Before the days of television and the National Football League, people often organized public events to celebrate New Year’s Day. In 1914, the Stickney newspaper reported, “A rabbit hunt was organized for New Year’s Day, wth Clarence Holly and Fred Aszmus leaders of the two parties. They bagged 66 rabbits for the day’s spoil. The Holly party came out ahead with a total of 34. The event culminated with a dance at the hall, with music by the Page Orchestra, and an oyster supper at the Home Restaurant.”
Dance events, such as the one in 1914, were an incredibly popular form of entertainment during that era. Local talent provided live music for dance parties hosted in houses, barns, and dance halls. Three bachelor brothers, Frank, Charls, and Ernest Page, organized the Page Orchestra and advertised their services with calling cards and penny postcards. The story of the Page Orchestra illuminates the social and cultural life of young adults living in remote, rural areas in the early part of the twentieth century. Those musical groups made life more fun, connected the players to their community, and enhanced quality of life for themselves and their society.
The Page brothers lived on land their parents had homesteaded in 1882 in the southeast section of Dudley township, near Stickney. The three brothers taught themselves how to play drums, violin, and cornet by subscribing to correspondence lessons from a Chicago firm. One of their sisters with the ability to read music, Agnes Page Bielfeldt, did provide some assistance. Family history suggests the band may have started about 1910, when the brothers were ages twenty, twenty-two, and twenty-four. The piano player changed over time. Twenty-year-old Bernice Gibbs, who had come from Indiana to teach in one of the rural schools, peformed with the band in 1917 and 1918. One of the pianists, Mabel Downing, purchased the suitcase organ used for the piano, and later sold it to Charles Page. The names Parkins and Marjoret also appear in the advertising as the pianist.
Most people used horse and buggy to travel to the dances, and some dances could be up to twenty-five to thirty miles away. With no lights on the buggies, many dances continued through the night and the host served breakfast before sending everyone home. The Page brothers sometimes hosted bowery dances in their hog barn. During the war years, 1917-1918, as young men were leaving for war, the orchestra often performed several nights in a row. Ernest was one of those who served. As soon as word was received that the Armistice had been signed, a dance was quickly organized and the Page Orchestra, without Ernest, performed. The dances always ended with the song “Show Me the Way to Go Home,” a song about ending a fun night at the place you most value, your home. The last line of the song spoke to their satisfaction with the lives they were living, “No matter where I roam, On land or sea or foam, You can always hear me singing the song, Show me the way to go home.”
Ernest’s postcard collection from that era illustrates how important those dances were to the young people at that time. Ernest collected many postcards and saved those mailed between 1910-1922 in a scrapbook that survives today and provides a wonderful record of communication during that era. Seven transcribed cards illustrate the value of the dance culture in that society. The first two messages indicate postcards helped to advertise the dances. The next card, mailed to Ernest to solicit services, suggests that the Page Orchestra earned pay for their performances. The last three messages, one-part of a two-way conversation, reveal the value participants placed on that entertainment venue.
Postmark: Corsica (SD) Jul 18, 1917: Friend, Our Band will have a dance Sat., July 21st at Aug. Schrauck be sure and come and tell your friends, Fred G. Bormann
Postmark: Mount Vernon (SD) Aug 17: Hello: We are going to have a dance Aug. 24th. Please come & bring a crowd. Your Friend, Edna
Postmark: Mount Vernon (SD) Nov 3, 1914: Be sure and come Nov 6. Dear Sir: We are going to have a dance in our house Friday night this week and would like for you boys to come and play for it if you could come. Suppose you boys will be willing to play according to size of crowd let me know if you cant come, right away. Will Candon, tell W.M.D.J.R.
Postmark: Mount Vernon (SD) Jun 7: Am going to Mitchell this morning to begin institute. Rec’d your card Sat. we was awfully glad to get it. I won’t be able to hear from you before the 10th so I don’t know what to say or do. But I hope to see you in Mt. V. the 9th. Gee, I sure wish I could have been to those dances too. I’ll bet you had a dandy time did you?, Sincerely, Irma Mick…
Postmark: Mount Vernon (SD) Aug 4, 1915: How did you get over the dance? I sure had a good time but I tho’t the mosquitoes would carry us away before we got home. Don’t think I’ll get to Deweys for its right in harvest time. Where will the next dance be? Have a good time Sat I suppose you’ll have your mascot along, Irma.
Postmark: Mount Vernon (SD) Apr 24, 1916: Rec’d your card. All O.K. was very glad to get it. I heard you were to play for a dance on Mon. eve. Were you? My school’s out Fri. Can hardly wait till then. From _
Postmark: Mount Vernon (SD) Sep 7: Dear Friend – Was awfully glad to get your card. Suppose there will be a big crowd at the dance Wed. Is that the one you meant? When are Gerkins going to have their Harvest Festival? If nothing happens we are going Fri. eve. I can hardly wait until then for I haven’t been to a dance for an age. As ever I.M.
The sparsely populated society in which those people lived required hard work and lacked many modern conveniences. Yet, these postcards provide evidence of their ability to overcome barriers of distance, temporarily escape the isolation of the farm and connect with community through performing and attending dances events in homes and public halls. The postcards show that dances were advertised, held frequently throughout the year, and greatly anticipated. Using their purchasing power to acquire musical instruments, working together to perform at dances, and maintaining a close relationship with each other, the Page Orchestra, and other such local bands, created opportunity for community and enhanced quality of life for themselves and their neighbors.
Note: Ernest Page is the father of Hershell Page, Plankinton, and grandfather of the author. Charles Page is the father of Peggy Swent, Stickney. The Page Orchestra drum set is on display at the Aurora County Historical Society. Hershell, age 97, and Peggy, age 102, passed away in 2022 and 2023.
It Happened Right Here: “’We are Going to Have a Dance’”, by Ruth Page Jones. Published in the South Dakota Mail, Plankinton, South Dakota, December 29, 2016.
RPJ Histories - Ruth Page Jones 