Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Vaughn Monroe at The Meadows

Maybe you recall The Meadows in Framingham, Massachusetts and danced to Vaughn Monroe’s big band.

Here is the cover of sheet music for a jingle written for The Meadows by Jack Edwards and Johnny Watson. We see a photo of this nightclub on the front, and on the back, a photo of Vaughn Monroe, who owned The Meadows and broadcast his national radio show Camel Caravan here for a while in the late 1940s.

Mr. Monroe, for the uninitiated, was a singer and musician, and big band leader. He formed his own band in 1940, appeared in Boston and on The Terrace Gables in Falmouth on the Cape, and in several other cities around the country. After he took up ownership of The Meadows on Route 9, his band still toured quite a bit.

Those of us who are fans will remember his hits like “Ghost Riders in the Sky”, “Ballerina”, “There, I’ve Said it Again,” “Sound Off”, his signature tune, “Racing with the Moon.”

Other spots in New England where Vaughn Monroe played were Seiler’s Ten Acres in Wayland, and the Surf Ballroom in Revere, Massachusetts. He performed at the Carousel Ballroom in Manchester, New Hampshire; at the Canobie Lake Ballroom in Salem, NH, as well as the Hampton Beach Casino.

Maybe you weren’t lucky enough to see him, but listened to his Camel Caravan on WBZ from Boston. Later the show moved to television.

The Meadows burned down in 1980.

For more on The Meadows and the career of Vaughn Monroe, have a look at this website, and here for some memories. Special thanks to Gail Watson for hunting up this bit of Route 9 memorabilia.

8 comments:

  1. Let's try this again, "Seiler,s Ten Acres" was called "Vaughn Monroe's Ten Acres". My Father was a cook for Seiler's Catering, as it was known back then. I spent many Sunday's at the Ten Acres while growing up. Seiler's was known all thru the Eastern part of Mass. Some of the functions were, every Sunday at The Ten Acres, The annual flower show at Mechanic's Hall in Boston, The Mason's dinner on Boylston St. Boston Mass. etc. After The Two Brothers, Andrew and I believe Irving Seiler passed away, the company was sold by the surviving sons.

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  2. Thank you, JCA, I appreciate your additional info and the correction.

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  3. Jacquline, Could you pass along to JCA that maybe that is what JCA remembers but it was really called Seiler's Ten Acres. My grandfather, Irving Seiler, who passed away in November 1982, co-owned it with his brother Andrew Seiler. As stated they had not only the catering part of the the family business but also the retail foods and frozen foods as well. SOme of the restaurants were the 1812 House in Framingham Center, the 1775 House in Lexington, Seiler's Restaurant and Coffee Shop in Wellesley, and briefly Seiler's Restaurant in Gloucester. My father, Peter Seiler, sold both sides, Catering and Retail foods to two different concerns in 1965 while my grandfather retired to Maine on a farm in Wiscasset.
    Vaughn Monroe got his start there at Seiler's Ten Acres in 1940 with his band as he lived in Wayland at the time. The band began broadcasting from the dance floor and he became well known after that.
    Would love to chat with JCA sometime and remenisce about the old days...
    Jeff Seiler

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  4. Thank you for adding information to the discussion, Jeff. I really appreciate your help in clearing this up. Such interesting Seiler family history!

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  5. Wow my grandpa Joseph J Davidson srworked for Seilers as did my dad. Joe jr
    Mr Irving Seller gave my parents a 3 piece revere ware set of pots.My grandpa loved working for him.

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  6. Welcome, Joanne! Thanks so much for sharing your family history with Seiler's. That's terrific.

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  7. Hello, my dad Stan Sawler was Vaughn's road manager and also managed the Meadows. He loved it.

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  8. Thank you for stopping by. I love to hear about Vaughn Monroe, and about The Meadows!

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