Mr. Ralph Waggener's comments about the old courthouse present some of the best and most cogent ideas to grace the pages of ColumbiaMagazine -- or any other Adair County publication -- in many a day.

In times gone by, the courthouse served not only as the center of justice but also as a community gathering place for activities and presentations as diverse as the populace itself. Over the years, crowds of people thronged to the courthouse for political speechifying (and some barnburners there were); for readings, recitals, and plays presented by the students and faculty of the Male & Female High School, the Columbia Graded & High School, and the Lindsey Wilson Training School; for temperance lectures, gospel singings, and church bazaars; and for benefit shows for individuals and organizations. It was also used as a venue for early moving picture shows before (and, to a lesser extent, after) the establishment of a permanent movie house in Columbia.

As Mr. Waggener points out, using the courthouse building as an performing arts center would not only provide entertainment and cultural opportunities for the community, it would increase the flow of coin of the realm to merchants whose places of business fill the Square and would help save Adair County's most iconic structure.

To see that grand old edifice forlorn and deserted is bad enough; to imagine the Public Square without it is beyond the ken of this writer.

/s/ Name and address on file