Hamel VFW Jumpin’ at 2nd Annual Sock Hop
For the second year in a row, the Hamel VFW was jumpin’ on the first Saturday after St. Patricks Day. What would absolutely pack a VFW in Hamel on a Saturday night?
That would be Anthony Kaczor’s second annual 1959 Style Sock Hop Birthday Bash. This isn’t just another birthday party.
“I started this last year just to have some fun,” said Kaczor.
Kaczor convinced the commander at the Hamel VFW to let him throw the soiree.
“I threw it as a birthday party for myself, and I said, ‘hey, Jim, why don’t I pay for the band and you guys just take the door and just have a normal night and then you don’t have to pay the band at the end of the night.,” recalled Kaczor.
When Kaczor asked his friends Terry and Cindy Gardner of TC Swing if they would come over and give a little 30-minute lesson before the big dance, Terry said, “Absolutely. The fact that he puts together a dance like this is really fun too and it goes to charity so that’s really nice.”
Everyone Here Knows Anthony
And Anthony Kaczor knows everyone here.
“Do you know Anthony?” I asked Wendy Schultz-McCurdy whose husband is the lead singer in The ARCADES, the band for the night. I know Anthony. He’s a good friend of mine,” she said.
“These are all your friends, personal friends, I know they are,” joked her husband while onstage.
“He’s a character I think,” said Rose Winterhalter holding down kitchen duties for the night.
“Anthony is a Mr. Socialization Dancer,” said Schultz-McCurdy.
In the end for Kaczor, it’s all about the dancing.
Schultz-McCurdy said of Kaczor, “He just goes around and passes himself around to everybody, and dances with everybody. So it doesn’t matter who you are, whatever, he will dance with you. He’s got a huge heart.”
