I posted this picture 2 years ago when I found it in a scrapbook my grandmother Kelly kept. I spoke with Betty Friend Cordes a few weeks ago on the phone. I want to talk with her again. I hope I can get more information on this story.
The article says the dance contest was tied in with the Mickey Rooney - Judy Garland movie, "Strike Up The Band," which was released on September 20, 1940. Rooney & Garland danced "The La Conga" in the movie, so local kids were given the challenge of performing the new craze in a contest at The Plantation Room on South Main not far from Playland Park.
If I'm correct about the date, Betty was a 17-year old senior at Sugar Land High School. Arthur 'Skeet' Guenther was a 16-year old junior.
