First kiss, first drink, maybe even a first love, were some of the memories made at the old style country dance halls in Lanark County in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Close to home, these community halls opened their doors on the May long weekend, and became the backdrop for cottage crushes and summer romances. With wooden floors polished to a high shine, and the snack-bars stocked with crowd-pleasing favourites, local bands entertained the crowds into the wee hours.
Some were neighbourhood musicians, and many were bands from out of town, but most used a single microphone and one or two small amplifiers. Parking lots became passion pits, and offered privacy for underage drinking, and occasional brawls.
Music echoed across the big lakes and rivers, keeping cottagers awake, and causing parents to wonder what was going on down at the dance hall. Whether you preferred country, big-band or rock and roll there were venues to suit every taste and style.
See if you can remember these local favourites:
Bill Hannah and the Nightingales
Bill Munro and his Country Rockets
CFRA Happy Wanderers: Ken Reynolds, Ward Allen, Bob King, Vince Lebeau, Lynn Strauff, Marie King
Country Harmony Boys
Country Hoppers: Garry ‘Gizz’ Watt, Fred ‘Pappy’ Ryan, Paul ‘Hiker’ Gurry, Larry ‘Dooley’ Protheroe
Country Rhythm Kings
Don Gilchrist and his Dancers
Family Brown: Tracey, Lawanda, Joe & Barry Brown, Dave Dennison, Ron Sparling
Fred Paquin’s Orchestra (featuring Don Cochrane)
Jerry Badour and His Westernaires
Kenny Jackson’s Valley Cruisers: Harry Adrain, Raymond Donaldson, Gary Barr
Lee Miller’s Orchestra
Lockwood’s Orchestra
Mac Beattie and the Melodiers: Reg Hill, Garnet Scheel, Gaetan Fairfield, Bob Whitney
Mallen’s Melodiers
Mississippi Ramblers
Mississippi River Boys
Riders of the Southern Trails
Ron McMunn and his Country Cousins
Symington’s Orchestra
Tex Montana’s Cowboy Band
Top Hats
Travelons
Valley Ramblers
Wilson Sisters
…and the dance halls where they entertained us:
Antler Lodge
Balderson Hall
Bolingbroke ABC Hall
Carleton Place Town Hall
Fallbrook Orange Hall
Maberly Agricultural Hall
McDonald’s Corners Agricultural Hall
Perth Town Hall
Rideau Ferry Inn
Lanark Stanley Lodge
Wemyss Hall
Westport Scott’s Ballroom
Take a trip down memory lane, back to the old style country dance halls, and the folks who kept us dancing until the wee hours, in the story called “Antler Lodge: Dosey-Doe Along the Rideau” from the book “Lanark County Connections – Memories Among the Maples”
photos of Antler Lodge, used with permission – Graeme Hoatson Beattie
I was hoping to find more info on the Wemyss Hall as my brother owns it and resides there with his family some history of the place would be interesting.
Hello Jen
The Wemyss Hall was originally known as the Wemyss Orange Hall, and was the headquarters for the Loyal Orange Lodge # 749. The Loyal Orange Order is a Protestant organization with roots going back in 1795 in Northern Ireland. When I was researching the local halls for my book “Lanark County Connections”, I found references to the Wemyss Hall going back as far as January 16, 1920, when they held a ball, featuring ‘good music’ and the admission charge was $1.00 for men. In an earlier article in “The Perth Courier” dated December 14, 1917, the Wemyss Orange Order reported that they held their meeting in a ‘room’, which would indicate that the hall was built sometime between December 1917 and January 1920. The hall was active in the local social scene from that time forward, with many dances and gatherings being held throughout the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s. Many gatherings were organized by the Ladies’ Auxiliary known as the ‘Ladies Orange Benevolent Association’ in order to raise money for local charities. Many area clubs such as the Junior Farmers and the Excelsior Club held their dances at the Wemyss Hall. Some of the founding families of Wemyss were: Tysick, Dowdall, Gamble, Scott, Truelove, McFarlane, Kirkham, Cameron, Donaldson, Palmer, Chaplin, Cavanagh, Larmon, Patterson, and Fournier. I hope that helps a bit with your research Jen. I would recommend that you contact the Canadian Orange Order for more details about the establishment of their lodge in Wemyss. You could also visit or contact the Archives Lanark – info@archiveslanark.ca or post a query with the Lanark County Genealogical Society in their newsletter – inquiries7@bell.net, and they may be able to help as well. Good luck!
Lloyd Wilson played Antler Lodge. Any relation ?
Hello – Although there are lots of talented musicians in our Wilson family, I don’t believe any of them played at Antler Lodge. Do you know the names of the other musicians that may have played with Lloyd Wilson?
We live in the old hall now in wemyss would like more information on the building
Hello Rose – You could contact the Lanark County Genealogical Society and they will be able to help – https://lanarkgenealogy.com/. You could also contact the Archives Lanark – http://archiveslanark.ca/index.php – they have lots of information on local buildings.
Lovely article that brings back a lot of memories. Another hall used was the Watson’s Corners community hall which is still used today as a community hall. One of the artists who played at the hall was Loyld Wilson during the seventies when I lived in the Village. Have heard a lot of the local Artist’s listed and it is a very impressive list of local talent.
One other hall, but from a little earlier era is the White hall located on highway 511 at the junction of (what is now called) Campbell Road. I remember my parents going there and seeing the hall when I lived at Joe’s Lake. Would be interesting if there is any information or pictures of it.
A really enjoyable article!
Thanks Everett. I’m glad you enjoyed the article. Thanks also for sharing your memories of the Watson’s Corners dance hall, and the White Hall. I hadn’t heard of the White Hall before so nice to have some new history. I wonder if it was named after one of the local families from the area? I would love to post a photo if anyone has one.
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