Post Scripts: The latch-key is always open

Kathy and I have been blessed on several occasions by having Gallatin, or former Gallatin residents, drop by to see us. You will never know the extent of our joy and satisfaction of being surprised when there is a knock at the door, and we open it to discover the face and forms of those who at one time or another, or still maintain, a Gallatin area residence.

We have for sometime enjoyed meeting with the Jack Everlys, of Gallatin and Lake Viking, who for sometime have maintained a residence in San Antonia which is less than 40 miles south of San Marcos where we live. We are sorrowed to understand that Jack and Donna are disposing of their property there due to health concerns. They face the same problem Kathy and I did – the need to be closer to children who can provide some assistance in dealing with unforseen circumstances as old age creeps in on us at an accelerated rate.

It is our understanding the Everlys will likely move, eventually, to Ohio where they have a daughter. It is my opinion this move is a loss to San Antonia and Daviess County. We have greatly enjoyed our friendship with Jack and Donna who are great companions whose philosophy of life is close to ours. We will miss them for sure.

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of having George and Loyal Smith, also of Lake Viking and Gallatin. They spent six weeks in Harlingen, Texas, south of here and were headed home. They called us ahead of time to let us know they planned to stop overnight in San Marcos so they could spend some time visiting us. How nice it was to see them. We enjoyed an evening meal with them at a restaurant about four miles away on I-35.

Afterwards they came home with us where they brought us up to date on happenings in Gallatin and we gave them a tour of our apartment and showed them items we didn’t have to dispose of in our move. They seemed to approve our 1,100 square foot apartment, crammed full in every conceivable nook and cranny, and we bade them farewell later that night at their motel.

Then, last week, we were pleased to see Larry and Donna Richards, plus their son, Brian, and his wife, Claudia, and their three daughters: Nicole and Carla, six year old twins, and Jessica, who is four. Their children are just real cute, and we were so happy to see them all. Brian and Claudia both teach in Odessa, Texas, where they live. Odessa is a good five or six hour drive northwest of here. Brian describes that part of Texas as "rather desolate, cactus and oil wells." I got the impression they would like to be closer to Missouri.

For those who might not know, Donna once worked for me at the newspaper office. Her husband, Larry, who had a Gallatin bank connection, later worked for the late Congressman Jerry Litton, then came back to Gallatin in banking. An opportunity in banking took the family to the Warrenton area, near St. Louis, where he became president of a bank at Jonesburg. The family is building a new home on their 80-acre horse farm, having been living in a 120-year-old house for some time. Donna is employed in social services.

Friends, the latch-key is always open. We love to have guests from home anytime!