Old-Time Dance Hall Housed In Restored Barn

Old-Time Dance Hall Housed In Restored Barn AG WORLD Ag World 19-4-20 Every Saturday night for the last few years folks have come from all directions to the John Spanbauer farm near Twin Falls, Idaho, to dance to the beat of country west-em or ballroom music in an old 40 by 50-ft. barn with a dance-floor hayloft. Spanbauer and his wife Marie have spent 5 years entertaining people at the barn. They also run a 1,400-acre farm with sugarbeets, potatoes, hay, and small grains. "Our dance hall barn is a real crowd pleaser for the entire neighborhood," says the 76-year-old Spanbauer. It took five years of work to restore the old barn and convert the hayloft into a 900-sq. ft. dance floor. The dance floor is surrounded by chairs and tables that seat 120 people. No hard liquor is allowed in the barn. Beer, sodas and food are on a bring-yourown basis. Some dancers show up with mini-coolers and bags of snacks. "This is the old-style Saturday night barn dance," says Spanbauer. "The average couple that comes here is about 50 years old. It appeals to them because it takes them back to their time." Spanbauer had to jack the barn up straight and reinforce the hayloft with posts. He bought hardwood for the dance floor from a minister who was remodeling a church and put in extra windows and a restroom on the ground floor. He built an inside stairway leading up to the hayloft and an outside stairway for emergency ex-its. A pair of old furnaces, one on each side, heat the barn. The Spanbauers recently sold their farm to a large dairy operation that plans to milk over 4,000 cows. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Spanbauer, Sr., 760 East Hwy. 25, Jerome, Idaho 83338 (ph 208 324-7366).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.