Weekend storm sunders Historical Park’s dance hall
A pinnacle of history in San Benito County, Dunneville Dance
Hall was the place to be seen when it first opened in 1890.
When the dance hall was saved from the wrecking ball, in 1992,
it was moved in three sections to the San Benito County Historical
Park where it became a central point in the park’s collection of
local landmarks.
Weekend storm sunders Historical Park’s dance hall
A pinnacle of history in San Benito County, Dunneville Dance Hall was the place to be seen when it first opened in 1890.
When the dance hall was saved from the wrecking ball, in 1992, it was moved in three sections to the San Benito County Historical Park where it became a central point in the park’s collection of local landmarks.
According to Peter Sonne, president of the historical society, the building was a beacon for the Historical Park because it was visible when people drove down Highway 25.
Now the Dunneville Dance Hall is gone.
A casualty of last weekend’s storm, the gusty winds that swept through San Benito County on Saturday wreaked havoc on the old building. When the storm cleared the hall was rubble.
The dance hall was filled with pieces of San Benito County history, saddles – some dating as far back as 1890 – old license plates dating back to the ‘teens and old tins advertising products that no longer exist are gone.
The building also housed two pianos, one of which was still standing when the damages were assessed on Tuesday. “Fortunately, some old photos which were formerly housed there were taken out. [park curator] Bob Maillot took them out before the weather got too bad.”
Sonne said that they were still assessing the entire area. There is a fair amount of structure that is not salvageable; still there are pieces – the north and south walls, the front and some of the rafters and timbers – that can be saved.
“We are pretty confident that we can rebuild, but funding is the issue. We’re going to coordinate our efforts with the [Gabilan] Conservation Crews and probably get as many members as we can and have workdays to clean up the perimeter. We’ll stockpile the materials, dismantle the roof, and do a thorough clean up of the site and then see how things look. The real issue is funding,” Sonne said.
He said that when Maillot called him Sunday night he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The building was gone. “It was getting dark and I couldn’t come out that night, so I went out on Monday morning and my heart just sank,” Sonne said. “I’d been in the building on Friday night and it looked okay.”
As recently as last October, 700 students came out to the historical park and watched a Civil War re-enactment. During the day, the hall served as a field hospital for faux soldiers from both the North and South, but at night, the hall returned to its former glory for nightly period dances.
Norman Dike, who has been volunteering with the historical society for 11 years, said that he was up in the Sierra when his daughter-in-law called him and informed him what had happened. “I was in shock,” Dike said.
Jack O’Donnell, Fred LaSelve and Dick Hill all helped to move the structure to the historical park back in 1992. Sonne said that he didn’t have the heart to tell O’Donnell, the only remaining member of the three, that the structure was gone.
Dike remembered that the front of the hall had come off a number of years ago and that it took 54 days for O’Donnell, LaSelve and himself to put it back together. “It wasn’t braced to withstand wind, but we never expected to get that kind of wind,” Dike said.
The night of the storm, the winds were blowing so strong and changing direction so often that the big structure never stood a chance. The wind moved through the structure and just took it down from the inside.
According to the National Weather Service the strongest winds on Saturday hit the area around 11 a.m. with maximum speeds of 42 miles per hour.
“We’re taking out what we can and hopefully we’ll get a few tarps up to protect anything that’s exposed before the next set of storms. We’re concerned about the exposed walls, but less concerned with the parts that are covered by the roof.”
What Sonne said that the society doesn’t want is for the dance hall to sit too long without anything being done. The Gabilan crews are currently working to get a roof on the Garcia house. The Sullivan house also needs to be re-shingled and have the paint finished. “The Gabilan crews are usually pretty large so what we can do is break them into several smaller crews and situate as needed.”
Still, the historical society needs more and younger members. There are only currently 15 members who share much of the work at the park. Sonne said that they are working at getting the community more involved. Fortunately, local businesses and community members have been supportive of the park and its projects. “Everything we do is to preserve the history of this county.”
When the society rebuilds the dance hall, they plan to keep the facility in the same style, but use more modern methods and materials.
There are two events already scheduled for this year. The Antique Engine and Tractor show, scheduled for June and the Civil War re-enactment, scheduled for October. “Our goal is to have this cleared up and in order by then. Maybe even have construction underway.”
The storm spared the rest of the structures at the historical park, but knocked over two other trees. Elsewhere, it slightly damaged the roof of the Emmaus House.
In other weather news, this area has received about two-and-a-half inches of rain since the season started last month, the majority of that total coming from the last set of storms.
Dike is optimistic too. “It’s too bad to lose it, but maybe it could be better if we get it rebuilt. It was the only facility that we got any income from.”
