Rowdies Were Not Welcome at
the Bell Creek Dancing Club

By, Claudia King

"Some Enchanted Evening" was a beautiful song from the 1949 musical South Pacific.  Many young girls were inspired by the lyrics.  "Some enchanted evening you will see a stranger across a crowded room."  With hopes high they attended the dances at Bell Creek often under the watchful eye of their mother or a concerned aunt.  Their chances of meeting that special someone were increased because many of the boys at the dance were from Paonia, Hotchkiss, Crawford, and Somerset.   In the 50's the Bell Creek dance was sometimes referred to as the Saturday night public "hoorah" dance.

Bell Creek dance hall is located on J-75 Drive soon to be renamed Back River Road.  This is the south road from Paonia to Hotchkiss.  Dances were held in the long rectangular building which had the dance floor on the east end.  This dance floor was considered one of the best on the Western Slope rivaling the gym floors of Pea Green, Crawford, Read and Paonia and the dance floor at the Arcadia in Montrose.  the dance hall was well lighted.  This was typical of all the dances in the 50's.  The band, located in the northeast corner, was often the Fobares from Hotchkiss.  The Fobare twins Wendell and Wayne played old favorites, "Harbor Lights," "Darktown Strutters' Ball," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "Begine the Beguine," "You, the Night and the Music," "Yes Sir, She's My Baby," while tapping out the beat with their feet.  The band often had a saxophone, piano and guitar.  Red Davis was a popular foot tapping banjo player.  Other musicians that played with the Fobares at different dances were Alva Watson, Shorty Hunien (sax), Lib Atkins (piano), and Matt Malaker.

The 50's were the heyday of the two step and jitterbug.  Polkas, such as "The Beer Barrel Polka" were also very popular.  Enjoyment of the polka was brought to this area by Bowie and Somerset, miners who came from Germany and Austria.  Many of their children grew up practicing the polka at home, at weddings and on the dance floor.

Returning to a physical description of the dance hall, one interesting feature was the windows.  Shutters on the windows were lowered for ventilation.  When the dance was over, these shutters were raised with a rope to make the building secure.  Besides the dancing area there was a kitchen, dining space and even a powder room for the ladies.  Men were not so lucky.  Outside the building in the parking lot there were problems as was true of most North Fork public dances in the 50's.  Some of the dancers returned to their car for a drink.  Finding your true love here was unlikely and risky.  However, members of the Bell Creek Dancing Club emphasized that people coming to the dance be well behaved, screening people who came in the door.  No one was admitted unless they observed the rules of the club.  Rowdies were not welcome.

Bell Creek started as a private dancing club for members.  It was more active before World War II and became open to the public in later years.  Some of the early families who participated were Wheelers, Connells, Bruces, Dales, Baileys, Nortons, Carvilles, Campbells, Taylors, Shoenings, Wests and Gillespies.  Many of these people lived on Stewart Mesa or Bone Mesa.  Descendants of these families still reside in the North Fork Valley.

In the 30's and 40's, besides other events, the club had evening potlucks at the Bell Creek.  The kitchen was near the west end of the hall.  After the meal, dishes were washed and the dining tables moved together and pushed up against the wall.  Maurice Dale, who was a young boy in early 40's stated "The club was family oriented so kids were welcome to the potluck.  When it was time for us to go to sleep our folks would just line us all up on the tables.  Then our folks danced the night away."

The dancers and the band rested during intermission enjoying sandwiches, cake, punch and coffee brought by the Bell Creek members.  Both ballroom dancing and square dancing were enjoyed by all.