The Man from Monkeys Eyebrow

Jim McGee, Plano City Council #7
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 Indiana and Illinois meet western Kentucky at Ballard County. The Ohio River twist and turns like a great snake all along the northern Kentucky border. At one area, you see what people thought a monkeys head looked like. At the area where an eyebrow might be lies Monkeys Eyebrow, Kentucky.

  West of Paducah and Metropolis, (yes that’s Superman’s Metropolis sort of) the Ohio River valley features farms and ranches that trace their Irish roots to the migration of hardy families that spanned from 1840’s to the 1860’s. This was the time of the Potato Famines that left a million Irish starving to death.  Mixing with German immigrants, tiny communities sprang up. These were Protestant Irish. They were seeking their own religious freedom. With an Irish father and a German mother, Jim McGee and many like him were the melting point for the two cultures. “We were hard working country folks. We absolutely ate off of the land. We raised our own livestock and kept a family garden. We hunted and fished.  My Uncle Vern never wore a pair of shoes in his life.”

 

  Jim McGee can trace his roots back to the Civil War era. Their family farm still grows corn and carries on his great grandfather’s legacy. But the McGee School House Bell now resides in Plano, Texas. 

 “We got out of the dairy business, but not before I got all the experience I will ever want.” Young Jim McGee loaded up a ’65 VW Beetle and headed off to IU. I tried a couple of years of college, but I still wasn’t sure of the direction for my life.”

Full Service  

 “I had the opportunity to buy a gas stop after my 2nd year at university. The Clark Oil service station was nothing more than a gas, oil, and soda stop. The station was near Peoria but really off the beaten path. There was some industry nearby and the shift changes at the Pabst Brewery plant kept us busy.

 This was back when you pumped the gas, checked the oil and tires, and washed the windshield. Everytime!!! We were open all day and all night every day.  I usually worked double shifts and had eight employees that covered the rest.”

 “I took the opportunity to service vehicles very seriously.” Two years of owning the little gas stop gave Jim plenty of time to think and he was ready to discover America.

 

 For the next few years Jim was in the grain storage business. “We built corrugated round storage bins all over the Midwest. I did a good job and my responsibilities and area expanded. I enjoyed getting to know the agricultural communities across the heart land.”

Texas Bound

 “People ask me how I ended up in Texas. That’s an easy one! Sure, people talk about the opportunities, but for me, it was the people!”

 For friendly people, Texas hospitality has been a beacon for many all over America and even the world. It still is! Texas epitomizes the spirit of America’s range. Jim felt it like a magnet and in ’78 made Dallas his new home. It didn’t take long before the hope and promise of Plano lured him. The population was around 75,000.