Day 41: St. Louis to Climax Springs Missouri - 202 miles - Memories

Today would be my Mom's 87th birthday and today we celebrated her special day by traveling to Climax Springs where she was raised and where my Grandparents were born. 

WARNING! This is going to be a long post so feel free to skip to the pictures. It was an emotional day for me.

Our first stop in Climax Springs was to see a friend from High School  who was also a college roommate I haven't seen him in over 40 years. Unfortunately, he runs a business in town and had a lot going on so we didn't have anytime to reminisce. I shook his hand and we moved on. 

Our next stop was at Climax Springs K-12 School where I graduated from in 1977. Sadly, most of the school was destroyed in a fire in 1987 and had been rebuilt. Fortunately, the gym and shop were saved. 

At first, we were unable to enter because of the standard security protocols in place today that weren't in place in ancient times when I went to school. We sat on a bench and then the Principal came out to see who was lurking outside. I explained I had graduated from there and he invited us inside. He showed us  a display which showed graduating classes going back to the 1950's including my Mom's class of 1953 and my class of 1977!

We walked over and we were introduced to the Girls Coach and talked about several people I knew whose kids and grandkids are still in the area.  Thank you, Principal Joshua Griffith for making us feel so welcome! I asked about buying a Climax Springs HS T-Shirt and we were directed to a small boutique a block away.

The village of Climax Springs is as close to a ghost town as you can get. Most of the buildings that were open when I was a kid are just stone monuments to the glorious days of Climax Springs. Fortunately, the small building which contains the boutique has been resurrected. When I was 10 years old my Grandpa and I used to get our haircut in that for .50 cents!

Janice waited outside with the Boys and I went into the boutique. I explained that I was a grad of Climax Springs HS and hoped to buy a T-Shirt as a souvenir. The owner directed me to a rack of t-shirts. While I was looking for a shirt a man came into the shop and said that Principal Griffith told him I was a 1977 graduate. He said he was James Butterfield, the son of the Boys Coach, Steve Butterfield when I was there. I played baseball and basketball and in addition to being the coach his Dad was the Senior Class Sponsor for our Senior Class Trip to Florida. James is now the Boys HS Coach. Sadly, his Dad passed two years ago. He seemed very happy to meet someone who his Dad had coached.

 When I went to pay for my two t-shirts and a swearshirt for Janice, Carly told me Coach Butterfield said they were free because I was an alumni!

We left Climax Springs and headed to Coffman Bend on the Lake of the Ozarks where my Grandparents lived. It is about 10 miles from town on a topsy turvy road. The area had changed a lot as I expected. There were more houses and the roads now had names. It has become an area where the people from the city come on weekends and Holidays in addition to a handful of folks who move down to the Lake to escape the City as my folks did after my sophmore year in high school.

We went to the Coffman Bend Marina. It was closed today but I was able to show Janice the little dock building I worked at in the sumnertime that was once called "The Burger Barge"

I then showed her where my Grandparents lived in the house next to my Uncle Charlie and Aunt Garneta. We then drove 2 miles to see my Grandparents first house on the Lake.  Returning to these special places was like I thought it would be. Sad, strange and different. My Grandparents were so special to me that it could never be the same and, as expected, it felt sad and empty in spite of being in a beautiful place.

We headed out and intended to stop where my Parents, Sister and I lived on the opposite side of Coffman Bend but I missed the turn. I think it would have been too sad so I am glad we moved on.

We headed for our last stop of the day, the Climax Springs Cemetary. I have visited here many times with my Grandparents on Memorial Day. The cemetary is 4 miles outside of town on a gravel road. It has about 250 headstones of which at least 25% are relatives, including my Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. There are also many names of people I recognized, including a classmate.

We spent at least an hour looking at the headstones. It is so peaceful, big oak trees, a gente breeze and time to think and reflect. When I was a Kid everyone brought something to add to a potluck lunch on Memorial Day. People told stories and reminisced. Grandpa, a Methodist minister, would say a few words and a prayer in rememberance of those who passed. It was like a reunion of the living and the departed.

Janice, the Boys and I sat outside our motorhome and had dinner. As the sun faded a whip-poor-will started calling and fire flies begin to blink over the headtones. It was a perfect ending to my day of rememberance and a reminder that life continues. The fabric of life is woven with the thread of past, present and future.