When Lawrence Welk played York

In the Sjuts household growing up my mother only controlled what was on TV for one hour a week. That was, if I recall correctly, was the hour on Saturday evening when the Lawrence Welk show came on. That was her hour and you didn’t dare fool with it. Lawrence was a popular guy.

Recently, York Mayor Barry Redfern shared with me a copy of a contract with the Music Corporation of America and the York Chamber of Commerce where Lawrence Welk and his orchestra was booked for a four-hour show at the York City Auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 10, 1949. The contract is in the items housed at the Anna Benis Palmer Museum and was brought to light by museum director Carrie Remmers.

The agreement was signed by Welk and C.H. “Cub” Baer, who was representing the York Chamber. Welk and his orchestra were guaranteed 65% of the net dance admissions with a minimum guarantee of $1,150. That probably was a lot of money back then. The chamber had to pay a deposit of $575, with the balance being due the night of the dance.

There were to be two entertainers and 14 musicians according to the contract. Was it a success? Sounds like it. I did a little looking and found the following brief news item was included in the Saturday, November 12, 1949 York Daily News-Times publication.

“Nearly 1,800 Attend Dance Here Thursday. Lawrence Welk played to nearly 1,800 persons on Thursday night at the city auditorium. There were 1,523 dance admissions and 245 spectator tickets sold. Persons came from as far west as Broken Bow, from Kansas and from Iowa.”

Sounds like there were a lot of people back then that felt the same way as my mother. I wonder if she made it to York that evening.

YCDC announces staff addition

The York County Development Corporation has welcomed Anthony Hudson, a York University senior, as its development growth associate. Hudson will be working part-time for YCDC. He will be reaching out to businesses as part of his responsibilities

He is currently a senior studying Global Leadership and Sports Management at York University.

“The past three years, York has grown on me and I would want nothing more than to see this county flourish,” said Hudson. “As part of York County Development Corporation, I will be serving as the Development Growth Associate which will allow me to generate appealing content, update job listings, develop website updates, and complete the work of community surveys. I am excited to be part of a team that serves this community. You can reach me at [email protected].”

Wilkinson still in the news business

Since parting ways with the News-Times a few months ago, Melanie Wilkinson has been busy doing what she had been doing in York for the past 25 years — delivering news content to area residents.

Wilkinson is doing this in several different ways. She is a news contributor for KOOL Radio here in York and she also is a public information person for York County. In this position she helps with county news releases and press releases for the county’s web site and other media.