In the little railroad town of Newton, Kans. (pop. 15,000), as in countless other crossroads communities of rural America before the war, the biggest night of the week used to be the night of the weekly band concert. Stores stayed open, and farmers finished their chores early to drive to town. In Newton's Military Park, the municipal bandsmen sat solemn and proud in high-buttoned navy-blue tunics, and filled the summer night with sound. The music may not have satisfied John Philip Sousa, but it was loud enough to compete with the moaning...
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