Caroline's Corner

2010-09-17T07:20:00.001-05:00

The Tourist Information Center is officially closed for the 2010 season. The center is funded by the Thayer Chamber of Commerce, due to lack of interest by local businesses, city officials and residents it is no longer able to pay my salary so we are closing the doors. We will open again April 15, 2015. Our plans are to keep it open through Sept. 15. Until we acquire state or local funding

2010-08-02T05:52:00.001-05:00

July ended with just 331 visitors to the center for the month. This brought our YTD total to 263l. over 400 less than last year. So we will be closing the center for the season September 30 this year. Since I took over management of the center in 2007 I have had many interesting visitors and experiences. Visitors - folk from all over America and the world. Experiences - removing dead cats

2010-07-19T07:44:00.001-05:00

The TIC was closed yesterday afternoon. A transformer had blown in the area leaving us with no electricity and of course no air conditioning. Not a good day to sit inside the caboose so I took a rare Sunday afternoon off.Pat Johnson had a good day at the center Saturday. She had 11 visitors and sold several post cards. I certainly appreciate her allowing me to attend my family's reunion.The

2010-07-17T08:01:00.001-05:00

We reached the middle of July with a great visitor count - - - 167 for July, 2567 since March 1. A lovely couple from Oslo, Norway stopped in on their way to Branson. It is always great to meet and welcome folk from foreign lands. The rains have finally returned, and we are back to our beautiful green hills. It is still very hot, but we are so very thankful for the rains.Today I will be

2010-07-07T11:11:00.001-05:00

July has started off with a bang at the center. 137 visitors from the 1st until closing yesterday. This brings our YTD total to 2237. If it would just rain, all would be great. Caroline SutherlandLaus Deo

2010-07-02T07:02:00.001-05:00

June was a great month at the center. 464 visitors signed the guest book and 91 picked up maps during our closed hours. This brings our total visitor count since March 1 to 2191. A very good month. Some of the states represented were Alaska, Delaware, Texas and Minnesota. Two couples from Australia on their way to Branson were our visitors this month. They were 'so enjoying your beautiful

2010-06-16T07:35:00.001-05:00

June has been a busy month at the center. Weekend visitor count was great. 58 on Saturday, 32 Sunday afternoon. Yesterday afternoon a couple from Florida on their way to Ft. Leonard Wood for their son's graduation from basic training stopped in. It is always a pleasure to meet folk who have sons and daughters serving our country. Two couples from Australia stopped in for information on and

2010-06-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

50 visitors to the center yesterday. A great way to end the month of May! We hope all the folk traveling back to theirs homes after the holiday arrived safely.Caroline SutherlandLaus Deo

2010-05-30T08:29:00.001-05:00

Another busy day at the caboose yesterday. 30 visitors. Among them folk who had seen the caboose from the highway and McDonalds several times but never taken the time to stop in, folk looking for cemeteries in this area (Our Oregon County map is a great tool in these cases.) Several families were on their way to Branson. Everyone enjoyed seeing inside the caboose, especially the children.

2010-05-29T06:50:00.001-05:00

40 visitors to the center yesterday! A great start for the holiday weekend. I expect the rest of the weekend to be as busy.Lacy is developing into a great volunteer. She has the personality that fits right in. I am glad we have her 'on board.'This week we had visitors from Switzerland and New Zealand. We so enjoy welcoming other nations to our little corner of the world. They are alway

2010-05-20T07:19:00.001-05:00

Welcome aboard Lacy!!My Great-Niece, Lacy Cozort came on board yesterday as our newest volunteer. She is going to be a great addition to our crew. We really miss volunteer Viola Scallions. She is contending with a very serious health condition right now. She needs your prayers.Chris McIntosh has resigned volunteering at the center. He too is having health problems. Please pray for

