We spent a lovely day in the historic town of Kimmswick, MO, population 162. This town, located on a high bluff above the Mississippi, was founded in 1859. We're tied up at Hoppie's Marina, the only place for fuel for the next 107 miles and the only marina for the next 228 miles.
As we strolled through town we found out that all the businesses are closed on Mondays. We had hoped to have lunch at The Blue Owl, a popular spot that Loopers rave about. One of their employees told us they were closed, but that "Mary" was on site if we wanted to meet her. Mary Hostetter is the owner of the restaurant and apologized that they were there only to put up their fall decorations, but she said she had some baked goods that we might be interested in. Well...we're always interested in baked goods so we went inside the charming restaurant to take a peek. We ooo-ed and ahhh-ed over everything and asked if she minded if we took a walk through town and stopped on our way back to choose some pastries. That was fine with Mary so off we went.
The town is laid out beautifully. Almost all the homes are historic, including several log homes. The restoration and preservation of the town is due to the efforts of Lucianna Gladney Ross, who in 1970 launched an energetic restoration project that literally saved the City of Kimmswick. Some of the restored buildings date back to 1872. Many shops are actually homes of the residents.
So, after we walked through the town and I took a gazillion photos, we stopped back at The Blue Owl. We went inside and were met by Mary who told us she could probably scare up some soup and salad to serve us for lunch if we were interested. Of course, we were. We had Striper with us so we sat at a table on her veranda where Striper could lie down beside us. We had what Mary calls the Terrific Trio -- salad of your choice (many options) and soup of your choice (also many options). We both ordered the Vidalia onion soup. Ralph ordered the Tropical salad and I ordered a Cobb salad -- both with Mary's specialty dressings. The third part of the trio is a slice of pie of your choice. We both ordered the Levee High Apple Pie -- and Jerry, Mary's husband, suggested we should have it ala mode.
We were just served our salads when Ralph's phone rang. It was Lane and Joyce from "Makin' Memories" who we had met along our Looper travels. They had just arrived at Hoppie's and were tying up. Ralph told them we were at The Blue Owl eating lunch to which Lane replied "But they're closed on Mondays." Mary then said "If they're here, I would serve them some food, too." Well, needless to say, Lane and Joyce joined us for lunch. Mary could have served 100 more lunches today but she did tell every one who stopped that she was closed, but had bakery items and one lady was looking for homemade fudge for a birthday present and Mary sent her employee, Jackie, over to Mary's Sweet Shoppe next door to assist the lady in selecting just the right gift. Next came a couple from Georgia looking for lunch. Mary invited them to come in because they were traveling so far. They, too, enjoyed the Terrific Trio and we had a most interesting afternoon. Mary mentioned several times that the Lord has really blessed her abundantly and that's how she is able to do what she does and do it so well. Thank you Mary and Jerry -- it was wonderful to meet you and we truly appreciate your gracious hospitality!!
We learned some history about Fern and Charles ("Hoppie") Hopkins while being their guests here. Hoppie's father was the lamplighter on the Mississippi River for years and when Hoppie was old enough, he went along with his father to light the kerosene lamps that dot the shoreline and aid tug captains in navigation. When Hoppie's father passed away, Hoppie and his uncle took over the job. In 1950 the lamps were changed to battery operated lamps and now they are solar. Hoppie has good memories of working with his father and said sometimes when the weather was foul and windy, the lanterns would blow out and they'd have to scoot down the river in a john boat or whatever they had and re-light them. When it was icy, they drove through fields in a jeep to get to the lanterns to light them.
They also shared with us that the Army Corps of Engineers put a jetty downstream of their marina. The sand has been trapped at the jetty and thus the water levels have gotten quite shallow. Consequently, they have lost about half of their dock space. The bone of contention is that the Army Corps of Engineers did not follow protocol advising the residents of Kimmswick that the jetties were going to be constructed -- they just did it. What they did has impacted the livelihood of the whole town. They have a lot of local and congressional backing to try to have the Army Corps of Engineers to remove the jetty, but it is an uphill climb. The Hopkins family has owned this property for 78 years.
When we got back to the boat after our trip into town, it was time for Fern's briefing which everyone enjoys. She is so knowledgeable about the entire river system, it is most appreciated. Hoppie's is a most hospitable marina. One of the boater's dogs got injured and Fern took the owner and the dog to the vet's office to have the pet cared for. Last night they invited everyone to dinner which was a lovely affair with lively conversation and very good food. Thank you Hoppie and Fern, we truly appreciate your hospitality.
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