Marie Arnold:  

After graduation in 61 went to work at Bethesda Hospital and enrolled in Palm Beach JC in RN program. Completed the degree in May 1964. While at hospital met a young man by the name of Earl Arnold who worked the same shift as I did while he was enrolled also at PBJC. Started dating and hanging out together after work and going out. My mother hated him. I liked him. We dated from the end of 1962 and into 1963 when he became serious about marriage. We got engaged in the late summer of 1963 and it caused an uproar at home. I didn't care. We grew closer and closer until we were married June 13, 1964 in Delray. Gerry Vad De Mark ( Seacrest '76 - I think) was Earl's best man even though he graduated from another high school--a rival on at that in Lake Worth. We lived in Delray at first in a small appartment and then moved to an appartment on the edge of the north side parking lot for Seacrest High. After PBJC Earl intended to go on to school to teach, but was sidetracked by added college costs. I became pregnant in 1967 and gave biirth to our son. Earl was hired as business office manager for St. Francis Hospital in Miami Beach and we moved in early 1968 to North Miami Beach. We lived there until after our daughter was born in 1970. Great changes were happening in Florida and especially Miami Dade area in the 1968-1971 time frame. Both Earl and I agreed Miami was not a great place to raise kids. With effort and some fear we both worked hard and saved funds to buy land in Missouri. We moved there in 1971 and still live on the same land purchased. In 1974 our last daughter was born in Missouri. We are Ozarkians through and through. Earl, ever the student of life and college, completed BS degrees at University of Missouri, Drury University, and Callifornia-San Diego. He also completed 2 Masters degrees, and his Doctorate. All his education was completed while he held full time jobs and it was hard on him. He had to complete one full year of internship and one year of residency in his chosed final field. He became a Doctor of Psychology and Child Sexual Abuse Pathologist. I worked in nursing at local hopitasls for 4 years before seeing the growth of home health care. I became the director of Lake Ozark Area Home Health covering 5 Counties. A unique job that was under State Regulation, funded by Federal Health Services, and overseen by an elected board. Thus I was a State employee with Federal responsible and governed by elected local folks. A political nighmare and social challange. I managed multiple RN's, LPN's, nursing aid's, physical therapists, socail workers, speach pathologist's, and other providers of physical care to a great many individuals for a long time. I spent over 36 years as the prime of this agency ( which still exists) until December 2009. Both Earl and I retired at the start of 2010. We are in the same house he built for us here (he really built it with his own hands and beer for friends). I love it. We are in the Mark Twain National Forest on the Gasconade River. Our nearest neighbor is about 1/2 mile away. We are in the Ozark Mountains....and I mean mountains. We are about 1220 feet up on a small hill top dead center of the 80 acres we own. There are peaks several hundred feet higher than us on all 4 sides. You can not see our home from the area roads. A major interstate passes with one and one half miles of us. We are near Springield, MO. We are 13 miles west of Ft. Leonard Wood US Military Base. The populaton here is large, but we are in the boon docks. Ever famous Branson is about 90 minutes away. St. Louis is about 2 hours away. Shopping is like any city area, but the people move at a much slower pace than city life. Seems everyone knows us, our kids, our grandkids, and wavy as we drive by. Some of our friends are real hillbillies, real coon hunters, and moonshiners. Some are professional people and highly educated. The unusual part is they all are treated the same and still say things like "Mam" and will take off their hats when greating you. The traditions of the area are unique and special. We even have a great local steak house built in a cave. Speaking of caves, we have caves on our land, on our entrance road,...Expand for more