2010-05-17T06:44:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning, May 16 at 9:45 am we welcomed our 1,000th visitor to the center for the 2010 season!! We normally don't open until 1:00pm on Sundays, but I had gotten ready for church early so decided to open the center for an hour before I left for church at 9:50. (I worship at the Thayer church of Christ which is just across the street/parking lot from McDonald's and the center.) I was

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2010-05-13T23:26:00.001-05:00

2010-05-10T06:38:00.000-05:00

We closing in on another landmark at the TIC. We are going to welcome our 1000th visitor for the 2010 season sometime this week. That will be a 500 a month average. Our '10,000' goal is getting closer. Chris had the brilliant idea for us to provide free bottled water for mothers for Mother's Day yesterday. We had 16 visitors which was good for a Sunday afternoon. We will have free water

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2010-05-09T19:47:00.001-05:00

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2010-05-09T19:45:00.001-05:00

Daddy will like this!!

2010-05-09T19:39:00.002-05:00

Looking out the Cupola...

2010-05-09T19:20:00.002-05:00

All Aboard!

2010-05-09T19:14:00.002-05:00

The TIC Director

2010-05-09T18:08:00.002-05:00

2010-05-05T06:54:00.000-05:00

Just to let you know - if you are visiting 'Caroline's Corner' from the thayerchamber.org website and wish to return to the chamber site, click on the 'back arrow' at the top left of 'Caroline's Corner,' and you will go directly back to the chamber site. (I'm sure you already know this, but just in case . . .Caroline SutherlandLaus Deo

2010-05-05T06:48:00.001-05:00

We've had a busy start to the month. I've been busy at the center and in my personal life so am behind in updating the 'corner.' The pictures I promise of the young lady from Mississippi were lost. I hope she will send me copies of the pictures we took with her camera. (Or better yet, maybe she will stop in again.)Most of the Dogwood Daze activities were cancelled or postpone due to expected

2010-05-01T07:32:00.001-05:00

The center started yesterday the way we like it. I opened the doors at 10:00 and by 10:15 Chris and I were both 'entertaining' guests. My guest were a couple from Minnesota who had come to the area planning to camp on Spring River, but after the weather forecast on KKountry 95, decided to go to their 'plan B.' They came to the center looking for directions, information and recommendations on

The foreigners are comin'! The foreigners are comin'!

2010-04-30T08:53:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, as I filled in for Caroline while she and her granddaughter were dining (ok, they were simply having lunch!), I was blessed with a visit from a German couple who are touring the United States. They were just passing through... but had never been on a train before -- much less a caboose! They were excited as I explained to them the use of torpedoes and fuses. Their excitement, in turn

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2010-04-30T08:43:00.001-05:00

Fw: Multimedia message

2010-04-30T08:10:00.001-05:00

Two pictures of our German visitors yesterday. Enjoy.Caroline SutherlandLaus Deo--- On Fri, 4/30/10, 4172805265@mms.att.net <4172805265@mms.att.net> wrote:From: 4172805265@mms.att.net <4172805265@mms.att.net>Subject: Multimedia messageTo: scaroline46@yahoo.comDate: Friday, April 30, 2010, 1:04 PM

2010-04-29T23:54:00.001-05:00

46 visitors to the center today. The Head Start class of 21 precious boys and girls made my day. They were so thrilled to 'be on a train.' They were a very well-behaved group of children. Their teachers and aides are doing a great job. I enjoyed their visit as much as they did. I will post their picture later.While I was picking up my granddaughter from school this afternoon, Chris had the

2010-04-29T06:25:00.001-05:00

The TIC is chugging right along. At closing yesterday afternoon our total visitor count for April is 476 making the season total 753. Making our daily '10 a day' average goal. The 2009 season started with '10 a day' quickly jumped to 20 and by August we were averaging 30 a day. We anticipate another good season.The 'Dogwood Daze' city wide yard sale participant number is increasing daily. I

2010-04-23T07:43:00.001-05:00

Sixteen visitors to the center yesterday. Matthew Kantola CPRP at Grand Gulf State Park had stopped in to show off some of his pets from the park and got to expound on his territory to a visitor who stopped in while he was there. (I'd like to keep him as a volunteer) He did a great job and helped our guest while I answered a phone call and assisted another visitor One of our 'sometime'

We have established a new season record!!

