MELODY MILL

Illustration by Norman Zepeski.

MELODY MILL. Located along Highway 3 about one mile north of Dubuque, Melody Mill once featured the most popular big bands in the United States. Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Guy Lombardo, and Wayne King were favorites. During an appearance of Eddie Howard in 1936, all the women were given little silver bracelets as souvenirs.

A crowded night at Melody Mill. Photo courtesy: Bob Reding

Photo courtesy: Bob Reding

The ballroom floor, built for UNION PARK in the early 1920s, was advertised as Iowa's largest when the park's ballroom opened on June 26, 1923. The ballroom had replaced a theater demolished by a flood that tore through the park on July 9, 1919, killing five people. Declining interest in Union Park led to its closing.

The ballroom was dismantled in 1931,and the floor was moved piece-by-piece to its new location. Opened to the public in 1932, the Mill was also the scene of wrestling matches and many local weddings.

In 1947, Vince and Vi Schulting purchased the landmark. The Schultings booked the best of the big bands such as Guy Lombardo, Andy Williams, Count Basie, Lawrence Welk and Louis Armstrong to please their hundreds and hundreds of fans.

With the growth of rock 'n roll music the couple made the decision to continue the format of bringing the bands people were demanding to see. Musicians such as the Beach Boys, Brenda Lee, Frankie Avalon, the Everly Brothers, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Gillmer and the Fireballs, Bobbie Vee, Conway Twitty, Johnny & the Hurricanes, Freddy Cannon, Bobby Rydell, the Ventures and many, many more. They also booked country entertainers such as Johnny Cash, Wanda Jackson and Web Pearce.

Opening bands were needed for these national acts so the Melody Mill provided many Iowa ‘garage bands’ the opportunity to play. Friday and Saturday nights were country or big band nights and Sunday was reserved for rock and roll.

Melody Mill being torn down. Photo courtesy: Bob Reding

The last owner of the building and its 55-acre site was Vincent Schulting who sold the property to INTERSTATE POWER COMPANY. In 1964 the building was auctioned for $1,040 to be torn down for salvage. The structure had been deeded to the Dubuque County Fair Board by Interstate Power that planned to use the land for industrial sites.

Well-known bands and orchestras made Melody Mill a popular ballroom.

Photo courtesy: Bob Reding

An often repeated--but incorrect--story was that the flooring was reused in the Dubuque County Fairgrounds Ballroom. This story was discounted on July 19, 2009, when Gerald B. Hingtgen, the person who purchased the Mill, wrote an editorial in the TELEGRAPH HERALD.

Hingtgen recalled that materials were sold to many buyers from throughout eastern Iowa. The floor, however, was worn so badly-nearly down to the tongue and groove--that it was never reused at the fairgrounds. Some people purchased enough to floor a room in their homes and a Petersburg, Iowa, farmer bought a lot to line his grain bins. Wood for the fairgrounds ballroom came from the former PETER J. SEIPPEL LUMBER COMPANY.

In 2009 Melody Mill was inducted into the Iowa Rock'n Roll Music Association's Hall of Fame.

Photo courtesy: Cathy's Treasures, 156 Main, Dubuque

Photo courtesy: Jim Massey

Photo courtesy: Bob Reding

Table Reservation Ticket from Melody Mill.Photo Courtesy: Bob Reding