Elmore City is a town in Garvin County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 756 at the 2000 census. It was named after J. O. Elmore. I went to high school in Elmore City. Even though I've long since moved away it still holds many fond memories and some not so fond.
Sometimes on Saturday nights a group of religious fanatics would gather at the four way stop sign, the intersection of state highways 29 and 74. They would beat a drum, rattle tambourines and shout things like "Sinner repent! or suffer eternal damnation in hell!"
I'm proud to say our class started the fight for the right to dance, at least as far as I know. I remember a group of us going before the board of education, a Baptist preacher and a Church of Christ preacher. They crucified us, there would be no dancing but we could go bowling on prom night. I guess they thought that would be the end of it, they were wrong.
The plot of the 1984 movie, Footloose, is loosely based on events in Elmore City since dancing was banned for almost 100 years in this city. This ban was lifted in 1980. In 1980, the graduating class made history by getting permission to dance at the prom. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
P.S. I just noticed the bowling shoes on the video, probably just a coincidence but still, wow.
Go Badgers!
Very cool. Glad to have you aboard the MTM train. I'll have to wait and check out the video when I get to work and have a faster connection.
ReplyDeleteWow! I knew there was some sort of nutsy cult in Elmore City, but didn't know about the Footloose connection. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Travis, I wish the video was a documentary or something but it's just the part of Footloose where they get to finally dance.
ReplyDeleteJoy, now you know Elmore City's claim to fame. I think cult people left for the most part or at least keep a lower profile these days.
Very Interesting!!
ReplyDeletei didnt know that!...cool..
ReplyDeletei loved that movie..and thought the funniest part of the movie was him trying to teach the guy how to dance...liked the tractor race too..
Wow, awesome you were part of that! What a great piece of trivia! :)
ReplyDelete