We spent the day in New Carlisle, IN at the Blue Lantern Ballroom on Lake Hudson. Places like the Blue Lantern are an introduction to a world that has disappeared. In the twenties, people left the city behind for vacation rural vacation spots but they packed their expectations along with their swimsuits. Just like Bass Lake in northern Indiana (see my previous posts), Lake Hudson had its own ballroom and a regular summer rotation of dance bands that arrived, played, and departed. Some of these bands are virtual unknowns (the Indianans for instance) while others are legendary in the world of 20’s and 30’s jazz and blues. The Blue Lantern had a special ace in its hand, it was located on the South Shore rail line and not far from Chicago. It also had Bix Biederbeck (in honor of my father-in-law I ask that everyone stand for a moment of solemn silence). Biederbeck worked The Blue Lantern with the Gene Goldkette Orchestra from May 22 through August 30th 1926. Five years later he would be dead. I can only wonder what that season was like, what Biederbeck might have felt working this vacation casino. Maybe there’s some record, who knows I might find it someday. Until then I can only use my imagination.
The lake sparkled silver and gold under the August moon, its waters shivering to the strains of summer’s jazz and celebrating one last hurrah before September’s foreboding arrived. A cool breeze blew in across the waters carrying with it the sounds of vacationers returning to their cottages still juiced on the liquor of swing. The salt of cigarette smoke mixes with the voices as the thrum of one last gig dissipates. Winter is on its way and with it the vacation homes and cottages will close and the year’s regular paychecks will go too.
Today the band wasn’t Beiderbeck’s, it was the West Side Jazz Band from Chicago. Jazz isn’t my favorite tempo for dancing – it’s generally fast and lends itself to a few specialized dances like the Charleston. Still the band was marvelous, they’re consummate musicians and I highly recommend seeing them if you have a chance. I also recommend visiting the Blue Lantern Ballroom – however there is a ‘but’.
We arrived at 11 o’clock, exactly when the event started. We got caught by the train that was delivering attendees from Chicago – not a problem; we could have arrived earlier so sitting while the South Shore disgorged its passengers was an acceptable inconvenience. What was less acceptable was the fact we had tickets and there weren’t enough chairs and tables for all the ticketholders. I have this belief that if you invite people, you should actually be able to accommodate them. Nobody would accept buying a ticket to a ballgame only to arrive and have the gate attendants tell you there isn’t enough bleacher space. You wouldn’t accept buying a movie ticket only to have the usher tell you there isn’t room in the theatre. However, we arrived at the dance and had to ask someone to bring out chairs so that we would have somewhere to sit. Not good.
Also, the cost for this dance was $50+ per person. That’s steep but there was a dinner included so the high price can be partially attributed to that face. However, for that price I would expect something more than cold roast beef, cold mashed potatoes, cold gravy…okay; let’s just say that every dish except for the chicken was cold. Regardless, I would have expected something that was special – give me a reproduction of what was served at the Blue Lantern in Beiderbeck’s day but make an effort! In today’s world with the economy being what it is, fifty bucks is a lot of money (at least for us), please give me my money’s worth!
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