Time Out from College: Small Town Saturday Night

Our small hometown was thriving when we were growing up in the 40s and 50s. It is much different now because all the little towns are dying out.

Saturday night was a special night of the week. It was a social night. All the farmers cleaned up from work and came to town to bring their produce, to buy groceries, maybe to attend a wedding dance, and to visit with their friends and neighbors.

Daddy would park the car in front of one of the stores about 4:30 or 5 p.m. Then he would walk home. We would eat supper and afterwards walk uptown as a family. We sat in the car to watch the people walking by. It was also a night when we would get a 5-cent ice cream cone. (that was a single dip back then!) We also would get out of the car and "window shop." The stores stayed open until 10 p.m. (Now the streets are deserted by 6 p.m.)

Seeing all the folks we didn't see during the week was nice. My parents visited with friends, my brothers would try to take the local drunk's handkerchief out of his back pocket and my parents or my brothers would take me by the hand and walk with me.

Most people enjoyed Saturday night in our small town. That was a simpler time when everyone knew everyone else.