Lorna Dallas-Brown’s account of the 1955 Belles of Indiana USO tour to the Far East, taken from her sister’s diaries, and of the reunion weekend.
Click here for Memories from other Belles
From Ellen's Diaries …
My sister, whom I idolized, Ellen Dallas (Wiggins) aka Sissy, was one of the original members of the Belles, formed in 1952. At the age of 8 I heard the Belles for the first time. As I sat in the audience and watched and listened to them in concert, I was merely blown away. I idolized this group of loving “sisters”…this wholesome and beautiful group of young women led by the charismatic Gene Bayless …singing and entertaining with a special style. Awesome!
Those vital and All American daughters and sisters then and, 50 years later… these lovely women …now mothers and grandmothers themselves…are still vital and All American and embodying those strong moral fibers on which the basis of good family values are built for a lifetime. They still blow me away…and make me proud that I did grow up and became a Belle. But, they were a tough act to follow.
I remember them leaving for that momentous and hazardous trip to the Far East…full of excitement and anticipation at this new adventure…all of them smartly dressed in suits and hats…and white gloves…looking elegant and stylish…as befitting these true ambassadors for IU, as they flew from Indianapolis. Three months later, their return…and this time, they were in their combat fatigues and boots, coolie hats, leis…bursting through the door breathless with excitement all over again to relate their tales of the South Pacific.
They had gone to the places that no one else was allowed outside military personnel…the 38th Parallel, the site at Iwo Jima where the flag was raised, Mount Surabachi. They sang for more than 10,000 soldiers at the Bayonet Bowl in Korea and they also sang for small groups in the hospitals or outlying camps. But most of all, they met and talked to hundreds of young men and brought a sense of “home” to them. My sister’s diaries are filled with so many names from across the US and notations to ring their parents or loved ones upon her return and to tell them they were OK. Never once at that time did she relay to our family the dangers the Belles were in on so many occasions…with Japanese women scarred from the war wanting to scratch their faces, snipers in hillsides and driving through terrain which had been mined, engines on their planes catching fire and more. Instead, she related the funny and exhilarating stories of going onstage in fatigues as the luggage with their gowns had been delayed, having combat boots that weren’t the right size, washing her hair in buckets, being escorted to the bathrooms by the military police, singing for President Sygman Rhee of Korea at the President’s Palace in Seoul, the 38th Parallel, of the Japanese women in the bathhouse who were amazed at her large bosoms, being designated “The Belles of Peace” by the mayor of Kyoto, of buying silk for her wedding gown, singing shows from morning till night, countless coffee and dessert times and talking, dancing and being with and sharing stories of “home” with the grateful GIs, collecting fishermen’s glass bulbs on the deserted beach at Midway, the sight of Waikiki,…and then ending her diary with “If I were to take this tour again, there isn’t a single thing I would change.”
Several of the ’55 Belles related how they had loved and admired Sissy for her sense of adventure…never afraid to ‘open a door’…and am I ever so glad that she opened that door to the Belles for me! It opened a whole new world and lifetime for me to treasure. My trips with the Belles were to less exotic places such as throughout the Southern states and Iceland, Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland…again for the USO. But none could compare to that summer of 1955 group and the Far East Tour. And nothing could compare to the warmest of welcomes and embraces I received at the 50th Anniversary of the Belles from that Far East tour in Bloomington in July. I was there by “default” as my beautiful Sissy had died a few months earlier. Their stories touched off many I could then relate from Sissy and the laughs and the tears flowed plentifully from this wonderful reminiscing. Sharlie, Joyce, Denny, Carolyn, Helen, Linda, Sandy, Bobbi, Mussie, and Barbara… those Belles attending this reunion made me feel so very special and welcome…just as they had all those servicemen whom they had sung for and talked with in 1955…and I was indeed in very special and rarified company. Quite simply, awesome! If you could hear my song now, it would be “Thanks for the memory” …sung in the Belles’ key!
MEMORIES FROM OTHER BELLES
From Lorna Dallas-Brown BM ‘65
“…I have been pouring through her scrapbooks and her notes…and find that her diaries of your incredible adventures in the South Pacific 50 years ago tell so very much. Her last written line in the diary: ‘I know that if tomorrow were June 14, 1955, I would still take this tour and doubt if I would make any changes in anything concerning the tour!’
