TIME FOR ANOTHER
EYE-POPPING EDITION OF
SHADY DELL
SHOW & TELL
Here below, appearing for the first time on either of my blogs, is another
priceless artifact dating back to the early years of our alma mater, the Shady Dell.
As you might recall, Helen and John Ettline kept horses on the Dell property,
specifically in a stable beneath the barn. Dell hayburners could occasionally
be seen grazing in the grass or being ridden on the Dell grounds. Every
September during this time frame, Dell nags could be spotted
rounding the dirt track in harness racing events
held at the York Interstate Fair.
Please note that the woman and man in the colored photos beneath the sign
are not Helen and John Ettline. Their identities remain unknown to me
at this time. For all I know, they might have no connection whatsoever
to the Ettlines. I'm thinking someone acquired the sign at one of the
Dell auctions, a second-hand shop or through an antique sign dealer.
NOW... ON WITH THE SHOW!
Salvaged and Restored -
The Shady Dell
Record Collection!
Vol. 10: Long Lost Dell Songs from
Late Summer and Fall of 1958
BEWARE! NOTHING CAN
PREPARE YOU FOR...
JUKEBOX GIANTS
THAT TIME FORGOT!
Hello, friends! Dell Rat Tom
welcoming you to volume 10
of my exclusive 36-part
Shady's Place series
SAVED
BY THE
DELL
Today, you will travel
back to late summer
and the fall season of
1958
and find yourself
standing before
the Dell jukebox.
Those dimes
and quarters
you brought
along are
burning
a hole
in your
pocket...
so why not
feed them
to the record
machine and
play some
of the great
Dell songs
from the late
summer and
fall of 1958?
This series was made possible by Jim Sieling, my good friend
in York, and the husband of John Ettline's niece Nancy.
Jim Sieling
(faithful friend of The Dell)
As you recall, Jim acquired the Dell's Seeburg jukebox (below)
and many of the records that played on it through the decades.
Keep in mind that the Dell had two jukeboxes - one in Helen's
snack bar up at the house, the other down in "The Barn" -
the dance hall John had built onto the barn and garage.
When Jim took possession of the Dell's record collection,
he discovered, to his dismay and ours, that many of
the discs had been improperly handled and stored.
Simply put - they were filthy.
Mice (Dell rats?) had made a home among the records, and at least
one snake (a Violet Hill viper?) had slithered in looking for a meal.
Jim undertook the mammoth job of cleaning, organizing and cataloging
the records, then sent me the finished alphabetical list. There are 6,065
records on Jim's list including Christmas records, 12,130 songs in all!
My series brings you the 180 best Dell jukebox songs from 1955
through 1963, a period long before I arrived on the scene.
This series is dedicated to
the memory of Nancy Sieling.
Nancy Sieling
(faithful friend of The Dell)
Nancy, who was John Ettline's niece and Jim's wife, passed away in 2020.
Over the years, Nancy's generous contributions of pictures, information
and Shady Dell memorabilia greatly enhanced the quality of both of my
Dell-themed blogs. We have Nancy to thank for rescuing many of the
Dell's priceless platters when they were art risk of being thrown into
a trash dumpster and destroyed, hence the name of my series...
SAVED BY THE BELL DELL
Of course, we also have Jim to thank for tackling the enormous
task of cleaning, organizing and cataloging these 6,065 records!
Okay, it's time to use your imagination. Pretend that you are
at the Dell looking at the musical menu on the jukebox.
Scroll down and play the next 5 Dell songs.
BEWARE AND BEHOLD...
LISTEN AND LEARN...
AS WE EXPERIENCE...
JUKEBOX GIANTS
THAT TIME FORGOT!
The records and pictures are arranged in chronological
order, allowing you to trace the evolution of the
"Shady Dell Sound" and clothing styles
month by month through the years.
You know the drill.
ENJOY THE VINTAGE FASHION
PARADE AND FANZINES.
CLICK ON PICTURES OF
RECORDS TO PLAY SONGS.
AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 1958
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 46
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 1958
DELL SONG 47
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 48
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 49
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 50
Once again I thank our late, great friend of the Dell,
Nancy Sieling, and her husband Jim, for doing the
good work of preserving the Shady Dell legacy for
future generations. We owe you a debt of gratitude.
Stick around. You'll hear more long lost songs
of the Shady Dell... the moldy oldies, dusty discs,
colossal fossils and rusty relics we like to call...
JUKEBOX GIANTS
THAT TIME FORGOT!
coming up on the next exciting edition of...
SAVED BY THE BELL DELL
Tears on My pillow is the only song that I knew from this batch and that's a good song. The others weren't bad either. Boy some of those hairstyles of them women were something else. I actually like some of the styles of the dresses and that black and red checkered coat is actually cute I'd wear that now. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving. I hope you have a good week.
ReplyDeleteHi, Mary!
DeleteWelcome back to Shady's Place, dear friend, and thanks for coming right over to claim the Early Bird title! Your comment published w/o a hitch this time, which is more good news.
Thanks for letting me know that the hit by Little Anthony And The Imperials is the only song you know in this month's set of five ancient Dell songs. I'm glad you enjoyed examining the hair and clothing styles on those models in the magazine ads. If you're good, maybe Santa will bring you that red and black checkered coat. :)
Yessum, we had a nice T-giving up here at the North Pole, and I hope you and your family had a great one in Vegas. Thanks again for joining the fun. I wish you and my buddy Falcor a safe and happy week, dear friend Mary!
Woohoo, I was first for the first time. Lol
DeleteI had a nice Thanksgiving, my daughter and grandson were here.
Hi again, Mary!
DeleteYessum, it was a day of firsts. You were the first through the gate at Shady's clubhouse, earning your first Early Bird crown, and your comment was not swiped by the mischievous blog gremlins, one of the few times they have chosen not to play their silly games with us.
I hope you gave my buddy Falcor some turkey and gravy on Thursday. Thanks again for being such a great friend, Mary, and have a terrific week!
Great photo gallery. Bring back the cars with the fins (and the clutches). The songs were great with a new one for me. I do not remember "A Thousand Dreams". I don't remember Crown beer either. But I do remember Bridget Bardot. Have a good weekend. Jerre
ReplyDeleteHi, Jerre!
DeleteThanks for hustling over to take second place, good buddy!
Like you, I miss the days of yesteryear when gas guzzling dinosaurs with fins roamed the streets, and you could make a statement by popping the clutch when the light turned green (or as you exited the parking lot at the Dell, the Oaks, Gino's or Avalong's). The date every fall when the fleet of cars rolled out for the new model year was anticipated as eagerly as any major holiday.
As I'm sure you noticed, Bobby Hendricks' "A Thousand Dreams" sounds a lot like Little Anthony's "Tears On My Pillow." The song is a new one to me as well. It was released on the B side of Bobby's lone hit, "Itchy Twitchy Feeling," which went top 5 on the R&B chart. Having studied Dell rat behavior, I'm confident the gang flipped that record over many times and slow danced to the dreamy B ballad, especially since it sampled that monster hit by The Imperials.
I'm glad you remember Bridget Bardot. Unfortunately, I've got Granny Clampett stuck in my noggin! :) Thanks again for coming over on your weekend, good buddy Jerre. I'll be back before Christmas with a holiday edition of Saved (Part 11), so stay tuned!
Well I knew 2/5, which is pretty good for me. (no dunce hat today, I hope) I knew Tears on My Pillow and Ten Commandments of Love. I always enjoy the dinos and magazines covers with their advertisement and styles. I didn't realize there was a People Magazine in 1958! I looked it up and evidently it's not any relation to the current mag by the name. Mamie Van Doren sure is a beauty!
ReplyDeleteHi, Kelly!
DeleteThe bronze is yours and yours alone, dear friend! Thanks for coming early.
Yessum, considering how old these songs are, the fact that you knew 2 out of 5 is a good score. Neither you nor my buddy Pat will be required to wear the dreaded dunce cap. :)
There are still seven more volumes of this series that will display different (never before pubbed on my blogs) images of dinosaurs. After that, I will need to start repeating images used in earlier volumes.
