Thanks to Howard Dudley, the Liberty Hotel has been wonderfully revived.

My fondest memories of the Liberty are of the ballroom, which was a well-used and enjoyable dancing spot for Cleburne High School students of the 1940s.

Listening and dancing to the music of Big C’s own Harvey Anderson Band were favorite times of those days.

These exciting occasions would be held on Friday or Saturday nights when other events such as football games didn’t reign supreme.

In the spring, though, other fun things such as dances did hold forth and often were held in the Liberty Hotel ballroom.

If Harvey’s bunch wasn’t playing, plenty of kids would bring records of the popular bands of the times including Glen Miller, the Dorsey Brothers, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Bunny Berigan, Woody Herman, Kay Kaiser, Artie Shaw and singers like Patti Page, Helen O’Connell, the Andrews Sisters, the Ink Spots and the Ames Brothers.

It didn’t take much to entertain us in those gasoline- and tire-rationing days, but we did love dancing and good music.

It was always great to see local boys in their service uniforms make the dances while on leave.

They rated high with the girls, particularly after telling them that they might soon be going overseas.

Street level offices in the Liberty included those of Dr. Jowell, Dr. Morgan, Dr. Pickens, John Miller’s insurance agency, the telegraph office, a barber shop, and later the bus station express office.

In the hotel coffee shop, Jack Proctor, Times-Review editor, was decked by the controversial rancher Sexton’s foreman Grady York because of Proctor’s comments in the TR about the Sexton will trial.

Proctor knew how to sell papers, but that edition backfired on him.

Civic club luncheons, dance lessons and various banquets were held in the hotel ballroom for many years.

The only other dance-size places were the CHS gym or W.O.W. Hall, unless we went three or four couples per car to the Lake Worth Casino, where all of the above mentioned big bands appeared during those years.

Highschoolers enjoyed the Yale Toastery’s “Juicy Pig” sandwiches across the street, the marble boards at the Minute Cafe on East Henderson, and hamburgers and lunches at Ralph and Bob Chafins’ cafes on the courthouse square where Miller’s Drug Store had a good soda fountain.

Mack Smith’s Snowflake Milk and Ice Cream on North Main served unique ice cream and made the best milk shakes in town.

These places were not always open when the Liberty dance was over, but soft drinks or punch were usually available at the dance. Rumors had it that stronger beverages were available.

Rueben Usher, the hotel owner in the ’40s, had a cute daughter and dancer named Nancy.

There were many cute girls in Cleburne who enjoyed dancing.

Later I was fortunate in convincing the cutest one, Joyce Chafin, to marry me, but not for any dance steps.

Joyce and I are still romantically involved and often reminisce about dancing to Harvey Anderson’s music.

A special treat during a dance was watching Cloyce Chafin (Woodruff) and the late Bob “King Kong” Ross perform jitterbug dancing, finishing with Bob doing a backward somersault after turning Cloyce in a forward flip.

I wonder if Cloyce can still move like that on the dance floor?

Bob, as a U.S. Marine, survived many Pacific island invasions in World War II but died as an unappreciated war hero several years ago.

Band members included Harvey on the sax and clarinet; John E. Weeks on the drums; Kenneth Looper, Bobby English and Emmett Mahanay on trombones; Roy Anderson; Charles ‘Peewee’ Allard; Ronald ‘Dopey’ Faulkenbury and Allen Wilbanks on trumpets; Bill Boger; Donald Lanman; Jack Anderson, and Tyson ‘Neck’ Payne on the saxes; Danny Harris at the piano after Billy Jim Clarke graduated; and, as I recall, Nan Bradbury and Jean Stewart were the vocalists.

Occasionally, during a dance break, Lynn Odom would sing his version of “My Buddy.”

What a great time in our lives when the Liberty was jumping!

The late Harvey played for years with his own and other big band orchestras.

Johnny Weeks still plays in a combo appearing in Dallas.

Tyson listens to good music in Austin, as did my late, good friend Emmett in Cleburne, until recently.

Kenneth made it big in the egg world without his trombone.

Hopefully, the others not still with us are good on harps.

The excitement of youth, the times, pretty girls to dance with, great music, and all of the personalities are still vivid as my memories of those great occasions at the Liberty.

It’s sad the old ballroom wasn’t reincarnated as well.

Monte Swatzell is a Cleburne resident.