Monday, October 31, 1910
Students from the 11th and 12th grade class rearranged their desks so that they faced each other in a circle.
Tommy looked to Sarah and asked, "Do you want to talk first?"
She was touched by his courteously. "Thank you. Ok, our assignment, as written on the blackboard behind me, is to discuss our experiences and work together to find a way to improve the community. Now then, I believe that one of the secrets to success in any endeavor is asking the right question. Considering our experiences this week, what is the right question to address the challenge given to us by Mrs. Grayson?"
Pete said, "That is a good question."
"Thank you. What's the answer?"
"Beats me."
Sarah politely smiled and nodded her head. "Judy? What do you think?"
"About Pete?" 
Pete shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"
"I dunno. You're ok, I guess. But aren't you Emily's boyfriend?"
"She's not here now."
"You did talk to me a lot on hay ride to River City."
"That's really the first time I've ever spoken with you. Until last week, you always seemed distant."
"Distant and unattainable? Like the lost treasure of a pirate?"
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Good grief! We're not here to talk about boys."
Judy said to Alma, "If she'd start wearing earrings that complimented instead of distracted from her eyes, Sarah would be interested in talking about boys."
"Hey! These were a gift from my mother. They don't compliment my eyes?"
"Too busy, too much orange."
Alma nodded. "She's got a point."
Sarah huffed, "How might we use our experiences to better the community?" said Sarah as she removed the pumpkin earrings.
She was exasperated. "And for your information, I like to talk about boys but my two closest friends are gone."
Judy asked, "Which one's the cutest?"
Alma whispered, "I once overheard Emily say to Lynn that Sarah was in love with Tommy."
Sarah's eyes bulged. The boys were greatly entertained.
Sarah shook. "What's the right question?"
Alma shrugged. "Why didn't Tommy kiss you when he took you to Casey's last Spring?"
Sarah gasped.
Tommy shrugged. "We didn't quite make a connection."
Pete asked, "I thought you told me that she was too aggressive?"
He shook his head. "That was Emily. Sarah wouldn't stop blabbing. But looking back on it, Emily would be able to shut up long enough to let me get a little sparking."
Pete chuckled. "She is a good kisser."
"Better than Lynn?"
Russell said, "Way better."
Sarah was flabbergasted. "Enough!"
Mrs. Grayson stepped into the room.
"Sarah? What have I told you about yelling in class?" 
She mumbled, "If I can't state my position with eloquence, then it is most likely invalid."
"Exactly, you're a senior. Set an example for the younger children. What are you discussing with such passion?"
Sarah shifted her eyes and answered cautiously, "Community affairs."
"Good. Sarah, ask yourself, What have I not done to make myself available to those who need my services?"
The other children tried to keep from laughing.
"Yes ma'am. If Emily were here, she would agree that that is the most pertinent question during this discussion."
Mrs. Grayson nodded. "I am confident she would. She had her finger on just about everyone in this town."
Sarah bit her lower lip. "So I've heard."
"Then be more like her. Try talking less and maybe you'll be more attentive to the wants of others."
Tommy turned around and faced the wall.
Sarah nodded. "I will consider it."
Mrs. Grayson smiled and left the room.
Everyone was trying to keep from laughing.
Sarah sighed. "Let me start over... Pete, what have you learned?"
Pete chuckled, "That a cold fish is better than a hot...."
"What did you learn at the train depot?"
He laughed. "Nothing as insightful as what I've heard this morning, that's for sure."
Tommy chided him: "Pete, come on."
Pete got the last bit of laughter from his mouth. "Alright. I learned that there is a more boring job out there than working in the hardware store. All I did was sit around and do nothing most of the day except four times each shift when I'd sell tickets and draw maps for people."
Sarah cocked her head. "Draw maps?"
"Yeah, you know. 'Where's the hotel? Where's the outhouse? Where can I get something to eat?' It was the same dumb questions over and over and then I'd hear folks whine about how they missed their train because they were stuck at one of the stores on Main Street. And then when it would rain or snow and they'd sit under the leaky roof of the depot and freeze or get wet."
