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THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 27, Number 31 Thursday, August 11, 2011 “I Could Have Danced All Night” -- How About 64 Days?? by Rick A. Richards When the LaPorte Casino vided among the other “mad Roller Rink opened in 1922 it marathon” winners. was billed as a big band dance When it began, everyone hall. Although it’s known today thought it would be a nice as a skating rink, on telltale weekend event. The result clue of its original purpose is caught everyone by surprise – the shape of its fl oor. a dance marathon that lasted It’s square, which is the until July 27, 64 days and 8 shape dance halls used; roller hours, a total of 1,543 hours of rinks were usually a rectan- dancing. gle. The building’s heyday as a During the event, partici- dance hall lasted only about a pants were carted from the decade, but a lot of history was dance fl oor by doctors and crammed into those 10 years. nurses, one participant had his Grainy black and white imag- tooth pulled while dancing, the es are all that remain of dance city council in LaPorte passed a marathons, one of a number of ban on dance marathons – and endurance fads that swept the two of the participants got mar- nation for a decade in the mid- ried. 1920s to the mid-1930s. The In the days leading up to the fi rst offi cials dance marathon event, the LaPorte Herald-Ar- was reported in 1923 and Alma gus daily newspaper reported, Cummings is given credit for “The hall has been decorated dancing 27 straight hours in especially for the evenings. A Form was not a concern during the Mad Marathon dance New York City. competition. (Photo courtesy of the Sietz Family) diet kitchen is being installed Promoters soon realized and training quarters are being there was profi t to be made in dance marathons. built. An inter- Not only could they make money from entry fees by esting part of dangling a cash prize, there was money to be made each marathon on concessions, souvenirs, and admission to side takes place be- events like fl agpole sitting or endurance swinging. hind the scenes That was the atmosphere on May 24, 1930, when and the man- the Knights of Pythias in LaPorte partnered with agement an- Chicago promoter M.C. Altenburg to host a “mad nounced that marathon” of six events – dancing, bicycling, fl ag the public is in- pole sitting, sewing, swinging and ball bouncing. vited to inspect There were other diversions, too, like a bathing the diet kitchen beauty contest in which the winner was selected by and visit train- loudest applause. ing quarters at A public health nurse checks the pulse of one of the participants taking part in the 1930 dance Grand prize was $1,000 with $400 going to the any time.” marathon in LaPorte, Ind. dance winners. Second place was to receive $150 (Photo courtesy of the Sietz family) and third place, $50. The remaining $400 was di- Dance Continued on Page 2 THE Page 2 August 11, 2011 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 In Case Of Emergency, Dial e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] email: Classifieds - [email protected] http://www.thebeacher.com/ PRINTED WITH Published and Printed by TM Trademark of American Soybean Association THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden 911 Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is also delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. Dance Continued from Page 1 By Memorial Day, 158 hours into the marathon, As the mara- eight pairs of dancers remained. The newspaper thon dragged reported, “Miss Helen McKenna of LaPorte, one of on through the the dancers, collapsed at 9:45 last night, but was late spring and revived in the four and one-half minutes allowed. summer, public She was able to complete the eight minutes until interest grew her rest period, and after that, was able to continue and more and in the contest.” more showed Dancers were allowed a 15-minute break every up. Throughout hour to sleep, eat or get a massage, although they the event, the had to pay for that. Herald-Argus printed up- dates, the fi rst coming at 41 hours when it was announced that “15 pairs of dancers, two fl agpole sitters and two swing- ers are still go- ing strong.” Among the events during the 1930 Mad The bicycle Marathon at the LaPorte Casino was pole endurance com- sitting. (Photo courtesy of the Sietz family) petition ended after 27 hours and 34 minutes, when “Bus” Hurley of Michigan City was declared the winner. No