Morgan Dance Fever Memories

It’s hard to believe that over a century ago, the area along Cheesequake Creek between the railroad bridge and the State Route 35 bridge was dance fever heaven.  The day, May 30, 1914 was Decoration Day, the predecessor holiday to present day Memorial Day.  It was on this day that Frazer Bros. of Perth Amboy opened a “dancing pavilion” in Morgan on dredged landfill deposited in 1882-83 behind a brevet dam constructed where the original path of Cheesequake Creek had been located.

Below are some articles featuring the Morgan Dance Hall from the South Amboy Citizen from all those years ago – courtesy of the Sadie Pope Dowdell Public Library of South Amboy.  During this time period a century ago, the area around Morgan Beach and its bungalow colony was a very popular destination.  In this little area just down the road from the Old Spye Inn and now nearly forgotten, flowed the main car and rail roads from northeastern New Jersey to the Jersey Shore as well as the trolley from New Brunswick/Perth Amboy to the Atlantic Highlands.  Restaurants, car garages, lunch rooms, boat landings, the beach and the Morgan train station were easily within walking distance.  Located just a tad further, on top of the bluff overlooking Morgan Beach and Raritan Bay, was Laurence [namesake for Laurence Harbor] Lamb’s 400-acre golf and country club.

Mr. Alfred Schussler, a later long-time Sayreville councilman, and the grandfather of my childhood friend Rick, is mentioned in one of the articles. Schussler Street in Morgan is named for him.  I’ll always remember Mr. and Mrs. Schussler very fondly.

May 23, 1914 – South Amboy Citizen

DANCING AT MORGAN ON DECORATION DAY

Frazer Bros., of Perth Amboy, will open their new dancing pavilion at Morgan on Decoration Day afternoon [May 30, 1914].  J.C. Donohue &, Son are building the structure, and have a large number of men at work rushing it to completion. It is situated on the causeway between the two bridges, and therefore will be favored with the cool breezes from any direction. It is proposed to have dancing three nights week, for which a first-class orchestra has been engaged. Morgan will surely be “in it” this season.

June 6, 1914 – South Amboy Citizen

SOME JOTTINGS COLLECTED BY OUR REPORTER WHILE GUNNING ABOUT THE CITY

That the party who destroyed property at the dancing pavilion at Morgan, may be ranked in the jail-bird class.

August 7, 1915 – South Amboy Citizen

Morgan Dancing Pavilion affords an opportunity for a very sociable and pleasant evening Wednesdays and Saturdays.

September 11, 1915 – South Amboy Citizen

The management of the Morgan Dancing pavilion announces that for the balance of the season, as long as conditions warrant, the Pavilion will be opened on Saturday nights only. All lovers of good music and dancing should not miss this opportunity, as the continuance depends upon the attendance.

September 18, 1915 – South Amboy Citizen

CAMP MYSTERY BOYS TO HOLD BIG BARN DANCE

A number of young people from New Brunswick who occupy Camp Mystery at Morgan Beach each summer, will wind up the season by holding an old fashion barn dance on Friday evening, September 24, in the Morgan Dancing Pavilion.

It will be a real novel affair as all the guests are expected to attend in overalls, gingham gowns and sun bonnets. There will be good fiddling by a rube orchestra and numerous attractions for non-dancers including the “Mystery Walk.”

It will be a regular carnival of fun and it is expected that this event will attract to Morgan’s dance hall the largest crowd of the season. A tax of 75 cents a couple will be assessed to defray expenses. A feature will be prize waltz.

The young men of Camp Mystery who are arranging for the big event are Phillip Lins, Alfred W. Schussler, Charles Brockman, George H. Gordon, Henry Heffner, Edward C. Johnson of New Brunswick, John N. Ochs, of Mllltown, and Camile Geroud, of Rahway.

August 18, 1917 – South Amboy Citizen

The Dancing Pavilion was closed Wednesday night, the mid-week dances having been discontinued by the management. The Saturday night dances will be featured as usual, however, and large crowds will undoubtedly continue to take advantage of the good music furnished

July 27, 1918 – South Amboy Citizen

THE DANCE WAS A SUCCESS.

