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Texas
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or
Tu Casa Mañana es Mi Casa Mañana
by George
Lester
"If you want education, go to Dallas.
For entertainment, come to Fort
Worth." - Billy Rose
"Dallas has all that historical stuff,
so we don't have to worry about that."- Billy Rose |
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Sally
Rand's Nude Ranch
Photo Courtesy Amber Di Giovanni |
The
year was 1936 and I was ten. We traveled out west in one car to meet
our two brothers that lived in Wink,
Texas. In the car were the other three brothers (including me),
two sisters, one with a baby and my dad making the arduous trip long
before the days of air-conditioning.
I remember the highlight of the trip as our stop in Ft.
Worth where we spent the night and took in the Casa Mañana show
at the fair grounds.
My dad and my adult brother decided see the Billy Rose production
called Sally Rand's Nude Ranch.*
It was very mild by today's standards compared to what you now see
on television. My brother Sam was only a year older than me, so our
dad gave us money for the rides while they went to see the show.
We chose to start with the Ferris wheel. On our first ascent we discovered
something the producers of the event had overlooked. From high above
we could look down onto the roofless show below and see all the scantily
clad ladies. We kept riding until we ran out of money. I don't think
we ever told our dad why we liked the Ferris wheel so much.
© George
Lester
September 1, 2003 |
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*Sally
Rand's Nude Ranch as well as the entire story of Fort Worth's rival
Centennial is described in detail in Amon: The Texan Who Played
Cowboy for America by Jerry Flemmons (Texas Tech Press, 1998).
The "Ranch" was described as "18 girls - each dressed in boots and
a hat with a green bandana and a skirtlet." To add to the ranch effect
- each girl was "branded" (rubberstamped) with a large SR in the appropriate
place.
Sally Rand reportedly made $1000 a week. More importantly - she made
a name for herself - as did the then unknown Billy Rose. |
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