As you recall from my previous post,
"John & Helen Week," it was 28 years
ago today on January 16, 1993, that
John Ettline, owner of the Shady Dell
and The King of All Dell Rats, died a
couple months before his 87th birthday.
To begin today's post in which I reveal "COLD FACTS" about the Dell, I'd like to play
one more song I think John would like, a wonderful cover released a few weeks ago at
Christmas by the Atlanta-based old & young - family & friends band Foxes and Fossils.
"Mr. Sandman," a song that calls upon the figure from folklore to "bring me a dream"
in the form of a sweetheart, was first recorded in May 1954 by Vaughn Monroe and
His Orchestra. A pair of covers, one waxed by the Chester, Pennsylvania, all male
pop quartet The Four Aces and the other by the Sheboygan, Wisconsin, female
barbershop quartet The Chordettes, shot to #1 during the Christmas season
of 1954. The Chordettes version stayed at the top of the chart through
the month of January, 1955. Enjoy this cool cool cover of a
solid COLD oldie by Foxes and Fossils!
"Mr. Sandman" - The Chordettes cover
by Foxes and Fossils (Christmas 2020)
A
COLD
FACT
ABOUT THE
SHADY DELL
IN WINTER
THE
SHADY
DELL
1960
1960
Remember this aerial
photo of the Dell taken
in the winter of 1960?
Remember this detail from the aerial
image that appears to show owner
John Ettline shoveling or blowing
snow in the parking lot... possibly
to uncover a Dell rat's car that was
abandoned during the blizzard?
I would like to share with you a cold fact,
an interesting piece of trivia I learned
about my old hangout.
In 1959, one of John Ettline's brothers converted the
hillside across the road from the Dell into a ski slope,
this according to a family spokesperson. It wasn't
exactly Aspen or even Ski Roundtop, but the slope
was functional and for years served as a nifty
little practice hill for local ski enthusiasts.
THERE'S MORE! BELOW - PUBLISHED
FOR THE FIRST TIME ON SHADY'S BLOGS -
MYSTERY PICS! - NEW/OLD IMAGES
OF THE DELL IN WINTER!
ABOVE AND BELOW: RARE VINTAGE POLAROID PICTURES TAKEN
AT THE SHADY DELL IN WINTER, DATE UNKNOWN, COURTESY OF
TONI DEROCHE'S SHADY DELL FACEBOOK PAGE. VISIBLE IN THE
FOREGROUND OF THE ABOVE PICTURE IS THE DELL'S LARGE
OUTDOOR FIREPLACE WHICH WAS TORN DOWN CIRCA 2011.
THE PICTURE BELOW SHOWS TWO PEOPLE POSING AT THE FRONT
CORNER OF THE HOUSE, AND WHAT MIGHT BE A GROUP OF PEOPLE
SPREAD OUT AND POSING ON THE LARGE PORCH. WHO ARE THEY?
How cold cool is that?
Have a Shady day!
Sending love, friend Shady. c.
ReplyDeleteHi, cat!
DeleteYou're the Early Bird this time, dear friend. Thanks a lot for scurrying over to Shady's Place! I hope you enjoyed learning COLD facts about the Shady Dell.
Thanks again for dropping in, dear friend cat. Please hug TT for me and enjoy your Alberta weekend!
LUBBINS LUBBINS LUBBINS!
Ya ... am back, friend Shady. Upon retirement, and stewing about it and different hospitals I worked ... Rimbey ... small ... 25 beds ... worked outpatients, labor and delivery, surgery and recovery, general and end end of life ... among lovely or npt so lovely country folks ... where everybody knew you by your name ... Then moved on to "greener pastures" to the city ... hundreds of employees and hundreds of patients where no body knows their (my) name as numbers are the name of the game ... https://youtu.be/Wzyij-rsXhw ... ya ... Anyway ... I am writing much, but will and cannot publish at this time.Sending love, c.
DeleteHi again, friend cat!
DeleteThanks for letting me know that your healthcare experience encompasses so many different fields at facilities small and large. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the Cheers theme as performed by singer, songwriter and musician Foy Vance of County Down, Northern Ireland. He's terrific!
Sending love straight back to you, dear friend cat!
That's great you were able to find two more photos. Keep looking - I'm sure there are more.
ReplyDeleteHi, Alex!
DeleteYou're the Early Bird runner-up, good buddy. Thanks for coming over to learn the COLD facts about the Shady Dell!
Every few years new/old pictures of the Dell surface. I was thrilled when former Dell owner Toni Deroche shared those last two ultra rare winter time mystery pics with me.
Thanks again for stopping by, good buddy Alex!
Whenever I hear "Mr. Sandman" I immediately think of Back to the Future, as that's the song playing in the background when Marty McFly arrives in 1955. And I do believe it's the Chordette's version.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kirk!
DeleteThanks for going Back... to the Past with me and reading the COLD facts about the Shady Dell. Those Foxes & Fossils girls do a fantastic job on their cover of "Mr. Sandman." F & F is a versatile band that covers everything from Crosby, Stills & Nash and Mamas & The Papas to country classix old and new.
I looked up Back To The Future, good buddy, and found that it was actually the version of "Sandman" by The Four Aces that was used in the soundtrack. I noticed that the OST also includes the song I posted on New Year's Day, the Johnny Ace ballad "Pledging My Love." Another memory maker in the soundtrack is "The Ballad Of Davy Crockett" sung by Fess Parker. As a boy I watched Fess in his Disney produced TV series.
Thanks again for reporting in, good buddy Kirk!
Beautiful photos! York looks gorgeous in winter, but all of Pennsylvania looks gorgeous in January. :)
ReplyDeleteLovely song to pay tribute to a wonderful man. May love and light bring you peace today, dear friend.
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteSuch kind words from you, dear friend. Thank you!
Welcome to my special report giving you the COLD facts about the Shady Dell in York, PA, my old hometown. I'm glad you like the rare pictures of the Dell and the cool cover of that 50s pop classic by the Atlanta based band Foxes and Fossils.
Thanks again for your visit and comment, dear friend JM, and have a great week!
Hi Shady,
DeleteI've never been to York, so any photos and information about your old hometown is welcomed in my book. Maybe one of these days I may take a bus trip there. :) It's not too far from Baltimore, right?
Back to the office tomorrow and I'll give Foxes and Fossils another listen. Have a great evening!
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteYou are so well traveled that it surprises me you never went over to York. According to the drive time calculator, it would take you an hour 20 to an hour 30 minutes to drive to York. It would take you an hour 20 to an hour 50 minutes to drive to Baltimore. It takes 53 minutes to drive from York to Baltimore. York has a handsome historic square. You should visit.
Take F & F with you to work tomorrow and have a great week, dear friend JM!
Hi Shady,
DeleteI don't drive, so I tend to avoid towns that don't have a bus system or is at least accessible by a bus or train. When I used to talk to Jack, York seems like it might have a bus system, so I'll see if Greyhound goes there. :) If Greyhound goes to Scranton, I'm sure one must go to York.
Ah, Baltimore is close then! I can see why Jack's sister and her husband are Ravens fans. He's an Eagles fan. I suppose York can be the best of both worlds! :)
I'm homebound for a while now that I have my new role, and I'm currently listening to this F & F song before I start my work for the day.
Have a great day, dear friend!
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteIt's good to know that Foxes and Fossils are keeping you company today with their solid COLD cover of "Mr. Sandman"... a song that is light years removed from Metallica's "Enter Sandman."
Sorry, I forgot that you don't drive. My boyhood home stood on a south facing hillside in South York and was equipped with a powerful rooftop antenna. Those factors enabled me to watch the Baltimore TV stations and a few of the Philadelphia stations. I am thankful that I was exposed to the high quality local children's programming offered on those stations along with the music and dance shows of the period.
Have a good day working from home, dear friend JM!
Hi Shady,
DeleteIt's been a stressful few days with last minute trainings. I keep reminding myself this won't last forever...
...A lot of people forget that I don't drive! In fact, a lot of people are shocked to learn that because I've been to a lot of places. Ah, public transit, Lyft, cabs, and meeting nice people along the way that love to help out. :)
Have a great Thankful Thursday, dear friend!
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteYessum, more than anybody else I know, you take full advantage of public transit systems and Lyft rides. Perhaps you can plan a day trip over to York County and have a friend drive you. There are interesting things to see on the way such as the Amish communities and countryside and a huge flea market in Adamstown between Lancaster and Reading, as I recall.
I have a new post coming in the morning. I hope it makes you smile.
Happy TT, dear friend JM!
In answer to your question, Shady, "It's pretty darn cool!" I love these old photos of the Dell, and you kind of spooked me out with the last photo. You can see someone or two, or three, standing in the front corner of the house, and what appears to be some people on the porch! Do you think they could be some of Margaret's family, or "Dell" members? It looks like a pretty cold winter in that neck of the woods, and some great music, burgers and a dance floor would be just the ticket!
ReplyDelete"Mr. Sandman" is a great classic, and Foxes and Fossils did such a great job on their cover. They really sound like The Chordettes, and remind me a little of The Lennon Sisters!