2010-04-21T00:15:00.000-05:00

Today, we continued our "extended-hours" hypothesis. The hypothesis is that, if we open earlier and stay later, we can achieve 10,000 visitors for the 2010 Season. If today was a good indicator, the hypothesis will prove valid! We had 55 visitors today with 2 volunteers present. We opened at 7:30 am. and closed at 5:30 pm. This is well above our targeted average of 10 daily visitors (based

PRESS RELEASE

2010-04-21T00:10:00.001-05:00

PRESS RELEASE Contact Caroline Sutherland - Director 417.264.7324 (caboose) 417.280.2575 (mobile) scaroline46@yahoo.com http://thayertic.blogspot.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 21, 2010 Thayer TIC & Railroad Museum establishes a new record!! The Thayer Area Chamber of Commerce announced that the Tourist Information Center & Railroad Museum established a new record yesterday (April 20, 2010)

Another great day!

2010-04-18T21:09:00.001-05:00

Today was an exciting day! In the past we haven't opened on Sundays until 1:00 p.m. Today we opened at 10:00 and got 5 visitors during the first hour. We ended the day with 15 visitors and T-Shirt sales of $10! This brings our total visitors for the month to 315, with 12 days (not 14, Caroline ... ahem!) remaining! We had YAGPS (yet another good planning session) concerning our marketing the

2010-04-18T07:46:00.001-05:00

At closing time yesterday our visitor count for April is 300, and we have 14 days left. May be another record breaker.We are daily adding information to benefit folk in our community and area. Because we are funded by the Thayer Area Chamber of Commerce, we will be contacting businesses and service clubs in Koshkonong, Couch, Alton and Myrtle to inform them of what we do and encourage them to

2010-04-15T07:47:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was my 'day off,' but the center was well tended by Pat Johnson from 10:00 til 1:00 and Viola Scallions from 1:00 til 4:00. Chris McIntosh opened the center at 9:00 to get the day rollin. We are starting a new routine: Chris or I will open the center at 9:00 and go back at 4:00 and close at 5:00. We will be able to meet and greet the early/late travelers by extending our hours.

2010-04-14T07:02:00.001-05:00

Another busy day yesterday. 12 visitors brought our total over 400 since March 1. Every day more local folk are stopping in and discovering how we are representing their town and area.My granddaughter Maddison and I were working on a special project yesterday afternoon d so kept the doors open longer. During the time the center would normally have been closed a couple from Minnesota who had

April 12, 2010 @ 6:00 p.m.

2010-04-12T18:27:00.001-05:00

April 12, 2010 Today we had 16 visitors to the caboose. There were visitors passing through to Branson, Missouri, from Alabama. One group, of 8 individuals (3 adult women, 2 adult men and 3 children) consisted of a family from Washington state and another family from London, England who were visiting relatives/friends in Missouri. The tour went well as I pointed out the "red button" and asked

2010-04-11T22:22:00.001-05:00

There were 200 visitors to the center the first 10 days of the month. Our goal is to average 20 visitors each day. We did it!!Our 'foreign' visitors included two couples from Canada and two couples from England. These were four separate visits which made it more interesting to us because we visited it folk from two different provinces of Canada and different areas of the United Kingdom. We

2010-04-09T22:06:00.000-05:00

The Thayer Tourist Information Center (TIC) had over 6,000 visitors for the 2009 season!Visitors came from all lower 48 states plus Canada, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Germany, France and England.Area visitor count increased this season due in part to folks staying closer to home for attractions. Directions to the Grand Gulf State Park has been one of the top