August 17, 2009 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.
The recent
press coverage about the legality of outdoor dancing at San Tan Flats
(Pinal County at Ellsworth Road and the Hunt Highway) reminds me of the
interesting times in the early days of Apache Junction.
In 1923, George Cleveland Curtis started
his roadside business at the “Y” of U.S. Highway 60 and the Apache
Trail when there wasn’t much out here but Creosote bushes, Palo Verdes,
Saguaros, Jack rabbits, coyotes and rattlesnakes. Curtis depended on the
traffic along the Apache Trail and U.S. Highway 60 for his business.
Curtis eventually sold gasoline, towed
broke-down cars, served food, cold drinks and sold trinkets to make a
living for his wife, Aruroa and their three daughters. The highway was
paved in 1928 and this changed things considerably and brought a lot
more traffic down U.S. 60. The construction of Mormon Flat Dam
(1923-1925) and the Horse Mesa Dam (1925-1927) increased business for
Curtis.
Curtis was always looking for another
ingenious way to generate revenue for his business. First it was a zoo
of desert wild animals, then sometime in the late 1920s he decided to
build an outdoor dance pavilion. The dance pavilion became a very
popular weekend site for young couples from Mesa and Tempe. Curtis
invited many different bands to play at the Pavilion. One of the most
popular bands was Merrill Robbins’ “Flat and Sharps” western band from
Glendale, Arizona. For many years I was led to believe Merrill Robbins
was related to Marty Robbins even though Marty Robbins’ real name was
Martin Robinson. Marty Robbins was born in Glendale in September of
1925. Yes, Merrill Robbins could have encouraged Marty Robbins as a
young lad to become interested in the guitar. However, others have
reported Marty taught himself the guitar while he was in the Navy during
World War II.
Again this is what legends and myths are made of.
Now back to outdoor dancing in Pinal
County. Many people have questioned the situation that developed at San
Tan Flats. Others have presumed outdoor dancing was legal for years
because of the outdoor dance pavilions at such places as Riverside Park,
Encanto Park and, of course, the Apache Junction Pavilion in the late
1920s and through most of the 1930s. Most individuals with common sense
understand how disturbing loud outdoor music can be for a home in a
residential area. However, when a business has been approved and then
new rules are applied to control or shut down that business it is very
difficult for the general public to accept. The noise issue in
residential areas becomes quite moot when dealing with other factors
that create noise.
What about airplanes, noisy exhaust
systems on cars and motorcycles? Motorcycle exhaust systems are known to
vibrant the walls of homes as they go by. Sometimes the noise decibels
far exceed hearing safety standards for those individuals impacted.
Some of the earliest outdoor dancing
occurred here in Apache Junction on Curtis’ dance pavilion in 1920’s and
1930’s. Also outdoor dancing was performed at the “Theater in the
Hills’ in 1935. More than 5,000 people attended the 1935 production of
“The Legend of Superstition Mountain.” Outdoor dancing was common at the
Top of the World, a once popular place half way between Superior and
Globe. Even the Mormon town of St. Johns had an outdoor dancing pavilion
for dancing in the middle of town.
My wife and I love to dance and we have
been dancing off and on for almost fifty years. We often dance to
several western bands in the valley, also up at Globe and even St Johns
occasionally. Dances were often scheduled in Superior and the Martin’s
often took old Hermann Petrasch to the dances so he could play his
fiddle. His ties to the Dutchman’s Lost mine are well known by
historians.
Outdoor dancing still occurs in Arizona and it is still popular.
Dancing
has been around since human beings have existed and outdoor dancing in
Arizona has been popular since pioneer days, even in Apache Junction at
the base of Superstition Mountain. Well, old time prospectors attended
these dances in Apache Junction and told stories about the mountains.
Curtis’ dance pavilion was probably the first gathering place for
storytellers of the Old Lost Dutchman mine in the Apache Junction area.
My father and mother attended some of Curtis’ outdoor dances and listen
to old timers tell stories about the old “Dutchman” and the gold he
allegedly found in the Superstition Mountains.
