[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I recently went through the small town of NOEL (population less than 2000) in South West Missouri near the Arkansas line. Fifty years it was a nice summer resort. Swimming holes, theater, souvenir shops, Ice cream parlors. The whites left to work at Walmart, then they brought in Mexicans and a chicken factory, now the Mexicans have left to work down in Bentonville and they have flooded the place with Somalis.

The down town area now is beginning to look like a third world slum. rotted and crumbling closed motels, closed stores, broken windows and a closed downtown gas station.
And of course, there was trouble because of their prayer times, and this little town now has a storefront mosque.

[ozarkgirl]

Oh no! Not Noel! I loved that place. I didn’t know that all this had happened. Such a beautiful area.

(Signed: Former SW MO resident)