The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1941-05-22
From 217th Regta Hq
BY Sgt Kenny Kuefler

From 217th Regta Hq
BY Sgt Kenny Kuefler
The lure Of the big city and bright
lights and the daily routine of
camp life finally got the best Of
a couple Of the Regimental Head
quarters boys, namely willard
large" Rasmussen and yours tru-
ly, Kenny Kuefler. On Friday night
permission was granted to be alb
sent from camp on Saturday morn
ing and of we were on our merry
way. AS everyone probably knows
Los Angeles is the worlds largest
city-in area, and I didn't doubt
1t after 15-mile ride through the
suburbs to the bus depot which is
by no means in the center Of the
town. The long ride and the late
hour made bed feel pretty nice
about that time and the next morn
ing we were up bright and early
to explore the large city. It being
Saturday there were quite a few
people in town and when walking
down the streets a person had to be
very careful or chances were he
would be killed-either by the peo-
pie tramping over you or get hit
by a car. The way the people out
here drive Is something that I've
never seen in Minnesota-and I
hope never do. Towards evening
we wandered out towards Holly
wood to get in on a little of the
v,inhf Itfn oil 80 he ~ xI~
spots Of the town. Arriving there
about 1920 p. m. the first stop was
at the Club Tropics which is a sort
Of a nice place all done up with
an Hawaiian effect. Next to the
Florentine Gardens and then to the
Merry Go-Round and numerous
other places. The highlight Of the
evening was when we went to the
Palladium Ballroom which is right
across the street from Earl Car
rolls night club. On this particu-
lar night it so happened that Glenn
Miller and his orchestra were play
ing there and there was an awfully
strict rule about men wearing neck
ties and coats so we had just
a little trouble in getting in-but
naturally we got in. The ballroom
itself was a very huge place and
very beautiful building. When first
entering the place we were usher
ed into the foyer or lobby which
ran the whole length of the build
ing and around it. In all four
corners Of the building were bars
not candy bars but otherwise, and
in one corner they had a milk bar
and only soft drinks could be pur-
chased there. It was a pretty
busy place-believe it or not. The
dance floor was a huge affair and
it was really crowded. The usher
informed me there were somewhere
between three and four thousand
people at the place and after look
ing at the crowd had no doubts in
my mind about it. The crowd
around the orchestra stand was
about the largest audience in a
packed formation that I have ever
seen because about third of the
total crowd was just standing
around listening to the music, and
1t was very much worth their
while because the music was about
the best I have ever heard as those
boys could really play. Glenn Mill
er was very busy signing auto
graphs during the intermission and
although he did quite bit Of writ
ing during that period Of time he
could by no means fill the bill for
all Of those who were looking for
q souvenir with his name on 1t.
He played until the wee hours Of
the morning and the crowd didn't
get smaller but in fact I believe
that it got a little larger but at
a. m. he finally let out with the
strains of the Moonlight Seren-
ade" and everyone went home or
elsewhere.
The morning being Sunday about
the only thing to do was to attend
church which was taken care Of
promptly. Towards the afternoon
car was obtained from a friend
and we toured all of Hollywood
to take in the various sights. A
couple outdoor ice Kinks brought
back memories Of last winter in
Minnesota but it seemed sort Of
strange to see ice outside in this
warm climate, not to mention the
countless numbers Of people enjoy
ing themselves, and it made a fell
low sort Of homesick. In touring
around the Hollywood places like
the COcOnut Grove. the TrocaderO.
the original Brown Derby, the Bev-
erly Hills Hotel, Sunset Towers, and
the Bel Aid Estates which are none