When I first heard the Belles… in Kentucky on one of your very first concerts…I was so enthralled. As a wide-eyed 8 year old, you just blew me away. Of course, having my beloved Sissy in the group contributed to those feelings. I promptly marched up to Mr. Bayless, tugged on his sleeve and loudly proclaimed that when I grew up I was going to be a Belle! He said, ‘You do that!’ IU and the Belles became my goal…and sure enough, when I entered IU, I reminded him…and I became a part of your rich history. My trips were not so glamorous and groundbreaking as yours…Iceland, Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland…but they were wonderful and unique experiences. I was so very proud to walk in your shoes...and carry on the glorious tradition you all gave to those of us who followed. You were a tough act to follow!
For over 50 years, you have known and loved her as Ellen. Sadly, we have all lost her…but she will forever be Sissy to me…and a part of a fantastic sisterhood that has no equal …the Belles of Indiana. Thank you for generously allowing me to come to your 50th anniversary of ‘The Belles of the Summer of ‘55’ reunion…”
From Rhonda Filiatreault…
My roommate at Read Hall was Sara Mitchell (Doonan). Sara, being a music major, encouraged me, an education major, to try out and somehow I made it on my audition of "Wouldn't It Be Loverly". We wore blue velvet dresses with a blue chiffon over skirt and sang mostly in the southern Indiana area. It was a privilege to sing with such talented young ladies. We sang both classical and pop.
From Susie Kiphart BS ‘66...
…So many memories. We traveled along with the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery! We ended up in New Orleans singing for our supper along the way.
Everyday at 3:30 a respite from all other forces – I sang my hart out! It saved my soul!
From Vera Scammon Broughton ‘52...
“.. I was not an official Belle, but Dean Bain asked me to go along on the tour to help in the soprano section as several of the Belles' parents had refused to allow their daughters to participate because of the dangers involved [with going to the Far East]. (It WAS one exciting trip, to say the least!) I wish I had a count of the number of times I sang "Summertime"! The only time I ever wrote a diary was the summer of l955!”
From Sharlie (Shull) Stuart BME ’56…
We knew then it [the 1955 Far East tour] was going to be one of the special highlights of our lives and, indeed, it has proved to be so. Our Far East group has had a Reunion every five years since then and we have stayed in touch with each other with "snail mail", telephone, E-mail, mini reunions, etc. through the years. It is hard to believe that so much time has passed since we set off in our dresses, white gloves and even, hats! I don't believe any of us had any of those items with us when we landed back in Indianapolis at the end of the summer. In Korea, we were supplied with uniforms and combat boots and duffle bags. How our formals and high-heels made it through all those performances I'll never know. I was one of the "original Belles" and was a member 1952 to graduation in 1956.
From Carol Timma Hull, BA ‘57...
The article about the “Far East Belles” (“By Association,” November/ December 2005) brought back many pleasant memories of the two years I was a member.
I auditioned and was accepted into the group in the fall of 1953 and remained a member for two years until June 1955. Gene Bayless’s (54) quip that he always knew a good voice when he saw one must have had some validity because the Belles were beautiful on and off stage. Besides including a beauty queen or two, we had great singers and musicians who traveled all over Indiana and the southeast United States when I was in the group.
I especially remember the trip to Florida via Third Army bases where we “enjoyed” mess hall suppers. We stayed in the WAC quarters, where some of us were short sheeted, and sang for the soldiers with whom we danced after each show.
While we were able to fly from base to base (my first time in a plane), with the harp being driven, we bused the rest of the trip to Florida and back. In the January sunshine, we sang in luxury hotels for our suppers, which included my first “pheasant under glass.”
On a trip to Vienna in 1960, my husband and I happened to attend a performance in the Operstaat. The audience was in formal dress, except two men, my husband and Gene Bayless. After a surprise greeting, we enjoyed sharing a drink with him and catching up on the Belles.
Since then, I have often wondered if the group kept in touch. I regretted not going on the trip to Korea, but my husband-to-be, who had just been in Korea, strongly urged me not to go because of the danger. I have regretted that decision, especially after reading about the 50-year reunion.
From Robert L. Bluemle BA ’56…
* Robert Bluemle accompanied the Belles on their 1955 Far East USO tour in the summer of '55 as a magician.
The summer of '55 was clearly the best summer of my life and was the start of my passion for international travel. At last count I had travelled to well over 100 countries, perfoming some magic (even if only a few tricks for children) in each and specializing in trips to mysterious places (Tibet, Easter Island, Ankor Wat etc.). I owe the Belles a great debt of gratitude. |