Judy chimed in, "I heard the same thing. Ladies would practically have to run a marathon to get back in time. They'd come in and buy the same things, lip stick, eye liner, all that, but they wouldn't have time for much of anything else. Even with that big dress shop, Lucille still sells most of her stuff to local patrons. When she does get out-of-towners that's only because they are already visiting someone in Eagle Creek."
Sarah was confused. "But she has such a large inventory."
Judy shrugged. "She remains optimistic that things will turn around for her. However, part of her knows that she won't succeed in the long run nickel and diming her way through business."
Sarah nodded. "I know what you mean about nickels and dimes. I sell lots of donuts and such at the bakery, but the real money maker is catering. Mr. and Mrs. Clementine cater all sorts of events in the immediate area, but it is hard to expand when most folks do not notice or remember where they bought a snack before they run out the door to the depot."
Alma said, "Sarah's father is always willing to lend businesses money, but most owners never take the risk, they just live paycheck to paycheck. Their failure to see long term cripples them in the end." 
Sarah agreed. "I've heard him say the same thing. He keeps rents low on the buildings he owns but he believes the businesses are not making the money they should."
Russell said, "Well, sometimes it's a matter of being overwhelmed by comfort. I mean, when I was at the clinic, I saw all kinds of people come in who, in my opinion, weren't sick. They just wanted someone to listen to them."
Tommy replied, "I know that feeling. People have needs. The key to growing any venture whether it's a dry goods store or a church is addressing those needs. I am not implying that most folks want a hand out because I believe most folks do not want one. They want to buy and sell but they are often hindered from doing so by their circumstances."
Sarah asked, "So what is the biggest circumstance that hinders people from spending more money in Eagle Creek?"
Tommy winked at Sarah. "That's the right question."
She was charmed.
Alma said, "It's not money, lots of people are doing well enough."
Judy said, "Its not desire, lots of people want to spend money."
Pete leaned forward and asked carefully, "Time?"
The kids all thought for a moment.
Pete sat back in his chair. "Yes, that's it: time. Visitors do not have enough time to go to town and shop."
Tommy said, "You know, all three churches are downtown. The Baptist Church and the Methodist Church is on Main Street. Eagle Creek Memorial is on the corner of Main and Memorial. Preacher Sam once told me that lots of people go to a particular church because it is near them, not necessarily because it has a doctrine with which they agree."
Sarah shrugged. "I guess, but we're not talking about church. We are talking about fulfilling needs which we can't do while the depot is 200 yards up a muddy incline from downtown."
Tommy replied, "Sarah, if some people go to a church based on location then some people shop because of a convenience to available transportation. That is why those churches are not built a half-mile from downtown where the land to build them would have been much cheaper to buy."
Sarah smirked. "So, we should move downtown Eagle Creek?"
Alma said, "Yes. Yes, we should."
"So all of the business on Main Street should just pack up and leave?"
Judy said, "We're already doing that Sarah. You said that the bakery does catering. That means Mr. and Mrs. Clementine go somewhere else to do business. Tommy traveled all over the valley visiting people who could go to church but don't."
Sarah shook her head. "We can't move the town!"
"But we can move those things which attract people to the town."
"How?"
Pete raised his hand excitedly. "A shelter!"
"We already have a shelter."
"I mean, not just a shelter as in a roof and a couple of benches."
He stood up and walked to the blackboard. He erased Mrs. Grayson's charge. He drew a square and a line with little hash marks on the far lower right corner of the board. He labeled the square, "Depot." He then drew a branch up and to the left to the center of the board. He labeled that branch, "Depot Road." He drew a branch from the middle top to the bottom and labeled that "Memorial Drive." From that branch he drew four branches, "Main, 1st, 3rd, 5th." On the left hand side of the board on Main he drew two rectangles on either side; he labeled each, "Downtown." Where Main met Memorial he drew a large box for Eagle Creek Memorial Church and another box the same size just above it, "School."
