Today it's hard to believe that bustling Broad Ripple was once a primary destination for pastoral pursuits in Indianapolis. My mother fondly recalls boating on White River and evenings spent dancing in the hall that was part of White City (later Broad Ripple Park). My dad, a great story teller, reminisced again and again about the time he joined a group of Butler men to reenact the poem "Hiawatha" on the canal. Recounting the memory invariably sent him into quoting the lines with true eloquence.

My mother grew up visiting Fairview Park, which is now the campus of Butler University. This was the end of the line for the streetcar that transported her family to Sunday afternoon picnics at the Fairview Park Grounds. Her grandmother kept a goat and cart there so that my mother and her sister could take leisurely rides in the park after eating with the adults. These were also the days when city folks had cottages in Rocky Ripple and Ravenswood so that they could escape the urban heat for refreshing life on the banks of the White River. Imagine that!

Entertainment memories span to my generation as well. I grew up enjoying Broad Ripple Park with the merry-go-round, the train, and the huge pool that was eventually replaced by a more modern facility. Little America was a favorite destination for our birthday parties. It was just a neighborhood amusement park - no match for Riverside Park on the west side.

Little America was the place where I first experienced motion sickness ─ after spinning around in tumble cars. The incident cured me of venturing onto amusement park rides forever. So it was that I was reduced to simply playing miniature golf. Little America was also the place where my parents renewed their courtship, subsequently to marry. If it weren't for this fortune, I may not have been here today. Yes, yesteryear's amusement parks of this area are truly memorable in my life.