If you’ve ever driven through Hardy, you might have noticed the large sign donning the name Hardy on the hillside near the stoplight.
What you might not know is how the sign came to be. Believe it or not, although it is common for cities to display the town name in a prominent place, this sign had very humble beginnings, and it began with Timothy Seager, better known as “Two Tie Timmy”.
Getting his nickname from patrons of Beach Club BBQ, Tim would often be seen wearing two ties during his shift at the restaurant.
“One day while working, there were two men who came in to eat and noticed I was wearing my ties. They said they liked it and asked my name. After they ate, they approached me and said ‘Your name is Two Tie Timmy’,” Seager said. “And so it was.”
In Spring of 2012, Jody Shackelford received permission from the Arkansas Department of Transportation to assemble a Hardy sign.. The original sign was made with gravel letters, painted white and bordered by red mulch and railroad ties.
Seager noticed there was no United States flag near the sign and while carrying one to place on the hill, someone honked, sparking Tim’s idea to become Hardy’s cheerleader.
Two Tie would go to the hill every weekend for the tourists and eventually, his visits evolved into weekday mornings and afternoons when the school busses would run.
“The first two years, I felt kind of stupid when I would get out of my vehicle and head for the hill. One of Hardy’s dear friends, Sandy Gilliland encouraged me to go. ‘Tim you’re doing a good thing.. the people need you and people love stupid’. Thanks a lot Sandy,” Seager said with a grin.
Every day, Tim would strive to find nonsensical outfits to wear to bring 60-smiles an hour to the Hardy hillside. Although now when driving by one may see a multitude of flags this was not always the case. Not only did Tim dress to thrill, he also carried a lone American Flag on a rugged flagpole.
Seager said in a piece of poetry he drafted, “The power of the flag of the United States of America for over 200 years, I’ve waved at the united many people. I have stood for the Republicans and the Democrats, the Baptist and the Catholic, the Methodist and the Church of Christ, the bikers and truckers, the rich and the poor, the gay and the straight, the yankees and the rebel, I have waved at you all and in time of need I have united you.”
The pole on which Tim carried the flag had just as much character as Tim himself.
Written in his own words: “Eye spotted this one and a half inch by one and a half inch wooden pole resting on the top rail of a gate of mine. Eye said this will be my pole and it was about 12 foot long. Eye said was because eight years of my flag waiving tenure, eye carried a cup and there was a 99 percent chance that it wasn’t coffee in my cup. Well, the ingredients in the cup at times would make it difficult to walk home… So, When eye would stumble eye would catch myself with the pole.. snapping off about two feet each time in the process,” Seager said laughing. “The flagpole is now about eight feet long.. moral of the store is don’t drink and walk. At one point, eye snapped the pole in half when I closed the car seats on it.. Eye refastened it with nails and that is how the pole will retire. ”
Carrying his flag and dressed in whatever he found that morning, Tim’s goal was not to take life too seriously and to encourage others to do the same.
“There are some stories that make me smile when I think back over my 10 years on the hill. One day a mom and her three sons approached me and asked if I would take a picture with them. As they were getting organized, one of the sons said he wanted to dress like me when he grew up. I got so tickled and still chuckle when I think about it,” Seager said.
As Hardy’s biggest cheerleader, not only would wave the flag, but he would also sing cheers and chants at great volume, encouraging passersby and if someone were to honk their horn, somehow Tim would dig deep and bring out even louder cheers of encouragement.
“Another instance, a friend of mine, Tennice [Williams] from Hardy told me when I am on the corner waving the flag and she’s out in her yard, It sounds like she’s in New York City for that hour. I still chuckle when I think about it,” Seager said.
It wasn’t all fun and games on the hillside or the corner as Hardy is a thoroughfare and sometimes lends itself a location for high-speed chases and car crashes.
“I remember one day when I was out on the corner, Scott [Rose] was chasing a car thief traveling from Missouri on Hwy 63 heading south into Hardy. The car thief was traveling at high speed when he slammed into a semi truck’s rear axel.. the collision happened at the corner about 10 feet from where I was standing. Scott did a professional job apprehending the thief and my friend Lauren [Siebert] said, ‘Tim, you really should move back to the hill where it is safer,” Seager said.
There is no doubt for the locals came to love and even look forward to seeing their hometown cheerleader each morning, however; for those just passing through, it might seem odd.
“This is unrelated, but I have a habit of chasing cars while waving the flag when I’m on the corner. A person concerned for the safety of me and others called the State Police Office in Jonesboro.. the person reported there was a crazy man waving a flag and chasing cars on the highway in Hardy. The state police called Scott. He laughed and said he’d take care of it,” Seager said.
“It wasn’t uncommon for people driving by to do a double take, especially when I was wearing a crazy or zany costume. Usually, they’d take a long look and then speed off, probably wondering what in the world they’d just seen.”
His work on the Hardy hillside and the corner was a labor of love, but upon occasion, people would ask if he was paid to stand and cheer on those passing by as he was so dedicated.
Doing a bit of quick math, Seager said over the course of 10 years, 600 hours a year at $10, an hour, if he were paid, he could have raked in $60,000.
Always making a point to dress for the occasion, Tim was many things, the Easter Bunny making his debut at the Hardy Easter Egg Hunt by way of canoe; a very slender Santa clause or Jack Skellingtonof sorts standing on the corner or walking through town.
When asked, Seager said he estimated he’s had his photo taken more than 15,000 times over the last 10 years.
“The number one reason I stayed on the corner waving the flag is because of these numbers. 90 percent of the passers would either honk, wave or shout for me to have a good day. Parents would roll down the car windows so children could see and wave back. The smiles and love was endless,” Seager said. “All the love and support I have received over the years has been greatly appreciated. The act I appreciated the most was when a parent would lower the rear window and you could see a child in a car seat smiling from ear to ear. Thank you, parents, for the support. These memories make me smile even still.”
Two Tie Timmy, Hardy’s biggest cheerleader retired from the Hardy hillside April 1, 2022.
Lauren is a an award-winning journalist who decided after 10 years of newspaper experience to venture out. Hallmark Times was born.
