We moved from Illinois to My Corner of the Ozarks in May 2004. We are "back home" where we met in the 5th grade. But we left behind many wonderful friends in Illinois. We lived in or near Gibson City for 30 years. We honor those brave Illinoisans who made the trip to the Ozarks to visit us. So here is the Hall of Fame.Our first visitors from Illinois were Ron and Marti in July 2004; sorry no photo.
December 2004
Although they were technically no longer from Illinois, we first knew Chad and Wendy at Gibson City. We had a fun visit with Coplea, Callie, Caris and their parents.
February 2005
Del and K. brought news of Gibson City Bible Church and endured the Mountain View tour to see our "roots". Del could find no suitable fields to raise corn in My Corner of the Ozarks.
April 2005
Paul, Connie, and Aaron checked us out. It was probably some kind of "spiritual test". We never heard if we passed or not. We toured all the local sites, springs, mills, etc. All our visitors also got to visit Gene and Thelma, Larry's parents.
April 2005Errol and Marlene no longer lived in Gibson City, but they still lived in Illinois. Marlene's sister now lives in Howell County, our county. So they visited My Corner of the Ozarks frequently. Alley Spring is in the background. All visitors got to see Gene, Thelma, and Alley.
May 2005
Can you believe that Wendy hauled cattle to West Plains, only 25 miles from our house. We had a short visit with Whitney and Wendy on that trip.
May 2005Can you believe that we ran into Wayne and Carol at Silver Dollar City? They stopped by our house on their return trip to Illinois. I think Wayne, the Arab, got along okay with the rednecks in My Corner of the Ozarks.
June 2005
This was the first visit by Dean and Julie. They have been faithful to come for a canoe trip every summer. They are busy people and we are glad they put us on their calendar.
June 2005Dean and Julie have progressed in their canoeing ability. But they have damaged some trees and rocks in doing so. In the Ozarks we don't call it "canoeing", we call it "floating". I think that's because we know to go "down stream".
July 2005
This was the first visit by Derald, Sunita, and Sunila. As far as I know, they have never lived in Gibson City. But they have tried most other towns in east-central Illinois; currently Cissna Park.
August 2005Julie, Eunice, and Sue graced our home at the end of the summer. Julie and Sue floated. We should have given Eunice a canoe. I know she could have taught us a thing or two.
September 2005
Homer and Jane visited us before the river was too cold. We had fun showing them our roots and floating.
September 2005Actually, Current River, shown here, is always cold. 60% of the water volume comes from springs, not run-off. Homer and Jane only got wet once.
February 2006
Dave's visit was a nice winter interlude for us. He brought many stories from Illinois. We believed some of them.
May 2007
Sue, Donna, and Susie made a quick trip to My Corner of the Ozarks. They saw all the local sites and took a float.
May 2007The "Sue Crew": Sue and Susie. They were good. They both seemed to like adventure.
March 2008
Rich, Marlene, and Errol made another visit. Gene and Thelma came over to check them out.
July 2008
Is it "river rats"? Or Larry, Linda, Julie, and Dean? We probably stopped to eat. That's a necessary part of any float, no matter the length.
September 2008
Frank and Joyce included us on one of their Ozark trips. Frank brought us some "domino boards" from his wood-working shop.
October 2008
Jerry and Pat finally made it to My Corner of the Ozarks. Like many from Illinois, it seemed to be difficult for them to figure out how to cross the Mississippi River. Jerry diligently fished the Jack's Fork, but never landed any of those smart Ozark fish.
March 2009
Bob and Gloria came for a cool-weather visit. Although Bob is an experienced floater, we stayed on dry land. Next time?
July 2009Derald, Sunita, and Sunila at Alley Spring. Isn't Sunila growing!
August 2010
Wendy and Kenny had to drag Ed kicking and screaming. But we enjoyed a brief visit with them.
July 2011We first met Bill and Judy in Illinois in 1976, so they count as Illinoisans.
So they came to visit us from Colfax, Anchor, or Long Beach, take your
pick. They are the first visitors to be "inserted" into the Hall of Fame in
almost a year.
July 2011
Eric, Amy and the boys made a quick trip to see us. We spent the whole day on the Jack's Fork. Only Linda and Amy failed to dump their canoe. The guys are still trying to learn to operate their "hooey sticks".
May 2014
It was great to see Kevin and Diana. We enjoyed Alley Spring and a Jack's Fork float trip.
July 2014
Homer and Jane made an "all-too-brief" visit as they traveled through My Corner of the Ozarks. It was their second visit, but we didn't have time for any traditional Ozark activities, i.e. no floats, no hunts, etc.
October 2015
Steve and Vicki stopped briefly to see us. We had a hillbilly lunch and sent them on their way.
I have an "insert" key. We can add your photo to the Hall of Fame if you come for a visit.
