By DELMAR LEATHAM
Back when the earth was still young and I was in junior high school, I was introduced to dance as a substitute for P.E. class. It was a non-contact sport that involved jumping around while flailing your arms in the air. It was with great relief when we returned to playing basketball in the gym where we also jumped around and flailed our arms in the air.
A real fear of dancing reared its ugly head during high school when I realized you had to ask a girl out. After high school basketball games, we always had a sock hop. We would take off our shoes to avoid scraping the gym floor and slip and slide through what some could consider dance steps.
Some of the dances were called cakewalks, you would buy a ticket or there would be a specific spot on the gym floor that if you landed on it when the music stopped you won a cake.
After the dance those who had won cakes would share them with the others. We would go to someone’s home where we would listen to music and eat cake.
There was always a fall formal dance called the junior prom. We would dress in our finest clothes, not tuxedos but Sunday suits. Our dates often made their dresses in home economics class. A corsage and boutonniere completed our evening attire.
Pictures were taken at the dance and for several weeks they were considered cherished mementos. Thankfully those photos are now lost to the past.
There was no place in town to have dinner before the dance because there were no restaurants open that late. So, three or four couples would get together and prepare a meal at one of the couple’s homes.
One of the more popular dances was the Halloween barn dance. The barn at that time was owned by the Shurtliffs. The barn was swept out, hay bales were placed to sit on and the dance lasted until 11 PM.
After the dance a scary movie was shown at the El Notrevo theater. I guess school officials and parents figured that the youth of the valley were better off at a scary movie rather than vandalizing the community.
Some adults held their own form of entertainment on Halloween. They would all dress up as Hobos and visit around a bonfire. A hayride carried all of the couples to the bonfire where a hobo dinner was served.
A hobo dinner required each couple to bring some kind of a canned food. All of the cans were opened and placed in one pot. It was always smart to eat before attending the Hobo dinner. A slice of cornbread and a bowl of the goulash would be served to all hobos in attendence.
On one of the more memorable Halloween hayrides, a concerned citizen thought there was a devil worship service going on around a bonfire. The police responded only to find a group of friends celebrating all hallows eve. It made for a very memorable evening.
When I went to college I decided that taking a dance class might be a good way to meet girls. I discovered that I was not the only person to think that way.
Folk dance class and social dance class were a new adventure. You actually had to learn specific dance steps. You also had to hold on to your partner. These lessons served me well during the next four years of my social education. I got B’s by the way.
After college I met my wife who loved to dance. We would go to the top of the Landmark Hotel in Las Vegas and dance the night away. I guess we jumped around a bit too aggressively and they eventually tore the hotel down.
Bob Stupak must have missed the Landmark Hotel because he built the Stratosphere Hotel which looks like the old Landmark but is twice as tall and twice as big.
My wife and I would also go dancing at Caesar’s Place. They had a dance floor which was built on a replica of Cleopatra’s Barge. As I recall it floated on an artificial lake which allowed the barge to bob up and down as you danced. It made it possible for me to return to my early dance steps. I was forced to jump around and flail my arms just to maintain my balance.
We also attended many church dances that were held every weekend at different locations. It was at these dances that I gained an appreciation for punch and cookies.
Marriage, children and the effects of too many cakes and cookies have reduced me to dancing a single dance at wedding receptions. My wife and I now hang on to each other when we dance because all dance floors seem to move about in opposition to our sense of balance.
If I had it to do over, I would worry less, dance more and I would treat every dance as if it were my last. I would also eat more cake and cookies.
