About Jim & Alice LaPeer
We live in a comfortable home, up on a hill surrounded by woods, not too far from Cannonsburg, Michigan. For non-Michiganders, this places us a little North of Grand Rapids, and about 30 miles inland from Lake Michigan. We raised our children here, Mary Opal & Tom... Mary now being Mrs. Joel Owen and Tom now being Staff Sergeant Thomas LaPeer, Air Force Meteorologist.
From our very first days together as a young couple dating in Texarkana, Texas, Alice and I have enjoyed traveling, hiking, camping, and seeing as much of God's Country as we could. In those days (1972) we would drive up to Narrows Dam (Lake Greeson) in Southwest Arkansas, and spend a long day. Later, as newlyweds, came weekend camping trips to Lake Ouachita State Park and Crystal Springs (Charlton Recreation Area) close to Hot Springs, AR; Later yet, when the kids came along we would pack them up and head to Texas for a visit with Mamaw & Papaw. And when the kids became a little older, we would pack the van... and head West to Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California and then to Texas... taking 3-weeks to drive 5,000 miles.
How we Met...
It started here, in California... on June 18, 1971, at this pull-out along the San Luis Reservoir on CA 152... That morning I had just been discharged from the Marines (DLIWC - Monterey, CA) and was heading back home. I stopped for a driving break, a map check, and then to make a decision - on how to drive back to Michigan. I was 21 years old and life was good! But I had yet to meet the love of my life... I flipped a quarter here - Heads go South on I-5 (In distance of picture), to AZ, I-40, then to Texarkana, TX to briefly visit my Grandmother Morgan before continuing... or Tails go North to San Francisco, I-80/70 then back to Michigan via Kansas City. The coin toss came up Heads... Texas... where 5 days later I met Alice Ann Ragsdell of Nash, Texas... and hung around there until I convinced her to marry me. (She said yes!)