The Old School

Preston, MO is a town east of Hermitage at the intersection of 54 Highway and 65 Highway.

The town has a 4-way stop sign, two gas stations, two antique/flea markets and one small cafe.

They also have a fabulous old building.

You can see the old school from 54 Highway.

 In 1937, it was built by the WPA  using rock quarried from the area.

I'm sure the proud builders thought it would stand forever.

The school was only used 20 years before consolidation with other small communities in 1957 resulted in a new building several miles south.

The east entry showing more of the modern roof.

The old school is now used for storage by a private party.

Lead Mine, Missouri

You can't find Lead Mine, MO on a map. 

Believe me, we tried.

Instead I found it on the internet, not listed as a town, but a "populated place".

First we had to go to Tunas (population 1,200 but I don't know where everybody was hid), and drive straight through. There was a hand lettered sign directing us on east.

We began to pass horse drawn buggies. Youngsters wearing suspenders and flat straw hats pedaled bicycles down the gravel roads.

Our friend Noelle had heard wonderful things about a market there. Owned by Mennonites, the place reportedly had To-die-for cinnamon rolls. We were warned the rolls sold out quickly so we really did try to get there early.

We stopped at a furniture shop, the tables and chairs hand made to order.

They were all beautiful; some rustic and others strictly plain. If I still had a house...........

We finally found what we think must have been the market.

They were doing a good business considering the remote location.

Of course the store was spotless!

Yes, they look homemade but..........

They claimed the tomatoes were home grown, too. Only if home is waaaaay south of here.

Bulk spices

They sure had a lot of candy and snacks. Somehow that doesn't seem very "Mennonite-like". Prices seemed low on some things and high on others.

There were no cinnamon rolls.

(Insert sigh here)

In the photo above on the extreme right hand edge you can see a young woman. She was the cashier, and a lovely girl. I asked if she'd mind a photo but she demurred.

Always take care of your core clientele.

Notice that the sign is mass produced in a modern method.

Out and About

If you have followed my blog you know about my love of crazy signs.

I also enjoy clever business names.

Driving through Oregon we found a coffee shop called Brewed Awakenings.

Some where in the north-west there's a beer joint named The Relief Pitcher.

I've found a new favorite just outside of Elkton, MO.

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Note the wary guard dog in the background keeping everybody honest.

Last year on an afternoon excursion we discovered a camel farm in the area. Sad to say the camels are no longer here, but..........

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Buffalo are!

Not as exotic but it still ain't a Hereford.

It's been busy

We're back at Pomme de Terre Lake in Missouri. In the last 4 weeks we've made what seems like a dozen trips to Kansas City for visits to doctors, dentists, tax preparers, yadda yadda yadda.

I've spent hours on line in the quest for a pontoon. We'd decided to get a boat last fall and scoured the area in search of a nice used one. John figured they'd be everywhere, parked in front yards with home made "for sale" signs. Nope. We found one on Craig's List but it didn't meet expectations, so we were anxious to get one this spring. We looked in Texas where all the lakes were dried up. There should be tons of pontoons for sale, right? Nope. It was extremely frustrating. We looked at four or five boats. I'd find one I liked but John would be unimpressed. John would be happy with another but I'd nix the deal. I spent hours on the internet checking e-bay and Craig's List, and finally found a boat we could agree on in Little Rock, Arkansas. The seller promised to hold the boat 'til we got there. We put out extra cat food and water, telling the boys we'd see them the next day. We grabbed a change of clothes and the dog, and  left here at noon on Tuesday. 

Arriving around 6PM, a warning light on the truck dash told us we needed to "check engine". No biggie. We struck a deal with the seller, told him we'd take the truck to a Ford dealer the next morning and then come back to hook up the boat.

 A Ford dealership was close to our motel, and after breakfast we dropped by for what we thought would be a routine stop. This is where the story gets ugly. Hooking the diesel up for diagnosis was $250, and the results were a bill for $801 plus the oil change at $104 plus assorted fees for a total of $925. Ouch! The truck has been trouble-free to this point so we figured it wasn't too bad. We'd heard horror stories about troubles with the engine in our truck, but that couldn't happen to us because we are so careful with maintenance.

We didn't get the truck back until late in the afternoon. John refused to start home then even though I pointed out that we'd be better off getting a 3 or 4 hour start rather than spend the night. He wanted to make sure the truck problems were over before driving home in the dark on 65 Highway. Back to the motel we went. 

Bright and early the next morning I got up, put on my dirty clothes and combed my dirty hair; having been prepared for a one night stay. We picked up the boat and headed north; relieved and happy to be on the road. 

Conway, Arkansas in about 30 miles north of Little Rock. Five miles before we got there a new light popped on the dash. It was a cute little wrench. I asked John "Whazzat mean?". He suggested I look it up in the owners manuel. The manuel insisted we find a repair facility - immediately! 

This story has gone on long enough. Let's just say the second dealership charged us $2100 and we got to tour Conway for the day.

The celebration of Toad Suck Daze was in progress. I'm serious, look it up! It was a big deal there! Wikipedia knows all about Toad Suck, Arkansas!

Maybe we should have tried to win a new truck.

As of this entry, they're still there.  Check out www.stuckonatruck.com and click on webcam.

That's the Toad Suck Station location of Centennial Bank, honestly!

The loan protester of Occupy Conway............or Occupy Toad Suck............or whatever............

We got home at 11PM, worn to a nub and pulling our pontoon.

The cats were nonchalant.