WALNUT RIDGE — Charles Snapp’s travels and business ventures have taken him to many other states, but he has now come full circle and is serving his first term as mayor of Walnut Ridge.
“I love this town, and to think the residents would allow me the opportunity to work toward changing the direction of Walnut Ridge and, hopefully, improve the quality of life we have to offer future generations is the greatest honor I’ve ever had,” Snapp said.
Snapp served on the City Council several years when he was in his 20s and made two previous runs for mayor but was defeated both times.
Snapp was born in Jonesboro but was raised in Walnut Ridge. He said his strongest influences came from his family.
Snapp’s mother, Lela Ellis Snapp, taught English, economics and American government. His father, Pete Snapp, was one of eight siblings.
Charles Snapp had an uncle, Russell Snapp, who was mayor of Walnut Ridge at one time, and another uncle, his namesake, Charles, who was active in politics in the Kennedy, Sid McMath and Orval Faubus era, and for whom Lake Charles State Park was named.
“Dad was a businessman who started out in the clothing business and later went into the motel and restaurant business with my Uncle Charles,” Charles Snapp said. As Snapp was the only boy among his five uncles’ children, when it came to hunting and fishing trips, “I was the young kid that got to tag along a lot!” he said.
He got to listen in on the adults’ talk of politics and business.
“In short, when it came to government, economics and general business, it may not have been a school-type environment, but I had some of the best teachers in the world, and I always thought it was fun and interesting. The only thing I enjoyed more than the business was the hunting and fishing,” Snapp said.
It makes sense, then, that sales and hunting businesses were what drew Snapp’s interest and made him a success.
“I’ve always been an entrepreneur and loved sales,” he said. “I’ve always had the entrepreneurial spirit.”
His uncles owned a Ford dealership from the early 1900s to the 1990s, and he started selling cars at a young age, Snapp said.
An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he ran an outfitter business and guided duck hunters on and off for 32 years. He also helped other guides and outfitters who frequented his family’s motel and restaurant, which he managed.
Before that, he traveled the craft-show circuit, tooling leather belts and selling turquoise jewelry.
“I lived in the panel van I traveled in and went from campsite to campsite,” Snapp said.
He also dabbled in electronic sales “back in the day when Pac-Man first hit the video-game market,” he said.
Snapp later became a rock ’n’ roll fan — a result of seeing The Beatles. His sister was a Beatles “junkie,” he recalled, and he was forced to go to the Walnut Ridge Airport when The Beatles landed for a brief stopover and departure in 1964.
“They were between Dallas and New York concerts. My sister Carrie Mae Snapp was head of the local fan club. I was 10, and my parents actually made me go to the airport. Obviously, I am glad they did, but at the time, Mom and Dad made me leave a friend’s house to try and see The Beatles’ departure. I was not too happy.”
But based on the historic Beatles landing, Snapp and his wife, Jackie, and other city leaders and volunteers started The Beatles at the Ridge festival, which is nearing its fifth year and has put the town of 4,890, per the 2010 U.S. census, literally on a worldwide map. Last year, festivalgoers came from 22 states and two foreign countries. Check out www.beatlesattheridge.com for information about this year’s event, to be held Sept. 18 and 19.
Snapp and his wife are also known for the revitalization of downtown Walnut Ridge. After the couple retired as waterfowl-hunting outfitters six or seven years ago, Brett Cooper, vice president for institutional advancement at Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, told them the local chamber of commerce was forming a tourism business and asked that they sit in on a new four-person committee and bounce around some ideas.
“Between my experience in the motel and restaurant business, as an outfitter and a person who loved to travel,” it seemed a natural fit, Snapp said.
With U.S. 67 from Newport to Pocahontas having been officially renamed “The Rock N’ Roll Highway” several years before, cities up and down the highway sought to capitalize on the highway’s history by focusing on festivals geared to the highway’s new name.
At the committee meeting, it was noted that Walnut Ridge needed to focus on what it had rather than what it didn’t. Snapp pointed out that the city needed more than a weekend festival. It needed to work on something that would bring tour buses in and that would get people off the bypass.
