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Show DESERET NEWS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1977 Do-- lt Dear Abby Weddings Where Deltas dancers tripped the light fantastic By Nick Snow Deseret News staff writer DELTA Although it hasn't been used for two years, the memories are thicker than the dust in Billy Van's Dance Hall. (And Man Living C The dancehall's centerpiece is f this 300-pou- nd revolving ball encrusted with 2,000 mirrors, with replica of Temple on top. the lights were fantastic!) One flight up from the appliance and auto parts store now run by his son, Frank, Billy Van started to convert the attic into a place where dreams rhythmically glided on light feet, or jumped to the beat of a hot five-piec- e band. We started working on it in 1947, Frank we Van recalls. The winter of started having dances. But Im still working on it. 47-4- When sunlight streams in through the windows, the room shows off the lavendar color the Vans used. "It's all automotive enamel, says Frank. Thats all we had. But the Deltans who danced here remember differently. They say the place came alive at night, thanks to the thousands of pieces of mirror and lights Billy placed in the hall. At last count, Frank says, the room had more than 200,000 pieces of glass. More than two thousand of those are found in the big ball that is the rooms centerpiece. Youve probably seen reflective balls, but Ill bet youve never seen one this big, Frank says. Weighing pounds, it took 30 days to build. As it turns, it carries a model airplane in a circle beneath a banner: WE DANCE NEXT SAT. A platform circles the ball at its midsection, supporting a model train that luns around on top. From below, the platform flashes a message onto the floor below: WELCOME TO BILLY VANS DANCEHALL. Crowning the large ball is another one of Billy Vans interests: a wooden replica of the Salt Lake Mormon Temple. Frank Van says it took his father three months to carve and assemble from little bits of wood they found around town. 300-40- A larger temple replica rooms north side. That one is found on the took six months, and three visits, for Billy to build, says Frank. He also worked from a photograph. I bet he knows more about the detail work on that temple than the people who see it every day, the son says. Eight smaller balls also turn, shimmering reflections from blue and red lights. Chandeliers with hundreds of glass pieces each, and 1,000 stars complete the light show. But the memories dont end there: On each side of the fireplace, a large animal looks out. On the left, its a hollow metal dog, one of three in this country carved by a German craftsman in the 1940s. The other animal, a papier mache lion, has more local origins, according to Frank. The local Lions Club came by and asked my dad to do an animal for the annual parade. They settled on $10 as a fee, and he went to work. Well, they used it in the parade, but then they didnt want to pay him. So he took it back and put it up here, he says. A small stage above the fireplace, where Frank used to put on puppet shows for the dancers, adds the final touch. But while Deltans may disagree on the color of the rooms paint or the number of mirrors, those who danced here are unanimous on one point: They had good times here. We had a five-pieband that could really kick it out, says Phill Nielson, who lives in nearby Lynndyl. They were good enough to play up in Salt Lake a number of times. And they were local boys too. The people would come from all over, and everybody would dance in his own way, adds Frank Van. Through the 1950s and into the 60s, the hall was still used. We had great dances during hunting season, recalls Alan Nielson, Phills brother. But the last time the hall was used was nearly two years ago for a Christmas party. Its a shame too, says Alan Nielson. Last time I was here, I just about joined the Army. This recruiter got talking to me, and before I knew it, he had the papers for me to sign. I was feeling so good that I almost did, Moroni to place in the lamps along the stairs from the street. When the time comes, he says, hell give the place a good sweeping out. But while the dust will fly, the memories will hold fast. too. Frank Van insists that the hall is too dirty to be used anytime soon. But hes also adding to it, making wooden replicas of The Angel s- 1 - 'rl i is-'- i i 4 1 T ye--. 