FAIRFIELD BAY — “If you’re in a hurry, you’re in the wrong place,” Fairfield Bay Mayor Paul Wellenberger said as he cruised the roads of the quiet resort community that neighbors Greers Ferry Lake.
Wellenberger is quick to tell you that in Fairfield Bay, everyone is a volunteer, enjoying each day on the golf course or in the park as if it were just another Saturday. It’s this kind of leisure-filled lifestyle that has steadily drawn long-term residents over the years, turning this development project into a residential town of 2,300-plus that will celebrate its 50th year from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Fairfield Bay 50 Years of the Good Life celebration will commemorate the town’s legacy with presentations, speakers and entertainment. Beginning at 11 a.m. at the Conference and Visitor Center, guests and residents will have the chance to mix, mingle and eat while viewing a display of memorabilia relating to the history of the town, which started in 1966 when three real estate developers purchased 3,000 acres with the hopes of turning the area into a retirement destination.
“Here, everybody came from somewhere else,” Wellenberger said.
Wellenberger will welcome attendees at noon, and a prayer and song will follow. At 12:25 p.m., special guests, including state Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, will speak. The celebration will continue from 1:30-4 p.m., and guests will have the chance to catch the city’s new veterans fishing barge at the marina and attend the blessing of the fleet on Greers Ferry Lake.
Marilyn Robertson, Fairfield Bay’s 2014 Volunteer of the Year, runs the Log Cabin Museum as a volunteer and will display four boards detailing Fairfield Bay history. Robertson said the people make Fairfield Bay what it has grown to be.
“[Fairfield Bay] went from a community to a city-slash-
community, so more things are going on,” she said. “The roads are better; we have a lot of different volunteers and clubs and organizations. And the churches all blend together to do things; they’re not
territorial.”
Not only will Fairfield Bay honor how far it’s come since 1966, the town will also celebrate major projects that have impacted it over the past few years. In 2011, Fairfield Bay invested in a marketing program that led to the creation of its Community Education Center, which teaches classes on ceramics, photography and more. A year later, a grant allowed the city to refurbish and restore the Conference and Visitor Center, which includes an art gallery and a theater. And just last year, the city repaved 29 miles of its roads, expanded its highly visited marina and built a poolside cafe.
Wellenberger said the citizens of Fairfield Bay are deserving of the credit, too. The Fairfield Bay Fire Department is completely staffed by volunteers, and residents have been known to chop and stack firewood in their free time so that campers can use it
when needed.
“When you drive around, I want you to see how pristine the place is,” Wellenberger said. “When people go out for walks in the morning, they take a trash bag with them, and they pick up trash, so there’s no trash.”
Looking ahead to the next few years, Wellenberger said, major projects for the city include revamping the mall and building a 60- to 80-room hotel that will be attached to the visitor center.
Wellenberger said about 70 percent of the community is made up of retirees.
“We’re trying to be more attractive to younger people, so we’ve had a big emphasis on trying to get better broadband service up here, and we’ve gotten a lot better,” he said.
Wellenberger also noted that expansions, celebrations and festivals aren’t the only reasons for repeat visitors.
“People come back because of the way they get treated by the locals,” he said.
As residents and visitors gather to take part in Fairfield Bay’s 50th-anniversary celebration, Wellenberger said, he hopes people will recognize the hospitality and culture of the area.
“It’s a special place God gave us to be stewards of, and they take care of it,” he said.
Staff writer Syd Hayman can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or shayman@arkansasonline.com.