THE MORE THINGS CHANGE... OAK RIDGE, MO.'S POPULATION STAYS THE SAME AT 202

OAK RIDGE, Mo. -- Bill Criddle sells a little bit of everything, but the talk is free.

The 71-year-old furniture and junk dealer has an opinion on almost everything, including the latest census figures.

He doesn't believe them. The Census Bureau says Oak Ridge's population hasn't changed in 10 years -- the town still has 202 residents.

"It's probably up to about 210," Criddle argues.

Oak Ridge is one of 14 towns in Missouri whose populations, the Census Bureau says, have stayed the same over the past decade. The population of another Cape Girardeau County town, Old Appleton, hasn't changed either.

Criddle, however, figures the census takers missed a few folks in Oak Ridge, where he and his wife, Billie, have lived since 1967.

By Criddle's estimate, the town has perhaps 210 residents. That doesn't include the dogs running loose, a topic of conversation among townsfolk and members of the town board.

Criddle sells everything from new couches and work gloves to old doors and hubcaps in a ramshackle complex of trailers and buildings along Route E near the center of the small Cape Girardeau County town of Oak Ridge.

The sign above a former livery stable crammed full of what even Criddle's wife admits is a lot of junk reads "Billie's Place." Along with the school and post office, it's one of the centers of life for the town's 202 -- or 210 -- residents.

Criddle keeps old easy chairs on the front porch of the building. It's a place where his friends often gather to sit, chat and drink cold beer. "When warm weather gets here, I have to bring out more chairs," he says.

Important school

Criddle's friend, John Drum, has lived in the quiet town since 1960.

"There are more here than used to be," said Drum as he rested Thursday on the front porch of Billie's Place. "I used to know about everybody here."

Drum said Oak Ridge owes its existence to the public school that sits on the southern edge of town. "If it wasn't for that school, there wouldn't be a town," he said.

The school district's enrollment has grown to 390, up about 15 percent over the last three years. Voters on Tuesday approved a tax hike to fund construction of a new middle school and multipurpose building for band and athletic programs.

The school district takes in the community and surrounding rural area, and school officials say the residential growth has occurred outside the city limits.

Oak Ridge has 142 registered voters, although the county clerk's office lists only 128 as active. The others are still on the books but probably have moved away, election officials say.

Mayor Marilyn Sedgwick voiced surprise at the latest census figures.

"I can't believe that," she said. She, too, estimates the town has more than 202 residents.

Sedgwick said several Oak Ridge residents told her they never received census forms.

Henry Palacios, regional director of the Census Bureau in Kansas City, Kan., said errors could have been made. "Sometimes we do have the wrong boundaries."

Still, Sedgwick and other Oak Ridge residents aren't clamoring about the census numbers. They don't want too much growth. "I love the quiet," the mayor said.

But she figures Oak Ridge will grow, particularly with construction of an interchange linking Interstate 55 and Route E. The $2.38 million state highway project is slated to be completed by fall.

Few businesses

Oak Ridge has only a handful of businesses. The school is the biggest employer.

"We really need a service station here," said Criddle, who owns a number of the old buildings in the center of town that once housed everything from a bank to a Masonic lodge. Criddle uses the former Masonic lodge as a warehouse.

Criddle's wife is on the town board and serves as city clerk. Town board meetings used to be held in the small dining room of their house, built in 1903. Now they meet in the Baptist church's activity center.

The board still uses the original minutes book, which dates back to the incorporation of the city in 1869. Billie Criddle keeps it close at hand in her dining room.

She said a number of mobile homes have been set up in Oak Ridge in the last two to three years. That, she said, would suggest the population has grown.

But Oak Ridge, founded in 1852 and once known as Lizard Lick, has never been huge. In 1888, its population stood at 300. The 1980 census placed the population at 252.

Even though they doubt the federal government's arithmetic when it comes to the town's population, the Criddles aren't looking for a recount.

Neither is the Missouri Department of Transportation, which has to put decals listing the latest population figures on city limit signs statewide. Scott Meyer, district engineer, said Oak Ridge's city limit signs won't need to be updated.

"Theirs is done," said Meyer.