OLLIE

           I would give my left thumb to have Ollie's saw and yo yo's.  Ollie met my dad in NY City. He was picked up as a halftime act traveling with his Texas CowGirls basketball team for many years.

Ollie had a place in my dad's heart . When Ollie died a reporter knocked on our door in Rockton in the early seventies to give him the news. Ollie had been hospitalized in NY City for an extended period of time, the reporter  gave my dad a letter Ollie had written to him on his death bed. Ollie was one of the people that affectionately called my dad "Mr. Dempsey."  He was small in stature shy and quiet. He was small enough to sit in the van on a little stool  in front of the covered  engine compartment facing backward that was in Dodge vans in the sixties. Ollie and a team full of women basketball players traveling day in and day out coast to coast. He was a smoker and occasionally snuck a cigarette to some of the athletes that were forbidden to smoke as part of their team rules and contract which also stated no unchaperoned dating, no drinking soda before games and tidy uniforms and no gaudy makeup lipstick is fine and neat hair .

Feb 9 1964  

I was six in 1963. My mom made every holiday magical. She won best decorated house during the holiday season for many years to come. Halloween was as big as Christmas, St Pats ,Valentines Day, 4th of July ,Thanksgiving were all mesmerizing because of my mom's celebrating  visions and artistry from the music to the food to the decorations and spirit. Each holiday was a perfectly staged event with no stress of any kind she created landscapes and memories with ease. 

In 1963 she decided rather than the tradtional fresh evergreen with strung popcorn, cranberries, pine cones and construction paper chains that we  would have the newest tree of the decade as the center and focul point in our home. A company  out of  Chicago created a silver  aluminum tree with an electric rotating color wheel . They sell on ebay without the color wheel today for 750.00

The cost was 80.00 a hefty price in 1963.  They originated in the late 1950's in Chicago varying in size from table top to eight feet.  We had the six foot model. The color wheels sell for another 200.00 on vintage sights Ollie  spent the Christmas season with our family  the year my mom had chose the aluminum  tree  decked out in  silver and blue with the loud color wheel spinning, spinning in the evenings.  We sat in our best suits  and dresses  and were entertained on Christmas Eve to Ollie's  renditions of Away In The Manger and Silent Night on the saw he played with a bow like a violin. He gave us all yo-yo's as gifts and taught us tricks from his yo-yo extravaganza show.   He and my dad went back on the road right after Christmas and returned on Feb 9, 1964 . We all gathered in the living room . My dad made his popcorn , hot pink lemonade and pigs in a blanket , a clue to us kids that something entertaining was coming. When he was able to be  home on N.Y. Eve this was the fare as we traditionally  watched Guy Lombardo , danced in the living room then banged on pans and threw newspaper confetti we prepared at midnight. I thought maybe the evening was a late delayed  N.Y. Eve celebration since he had to go back on the road and missed it with us. No confetti , no pans laid out  but there was adult whispering and mystery in the air. We children were lined up on pillows on the floor with my mom, Ollie, my dad on the  sections of the angled sofa. My dad rubbing his hands in excitement, an occasional "I don't know should the kids watch this?" to my mom. Ollie was wide  eyed as the announcer welcomed us  to the Ed Sullivan Show . The Beatles performed five songs on their Ed Sullivan Show live debut. They sang All My Loving, Till There Was You and She Loves You, in the first half of the program, followed by an advertisement for Anadin. Ed Sullivan's other guests - Georgia Brown & Oliver Kidds, Frank Gorshin, Tessie O'Shea - followed, after which The Beatles performed  I Saw Her Standing There and I Want To Hold Your Hand.  Back and forth Ollie and my dad would ask "are those wigs?" My mom and my teenage brother shushing them.  The girls screaming and fainting it was awesome! My 7 year old sister immediately claimed Paul as hers I claimed John. Music was always playing in our home, the Beatles would be added to our album stack to twist and shout to. Our fireplace mantle held the writing tablets with the 8x 10 color photos  of John and Paul on the covers carefully selected by our mom as shrines at least until Easter. The  next Christmas and Christmas's to come  the tree was again an evergreen,  the Herman's Hermits and Rolling Stones writing tablets replaced our coveted  Beatles and entertainers of many varieties shared our living room . The people that were constants in our home were sought out for autographs by the towns folk and people around the world , in our house they were family. Barnstormers in sports barnstormers in entertainment was a small community. My dad was the King he developed a consortium  of who's who in the world of basketball, baseball, and entertainers. His booking agency 20th Century Attractions was recognized as the premiere agency of the era. Life growing up surrounded by his teams and clients he represented was like living the excitement of a circus, carnival,  holiday all in one everyday for me.

