor. Photo submitted United States Air Force Senior Airman and Starlifter band member Anneke Bentley, left, stands with Veterans Council of Northwest Arkansas member Leonard Eisert, Staff Sergeant Paula R. Hunt, Staff Sergeant Charles M. Cothran, Technical Sergeant Josh Holdridge, Technical Sergeant Mike Correa and Airman First Class Jim Woolf after the band played at the Veterans Wall of Honor earli- er this year. Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista The Veterans Wall of Honor sits near the Lake Bella Vista Dam. Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista One wall features a Thomas Paine quote.