The dance given by the office force of the California Loading Company Friday evening, July 19, at the Morgan Pavilion for the benefit of the Red Cross was a decide success both financially and socially.  The proceeds of this dance was divided between the Red Cross Chapters of this city and Old Bridge and needless to say a goodly sum was realized by both.

Dancing began shortly after eight o’clock the music for the occasion being furnished by Prof. Larson’s Jazz Orchestra.   The enticing music caused many auto parties to stop and enjoy the opportunity for a good time. A short intermission was taken during which time the floor manager raffled off several little articles that had been contributed for this event. The revenue received from this source was surprising.

One of the features of the evening was the elimination dance, which was won by Miss Clare McCarthy of this city. At a late hour the orchestra struck up “Home, Sweet Home” and the young people said good night to each other after expressing the desire for another such event in the near future. Guests were present from Old Bridge, Perth Amboy, Keyport, and this city.

August 10, 1918 – South Amboy Citizen

Odds and Ends

The Morgan Dancing Pavilion is being converted into a labor bunk house for the Shell Loading Plant at Morgan. The young people will regret to find that this dancing center is no more.

June 10, 1922 – South Amboy Citizen

DANCES HELD AT MORGAN ARE BECOMING POPULAR

Much credit is due Mr. Straub, the new manager of the Morgan Dance Hall, which he has named “Roseland” for its fine appearance.  Anyone seeing the place last year would not recognize it this year.

The ceiling is decorated in lattice work. Hundreds of various colored roses, each large rose containing an electric light, and two beautiful domes in the center over the platform on which the orchestra sits give it a charming appearance.

The floor is one of the finest in the state. The fence in front has been taken down, giving space for the parking of autos. The promenade around the side and rear overlooking the water has been renovated and a refreshment stand opened alongside.

These Improvements have made it a very popular place for the lovers of dancing which has been testified to by the crowds that have turned out to the preceding dances and the complimentary remarks that have been passed as to the creditable way every thing has been conducted.

Great enthusiasm has been aroused by the prize waltz Dance Saturday night, May 27th, and the special dance on May 29.

Miss Mildred Hyler and Mr. Harry Burlew, of Keyport, took the prize, which was five dollars in gold.

 Mr. Straub says he will get the best music and that there will be a dance every Saturday night hereafter.

From the newspaper articles, it appears that the dancing pavilion was a success both before and after World War I.  During the second year of the United States’ participation in the conflict, and it turns out just a few months before the war’s end, the articles suggest the US government utilized the building as a “labor bunk house”.  This would make a lot of sense as during August 1918, the T. A. Gillespie Loading Company’s facilities were under construction but producing tens of thousands of artillery shells per day.  Thousands of people worked there and housing in the then minimally developed Morgan area was at a premium.  The location of the dance hall was a short walk from the creek area entrance to the plant.

A few years ago, Morgan-NJ.org reader Dan Pavlik wrote that his wife’s maternal grandmother Augusta (last name unknown) was the final owner of the dance club when it was a dance club.  His wife’s Aunt Dorothy said,

“The dance hall was a bar/boarding house. The family lived above the bar and downstairs was the bar, dance floor, and boarding rooms. They later sold it to Luhrs after Augusta passed away.”

Dorothy became an employee at Henry Luhrs Sea Skiffs, Inc.  Undoubtedly, the spacious room making up the dance floor also proved to be useful for the production of the famous Jersey Sea Skiff type of boats.  If indeed the dance hall structure was the same building used for boat production, and it would make total sense that it would have been, the building met its end during the great fire at the Luhrs plant which started in the early morning hours of February 22, 1968.

The strip of NJ State Route 35 through Morgan has long been known, perhaps notoriously, for its night clubs – even to this day.  Perhaps this legacy was started in 1914 along the north shore of Cheesequake Creek.

Originally posted on July, 27, 2018.