The boomerangs: They've lived all over the U.S., but these retirees agree there's no place like home

Leonard "Len" and Janet Fiedler

Altenburg, Mo.

In 43 years, Len and Janet Fiedler have lived in seven houses in three states. They love each place they've lived, but both agree there's nothing like coming back to Southeast Missouri.

"It's good to be back home," says Janet. "As they say, 'You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl.'"

Janet grew up in Gordonville, Len in Pocohontas. They met through a Lutheran youth conference, the Walther League, while Janet was a student at Cape State University (now Southeast Missouri State University) and Len was at school in Concordia, Mo. They eventually married and moved to Nebraska, where they both graduated from Concordia University.

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.comLen and Janet Fiedler

They got their first jobs and spent the next three years in Oviedo, Fla. Len was a teacher, while Janet worked for the Division of Family Services. When Len received his master's degree, the couple moved to Fort Myers, Fla., where the couple started a family and Len taught elementary school.

Four years later, in 1974, the Fiedlers moved back to Concordia, Mo., where Len landed a job as a high school administrator and principal and Janet was a full-time mom to their two sons.

In 1983, the family moved to St. Louis and lived there for 21 years. Len worked in fundraising for the Lutheran Chuch-Missouri Synod and Janet was an activity director for Lutheran Senior Services.

In 2000, the couple bought a "homestead" near Shawneetown, Mo., that once belonged to Len's great-grandfather. When they learned of a nearby house for sale, Len and Janet seized the opportunity. They bought the house, sold their St. Louis home, and moved back to Southeast Missouri.

"The fun part is running into people I know," says Janet. "Sometimes I meet people I haven't seen in 45 years. It's so much fun."

Len admits some may think they're crazy for wanting to live on a gravel road 30 minutes from a shopping center, but the Fiedlers couldn't be happier. Len has about 40 first cousins in the area, and many more relatives in other parts of the country who are getting ready to retire and move back to Missouri.

The Fiedlers have been known to host dinner parties, organize Bunco tournaments, attend Bible studies, ride a four-wheeler around the farm, and cook meals with their own garden vegetables. Janet is famous for sharing her homemade breads and pastries, and Len still works full-time to fundraise with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

"There's a difference between coming back home and coming back home retired," says Len. "You're just as busy as you were, but you have more choice in how you spend your time."

While they love to keep busy, Len says there's nothing better than curling up on the couch with an afghan and looking out the window at the countryside. The Fiedlers truly enjoy the peace and solitude that comes with living in rural Missouri.

"The biggest challenge I have is to keep her from becoming a hermit," jokes Len.

If there's one thing the couple has learned from living all over the country, it's this: "If you love the people, you'll love living wherever you are," says Len.

"I've enjoyed every place we've lived, for all different reasons," says Janet. "Florida was cool, but I missed the seaons there." Nebraska was very cold and windy, she says, but she loved the people. Concordia was a small town and great for raising a family.

"I've enjoyed moving around," she adds. "It's a beautiful world out there."

Says Len, "It doesn't make a difference where you go, but you need to find the significance in your life. Otherwise, you'll be miserable."

Bill and Susie Koch

Altenburg, Mo.

Bill Koch was born and raised in rural Cape County, and his wife Susie grew up in the Desloge, Mo. area. Both former teachers, they attended Southeast Missouri State University but didn't meet until after college. Coincidentally, they were both teaching in the St. Louis metro area and lived in the same apartment building in Eureka, Mo. They married, started a family, and spent the next 26 years in the area. Today, they're relishing country life near Altenburg, Mo.

Bill says the best thing about Southeast Missouri is the people. He still sees many of the same people he went to school with and attends the same church he grew up in. The couple has two sons who have also remained nearby.

"I like the friendliness," says Bill. "A lot of these little towns are like Norman Rockwell towns. I'm a sentimentalist of sorts."

Susie says, "The people are as genuine as I've ever seen. They're friendly and helpful. In small towns, people wave not just because they know you, but because you're sharing the road. It's refreshing."

That's not to say that city life didn't have its benefits.

"It was a new experience and there was the advantage of entertainment and shopping," says Susie. Her husband grew up on a farm, though, and when the couple went back to visit, Susie had fun learning to drive tractors and haul hay.

