Down and Out for the Holidays

Historic U.S. Route 66 runs from Chicago through St Louis, Oklahoma City and Albuquerque all the way to Los Angeles. For sixty years prior to our modern interstate highway system, it was the standard way to drive west. It is still one of the main roads through our little town of Sullivan, MO, population 6,900. As we take our daily two-mile hike, we enjoy several buildings along route 66:

We have Mimi’s Bridal Boutique, sewing unique formals; the local Sinks Pharmacy, famous for loaning wheelchairs at no charge:

No, this is not a place to buy cosmetics: it’s one of many local agencies providing home health aides. Next we’ll walk toward the charming shops on Main Street, passing Frick’s Grocery, recently bought out by Schnuck’s — no change of sign, yet:

Just opposite the grocery store, the local non-profit Life House Youth Center provides young people ages 10-17 a fun, structured, safe and loving place to spend time after school and in the summer. We love their motto: “Let LOVE be LOUDER”

Devine Fabric and Quilt Shop shares the same parking lot. I’ve never been inside, because they’re closed on our Monday P-Day.

Time to head up across the railroad tracks (freight trains two or three times a day) Main Street shops are all on the other side:

This clothing consignment shop has wonderful $5 deals. My beauty salon is here, beside other barber shops, loan offices, insurance stores, furniture stores, a florist and a unique toy store with more fun items for adults than children. Of course we’ve never been inside the Peace of Mind “Good Vibes” shop. They could probably use the peace of mind we have on offer — but they do not yet know what they are missing.

The former train depot is a wonderful antique store, where I found a wreath made of cotton bolls, still on their stems. Cotton grows just a bit to the south of us, so perhaps this is my Missouri souvenir:

The band stand and community Christmas Tree anchor the west end of Main Street. There are regular parades and occasions, right here, just blocks from one elementary school and the high school. The standard old Carnegie post office is just through the block, as is the town hall. The photo above is the Meramac Community Food Pantry and Second-hand Store. It just so happened that there was a brief power outage as I took these photos. All the volunteers are waiting outside. Our young missionaries volunteer here a couple of mornings a week.

We walk through lovely shady neighborhoods as we leave Main Street. We watched them replace the decking on this old-fashioned carousel, beside the horseshoe pit in Bank Park:

There are a great many church meetinghouses, in this town, sprinkled through the countryside, and in each of the nearby smaller towns. We pass the grand Temple Baptist Church on our walk home.

Next we see the Harney Mansion, which was built by Major General William S Harney just before the Civil War. (Missouri–although a slave state — never seceded from the Union, although the Confederacy drafted troops from the state. Union General Harney negotiated with pro-secession Governor Price to allow the Missouri State Militia to protect the Union sympathizers in the state, twice as numerous as the Confederate sympathizers. There were several battles. The Missouri legislature fled into exile.)

Several neighbors really got into the Christmas spirit. How we appreciated their decorations:

I caught covid at the ward Christmas party, so I missed the holidays. Elder Z never caught it at all, and I was never all that sick. You might say I got my Christmas wish, since I believe I will have longer immunity from the virus than from these shots which do not seem to work. We live in a quiet duplex, decorated with greeting cards and photos

We are now back to work and VERY busy. It’s hard to describe or photograph what we do day by day. Is it appropriate for me to take photos of the honest poor folks we transport to medical appointments? To photograph their homes? I don’t think so. We will never forget them. We do not need photos to remember those we have served. But in our next post, we’ll give you a glimpse of where we are spending our time and energy, now that we are beyond quarantine…