Hit Parade

[Roma Jean Turner]

I remember Johnie Lee Wills from the Cimarron Ballroom in Tulsa.  My mom and step-dad had friends in Skiatook?, OK.  They would go visit them and go dancing at the Cimarron Ballroom.  I went with a couple of times as a teenager. He was one of my step dads favorites.

[Diane Amberg]

We had the origional Band Stand in Philly with Dick Clark. Some of my friends would occasionally duck out of school early to up to the studio for the show. I always had band or orchestra practice so I never got to go, not that my parents would have let me.

[Janet Harrington]

We always watched American Bandstand on TV.  I'm sure that we danced right along with the group.

[Rudy Taylor]

I'm fascinated by all these stories, especially Bonnie's recall of Bob Wills coming to our neck of the woods.  I don't remember the Buffalo Ranch (club?) but I sure do remember the Westerneer.  Actually, I do remember a place located straight south of Elk City on the Sedan shortcut, but I can't remember its name. Maybe that's where the Buffalo Ranch place was?

[Judy Harder]

That was the Helm's club, or maybe Babe's place..........think that was the name.
I do think they burned down in the 70's....or storms got them, can't remember.

[Bonnie M.]

I think Helm's was the first "club," and it probably burned down, then "Babe's place" came into existance, across the road from Helm's Club.  It probably burned down later. 

The Buffalo Ranch was on the west side of the road between Havana and before you get to the Sedan cut-off road.  Closer to the Sedan Cut off road, actually.  I think there is still some of the high fences around some of those pastures.  They had a concrete slab (outdooes, of course) and that's where the dances were held.  This was probably in the '50's, (1950's, not 1850's.)  I think a guy by the last name of Clark owned the Buffalo Ranch.

When we go back to Longton, we fly in to Tulsa, and we "always" take the "short cut" between Havana and Elk City.  That's a great drive, Rudy, I'm sure you know about that "short cut!"

[Rudy Taylor]

Yes, the Buffalo Ranch area is quite familiar to me. But I didn't know about the dances once held there. I moved with my family to Caney in 1959 so anything before that is history.  And, you're right, it was the Helms Club and Babe's.  I never went there because I'm such a clean-cut, morally upright guy and there were rumors that drinking took place there.

OK, OK, I'll come clean. I went to other places just like Babe's and the Helms Club. But I was still a clean-cut, morally ................ (yicccck).

[Bonnie M.]

Well, actually, I didn't/don't drink, either!  I would imagine that there really aren't dances like those were any more.  If there are, I don't know where they are being held.  We always loved to dance, and it was a treat for us to "get to go" to a dance.  Helms was pretty much "off limits" for us, and we did go to Babes Place a couple of times.  There was one guy there, he and his wife always attended the Saturday night dances.  He was a wonderful dancer, and those of us who danced with him really did enjoy it.  When he died, his wife had a "thank you" in the paper, stating how much her husband enjoyed dancing with so many different dance partners.  Those were "good times!"

[sixdogsmom]

The fiddlers and pickers play and dance every Thursday night. No drinking or smoking. They also have a covered dish dinner. That is at the old furniture store here in Moline.

[Bonnie M.]

Do they have good crowds?