What Happened To The Children on Barber Street
In Sherwood, Arkansas, there is a road called Barber Street. The houses are from 30 to 40 years old. It is middle class and mostly peaceful. The children enjoy playing in their yards or at their friends in the neighborhood. The older ones play ball in the street, roller skate, or ride their bicycles. Probably none of the kids that live there today know its terrible secrets. Maybe there are a few oldtimers who remember, but they don't talk about it.
It was a bright, warm spring day in April 1957. All the children were playing outside on that Saturday morning. The winter had been long, wet and cold and afforded little opportunity for the kids to get outdoors. So it was with great excitement and energy that they played that day. Nine-year-old Lindy Breck was playing with two of her friends, the Steiner sisters. They had brought their hula hoops over to Lindy's house to play. Lindy went to her backyard to get her yellow hula hoop. They would have a contest to see who could keep the hoop spinning the longest time. When Lindy didn't return in several minutes, her two friends went around to the backyard to see why it was taking so long. They couldn't find her and decided that she must have gone in the house. So they knocked on the front door and Lindy's mother came to the door. They asked if Lindy was in and her mother checked her room but couldn't find her. So she told the Steiner sisters that Lindy must be outside around there somewhere. The sisters looked around the house again but with no luck. After about 20 minutes they knocked on the door again and told Lindy's mother they still had not found her. They went home wondering what had happened.
Lindy's mother began to look around for her. She checked all the rooms in the house, but no Lindy. She went outside and called for her sons, Noel and Cain. She asked them to look for their sister and they searched all over their yard and their neighbors' yards, but with no success. Noel decided to go down the street to where one of Lindy's friends lived to see if she might be there. After two hours he hadn't returned home. Now there were two missing children. Also, the Steiner sisters never arrived back at their house. The Pulaski County Sheriff's office was called and all available men begin a very exhaustive search for these four children. They searched all night and most of the next day. But they could not find them or any clue of what had happened to them.
Two days later, Adam Leeman, a seventh grader at Sylvan Hills Junior High School left school to walk to his homeon Barber Street. He never arrived. Fred Kroger went out to feed his dog, Huck. They found the bag of dogfood out on the back porch. But poor Fred was never seen again. By now the most extensive search in the history of Arkansas was underway. Hundreds of law enforcement officers, firemen and other volunteers combed every inch of Barber Street. Each house was carefully and thoroughly searched, including the attics, the crawlspaces, everything. But no sign of any of the missing children. By now parents would not dare to let any of the children outside unless they were with an adult. No longer did the kids play in the yard or freely visit their neighbors.
Five-year-old Peter Habbit somehow got out his backdoor while his mother was washing her hair. He disappeared just like the others. What puzzled people the most was that only the children that lived on Barber Street were missing. They were other streets in the neighborhood but only Barber Street was plagued by this dark, horrible mystery. After weeks of searching, the officials were still baffled. Not one clue had surfaced. Theories abounded. Maybe there was a cave or sink hole somewhere that had swallowed up these kids. Maybe one of the residents of Barber Street was a psycho and had somehow kidnapped these kids. Even the idea of some aliens from another world was proffered as a possible explanation. Darkness hung over that street. Many residents moved away. Although parents clung to the hope that the children were okay..somewhere, no shred of evidence or information was ever discovered.
Today there is only one old couple that remains on Barber Street that experienced the horribleness of those dark times. All the other residents have moved or died. The people living on the street in those very houses today know nothing of the dark side of Barber Street. The one old couple that remains live in the middle of the block. They would prefer that their identity remain unknown. Their son is still missing but they are still waiting. They've never given up hope that he someday would return to them. They say sometimes, on a warm summer night, as they sit out in the backyard, they hear the sound of children crying. It is a low muffled sound and not so far away. They try to find the source but it seems to stop when they get up. Now, they are sure. Sure that these are the cries of the lost children of Barber Street.
If you live on Barber Street today maybe you should try listening. Go out in your backyard in the evening when all is quiet and still. Sit down and listen. Listen for a long time. Don't move or talk but just listen. You may be able to hear these sounds... the low sobs of these children. They may be calling for you to help them..... but I don't think you can. Do you?
VERY IMPORTANT: The above true story is not to be told to or read by anyone under the age of 16, especially if they live on Barber Street. UNDER PENALTY OF LAW
