The Southern Colonels Dance Band (Cont.)
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Needless to say, Marvin Brown never again rode in that trailer, but we continued to use it for almost another year before the band increased to ten and then twelve members.

One thing I have not mentioned is the pay we received for playing in the band. By today's standards, our compensation was ridiculous. For this Bardstown dance, for example, each of us received ten dollars, out of which we had to pay our expenses for dinner before the dance. In addition, Marvin received another ten dollars to cover the car expenses. Ten dollars for two hundred miles of travel! That meant 5 cents per mile reimbursement!

As absurd as all this may appear, the Bardstown job was the highest-paying one we ever had.

Usually we would be paid from three to five dollars each for a dance, and sometimes the band itself would sponsor Saturday night dances at Neal's Hall (on the third floor of a building located at the corner of State and Tenth Streets) .On such nights, we would pay the rent on the hall, hire someone to sell tickets at the door, and then divide up the net proceeds after all expenses were paid.

One night I remember we each made only enough to buy a ham sandwich and a cup of coffee at McLeod's Tea Room across the street. And that was when ham sandwiches cost 15 cents and coffee was 5 cents a cup!!

Well, so much for the Southern Colonels and Bill Bushong. I will not write any more about them, but I cannot forget any of the experiences we had together.

P.S. Before I leave Bill Bushong, I should tell the reader that he was an expert typist. We would dictate our themes and term papers to him, and he would type them fast and with but very few errors.

Bill later earned a law degree at the University of Kentucky and practiced law in a western Kentucky town while he still played in a dance band.

At this writing, I do not know where he is, or even if he is still alive, but I say again he was a remarkable young man.

Chester C. Travelstead
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