Editing Avilla, Missouri (section)

====Avilla "Gets Kicks" on Route 66====
[[File:MissouriRoute66SignSmall.svg|left|60px]]
The trail that went through the center of Avilla east & west was known as "Old Carthage Road", and it was paved and became part of [[U.S. Route 66]] in the late 1920s. This kept business flowing as the little town became one of the stops on "[[U.S. Route 66|The Mother Road]]", the main highway through the heart of America in those years. Population growth had already apexed before the 20th century but the town continued to make modern improvements such as a volunteer fire department, a hardware store & lumber yard (owned by Raymond Ziler, burned in 1971), a barbershop, a beauty salon, (Florida Melugin's or "Old Flo's") tavern, The Avilla Cafe (Jack & Nadine "Sours" Couch), several auto service stations (in town and close proximity) and repair shops for farm equipment and automobiles, a farm implement sales (Chapman-Follmers), a seed mill, a [[Scout (Scout Movement)|Boy Scout]] meeting hall (Scoutmaster Joseph A. Norris Sr.) and in later years even an arena grounds was constructed for the Avilla [[Rodeo]] (Avilla Saddle Club) {{convert|1|mi|km}} west of town.  A larger school building was also built, and the old [[one-room school]] houses which were still operating and spread out in that part of Jasper County were consolidated and centralized in Avilla.  The original country schoolhouse teachers were brought together to form the elementary/middle school [[Avilla R-13 School District]]. The Avilla school became the only one in the district. Because the school spans grades kindergarten though eighth, high school level students thereafter were sent to neighboring [[Carthage Senior High School (Carthage, Missouri)|Carthage]], [[Sarcoxie, Missouri|Sarcoxie]], [[Jasper, Missouri|Jasper]], [[Miller, Missouri|Miller]] or [[Golden City, Missouri]], for continued studies.<ref>The Powers Museum,  Carthage,  Missouri Library & Archives</ref>

[[File:Avilla School.jpg|right|thumb|[[Avilla R-13 School District|Avilla R-13 School]] in 2009,  home of the Panthers. This red brick addition to the older school building was constructed in the 1970s.]]