Ginger Slept Here Rogers Ginger Rogers and are

j: perhaps the most beloved dancing ‘.4.

,•~..-4’.-., ‘.41’ ~ ..•‘ Quaker Street couple • ~; ‘4.. 1~ ~•~~••p. .~.,, -. duo ever paired on the big screen. .‘I ‘~ recounts celebrity visit to I - 4. -. — — ‘:~ -. During the 1930’s and ‘40s, they co their home. : ~, . ,,~

by Duncan Crary — . starred in ten musical films, includ

Every Thanksgiving in Quaker Street is special. • ~‘ ~ - ‘, 4 1 ing , , But there’s one Thanksgiving that the people of this sleepy Schenectady County hamlet are still and Swing Time. Some of their talking about - the year Ginger Rogers, legendary i,; ~ A dance partner of Fred Astaire, came to town. classic numbers include “It’s almost like the folklore of Quaker Street,” t• “~ - said Debby Peters, who lives in the house at 219 ,,iI~” •~‘~ Quaker Lane where Rogers visited in 1946. Unlike “A Needle In A Haystack,” “Cheek 1. 41 most folklore, though, Debby and her husband, John, actually have proof that the historical visit To Cheek” and “Let’s Call the occurred - a March 4, 1947, copy of Look maga zine with a six-page photo spread of the super •1~ star’s visit to their home near the Schoharie -. Whole Thing Off.” Though the Valley. “That’s our house,” Debby exclaims, thumbing films generally lacked a strong through the old magazine as if it were her first ~ — ..$, ~ time seeing it. Beneath a large photograph of the ~ ~ ~ plot, the co-stars’ on-screen romance celebrity dancing with her husband’s grandfather .4. .4 John Briggs, the headline reads, “Ginger Rogers helped divert audiences from the grim Meets Her In-Laws: The Briggses of upstate New • . . 7 .~7 York welcome a famous relative.” Following a realities of the Great Depression and short account of the visit are a handful of photo ‘ /~, graphs of the silver screen star waltzing with rela ~‘ ~ World War II. Today, the vintage ;~ ‘~~j— 4 .4 . .•,•• •‘~: ••~~ 4 •,_.~ movies still hold a special place in the

~ ~ hearts of many Americans. • ~ ~ ., •p.~. ~ &, 4 ,-~ j;.

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March 4, 1947 Look magazine photos... above: Singing ‘round the piano ~ tives in the family parlor, singing songs around the In 1943, Ginger Rogers married Quaker Street Quaker Sreet. Ginger Rogers is just left piano and visiting the general store which still native Marine John “Jack” Calvin Briggs II (one of five of center. stands just down the street. John’s favorite spread men to have married Rogers). Briggs was also involved shows the family gathered around the dinner table in making movies. After he returned from the war, the

top right: Thanksgiving dinner at 219 with captions for every item of food, such as “3 - couple was to begin work on Rogers’ latest film, Wild

Quaker Lane. sugar and cream, a quart was used; 5 - 201b. home- Calendar, with Briggs as associate producer. But grown turkey and stuffing;” and “7 - squash.” before filming started, they headed to Quaker Street bottom right: Neighbors try to catch a In another photograph, three children stand on to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of Jack’s glimpse of a celebrity at her the porch. The caption reads, “Quakerstreet [sic] grandparents, John and Bertha Briggs, on Nov. 24,

Schenectady County in-laws, movie fans peered through the dining room win- 1946 - the week of Thanksgiving. A photographer dows while Ginger ate her dinner. The town was from Look came along to document the visit. 111111 ‘ 011101111 left: 219 Quaker Lane today. agog, but only a few asked for autographs.” That In 1940, Rogers won a Best Actress Oscar for her Dave Scranton photo one is Debby’s favorite. “They’re peeking in this role as a young lady from the wrong side of the tracks window. I love it,” she said. in Kitty Foyle. The following year, she starred in the

60 Mohawk Valley Heritage• Winter 2005 Mohawk Valley HeritageS Winter 2005 61