I truly enjoyed your vintage soda pop posters and Dell photos, Shady. It has been much cooler in my neck of the woods, but last week's snow storm passed us by and stayed west of Fort Worth. I hope you are doing well, dear friend! Thank you for this wonderful, nostalgic post!
Hi, Suzanne!
DeleteWelcome, dear friend, and thanks for being here as I explain the COLD facts of life about winter time at the Shady Dell!
Yessum, those mystery pics have me spooked, too. I hope other people who leave comments will help us determine what we are seeing in that last picture in particular. At first I saw only two people posing at the front corner of the house. However, when I enlarged the image and looked harder, it appeared as if the entire porch is covered with posing people (or ghosts). At first I thought those pictures might have been taken in the 1920s when Margaret Schneider and her family (The Browns) lived at the Dell, or perhaps in the 30s when Phil Spangler's family occupied the estate. However, there are several reasons why I do not think the pictures were taken during those decades:
* In the 1910s, 20s and 30s and at least part of the 40s, the land next to that side of the Dell house sloped steeply downhill. It doesn't appear to be that way in the picture. John Ettline is the one who later had the land leveled to create a horse corral and parking lot for teenagers coming to his dance hall.
* In addition, during the Brown and Spangler decades, there was no white enclosure on that large porch. John Ettline added it to serve as the ladies' restroom accessibly from the restaurant section of the house. BUT! - when I went to the Dell in the 60s, that white enclosure was double the size of the one shown in that picture. That's because, at some point, John built an extension onto the ladies' room, another section that served as the little boys' room. In other words, when I went to the Dell, the porch area was only half of what is shown in that picture. The remaining space was taken up by the ladies and men's rooms.
* I also do not see the "ticket booth" that was present during my years as a Dell rat. John sat in the booth and collected quarters from teen patrons as they entered the Dell.
Taking all of the above factors into account, I think the two pictures must have been taken in the 50s before John extended the restroom area to create a men's room, the time period during which the Dell slowly transformed from bakery and ice cream parlor to restaurant and eventually to a combo restaurant and dance venue.
I'm excited that you think the Foxes sound like The Chordettes. I totally agree with you! The F & F band is a very talented bunch, versatile, too!
It has been very chilly here in Central Florida for the last couple of weeks. I kinda wish you'd send some snow my way. :)
Thanks again for joining the fun, dear friend Suzanne. Please say hello to Scootie for me and take good care of yourself and him in the coming week. Join me if you can next Thursday for a Brain Buster trivia question. I hope to see you then!
Suzanne, I have a correction. My next post is Friday, not Thursday.
DeleteAlso, if you look at my blog header picture, you can clearly see the double-wide white enclosure containing the men's and ladies' rooms that was present during the 60s when I attended the hangout. A young man needing to use the facility stepped up onto the porch and only walked a few steps before he was inside the boy's room. Compare that header image to the ghostly picture at the end of the post and you can see that the white section was only half that size when the mystery pic was taken.
Suzanne, I continue to brainstorm because one conclusion leads to problems with another conclusion. If we are to assume that the last two pictures in the post were taken in the 1950s, then who are the people posing in the last picture? I first assumed the couple at the corner of the house were Helen and John. However when I use my zoom tool and look closely, they do not look like the Ettlines. One of them appears to have long blonde hair and is wearing a bulky fur coat and what looks a lot like a long pointed hat, perhaps a wizard costume. Was the picture taken at Halloween during an early snowfall? Were they having a party at the Dell? Was John the photographer and Helen inside the house whipping up hot chocolate and snacks for the group? That's one possibility. Here's another.
DeletePhil Spangler, a contributor to my SDMM blog ten years ago, stated that his family bought the Dell in the late 1920s after Margaret's family, The Browns, vacated. Pictures Phil donated to the blog indicated that The Spanglers enjoyed posing in front of the Dell house in large extended family groups. The pictures Phil gave me were taken circa 1932 and 1933. At that time, the ground sloped away from the porch side of the house at a rather sharp angle and the porch had no white enclosure on it. However, it is possible that The Spanglers built the white enclosure later in the 1930s and that the angle from which the pictures in this post were taken only makes it seem like the land was more level. IIRC, the Spanglers vacated the Dell in the late 30s and the estate was vacant for a period. Now comes more mystery. Relatives of John Ettline told me that at some point in its history, the Dell operated as a speakeasy or after hours bottle club complete with a piano bar and menu of fine foods. It was said to be a popular adult night spot during that period, perhaps during WWII. As you might recall, John Ettline was overseas serving in the war during that time. When he returned home he married Helen and they bought the Dell in 1945. Perhaps the white enclosure was built by whoever was operating that private, members only, adult jazz and blues club at the Dell during that period. If the place was indeed entertaining groups of people during that time, it would certainly have needed extra restroom facilities. In the 60s when I went to the Dell the indoor restrooms on first floor of the house where the restaurant and snack bar were located were OFF LIMITS to Dell rats. We needed to use the facilities in the white enclosures on the porch. Therefore, the people gathered on the porch in the last picture of this post might have been adult members of that private niteclub attending a Halloween party at the Dell during the WWII years. It certainly is a puzzling mystery as is much of the Dell's colorful history.
