Richard and I are perched in Okoboji, where nostalgia reigns. It’s a place for classic cars, an old-time amusement park, and where an iconic vocal artist performed this week, as she has for over 60 years.
Despite a legacy connection, I almost missed the chance to see Marilyn Maye, live and in person.
Have you had the experience of taps on the shoulder by the universe guiding you one way or the other? Maybe you think that’s too woo-woo, but this feels beyond coincidence.
In mid-June, I received a note from my pal, Geneva Overholser, saying she and her husband, David Westphal, were in the Birdland Jazz Club in New York City when they spotted Marilyn Maye. Geneva (former editor of The Des Moines Register) and Marilyn lit up their respective Iowa connections in the women’s restroom, and our small degrees of separation became clear. The Des Moines Register/GordonGammack/Julie Gammack/Des Moines/Okoboji/Geneva.
Geneva and Marilyn exchanged emails, looping me in, and we had a fun exchange.
Her scheduled Okoboji shows slipped my mind. Maye would be making her 66th annual appearance in the Iowa Great Lakes region this summer, and we almost missed it.
But the next tap on the shoulder came about when I was in a conversation with David Thoreson (who deserves a fully reported column at some point soon). Maye has been a long-time friend of the Thoreson family, especially David’s mother, Judy Thoreson. They connect when Marilyn comes to the Lakes region, and Judy often hosts the star in her beautiful West Lake Okoboji home on Haywards Bay. The Thoreson family sponsored Maye’s performance at the Lakes Art Center.
Small world.
David Thoreson said the Marilyn Maye show was sold out opening night, but tickets remained for the following performance. We heeded the call to action and happily showed up.
The lives of the Gammacks and Marilyn Maye have been entwined for decades.
In 1969 I had the best summer job ever, taking the cover charge for nightclub entertainment at the New Inn. I collected the $5-$25 a person charge downstairs from the main dining room, played solitaire during the shows, and drank whatever the bartender slipped me. During the day, I rented a small fishing boat for the season, spending days pounding through the waves with my new puppy, Krishna (the best dog ever), his ears pinned back in the wind.
When Marilyn Maye came to town, The New Inn was packed.
Marilyn had been playing for audiences at the New Inn even before then. Pictured above is a photo from 1957, at the grand opening where Maye performed. Iowa’s favorite cabaret singer has survived, but the New Inn didn’t.
Truthfully, I expected the audience this week would be there out of respect for her longevity, having outlived a lot of folks who came to her shows through the years. But they got a helluva show, too.
Marilyn Maye is 94 years old, still going strong, and not missing a note.
As a Des Moines Tribune columnist, my dad covered the Iowa-kid-makes-it-in-the-big-time beat. The red-headed East High School girl turned national singing sensation was a story that kept giving, column inch by inch.
Editors note: I included the Gordon Gammack item about John Eller because he’s still around Okoboji and runs the Red Brick Farm, AirBNB. Check it out:
https://www.okobojiredbrickfarm.com
Hey, John!
Radio, too?
Holy Cow. I did not know my dad did a regular radio show. Look what I discovered searching old newspapers for ‘gammack, marilyn maye.’ It feels eerily like our Monday Zoom Lunch interviews! How did he write a DAILY column, typing with two fingers on a manual typewriter, AND do a radio show three times a week? Seriously.
And on August 2 and 3 of 2022, Marilyn Maye rocked the house. She had the audience jumping to their feet as she concluded her 2022 run in Okoboji.
Thank you, Marilyn Maye. Thanks for letting me sneak this video of your final number into this column and for the memories you’ve given so many of us.
See you next year!
Geneva Overholser
Geneva Overholser is running a compelling series via the Medium online platform about her experience living in the metro area of New York City during the cusp of the global Covid pandemic. She kept a journal through those days, which will be instructive to those wanting to understand how this historic plague impacted daily lives. She demonstrates brave candor by disclosing her own experience of Covid and other major health issues that ensued. Catch her deeply personal and gripping six-part series: https://medium.com/@genevaoh
Julie’s Monday Zoom Lunch guest is a psychotherapist Deidre Bliss, who will discuss and answer questions about how politics and the Covid pandemic have impacted individuals and families.
Zoomers are having a great time on these calls. Some ask great questions.
If you would like to participate, become a paid subscriber. Proceeds have made it possible to award 17 scholarships to the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat.
Question: Have you heard Marilyn Maye perform? Where and when?
And She's Still Here, Thankfully