Bicentennial Story #116-Dances at forts

Bicentennial Story #116-Dances at forts

Description of dances held at forts.

10/9/1975

Father Louis Pfaller

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mp3

audio reel, analog, 1/4 inch polyester tape

English

BS-116

Dakota Territory

Copyright Stark County Historical Society and Dickinson Museum Center

At the military posts in frontier Dakota the post band serenaded the soldiers most every evening, weather permitting. Weekly or semi-weekly "hops" were the rule, and much preparation went into them to make them as colorful as possible. Some large room was cleared for action, all the ladies of the fort were invited, and when there were few ladies at a post, the men took turns dancing the lady's part. A handkerchief pinned to the sleeve of the uniform designated the "ladies." During the "Custer Era" at Fort Abraham Lincoln, formal balls and masquerades were promoted to imitate the social elegance of the Gilded Age, then in vogue among America's new rich. Even opera was staged by Felix Vinatieri, Custer's talented bandmaster at Fort Lincoln.

This is Bicentennial Story No. 116, prepared by Father Louis Pfaller for the Stark County Historical Society.

Rickey, Forty Miles, p. 199
Letter of Joseph Vinatieri to Louis Pfaller, Feb. 22, 1967.

Sound recordings

1:21

128kbps

1970 1979

Bicentennial tape #7, Bicentennial stories 108-127