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 getting ready to lock the north end of the caboose and put up our sign 'We will return at 12:30' when I heard a child say, 'They're open!'  I opened the door to a mother, grandmother and two children.  The grandmother was from Doniphan, the mother and children from Ohio.  The grandmother said she just wanted to show her children 'this part of the country.'  She even bought a souvenir Missouri key ring to send back to Ohio to a daughter who 'didn't get to come.'  Anyway, when they came in our visitor count was 996. When they signed the guest book, our total reached 1,000!!!  I had planned to make a big 'TaDa' moment, but they were in a hurry to get on with their day, and I had getting to church on time.  So now since I missed making a splash out of that landmark, I will do my best to make a big deal when our 1050th visitor stops in.  So if you are around the center in the next couple weeks, come in, you could be a winner. Caroline Sutherland Laus Deo