The People Magazine that you and I are familiar with didn't start publishing until 1974 (I just now read). The October 1958 issue shown here with sultry actress Mamie Van Doren on the cover is actually a different mag called People Today. It was a pocket-size comic book issued by Hillman Publication. The description reads as follows: "A tamer version of magazines like Playboy and Esquire, featuring celebrity profiles, articles on contemporary culture, and plentiful cheesecake photography." Yessum, you and I both learned something new today.
Thanks again for your kind visit and comment. Please remember to keep "The 10 Commandments Of Love" and have a super week ahead, dear friend Kelly!
Welcome to the end of November! Hope you are settling in just swell. I think that was the slang for that day. Loving that music and I only know the last one but I really enjoyed all of them even the talking Commandments.
ReplyDeleteI love the fashion and would by the white outfit right away. I would never own a mink coat although she looks stylish but I’d take the blue dress. So many outfits that I love. Were these kids that innocent? I don’t think so but much more innocent than the kids today. I love your display and homage to the Dell at the top of this post. Always miss your comments but looking forward to this week
Hi, Birgit!
DeleteWelcome welcome welcome! I'm delighted to see your face (and Harley's) back here at Shady's Place, dear friend!
First of all, thanks for mentioning that brand new Show & Tell exhibit on display at the top of the post - a Shady Dell sign that I had not seen before, not until friends Jim Sieling and Toni Deroche both sent it to me in separate emails. What an amazing find!
Secondly, I'm pleased that you enjoyed the dramatic spoken word song "The Ten Commandments Of Love" by Charlton Heston... uh... I mean, by R&B legend Harvey Fuqua and his group The Moonglows from Cleveland, Ohio.
Thirdly, I'm happy to know that you liked the fashion parade from the late summer and fall months of 1958 and found a few outfits that you'd love to have hanging in your closet.
I don't know if all kids were innocent back then. I can only speak for myself. Yessum, I was pure as the driven snow. :) I'll also have you know that I was thrice married to blonde bombshell Mamie Van Doren.
Yessum, in its trajectory across the blogosphere, "Shady's Comet" has circled back and is heading your way, soon to be in your vicinity, in orbit around BB Creations before leaving for another month.
Thank you again for your cheery visit and great comment. Please hug and smooch my buddy Harley and have a wonderful week, dear friend BB!
Gee it's good to see you back again! The only song I knew was "Tears on my pillow" but the others had me wondering if there are any slow songs today like back then? Seems like when I have the radio on in the car it's all noise. Wow, I sound like my folks back in the day! The fashions were great and I think they could be worn today except are people now that thin? Maybe a few but thinking back in my youth obese was few and far between. I was only 5 in '58 but I do remember cigarette ads and seeing folks smoke on TV was the norm. Times have changed...some for the better...some for head shaking! I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving and are staying warm in your new home. A few flakes of snow may hit the Pines this week. Take care and thanks for more flashbacks about the Dell! (that snake always gives me a shudder!)
ReplyDeleteHi, YaYa!
DeleteI'm excited to see you, dear friend! Thanks for coming over as I resume my 36-part series with Part 10 of Saved.
Most readers know the last song, "Tears On My Pillow," but few know the others. What I did in this series was post mostly ballads rather than fast-paced songs, because slow dancing was so very big, so important at the Shady Dell. Many, if not most, R&B and doo-wop records of the period had a fast song on one side and a slow ballad on the other. Very often, the up tempo song was the nationally charting hit, but Dell rats created their own hits by flipping records over and playing the B sides. Those dreamy slow dance numbers were often more popular with Dellions than the fast songs and were played more often, hence the term "killer bees."
Good point, dear friend! Those 1958 fashions were created with thin women in mind. Plus size models were still decades in the future. What was originally thought of as "plus size" is now the average size of most women. No judgement, just saying...
Yessum, I read an article the other day with a list of things that will supposedly vanish as boomers die off. One of them was smoking. That remains to be seen.
