Dancehalls in St. Mary Parish

Siracusa’s

Listed in “Readers recall clubs where they danced to Louisiana Music” from The Daily Advertiser, December 29, 1998: “Readers of The Daily Advertiser were asked to submit names of’ the clubs where they danced to Louisiana music in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, with a brief recollection of what the club was like and who played there.” ...

Lou’s Merry Inn

Included in a 2006 Louisiana Cajun dance hall list compiled by WYNK Cajun DJ “Tee Mick” Abed, sent to me in personal correspondence from David Marcantel ...

Illikai Lounge

now a Chinese restaurant- on Dr. Martin Luther Kinf, Jr. Blvd one block off 90 ...

Hub Club

David Guarisco, 2014: “My Dad, Peter D. Guarisco (known as ‘Hub Club Pete’), owned the Hub Club in Morgan City, a restaurant and bar up front and a dancehall in the back. Papa Celestine and Tony Almarica(sic) and other bands from New Orleans to Houston played for dances on the weekends. It was located at the the corner of Ditch Avenue and Highway 90 in Morgan City. It closed in 1972.”  Dave Bartholomew, 2008: “I PLAYED IN ONE PLACE WITH DIFFERENT BANDS. THE HUB CLUB IN MORGAN CITY LOUISIANA. IT WAS THE RIGHT CLUB WHERE ALL THE GREAT BANDS OF NEW ORLEANS PLAYED. LIKE A 12 OR 15 PIECE BANDS WOULD PLAY THERE AND I PLAYED THERE WITH DIFFERENT BANDS. BUT IT WAS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN… SPREAD IT OUT AND PLAY ALMOST ANYTHING AND THE MUSIC WOULD BE HEARD ALL OVER THE COUNTRY BECAUSE WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED EVERYONE HAD A LOT OF RESPECT FOR THE HUB CLUB THAT MUSICIANS HIRED BECAUSE WHEN THEY WENT THERE THEY KNOW THEY CAN PLAY THEIR CHARTS.” ...

BJ’s

No known information ...

Yellow Bowl

Maria Zeringue’s grandmom Myra Blanchard- jitterbug dancing- owned by TK Hulin- originally bus station & possibly bootlegger place ...

Club Hiway 90

Photos courtesy of Carol Polito Carol Polito: “Club Hiway 90 was on Hiway Avenue in Franklin, next door to the house where I grew up (301 Hiway Avenue). The Club Hiway 90 building was torn down when we were kids. The Club was built in the 1940’s by my grandfather, Joseph Polito, Sr., and my grandmother, Lucia, and run by the family until the early 50’s. My father, Kelly, who was the oldest son, ran the business while his brothers, Frank and Joe Jr., served in World War II. My mother, Sadie, and her sisters-in-law, Mae, Josie and Rae, worked alongside my dad until Frank, Joe, and Josie’s husband, Lawrence Borona, returned from the service. Jennie, the oldest daughter, and her husband Elbert Trahant, lived in New Orleans, and did not work in the family business. After my father died in an automobile accident in June of 1949, the rest of the family continued to run the Club, as well as Polito’s Bar and Cafe in downtown Franklin. I found a newspaper article that mentioned the Club closing in 1955, but am unsure. I know that there was a bar area, a dining area and the area with a dance floor and stage. The interior picture is of the dance floor set up for what I am guessing was one of the bingo nights.”   ...