Special to The Star-Herald
PRESQUE ISLE – Ginn’s Pavilion opened in 1926 and was known then as the Aroostook Dance Pavilion. Then the name was changed to Ginn’s Pavilion in 1930.
A fire destroyed the original dance hall in 1939 and a new building was erected in 1940. The Hall was located on the Fort Fairfield-Presque Isle line; it was in Presque Isle along with the farm that adjoined it. The Pavilion was also used for boxing matches, weddings and Miss Aroostook pageants.
The first group to play was Lester Parkers’ orchestra, who played for several years. The first big band was the Lou Hooze orchestra from Boston in the 1940s. Another popular group was the Rudy Wallace band, led by his son, Dan, who was 13 at the time. Bert Robertson and his orchestra played in the early 40s; he was a pilot during World War II and was killed in a plane crash on the Carl Rasmussen farm not too far from Ginn’s Pavilion.
During the war years, the All Army Band from Presque Isle Air Field played for two years. The Jack Heath orchestra was also a popular attraction. The Rhythm Kings, the most popular instrumental band in “The County,” was organized by Sy and Ted Moscowitz. They also played at Ginn’s. When Sy left the band, the booking responsibilities were turned over to Hal Delano. Manny Williams and his Pennsylvanians also played at Ginn’s. Many evenings there would be two bands that would play and it would turn into a competition.
Mellie Dunham, a snowshoe maker and fiddler from Norway, became famous overnight after winning a 1925 fiddling contest in Lewiston and being invited to perform with the Ford Orchestra in Dearborn, Mich. From December to May 1926, he and his wife performed on the Keith vaudeville circuit in Boston, New York, and other cities throughout the Northeast. When Mellie and his orchestra played at Ginn’s in the 1920s, admission for men was 75 cents and 50 cents for ladies. They played for three nights and $15 in gold was given away each night.
The hall had the largest crystal ball in New England. The ball had prisms that reflected a kaleidoscope of color from spotlights. The crystal ball, according to Carroll Parker, the son of Lester Parker, “Was the size of a kitchen table.”
The main dance floor was 100-feet by 44-feet. The original dance hall was destroyed by fire June 23, 1939 and was a total loss. It was rebuilt in approximately five weeks, and Ginn’s Pavilion was back in business.
The biggest crowd to ever attend a dance was over 400 people. No drinking was allowed and a hot dog and soda cost 25 cents.
According to Odbrey Ginn, in 1943, while waiting to go overseas, Clark Gable along with Betty Grable attended a dance there.
Delores (Scott) Roix remembers watching from her home on the Reach Road a parade of cars that would pass along the Parkhurst Road across the riverhead to Ginn’s for the Thursday evening dances.
The reason for holding dances on Thursday evening was that there were dances held at Paul’s Arena in Maple Grove on Friday nights and at the Pine Tree in Easton on Saturday nights.
Thurly Briggs of Caribou remembers the dances at Ginn’s with a great deal of fondness. She said that, “We always had a good time and you did not have to have a date.” On a couple of occasions, she and a couple of friends bicycled from Limestone to the pavilion which was several miles away.
Audrey Thibodeau’s recollections of Ginn’s Pavilion
Dan Everett had an interesting story. He was a good friend of Bob Merrithew’s and both played in the band at Presque Isle High School. In 1956 or 1957, Frank Ginn (Bob and my grandfather) the owner tried to revive the old dance hall for a short time. One weekend, he booked the Les Elgart Orchestra for a one-night stand. Frank told Les that his grandson, Bob, played the saxophone. Les said, “Tell him to get his horn, and he can sit in with us.” Bob sat in the sax section for a set and had the time of his life. “Pretty heady stuff for a high school kid.” Les Elgart wrote the theme for the popular “American Bandstand” show and was the award winner in Variety, Billboard and Cashbox polls as the number-one dance band in the United States. The orchestra recorded over 100 albums and in 1986 was inducted into the Big Band Hall of Fame.
In the early years, my grandfather would sell tickets at the door. Later on, I remember my mother taking me to the dance hall and I would sit behind the ticket both while she sold tickets. The dances ended in the early 1950s and the building was later purchased by Joseph Findlen, who used it for storage. Shortly after the building was closed, I remember my grandfather, Frank Ginn, storing grain on the beautiful hardwood floor. When the grain was removed from the floor it possessed a beautiful sheen from the oils of the grain that had penetrated the floor.
Photo courtesy of Jim Carter
GINN’S PAVILION, located on the Fort Fairfield-Presque Isle line, was not only a popular dance hall for many years but was also used for boxing matches, weddings and Miss Aroostook pageants.