pub- Participants in the dance marathon at LaPorte Casino in 1930 use their lished reports have been found on the results of the 15 minute hourly break to rest. (Photo courtesy of the Sietz family) other four “Mad Marathon” events. Occasional newspaper reports continued but it was the reports at 281 hours and 300 hours that turned a money losing venture into a profi table one. At 281 hours, the Herald-Argus reported, “Wyatt DeWitt, one of the dancers, had a tooth pulled while dancing. The operation was performed by Dr. W. E. Moyer.” At 300 hours in another report, the newspaper said: “Couple leaves Casino at 2 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, dance to Newark Store and rest 20 min- utes in window; dance to county clerk’s offi ce and get license, then to Ruvelson’s Jewelry Store and rest 20 minutes; dance back to Casino and then everyone should be there to see them (Thurman Sietz and Thelma Haney) married Wed. Night at 9:30 p.m.” Both events were so unexpected, that specta- tors began fl ooding the LaPorte Casino. The infl ux A colllapsed dancer at the Mad Marathon in LaPorte in 1930 is tended to of new paying customers solidifi ed the marathon’s by onlookers. (Photo courtesy of the Sietz family) bottom line. THE August 11, 2011 Page 3 No one knows whether it was a spontaneous deci- sion for Thurman Sietz and Thelma Haney to mar- ry, but it does seem out of character, says Bill Sietz, the 81-year-old nephew of the couple. He and his wife, Virginia, have been married 52 years and live in rural LaPorte County. “If you knew them, you wouldn’t expect that,” said Virginia. “They were sort of prim and proper. They were very straightforward people.” Bill & Virginia Seitz show off some of the memorabilia of their uncle and aunt, Thurman and Thelma Sietz, who got married during a break in the “Mad Marathon” dance contest at the LaPorte Casino in 1930. (Photo by Rick A. Richards) What Bill and Virginia knew about Thurman and Thelma is that they were avid roller skat- ers and traveled the Midwest visiting skating rinks from Wis- consin to Ohio. In a frame, they have decals and patches from Thurman and Thelma Sietz were avid skaters and visited rinks all over the Midwest. These dozens of roller are charms that Thurman apparently bought rinks, and in a and gave to Thelma as gifts. small jewel box, (Photo by Rick A. Richards) there are gold roller skate charms apparently given to Thelma by her husband. “We knew they loved to skate, but we didn’t know about this,” said Bill when shown newspaper clip- pings of the dance marathon wedding. “Of course skating back then was different than today. Then, they used clamp on skates that you at- tached to your shoes,” said Bill Sietz. Bill and Virginia chuckled as they read about Thurman’s and Thelma’s wedding day: “Two con- testants in the $1,000 Mad Marathon still going at the LaPorte Casino, left the dance fl oor today, long enough to dance up town aboard a truck, stop at County Clerk Othie Jack’s offi ce to get a marriage Dance Continued on Page 4 THE Page 4 August 11, 2011 Dance Continued from Page 3 license and then continue dancing to some uptown stores and back to the Casino.” During the scheduled break in the marathon at 432 hours (18 days into the competition), the La- Porte Herald-Argus reported: “Miss Thelma Haney and Thurman Sietz, both of LaPorte, will stop their prolonged waltz for the more serious business of getting married, as a feature of the marathon at the LaPorte Casino.” As the Mad Marathon got into its fi nal days, all rest breaks were taken in full view of the public. (Photo courtesy of the Sietz family) Even so, on July 8, the LaPorte City Coun- cil unanimously passed an ordinance prohibiting dance marathons. Violations called for a fi ne of at least $25 up to maximum of $200. Even though the ordinance took immediate effect, it didn’t stop the Mad Marathon because LaPorte Casino was just outside city limits. For much of the rest of July, virtually nothing appeared in the newspaper. Then at 1,217 hours Dance marathon participants Thurman Sietz and Thelma Haney recite their wedding vows to Justice of the Peace Henry F. Weber during a newspaper reports resumed, this time announcing break in the comptition. (Photo provided by the Sietz family) the largest crowd of the event. Justice of the Peace Henry F. Weber performed Apparently what fueled the surge was a compet- the ceremony and the wedding party consisted of ing dance marathon in Fort Wayne, Ind., which other contestants.