EARL LESTER BOOTS HATS TICKETS AND LEMONADE

Lester and Earl were sitting in my living room one day, with the Beverly Hillbillies on our TV. My dad said that's Earl and Lester. I had to run right outside and tell my neighbors that were in my summer productions. I decided to incorporated a few of their songs into my neighborhood shows I would produce. I would sneak my daddy's PA system he used on the road to blast Orange Blossom Special and the Star Spangled banner at the beginning of his barnstorm basketball games with the Texas Cowgirls. It had a diamond needle and weighed more than I did.I set the stage with sheets hanging in the middle of the garage as a backdrop, folding chairs and picnic benches lined the driveway for the spectators. A make shift lemonade stand /ticket booth was set up at he end of the driveway. The performances were lip sinc and dance to the Archie's, Tommy Roe, Mamma''s and Papa's, Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatts, Pee Wee King, The Carpenters, Nancy Sinatra, The Turtles, Elvis and the standing ovation Mexican Hat Dance by my little brothers. I still say that the rendition of These Boots Are Made for Walkin' that Kim Tabbert, Mary White, Carla and Anita Geng my sisters Julie and Beth and me was the top. We stomped those boots and shook our fingers with vigor!

Found this on Profile Song app, listen

The Ballad Of Jed Clampett - Lester Flatt ,Earl Scruggs (1962)

NATIONAL TOUR MY MOM WOULD DRIVE US TO GAMES ME(2) BROTHER DENNIS(9) SISTER JULIE (3)

Topic: Texas Cowgirls Trotters Hawaii 50th Staters and halftime acts Displaying the only post.

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  Dempsey Hovland's World Famous Texas Cowgirls Basketball Team 1949-1977

  
  

  TEAM LINEUPS  Harlem Globtrotters  Texas Cowgirls  Hawaii 5oth Staters  NATIONAL   TOUR
  
  Harlem Globetrotters
  Wilt Chamberlain
  Herman Taylor
  Clarence Wilson
  Tex Harrison
  Tom Spencer
  Meadowlark Lemon
  Mc Coy Ingram
  Roman Turman
  Ed Burton
  Coach Owner Manager Abe Sapersiein Assistant Coach Clarence Wilson
  
  Texas Cowgirls
  Karen Erickson
  Shirley Dorow
  Barbara Legette
  Joan Rupp
  Nancy Rhode
  Evelyne Cummings
  Janice Hardy
  Carol Rapson
  
  Coach Owner Manager Dempsey Hovland Assistant Coach Vince Stankowitz
  
  Hawaii 50th Staters
  Ronald Holt
  Kent Bryan
  Donald Ho
  Alan Young
  Jack Davidson
  Taddy Song
  Willie Lee
  Hal Chartrand
  Art Kim Coach Manager
  
  
  TRAVELING HALFTIME ENTERTAINMENT Booking Agent Dempsey Hovland
  
  World's Professional Table Tennis Championship Richard Berman England vs
  Norakazu Fujji Japan
  and
  Bud Carlell and Rose Americas Foremost Trick Ropers
  OFFICIAL WATCH FOR TIMING THE GAME
  LONGINES the Worlds Most Honored Watch

THE CONNELY'S MADE A LIVING AS BARNSTORM HALF TIME ACT 1960'S

ARLENE Ulrich pulling down a rebound with Jo Eastman looking on.

http://www.texascowgirlsbychoice.blogspot.com/

DEMPSEY'S DAUGHTER NOW 54 AND ONE OF HIS TEXAS COWGIRLS RECONNECT AFTER 47 YEARS

Hello   Hello   Hello !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    All is well with me, Thanks for asking ...  When Harlean E-mailed your Link Thehowlandfactor

Wow the good Memories came back !!    You did so well with setting that up..   Of course in my book you still are that little girl sitting

on the front porch :)    This is unbelievable after all these years. Thanks to Harlean for checking out my name on Facebook.and as I told Her

I am not familiar with this Facebook stuff 

The reason for my response being so late   AOL was doing a Maint. clean-up and I was not able to get into my mail, then I went up north where there is no internet connection  and then your e-mail was in my Spam so I usually don't look at those except to delete but seen the erin hovland address.

Basketball still remains my number one activity as I have Great Nephews who insist I play with them and I am the only one in the neighborhood

who has a Basketball Hoop which means KIDS, kids, and kids..And when it's not Basketball it's Fishing up North. Two weeks ago I had gone to Eight BB Games in seven days. It was Tournament time here in Frankenmuth and my 14 year old Great Nephew's Team took first place Trophie.  :)    So much FUN !

   Well Dear One I need to get going please stay in touch, we are going back up North this afternoon to go Ice fishing. We had 11

inches of snow yesterday and all day I was plowing and shoveling snow..  A little tired of that white Stuff but ever so pretty.

Till Later  Take Care

Arlene 

p.s.  I am humming The Orange Blossom Special :))