WHERE WE LIVE; ROUTE B: LIFE OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS

Steve Zschille lives on Route B just south of highway 72. He bought the property years ago from Delmar Seabaugh, who had collected license plates from all 50 states and put them up on a shed.

Route B spans the Whitewater river where this family enjoyed a relaxing Saturday afternoon.

Jonathan Love, 7, peers up at a visitor while he and his cousins play at their grandparents' house just south of Scopus on Route B.

Route B is dotted with dilapidated barns from beginning to end, lined up along the road as testament to the farm life that led many people to settle along this ribbon of road.

Sissy wandered up to Steve Zschille's house one day and has been guarding the place ever since. "She has the kindest eyes I've ever seen on a dog" said Zschille.

A cat checks the oncoming traffic along Route B near Perryville before deciding not to cross.

Amanda Singleton, top, and Ashley Zoellner, both 14, wave to a passing truck as they wait for Zoellner's mother to arrive. "We don't know them but we wave anyway" said Singleton.

Route B is going places. Really.

Along about 16 miles of pavement that snakes its way between Highway 72 and Biehle, a variety of residences and other structures dot the rural, hilly landscape. Houses under construction, trailer homes, and at least one red barn that needs a new coat of paint are part of the scenery.

A dozen or more new homes have been built on Route B in the past five years, real estate agent Liz Abernathy says. They aren't the million dollar "prairie palaces" that are springing up in the countryside of richer counties, but they're nice.

Newer roadside residents like Abernathy, who has lived on Route B for four years, are attracted by affordable land in a country setting. She and her husband bought their ranch-style home on a two and a half acre wooded lot for $115,000 originally.

Other attractions are available utilities such as county water, natural gas in some locations and lower taxes than in municipalities. Abernathy figures she pays half the property taxes she would if she lived in Jackson's city limits.

A county plan to create interstate access from Route E will add to the value of residences along Route B, she says.

Easier access would be fine with Jim Bredall. The 60-year-old former diesel mechanic spends more time in a home that he rents on Route B now since he retired last year. The home is a place to unwind for him and his wife, Rita.

"We just needed a place to get away and waterfront property is too expensive," Bredall says.

His wife was born and raised just north of the rental home, so the trips from their main residence in St. Louis are always kind of a homecoming.

Although leaving urban traffic behind for a while is relaxing, Bredall can't loosen up too much. He has almost been knocked off his tractor while crossing the road as cars fly over a hill with limited visibility ahead.

In the winter, he has seen many cars being towed out of ditches as he drives along with his wife.

"That's why I got an Explorer," Brendall says. "This road is tricky."

Although Wilma Myers nearest neighbor is roughly a quarter mile away, she says she notices that the area is getting crowded.

She and her husband, Henry, moved out of Friedheim years ago because of the crowding.

"There were stores on either side, and you couldn't go out the front door without the people on the porch at the tavern looking at you," she says.

The Myers started out on Route B in 1964, buying a small two-bedroom home, which is now part of an extended network of garages. She points it out while standing near the front porch of their one-story brick home.

The Myers plan to get rid of some of their property. Wilma says the back 40 acres is for sale.

They say at least one more new neighbor shouldn't crowd them.