Chapter ?

Saturday Night

           In the days of my early youth social events were quite limited.  They consisted mainly of visits with friends and relatives. The church had a few functions every year, meetings for the women that were called ladies Aids, plus a few card parties for both men and women in the winter time.  Country school family functions amounted to about two a year, a school program at Christmas and a year-end picnic in some gulch in the hills.  Although towns were close together and each town provided all the necessary needs of the community, going to town was not the simple task that it is today.  Many farmers still made this trip with horses pulling buggies or wagons.  And though these farms were quite-self-sufficient the farmers had to make this trip at least once a week.  A week’s supply of the goods that couldn't be produced on the farm had to be obtained, and the products that the farmer was able to gather, above what was needed for his own existence, would have to be sold.  In the winter this trip, that was more like an excursion, would take place in the afternoon.  In the summer when the farmers had more to, do this function would have to take place at night.  The merchants of that time were very obliging, but they couldn't stay open every night waiting for a few people to enter their stores.  So, with this as the backdrop, a great phenomenon took shape in every small town in rural America.  It became known simply as “Saturday Night”.  It was born out of necessity, but became the one great social activity of these rural communities.  It was a time when everyone could have a leisurely visit with both their town and country friends.

          Many people didn't have telephones in those days.  So Saturday night became the time that much of the business farmers have to do with their neighbors was carried out.  You could almost always count on everyone being there.  It was a great time for kids and young people.  We were allowed to roam from one end of town to the other, almost at will.  But we knew if something happened that was out of line we better  darn well be able to account for our actions and activities.  I, as did all of my friends, had instructions as to what our proper behavior should be.  But who isn't prone to stretch the limits of their instructions just for the hell of it,  especially when they are young?  If I should try to do this, it was more of a problem for me than for my friends.  I shall try to explain.  Every town at that time had a town constable or cop as he was most often called.  His position didn't pay very well and was often filled by someone who was semi-retired.  This work would then help augment his income.  Our cop was a W W I veteran, who had received massive wounds fighting in France.  Although his wounds were of a very serious nature, he recovered with hardly a visible trace of this hardship.  He received a pension for being wounded and he used this, along with the city's pay, to make his living.  He was a handsome man, some six feet tall, and he carried himself in a military fashion.  He was good-natured but when the occasion called for it, he would become a very imposing person.  Many times I watched him walk into the center of a drunken brawl and quickly dispose of the trouble.  It wasn't only the respect for his badge that enabled him to do this, they also respected his strength.  He was a very agile man, and second only to my father in his ability to defend himself.  Yes sir, I was the only kid in the country that had an uncle for a cop.  Most of the time, I enjoyed this situation,. but there were other times when it was a distinct disadvantage.  For he also felt that a small boy, especially his nephew, should adhere to the rules.  So there were times when I was sure I was out of sight of my father, that I would charge head-long into good old Uncle Ed. 

          Saturday did not need a calendar to announce it's arrival.  It became very apparent when one awoke in the morning what day it was, for the whole day was programmed to the fact that at five thirty, or six o-clock, that evening we would be leaving for town.  Plans were made accordingly.  It was the only work day of the week that my father would consent to stop his field work early.  It was understood that when he did arrive home, there would be nothing to hinder his efforts to finish his chores and get ready to leave.  Shortly after the noon meal we would begin our preparations.  Eggs were gathered for the last time, and those along with the ones that had already been gathered were washed and put in the crates.  The cream that we had separated from the milk during the week was sitting in gallon cans in our basement.  This small rock-lined room was somewhat cooler than the rest of our house, so it was used as a very poor refrigerator in the summertime.  The cream that we had collected there during the week had to be brought up and poured into five gallon cream cans.  These small cans would then have to be washed, dried and put away for next week’s service.  In my early childhood, Mother used to sell a small amount of home-made butter.  So on Saturday afternoon some of the freshest cream was placed in a three gallon crock churn.  This type of churn had a three foot handle that came up through the center of the lid.  On the bottom end of this handle was fastened a simple wooden paddle in the shape of a cross.  We called this assembly a dasher.  By moving the dasher rapidly up and down in  the cream, and with patience and a lot of luck the cream would turn to butter.  I soon learned that  cream in a churn was very temperamental.  Some days this process only took five to ten minutes.  On others, it would drag on forever.  There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for this difference in time.  On the occasions when the churning took longer than usual, Mother would say, "The cream was too old--or it was too fresh, it was too cold--or it was too warm."  But the only thing to do was to continue on until finally there were bits of yellow butter floating in the buttermilk in the churn.  Mother then took over the rest of the procedure.  She would gather the butter from the buttermilk with a wooden paddle and place the butter in a large pan where the excess of the buttermilk could be worked out of the butter and drained away.  Then a certain amount of salt had to be kneaded into the butter. When the flavor was just right, it was put into a mold and was ready for sale.

          In later years when we had a car, most of the time we would have to wash it.  With all these things accomplished, it would be getting late in the afternoon.  It was now time for me to get out of the house, for a Saturday ritual was about to take place  "The weekly Saturday afternoon family bath.”  We would take the large galvanized tub that was used on wash days,  place it in the middle of the kitchen floor, heat water on the old kitchen range, place it in the tub and cool it to the touch.  When every thing was ready, my mother and sisters would have their turns in the tub.  While they were doing this, I would be out finishing my chores.  I would feed and water the pigs that we always had,  feed the chickens and turkeys, and often Mom would call out to go gather the eggs again for she was a few short of having a full crate that we would sell that night.  It was soon time to go and get the milk cows and put them in the barn so that they would be there when my dad and brother returned from the fields.  With my Saturday chores completed, I would return to the house to find "guess what?" a tub of well-used, cold bath water.  There was more water heating on the stove but that was for my father and brother after they had come in from the fields, unharnessed their horses, milked the cows and separated the milk.  After a hurried meal, we were now at last ready for the event of the week "Saturday night."  With the cream cans, egg crates, and the six of us crammed in the old 1926 Essex sedan, we were off to town. 

          On this warm Saturday evening, we arrived early enough for us to park in Mom’s favorite parking space.  This was a spot, about centered on the main block, on the south side of the street.  On warm evenings, she would often sit in the car and watch the activities and visit with her many friends who would pass by.  This seemed to be the best spot for her to do this.  Upon arriving, the eggs had to be taken to the store where they could be counted and candled and the credit would be there when my folks came in later to buy their groceries.  Also, the cream had to be taken to the cream station where it was tested, priced, and we were paid for it.  Then I had about two hours to myself before the weekly movie would start.  This happened at eight o-clock and my folks were always agreeable to my going to the movies as they reasoned I was better off there than running the streets.

          There was always a running feud between the town kids and the country “bumpkins”.  Nothing much ever came of this; it was mostly bluffing and posturing.  Once in a while, it would come to blows.  Most of the time, neither boy wanted to fight so these  encounters were quickly ended.  Many farmers didn't get to town as early as we did so the town kids who lived there would out number us early arrivals.  The few of us that were there would stay in the safety of the main street and leave the back alley wanderings till later, when we would outnumber those that lived in town.  So this early time in town was spent eagerly awaiting other country arrivals.  This bond between country kids was deep, and it didn't matter if you hardly knew them. If they were from the country, they were alright.

          This particular evening I watched with some interest the town dray man take his team of horses down the side street where the band-stand was kept.  This large open structure was built on a wagon.  It had a railing all around it and folding steps on one side so that the players would have easy access to their places.  All in all, this contraption was nothing more than an overgrown hay rack.  After hitching the horses to the stand, he would move it to the middle of Main Street.  He would go and get several folding chairs and place them on this stand so that the local band members would have a place to sit.  Conde, at that time, had a large well-organized band and in the summertime they would give long, much appreciated concerts.  Farmers and business men joined in this venture, and Conde was known for its very fine band

          I now had to make a decision, because  tonight I had been lucky.  Upon arriving in town, my father had given me twenty five-cents to spend for myself.  This amount of money allowed me to have a candy bar, a bottle of pop, a double-dip ice cream cone, and still have the price of admission to the show.  My problem was how much to spend now, and how much to save till after the show.  I decided to have a candy bar now and save the rest for later.  I proceeded to the drug store on the corner of Main Street bought myself a Snicker bar and went off to the show.  Conde had a large well-operated theater.  It held over three hundred people, and in those years, it was almost always filled.  This was partly due to the fact that it was the only movie house for at least twenty miles and that was a long way in those days.  Another reason was that it had very good visibility, even better than most of the theaters in Aberdeen.

          After the show was over; we would come out to a different world.  It was now dark.  The street lights were lit and the store windows were aglow.  There was almost a carnival atmosphere on the streets, for this town of five hundred people had in the last few hours grown to at least fifteen hundred.  For the next two hours, the town was at its best.  The sidewalks were full of people milling around, and the stores were very busy with the shoppers.  Kids and young people were everywhere.  In our township, we had three country schools.  Our school had an enrollment of fifteen to twenty kids.  It would not be unreasonable to guess that there were some forty kids of grade school age in our township.  Conde city sits in the middle of four townships.  If you multiply the number of kids in our township by four, and add another eighty to a hundred kids from the outlying townships, plus the number of children that lived in Conde, you come up with quite an impressive number of young people to be in one small town on a Saturday night.  We probably had almost half that number of kids, high school age, and the pre-school children.  It would not be impossible to think that there were at least three hundred young people, of all ages, in town on a given Saturday night.  At this time of night the country kids outnumbered the town dwellers and as long as we stuck together, we owned the town.  I still didn't feel that we should push our advantage too far, for I knew some day during the week I would probably be in town by myself. 