"I fell in love with the area and the people," she says. "It's an absolutely wonderful part of the state. It's a neat place." The couple agreed years ago that when it was time to retire, they would move out of the city and back to Southeast Missouri. In 2004, they bought some land, built a home, and moved to the Altenburg, Mo., area.

They've stayed in touch with their St. Louis friends and go back to visit regularly, but thoroughly enjoy life in the country. There's nothing Bill would rather do than gaze out the window at the Missouri countryside.

"It turned out as well as we could ever have expected," he says.

Joe and Joan Battle

Gordonville, Mo.

Joan Battle was born and raised in Gordonville, Mo., and met Joe, a third-generation Floridian, while he was teaching at a Lutheran school in Perryville, Mo. In 1963, the couple married and moved to Oviedo, Fla. In fact, the Battles are responsible in part for drawing Joan's sister -- Janet Fiedler -- and her husband Len to Florida. Like the Fiedlers, the Battles had also met through the Lutheran Walther League, which they now fondly refer to as the "marriage league." And, like the Fiedlers, the Battles have retired and moved back to Southeast Missouri.

"We didn't come back for the weather, that's for sure," Joan laughs.

The couple lived in Oviedo, Fla., for 12 years, where Joe taught at a Lutheran school and Joan taught full-time at a public school, part-time at the Lutheran school, and later opened a daycare center. In 1975, the Battles moved to Montverde, Fla., to work at a Lutheran camp and retreat center. They lived there for 30 years.

"I loved Florida," says Joan. "It had beautiful weather. The winters were wonderful." One of the best things was being able to garden year-round, she says. However, most of Joan's family lived in Missouri, and while she loved her life down South, she did miss home.

And while her Florida-born husband was partial to his home state, he says he always liked Missouri. The couple spent many of their vacations in Missouri visiting family, boating, picnicking, going to plays, and visiting state parks.

"It's a neat place. I really liked Cape," says Joe. "I enjoy the ruralness, but it also has all the amenities that a person might need. And, of course, we have super-duper family here."

Joan and Joe began contemplating a move to Missouri. In 2005, the time was right: The couple retired and moved back to Missouri to help care for Joan's mother, who was 94 at the time.

"After being away from my mother for so long, it was nice to have that one-on-one time with her again," says Joan. The rest of Joan's family still lives within 25 minutes of each other.

The Battles also have a daughter in Florida and a son in Arkansas. While they miss their children and grandchildren, they do get to see them every few months. Who knows -- maybe someday they'll move to Missouri, too.

Dick and Bev Kiehne

Gordonville, Mo.

Dick and Bev Kiehne bounced from one Missouri town to another before landing on the Gordonville farm owned by Dick's family since 1883.

"I would say that Gordonville is the center of the universe," says Dick. "All sorts of good things have happened to me here. It's a neat little town. People care about each other, and everyone knows everyone else's business. If you ever have a problem, there are friends and relatives to help."

Born and raised in Gordonville, Dick moved away in 1955 to teach at Union Creek School, north of Cape Girardeau. He later moved to Chaffee, Mo., where he taught for seven years, and then to St. Charles, Mo., to continue teaching.

He met his wife, Bev -- an Ironton, Mo., native -- while the two were working at the same St. Charles school. Dick was the principal, and Bev was the school nurse. They had been working together for over 10 years before they got to know one another. Their spouses both passed away in 1994, and Bev and Dick married in 1996.

The couple had been married about four years when, on a camping trip in Southeast Missouri, Bev casually asked, "Have you ever thought of building a house down here?" Dick promptly responded, "When?" As it turns out, Dick had always dreamed of moving back to the same farm where he grew up. They agreed they were ready to move, so they built a home on the property and moved back to Gordonville in January 2000.

"I love it here," says Bev. "It's always nice to be able to go away and come back home. We have a field behind our home, and it's a thrill just to watch the corn and beans grow." She loved St. Louis for the convenience and activities available for her kids, but says it was always busy with traffic. Southeast Missouri seems to be the perfect compromise: she and Dick have "best of both worlds" because they live in peaceful rural Missouri, but are only a few miles from bigger towns like Jackson and Cape Girardeau.