Beacon Oct 2023

October 2023 THE BEACON Page 7A
By Mary-Alice Helms
There is an old saying,
“Beauty is in the eye of the
beholder”. I guess the same
thing could be said about
entertainment.
At least that’s what I
decided after attempting to
explain to my grandchildren
when they asked me what
we did for fun when we were
young. No TV, no internet,
no video games, no email…
what in the world did we do
with ourselves, they wanted
to know.
That’s when the old nostalgia
kicked in, and I began to
think about all the great times
we had when we were growing
up.
I remember when I was
very young and my beloved
Grandfather Snider took me to
Connersville to watch harness
racing.
Oh, what a great day that
was! I loved the beautiful
horses harnessed to the
little carts called “sulkies”. I
laughed when a mischievous
little black mare kept backing
up when her helmeted and
goggled driver attempted to
get her in position for a race.
I cheered for my favorites
and screamed for joy if one
of them happened to win.
Getting to spend the day with
the grandfather I adored,
chomping on a popsicle while
learning about a sport that he
loved; ah, that was entertainment!
I also enjoyed going to the
local softball games with my
dad, mother, grandfather,
and aunt. Brookville had an
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
excellent team at the time. I
remember some of the real
Brookville softball heroes.
Let’s see, there was Whitey
Merrell and Kenny Lanning,
and Merritt Naylor…oh, how
I wish I could remember all of
the players. Some of my best
memories are those Sunday
afternoons spent in the old
Brookville Grandstand.
Every year we looked forward
to Fair Week. In addition
to the 4H exhibits and the fair
rides, there were free stage
shows presented every night
in front of the grandstand. I
remember “Jack’s Xylophone
Band” which featured a magician,
tap dancers, singers, and
some local entertainers in addition
to the six or eight xylophone
artists who performed
between the other acts.
In the early days of Fair
Week, there were horse-pulling
contests. There were beautifully
groomed draft horses,
paired together and harnessed
to a huge sled loaded with
heavy cement blocks. Each
team had a try at pulling the
sled for the indicated length.
The successful teams then
went on to the second heat,
for which more weight was
added to the sled. I felt so
sorry for those poor animals
as they strained and neighed,
trying desperately to make the
pull. When one of them fell
to his knees while pulling, I’d
had enough of that event.
It wasn’t long before
horse-pulling was replaced
by tractor-pulls. There simply
weren’t that many draft horses
available.
There were so many other
forms of public entertainment
in the county. I loved to go
with my parents to auctions.
I found the indecipherable
barrage of syllables from the
auctioneer fascinating.
How did people know when
to make a bid on an item? As
a matter of fact, how did they
know on which item they were
bidding? The first auctioneer
I remember was Russell
White, the patriarch of today’s
White’s Sale Barn. I rarely
had enough money to bid on
anything, but just watching the
crowd, listening to the auctioneer,
hearing people bidding
against each other, and
looking at the auction items
was interesting to me. Ranging
from antiques and kitchenware
to tools and hunting
dogs, one could find almost
anything at a good auction.
Churches had revivals that
promised hours of frenetic
preaching, old hymns, and the
rekindling of friendships.
For the kids, there were
the Bible School weeks. We
would go to a week of Bible
School at our own churches.
Then we would all make the
rounds of the Bible Schools
of the other churches, in turn.
We soon discovered which
church had the best refreshments,
which had the most
interesting crafts and takehomes,
and which presented
the best program on its closing
night. Who needed tv?
As we grew older, we
found new activities. During
the summer months, the
high school band would hold
Don’t Get Spooked by the Cost of Halloween Costumes
The baseball team featuring some of the men you mentioned
was photographed for the May 23, 1946, Democrat.
(The Atlas Photo Company that took this photo was
a short-lived photo studio in Brookville.)
a concert on the courthouse
lawn every other Tuesday
evening. The Band Booster
organization sold generous
slices of cake and dishes of
homemade ice cream to generate
funds for band uniforms.
Music under the stars, homemade
cake, and ice cream,
who could ask for more?
As teenagers, we attended
the street dances, which were
such fun! They were held on
Court Street, which was cordoned
off to traffic. Everyone
dressed up to dance to the music
of a live band. Sometimes
well-known entertainers, like
Bob Braun and Nick Clooney,
served as DJs. We also
discovered the pleasures of
skating rinks. We didn’t have
our own, but often went skating
in Rushville, Harrison, or
Richmond.
Some of our parents enjoyed
the square dances,
which usually were held at
the Big Sycamore dance hall
on State Rd. 1. The property
eventually was sold, and the
dance hall was remodeled into
two apartments.
Bicycling, roller skating,
pick-up basketball games,
oh my! There were so many
things to do. Of course, we
had radio and the movies, too.
How we loved “The Lone
Ranger” and “Little Orphan
Annie” on the radio, as well
as Roy Rogers, Dale Evans,
and Gene Autry in the movies.
We also had to see every new
musical produced.
Those were good times.
Who needed electronics? That
was entertainment.
By Stefanie Hoffmeier
Whether you are shopping
for a costume for yourself, or
you have your little goblins
and ghouls to dress, the cost
of Halloween costumes can be
the scariest part of Halloween.
Once you’ve worn a costume,
how often do you wear it
again for another year? Statistically
speaking, most costumes
get worn for just one
season. Then the costumes
either end up in the family
costume box or worse yet, the
landfill. Children and adults
outgrow sizes and interests in
pop culture characters. Not to
mention that it’s hard to shock
and awe with the same costume
year after year. Rather
than break the bank buying
new costumes this year,
consider swapping last year’s
costume for a different one,
without ever having to open
your wallet. All you have to
do is spend a little bit of time
digging out your old costumes
and making sure they are
clean and ready to trade.
If your costume is in good
shape, consider trading it for a
different one at the Dearborn
County Recycling Center’s
14th Annual Costume Swap
in October. The program
was started at the Recycling
Center in 2010 with only 50
costumes. It was created as an
annual event offering customers
the chance to share and
reuse costumes that would
otherwise only be worn once.
Thanks to the support of local
businesses and residents, the
program has grown each year
to include not only costumes
but decorations and accessories
as well. Last year
Costume Swap was open 11
days during October, had over
1000 costumes, and had a
total of 1,158 customers.
You can save money and
the planet by swapping your
old Halloween costumes for
a new-to-you one. Costumes
to swap must be clean, in
ready-to-wear condition, and
free of rips, tears, and stains.
All costumes must also be
complete with original items,
including masks and accessories
that came with your
costume originally. Don’t
have a costume to swap? No
problem. While the Recycling
Center prefers swaps, you can
still get a costume by making
a monetary donation. The
program does not operate as
a charity. The donations are
used to buy new costumes
at clearance prices to help
restock Costume Swap.
The sizes of costumes in
Costume Swap range from infant/toddler
to adult sizes, and
there is even a small selection
of pet costumes. Make-up,
masks, wigs, and accessories
are available to help you complete
the costume you choose.
Decorations and party supplies
are also available.
Costume Swap is open
October 2-30, on Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays
from 1:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
It will be closed on Monday,
October 9 in observance of
Columbus Day. The number
of guests and shopping times
will be limited each hour due
to space. You can visit dearborncountyrecycles.com
for
more information.
This year, think unique and
choose to reuse. After Halloween,
don’t forget to wash
and save your costume to
swap for next year. Have a
safe and spooktacular Halloween!
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