April 16, 2004
The Fading of Social Clubs
Sometime in 1998 the Hollywood Elks closed their doors. A very high percent of the members
then went to the Hollywood Moose Club. I DJd intermission music there at a dinner dance. The
ages ranged from the mid 60s through the 80s. At 11:15 PM the place was almost empty. I do
not recall seeing any 50-year-olds, therefore no room for expansion. All that was
accomplished was consolidation.
Shortly after, the Coral Gables Elks building was sold out, and they merged with South Miami
Elks. Again, this appears to be a consolidation. Any building intended with the money from the
sale, will not solve anything. It will only postpone the inevitable, the fading out of the current
70+ generation. Perhaps, some day as we get older and are not replaced by the next
generation, the South Miami Elks will feel obligated to join forces with Sunset Elks, that is,
consolidate further. Homestead Elks had also closed their doors not too long after the closing
of the Coral Gables branch.
The Polish American Club membership continues to get older. The German American Social
Club is also having trouble keeping its membership. The Country Club of Coral Gables is in a
similar dilemma.
Latin Ballroom has been dead in Dade years ago for the same reasons.
Why is all this occurring? Because as our generation (I am 78) gets older, some leave Dade
and others simply die off. We are not replacing ourselves with members of the next
generations, the 40, 50 & 60-year-olds.
Mary and I offer one of many possible solutions to this problem.
I was a member of Parent Without Partners of Florida, Inc., a singles group. I observed the
same as previously mentioned. In 1994 I took over the music for the club. In addition to hiring
the bands, I played intermission music. Mary Tye became president. The club was broke, with
only about $150 in the bank.
Mary Tye and I dedicated ourselves to the bringing in the 40 & 50-year-olds, the Latin group
and other groups. I dedicated myself to playing only contemporary music (from 1960 to the
present). I imposed a rule that the bands were not to play music older than 1960 after 10:00
PM. We were reasonably successful. The club was financially sound and we had the youngest
average age in town. The 70-year-olds enjoyed the music very much. We were starting to
have two generations dancing together and loving it. Two years later the new president started
catering to the 70-year-olds, and alienating the 50-year-olds. She, and others, started to work
against my campaign of getting the next generation to take over the club. I then dropped out
and the club went broke January 1998
In the meantime, Mary Tye and I got married.
Please pay attention to this message before it becomes too late. Do not close yourselves in
your generation. Get the next generation involved. There are many ways. Mary’s and mine is
only one of them. Remember, we play strictly Ballroom (social dance) type music, NOT rock,
nor hip-hop nor reggaeton music.
Sincerely,
Miguel Melgar
235 SW 105 Place
Sweetwater, FL 33174
(305) 553-0832
Second thoughts:
As I was thinking of my mother wanting to die in her house, not in a nursing home, I saw a
similarity to this situation. Is it possible that we do not “want to be put aside”? We want to
preserve our last bastion of independence, our social clubs. As our clubs diminish we will
consolidate with other clubs. We will continue doing this until the last of our generation is
gone. In the meantime, the clubs will die with us. Is that what is happening?
If that is true, then you might not want to dance to our music, since most of it is from 1960 on.
However, if these last thoughts are not true, and you do want the 40 & 50-year-olds in the club,
then please give us a chance and let us play our music.
The Fading of Social Clubs
Sometime in 1998 the Hollywood Elks closed their doors. A very high percent of the members
then went to the Hollywood Moose Club. I DJd intermission music there at a dinner dance. The
ages ranged from the mid 60s through the 80s. At 11:15 PM the place was almost empty. I do
not recall seeing any 50-year-olds, therefore no room for expansion. All that was
accomplished was consolidation.
Shortly after, the Coral Gables Elks building was sold out, and they merged with South Miami
Elks. Again, this appears to be a consolidation. Any building intended with the money from the
sale, will not solve anything. It will only postpone the inevitable, the fading out of the current
70+ generation. Perhaps, some day as we get older and are not replaced by the next
generation, the South Miami Elks will feel obligated to join forces with Sunset Elks, that is,
consolidate further. Homestead Elks had also closed their doors not too long after the closing
of the Coral Gables branch.
The Polish American Club membership continues to get older. The German American Social
Club is also having trouble keeping its membership. The Country Club of Coral Gables is in a
similar dilemma.
Latin Ballroom has been dead in Dade years ago for the same reasons.
Why is all this occurring? Because as our generation (I am 78) gets older, some leave Dade
and others simply die off. We are not replacing ourselves with members of the next
generations, the 40, 50 & 60-year-olds.
Mary and I offer one of many possible solutions to this problem.
I was a member of Parent Without Partners of Florida, Inc., a singles group. I observed the
same as previously mentioned. In 1994 I took over the music for the club. In addition to hiring
the bands, I played intermission music. Mary Tye became president. The club was broke, with
only about $150 in the bank.
Mary Tye and I dedicated ourselves to the bringing in the 40 & 50-year-olds, the Latin group
and other groups. I dedicated myself to playing only contemporary music (from 1960 to the
present). I imposed a rule that the bands were not to play music older than 1960 after 10:00
PM. We were reasonably successful. The club was financially sound and we had the youngest
average age in town. The 70-year-olds enjoyed the music very much. We were starting to
have two generations dancing together and loving it. Two years later the new president started
catering to the 70-year-olds, and alienating the 50-year-olds. She, and others, started to work
against my campaign of getting the next generation to take over the club. I then dropped out
and the club went broke January 1998
In the meantime, Mary Tye and I got married.
Please pay attention to this message before it becomes too late. Do not close yourselves in
your generation. Get the next generation involved. There are many ways. Mary’s and mine is
only one of them. Remember, we play strictly Ballroom (social dance) type music, NOT rock,
nor hip-hop nor reggaeton music.
Sincerely,
Miguel Melgar
235 SW 105 Place
Sweetwater, FL 33174
(305) 553-0832
Second thoughts:
As I was thinking of my mother wanting to die in her house, not in a nursing home, I saw a
similarity to this situation. Is it possible that we do not “want to be put aside”? We want to
preserve our last bastion of independence, our social clubs. As our clubs diminish we will
consolidate with other clubs. We will continue doing this until the last of our generation is
gone. In the meantime, the clubs will die with us. Is that what is happening?
If that is true, then you might not want to dance to our music, since most of it is from 1960 on.
However, if these last thoughts are not true, and you do want the 40 & 50-year-olds in the club,
then please give us a chance and let us play our music.
 |
| |
 |
| Essays on Subject |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Miguel Melgar, DJ |
| Contemporary Ballroom |
| (Social Dance) |