Anderson, who frequented the Hatfield dance hall, said what he most remembers of the Hollyhock is Jerry Lee Lewis playing there in the early 1960s. He also remembers performances by Bobby Vee and Conway Twitty, who was known for rock and roll at the time.
Anderson and his friend Tom Tracy traveled from Worthington for the Hollyhock exhibit’s grand opening on March 6. Tracy worked security at the Hollyhock for nine years starting when owner Alvin Kirby hired him in 1965. Tracy said he remembers performances by regional groups including Steve Ellis and the Starfires, who were also customers of the Hollyhock, and national groups including the Everly Brothers.
“There were lots of bands,” Tracy said.
Hearing memories about those bands has been rewarding for Susan Hoskins, executive director of the Pipestone County Museum.
“That’s why we do this,” Hoskins said. “It’s worth remembering.”
Hoskins said the Hollyhock exhibit is different than many due to the fact that the Museum owns just a few of the pieces on display and the rest are on loan from community members. She said that fact made it an enjoyable exhibit to assemble.
Among the pieces owned by the Museum is a floor joist with strips of tire attached. The rubber strips beneath the dance floor gave the surface some cushion that allowed patrons to dance longer without their feet becoming sore, something that made it clear that “this ballroom was for dancers,” Hoskins said.
Hoskins said her favorite part of the exhibit is the photos of people enjoying themselves at the Hollyhock throughout the 55 years it was open from 1933 to 1988. Objects, she said, are nothing on their own. What makes them special is the atmosphere they create and the photos provide a glimpse into that atmosphere.
One unique piece of atmosphere from the Hollyhock is a large tree that stood in front of the building. That tree was incorporated into the exhibit thanks to Joni Petersen, vice president of the Pipestone County Historical Society Board. Petersen came up with the idea to paint the tree, or at least its trunk, on the wall near the entrance to the exhibit and Dave Rambow painted it. The tree’s likeness now welcomes people to the exhibit as the actual tree welcomed people to the Hollyhock.
Originally the Museum planned to put together a broader exhibit featuring several area dance halls and ballrooms, as featured in its 2015 calendar, but the plan changed during the roughly one-year process to assemble the exhibit.
“As it came together, it was the Hollyhock,” Hoskins said. “The one people talk about is the Hollyhock.”
It also helped that the Hollyhock Ballroom will be inducted into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Music Association Hall of Fame on April 18 at the Ramkota Exhibit Hall in Sioux Falls.
“The Hollyhock has long been on the list of almost local establishments to Sioux Falls and South Dakota to be inducted,” said Mark Aspaas, South Dakota Rock and Roll Music Association board chair. “Nearly everyone who was anyone played the Hollyhock and it is very deserving of the award.”
The Museum’s exhibit honoring the Hollyhock will be on display until March 2016.
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