Dancing in Paradise, Burning in Hell by Scee Trudy Irene;

Author:Scee, Trudy Irene; [Scee, Trudy Irene]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Down East Books
Published: 2016-03-14T20:33:06+00:00

It was this evening of entertainment that the local press covered. The BDC noted, in its coverage of the fire’s aftermath, that Edward Nickerson, manager of the Chateau, was hosting the dinner, and that the marathon dancers were to give a floor show “identical to those put on while the marathon was in progress.” Those scheduled to appear were “Dick Giblin, Frank Sharabba, Helen Kelley, Herbert Lewis, Ashur Brown, Steve Serenko, and others.” In terms of the local region, Perley Reynolds would continue to entertain people in the region in following years with his “New Commanders” orchestra or band, playing for various public dances.83

In spite of the last money-making homage of sorts to the endurance dancers, the trend was toward condemning the marathons, in Bangor and elsewhere. Marathons would survive for a time but came under increasing scrutiny.

In addition to local concerns, which were substantial, during the week of the Hampden fire, a consortium of ministers in the southern part of the state met to denounce marathons in general, as well as to urge the rejection of a state lottery and the impending appeal of the 26th Amendment to the Maine Constitution pertaining to the importation of liquor into the state as well as its manufacture and sale. Fifteen members of the Ministers’ Union of Portland and Vicinity met at the Portland YMCA, and Dr. John E. Schroeder of the Blain Street Congregational Church addressed the group. Those assembled then empowered their secretary, Reverend A. W. Wentworth, to transmit to the superintendent of the Christian Civic League of Maine, Reverend Frederick W. Smith of Waterville, resolutions pertaining to their support of the league’s position on the above matters. They also appointed Reverend Benjamin Brewster, bishop of Maine, to represent the union at an upcoming committee hearing on the lottery bill and to denounce it.84 The Portland Press Harold ran the headline: “Clerics Stand Against Rum, Lottery, Dance.” The meeting took place that day, December 11, the day after the Hampden fire.

While the Bangor City Council immediately after the fire proposed stricter ordinances governing dances in the city, the Maine State Legislature acted as well. Prior to that December, state legislation simply provided that municipal authorities were “authorized to make reasonable regulations for the licensing and conducting of dance halls, and to provide suitable penalties for violations thereof.”85

On December 15 and 16, the Maine State Legislature introduced and passed amendments to the state law code that restricted anyone from competing in marathon dances, walkathons, or similar competitions for more than six hours in any one day, or from entering such competitions within twenty-four hours of having entered or competed in another such contest. Violations of said provisions were punishable by fines of up to $500 per violation. Furthermore, even with the changes, no such competitions could be held in any Maine town or city without prior municipal voter sanction. Maine governor Louis J. Brann signed the bill on December 17. Further legislation passed in the 1940s provided for stricter licensing and specific fire codes.

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