Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs!
Jitterbuggers who recently attended St. Louis' 'Rollin' on the River' convention over Labor Day weekend couldn't turn around without seeing a member club's sign or elaborate miniature replica. They might have come face-to-face with a giant skyscraper, a National Monument, a lighted carousel or a couple of race courses! And naturally, many folks may have wondered how these displays first came about.
"It all started about 8 or 9 years ago," remembered Chicago jitterbugger Gabrielle Gang. "We were (and still are) a rowdy bunch, and my late partner, George Baer, had a sign made that said 'Chicago---The Party People!' We wanted to let everybody know that we were there, and that we were gonna party!"
Gabrielle relates how things developed after that: "Gary Chaney saw our sign in Nashville, so he decided to create a makeshift sign for the St. Louis people. Gary told me that 'Chicago may have started this sign thing, but St. Louis showed Chicago how to party!' "
Following suit, the Indy Brickyard Boogie Dancers, the Louisville Derby City club, and a couple of other clubs started putting displays on their tables. In Indianapolis, after Vice-President Carolyn Dorsey suggested that their club needed a sign, President Ron Fentz encouraged her to take on the project. This led to their Indy 500 themed display, complete with bricks (the Indy 500 race course is called 'The Brickyard), checkered flags, and, just added this year, an Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl Championship sign!
Meanwhile, back in St. Louis, not content with their makeshift sign, West County Swing Dance Club's President Bud Waters decided to take the friendly competition to an entirely new level. This led to his impressive replica of St. Louis' famous Gateway Arch, including the Spirit of St. Louis airplane and an intricate display of bright lights, which sends out a beacon that lets everybody know that St. Louis is in the house!
A year ago, Bud took his Arch to Sweet Home Chicago, where Chicagoans were suitably impressed and awed, not to mention more than a little bit jealous! Jokingly Bud recommended to Chicago that they should make their own Sear's Tower, since it was so much bigger than the Arch.
After this suggestion was laughed at and dismissed, Bud returned to St. Louis, where he set out to create his latest masterpiece, an exact, to scale, replica of Chicago's famous Sear's Tower, for a long time the tallest building in the world. He presented this as a gift to the gang from Chicago at the 2006 'Rollin' on the River'. Bud recalls "The concept was to build something they couldn't refuse, that would be difficult to carry around, and was a 'little' taller than the Arch...to keep up the competitive spirit. A big joke that would cause our good dancing friends a little friendly grief."
But much to Bud's surprise, "The Chicago group loved it! They were supposed to be left scratching their heads on how to get the thing home. Instead, they've added a few touches of their own to the almost totally accurate scale model of the 1450 foot tall building!" And Chicagoan Jim Mauer, custodian and caretaker of the replica, makes sure that the Sear's Tower is present whenever Chicago hits the road!
Fast forward to the just-completed 2007 'Rollin' on the River', where no less than 7 signs and displays could be viewed by conventioneers! In addition to Windy City's sign and skyscraper, St. Louis' Arch, and the Indy 500 display, the following clubs have produced their own displays: the newly-formed Lake of the Ozarks club, where President Bill Smith and Treasurer Rosina Moehlenkamp spent 8 hours making a table decoration copied after their club logo, which consists of a dancing couple, with a lake and palm trees in the background; the Louisville Derby City folks, who made a miniature Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby; and the Chicago Jitterbug club (the South Side club), who created a lovely, lighted, rotating carousel.
And with a number of clubs yet to be heard from, there's no telling where the (friendly) Great Sign Competition will end!
Little known facts about the displays:
- The Chicago Party People sign: When not at conventions, Gabrielle uses the sign to help her get an even suntan!
- The Sear's Tower: If you climb to the top of the replica, you can actually see an open space on the dance floor....but by the time you climb back down, it's usually taken.
- The Gateway Arch: Embedded inside the Arch, locked away for posterity, are Willie Santacruz's secret family Mexican recipes!
- The Indy 500: The display goes from 0 to 60 in 3 seconds! Also, their Super Bowl trophy should be sitting on top of Chicago's Sear's Tower, except for that goofy Bears quarterback, Rex Grossman...........but I digress.
- The Carousel: The symbols on the carousel are actually ancient hieroglyphics that descibe how the Pharoahs used to jitterbug all night, 'til the camels came home!
- Lake of the Ozarks logo display: Before the last Ice Age, there really were palm trees in Missouri. One was recently found that has Dick Clark's image carved into it!
- Churchill Downs: Inside each spire is a machine that makes a perfect Mint Julep!
