Events and Activities : Elvis party at CP Piano Party was success; program on 1961 tornado set for July

It don’t get no better than Elvis actually appearing at your party, so the Center Point Historical Society’s June 5 Player Piano Party was its best ever.

About 50 guests visited the Depot Museum to be in the presence of the King, to look at the All Iowa Mustang Club’s classy cars in the parking lot and to view the Museum’s new “Fifties & Sixties” displays.

Elvis (Bob Dillon of Center Point) and his brother-in-law John Reasoner of Cedar Rapids on acoustic guitar, rocked the crowd with Elvis favorites and other hits of the era like “Sweet Caroline.”

Taking a break, they held a 50s/60s trivia contest with prizes of classic car posters and vintage album covers.

Jeanette Elgin played hits from back in the day on the piano. Guests got to produce songs from even further back in the day on the 1923 player piano. The player piano was restored three years ago with help from a Linn County Supervisors/Historic Preservation Commission grant.

The All Iowa Mustang Club, one of whose members is Dave Sargent of Alburnett (also a CP Historical Society member) filled up the Depot parking area with more than a dozen dazzlers. The oldest was Dan Hillby’s 1964 ½ yellow Mustang convertible.

The next special activity at the Depot will be Sunday, July 17, from 2-4: “Remembering the ’61 Tornado.”

Museum admission is free and the Depot Museum is open every Sunday through August from 2 to 4.