Anyway, none of that bothers Eberhardt as she smokes her cigarettes and tends to the water bills at City Hall. She has lived in Edgar Springs for years, moving back here to join her parents after an unhappy, too-hectic stint in California. I sit with my front door open until midnight and don't worry at all about someone coming in. They're a bit amused by their sudden fame as the new center of U.S. population. More important, folks look out for one another here.
Men jump out of bed to tamp down brush blazes with the volunteer fire department.
The younger residents check up on the seniors. There ain't a whole lot going on, but it's a good place to live. And there are a few things to do. The town edges up to the Mark Twain National Forest, so there's plenty of hunting, fishing and camping. Each August, the community hosts Prairie Days.