There’s been a lot of conversation this past week on the Facebook “Fan Page” Group. It’s called the “Fan Page” because it’s made up of fans of the Music Box who talk about their memories and the music. If you are on Facebook, you can find it as “Music Box – Houghton Lake, Michigan” as a Public Group. It has existed since 2009 and is full of a wealth of memories, music and information.
This week, a woman shared that her brother, who had passed away, had gone to the Box, and she just wanted to know more about it because she was too young to ever go there. The memories flowed from the 1,600+ members of the group. One memory summed up how a lot of us feel about The Box.
“[M]y early youth spent living in the neighborhood, the summer nights with the music echoing across East Bay became iconic, then as a young teen attending for dancing, it became a magical place of romance all summer and in the “winter room” it became something a little different, more intimate with smaller turn outs. It was something we became a part of and became a part of us all year for decades. A kind of a dance camp where teens from everywhere came to dance and socialize and sometimes fell in love. In many of our minds we knew what it was and yet still find hard to explain in the depth that we experienced it. It was a reflection of the times and yet was a place all to it’s own, a small Swiss Village or what I call a Swiss Mansion of dance and romance. There was only one, and it was the one and only Music Box….It was more than a backdrop to our experiences of dancing and socializing, it was the integral component of the fantasy developing around us, complete and repeated with different actors most every weekend. The amazing young women I met and danced with seemed to be energized into the unforgettable smiles and laughter by the atmosphere and comfort of the Music Box. It was a safe sanctuary to be a teen. I wasn’t special, but the moments were.”
Gustave Walter Rayl
Every memory shared is special, but this one resonates with all of us. It is very hard for me to explain to people today the depth of my experience as a youth at the Music Box, and Gustave captured that very well for me.
Music Box Historical Society 