Pete turned around and said, "Drum roll please."
Everyone made a drumming sound.
He drew a small box to the left of the depot. He labeled that "Eagle Creek Marketplace."
Sarah sat up. "A market? Like a farmer's market, except for local businesses?"
"Right. Everyone who comes to town is essentially looking for a few items. They want something quick to eat, they want to pick up something for their beauty, lots of people come to the hardware store looking only for a handful of stuff."
Russell said, "But, it's never been done."
Tommy shrugged. "I've never been a preacher, but I was one yesterday. So what if it's never been done?"
Pete continued, "It could have nice, clean restrooms so people would not have to walk up the hill in bad weather to use a filthy two-seater outhouse. It could be heated in the winter and air conditioned in the summer. Inside there would be space for some tables where local merchants could sell their wares. There would be proper maps of the town with advertising."
Sarah cringed. "Not everyone is going to buy something."
"Not everyone buys something now. Men often come to the hardware store and just visit."
Judy added, "Like most women at Lucille's."
Sarah paused. "Sometimes people just come in and look at cakes."
Pete continued "Those people who didn't buy anything can still be influenced by advertising on the wall."
He motioned with his hands, "'Come to Casey's Café: for the best pancakes in the county' or 'Sheridan Feed and Grain: for all of your livestock needs.' The train company owns the depot but not the land behind it, that's the city's property and right now it's an empty lot. We could make signs and put them along side the train tracks between here and Quincy and Outlook and River City. Heck, my guess is a lot farmers wouldn't care if we painted the name Eagle Creek on their barns."
Sarah considered the notion. "It would improve the town's image. Right now, we're seen as just a spot on the map between River City and Plentywood. Eagle Creek is not worth noticing except maybe during the music festival. There's no reason why the bakery couldn't make three dozen donuts or cinnamon rolls or bear-claws and sell them on a tray down there. We know exactly when the train arrives and when it leaves."
Judy said, "Lucille could sell make up, sewing kits, jewelry and such."
Russell said, "Wait a minute, not everyone would benefit. You can't put a doctor's clinic down there."
Pete shook his head. "No. But you can put up a poster saying there is a doctor nearby or you can indicate where his office is on a map. Even Casey's Café could sell sodas and sandwiches. The Apothecary could sell aspirins or elixirs."
Alma said, "Look, I like the idea, but, that's a lot of money to risk. What if the idea doesn't work?"
No one came up with an immediate answer.
Sarah scrunched her face. "If the marketplace didn't work, then, the city would have a meeting facility it could still rent out. If nothing else, we could have extra facilities on hand to use a couple of times a year."
Russell said, "In winter time, I could give sleigh ride tours of the town. People who wanted to eat at Casey's or shop at Lucille's could be there in a couple of minutes instead of walking one way twelve minutes. Even Mr. Dawson could give men haircuts while they wait for the train."
Alma raised her hand. "I hate to bring this up but what happens if they say, 'No.'"
Pete shrugged. "Then they say 'no' and we've lost nothing. We have completed our jobs and we have accomplished Mrs. Grayson's assignment to find a way to improve the town. Bringing more money into the town benefits everyone."
Sarah said, "If I asked Jake, he might make drawings for us. Whom am I kidding? If I asked Jake to walk on his hands for me he'd do it."
Alma said, "The next time town council meeting is this Thursday night. After the election tomorrow; they will either swear in the new mayor or Mayor Tallard will keep his job. So, that would be the perfect forum to present an idea which would improve the community."
Sarah nodded. "Excellent. Who would like to write a proposal?"
The children spent the next hour finalizing the details of the Eagle Creek Marketplace idea. Sarah had the best writing skills so she put it on paper.
Mrs. Grayson was most impressed with the concept and their teamwork. "All we have to do now is wait for the election tomorrow to see where this will end up, however, I am already impressed by the caliber of you children and I am more confident about the future of this community."
Sarah looked to the clock; it was 10:00 am. In twenty-one hours the voting booths at Town Hall would be open and things would change all over again.
