THE ARTS: To LIFT THE SPIRITS
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Kollegiate Swing Kats, 1940s band. (Courtesy Win Seegmiller)
between communities. One of the most popular was at Anderson's Junction, where U.S. Highway 91 and Utah Highway 9 meet in Washington County. This was a gathering place for young people from Iron, Kane, and Washington counties. Kanarraville residents built the Cobble crest Dance Pavilion in the 1930s to replace an older dance hall which had fallen into disrepair. Hartly Woodbury laid the smooth cement dance floor and Lex Shields built a band dome of bricks that still stands in 1997. In Cedar City, summer dances were held outdoors at the American Legion grounds on the corner of First West and Center Street. Every community had a band or orchestra to play for dances, weddings, and community celebrations. BAC students formed "big bands:' which became popular in the swing era of the mid -1930s and played throughout southern Utah. These high school and college students studied with Roy Halverson and A.B. Larsen but formed bands with their own young leaders.28 Among the better-known bands was the "Kollegiate Swing Kats," which played at the BAC in 1939-40 and entertained guests at the Zion Lodge through the summer of 1940. Live music was essential at school and community dances until the 1970s, so many musicians continued playing in a variety of bands. In 1981Win Seegmiller formed a big band to provide music for birthday balls in Cedar City and in Parowan. The group stayed together to
