Austin celebration to rekindle fond reminiscences of bygone teen membership

At age 15, Barry Rush was already a seasoned musician when he acquired the decision for a gig within the fall of 1957. The Saints, a neighborhood doo-wop group, had a reserving for opening night time at a membership in downtown Austin, Minn.

The younger guitarist had no thought he was kicking off an almost 15-year run for a membership that is nonetheless legendary within the reminiscences of southern Minnesotans who got here of age within the Fifties and ’60s.

On Friday, Rush and his band, the Rush Hour, will take the stage once more to headline the Tower Tribute, celebrating the sixty fifth anniversary of the Tower, a membership that was not like nearly some other place within the state.

“I am flattered, however really my solely accomplishment is that I’ve grown previous and I’ve managed to remain bodily match sufficient to play guitar,” the 79-year-old Rush mentioned with amusing. “Will probably be a enjoyable factor. It should carry again quite a lot of reminiscences.”

The Tower was created by Clarence Nybo, a daily man who labored for the native energy utility and had two younger daughters. As they approached their teen years, Nybo started questioning how he may steer them to protected, enjoyable actions.

His resolution: open a membership for teenagers within the Austin space. He rented an area on the second flooring of a downtown constructing and the Tower opened on the finish of August 1957. The steps to the membership, shortly thronged with younger Austinites, have been dubbed “the stairway to heaven.”

“My mother and pop cherished dancing; they cherished music. We at all times had music stepping into the home,” mentioned his daughter, Linda Nybo Lenz, of Austin. “So it isn’t a shock that when he considered a spot for teenagers to go, it might contain dancing and music.”

It was a giant threat. To open the membership, Nybo used cash he’d been saving to purchase a home. Nevertheless it paid off — if not financially, then within the satisfaction of seeing his thought succeed past expectations.

Throughout its run, the Tower was unquestionably the most well-liked hangout on the town. There have been both reside bands or a jukebox each night time. To start with, the membership had a full-service grill serving hamburgers, french fries and malts. That was later pared again to pop and snacks.

The membership introduced collectively Austin teenagers who generally existed in separate orbits. The Catholic children from Pacelli Catholic College met the Protestants from Austin Excessive, and the extra prosperous westsiders mingled with the working-class children from the east.

“Your mother and father did not know if you happen to have been dancing with a Catholic lady or a Jewish lady,” mentioned Bruce Folken, a 1968 Austin Excessive grad who organized the tribute. “They only knew you have been having time with your pals.”

Folken, who now lives in Arizona, mentioned he feels lucky to have grown up in a city that provided such an exquisite amenity.

“There was ping pong, pinball, a soda fountain, locations to hang around. All people simply threw their coats in a single large pile,” he mentioned.

Blue denims have been discouraged and youngsters wore their greatest garments for Friday and Saturday night time dances. Guidelines in opposition to ingesting and combating have been strictly enforced, Folken mentioned. Anybody suspected of ingesting needed to undergo a primary breath check: a sniff from a chaperone.

“There was in all probability extra gum offered in Austin than in some other city,” he mentioned with amusing.

The Tower closed in 1971, a sufferer of fixing instances. Medicine got here in, and youngsters from the Cities who found the Tower proved harder to maintain in line.

However for one night time — with hopes that it’s going to develop into an annual occasion — a technology of Austinites will recapture their youth.

“It was a very particular place,” Folken mentioned.