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During the 1950’s Rainbow
Garden continued to attract crowds with its big band sound, but big
bands and dance halls were on the decline. World War II caused bands
to break up when their musicians were drafted, gas rationing restricted
travel, the emerging music trend of rock ‘n’ roll started replacing
the big band sound, and many dance halls around the country began closing.
In the late 1950s Rainbow
Garden was subjected to several raids by state liquor control agents.
Bob Wingard and band leader Terry Burke recalled several of these raids.
At 10 p.m. on a Saturday
night in 1958, a crowd of approximately 1,200 watched as state liquor
control agents, with their guns drawn, raided the premises.
They treated us like
we were a bunch of criminals, Bob [Wingard] said.
Terry [Burke] remembered
the first raid.
The first night they came
in with about seven or eight liquor
inspectors, and they all had hats, he said. They kept the hats on
so you knew who they were. They went around and arrested those people
that would have an open flask of liquor. There was a sheriff outside,
and he hauled the people down to the justice of the peace who fined
them $10 and then suspended the fine.
Appearing before the mayor
of Fremont, Bob pleaded not guilty. The mayor ruled not guilty and dismissed
the charges.
This liquor agent was madder
than a wet hen, Bob said. So about three weeks later they raided me
again and arrested me again. I figured this guy was going to keep
after me until I pleaded guilty so I plead guilty. The mayor fined
me $25 and costs.
During the last raid, Terry’s
band attempted to thwart the efforts of the arresting officers.
This one liquor agent came
up on the bandstand and said, ‘I want you guys to stop playing so
these people will go back to their tables.’
Terry explained.
I said, ‘Mr. Wingard is
the one who hired us, and he’s the one who tells us to play or not
to play.’ These liquor agents were standing at the tables waiting
for the people to come off the dance floor so they could arrest them,
but we just kept playing, and the people kept dancing.
[Excerpted
from John Moor, "See You At Rainbow," The Bridge, June
2, 1988]
Because of the arrests and
negative publicity generated by the liquor raids, Wingard decided to
close the Rainbow Garden in 1959, converting it to a manufacturing plant.
Atlas Industries, Inc. currently occupies the building.
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Written by Cheryl Laugherty -
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