The May 1 dance will be at the county fairgrounds
By Kellen Olshefski
Correspondent
Elkhorn American Legion Post 45 will host a 1950s-style sock hop dance for adults from 6 to 10 p.m. on May 1 at the Walworth County Fairgrounds’ Activity Center.
Mike Lange, of Post 45, said the fundraiser will also feature some fun contests including a hula hoop contest, a twist contest and best dressed male and female contest (think of the movie “Grease” with poodle skirts and the like.) And yet it will maintain a focus on the dancing like that of the 1950s-style sock hops.
According to Elkhorn American Legion Post 45 Commander Mark Gajewski and Post 45 member Jim Boardman, the move of the event to the fairgrounds will allow the American Legion to have a food truck present and also be able to serve beer and wine.
“Because beer and wine is going to be served, we’re kind of hoping that adults will show up and not bring their children,” Lange said, noting that the event is intended for adults.
Gajewski said those who would like to purchase beer and wine will be given a wristband after an ID check.
Music will be provided by The Flatheads, a band from the area known for playing primarily original music inspired by the 50s and 60s.
Gajewski said the band will also be doing a live recording for a new CD, and, Lange added, the event will be broadcast live on FM 100.3 FONZ radio out of Milwaukee.
“This is really their first big gig coming back,” Gajewski said, noting that COVID has also been tough on live bands.
Gajewski and Lange both said the band has already drummed up a lot of interest for the event, with attendees expected to come from throughout southeast Wisconsin.
The doors are set to open at 5:30 p.m. and the Walworth County Fairgrounds Activity Center is at 411 E. Court St., Elkhorn. Tickets are $10 each and available both at the door and in advance at the Elkhorn Area Chamber of Commerce.
“We chose not to require an advanced ticket because we don’t want a repeat of last year. If something should happen, we don’t want to owe you money. We don’t want handouts; we want people to be there,” Gajewski said.
“It’s about having this sock hop and we want people to show up. It sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun,” he added.
The legion will also be following COVID-19 safety protocols such as taking attendees temperatures at the door, providing and using masks and sanitizer, spacing tables out within the venue and requiring attendees to sign a waiver upon entry.
“It’s a fairly good-sized space, so we should be alright,” Lange said.
“We’re thankful that we don’t have major restrictions anymore,” Gajewski added. “We’re hoping for a big success. We’re going to do things right … We’ll be checking for temperatures, and it’s going to take a little longer to get in there, but once they’re in there, I really think they’re going to enjoy it.”
Genesis of the sock hop
Lange, who alongside his wife, Vicki, is spearheading the sock hop for the Legion, said the idea goes back to his own high school days in the early 1960s, when students who attended school mixers before basketball season would have to remove their shoes and dance in their socks to avoid damaging the varnish on the school gymnasium floors at the time.
“It was a crime to walk across the gymnasium floor in the ’50s and ’60s,” Boardman joked. “You got detention if you stepped out there.”
Interestingly enough, some of the earliest sock hops were held in 1944 by the American Junior Red Cross to help raise funds during World War II for things such as the USO tour. But the fad caught on among American teenagers just a few years later and gained steam in the late 1940s.
Lange said their two daughters attended St. Patrick Catholic School in Elkhorn, and used to hold sock hops as a fundraiser for the booster club, bringing in a DJ for the events. Ultimately, the idea seemed like one that might also be a good fundraiser for the American Legion.
“Mike and Vicki have done it before and I think they’re going to steer us right,” Gajewski said. “We look forward to bigger and better things.”
Serving the community
Fundraisers like the upcoming sock hop help American Legion Post 45 continue to provide support for, and sponsorship of, various programs and opportunities in the Elkhorn community.
According to Boardman and Gajewski, fundraisers help the legion sponsor high school students to attend events like Badger Boys and Badger Girls State, which are programs that focus on educating young leaders on how to become more impactful members of their communities.
The post also sponsors students for the American Legion Oratorical contest and scholarship, with this past year’s district and state champion, Braiya Nolan, who claimed the titles for the second year in a row, coming from nearby Williams Bay.
Additionally, Boardman said, the post sponsors young athletes participating in The American Legion’s Junior Shooting Sports, with the athlete they sponsored in 2019 going on to win the state air rifle championship.
In addition to sponsorships, Boardman said the American Legion is also active in the community and helping many others with one example including cleaning out the gutters of a local woman’s house after she called them out to assist with an American flag that had fallen during a storm.
“Five, six guys went out there that next Monday and we trimmed all her bushes, cleaned out her gutters,” Boardman said. “It made her happy and saved her some money.”
Boardman said with the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Legion also sent pizza to the night staff at Lakeland and Mercy hospitals early last year.
“Those are the kinds of things we do that people don’t see,” he said.
For more information, send an email to elkhornamlegion45@gmail.com.
