Hop in the Chevy - we're taking you to the hottest spots in town!

episode summary

episode summary

tales
from the
iowa great
lakes

Hey! We're so happy you could make it out. Let's hop in our time machine and go back to 1952. It's going to be a fun night in Okoboji!

Let's start at the top of the episode: The Majestic Skating Rink. During our research, we found several blogs written by folks from all over the country who skated here. There's so much history here. But in 1952, this was a major destination for the area's high school kids. And you can see that in the first picture - it's mostly teenagers. There were a lot more high schools back then, too: Superior, Spirit Lake, Lake Park, Excelsior, Okoboji, Milford, Arnold Park, and Terril. Can you imagine all those groups of kids together? The romances? The rivalries? It's the stuff of books.

Next, we head over to The Roof Garden, which we discussed in depth in another episode this season. We dug up several ads for The Roof Garden around the time we set this big night out. Tiny Hill played the weekend we set the episode in, and you can see his colorful feature in The Milford Mail below. But we also have an ad for Louis Armstrong returning to The Roof Garden - when his career was in a big swing. "La Vie en Rose" was already out, and he was ten years away from "Mack the Knife."

We also have some pictures of what Arnolds Park looked like around this time - we're just starting to see more color photos in our postcard collections.

Then, of course... we have Mrs. Muriel, Window Turnley. What a star. There were way too many details about her that we had to leave out of the episode. We found a lot of information about her on other blogs from Fort Lauderdale, where she opened another club after leaving Okoboji. We've clipped pictures from her life, including one around the age she would have been in Okoboji and some of our favorite newspaper features. Muriel Turnley, we will return to your wonderful, theatrical life!

There are also two clips from The Spirit Lake Beacon about these alcohol raids the county was pushing on local restaurants. It's challenging to track down precisely what the law looked like in 1952. One article explains that most of these restaurants, including Vern and Coila's, were only allowed to sell alcohol under a certain content level, like beer. Regardless, the articles we've read make it seem like Okoboji was having a second round at Prohibition.

Like The Majestic, our next stop looms large in the memory of many Okoboji generations. Vern and Coila's is a well-documented establishment. Many folks on the Remember Okoboji Facebook group have written about their experiences eating extravagant, delicious meals and celebrating life's biggest moments. Several folks have also written about how much they loved to work there - mostly teen workers. This, folks, is the joy of working on local history. The life and memories of these places live in each of you.

And finally, we had to take you to a car hop place. Bob told us he couldn't remember exactly where his wife worked, so we dove into a few famous car hop places near the south end of the lake. Tony's Pizza would not open for a few more years, but it was a well-known place to stop in for a quick bite in Arnolds Park. (Toby Shine mentioned it as a favorite in our Building Arnolds Park episode.)Red's Café, located near the spillway between East and West Lake, also had a car hop. The two pictures are from the late 1940s and mid-1960s, respectively.

What a night it's been! Do you have your own going out stories to share? We'd love to hear them. And don't forget to let us know which year you'd like us to explore next. Email us at hello@okobojiproject.com. We can't wait to continue this journey with you!!

episode info

Hey! We're so happy you could make it out. Let's hop in our time machine and go back to 1952. It's going to be a fun night in Okoboji!

Let's start at the top of the episode: The Majestic Skating Rink. During our research, we found several blogs written by folks from all over the country who skated here. There's so much history here. But in 1952, this was a major destination for the area's high school kids. And you can see that in the first picture - it's mostly teenagers. There were a lot more high schools back then, too: Superior, Spirit Lake, Lake Park, Excelsior, Okoboji, Milford, Arnold Park, and Terril. Can you imagine all those groups of kids together? The romances? The rivalries? It's the stuff of books.

Next, we head over to The Roof Garden, which we discussed in depth in another episode this season. We dug up several ads for The Roof Garden around the time we set this big night out. Tiny Hill played the weekend we set the episode in, and you can see his colorful feature in The Milford Mail below. But we also have an ad for Louis Armstrong returning to The Roof Garden - when his career was in a big swing. "La Vie en Rose" was already out, and he was ten years away from "Mack the Knife."

We also have some pictures of what Arnolds Park looked like around this time - we're just starting to see more color photos in our postcard collections.

Then, of course... we have Mrs. Muriel, Window Turnley. What a star. There were way too many details about her that we had to leave out of the episode. We found a lot of information about her on other blogs from Fort Lauderdale, where she opened another club after leaving Okoboji. We've clipped pictures from her life, including one around the age she would have been in Okoboji and some of our favorite newspaper features. Muriel Turnley, we will return to your wonderful, theatrical life!

There are also two clips from The Spirit Lake Beacon about these alcohol raids the county was pushing on local restaurants. It's challenging to track down precisely what the law looked like in 1952. One article explains that most of these restaurants, including Vern and Coila's, were only allowed to sell alcohol under a certain content level, like beer. Regardless, the articles we've read make it seem like Okoboji was having a second round at Prohibition.

Like The Majestic, our next stop looms large in the memory of many Okoboji generations. Vern and Coila's is a well-documented establishment. Many folks on the Remember Okoboji Facebook group have written about their experiences eating extravagant, delicious meals and celebrating life's biggest moments. Several folks have also written about how much they loved to work there - mostly teen workers. This, folks, is the joy of working on local history. The life and memories of these places live in each of you.

And finally, we had to take you to a car hop place. Bob told us he couldn't remember exactly where his wife worked, so we dove into a few famous car hop places near the south end of the lake. Tony's Pizza would not open for a few more years, but it was a well-known place to stop in for a quick bite in Arnolds Park. (Toby Shine mentioned it as a favorite in our Building Arnolds Park episode.)Red's Café, located near the spillway between East and West Lake, also had a car hop. The two pictures are from the late 1940s and mid-1960s, respectively.

What a night it's been! Do you have your own going out stories to share? We'd love to hear them. And don't forget to let us know which year you'd like us to explore next. Email us at hello@okobojiproject.com. We can't wait to continue this journey with you!!

episode info

episode info

episode source material

episode source material

  • Interviews with Bob Boettcher and Don Gregerson

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