Cultural clubs and fraternal societies had dances in their halls. The most prominent would be La Ronde which was built in 1968 and serves our Francophone community.
The Oddfellows Hall was located on Spruce north, between Algonquin and Fifth. The Orange Lodge had a hall on Haileybury Crescent in Porcupine. The Loyal Order of the Moose had 2 locations: one at Second and Pine where the Timmins City Bingo is today. The other was on Golden Avenue in South Porcupine, between Main and Moore Streets. The Royal Canadian Legion, branches 88 and 287 in Timmins and South Porcupine held public dances in their halls also.In Schumacher, there was the Recreation Centre located where Mayfair Furriers is now. On Friday nights at the Mac, the hot band was Henry Kelneck’s ‘Three Dudes and a Dud’, with Henry playing a variety of instruments, Curley Barnett or Freddy Delguidice on bass and guitar, Frank Vicevic on bass and accordion and Eddie Morandin on drums. Nick Boljevac also played trumpet with the group on occasion.
Nearby, there were regular dances held at the Delnite Recreation Hall and also at the Buffalo Ankerite School. Another mine-owned centre, was the Hollinger Hall in the heart of the old Hollinger Townsite.
Teen dances were held on Saturday nights at the old Sea Cadet Barracks, above Daigeneault Motors, the present site of Rocky Mountain Flooring. The featured band was Bruce McDonald’s orchestra, with Bruce on clarinet, Jack Rowan on drums, Bob Brouillard on sax and yours truly on piano. The Harmony Hall was the site for Timmins’ first YMCA group in the late 1940′s. Dance lessons were given to the members by Ann (Stefanic) and Mike Kuinka. Don Collins’ Band was a regular group to play there, with Don on drums, Kenny Evans on accordion and Matti Chopp on guitar. As with many dance halls, one didn’t have to have a date to attend the dances at the Harmony Hall. In fact, going with a group of friends was more the norm. It offered a wonderful opportunity to meet new people.
On Riverside Drive, there was a dance hall known as the Sunnyside Dance Pavilion. It later became the German Hall. On Pine south, across from the cemetery, there was another dance hall called The Little Red Barn and in Porcupine, from 1960 to 1972, dances were held at the Community Centre on Queen and Fifth streets.
Many hotels had excellent dance floors, with live bands providing the music. Among the more popular were the Fountain Court at the Empire Hotel, the Rainbow Room at the Goldfields Hotel and the Lounge at the Grand Hotel.
Square dancing was very popular with local dancers, right into the late 1960′s. Notable square dance Callers from those days were Doug, John and Andy McGinn, Bill, Ted and Dave Small, Terry O’Connor, Jack McCormick, Bill Gannon and Rene Vezina.
Because of the ethnic composition of the Porcupine, most public dances also included tangos, polkas, the Finn Hop or Schottische.
The biggest dance halls in the Timmins area were called Pavilions and they deserve a whole column to themselves.
That’s my view from Over the Hill.