Tom,
ReplyDeleteFoxes and Fossils "Mr. Sandman" cover is fabulous. The gals do an excellent job replicating that vintage sound. You might recall I used Foxes and Fossils in a BoTB last September. I loved the old vintage photos of your boyhood haunting ground! The old photographs stir the imagination. Wouldn't it be fun to know who these people are? I can't tell if it's two men or a man & a woman. Oh well...this will give the Shady Dell rats a mystery to unravel or just to converse over. It's great to see how people are willing to share nibblets such as these with you to circulate on the web for kids who once frequented the Shady Dell. Have a shadytastic day, my friend!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteWelcome over, dear friend! I'm happy to see you here eager to learn the COLD hard facts about the Shady Dell and listen to Foxes & Fossils, an Atlanta area band that you and I have both shared with readers in previous posts. The F & F gang amazes me with their ability to cross over mewsic genres and perform each one authentically.
Yessum, I can't stop looking at those snowy mystery pics, wonder when they were taken and who's posing in that last one. I don't recognize any of the people as Helen and John Ettline. As I told Suzanne (above), when I magnify the last picture it looks like the one figure at the corner of the house is a woman with long blonde hair wearing a bulky fur coat or robe, and I swear there is a long pointed hat on her head like that of a witch or a wizard. That led me to believe they were having a Halloween party at the Dell and there was an early snowfall. I remember attending my uncle's funeral in mid October in the late 70s and the snow was flying at the cemetery that day. I have no reason to believe John Ettline's family members would lie about the Dell having been a ritzy nightclub for adults with a piano bar and fine dining at some point in its history before John bought the place in 1945. I wish somebody would come forward to explain who was living there and how the estate was used from the late 1930s through 1945 - a large chunk of time that remains a mystery.
Thanks again for stopping by, dear friend Cathy, and enjoy your week!
I am sorry I took so long to get here. I like the gals who sound so good and perfect harmony. I love old pics and wonder how the old overhead shots were done..helicopter possibly?? Maybe it was David Niven as he circled the globe in his balloon? I wonder..was that last picture taken was before your parents away from your parents owned it? I call John and Helen your parents away from your parents because they seem to be this. It looks like the one girl is wearing a witches' hat?? I wonder if you went to to the land registry if you could find ut what this place was before John and Helen owned it?
ReplyDeleteHi, Birgit!
DeleteThanks for coming over to listen to the tune and examine these new/old mystery pix, dear friend!
Yessum, the Foxes and Fossils band from Atlanta does an excellent job of covering the female barbershop quartet The Chordettes who appeared on Perry Como and other music variety TV shows of the 50s.
When those aerial pictures of the Dell were first posted a few years ago, Dell rats speculated that they were taken by the local newspaper's helicopter as it flew over the York area taking pictures of snow accumulation following one of the major storms in the early months of 1960.
Regarding the last two pictures, I have been studying them for a long time and believe they were taken in the early to mid 1950s before John expanded the white aluminum ladies' room enclosure on the porch to twice its width, making room for an adjacent men's room. I believe the addition of the men's room coincided with the construction of the dance hall adjacent to the barn circa 1959. However it is possible that the pics were taken before 1945 - the year the Ettlines bought the Dell. I don't recognize the people standing at the corner of the house. I agree one of them looks like a blonde haired woman wearing a bulky fur coat or robe and a witch or wizard hat on her head. Maybe a dunce cap? The other people who are spread out on the porch are too faint to see clearly. I have no idea why there was such a large gathering posing for that picture unless they were having a Halloween costume party and it snowed early in the season that year.
Kathleen Mae Schneider and John Ettline's two nieces provided lots of information about the Dell before and after The Ettlines owned it. The most amazing story is that the Dell served for a period of time as a late night adult members only BYOB club with fine dining and entertainment provided by a jazz pianist. I wish I could learn more about that!
Thanks again for coming by, dear friend BB, and enjoy the rest of your week!