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We left Kansas City and headed for Cincinnati. On our way we wanted to stop in two places, Palmyra and Hannibal, Missouri. You are familiar with Hannibal as that was the hometown and impetus for the Mark Twain series of books such as Huckleberry Finn. Palmyra was founded in 1822 and named after the Syrian city which also grew out of the wilderness and into a magnificent city.
Palmyra never really became a magnificent city although it's intentions were well meant. Today it has a population of 3600, It's a typical rural Missouri town with its main street, bank, library, and a few stores. Many on the main strip are empty.
The purpose of the trip was to find out more information about a well-known Palmyra celebrity, Rayford Lyndsey West. Quite a character and local celebrity, Ray came to our family before I was born, somewhere right after WW II. My dad had enlisted for the second time and left my mother with two kids. A neighbor let out rooms and Ray had rented one while he was studying at the Univeristy of Missouri. Ray was born with severe cerebral palsy and moving around was difficult for him. He had good use of his right arm and hand, was able to walk but with a severe limp, and had difficulty with speech. My mom befriended him and he would visit and keep her company. After the war my dad returned home and Ray stayed in our lives. He finished the university, returned to Palmyra to become the head librarian of the town and county for several decades.
Ray would visit us every year for his two-week vacation. Obviously he was very intelligent and hard working even doing work at our Kansas City library during the day probably to get a break from the chaos at our house with the ten kids running around. He never missed a visit and we too would go to Palmyra every summer for a weekend. Ray's dad was the bank president for most of his life. The bank building was sold to become City Hall. The new bank eventually closed and was turned into a library. The vault houses all the statisical records of births, properties, deaths and burial locations.
Rayford Lindsay West, his portrait hangs in the Palmyra library.
It didn't take long to find information. We walked into the library and asked if they knew of Ray and his work at the library. Everyone turned and looked at us as if "well of course, who doesn't?". They were very nice and pulled out library records with information as well as newspaper clippings of all the work Ray had done. It made me feel good that I had something to take with us to Cincinnati to share with other siblings.
Information showing the year Ray became the librarian and his starting and ending salary.
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The bank vault that houses the records for the town and surrounding counties. Many families have stored their ancestral records in the vault.
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The bank which now houses city hall. I should have taken an interior picture, the woodwork is spectacular.
Palmyra and Hannibal are only 30 minutes apart and it was nice weather driving through Missouri. We stayed at a very nice hotel, again a better choice than an Airbnb. It was right on the river, well a block away. Very friendly people, great room, an indoor pool and jacuzzi as well as a gym. They had a huge breakfast that we took advantage of before taking off for Cincinnati.
Hannibal, Missouri - Home of Mark Twain
When I was a kid and we would take these weekend trips, we would stop into the old Mark Twain museum which was actually his house. It still exists, but they have turned it into an enclosed city block that includes other buildings. Tours are daily and very expensive. We weren't here just for that we were to find "the hair". In the original museum there is a lock of Mark Twain's hair with a date on the small glass case. I always said I would someday save my hair and I did. I have locks from as far back as 1985 and 1997.
I'm not a saver and don't like clutter. My personal things I will leave behind are all the souvenirs in the form of tickets for places we have gone, driver's licenses, gym cards, credit cards from as far back as the 80s, my hair, a mold of my teeth, and so on. It will all fit nicely into a small box that some distant relative might want to rummage through and they will think, "what a strange man".
We found one of three museums and this one was a bust. Good thing it wasn't expensive and offered a senior discount. There he is in all his glory the man who made my childhood reading so much fun and entertaining. I'm glad we didn't have the internet or cable television.
A portrait of the man himself, Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain.
Mark Twain was known for many things. When he was born, they didn't expect him to live. He was born two months prematurely but survived. His first years were spent being cared for as a pretty sickly boy. He moved to Nevada to become a miner in the silver mines. He didn't like that and found a job working as a typesetter and then a newpaper reporter in Virginia City, Nevada. He was a real cat lover and at one point had 19 cats. I wouldn't have guessed it but after reading Huck Finn I thought it was a good book, easy reading and interesting but it took him over seven years to write it. His job that really got him writing was his years as a riverboat pilot.
Riverboat on the mighty Mississippi! We arrived in time to see the captain come and start up the engines. We didn't take the boat, they have two tours a day.
The captain at the helm of the ship.
Hannibal first appears to be a huge tourist attraction. We didn't seem to find much of anybody anywhere or anytime of the day. Weekends probably fill up along with summer vacations. We took a walk downtown at night, empty streets and a few bar/restaurants were open with a few locals knocking some back.
He is the man of the town that's for sure and his name and face appear on just about everything!
We ate at a small Mexican restaurant. The food was pretty good but the service sucked and the people weren't very friendly. They ended up charging us for splitting a plate which we do now. Way too much food. I mentioned it to the waitress and she said I could talk to the cashier. So I did, and she said, "I'm not going to fight with you" and walked away. I thought we were being very polite.
We took off the next day after taking some pictures down by the river. Again, a nice ride through country roads. Next stop, Cincinnati!
