STONE MANES MAKES THE WORLD HIS OYSTER

Manes looks over some of the many plaques and banners presented him during visits to Rotary chapters around the world.

"The journey is the reward," goes a Taoist proverb. Stone Manes agrees.

The longtime Jackson resident and businessman says the rewards of his hobby of travel are as numerous as the miles he's logged in the past 20-plus years.

"I really enjoy the opportunity to see the other corners of God's creation," said Manes, who makes almost yearly trips to other parts of the world. Since he began traveling in the late 1950s, he's flown all over the Earth's surface, visiting everywhere from frigid Scandinavia to the tropical Far East and countless points between.

During the most recent foray into the world Manes and his wife traveled to east central Europe. While there, he visited Pilsen, in the Czech republic, as well as other locations which figured prominently in World War II. The visit was a poignant one for Manes, a veteran of the war. He helped liberate the Pilsen as a tank driver in the 16th Armored Division.

Manes said his wanderlust got its start in 1975 with a trip to Germany and Switzerland. Later, he and his constant travel companion -- his wife Alice -- made trips to Mexico and Hawaii.

"I would say our traveling didn't really become as frequent until after 1978," said Manes, explaining that his daughter moved to Spain in the late 1970s, prompting he and his wife to make almost yearly trips to Europe in order to visit.

Since those early European trips, Manes has traveled extensively in Europe. An active member of Rotary International since joining the Jackson chapter in 1958, Manes had the unique opportunity to lead five fellow Missourians on a tour of his favorite European spot, Sweden, in 1984.

"In late May and June of 1984 I was able to lead a Rotary Group Study Exchange Team and for six weeks we traveled, for the most part, the length and breadth of Sweden," he said, explaining that the five men he led on the tour were all Missouri natives and many were from the area.

"On that group study exchange were Odie Lingle of Jackson, Dr. Leon Book of Cape Girardeau and Dr. Bill Zeller of Cape Girardeau -- who now lives in Washington -- and Gary Ball, formerly of Poplar Bluff but now in Jefferson City and Scott Corman of West Plains."

"It was an excellent experience," he said. "I really enjoyed the beauty of the country and the chance to observe Scandinavian life.

"Because of this experience and because my wife is Swedish, I've been back four times."

Many of Manes' subsequent trips have been Rotary-related ones. In addition to yearly trips to Europe to tour the continent and visit his daughter, he traveled to the Far East in 1989 as a delegate to Rotary's international rule-making body, the Council on Legislation. The body meets every three years and in 1989, it met in Singapore. Making the trip allowed Stone and Alice Manes to travel around the world.

"From Singapore, we continued going east so we traveled around the world," he said. "We visited Thailand and from Thailand we flew to Delhi in India and down to Agra and from there we went to London and on to Madrid and then home."

In 1991, he and his wife spent two weeks in Finland as part of a Rotary Friendship Exchange. During that visit, they studied Rotary Clubs all around the Arctic Circle.

Manes has maintained perfect attendance in Rotary since joining the Jackson chapter in 1959. That record has often required him to attend Rotary meetings in some far corners of the world.

In additions to meetings in Finland, Sweden and a number of other European locations, he has taken part in Rotary meetings in Cairo and Tel Aviv, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Italy and Japan, among other spots.

"That's been one of the joys of traveling -- making up attendance at Rotary meetings in the places I visit," he said, gesturing to the many silk banners that festoon the walls of his office. Most of the banners are from foreign Rotary chapters although some were given him by members of the American chapters he's visited.

No matter how exotic or far away from Jackson the Rotary chapter is, Manes has found that the members of the foreign groups have much in common with their fellow Rotarians in Jackson or Cape Girardeau or Los Angeles or Miami or elsewhere in the United States.

"There are things that are universal in Rotary because of the fact that the members are business and professional people united in the ideal of service," said Manes.

While Manes has been to a number of exotic and interesting locations, he downplays his passion for travel and likens it to any other hobby, like gardening.

"Not everybody would enjoy spending hours on a plane and waking up in a strange city," he said. "It's just something that you have to enjoy."