Yessum, Mrs. Shady and I had a nice Thanksgiving. Thank you. I'll be over soon to drop in at The Pines and view highlights of your wonderful family's Thanksgiving celebration. I hope the Yeti had a seat at the table and rented a tux for the occasion. :)
Thank you again for your kind visit and comment, dear friend YaYa!
Tom,
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool coincidence that you visited this morning. You came to mind yesterday when I realized that I made a goof in missing sending out birthday greetings to you. That being said Happy belated Birthday, dear friend! It's an understatement when I say I've been busy. We had a nice Thanksgiving. Our oldest daughter and granddaughter are sick, so they couldn't join the festivities but we had a really nice time with our son, his wife, and new grandson. He's cute as a button. I can't get over how much he looks like his daddy. DH calls him Mini Me the 2nd. His papa is Mini Me Jr. I hope you and Mrs. Shady had a wonderful Thanksgiving in your new home with your family. This had to be an extra special event for you since you're back in an environment that you've dreamed about for years. :)
I always love seeing the classic fashion design in this series. The A-lined and pencil skirts were still popular in the early 80s when I was just a young girl in my 20s. I love the look! The songs you shared are all new to me. I thought maybe I might know the Little Anthony song, "Tears On My Pillow" but it didn't sound familiar. This was a nice introduction, though.
I gotta scoot for now. DH has a follow-up dental appointment. I can't recall if I mentioned that he had to have an extraction and implant procedure done a few weeks ago. He has more dental work in the upcoming months as he has to have several of his teeth crowned. By the time the work is done his entire top arch will be covered with crowns.
I hope y'all are enjoy the late fall weather. Have you gotten any snow yet? Christmas is making its way to us next. I hope you enjoy the blessed holy season, my friend!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteI'm mighty pleased to see you, dear friend! Thanks for popping in to experience Part 10 of my series revealing what I believe to be the best sounds played at the Shady Dell during the period from 1955 through 1963. As you recall, each and every featured record was pulled from the Dell jukebox and cataloged by my good friend and a true blue friend of the Dell, Mr. Jim Sieling.
Oh, thank you very much for acknowledging my birthday, dear Cathy! That's so sweet of you. Busy? You and me both! Mrs. Shady and I have a crowded schedule of appointments of various kinds. They fill our days and keep us hopping. I don't regret making the decision to restrict my blogging activity to three days a month. I still get to connect with great people like you, plus we have our email link as well.
I'm very sorry to learn that DD#1 and LA are "poorly" and needed to miss this year's family Thanksgiving celebration. I wish them both a speedy recovery. Yessum, they wouldn't have wanted to spread their germs to the new baby. I know you must be very proud of the grandbaby, as are his parents. It's neat that DH came up with a funny nickname for the little bundle of joy.
Mrs. Shady and I hosted her daughter and family, including our young grandson, here in our new house, the first holiday spent with family since we moved north. A wonderful time was had by all. Yessum, living up here again is a dream come true for us. We both lived in the mid-Atlantic region half our lives before moving to Florida. Mrs. S had lived in PA, Maryland and West Virginia. I am still gazing at what's left of the autumn leaves on the trees here in my neighborhood. The temp is expected to drop as low as 22 this week, and I'm ready to greet the cold with a smile.
I'm glad you liked the fashion parade and the five Dell song selections for this installment of the series. The timeline moves ahead to Christmas 1958 and early 1959 in volume 11 which will appear in the days before Christmas.
No, you didn't tell me about DH's dental procedures, only your own. Sorry he is needs to deal with such hassles during the holidays and in the months to come.
No, we didn't get any snow yet, but Mrs. Shady found her front windshield covered with ice the other night and needed to run the defroster for a few minutes to melt it. It was only a preview of things to come over the next three or four months. We bought a snow shovel at Home Depot a week ago, so we are prepared for winter's worst.
Same to you - best wishes and many blessings to you and your family as Christmas rapidly approaches. It's a hectic time of year, but one that is also filled with joy and merrymaking. Thank you again for your kind visit and wonderful comment. I hope to see you again right before the holiday. Take care and God bless, dear friend Cathy!
