1888 Leap Year Ball, the Talk of the Town
By Debbie Brockett
Here’s a rare piece of Grand Junction history—an 1888 Leap Year Ball dance card. Leap Year Day, February 29th, happens every four years, the next being 2012.
If unfamiliar with the charm of Leap Year, it’s a time when ladies are permitted to ask lads out, and even propose marriage, without seeming unladylike. For centuries it was celebrated with formal dances conducted by women for the advancement of matrimony—theirs preferably. Most proposals were happily accepted, but when a gentleman refused an offer of marriage, he was obligated to bestow a kiss upon the disappointed lady’s cheek and buy her a new silk gown—a satisfactory, but perhaps embarrassing, consolation.
You’ll notice that Grand Junction’s 1888 “programme” occurred on January 20th, rather than February 29th. Curious about the discrepancy, I researched and discovered tradition allows a Leap Year ball to take place any time that year.
Leap Year was nearly three years away when, in autumn of 1881, hardy men broke ground for the new town of Grand Junction. Marriage—along with winter shelter—was highest priority. Unfortunately, the sparse population of 150 men and two women made that an impossible goal. Early pioneer and businessman, Benton Canon, relayed in his memoirs a hopeful solution to their plight:
“We had a standing order of
a choice town lot to the first lady that got married in our town, (with) a free
ceremony into the bargain.”
The offer was good for ninety days, and Marie Bonholzer took advantage. Marrying the extremely fortunate Thomas Keehn, she swiftly took possession of prime real estate. A couple of years passed, but few wedding notices made print. Though Edwin Price, the editor of the Grand Junction News, was married, he lamented his buddies’ bachelorhood in terse tidbits:
Russel
Bros, & Co. suspended business one day this week and had “Tramp”
photographed. He’s the only child of four old bachelors.” GJN
February 9, 1884
Everybody
and his girl walked down to the river Sunday afternoon. The old bachelors were
too numerous to mention. GJN May 31, 1884
Eventually, town boosters conveyed the message that the valley’s men were progressive and eligible, and by late spring 1884, an influx of single ladies prompted the town’s first Leap Year ball. Twelve marriages quickly followed the pleasant event, testifying to its success.
According to news articles, the next Leap Year Ball—in 1888—was the talk of the town. Composed of the “very best people,” the ladies all held open house and entertained the men, who’d donned “high silk hats and Prince Albert cutaways.” Ladies shimmered in tight-fitting sleeveless evening gowns, accented by long gloves, choker necklaces and elegant upswept coiffures.
The ball was held at the Mesa Opera Rink. Designed as a roller skating rink, the commodious wooden building was opened December 14, 1885 on the site of today’s Mesa Theater, at 538 Main Street. When not used for skating, it was a concert or dance hall.
The evening of January 20, 1888, excited ladies called for their dates in a freight dray festooned with soapboxes and drawn by four black horses. Offered free of charge by Will Hammond’s livery, it traversed the frozen dirt streets from 7:30 to 9:30pm, methodically dropping off couples at the Rink. With each entrance, music and laughter spilled out upon the frosted slats of the boardwalk. Dance floor managers ensured everyone had a good time and followed the main rule—gals must only dance with guys. Refreshments offered a short respite and provided opportunity for that important question to be asked.
At evening’s end, dates were piled back into the dray and delivered safely home. The News declared it the social event of the season. Twenty-six marriage ceremonies were conducted that year.
Typical women's fashions, 1888, Peterson's Magazine Fashion Plate Typical men's fashion, 1888, painting of Adolphe Alphand by Alfred-Philippe Roll
Most likely the type of dray used, 1877 ad Studebaker Wagon Hammond and Kennedy ad, Grand Junction News 9-4-1886
At 538 Main, there’s always entertainment!
The Mesa Opera Rink was located on the north side of Main (right side of picture). You can see the second story rising above the two men standing on the street. The photo is courtesy of the Loyd Files Research Library at the Museum.
When Mesa Opera Rink was constructed, the town builders didn’t know that for nearly Grand Junction’s entire history, that spot would provide its citizens entertainment. The Rink held court until turn of the century. A couple of years the building was used for storage, and then in 1910, The Majestic moved several doors west to its new theater at 538. Vaudeville and blackface singing and dancing were regular features during the Roaring Twenties. In 1933, the Majestic closed its doors and reopened as Mesa Theater. A renovated Mesa Theater debuted in August 1953, sporting a panoramic screen and state-of-the-art stereophonic sound. For much of the 1990s, the building was empty, but today’s Mesa Theater & Club hosts contemporary bands and dance parties.
The Mesa Opera Rink morphed into The Majestic Theater, then the Mesa Theater. Pictures are courtesy of the author