The Quintessence Of A Small Town

Photo Submitted Recia at age 28.
Photo Submitted Recia at age 28.

What are the ingredients needed to make a small town? No, it's not just the number of people who choose to call it home, nor is it the number of paved streets or traffic signals or the size or number of stories of the town's city hall. I believe that small towns are defined by the attitudes of those who call them home and live their modest and unpretentious lives far away from the many who only dream of giving up their hectic and complicated existences.

So it goes that in the early 1960s the small Southwest Missouri Ozarks town of Goodman was a place where people worked and raised their families. The nearest town of any size to speak of was Neosho and, if someone was to leave Neosho, "The Flower Box City," and head north for another 15 or 20 miles, they would arrive in Joplin. By some standards these two cities could be called small towns, but not by the residents of places to the south like Goodman, Anderson, Pineville, Noel and Southwest City.

Recia and her older sister Carol called Goodman home. The two grew up in a modest two-story house not far from her paternal grandparents' home. It seemed to Recia that she must have been adopted, as sis seemed to be the chosen one. Recia was convinced that Carol considered herself to be a little princess.

Although the two-year-older sibling appeared, at least by Recia's father and mother, to be completely innocent of every mischievous act, Recia knew better. When a photograph was taken, it was the pinch to Recia's arm that caused the frown on her face which appeared in the later developed photo. Carol, on the other hand, was considered to be quite comely and photographs of her and her innocent smile were common.

Recia was convinced that Carol was completely and utterly incapable of surviving without the younger sister's assistance. Recia took the matter of brushing Carol's brunette hair in hand and Carol seemed to enjoy and expect the attention. When Carol eventually moved away from home, Recia recalls that she didn't know how she could survive. After all, who would be there to brush her hair?

It was in these towns that people found all the ingredients needed for happy and quiet lives. There were schools for their kids, and most often those brick-built buildings taught the basics to children in first through 12th grades.

The two-story brick Goodman schoolhouse was a place where youngsters learned and made friends. The kids went to school with their neighbors, both younger and older, and were taught by teachers who also called Goodman home.

The gymnasium was filled with cheers as the basketball team played Anderson, Pineville and Noel. And, in 1964 Coach Charles Goade skillfully coached the team to 24 wins with only two losses. The talented group beat South Iron/Glasgow in the state championship game, earning the team the title of small school state champion.

Most towns had at least one drug store where necessities could be found, and, more often than not and after school, kids could be seen resting on stools at the soda fountain. In Goodman, Faye Parker served up cokes spiced with cherry syrup and chocolate malted milks so thick that the mixture would barely pass through straws. For those more of a mind for solid food, there were always the yummy tuna sandwiches which could be consumed either at the counter or while seated at one of the booths.

This venue was, however, as the name clearly states, a drug store. While Faye satisfied the appetites of the kids, Harold 'Doc Parker' could be found on the other side of the store. There he sold bandages, Mercurochrome, toothpaste, cough syrup and other much-needed items.

Recia found Parker's old-fashioned drug store a great place to sit at a booth and talk about life's problems with her friends. Recia and Carol read and reread those movie magazines that they couldn't afford to buy. Carol, however, considered the store more, much more, than that. During the school lunch breaks, she walked to the store and earned some much-needed money helping Faye serve vanilla cokes and sandwiches to those schoolmates who preferred the food served there over the lunch prepared by Mrs. Field and Mrs. Wasson in the school's cafeteria. Carol also worked at the store on Saturdays.

The other place of interest that most, if not all, of these small Ozark towns had in common was a place for men to gather. In Goodman, that place was the George Shelton owned "Goodman Recreation Hall" which was referred to by all as just simply the pool hall. Goodman's pool hall was housed in a Main Street building, while Les Porter's Noel pool hall was in a basement accessed only by descending a long row of concrete steps.

Recia's mother cautioned her and her sister Carol against entering the pool hall.

"That place is for men of all sorts and intentions and God only knows what goes on in there. It is certainly no place for young girls, so you two keep yourselves out of that place, you hear."

Some warnings given to young children seem to merely heighten their youthful and curious natures, but neither Recia nor Carol ventured into that place of unmentionable evils.

Time is the messenger of change and that messenger brings changes to both places and people. So it is with the small town of Goodman. The once bustling drug store is no more. The sound of cue balls striking colored and numbered billiard balls hasn't been heard in a very long time and the brick schoolhouse no longer welcomes the children each morning. Things change.

Carol graduated and married her high school boyfriend, Bob. She said goodbye to her best friend, Sue Kinslow, and to Goodman. The years passed and so did life. Carol Ann Williams, Recia's big sister, passed away in 2003. She was 60 years of age.

Recia never strayed far from her roots and now lives in what was once the thriving small town of Goodman. If asked about the good old days, Recia will talk about Esther's Beauty Shop and show you photographs of Carol, herself and the old two-story house the two girls called home. However, as I listen to Recia, I seem to detect the slightest hint of regret in her voice as she reluctantly acknowledges that the town is not now the one she fondly remembers.

Thanks to Recia for sharing her childhood memories of Goodman.

Stan Fine is a retired police officer and Verizon Security Department investigator who, after retiring in 2006, moved from Tampa, Fla., to Noel. Stan's connection to Noel can be traced back to his grandparents, who lived most of their lives there. Stan began writing after the passing of his wife Robin in 2013. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 05/16/2019