Tears on My Pillow is my absolute favourite song on this list. I'm familiar with Count My Lucky Stars and a few others. Friends of my family sent dad a bunch of Doo-wop CDs and a lot of these songs are on the CDs that were given to dad.
ReplyDeleteI'm battling another cold. I emailed my doctor about an inhaler, I need a refill. I'm thinking it's an upper respiratory infection, which was commonplace for me before COVID lockdown. Welcome back, blah. I got my COVID shot, but I think I will be masking in public again.
Thanks for lifting my spirit, dear friend.
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteI'm happy to see you, dear friend! Thanks for joining me for Part 10 of my 36-part series featuring the long lost 45 rpm records plucked by Jim Sieling from the Shady Dell jukebox. Like other readers, you best remember "Tears On My Pillow." I'm sure your dad recalls that big Imperials hit, too, and can turn you on to other doo-wop essentials of the period by playing that CD set. Many gems of the genre will also be covered as the timeline moves along in this series.
Sorry you're battling a cold, and hope you recover quickly. Yessum, as I travel around my new community (within the Arctic Circle), I am seeing more people wearing masks again - regular citizens as well as healthcare professionals. Better safe than sorry. Mrs. Shady and I got all three of our shots this fall - the flu, Covid and RSV vaccines.
Please feel better soon, and thanks again for stopping by. I'll be over shortly to read your latest post, and hope to see you again when I return to blogging and publish Part 11 just before Christmas. Take care and get well soon, dear friend JM!
Tom – Thanks for sending me the heads-up for part 10.
ReplyDeleteStill amazed out how thin the waist lines were in the late ‘50’s. Family was all here for our Thanksgiving celebration. They really gave me a hard time about my high school picture on your blog. Nice to see one of my top choices -- Tears On My Pillow -- made it into part 10.
Jim
Hi, Jim!
DeleteI'm delighted to learn that you were surrounded by family on turkey day. Thanks for dropping in and checking out the latest volume of the series made possible by you and Nancy - the musical treasures salvaged from the Shady Dell record collection.
Yes, the waists were ultra thin back then. I never fully understood why fashion designers claimed their clothes would look better on skinny women. The vast majority of men with whom I have discussed the subject over the years agree that a woman looks better, healthier, if she is not wafer thin.
"Tears On My Pillow" is a hit with all of the readers, and I'd like to remind everyone that another classic ballad was released as the B side of that single. That "killer bee" - "Two People In The World" - became known as "Helen's Song," because I heard it playing so very often on the older jukebox located in Helen's snack bar.
Thanks again for joining the fun, good buddy Jim. Part 11 will appear in the days leading up to Christmas and it will include excellent images from the holiday season of 1958, so stay tuned. Enjoy your week and the month of December, friend Jim!
Like most everyone else here commenting I only recognize "Tears on My Pillow", though it may have been a while since I heard it last because it was shorter than I remember. Or maybe I just never wanted it to end. As for the other songs, which are all good, I like the spooky back-and-forth between the sung and spoken lyrics on Moonglows "Ten Commandments of Love."
ReplyDeleteI see everybody's commenting on how thin people were in the 1950s as compared to now. While I'm sure that's true up to a point, remember these are idealized images designed to get people to buy magazines or items advertised in the magazines. Quite of few of those images aren't even photographs but illustrations of which the idealization knows no limit. Were you to look at snapshots from the same era, I think you'd see that not everyone back then was young and thin and beautiful and perfectly attired.
Hi, Kirk!
DeleteWelcome in, good buddy! I'm delighted to have you over for a look and a listen as I present Vol. 10 of Saved By The Dell. Wagering was prohibited, but if it were not, those who placed early bets on "Tears On My Pillow" would be savoring their landslide victory at this hour. I agree that "Ten Commandments Of Love" by Moses & The Miracles... uh, I mean Harvey & The Moonglows (from Cleveland, Ohio!!!) sounds a little creepy at times.
Good point, Kirk! Even then, in the 50s, women's figures were being tweaked by photographers, artists and illustrators to make them appear as thin as possible. I still don't think thinner is necessarily better, and neither do the many men with whom I have discussed the subject over the last 60 years.
