Entertainment is unique too. One of the first things we did was go to an outdoor movie in the nearby town of Martinsburg. That was before drive-in motion pictures and before television. These outdoor movies were shown in the town park. Our seats were the green grass, the ceiling was the sky and the shows were old and silent but they were good and it was fun on hot summer nights to sit with friends under the trees in the open air and watch those lively old movies. We didn't have to worry about keeping my two-year-old nephew Jim quiet because he had lots of room in which to play.

The New State Theater in Hedrick was where we went to see indoor shows. Located right in the middle of Hedrick there were movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Saturdays and Sundays. Good films were shown, things like "Any Number can Play" with Clark Gable and Alexis Smith, "The Great Gatsby" with Alan Ladd and Betty Field and "In the Good Old Summertime" with Judy Garland and Van Johnson.

Recently I went home again. I took a trip to Iowa and walked down the brick streets of Hedrick, past the little cafe where we used to stop for cokes after our dates. It was boarded up. The old theater was gone and none of my friends were really there. The people I met had the same names but they were too old. My friends were 16 or 17 years old and still walking the brick streets, at least in my memory.

A monument that still remains is one that I remember with fondness, the bandstand in the park. It's the same bandstand where we were entertained on Wednesday nights by the Hedrick High School band. A top addition has been added. Was it always named "Memorial Park?" I don't know. As I stood in that little park my memory took me back 50 years to the first summer I was in Hedrick. Because we lived on a farm there wasn't much opportunity to get acquainted. I was anxious to get adjusted to this new town. It was smaller than anywhere else I had lived. I discovered that Wednesday nights were the big nights in Hedrick. The park, the bandstand and the theater were the center of activities.

Many of the farmers came to town on Wednesday nights and it was a festive place. My sister took her eggs to the store to sell before we went to the park. She got her grocery money by selling eggs.

There were two markets then. One of them was still open when I was there but the hometown news announced a few weeks ago that the other grocery store had gone out of business. How sad.

After she sold her eggs we walked to the crowded park. It was full of friendly people and my sister seemed to know everyone in town. Some folks had brought folding chairs and others sat on blankets on the lawn. Families brought picnic suppers and ate while listening to the band. Jim ran with other kids through the park.

That first Wednesday night that I heard the Hedrick High School band playing I was shocked. We sat on a blanket and I waited for the band to stop warming up but the sour notes never went away. No one seemed to notice how bad the band sounded, but me. Everyone else sat and listened to it as though it was beautiful music.

Two years later when I graduated from Hedrick High School I was surprised how much that band had improved. I was proud of it. Mrs. Boeyink, my history teacher was also the band teacher and she worked hard. I knew the kids in the band by that time and if there were sour notes I didn't notice them.

After the concert we went back to the little store and bought groceries. By that time it was filled with pleasant people.

I don't think anything ever was more exciting than those "Wednesday nights" in the little town of Hedrick. They say you can't go home again, but I did, at least in my memory.