LeRoy, Kansas...no stop lights, no gas station other than the Coop, no fast food. That pretty much sums up the size of this town. The town where if you blink you may miss it, that's about true. About 500'ish people give or take a few, this is the town I called home for 18 years and if someone asks where "home" is...that's still my answer but also proudly say Kansas City.
For 5 1/2 years I lived in a single wide trailer. My Dad farmed and still does and my Mom babysat. My sister entered the world 2 days before my 4th birthday and we shared a room...but it was okay at that point, she was just a baby. Our home was just steps away from my Grandparents, my Dad's folks, and I remember riding my bike over to their house which of course had a front basket, getting the newspaper and orange slices and back home I would pedal. I still love orange slices to this day. I remember having a jungle gym, pear tree and running barefoot in the grass. We did not have a lot of money, but my parent's did everything they could for my sister and I. One of my fondest memories includes riding along with my Grandpa Walker, my Mom's Dad, in his baby blue VW van. A retired Navy man, shop teacher, greaser and a craftsman. He made me my very own chair that fit perfectly between the two front seats of that VW and our song was "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On".
Summer of 1986, I was just shy of being 6, an inland hurricane hit our small town. The "Storm of '86", I remember it like it was yesterday. We were home, my Mom was babysitting kids and we were eating dinner and getting ready to head to VBS. We piled in the bathroom, smaller than most people's closets these days, and waited it out. The hail was as big as a tub of butter and when we emerged from the bathroom, my Grandma had walked her way over to make sure we were all okay. There were holes the size of a cantaloupe in our home, almost every window broken, total destruction. How we survived, well I will let you decide...but I know someone was watching over us. Our trailer was sat at an angle and some believe that was the only reason it didn't tip over. The winds reached speeds of over 90 mph and 10+ inches of rain was dropped in just a short period of time. My jungle gym was found in my Grandpa's pond nearly 1/4 mile away.
So, we moved because we had no choice. We rented a place for about 6 months before finding a house we would eventually call home. A two bedroom, 1 bath farmhouse with 152 acres. A chicken house, detached garage because garages weren't attached in those days and a big white barn. From 1987 to 1999, this house became my home and my Dad still lives there today. My sister and I shared a room until we were able to split the living room and make a third bedroom...I had my own room and my own closet. But even with my own room, my sister and I would still sleep together on Christmas Eve every year, anxiously awaiting Santa to arrive.
I attended grade and middle school which were the same building and high school here until graduating in 1999 as Salutatorian. My class had 14 people, the high school which was 9th-12th, approximately 70, everyone knew everyone. I played sports, all sports. Volleyball, Basketball, Track, and Softball in the summers. You can do that in small town. I was a Cheerleader, President of the K-Club and Student Council VP my Senior Year. My Grandma Jane, my Mom's Mom, owned Jane's Place, the only Cafe in LeRoy with home-cooked food. I worked there also, from age 10-18...something else you can do in small town. My Mom and Sister also worked there, my Aunt Kim did the books...family cafe at it's finest, seriously...ask anyone about the biscuits and gravy. I had a Farm Permit at age 14, which was 8th grade, and was driving my Mom's car to school until I bought my first car in February 1996. I was able to drive to school, work and church and you best believe I did. And by the way, I purchased the car with my own money that I saved from working. I had $2000 and my parent's matched that for the down payment. The rest, was up to me. I made monthly payments until my Senior year when I paid it off and decided I needed another new car. I was on my own on this one.
Sometime in High School I knew LeRoy would not be my forever home. I needed to experience the world outside of the town I knew would always be there. One week after graduation, I moved to Manhattan, Kansas and lived in a 2 bedroom apartment with my cousin. I got a job at DQ and was enrolled at K-State. 2 weeks before classes started, I dropped them. I had applied at Commerce Bank for a full-time job and got it. I quit school before I even started...I remember that phone call to my parents like it was yesterday. One year later, I moved on to Wichita, Kansas, transferring with Commerce Bank. I was slowly moving to bigger cities...this job was "downtown" Wichita too...I felt so city! Four years later I transferred to Overland Park with Commerce Bank. I remember that call too..."Hey Mom and Dad, I applied for a job in KC, I have an interview"...they loved moving me! I knew one person who lived in Overland Park, she took me around to show apartments in the area and I remember thinking that I would never learn my way around this big city. Times have definitely changed.
Skip ahead...from 2004 to today, I moved five more times...and finally this last time I rented a U-haul...it's always been pick-up trucks and stock trailers before. Next time, I am thinking "movers". Anyway, you don't need to know everything in the last 12 years...but I graduated from Johnson County, had about 102 credit hours, should have finished my Bachelors then but got a job at an Orthodontic office in 2005 and worked full-time there until I decided to change careers and go back to school. Nursing...something I never saw myself doing, but it has been one of the best decisions of my life. Truth. I have been at Shawnee Mission Health for almost 3 years, am still doing Marketing part-time at the Ortho office and also managing to do well in Nursing School! I will graduate in May and then onto my Bachelors next fall! And who knows, maybe I will keep going from there. I used to think I was too old for this...and I occasionally still say "I'm the old one"...but I have realized it doesn't really matter...I mean I have been turning 30 for almost 6 years now and feel better than ever! So yes, 36 is just around the corner!
The Road to Home
Shona