Thanks again for making time to visit Shady's Place, Kirk. Have a great week, a safe and happy December, and I'll resurface with my next post just before Christmas. See you then, good buddy!
Hey there Shady, so sorry I'm late to the party this time. I had a cold over Thanksgiving and wasn't up to 100%. We had a very relaxed day. I cooked a turkey and the sides but we each just took a plate and went off to our own realm to eat. We took a plate over to my MIL and once the dinner was done and stuff put away I went straight to bed. Feeling better now and looking forward to Christmas so we can have a proper get-together.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that the beginning of the song "A Thousand Dreams" had me thinking of "Tears on My Pillow" and I stopped reading to go check to see if I was right. What a surprise then to see "Tears" farther on down in the post. LOL. I didn't remember "A Thousand Dreams" or "Count Every Star" but the others I knew.
I love looking at the magazine clippings from that era. I don't relish looking at the snakeskin in the box of albums. Hope you and the Mrs. had a great Thanksgiving in your new digs.
Hi, Janet!
DeleteI'm thrilled to see you, dear friend! Thank you very much for swinging by for Vol. 10 of my series revealing the long lost Dell records pulled from the original Seeburg jukebox that once stood in the notorious venue's dance hall.
I'm sad knowing you were "poorly" over Thanksgiving, but happy to know you have since bounced back and that you are feeling much better now. I've been meaning to ask you how Bill's mother is doing these days. Thanks for the update. I'm sure she appreciated you sharing your Turkey Day feast with her. You have done so much to help her. You are a major blessing in her life. I hope you fixed a heaping platter for my buddy Benny.
Yessum, "A Thousand Dreams" was released around the same time as "Tears On My Pillow," and the songs sound quite similar. Back then, when one artist achieved a hit, several others were likely to rush-release their own versions or soundalike songs to cash in. Bobby Hendricks' copycat ballad was released on the B side of his lone hit, the fast-paced rock & roll song "Itchy Twitchy Feeling."
I'm delighted you knew some of the songs and had fun examining the clothing styles of autumn 1958. Stick around for Part 11 of the series which will take us through the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons of '58 and on into the early months of 1959. That post will appear in the days before Christmas.
Mrs. Shady's daughter and family just returned from a trip to SF and I enjoyed hearing them tell about seeing some of the same landmarks you featured in your A to Z Challenge. They saw the GG Bridge, but did not notice the section at the end devoted to "love locks." Drawing upon memories of what you told me in your post, I filled them in about the lovers' shrine. They also missed the famous Painted Ladies, and so I shared what I learned from you.
Thank you again for visiting Shady's Place and for your thoughtful comment. Please stay well and in good spirits and take good care of my buddy Benny. I hope to see you again the week of Christmas. Blessings to you and your family, dear friend Janet!
My nephew would really appreciate these dinosaur pictures. Also, is it bad that I still haven't seen Saved By the Bell yet? I'm sure I'm missing a lot because it's such a classic and a hit. And as always, I love seeing these ladies and their stunning dresses. I swear the fashion before is classier and fancier than today. I'm glad some of these styles are coming back. Or maybe they didn't really leave. Because that's what classic is right? They stay. No matter the trend.
ReplyDeleteHi, Lux!
DeleteI'm very pleased to see you, dear friend. Thanks for coming over!
Yessum, I encourage you to show your nephew the dinosaurs featured in this 36-part series. If he is anything like I was as a boy, he is utterly fascinated by the creatures. Around the age of five, I was given a high quality set of plastic dinos as a Christmas present. It was the best Christmas ever.
I don't think you should feel ashamed for not having watched Saved By The Bell. Truth be told, I was not a regular viewer of the school-based sitcom. I simply borrowed the name as a convenient way to introduce my blog series.
I'm delighted that you enjoy gazing at the pictures and illustrations depicting elegant women of the 1950s. Dressing up was more important back then, for men as well as women. I recently read that the younger generations do not favor wearing traditional business attire, opting for casual comfort in the workplace. To me, that is a great loss. I think you are correct. Classic looks like these will stick around, even though fewer people choose to dress this way in the 2020s.
