On the Banks of the Wabash

'Round my Indiana homestead wave the cornfields,In the distance loom the woodlands clear and cool,Oftentimes my tho'ts revert to scenes of childhood,Where I first received my lessons - nature's school.But one thing there is missing in the picture,Without her face it seems so incomplete,I long to see my mother in the doorway,As she stood there years ago, her boy to greet.
CHORUS
Oh, the moonlight's fair tonight along the Wabash,From the fields there comes the breath of new-mown hay,Through the sycamores the candle lights are gleaming,On the banks of the Wabash, far away.Many years have passed since I strolled by the river,Arm in arm, with sweetheart Mary by my side,It was there I tried to tell her that I loved her,It was there I begged of her to be my bride.Long years have passed since I strolled thro' the churchyard.She's sleeping there, my angel, Mary dear,I loved her, but she thought I didn't mean it,Still I'd give my future were she only here.

These are the words from the famous song "On the Bank of the Wabash" by Paul Dresser. I took a field trip the other day over to fairbanks park. I walked past Paul Dressers house and down the road to gaze at the river that so inspired him to write this song. It is such a lovely site as you can see by the picture I took. Unfortunatly the river was very high and had flooded the docks that the city has built so you can feed the ducks or I would have had more picture from further down.

I really enjoyed looking at the river and how romantic it could be. As a city we need to make the decision to utilize our river. Put paths along it, so people can enjoy it's natural beauty. Someday maybe some will come along that people will listen to and say hey I think we should really use this river and make it the center of our town. Peole are really going to want to come here and see what we have to offer with this river we care so dearly about. It's just a thought I had while I was gazing upon the scene in the picture.