 |
| My mother and father's families were next door neighbors in O'Fallon on Woodlawn and Hembrock streets. My aunts and uncles played together in the open areas between the homes in theier part of the city. Since then, those empty areas have all completely filled in. After my father came home from his military service during the Korean war he asked the younger Haislip girl he'd watched grow up next to marry him. They bought their first O'Fallon home in 1957 when I was three years old. It took them 4 years to save up enough to put a down payment on one of the first homes in one of the first "subdivisions" in O'Fallon. I grew up happily with a younger brother and sister in Country Life Acres. And when it was my turn to marry and have a family, we chose to stay in O'Fallon, St Charles County because it was such a great place to live and raise a family. I have two sons who grew up in Forest Park-EastBrook Addition and eventually we moved almost a stone's throw away on the other side of Main Street in Towerwood Subdivison. Now there's 8 grandkids for me to spoil when they come to visit Grandma Cheryl and Papa Jim, still in O'Fallon. |
 |
| I have spent many years involved in our church and school, especially when my sons were at Assumption and St Dominic schools where their mother and father were also educated. I've also been involved in my neighborhood, city and county non-profits and governments. St Charles County means a lot to me and my family. We have roots that go do deep. And even if my sons have moved to pursue their careers and are not living in St Charles county they are always happy to revisit their former home, and of course bring the grandkids. |
