Memphis Democrat October 4, 2000

Thanks to everyone who participated in making our Open House a tremendous success. We were surprised when half a dozen cars showed up at 1:30pm and they didn't stop arriving continuously until after 3pm. There were about 170 names in our guestbook, and we know not every one of you had the chance to sign in. We had visitors drive in from as far away as Fort Madison and perhaps our most notable participants were Jim and Carol Hopkins, of AZ, who we bought our land from three years ago. It sure has changed a lot since then!

We were exhausted by the time the last folks left. But we felt that the energy we put out was returned in spades with stories of the old days, joking fun, offers of lumber and canning jars and the connections we made. We hope to see you all back here next year.

After a little breather, we had a little celebration of the anniversary of our inception. It was wonderful to have all of our members and residents home (except Kalen) to celebrate and remember together. Friends joined us from Sandhill, and other nearby locations for a potluck. Highlights included jerked tofu brought by our former intern Stephanie, pumpkin scones brought by Julia who owns Washington Street Java Company in Kirksville and a bucket full of macadamia nut brownies brought by a group of folks from East Wind, a community in southern Missouri.

After dinner we had a bonfire and was graced with music from our talented circle of friends. The Front Porch Ramblers (Stephanie's band) from Kirksville played old favorites and a few songs written at Dancing Rabbit. They were backed up by our own Cecil on bass and Larry Ayers, of Knox City, on fiddle. Then we enjoyed the music on Ron and Lou of Gorin. As the night wore on, anyone with musical talent got a shot at the stage.

Thanks again to all of you who made the trek to and around Dancing Rabbit on Sunday. We enjoyed seeing familiar faces and getting acquainted with new ones. We hope that we get to see more of each other in the coming years.