While looking for my PAD today I came upon this shot. It’s not the first time I’ve taken this same shot. Each time I see this sign on the side of Riverside Park’s band shell my first thought is “stimulus” from another era. “W.P.A” stands for Work Projects Administration. So, I did a little research. I’ll not go into the details here but you can go to www.Wikipedia.com and type in “WPA” for a brief summary.

Not surprising, the W.P.A. was opposed by many conservatives in 1940. The WPA apparently had its critics who believed the projects were a waste of federal dollars but I doubt there were many complaints from the Hancock County brick-layers who received wages while working on the band shell. Those wages and the stimulation of the local economy were obviously a short-term help but I wonder if critics gave any thought of the long-term benefits of the dollars spent on the band shell. How many thousands have enjoyed this centerpiece of our Riverside Park over the past 70 years?

Music fills the air at Riverside Park and the Riverside Summer Concert Series. Free summer musical concerts, highlighting local performers, take the stage of the Allen P. Dudley Memorial Band Shell and Dick Daugherty Plaza each season. The concert series has become a community event with 58 years of musical tradition in Hancock County. In fact, the schedule for the 2010 (59th season) is now near completion.

There may be a lesson here.