Letter sent in by Chuck Williams, a Garner
"Regular" back in the 60s.
February 9, 2001
Hello Rick:
A friend of mine (native Texan) sent me your web site link the other
day, and I have enjoyed reading the history of the Whip from your site.
Much of this information is news to me.
My name is Chuck Williams, a "displaced Texan (Corpus Christi)
who now lives in Omaha Nebraska. I am one of the true "veterans of
Garner State Park" and the Whip (1961 ~ 1966). There are still a
few us around, however, my contact with many of them is very limited
since I live so far away.
You can imagine my surprise to learn that the Whip is still alive and
well, I thought it died with those of us who stopped going to Garner in
the mid and late 60's because we went to college or Viet Nam.
Rick, there were several of us who were very serious dancers
during those great days, many were from Houston, Baytown, San Antonio,
Leaky (I hope I spelled it correctly, been away too long), Uvalde, and
Corpus Christi. Garner Park was our central meeting place. Most of us
did anything (legal) we could to raise money to go to Garner during the
summer. I lost track of how many lawns I mowed. I would make three, to
four trips a summer, each lasting a week or longer. For the serious
dancers like myself, our biggest objective was to learn as many steps as
we could, and perfect our dance. Of course, we managed to find some good
looking partners along the way. An added benefit was the great
entertainment that would come to Garner. B.J. Thomas was a regular, in
fact, he wrote a song called "Garner State Park", which stayed
on the jukebox for years. Several others would come up routinely, Gene
Thomas, Johnny Winter, Roy Orbison, Jay Frank Wilson, Roy Head, and too
many others to mention. Many times, after the dance, we would all go to
this one girls camp site, Carol Zimmermann, to listen to the jam
sessions that would take place, between many of the singers mentioned
above. Carol Zimmermann was an outstanding dancer who "lived to
whip". Her mom and dad came to Garner every summer and spend a full
month there. They always had the best camp grounds in the main park
close to the pavilion. In case you don't know, the pavilion was the
place where we danced. Some how, Mr. Zimmermann was able to finagle
around the parks policy of only being allowed to keep your camp site for
thirty days. Carols parents were the "parents" of so many kids
like myself, who would come to Garner without adult supervision.
During the day, we would meet at the pavilion, and practice,
practice, practice. The "slick slab" was a section of concrete
on the pavilion floor that was dominated by those who would practice
spinning. We could perfect our spin there, so that in the evening when
the pavilion was crowded with dancers, we had the technique down well
enough to spin without the benefit of a slick surface.
I'm not clear what year it was when the style changes to the
"push", but it really brought on a lot of controversy. The
traditional style looked more like the swing, but the "push"
brought on stiff arms, shorter steps, and SPINNING! The "rock
step" was in and the swing was out.
Rick, it was amazing! There were so many kids learning the whip, it
was incredible! Every night of the week, the pavilion was crowed
with kids learning or perfecting this dance. I forgot the year the park
rangers started ending the dances at 11:00pm and enforcing a park
curfew. But even then, BJ Thomas and the boys would meet at the
Zimmermann's to jam... without amplifiers. And believe it or not, after
all those hours of virtually non-stop dancing, we would still practice
our steps on the dirt camp site ground while the guys were jamming. We
were OUT OF CONTROL!
There was a section of the pavilion designated for
"learners". Most of the more experienced dancers stayed clear.
God! We were horrible....such egos! As with many dancers we develop
subtle hand signals, so our partners would know what step we were going
to do next. The competition became serious, however, we never had a
dance contest, as I recall. The best dancers were just "kind of
known".
After one full summers' practice (1962) followed by the countless
hours of practice with my partner in Corpus Christi during the preceding
school year, she and I returned to Garner (summer of 1963) to finally be
"declared" as great dancers. That year, I met a girl from
Baytown, Judy Roush who I nicknamed (Popcorn). Her family owned and
operated a dance studio in Baytown. Judy was an awesome dancer and could
whip like an expert. Some how, [there is a God in Heaven], Judy and I
hit it off, and my life changed. She taught me so many steps, spins,
techniques, it was incredible! I thought I died and went to "Whip
Heaven". For the next three years, she and I went together [long
distance] and each summer would return to Garner. She always seemed have
learned more new steps than I. (I'm surprised??? ... after all she was a
dance instructor at her parents studio). She also introduced me to some
really good male dancers who were willing to share their steps with me.
My talent was spinning, some how I had great technique. Now days, I get
lost in a circle!
Strangely enough, I don't dance these days. My wife (from California)
never really learned to dance during her school days. Our adult life
together was filled with so many other interests we just never got to
dancing. About 5 ~ 6 years ago, we signed up for a line dancing class
through the local community college, but we never went dancing after the
classes ended; we were always busy doing something else. A few of my
Garner friends who I keep in touch with were as surprised as me that I
never pursued dancing further. I was drafted right out of high school,
and quickly joined the Air Force before reporting to the Army. As I
traveled over the years (I was a career man), my devotion to dancing
just kind of fell by the wayside. However, in 1995 at my 30th high
school reunion, my dance partner from Corpus Christi and I had a blast.
We had a great evening dancing without too much embarrassment. I
remember several school mates approached us that evening and
complemented us on our dancing. A few wanted to try the "whipping
skills" again. It was a hoot!
I don't know if this story will "muster" any fond memories
from your "more mature" (I'm 54) dancers, but I have certainly
enjoyed the memories. Thanks for keeping a great dance alive. It brought
me and many others some really great times. Best of luck, "keep
Whipping"!
Chuck Williams
1211 Willow Ave.
Bellevue, Nebraska 68005
