Last night I had an opportunity to attend the Crothersville Sesquicentennial Historical Program. I was very impressed with the performances of so many of our community’s young, and not so young, people. The program was actually a rewrite of the program used 50 years ago for the Crothersville Centennial Celebration. It was really quite wonderfully done and I congratulate everyone who was involved.
There were several moments that I thought were just really exceptional in the presentation. There were two moments in particular that were especially significant for me. The first was a reading of the Gettysburg Address by a young man dressed as Abraham Lincoln with a Union soldier on his right and a Confederate soldier on his left. I think what made this especially poignant was the Battle Hymn of the Republic playing in the background. As someone who has always been fascinated by the Civil War and the lessons which we should have learned with regard to the way that we treat our fellow man, I must say that I was very moved by the way that this was portrayed.
The other moment which had the greatest impact on me was near the end when the narrator began to talk about the turning point of our community. It was really very remarkable that a town that was founded because of the progress and prosperity brought by the railroad would be ultimately devastated by a different form of transportation, the Interstate Highway. When the last of the heavy equipment left and the workers moved further up the road, the town of Crothersville found that it had been bypassed and cut off by the New Interstate Highway. People could go further and faster on I 65 and the old Highway 31 was no longer the best, and only, way to go. It was at this point that our town began a long painful decline. The car dealer left, the hardware store, the grocery store and shoe factory closed. The future looked very bleak indeed. But then Aisin Manufacturing came to town, and other factories started looking at Crothersville as well. New eating establishments opened, and yes, even Dollar General came to town.
What will our future bring? Will our new industries and businesses be enough for our community to not only stop our decline but to begin to grow and thrive again? What will our Celebration look like when we hold the Bicentennial Celebration in 2058? I won’t be here to see it, but perhaps those young people that I saw in tonight’s performance will be. What stories will they have to tell? What will our community look like in 50 years?
You know, I bet that these same types of questions were asked 50 years ago, and if this generation is as strong and dedicated as the last one, then I think that our future is in good hands and that we will be just fine!
Blessings
There were several moments that I thought were just really exceptional in the presentation. There were two moments in particular that were especially significant for me. The first was a reading of the Gettysburg Address by a young man dressed as Abraham Lincoln with a Union soldier on his right and a Confederate soldier on his left. I think what made this especially poignant was the Battle Hymn of the Republic playing in the background. As someone who has always been fascinated by the Civil War and the lessons which we should have learned with regard to the way that we treat our fellow man, I must say that I was very moved by the way that this was portrayed.
The other moment which had the greatest impact on me was near the end when the narrator began to talk about the turning point of our community. It was really very remarkable that a town that was founded because of the progress and prosperity brought by the railroad would be ultimately devastated by a different form of transportation, the Interstate Highway. When the last of the heavy equipment left and the workers moved further up the road, the town of Crothersville found that it had been bypassed and cut off by the New Interstate Highway. People could go further and faster on I 65 and the old Highway 31 was no longer the best, and only, way to go. It was at this point that our town began a long painful decline. The car dealer left, the hardware store, the grocery store and shoe factory closed. The future looked very bleak indeed. But then Aisin Manufacturing came to town, and other factories started looking at Crothersville as well. New eating establishments opened, and yes, even Dollar General came to town.
What will our future bring? Will our new industries and businesses be enough for our community to not only stop our decline but to begin to grow and thrive again? What will our Celebration look like when we hold the Bicentennial Celebration in 2058? I won’t be here to see it, but perhaps those young people that I saw in tonight’s performance will be. What stories will they have to tell? What will our community look like in 50 years?
You know, I bet that these same types of questions were asked 50 years ago, and if this generation is as strong and dedicated as the last one, then I think that our future is in good hands and that we will be just fine!
Blessings
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