Donated by Harps Food Stores General Office
Check writers, sometimes called check protectors, were designed to print checks which could not be tampered with or altered in some way. This manually-operated “Ribbon Writer” check writer, which dates to 1966, was used by Springdale’s Harps Food Stores.
In 1930, Harvard and Floy Harp opened Harp’s Cash Grocery on corner of Emma Avenue and Water Street in downtown Springdale. The Harps succeeded even through the depths of the Great Depression, and expanded to a larger store in 1941.The Harps’ son Don joined the business in 1953. In 1956 the Harps opened Springdale’s first supermarket, Harp’s IGA at the corner of Sunset and Highway 71. They became a small chain when they opened Harps North in 1964. Two more sons, Reland and Gerald, and other members of the Harp family joined the business as the company expanded. Today, Harps has more than 85 stores in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
