Sweet melodies and a smooth dance floor
It’s 88 years since the Great Depression began, and only with difficulty can we visualize just how harrowing life was. Despite the misery, in 1931 Kitchener’s Nelson Shantz and Adam Hoffman preferred to look on the sunny side of the street: they gambled that no matter how bad things became, people would always want to dance.
Buying property in Waterloo Township along Highway 8, southeast of the Freeport Bridge, they erected a legendary dance hall that lasted until the mid-1960s.
Known first as The Piccaninny, then The Moonglow, it was given a new name in 1938, when William Neufeld took over — TuLane Gardens. Through the 1940s, dance bands with crooning or bluesy singers played swing, sweet and jazz at TuLane. Business was good, especially in the war years. Theoretically a liquor-free dance hall selling sandwiches and soft drinks, TuLane was regularly raided by township police in search of smuggled-in booze.
Business waned after the war and Neufeld sold to Kitchener entrepreneur Ross Bullas in 1947. (Bullas had a friend named Lynn and Pine Grove school was directly across the highway — thus the name Rosslynn Grove. Today that school is part of Borealis Restaurant.) Any decent dance hall needs a decent house band and Bullas was on the lookout.
Last week, Flash from the Past left the Merv Himes Band sitting pretty in late 1948 at Burlington’s Brant Inn, sharing the bill with some of America’s biggest music stars. The Brant wanted to hire the band for 1949, but over the winter Merv had met Ross Bullas. Since most of the band’s players were from Kitchener, Waterloo and Galt, and since Highway 8 between Preston and Kitchener was much closer than Highway 8 in Burlington, the decision was easy. For the next half-dozen years, the Merv Himes Band and Rosslynn Grove were synonymous. Opening night 1949? A disaster! The band outnumbered the couples. Most area dancers preferred Preston’s recently-opened Leisure Lodge or Galt’s Highlands, but within a month, word of mouth ensured that Rosslynn Grove was packed every weekend night. Sweet, melodic music was the Merv Himes Band’s specialty, although several members enjoyed acting outrageously during numbers. On one occasion Himes picked up his trumpet and blew — nothing. One of his “pals” had shoved gum into the mouthpiece.
Although primarily associated with Rosslynn Grove, the band played other engagements too. When touring American artists came to Kitchener, regulations decreed that a local band had to appear also. One such gig for Himes was opening for Gary Crosby at the new Kitchener Memorial Auditorium. Another nearby venue was described in Peter Young’s book, “Let’s Dance.” The pavilion at Puslinch Lake offered romantic evenings of dancing and music beside the calm waters. Frank Smith recalled: “It had glass-paned doors along both sides, which opened onto an openair veranda for cuddly dances, a breath of cool air, whatever. I can still picture us small kids looking in on the glamorous couples gliding and swaying to the music of Merv Himes and his orchestra.”
Although he loved music, Himes started another career in the mid-1950s. “For Sale” signs began appearing in Galt with the logo, “Merv Himes Real Estate.” Soon his energies were devoted full-time to that career and his family. The band, now led by Roy Anderson, carried on for a few years. Later, in the 1980s, Himes could be found in “The Over the Hill Gang” a Dixieland combo playing Saturday afternoons at the Highlands. Himes began spending his winters in Naples, Florida, the retirement-place-of-choice for many American band players, so the Naples Concert Band was renowned and it featured Himes’ trumpet.
All things come to an end: Rosslynn Grove burned April 27, 1964; Merv Himes died on Dec. 19, 1990.
For more photos, go to www.therecord.com.