Wouldn’t you know it, when Old Settlers’ Day rolled around this year I was in the grips of the worst fall allergies I’ve ever experienced. I was so miserable most of Saturday that I didn’t get to experience what I understand was quite the musical parade, with Marion and Peabody-Burns school bands, not to mention the community Rube Band.

While waiting for my allergy medicine to kick in, I missed the picnic and games in Central Park. I wouldn’t have been any good in the races anyway, as much as I was struggling to breathe. It still would have been fun to watch the little kids, as well as the grown-up kids, play games and race.

The musical theme continued with a concert by the Marion High School and Middle School bands. I was able to make out the faintest hints of the concert at my house, but it just wasn’t the same.

The one part of Old Settlers’ Day I was truly able to enjoy was the concert and dance at the county lake sponsored by the class of 1982, as my medications finally started to kick in and my head didn’t feel like it was squeezed in a vice anymore. Three bands, each with a different sound! That is how you throw a 30-year reunion party! I was there early, while the crowd was still kind of sparse, but the bands put on a show from the very beginning. A word of advice: finding the middle of the concert and trying to listen to all three bands simultaneously is frustrating, don’t bother; you won’t be able to understand what any of them are playing.

The weather was great for the concert, and the crowd continued to grow before I left, eventually reaching a nice size. It may not have been as large a crowd as anticipated, but the people who went really appreciated the entertainment.

“I hope they do it again, we all do,” a friend told me afterward.

I hope so, too, because it seems I missed most of the best Old Settlers’ Day ever.

— ADAM STEWART