Ozark, MO

Oct 26,2007

A classmate, Judy Morrisett, lives in Ozark, Mo. about 20 miles south of Springfield. She is our class agent and had called me when we were in Arizona. She wanted to make sure we were on our way to the reunion. She insisted that we come by and park in their yard and visit a couple of days. We did,,,,,but we stayed 7 days. They plugged in the electricity and we had plenty of water, so it worked great. She and Leroy fed us and showed us around the country and it was a wonderful time. They like to go to the antique shops. Judy has tons of glass and pottery, all antiques. They attend auctions as well as the shops. She tried to teach me what to look for in the glass ware.

She has been volunteering at the County Court house cleaning up the "records" She claims she can't stand unorganization and cleans with toothbrushes. Believe me, its the truth. We got to meet the commissioners and everyone at the court house. They think she walks on water since she has cleaned up the storage area and organized shelves and shelves of books. as well as organized the pages in the books.

She is a wonderful truly southern cook. Greg was treated to wonderful meals that he doesn't get at home. Fried apricot pies, banana bread, cream of chicken soup, biscuits, gravy,cookies,all made from scratch. She loves to make a large pot of soup for any gathering, and she is in high demand.

Leroy was born and raised in Ozark. They love all school sports and attend all the games. For years, Judy has baked cookies for the players. When they go to tournaments, she will bake 4 varieties of cookies and pack 5 gallon buckets for the buses and coaches. She has an award stating she is the "Cookie Mom" of Ozark high school.

They have one daughter, one son, and two grand children. Judy's father and her siblings all attended the School of the Ozarks. She has not missed a reunion and served on the anumni board and any other position that supports the school, excuse me, college now.

We toured several housing developments from Ozark to Branson. Beautiful homes, large lots, mostly rock or brick, out a bit and curvy roads on the side of the hills, not a good scene in the winter.

We tried to harvest black walnuts, but an early freeze had killed them. So, be aware, walnuts will be hard to get.

Every evening, Judy and I would knit our dishcloths. We would laugh and say, "who would have thought 52 years ago, we would be visiting and knitting dishcloths.

Greg commented that we were in the Bible Belt. Which is true. But also, Bass Pro country. The headquarters of Bass Pro is in Springfield. We spend an afternoon there. If they don't have what you want, you don't need it. They have a large museum of animals and fish. All through the store there is stuffed animals, birds, aquariums and actual streams with ducks and fish. This is truly a hunter and fisher's Paradise.

We had one meal out, at a Mexican restaurant, one of the best we found.