I think, Jackie, that the old water moccasin tale may have been a boy thing and even then, only for boys who lived on or close to the river. I know when I started goin' to hi-school in leon, none of those kids had ever heard about it either....but for those of us on the river, it was as real as sun rise. I mean, in our imaginations we could just see the water boil with snakes and the poor little ole boy being dragged out later with thousands of bites on him. Back then, we used to do quite a bit of hand fishin' for cats......prob'ly all the way from Grand River down to Terrie Haute, New Buda and maybe even down to Bethany. I get on IH 35 right here in Killeen Texas and take her straight up to KC, it's a straight shot pert neert and could stay on it all the way to Decatur but I enjoy the drive on SH 69 when i have the time. I get the leon journal reporter down here and i saw last week where 2 houses burned down in Decatur......wasn't one of them your mother's, was it?....mac Your right about the snakes, Hazel. There were absolutely tons of snakes along the Grand River....it was snake heaven. Another story a lot of us were told was that one of those snakes was called a blue racer 'cause it'd chase you down and bite you to death. You'd laugh your self silly today if you could see us boy's, in little bitty overalls, runnin' from a "blue racer", lookin' behind us to make sure it wasn't gainin' on us. You have to remember that back then we were only 9 or 10 years old and on/in the river. Today our parents would prob'ly be brought up on child abuse or child neglect charges but it was plain growin' up back then. I had forgotten all about that old water tower till you just mentioned it......mac ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stacy Smith" <slsmith@grm.net> To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 6:28 AM Subject: Re: [IADECATU] Re: Snowy Day > Actually Jackie you no longer have to slow down on I 35 when you get to > Iowa... > They recently raised the speedlimit to 70. (It was 70 in May, I can't > remember how long before May it was raised....) Which makes it SO much > easier going from Missouri to Iowa. (of course, before if you were going 5 > miles over the limit, they would give you a warning, but now, if they catch > you going 75 you will get a ticket...{or that is what I was told}) > Have a GREAT day! > Stacy > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jackie Goeken" <jackie2@ruraltel.net> > To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 11:28 PM > Subject: Re: [IADECATU] Re: Snowy Day > > > > I'd never heard of the nest of water moccasins either. I usually don't go > > through KC on my way home to Decatur(that's where my moma lives now). I > > take Highway 36 through St. Joe, MO. and then hit I 35 at Cameron, MO. > > Still a nice drive either way. Of course you have to remember to slow > down > > on I 35 when ya git to Ioway! > > Jackie > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: <Hzltarr@aol.com> > > To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> > > Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 7:52 PM > > Subject: Re: [IADECATU] Re: Snowy Day > > > > > > > > > > In a message dated 12/9/2005 5:57:11 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, > > > rmcclure@hot.rr.com writes: > > > > > > Of course that always gives me the > > > opportunity to tell everyone in the car about the old bugaboo legend of > > the > > > kid that got bit to death by a nest of water moccasins in the Grand > > > River.....I think we were all, at least the boys, were told that to > keep > > us > > > out of there.....mac @ Killeen, Texas > > > > > > > > > > > > That's one I never heard. I can tell you first hand that there were > > plenty > > > of snakes on the banks of the Grand River. That was our favorite place > > to > > > gather wild flowers. It was our playground all summer and we saw many > a > > snake. > > > In those years you had to have a fishing licence if you were over 16 > and > > > some of the boys would catch fish in the daytime, leave them on a > > stringer and > > > retrieve them after nightfall when the local game warden (our town > > marshal , > > > I think)was eating his supper. Betty and I carried home and fried many > a > > > fish those boys left there. > > > In the winter more than once we climbed down inside the old water > tower > > > that used to be by the railroad tracks down by the river. We played on > > the ice > > > inside it. I shiver when I think how dangerous that was. > > > Hazel > > > > > > > > > ==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== > > > Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, > > > Website Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - > > http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu > > > > > > ============================== > > > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for > > > ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: > > > http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== > > Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, > > Website Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - > http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu > > > > ============================== > > Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the > > areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. > > Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx > > > > > > ==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== > Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, > Website Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu > > ============================== > Census images 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1871, plus so much more. > Ancestry.com's United Kingdom & Ireland Collection. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13968/rd.ashx