Moving to Moberly, MO; desire to be within 30 miles of Columbia (St. Louis: homes, wedding reception)

[wolywig]

We are planning a move to an area not more than 30 miles from Columbia have lived in Northern Mo for 3 years(too far North for us now) we are retired so schools are not needed just want 3 to 5 acres in a country setting with access to good shopping(grocery,thrift stores etc.)Have been thru Moberly many times going to Columbia VA just wondering how it is to live there or surrounding areas??? Anyone out there who can give us info????? thanks

[mogirl90]

I live in Mexico (about 30 minutes north) and any town around here would be good. Fulton, Auxvasse, Laddonia, Martinsburg. They are small country towns. Oh, perhaps Arrow Rock? Very picturesque, antique stores, stuff like that.

[Carlidin]

I live in New Franklin which is three miles from Boonville and about 45 minutes from Moberly. We are 23 miles from Columbia which is a short commute and has all the entertainment/dining/shopping options you could want. We enjoy our small town (1,100 people) but have accessability to everything that we could want. Nice quiet community, rolling countryside. Lots of nice friendly people too.

Carolyn

[2beamissourian]

Kareybear is on here way there this week.. that is where she is relocating.

[edgeofhell]

Not to be unkind, but I have to state that Moberly is one of my least favorite missouri towns, Its nothing that I can really put my finger on, just a weird vibe I get from it. Its always been the source of insults too. "Nice manners dude, did you grow up in Moberly?" kind of stuff
I was at a wedding reception there that ended up into a jerry springer type brawl! I'm sure it has its good points, but I can't find em..You'll see what I mean when you get there... it kinda feels like you're in the middle of somebody elses family re-union without being invited.

[cmackrocks]

Moberly is a quaint, historical town that is big enough to have the amenities of a city and still small enough to embrace the warmth that is small town America. I recently moved here from Minnesota and was amazed at the friendliness of the people and the beauty of what Moberly has to offer. The parks are well kept and amazingly beautiful. It is full of historical homes that are being renovated by people who cherish them and the past they represent, dearly. Whatever stigma that may have been a part of the past is clearly not present today. There is a great deal of community pride and everywhere you can see the fruits of the people's hard work. There are still parts of town that need TLC but anywhere you go you will find that. And I believe that will change sooner more than later. The central location of Moberly is advantageous to people who need to travel for work or who have family scattered in various directions. Come to Moberly and see for yourself. There is Jerry Springer Material in every city, don't kid yourself.



Cindy Mack

[jps]

Originally Posted by edgeofhell

Not to be unkind, but I have to state that Moberly is one of my least favorite missouri towns, Its nothing that I can really put my finger on, just a weird vibe I get from it. Its always been the source of insults too. "Nice manners dude, did you grow up in Moberly?" kind of stuff
I was at a wedding reception there that ended up into a jerry springer type brawl! I'm sure it has its good points, but I can't find em..You'll see what I mean when you get there... it kinda feels like you're in the middle of somebody elses family re-union without being invited.

If you were at a wedding reception you must have known or been connected to people who knew the brawlers, which to me speaks more of your peer group than to the entire city of Moberly.

As far as the 'dude, are you from Moberly' smack, it's a time honored tradition everywhere to speak of the nearest smaller town with sarcastic disdain. Moberlyans poke fun of Maconites and Huntsvillians, Columbians make fun of Moberlyans, St. Louisans make fun of Columbians, etc. Sounds like you're from Columbia.

Moberly does have a lot of history, if you know where to look. When my Grandfather was born in 1901, Moberly was bigger than Columbia and was the 7th or 8th largest city in Missouri, and it was only 35 years old. A boomtown, if you will. It was established at inception as a major railroad hub and became the main western shop for the Wabash railroad, later the N&W/Norfolk Southern.

In the days before interstate highways and jet travel, everyone traveled by train and Moberly was the region's version of Atlanta or Dallas when defined as a place to reroute ones destination. For instance, if you were traveling from say, Omaha to St. Louis, chances were you would stop in Moberly and get on a different train or have a layover.

All the legends of Vaudeville played at the local theatres, and it was a very progressive town (for that time) in the area of race relations. A high percentage of the city's males worked for the railroad or one of it's satellite industries. My Grandpa started when he was 14, joining his Dad and five brothers.

It also had a reputation as a very rough place at times, due to the hard living blue collar quality of the town, the transient rail travelers and the various saloons and brothels. The rumpus was generally confined to a one block area west of the Union Station (Depot) and was known as "The Levee." In other words, the railroad area was Moberly's river, and the one block area provided a buffer zone to separate the riffraff from the respectable townfolk in the way an earthen levee protects a town from river flooding.

After WWll, train travel came to an end, and so did that era of Moberly. It's still an important railroad hub, but it's strictly freight now. The city has long since settled into quiet town mode, with most of the Levee demolished over time, finished off by a tornado in 1995, and replaced by modern architecture, devoid of personality.


Other old pictures;

http://halsimages.com/ll1078.jpg (broken link)

The railyards;

http://www.postcards-as-art.com/site1/images/main/30253474.jpg (broken link)




The Wabash railroad hospital;







Here's a picture of the main drag/Levee now that the Depot is gone;








In the old days, this would have been the view, although the photographer would have had to move to his left about 100 paces;







Through it all, the city has continued to churn out it's greatest export - it's 18 year old children - who have spread out across the land and whose presence immediately brightens the environment of any city fortunate enough to have them in residence. Cough.


The hometown to one America's greatest heroes, General Omar Bradley, it is also home to Moberly Area Community College, known the world over as "The Harvard of Little Dixie" a school that boasts the all time winningest Junior College Basketball program in the nation. It is, almost embarrassingly to MU and SLU, the greatest collegiate basketball program in the history of the great state of Missouri. And you could look it up.

I could go on and on, but my football game starts soon and I must get ready.


And, to edgeofhell, if you haven't gone over the edge by now and are still reading the forum, bite me.

[ms1016]

i'm impressed, jps. you should find a way to get paid for your creativity!!

[Hockeynut]

Nice insight and pictures jps. thanks for the post

[wolywig]

thanks everyone preciate it lots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I yam country!!!!!!! LOL LOL LOL