Hi Listers, I just got home yesterday from Fulton County. My baby sister got married in Smithfield and they had the reception in Cuba at the Legion. There were about 250 guests. We had quite a time! I see you all have been sharing your memories of Fulton County. Thanks so much for sharing!! Some of them have been very entertaining. I know the ones who have not lived in the area are probably tired of hearing them by now. I just wanted to add a few things. The tornado came through in July of 1975. I will never forget it. I think the city of Canton had just celebrated their Sesquintennial that day and it was just getting over with. Then the dark clouds came rolling in. We all knew it was going to hit and took cover. It hit and missed several places in Fulton County but Canton got the worst of it. It did a lot of damage. The other tornado that hit Canton was in June of 1835. The Norris Farms, is huge and is on Rt.78 and 97 before you go to Havana. My guess is that the corporation that bought it named it Norris Farms. I am not sure how many acres it covers but my guess would be close to a thousand or more. I just found out there is a huge Indian burial ground there. about 700 Indian mounds one of the oldest in the county and not to far from Dickinson Mounds. There are several Indian mounds all over Fulton County. It is not unusual for the farmers to work the fields and when the soil is turned over they discover arrow heads or some other tool the Indians used in their daily life. Coal is abundant - and there are plenty of Strip Mines. The strip mines dug out the coal and the land was put back for farming or pasture ground , the holes that were to large were made into ponds and stocked with fish. We-Ma-Tuk is a subdivision between Canton and Cuba built on Strip Mine ground. Lots of nice homes , it has a country club and a golf course. Spoon River, I have seen her so low back in the early 1970's that you could slide down the bank and walk right down the middle and jump from sandbar to sandbar without getting your feet wet. I have also seen her banks so swollen that no matter how many sandbags were put in place she broke through the levee and flooded the valley on Rt.9. The traffic was rerouted to Rt.95 through Seville. The Spoon River is very dangerous ,there are lots of sink holes and there have been a lot of people drown or got hurt from diving in. That is a big NO-NO. White's Ferry is about 3 miles North of Smithfield, you turn east and go past the Buckeye Church. From what a great aunt told me they used to have a ferry crossing there to cross the Spoon. This was way before my time. In my life time we used to go down to White's Ferry and fish off the bank and have a weiner roast. A lot of the neighbors would come and we would have a good ole time.... In our neighborhood, Deerfield township the neighbors would get togather and have a weiner roast and a hayrack ride. Everyone would bring a dish to pass. I have also went to many a Hog roast and we had one ourselves back in the 1980's when we lived there. We had just about 300 people show up. They came from all over the county and everyone was kind enough to bring food or something to drink , no one came empty handed. Midway is on Rt.9 ,the halfway mark between Canton and Bushnell, in McDonough County. The Spoon River Scenic Drive, is the 1st and 2nd weekends in October. The farmers are usually in the fields harvesting their crops. The fall colors are a sight to see in Fulton County. Since I have started my genealogy research I have learned a lot about the county I grew up in. And as Dorothy says, "There is no place like home." And home will always be Fulton County for me..... _________________________________________________________________ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail