Did the bandstand have globe lights or not?

Since it was erected in 1931, the bandstand in Garden Square Park has been the centerpiece of almost every major event in Prairie City.

From the annual Old Settlers Day celebrations to the seasonal farmers’ market that set up shop every Thursday in the summer, people have been going in and out of the park to show family, friends and visitors what the town of about 1,700 is all about.

Now, Prairie City Hometown Pride, with help from the Prairie City Historical Society, has been hard at work trying to renovate the town’s focal point to its former glory. The only problem is they can’t find one photo from the 1930s to 1950s that shows the entire stage.

“Memories differ. Some people remember globe lights. We can’t find any photo of those,” Sue Ponder, Prairie City Public Library director and Hometown Pride member said. “Every Saturday, they used to have high school band performances. People would pull their cars up and listen to the band. And nobody took a photo.”

The renovation project began after the local librarian shared a conversation with PCHS member Claire Williams. The two said they noticed around last year’s Prairie Days that it was about time the bandstand received some sort of renovation.

“We kind of noticed it was deteriorating significantly on the facia and the soffit,” Ponder said. “There hasn’t been much maintenance wise ... when you come into town and turn into downtown, it is one of the first things you see.”

As many of residents including Ponder and Williams have several fond memories of the bandstand, they wanted to try to renovate the park feature to as close as they can to its original design.

“A photo is going to get us a long way to getting it where we want to get it,” Williams said. “If you question anybody who has some history with our community, they would all rally behind in preserving it for future generations and keep a little bit of hometown pride.”

After a deep search through many historic yearbooks, newspaper archives and boxes of old photographs, the two have only found one picture that shows a corner of the bandstand.

That photo may suggest if there were globe lights on the side of the stage.

“This photo says it is a flagpole, not a light. All you can see is a metal tube. We thought it was a conduit for the electrical to go down, but according to this, it may have been a flagpole,” the librarian said.

Williams said the photo might also suggest a different answer to the question about the globe lights.

“I can almost remember seeing globe lights. That is one thing we are trying to find if that was a true memory or not. The one picture we found may have shown that that old receptacle may have held a globe, but it is too far away to get any detail,” he said. “We know somebody has a picture, we just have to find them.”

Ponder said this photo search has sent her down several different rabbit holes with no success, so far. She said the park’s old gazebo has been in the center of most of her false leads.

“One time, someone said there was this big, hand-painted banner that hung on the back of the bandstand. We found it, unrolled it and it was the gazebo,” she said. “Someone said there is a picture in the 1956 yearbook. It was the gazebo.”

Since the initial conversation of renovating the bandstand began, Ponder has been working with the Prairie City Park Board in the project. She has been collecting bids on reconstructing the top of the bandstand, repairing the roof and underlayment, and installing a new electrical system.

The groups involved have been working on applying for grants to fund the project.

Ponder said one neat thing that has emerged from this project is that they discovered there is a room underneath the bandstand. She said it was believed to be a dressing room. The room used to be accessed by a trap door on the stage. But currently, the entrance has been closed off and replaced with a manhole.

“The Prairie City Celebration Commission would really like to see an outside entrance to the back of the bandstand,” Ponder said. “There is a lot of stuff that needs to be stored for the Prairie City Celebration committee. It would be nice to have it all in the same place ... there are three rooms under there.”

Ponder said she hopes to have the first phase of the project finished by the summer, just in time for the completion of the Red Rock Prairie Trail.

Anyone who has an old photo of the bandstand or may have information that could help in the investigation is advised to call the Prairie City Public Library at 515-994-2308 or leave a comment on the Prairie City Public Library group wall on Facebook.

Contact Anthony Victor Reyes at areyes@myprairiecitynews.com.