Spring greetings friends. Spring has sprung, as the saying goes. Winter may have an occasional gasp left, but we can say goodbye to winter weather.
The subject of today's column is “dancing,” which was very popular years ago. We danced at nightclubs, at social functions and at dances sponsored by various organizations and individuals. The type of dancing that we did was referred to as ballroom dancing. Mainly it included the waltz, fox trot, rumba, tango, swing and polka.
Two of the most popular at the time were fox trot and swing. The dancing that we did to swing music we called jitterbugging.
My favorite nightclub for dancing was Club Dickman. It was in an all glass building which used to be a greenhouse. Its slogan was “dancing under the stars,” which was very appropriate since it had a glass roof. It had a large polished dance floor, which could accommodate large numbers of dancers. Many out-of-towners would come to Club Dickman for dinner and dancing.
The music at Club Dickman was provided by Hal Baker and his Night Owls. It was a full-size orchestra that played great dance music. My only regret is that I did not go there often enough to enjoy both listening and dancing to this music.
Another popular night spot was The Belvedere where the band of Joe Manzone, “the little king of swing,” provided the music for dancing. Manzone played saxophone and clarinet, and the others in the band were Mike Cervo who played trumpet, Joe Cappiello who played piano, and Sam Mamuscia on drums.
Cappiello was a cousin of mine who played and taught piano almost his entire life and who died in his 90s. I guess that being devoted to the piano promotes longevity.
Manzone's four-piece band played his regular gig at the Belvedere. However, when he played elsewhere for special functions, he would often enlarge his orchestra.
Another night spot where you could dance was The Albee at the corner of Clark and Columbus streets. Before it became The Albee, it was the Venice Restaurant. Music at The Albee was by the Jimmy Clayton Orchestra and was ideal for dancing and enjoyable for listening.
Another cousin of mine, Mike Signorelli, played with this band and was also the vocalist. A song that I remember him singing was “I Love Paris in the Springtime.” I'm not sure if that is the title of the song, but those words are in it.
One time I went to The Albee with a date, and when we got up to dance, she took off her shoes. I'm glad I didn't step on her toes.
Another place to dance was the Citizens' Club on State Street, which today is the Elks Club. Music was by the Frank “Midge” Lentini band with Midge on drums. When it became Green Acres, the Bobby Doyle Band provided the music.
During the warm weather months, there was also dancing at the lake parks. At Island Park, the Johnny Scolaro orchestra played at the Deauville Hotel. At Enna Jettick Park traveling dance bands played at the Pavilion. There was a different band each week and dancing every evening and on Sunday afternoons.
There were numerous clubs in Auburn that had multi-purpose halls that they rented out for various social affairs. There was dancing at most of these functions, which included wedding receptions, wedding anniversaries, birthday parties, graduation celebrations and holiday gatherings, among others. One of the most popular places for these social events was The Roman Club on Clark Street.
Though there were many places to dance in Auburn, another cousin of mine, Tony Greco, and I also went dancing in Syracuse during our younger days. There was a dance school on South Salina Street that had a dance every Saturday evening that was open to the public. Nearly all of the girls there were unescorted, so we had no trouble finding dancing partners. Tony became very friendly with one of the girls and looked forward to seeing her whenever we went dancing there.
On a few occasions we went dancing at the PLAV in Syracuse. This was the Polish Legion of American Veterans, when held weekly dances in those days.
This about does it for this time. I'll continue with this subject in a future column. In the meantime, put on a music disk and do a little dancing. It will do wonders for your disposition.
Carmelo Signorelli is an Auburn resident who enjoys reminiscing about the good ol' days
Two of the most popular at the time were fox trot and swing. The dancing that we did to swing music we called jitterbugging.
My favorite nightclub for dancing was Club Dickman. It was in an all glass building which used to be a greenhouse. Its slogan was “dancing under the stars,” which was very appropriate since it had a glass roof. It had a large polished dance floor, which could accommodate large numbers of dancers. Many out-of-towners would come to Club Dickman for dinner and dancing.
The music at Club Dickman was provided by Hal Baker and his Night Owls. It was a full-size orchestra that played great dance music. My only regret is that I did not go there often enough to enjoy both listening and dancing to this music.
Another popular night spot was The Belvedere where the band of Joe Manzone, “the little king of swing,” provided the music for dancing. Manzone played saxophone and clarinet, and the others in the band were Mike Cervo who played trumpet, Joe Cappiello who played piano, and Sam Mamuscia on drums.
Cappiello was a cousin of mine who played and taught piano almost his entire life and who died in his 90s. I guess that being devoted to the piano promotes longevity.
Manzone's four-piece band played his regular gig at the Belvedere. However, when he played elsewhere for special functions, he would often enlarge his orchestra.
Another night spot where you could dance was The Albee at the corner of Clark and Columbus streets. Before it became The Albee, it was the Venice Restaurant. Music at The Albee was by the Jimmy Clayton Orchestra and was ideal for dancing and enjoyable for listening.
Another cousin of mine, Mike Signorelli, played with this band and was also the vocalist. A song that I remember him singing was “I Love Paris in the Springtime.” I'm not sure if that is the title of the song, but those words are in it.
One time I went to The Albee with a date, and when we got up to dance, she took off her shoes. I'm glad I didn't step on her toes.
Another place to dance was the Citizens' Club on State Street, which today is the Elks Club. Music was by the Frank “Midge” Lentini band with Midge on drums. When it became Green Acres, the Bobby Doyle Band provided the music.
During the warm weather months, there was also dancing at the lake parks. At Island Park, the Johnny Scolaro orchestra played at the Deauville Hotel. At Enna Jettick Park traveling dance bands played at the Pavilion. There was a different band each week and dancing every evening and on Sunday afternoons.
There were numerous clubs in Auburn that had multi-purpose halls that they rented out for various social affairs. There was dancing at most of these functions, which included wedding receptions, wedding anniversaries, birthday parties, graduation celebrations and holiday gatherings, among others. One of the most popular places for these social events was The Roman Club on Clark Street.
Though there were many places to dance in Auburn, another cousin of mine, Tony Greco, and I also went dancing in Syracuse during our younger days. There was a dance school on South Salina Street that had a dance every Saturday evening that was open to the public. Nearly all of the girls there were unescorted, so we had no trouble finding dancing partners. Tony became very friendly with one of the girls and looked forward to seeing her whenever we went dancing there.
On a few occasions we went dancing at the PLAV in Syracuse. This was the Polish Legion of American Veterans, when held weekly dances in those days.
This about does it for this time. I'll continue with this subject in a future column. In the meantime, put on a music disk and do a little dancing. It will do wonders for your disposition.
Carmelo Signorelli is an Auburn resident who enjoys reminiscing about the good ol' days
The Citizens' Say
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catusk wrote on Mar 23, 2008 9:13 AM: