 "People talk about our being in a depression now. I tell them, 'Do
you have more than one pair of shoes? Do you have more than one
coat? Is there food in the pantry? Well, if there is, you don't know
what a depression is.'"At that time, as Moriearty and his Lincoln
High School friends prepared to graduate, the threat of war hung
over the nation. Germany invaded Poland in 1939, and America held
its collective breath to see what the events would mean to our young
men and women.
With these concerns, the youth of the community looked for
outside relief, for entertainment, to get away at least for a little
while from the worries and concerns of the day. There were three
theater houses, or "shows," back then.
However, for older teenagers the special place to go was the
Maple Club, just east of Lincoln on Illinois Route 10. It was there
that live music was played every evening.
Back then, according to Harry Rosenbloom and Jim Moriearty, the
Maple Club was one of the best musical hot spots, not just in Logan
County, but in all of Illinois.
So, what of high schoolers going to a place that sold liquor?
Moriearty laughed. "Things were different back then," he said.
"Heck, we didn't have driver's licenses. There were no age barriers.
If you had money, you could buy anything back then."
He went on: "On Saturday at 9 p.m. the stores and restaurants on
the square would close up. About six or eight of us would pile into
a Model A roadster and go out there for the evening."
Moriearty didn't recall if there was a cover charge back then to
get in to listen to the live music, but the late Bob
Guy in a previous interview about those days said it cost 25 cents
to get in.
Another high school student back then was Orville Shaffer. "The
Maple Club was the place to go back then," he said.
He has many memories of those days, including a very special one:
"Back then there wasn't a lot to do, so we would go to the Maple
Club for dances. I remember one night seeing a girl across the dance
floor, and I went over to ask her to dance. That same night I asked
her to marry me, and a month later she said yes."
The Maple Club back then had the same physical dimensions and
characteristics as we can see today, but Moriearty remembers there
were a lot more small tables back then that had four chairs to each
one.
"There were 200, maybe 300 small tables back then. It was like a
circus in there," he said.
A remarkable thing stands out in everyone's memories. Harry
Rosenbloom, who was yet a junior at Lincoln High School, became a
member of the Maple Club house band. The Maple Club had a reputation
for great live music. Its house band was well-known and highly
regarded.
"Here were all these older musicians, and here was this kid in
high school playing with them. It was something else. And he was
good," says Moriearty.
Shaffer still keeps in touch with his old classmate and said that
Harry now lives in Winter Haven, Fla.
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Rosenbloom has written about his time at the Maple
Club, as well as his storied career as a musician. He remembers the
Maple Club as a little smaller than it actually is but recalls the
days and the acoustical band shell where he and other great
musicians played in those days.
Just how was it that someone as young as Rosenbloom got into the
club's band?
One of the band members retired and several local musicians
recommended that he get the position.
Harry was a member of the high school's jazz band, and his music
teacher, Bob Smith, suggested him. Also, Dave Hanger, owner of
Hanger's Music Store, where Harry spent a great deal of time, got
behind him for the job.
Among other things, it was his passion and love for music,
besides his ability, that allowed him to fit right in with the band.
Harry said that Monday evening was the house band's night off.
Then name bands of the era were engaged to play. He threw out some
names that every septuagenarian or octogenarian would remember well.
The visiting bands included Tiny Hill, Joe Venutti, Ace Brigode and
Ben Pollack. The Ben Pollack Band included such great stars as Harry
James and Tommy Dorsey.
Rosenbloom's musical talents served him well after those two
years with the band, and he proceeded to have a distinguished career
in music.
After a stint in the Navy during World War II, Harry returned to
Illinois Wesleyan and received his bachelor's and master's degrees
in music education. He spent 30 years teaching in public schools,
the last 18 in Lincolnwood.
But Harry was more than a junior high music teacher. Among his
most noted accomplishments was being invited to play tenor saxophone
for three pop concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Harry
also spent seven years playing with the Wilmette Northshore Band. He
was also was asked to play in a band organized by Meredith Wilson of
"The Music Man" fame for two Fourth of July concerts.
Now Harry is retired in Florida, but he still keeps in touch with
local old friends to chat.
More and more, stories of that remarkable era in Logan County's
history get lost in the passage of time. But here is one more spared
memory about the Maple Club and a gifted young musician.
[By
MIKE FAK]
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