Tuesday, June 25, 2013

TRAVELIN' TUESDAY


In the "olden days" we didn't have 4 lane, divided, super highways to zoom us  across America like there is today!


We had narrow, undivided, two lane highways that went through every little town along the route.




Route 67, for example.

When we drove from St.Louis to my Grandpa's farm near Silva, Missouri (not far from Piedmont, if that helps), we had the pleasure of going through Fredricktown, Farmington, Bonne Terre (Good Earth), and even Lodi Missouri.




Well, Bonne Terre was actually off the old route 67, but we could see the lead mine chat mounds, or whatever they were called.



The area always looked all dry and desert-like to me.

Lodi was so small I shouldn't be counting that either.


The 2012 Lodi (zip 63950), MO, population is 53. There are 6 people per square mile (population density). 
Families of Lodi
The median age is 47.3. The US median is 37.3. 58.54% of people in Lodi (zip 63950), MO, are married. 11.36% are divorced.
The average household size is 2.36 people. 20.00% of people are married, with children. 13.33% have children, but are single.
Race in Lodi 
98.11% of people are white, 0.00% are black, 0.00% are asian, 0.00% are native american, and 0.00% claim 'Other'.
50.15% of the people in Lodi claim hispanic (meaning 49.85% are non-hispanic).








Now, I may be all wrong about the towns we went through on route 67, if it REALLY was route 67, and if Bonne Terre even had lead mines, but that's the way I clearly remember it.

We would always see the BURMA SHAVE signs that were witty and funny.

For instance: If it's music...you do crave...get a tuba...BURMA SHAVE!


Not Missouri, but the best Burma Shave sign picture I could find.

I'm so glad we are finally to the part where we hit the country roads!

That's what I liked best!



When we got to Silva we started driving down the almost one lane, reddish clay, gravel roads that actually had creeks running over the road in places!

At dry times there would only be a trickle of water running across the road, but in rainy times it would be wide, and deep with water, and dad had to be careful not to stall the car out in the middle of the raging torrent!






Very cool, indeed!

If another car came the other way, we had to pull as far over as we could to let him go by, and everybody would wave to each other! 

That's what they did down there.

We couldn't really wave to everybody in St. Louis, because there were too many people,
and we would have been arrested, I think.

This story is really cool! 

My Grandpa was not known for being the sweetest man on earth, but one time we went down to his farm in the spring, he hooked a little wooden trailer to his tractor, and he took all of us kids around to see the newborn baby pigs, calves, and other creatures that doth did dwell upon his 900 acres of farm and timber land.

I kept asking why the bull was playing piggy-back with the cows, but no one seemed to know the answer.