          The movie theater was about a half block north of Main Street directly across from the old Davis Cafe.  There you could get a good lunch, or a room for the night, if you needed one.  There were two hotels further north but these were off limits for me so I really can't say much about them.  Hurrying up from the movie, I would pass the small building where Erskin Robertson had his law office.  Crossing the street, I would pass by one of the newer buildings in town, the Ford Garage.  Next to it was the Little Inn, where they sold the best hamburgers in town.  Up the street was the W. W. Rounds Hardware.  At one time it was supposed to be the biggest and best hardware store for miles around.  It also contained a furniture shop and was the town’s mortuary.  Next, was The Peoples Bank; the only business in town that wasn't open on Saturday night.  Past it was Fosters' Conde News shop.  It boasted of being the oldest continuous running newspaper in Spink County.  Roy Masse's Butcher Shop was next.  He raised his own cattle, did his own butchering, and cut his own meat.  Right by him was Choan's Grocery Store.  I don't know why, but we didn't trade there.  Next was Cox's Bakery.  They not only supplied Conde's needs, but also some other close towns as well.  Across the street to the east was the old International shop.  I don't remember ever being in it, in those years.  Across the street to the south was the Conde Atlas Lumber Yard.  On south down this side street was Ray Nortons' Filling Station.  Past it were the stock yards and beyond that was the Standard Oil bulk station.  On the southeast corner of the main block was Harry Place's Grocery Store.  This is where we traded.  It was more like a general country store. You could buy clothing and a number of other things there.  Next to it was a “boarded up” space where Conde once had a bowling alley.  It was lost to fire some years before.  Now we come to a divided building.  On one side was Boullion's Barber Shop, the other was the U. S. Post Office.  It also had living quarters upstairs.  Next was the busiest place of business of the whole town on Saturday night, the local pool hall.  It contained three pool tables, several card tables, and a long bar.  It was always crowded to overflowing.  It, too, had living rooms above it.  Past it was Henderson’s Feed Store.  It was soon divided and became a Gamble store on one side and a Cream Station on the other.  Next was a large brick building that was once a bank but now was a clothing store.  Upstairs was Mayor Van Ornums' office, and the other room was where I had my first tooth filled by Dr. Paulson.  He was a good dentist, but that did little to ease my fears at that early age.  Just west of there was another blank space  I think at one time Doc. Herman's Drug Store stood there.  Next was Conde's third grocery store.  It at one time was known as the Empire Novelty Store.  West of this store was another board fence.  Behind this board fence lay the burned-out ruins of Ed Hildebrant’s Butcher Shop.  Past it was Ike Roger<s Barber Shop.  It was there, after dad finally gave up his crude attempts to cut my hair, I had my first “store bought” haircut.  Next was the City's Liquor Store.  The last store in the block was Lawlers Drug Store.  This was another busy place as it had a soda fountain and booths in the back.  It was a great place for young people to gather.  There were many other places of business in Conde at that time elevators, depots, repair shops, harness shop, filling stations, along with the school, churches and lodge halls.  However, the main hub of activity centered around this main block that I have just described.  Almost all of the stores had large benches sitting on the sidewalks next to their store fronts.  At this time of night on warm summer evenings, these benches would be full of people.  As there were many more people than there were places to sit, crowds formed in front of every bench.  These crowds were ever changing as the people moved from store to store doing their shopping.  In front of some of the benches, the groups would get so big that it would become hard for one to pass on the sidewalk.  In my many trips up and down on those evenings, I would sometimes stop and listen to their talk.  Most of the time it was about farming, and it varied with the seasons of the year.  One topic that amused me was when one farmer “allowed that it was getting mighty dry” another would agree, but he sure hoped it wouldn't rain until he had a chance to put his hay up.  Some people jokingly said if God waited for everyone in the county to say "Let it rain,” we would never have any rain, no matter how dry it got."

          All too soon,  it would be midnight 'and the town would begin to shut down.  Many people had completed their shopping and were leaving for home.   Soon there was nothing left for me to do but find my folks.  I soon found them shopping in Harry Place's grocery store.  Most of the shopping was done on Saturday night, but some of the more perishables would have to wait for Sunday morning, after church.  This was a good week for us as our egg, butter, and cream money came to more than our grocery bill.  We had a little left over.  Although this never seemed to happen to us, I often observed other families, who upon finding that their produce money didn't cover their grocery bill, would take out items and return them to the store owner until they could pay in full for what was left   Credit was available from those store keepers at that time, but many people were reluctant to use it.  It may have been pride, or stubbornness, or it may have been the fact that they just didn't know when they would be able to pay.  It was now time for all of us to crowd into the car and return home.  If I wasn't asleep before we got home, I would be soon after I got to bed.  But there was always time enough for me to think, “Gee I have to wait another whole week before another Saturday night".

          As I write about those  times I experienced so long ago.  I cannot help but reflect on what a special and happy place this was to spend one's childhood.  Small children could range from one end of town to the other with virtually no fear whatsoever.  Major crime was unheard of, and kidnapping only existed in far-off places  There was not one house in town that upon seeing some youngster in trouble, would not stop what they were doing, take the child in, tend to its wants and notify the parents.  Although small towns are still great today, I don't feel that one can be as trusting now as you could back then. 

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