As wishes go, Dick Eason’s would probably not rank very high, but what it lacked in scale, it made up for with effectiveness. His wish, a little rain early in the afternoon to cool things off and clear by 8 p.m., was exactly what happened for Elizabeth’s town administrator.

While storms hammered the fields just a few miles to the northwest on the evening of July 23, the rain clouds kept their distance from Elizabeth while residents set up lawn chairs and spread blankets on the newly mown grass of the town's natural amphitheater at the corner of Washington and Garland Streets for the town’s second annual "Walk-In" Movie Night.

To enhance the drive-in atmosphere, volunteers Aimee Thomas and Wendy Walp, of the Friends of the Pines & Plains Libraries in Elizabeth set up a concession stand, filled bags with freshly popped popcorn and offered candy.

Proceeds from the sales benefited the Elizabeth Library Foundation and help to fill the library’s wish list for new books, computers and other services.

Once everyone was settled with popcorn and candy, Mayor Clay Hurst got things started with a few opening remarks, thanking the nearly 200 people for attending and inviting them to make their wishes known for the use of the natural amphitheater they were sitting in.

“This property is something that we are using now as an experiment to see how it functions,” he said. “There has been some discussion about maybe putting a stage down further and having our music festival and bands here. We’d like to get your input on that.”

The mayor also took the opportunity to remind everyone about the upcoming music and arts festival on Main Street on Aug. 12 and 13, and invited them to participate in the discussion regarding the possibility of home rule for the town.

With dusk settling in and the brief opening formalities over, the feature began. On the big screen, “Goonies,” a kid-friendly film projected onto a 16-foot inflatable screen.