“Walnut Ridge needed a shot in the arm and needed it bad, and the answer was easy,” Snapp said.
The ensuing tribute to The Beatles, establishing a brand for the city and developing road signs to sell the music-history idea for people passing through all became a part of revamping Walnut Ridge. USA Today named Walnut Ridge one of the Top 10 cities — No. 4, in fact — to learn about The Beatles.
Snapp also serves on the Ozark Gateway Tourists Council Board of Directors.
“When the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism recognized me with a Henry Award as Volunteer of the Year,” it was, indeed, a thrill. The eight-county tourist council, which serves the purpose of promotion, includes Fulton, Jackson, Independence, Izard, Lawrence, Randolph, Sharp and Stone counties.
“Charles and Jackie Snapp have done more for tourism than anyone I know,” said Adam Davis, president of the Ozark Gateway Tourism Association. “I’ve had the privilege of serving on the Ozark Gateway Tourism Board with Charles for several years. If you are looking for an example of great Southern hospitality, look no further than Charles ‘HammerTime’ Snapp.”
He is known as “HammerTime” as the result of a chance incident when a television crew was filming him during a waterfowl hunt.
“They heard me yell, ‘It’s HammerTime!’ when it was time to shoot a big flock of mallards that was in below the treelines …,” Snapp said. “It is a reference to a time when a large group of ducks was in shooting range, and we go to ‘hammer the ducks,’ as in shoot as many as we could hit. From that TV show forward, people started calling me HammerTime, and it stuck.”
Snapp talked about his time as an outfitter.
“We hunted as many as 60 hunters a day and used to use an airplane to scout for ducks. We had hunters come in on a regular basis from as far as Johannesburg, South Africa, to hunt with us. It must have been about 20 years ago that outdoor TV hit the airwaves and an Illinois-based TV show asked to film an episode with us. … The next year, another show asked to film and another one and so on.”
“I have no hobbies anymore,” Snapp said. “My hobby is working for a better community, a better county and to help promote tourism in Arkansas.”
“I always enjoyed traveling and loved to visit other states, but I’ve always been drawn back to Walnut Ridge. The people of Walnut Ridge and Lawrence County gave my family opportunity after opportunity in life by supporting the family businesses. … Why would anyone not be drawn to such a wonderful part of Arkansas? I really do love this community and this county.”
What does Snapp see for Walnut Ridge’s future?
“The toughest challenge I face is being able to turn Walnut Ridge around financially. Our city is at the point where we need more income, or services will have to be cut, and I want to see Walnut Ridge financially stable, with enough reserve to take advantage of some of the grant opportunities that come along.
“With PECO developing a chicken processing plant 10 miles away that employs 1,200, I’m working to attract builders to town. We need spec homes and rental properties. …
“We will see growth, but my goal is not to see Walnut Ridge turned into a large city. We’re working with a couple of industrial prospects, and we will present the idea for a plant expansion to the Airport Commission.”
At a recent Planning Commission meeting, a rezoning request for a tract of land will go to the City Council to add 28 lots to be developed to accommodate up to 28 four-plex single-story apartments, he said.
“We have two commercial businesses opening, and several looking. Walnut Ridge will see growth, and we want it to be done in a way that has a positive impact on our town and county.”
Snapp also pointed out that Walnut Ridge has just been rated No. 10 of the 10 safest towns in Arkansas in which to live.
Jon Walter, a city alderman, attests to Snapp’s abilities as mayor.
“Anyone that has spent time with Charles Snapp knows that his love for Walnut Ridge and Lawrence County is heartfelt. … One of Charles’ many goals [as mayor] was to make city government more transparent to the public. He started the city of Walnut Ridge Facebook page, which gives almost daily updates on what’s really going on in our city.”
Perhaps Snapp’s biggest fan, and co-worker, is Jackie, his wife of almost 20 years.
“How do I describe Charles? Amazing! He thinks outside the box, and I believe that is what will allow Walnut Ridge to grow,” she said. “He does not ask anyone to do anything he is not willing to do himself. … He does not sit still well. He will find something to do, preferably outdoors.”