The Biggest Regret of My Life: A Candid, Heartfelt Confession by Shady Del Knight

I'm down in the dumps, dear friend, and you'll soon know why.

Years ago on my old Shady Dell Music & Memories blog, I posted

for the first time two amazing photographs. The pics, taken at

the Shady Dell in 1961, were generously shared with us

by original Dell Rat Lynn Budesheim.

The photo above shows Dell rats chit-chatting in "The Barn" - the Dell's

historic dance hall. The blonde girl on the left was identified as

Debbie the Dellette   Lynn's friend Joyce Spahr Miller.

The second shows Joyce (left) out on the floor dancing to a jukebox tune.

Note that it was common at the time for two or more girls to dance

with each other at the Dell and other venues. Wish I knew which

Dell song was playing at the moment that picture was snapped.

All these years, I never thought anyone would ever be able

to top Lynn's priceless contribution - those amazing photos

of Dellions in the dance hall. But now, thanks to a couple

more original Dell rats who recently came forward-- I can!

 TODAY, I PROUDLY 

  PREVENT PRESENT 

  MORE EXHIBITS  

 IN MY SERIES...

  SHADY DELL 

 SHOW AND TELL! 

 AND SHIRLEY, 

 THESE ARE THE 

 BEST OF ALL!  

Regrets, I've had a few

But then again too few to mention

But, sincerely folks, there is one big regret worth mentioning.

I deeply regret the day I stopped going to the Shady Dell.

 That sad day inevitably came when I graduated college, found a job in another city,

moved away from York, got married and "settled down." I spent the next 50+ years

wondering what the Dell was like in the weeks, months and years that followed my

departure, how much the look of the place and the Dell crowd had changed and

all the fun I might have had if I could have stayed on the scene a little longer.

Well, now I know. Boy, do I know!

 FOUND FOOTAGE! 

You see, just recently, two original Dell rats of the 1970s

and 1980s - Al B. Dern and Yul B. Smitten - reached out

and generously donated ultra-rare films they themselves

recorded inside the Dell's dance hall in the months

and years after I hung up my Dell rat ears.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

 

The priceless Super-8 footage seen here, captured by Al and Yul on

the Dell dance floor in the early 70s, has me eating my heart out,

knowing (and especially seeing) all that I missed!

(early 1970s) typical Friday night crowd

at the Shady Dell - film courtesy of

Al B. Dern and Yul B. Smitten

I always knew I had lousy timing, and the films shot by

Dell rats Al and Yul are a brutal reminder that-- "I been

in the right place, but it must have been the wrong time."

Here's my story, it's sad but true

It's about a girl that I never knew

dancing Dellette of the post-Shady Del Knight era

- film courtesy of Al B. Dern and Yul B. Smitten

The above clip is a painful reminder that a future Mrs. Shady

might have been waiting for me right there on the Dell

dance floor. But, alas, I was gone, retired, washed up.

Our epic romance was simply not meant to be!

(10 second pause while Shady sobs)

Having regained my composure, allow me to show you

the next amazing film clip contributed by new friends

of the Dell Al B. Dern and Yul B. Smitten.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

As you might have noticed by now, soon after I left the Shady Dell

for good, the demographics at my favorite hangout suddenly

skyrocketed to 99% female! Oh, the pain... the pain!

"Wall-to-Wall Dellettes!"  - film courtesy

of Al B. Dern and Yul B. Smitten

But wait -- there's more!  I have proof that the 1980s brought

even greater, more drastic changes to the Shady Dell dance hall.

The rare footage you are about to see, recorded by Al and Yul

and their candid cameras, shows us that a movie screen was

installed, a stage was erected and live rock bands played

to standing-room-only crowds of boisterous Dellettes!

live band performs in Dell "barn" in May, 1987

- film courtesy of Al B. Dern and Yul B. Smitten

If only I had continued on as a Dell rat one more night,

I would have witnessed this exciting all-Dellette

"Dance Contest." I'll never forgive myself

for flying the coop prematurely!

 

"Oldies Night" dance contest held in June 1971,

the night after I stopped going to the Dell! -

film courtesy of Al B. Dern and Yul B. Smitten  

Yessum, in the years after I turned in my Dell Rat badge,

it was "anything goes" in the old barn.  Al, Yul and their

trusty Super-8 cams gathered graphic visual proof

that some mighty strange characters frequented

the joint and bizarre antics abounded.

And the man at the back said "Everyone attack"

and it turned into a ballroom blitz! - film

courtesy of Al B. Dern and Yul B. Smitten

Shirley the news headlines will read "Dell Alum Makes Good"

once the MSM get their hands on this rare footage shot by Al

and Yul. It shows Debbie the Dellette, the most popular girl

ever to attend our dear old alma mater, all grown up and

performing with her dance troupe in The Barn. Yessum,

the cameras were rolling on "Homecoming Night" as

Debbie & The Dellettes brought their "Can't Wait

For The Weekend To Begin" tour back to

York, PA, and the Shady Dell!

Debbie & The Dellettes "Can't Wait For The

Weekend To Begin" National Tour Homecoming -

film courtesy of Al B. Dern and Yul B. Smitten

Clearly, the film footage you are watching, secretly collected

by Dell rats Al B. Dern and Yul B. Smitten... locked away

in a vault for decades and made public for the first time

today exclusively here at Shady's Place... shows us

the shocking truth about the post-Shady Dell.

Jan & Dean's hit record "Surf City" boasted

"2 girls for every boy." Shucks, that's nothing!

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

These mind-boggling home-away-from-home movies

taken by Al and Yul reveal that the girl-boy ratio at

the Dell in the 70s and 80s was "a million to one!"

"The Great Dellette Invasion" of the early 70s

- film courtesy of Al B. Dern and Yul B. Smitten

Rats! Woe is me! Why was I in such a hurry

to leave the Dell behind and "grow up"?

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

 As these rare flicks donated by Al and Yul indicate,

I missed a heck of a lot when I left York to begin

my so-called "adult life" in another city!

The Shady Dell dance hall, totally unrecognizable

in the years after I departed - film courtesy

 of Al B. Dern and Yul B. Smitten

And there you have it, my friends. The biggest regret

of my life is that I left the Shady Dell too soon.

I wasn't there to witness my old hangout's incredible early 1970s transformation...

...and the even more stunning metamorphosis that followed in the 80s.

I've been kicking myself ever since Dell rats Al and Yul sent me

their film reel offering indisputable proof of a Shady Dell

most of us "old timers" never even knew existed...

...a swinging underground scene overrun by robo-babes!

Now, here I sit, five decades later, with tears in my eyes...

wondering "what if?" and feeling sorry, not so much for myself...

but for all those young women who never had the chance to meet

and, more importantly, to date and marry Shady Del Knight.

Thanks for hearing me out, dear friend. In parting, I'd like to wish you a

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

A SUPER GROOVY
ST. SWITHUN'S DAY!

AND, MOST OF ALL, A...

 

 HAPPY 

 APRIL FOOLS' DAY!