4 m 4? r I S VS? - g "I' The dusty dancehall (left) features lavender enameled celing on which reflections from 200,000 mirrors created a dazzling display. At right: owner Frank Van opens door. V & ? Deseret News photos by Gerald Silver' Poetry appeals to youth, says U. English professor By Clint Barber Deseret News staff writer The sky at night is like a big city where beasts and men abound, but never once has anyone killed a fowl or a goat, and no bear has ever killed a prey. There are no accidents; there are no losses. Everything knows its way. Dr. Edward Lueders will autograph his new book Monday from neon to 2 p. m. at Trolley Square store. This poem, translated by Kafu Hoh from African, is typical of the human and contemporary flavor in Zero Makes Me collection of Hungry, an award-winnin- g by Dr. Edward Lueders, poetry University of Utah English professor. Young people today are much easier to approach with poetry than in generations past, said Lueders, who goes out into the schools often to talk about poetry with students in more their classrooms. I think there are two main reasons. One is the wide variety of kinds of poetry available . . . poems being written and read for all kinds of reasons on all kinds of subjects in their own time. I think television has given us a sense of the different voices in which people speak, and each poem has its own voice. In previous the times all poems had the same voice English teachers voice. Now, everybody can read for himself and listen to the sounds of the poems and the person speaking. Zero Makes Me Hungry," The book, which was recently recognized as outstanding among childrens literature published in 1976, is one of three childrens poetry collections which have won awards for Lueders and other Coincidentally, Lueders will be featured at an autograph party for his ninth book, The Clam Lake Papers A Winter in the North Woods, at B. Dalton Book Seller, Trolley Square, Monday from Noon to 2 p.m. This book is mostly prose, but has some poetry, Lueders said. Zero Makes Me Hungry, with Primus St. John, assistant professor of English at Portland State University, is a collection of translations of more than 100 poems from all over the world. Basis for the selection was to make it multi-ethniwith ti anslation into other languages and cultures, along with contemporary American poets, Lueders said. One of the things which proves out here is that they fthe young readers) dont distinguish the foreign ones particularly. They dont think of them as foreign for one thing, they are in translation; and we chose poems which are universal and dont reflect the peculiar characteristics of the culture. In the foreword to Some Haystacks Dont Even Have Any Needle, an awardby winning poetry collection Lueders in 1969, freshness is suggested as the first item in considering any poem for the multi-nationa- l, c, book. We selected poems with fresh images, for one thing images from todays world, the foreward says. The old themes. such as love and loneliness, anger and compassion are there. But they are set in the context of now, a now which is often wild, zany, tense, tender, stark, violent. Finally, they are formed or shaped in a rich variety of ways. Lueders said people usually begin to think that all poems must rhyme. But they are thinking mostly of jingles. When they read poems in freer forms, they often are more excited by what they find there because its likely to be closer to their sense of the way things are and their own language. After all, its harder to write a good poem in traditional form that is really a poem rather than just a mechanical rhyme. anyone can Its much more demanding make a rhyme, but rhyme doesnt necessarily make poetry. Its best to write what you really want to write, rather than just filling out traditional forms. Good free verse puts ths premium on elements of poetry that are more normal to kids speech rhythms rather than mechanical meter ; strange words, or familiar words used strangely for the fun of it, not because they suit some predetermined form. Kids at all ages or levels are being encouraged more and more to write creatively themselves, and it makes them better creative readers of poetry, Lueders said. Like music and painting and the other arts, nobody expects everybody to be a great artist; but we all recognize the value of everyone trying his hand at drawing, coloring or singing. The two childrens poetry books named previously, and Reflections on a Gift of Watei melon Pickle, all of which have won have awards for Lueders and sold close to a half million copies, he said. Theyve had a very wide reception. They appeal to everybody, to kids through adults of all ages. Parents buy these for kids and kids buy them for parents. They are good books f or people who read poetry and for those who do not read poetry. Among 12 honors, awards and distinctions have won which Lueders and his for the three collections are New York Times Outstanding Books for Young Readers, 1976; Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, 1968; and American Library Association Notable Childrens Books, 1976. A sample of Lueders own fine imagery in these books is this verse from "Rodeo, in the book Reflections. Leathery, wry, and rough. Jaw full of chaw, and slits For eyes this guy is tough. He climbs the slatted fence. Pulls himself atop and sits; Tilts back his cowboy hat. Stained with sweat below The crown, and wipes a dirty Sleeve across his brow; Then pulls the bat dow n tight. Caresses up its sides. And s pits into the dust A benediction. |