Thanks again for your kind visit and comment, dear friend Lux. Look for Part 11 coming up just before Christmas. Until then, stay safe and well!
Hi Shady, It's amazing to find a picture of the Shady Dell Stables! Once again, I am grateful to Jim and Nancy for cleaning up these vintage records.
ReplyDeleteI remembered, Little Star and Tears on My Pillow. My radio stations would play the best 100 Golden Oldies when I was a teen. I got to know a lot of those songs that way. I loved both those songs. I didn't know the others, but thought, Count Every Star, was romantic.
Like other commenters, I love seeing the fashions. I liked the way people dressed up back then, just to go shopping, flying or to the doctor's office. All my life I've dressed up to go shopping. At the mall, people used to ask me if I worked there. My daughters used to also but not so much anymore. Thanks for the music!
Hi, Belle!
DeleteI'm finding your comment a day after you kindly left it, dear sister and friend. Thank you very much for coming to visit me at Shady's Place!
Yessum, I was ecstatic to have two different friends of the Dell, namely Jim Sieling and Toni Deroche, send me that rare image of a sign promoting the Shady Dell Stables. It reminds us that the Shady Dell was more than a restaurant and dance hall for teens. Horses were a big part of Helen and John's life. Every September from the late 60s through early 70s, my girlfriend and I (soon to become Mrs. Shady #1) attended the York Interstate Fair. Horse stables were located next to the racetrack at the grandstand, and we always went searching for the stalls where the horses from the Dell were kept. They competed in the Fair's harness races.
I'm happy that you recall two of the rusty relics in this set of five that peaked in the late summer and early fall of 1958. Like you, I came to know those songs growing up, because I was glued to my local top 40 radio station, and because my big brother and parents let me play the 45s in their respective record collections. My folks favored easy listening tunes like the ones you mentioned, while my brother dug rowdy, fast-paced rock & roll. Given their reputation as a wild bunch, it might seem strange that Dell rats also loved doo-wop love ballads and typically played them more often than rock & roll. Sweet, tender, soulful, slow dance friendly love songs afforded Dellions a chance to snuggle up close to their sweeties on the dance floor.
I'm also glad you enjoyed scrolling down and gazing at the fashions of the period. Yessum, as I keep mentioning in comments in this series, most people back then preferred a "put together" look. Before leaving the house, my mother always fussed at the mirror for the longest time, making sure her hair and makeup were just right. Like many women and girls, she was never satisfied with her appearance. My dad was a big influence in the way I dressed. He wore suits for nearly every occasion, and was often "overdressed." Like him, I enjoy wearing suits and actually feel more at home, more like myself, in them.
Thanks again for dropping by, Belle. I hope this dose of vintage music and memories gave your spirits a boost. Your wonderful comment made me smile and I appreciate it so much. Take good care of yourself, think happy thoughts, and look for Part 11 of Saved coming up 9 days from now on the 21st. I hope to see you then, dear sister-friend Belle!
Dear Mr Shady, those are some heavy hitter discs there! In the meantime, I am checking out some screamo from a guest on our 100th anniversary/Christmas party show, which I am here to invite you to. And I think I might just stay for the rest of that dynamite list! Party goes live Thursday next 9 AM (show up whenever!) Glad to see the Dell is still up and kicking!
ReplyDeleteHi, Chris!
DeleteHow have you been, good buddy? I'm happy to see your face back here at Shady's Place. Thanks for dropping in! I just now found your comments. The reason why they did not go to print automatically upon submission is because I have my blog set for comment moderation for any comments that come in two weeks or later after a post is published. Since returning recently from a five month break, I am maintaining a drastically reduced presence on the blog scene, pubbing only once a month from now on.
I'm glad you enjoyed Part 10 of this 36-part series and that you are curious to follow it all the way to the end. You are always welcome here. When I publish Part 11 next Thursday, I will be back on active blogging status for three days. I will be sure to check out your Christmas show at TAW. I plan to smooch your pooch Misty under the mistletoe, and do so in memory of Scrappy.
Thanks again for coming over, good buddy Chris. Have a great weekend and I'll be seeing you next Thursday!