Peering at the Past Whoopee John, Wee Willie and Six Fat Dutchmen

Part three of a series

Versatility was valuable for many dance bands that played in southeast Minnesota during the 1930s and 1940s. Local newspapers frequently advertised upcoming dances, emphasizing both “Old Time and New Time Music” or “Modern and Old Time Music.”

“Old Time Music” included dances brought by European immigrants – waltzes, polkas, schottisches – the latter a round dance resembling a slow polka. Janice Dean, who grew up in Rushford, also recalls the “circle two-step.” Two circles were formed, women on the inside, which rotated in opposite directions until a command was announced to dance with the person in front of you. Next, a large circle was formed – alternating women and men. At the next command, you would partner with the person either in front of you or behind.

“New Time” or “Modern” music was part of the “Swing Era” or Big Band Era (about 1935-1945) of American jazz that would follow the written melody rather than improvising. Swing bands or big bands were typically orchestras, consisting of 12 to 25 musicians playing saxophones, trombones and trumpets plus a rhythm section. Many received national acclaim, such as Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw. Some enjoyed additional popularity when joined by popular singers, most notably Frank Sinatra.

If a band specialized, the ad might inform dancers with wording, such as “All Modern” or “old time waltzes.” A well-known “modern only” band or “old-time only” band could attract a large crowd, but a combination would attract a greater variety of patrons. However, the greater population in La Crosse, Wis., allowed Avalon Ballroom to offer “modern” music on Saturdays and “old-time” selections on Sundays. In 1937, the annual Spring Grove firemen’s fundraiser went three nights with a Thursday movie, Friday old-time dance and Saturday modern dance.

In southeast Minnesota, a local swing band would likely have fewer musicians than the national orchestras. The popular Hanke’s Harmonizers was an eight-piece orchestra. A 1938 Caledonia dance drew special notice when a local band was joined by a Twin Cities radio musician. “Dance to Vic Zimmerhakl and his orchestra featuring Happy Jack Holm of W.D.G.Y. on Hawaiian guitar.”

Numerous area bands were kept busy on local dance floors, such as The Tyroleans, Carpenter Brothers, Kelly Brothers Harp Orchestra, Langen’s Band, Pea Pickers and Rudy Hauser Band. A Caledonia newspaper advertised dances featuring 16 different bands in both 1938 and 1939. And they were not the same 16. There were numerous appearances by Don Victor and His Orchestra, Peerless Dance Band, and Al Seidel and His Accordion Band.

Performing frequently in the 1940s and 1950s was the nationally-recognized, Six Fat Dutchmen, which originally formed in New Ulm, Minn., was voted for seven consecutive years Number One Polka Band by the National Ballroom Operators Association. They were known for the “oom-pah” style of polka music from Germany and the German-speaking areas of Czechoslovakia.

There were numerous visits from another New Ulm group “Whoopee John, America’s Favorite Polka Band,” an 11-piece radio recording band who, in 1948, could be heard every Sunday afternoon on the Twin Cities station WTCN.

A regional, but well-known radio band might be on tour, such as the 1938 Caledonia appearance of Joe Fejar and his radio band from WNAX in Yankton, S. Dak., as well as Moeller’s Accordion Band of WOI, Ames, Iowa. Playing three nights during the 1939 Houston County Fair was the Mike Barnes Revue Band of Chicago.

Caledonia also attracted some musicians making national tours, such as ARIONS, America’s only all-blind novelty band on their second national tour. Not to be overlooked was Ruth Coleman and her all-girl band – “nine girls giving you that sweetheart of swing music.”

There was some interest in minority musicians touring this far north. Wee Willie and the Memphis Blue Devils, a colored band with a girl soloist, made it to Caledonia in 1939. That same year, it was “Don Clifton’s Rhythm Aces with 13 colored collegiate swingsters, America’s only colored college band.” The previous autumn, it was “Jimmy Claybrook and his 14 colored collegians, direct from Piney Woods College, Miss.”

Amazingly, 13 of the nation’s biggest name orchestras played for dances in Caledonia during a span of 30 months during the early 1950s. That extraordinary story follows next week.