On a beautiful summer evening, Saturday, August 27th, the residents of Woodbine, Iowa gathered in the City Park to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of their town. Woodbine is a remarkable late Victorian town with beautifully maintained houses and stores. It’s well worth the drive east on US Route 30 from the interstate to take in the atmosphere. Woodbine is on the old Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway in the United States. Below you can see a route marker at the intersection of two brick paved streets.
Here’s an example of the local architecture
The evening’s events were announced by the firing of Civil War cannons by Battery B of the 10th Iowa Light Artillery Battalion. Members of the battery camped in City Park the whole weekend holding Living History demonstrations to the delight of young and old.
The town chefs fired up their grills and treated everyone to wonderful steak sandwiches and hamburgers. Then it was time for the evening’s entertainment, concerts by the 1st Nebraska Volunteers Brass Band, the Iowa Western Community Band, and the Notables.
The audience retreated to the shade to ward of the direct rays of sunshine beaming in their faces, but the mid-80s weather with a gentle breeze was perfect for enjoyment of the music. 1st Nebraska received many compliments from the sponsors and audience, who appreciated our performance of standard Civil War songs and popular music of the day.
1st Nebraska Volunteers Brass Band 