May 11, 2016

Madison, MO

Woke this morning to thunder, lightening, and rain.  Was supposed to last all morning.  Had planned to visit Madison after we left the state park we stayed in and then continue on.  Decided to stay in the campground another day and instead drove the car to visit the town.

Chasing the storm that passed over us earlier.

Madison, MO is where James Cash Penney was born and raised.  You might recognize him better as J. C. Penney, founder of the once huge chain of department and catalog stores.

More recently, Madison is better known as the home of the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  There is an interesting back story to this company which every serious quilter knows.  Google it if you are interested.  The company has 12 or 13 stores in one block of downtown.  (The town is a little over two blocks long.  When locals refer to ‘the signal’ meaning traffic light they mean the flashing red light hanging over the intersection between the two blocks)  Two of the stores sell food, a burger bar and a bakery.  The rest sell fabric.  Each store has fabric of a different theme or motif.  Half of them are two stories and all fabric. 

One side of the block.  Every building is Missouri Star.

Guess what this particular store used to be.

The stores are clean, not cluttered, and the fabric is displayed in a neat, easy to peruse manner. 

The streets of town were pretty much empty of people but every store had lots of customers and lookers.  We browsed every store and left about 12:30 – just before two large tour busses were expected.  One more check mark on the quilting bucket list.