Ragar puts his pen to paper:

Marion County native Michael Ragar has just completed a book about his lifetime of world travel, and is eager to share it.
He has presented a copy of his book, “The Travels of a Country Boy,” to the Hannibal Free Public Library to be read by the public, but it will not be available for sale. “I did not want to do it for sale,” he said.
“I did it more for information than entertainment,” Ragar said. The book has about 175 photos, taken around the world.
He also wanted to inspire others to travel. “I thought that if folks saw a country boy could do all this traveling, they could, too.”
Ragar explained he has traveled in 174 of the world’s 192 countries and has visited more than 200 islands. “I have seen over 90 percent of the inhabited world,” he said, which he thinks makes him one of the most traveled people in the Hannibal area.
He does not just travel to add countries to his record, he explained. “I go to see a country and learn something about it.”
He has written articles for travel magazines and spoken to groups about particular trips. He also has written sports articles and food articles, and has done restaurant critiques.
Ragar served in the military during the Korean war and Vietnam war, when he was stationed in Southeast Asia.
Many years later, after a career as an electronics salesman, he began traveling for recreation in 1976.
His first trip was a cruise, accompanied by his ex-wife, the former Lyla Mae Stockwell, with whom he is “great friends” and has continued to travel. “That (cruise) hooked us both,” he explained.
Ragar’s parents were Mary Alice Wood and Clifton H. Ragar, and he was born in a farm house in a community known as Heather, located between Philadelphia and Emden. His great-great-grandfather, William Callahan, was instrumental in the development of rural Marion County, he said.
Ragar lived in Arizona for 10 years before moving back to Marion County to live in Philadelphia. Noting he has “hundreds of cousins,” he explained he is related to Ragars, Calverts, Peppers, Woods and Cranes. “I went to two reunions two years ago and saw 132 cousins in two days,” he said.


Food and history
are main goals
Ragar has discovered many favorite foods in other countries, and said food is his number one interest when traveling, followed by history. “I have thousands of recipes,” he said. He recently prepared an international meal for 12 at his home, but he can’t share his recipes, because “most recipes are in my head.”
Describing himself as a history buff he said, “when I decide to do a country, I look up the historical things and have a list of things to do and see.”
Ragar is not afraid to eat local foods, explaining that, “if the people have been eating it for 2,000 years, I will try it.” He ate monkey brains in China, a delicacy served only on special occasions.
In Asia, his favorite dish is seafood grilled over an open fire, and this also is a top choice around the world, he added. “When you are traveling the safest thing is seafood, if you are near the coast.”
Animals also attract Ragar’s attention, such as a tame tiger he swam with in Thailand and a panda in Chengdu, China, that enjoys people playing with her. The panda weighed 350 pounds, but she was well trained and “as long as they kept feeding her apples, you could hug her.”
In Anarcticia he walked among penguins, but only after being granted official permission. “They only allow so many people in those areas, and you have to abide by the rules,” he said. “You don’t touch them or feed them, and you give them the right of way.”
Perhaps the animal he was most impressed by was Shu-mai, a 2-year-old elephant in Thailand, where elephants have one trainer they stay with for life. “His best trick was to put a harmonica in his mouth and blow, and he danced.”
He also would peel and eat bananas, then throw the peels in the trash can. And if someone gave him money, “he would bow, then put it in his trainer’s pocket.”

People invite him to their homes
Although Ragar has traveled in many countries, he has never felt he was in physical danger. ‘I make it a point to meet the people,” he explained. He also tries to learn some of their language before arriving. But he believes language need not be a problem. “If you show them you like it there, the words are insignificant. You do sign language. You point.”
He speaks French and some German, Spanish and Italian. “When I get ready to go somewhere I get a little language book and read it and use it all the time I’m there.” he said. “If they see you are trying to speak their language, you get along so much better.”
In some places, such as Europe, English is spoken by most people, he said, because it is taught in school.
He does not always try to speak the native tongue, Ragar said, sharing an experience in Bulgaria. “I don’t know one word of Bulgarian, and I drove all day and stopped at roadside places and had lunch.” He has driven all over Europe and recommends that instead of flying.
“People want you to enjoy their country,” he said. “If you give them half a chance, they will be so good to you it is unbelievable.
“They will bend over backwards to ensure you have a good time and you enjoy yourself in that country. I spent lots of time in homes,” he said. “When you dine with them they are more themselves, and it gives them a chance to show you customs you won’t see on standard tours.”
Once in Kyota, Japan, (the former capitol), he said, “it started raining, and a little Japanese lady came over next to me and held her umbrella over my head for four bocks. ...And I’ve had dozens of incidents like that.”

Greek Islands
his favorite
Ragar decided his favorite place to visit is the Greek Islands, but he would not want to live there. “If I could not live in the United States,” he said, he would live in New Zealand, because “the people are just like  us. I’ve done the bed and breakfast places there, and people are friendly, neighborly, hard workers. And they have beaches, mountains, forest and glaciers.”
His book has lists of places rated by Ragar in several categories.
Ragar does travel talks for club and other groups, and he encourages everyone to travel and give the people a chance to make them welcome.
Considering advice he would give prospective world travelers, he said, “I recommend you determine what you want to do when you travel. Write down your top five priorities. If you are a couple, both do it and choose.
“Determine before you go what you want to do, (such as) historical or beaches. With planning you will get along a lot better.”