Work Triumph!

The venues section of the Rock and Roll exhibit is currently occupying way too many of my thoughts. I did, however, have a great work triumph on Thursday.

I met with the owner of the Diamond Ballroom, a local venue that has been around since the early '60s. Billed as "The Largest Dance Floor in the Southwest," the Diamond was originally your typical dancehall that now shows smaller acts and the occasional big name. It's a pretty cool place.

Anyway, when I talked to the owner on the phone, he told me that he thought they might have some of the things I would be interested in, including old photos and basically anything that could be used to tell the history of the place. When I met with him, he had more, well, stuff than I could have imagined. The old owner, who he'd bought the place from a little over a year ago, had been the owner since nearly the opening and had scrapbook upon scrapbook of clippings in his office. Not just for the Diamond Ballroom, but for other local venues and music shows at amusement parks that no longer exist. And he donated one of the signs that hung on the front of the DJ booth bragging on the Largest Dance Floor in the Southwest (because size does matter in dance floors).

Most of the artifacts for the exhibit are loans, and most haven't arrived yet. I informed my supervisor that he needed me to go on all of these trips because I could get the donations. I told him it's because I'm prettier than he is.