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Beloit’s Pop House: New book remembers the heyday of a popular high school hangout By Catherine W. Idzerda - 07/24/2008 The Janesville Gazette More Info on This Book: Beloit's Club Pop House
“I can still remember going out for ice cream with my parents on Portland and Fourth Street, and I could hear the music from the outdoor patio, and I thought, ‘That’s where I want to go,’” said Joe Accardi, a club alum and former Janesville library director. Being a member of the club was “like a ticket to paradise,” Accardi recalled. Now, Accardi has written a book that captures those years in photos and memorabilia. Titled “Beloit’s Club Pop House,” the book is part of Arcadia Publishing’s “Images of America” series that celebrates neighborhoods, towns and community institutions through historical photos and images. It all started in 1941, when high school sophomore George Stankewitz started a little club at the back of his father’s grocery store on the corner of Portland Avenue and Fifth Street. He called it the “Pop House” because he sold pop and hamburgers to his high school pals. After serving in World War II, Stankewitz reopened the Pop House in 1946, this time using the entire store. Business took off. Stankewitz was sociable, the kind of adult who genuinely liked young people. He remodeled in 1954 and in 1958 moved into a new building next door. An outdoor dance floor was added in 1960 and a “ballroom” in 1964. Over the years, the club developed traditions such as the Chili Festival, complete with the crowning of a chili queen, as well as sports teams, senior girls’ breakfasts, parades and an annual Turkey Bowl football game around Thanksgiving. Stankewitz, with the help of local promoter Ken Adamany, was able to snag some of the chart-topping musical artists of the day, including The Champs (“Tequila”); Bruce Channel (“Hey! Baby”); Bobby Vinton (“Roses Are Red (My Love)” and “Blue Velvet”); The Fireballs (“Sugar Shack”); The Reflections (“Just Like Romeo and Juliet”); Johnny Tillotson (“Poetry in Motion”); The Kingsmen (“Louie, Louie”); The Buckinghams (“Kind of a Drag”) and many others. The Knightranes featuring Ron Boyer, Ken Adamany, Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs often performed at the Pop House. Miller and Scaggs went on to become national acts. With that kind of lineup, it’s not surprising that the Pop House was the place to be. The book, which features a short history and more than 100 pages of photos, will bring back memories for many local people. A young Jack Farina plays drums in one photo. Local musician Dave Hernandez shows up, too. And then there are the hundreds of ordinary kids who spent their afternoons and evenings at the Pop House. Nancy (Belvedere) Champion of Beloit was one of the chili queens during the 1960s. Champion appears on page 95, taking the first taste of chili from Stankewitz. “My sons think it’s so funny,” Champion said. “The gown was made of Styrofoam balls and ribbons and was sprayed with gold paint.” It was Stankewitz who made things work, Champion said. “He always had these fun events,” she said. She remembers Stankewitz taking the chili queen candidates to the Wagon Wheel Restaurant. Janesville’s Carol Thibeau, formerly Carol Maryott, was the 1957 chili queen and presided over the opening of the new building in 1958. She shows up in two spots in the book. Even 50 years later, she still remembers how excited she was about becoming a member. “I was in ninth grade at Roosevelt Junior High School,” Thibeau said. “I remember thinking, ‘Next year I can go to the Pop House Club.’” Like Champion, Thibeau believes it was Stankewitz who made the club what it was. “George was like a stern father figure,” Thibeau said. “If George said ‘sit,’ you sat.” But the kids loved him, and they behaved. Stankewitz had the power to throw people out of the club for good. “Nobody wanted to be thrown out—call my mother, call my father, but don’t call George,” Thibeau said jokingly. Yet Stankewitz was laid back enough to handle the energy and abrupt whims of teens. “If there were enough people who wanted to dance, we would shove aside the tables and dance,” Thibeau said. Business boomed until 1972, when Wisconsin lowered its drinking age to 18. Many of the Pop House customers headed for the taverns. Stankewitz tried to accommodate both groups by serving alcohol most nights but having alcohol-free nights for teens. But it just didn’t work. In 1973, Stankewitz retired, and the Pop House closed its doors for good. “There’s never been a place like the Pop House, and there never will be again,” Accardi said. Buy It Now: Beloit's Club Pop House $19.99 |
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