May 1995 Blazer

Wood dances became annual events in some rural towns

Utah. State Historical Society 300 Rio Grande Salt Lake Cit? L'T 84101 ( 801) 533- 3800 FA)( ( 801) 533- 3503 " Wood Dances" Became Annual Events in Some Rural Towns F R OLIFE~ IN 1 m - A ND EARLY ~~ H- CENTURRYU RAL UTAHw as often filled with challenges and hard work. Pioneer colonizers in settlements that dotted the sagebrush expanses of Utah often struggled with perpetually broken dams, ditches, and canals and also battled droughts, floods, Indians, insects, and a variety of other difficulties. In the midst of these hardships, however, settlers still saved time to cultivate active social lives that often centered around town dances. Dancing was popular among all ages as it provided an opportunity for adults to mingle with fiends and other townsfolk and gave youth a chance to show off for members of the opposite sex. In some towns fresuent dance gatherings gave rise to interesting customs and experiences that form a colorful part of Utah's past. In 1876, just one year after the first settlers arrived to colonize Escalante, the eager young people of that infant town sprinkled water on a barren spot of earth and trampled it hard to make a dance floor. Originally, dances were free in Escahte, but as accommodations improved admit-tance required an entrance fee. Ticket prices could be paid in produce- such as beans, grain, potatoes, and squash- prompting some local boys to seek work in the grain fields to earn enough grain to pay for their winter dance tickets. In Beaver ' wood dances" became popular annual events. This tradition grew out of the need to provide fuel for the wood- burning stoves at the church and for widows and needy families in the community. On the appointed day, men and boys would secure every horse and wagon in town and head into the nearby hills to chop and gather wood. The wood haulers were paid for their efforts in tickets to the ' wood dance" and supper. Tickets were distributed according to the amount of wood each family retrieved, motivating large families to do proportional work to receive tickets for each family member. The women cooked a large meal complete with vegetables, meats, pies, cakes, and jellies, and those with tickets were admitted to the feast and ensuing dance. A similar tradition evolved farther south in Hebron. Each fall the men of that town chose sides for the annual wood haul. At the appointed hour each side began its quest to chop and haul the most firewood. The losing side had to furnish a free dance and picnic for the winners and their wives. In this way residents provided wood for the church building to last through the winter and enjoyed food and a dance when the work was done. In 1875 the men of Hebron organized a similar contest, again hoping to benefit the town. According to Orson Huntsman, rabbits in the area had become tremendously ' over stocked" and were destroying the settlers' crops and range grass. After a town meeting Huntsman and Jefferson Hunt were appointed captains to make a contest of the hunt by choosing sides from among the men and boys in town capable of shouldering a gun or club. The losing side was to ' make a party and supper for the other side." Early on November 22 the two teams of thirteen men and nine boys each commenced the slaughter. The contest ended on December 24 with Huntsman's team killing a total of 1,488 rabbits and Hunt's team 1,505. Huntsman recalled, ' So they ate and danced at our expense . . . and we all had a good enjoyable time." According to John Laub, there were other unusual aspects to some dances at Hebron. He recalled several dances where most of the boys did not have shoes to wear. A crowd of anxious youth would gather outside the dance hall and take turns with the shoes that were available. One boy would don a pair and go in and dance and then wme out and allow another boy a turn so that all were eventually able to dance. As in Escalante, the Hebron boys paid for their dance tickets in produce. A large squash, a few ears of wrn, or some potatoes would do, but the young man who showed up with molasses candy was extra fortunate. This sweet treat was never paid as admittance to the dance, but the boy who was lucQ enough to have it always saved it to share with his female dance partners. Similar experiences typified life in most remote areas of Utah where dances were integral and enjoyable aspects of community life. Dancing provided a valuable form of social interaction that helped mitigate the loneliness of the frontier and offered opportunities for both young and old to forget the challenges of rural life and have fun. See Aird G. M d e y , ed., Monumcnts to Courage: A History of Beaver County ( Milford, Utah, 1948); Carrie Elinbstb L. ub Hunt, Memories of the Past a d Fmily History ( Salt hike City, 1968); Nethella Griffin Wmlsey, ? he ~~ e Stoly: A History of the Town of Escalante.. .187S- 1964 ( Springville, 1964); Diary of Orson W. Huntsman, typescript, Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, 1: 90- 91. THE ~ RBLAZYER is pr oduced by the Utah State Historical Society and funded in part by a grant from the Utah Statehood Centennial Commission. For more information about the Historical Society telephone [phone] ( PR)