The room was full at Grandview on the Prairie Thursday (March 5) – full of people, full of stories, and full of passion to restore one of the county’s most historic buildings.

Rex Nelson, senior editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, was the featured speaker at a fundraiser to raise money for the restoration of the Kocourek and Son building in Hazen. The building bears the name of John Kocourek, who came to Hazen from Iowa in 1880 to sell farmland.

He recruited friends and family to move to the Arkansas Grand Prairie to grow rice. In 1906, the still standing brick and mortar store on Front Street was named after Kocourek and Son after his only child, Frank, was born.

The building served as a storefront for Kocourek’s tractor and farm machine business. Over time, more equipment was added as was a selection of hardware and furniture. With its proximity to the train depot, it grew into a marketplace for shoppers who could buy eggs, produce, cream and other items locally.

Restoring the building is a priority for the nonprofit Friends of the Kocourek Building. The group has made progress on floors and windows, but still has years’ worth of improvements to conclude. It has cobbled together hundreds of thousands of dollars in private donations and grant money over the last four years and wants to use the building as a showcase for county history, Hazen Mayor David Hardke explained to the audience.

Also in attendance was Sharon Kocourek Cagle, who hopes her granddaughters – who were with her at the dinner – will carry on the family legacy.

“This is such a special thing because we’re trying to save the Kocourek building,” she said. “Hopefully, someday people can have events in there and show off antiques they want to share with everybody.”

In his message to the preservation supporters at the evening event, Nelson said Prairie County holds a special place in his heart.

“My mother was from Des Arc and my grandparents both lived into their 90’s. So even though I was raised in southwest Arkansas, I spent my summers in Des Arc. Prairie County is a second home,” said Nelson.

Calling the restoration of the building “great,” Nelson said the building is a county landmark and the fact that it will focus on family histories in the region makes the project incredibly important.

One of the guests in attendance, Sen. Ron Caldwell, R-Wynne, who was just re-elected two days earlier after a grueling primary campaign, made the hour-long drive to thank the local crowd for their overwhelming support.

“The people here were very kind to me,” he said. “When I received Prairie County into my district in 2022, I spent quite a bit of time down here because of their agricultural base and their tourism base. Prairie County was a big voting bloc and I’m thankful for them.”