Site and General Update – 7/26/2018

A lot has been going on in the background…

Site Updates

Perhaps the biggest thing you’ll notice now is the missing home page for the main site. Pages which have already been moved over to this part of my site (the “WordPress site”) are being removed in order to conserve space. Pages are slowly still being moved, although some will remain where they’re at. (I know for certain that the Kewanee Boiler and LLV sections will not be be moved over.)

Speaking of space: I upgraded the storage on my hosting account. I no longer have to worry (at least for now) about reaching the quota or being overly mindful about each file size.

My Trip to Slater

I was originally going to discuss this in a separate entry, but decided that it couldn’t warrant it’s own entry.

On July 16, I decided to take a day trip up to the area which I grew up. I was off work, and looking to get out of the house – and it was the perfect solution!

I grew up in rural Saline County here in Missouri. Specifically, half way been Arrow Rock and Slater, or about twenty miles northeast of Marshall. I attended Hardeman in elementary school. We moved when I was 10 years old after our house burned and we lost everything.

I’ve revisited Hardeman and Arrow Rock since we moved, but I haven’t visited Slater or Orearville since. The tower site I mentioned in this entry is just down the road from Orearville. The last time I saw the tower it still had its four KS-15676 cornucopia horn antennas and a shrouded parabolic dish still installed, but those have been long removed in eight years.

There is so much to say about the places I visited and got pictures of, and I do plan on making a couple “Throwback Thursday” entries using them. (One is planned specifically for the tower.) Due to my busy work schedule and transforming back into “school mode”, it will be hard to find some time to write them.

But here’s what I will say:

While the tower and its base building still stands (the base building being almost untouched since I remember seeing it last), the beloved KS-15676 horns have been removed. I can recall taking my camera to Slater (we would pass this site on our way to Slater) to take a picture of a school bus (topic for another TBT) but I didn’t stop and get a picture of this tower. I’m almost kicking myself now – as the tower still had its horns back then, although they were damaged. It was good to revisit this site, as it has been mentioned extensively in my Long Lines entry and the pages on the other sites I’ve visited. My interest in electronics (including RF & microwave systems) will be mentioned in the upcoming TBT, too! (You can read a page discussing general information on the Slater site here.)

I would’ve passed the Slater Long Lines site to get a picture of this bus. If only I would’ve stopped in to get a picture of the tower, too!

Slater has changed a lot since we moved. A new Casey’s was built (that was actually built around the time we moved), a new Dollar General was built, and even a Subway has made its way into the town that has just shy over 1,300 residents. A doctor’s office was also built. Main Street, however, still looks the same minus the Dollar General.

Looking up Main Street, towards the train depot. The train depot still looks the same, although the Dollar General (right) has since moved. Since Slater was the closest town, we always went to the Dollar General for basic necessities.
Looking the opposite way, albeit from a couple blocks down.

While Slater has changed, other things have stayed largely the same. Arrow Rock has changed very little, as to be expected. Thankfully, I went back on a day where Arrow Rock wasn’t swamped with tourists and Lyceum people. Of all the places, it seemed strange walking around in Arrow Rock. Strange to just think that I grew up near there.

While the Arrow Rock boardwalk has some new stores, it hasn’t changed in appearance at all.

The church I attended when I was in elementary school hasn’t changed at all, either. The church was just right up the road from where I grew up. In fact, you could see it from where we lived. I attended “Thursday Club” and a Vacation Bible School at the church. The church was also our “safe haven” during severe thunderstorms. Thankfully, we never had to use it for such purposes. Though there was one close call, where a tornado destroyed two homes (decimating a brick home) just five miles down the road. I can also recall the church bell being rang at exactly midnight on every New Years Day.

The Saint Paul Lutheran Church

The elementary school I visited as a kid has changed a little too. I plan on revisiting that (and the church) in another planned TBT entry.

Lastly, on my way back home, I saw a rainbow. I stopped alongside the road and took a picture. Although the picture didn’t turn out well, later down the road the rainbow became stronger and you could see at least half of it. It remained strong until I returned home. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a picture of that rainbow as it vanished about a block away from returning home.

A [poor] picture of the rainbow. Later down the road, it shifted and became stronger.