The History of Sunny Brook

By Tom Oehme
Information taken from SunnyBrook Ballroom,
Written by Bob Goshorn, (date unknown)

The famous SunnyBrook Ballroom, which is the largest facility of its type, east of the Mississippi, had a rather unusual start, in as much as it never started as a Ballroom, but rather as a Swim Club. This magnificent facility went on to become one of the most famous Ballrooms on the East Coast. Big Bands from all over the country would play here. There was always a big name band playing at SunnyBrook every Saturday evening.

Raymond C. Hartenstine, a life long resident of the Pottstown area, was born in 1894, the son of Irvin S. and Sallie Jane Hartenstine. Ray and his 4 siblings were raised in Limerick, just down the road from Pottstown. Ray enlisted in the Army during World War I and was involved in carpentry and construction duties while at Camp Meade, Maryland. After his short career with the Army, he went into the construction business in the Pottstown area. Some of his building accomplishments are “The Pottstown Mercury” Building as well as many stores and homes in the area.

Ray married Sara Rebecca Kepler, of SunnyBrook Farms. The farm which dates back to the Colonial Days, and has been in the possession of the Kepler-Bickel families ever since. Its original function was that of a dairy farm and continued to do so till the early 1920’s. The young Hartenstine couple made their home on the farm along with her sister and her husband. The partnership of Buchert and Hartenstine was formed; the SunnyBrook swimming pool and picnic grove were built in 1926.

Hartenstine was a great note keeper; on April 6, 1931 he noted that ground has started to be cleared for the new Dance Pavilion. Ten days later, he noted that the first floor was being laid down; in two more days it is noted that the walls were starting to go up; by April 29th, the plasterers and electricians started to work. On May the 6th, the roof was completed.

The Grand Opening took place on Memorial Day of 1931, less the 6 weeks after the project got under way. It was reported in the “Pottstown Mercury” the next day, “Modern in every detail and spacious enough to seat 1500 persons at a banquet”, and “that the building ranks with the finest to be found anywhere in the East.” That Grand Opening attracted over one thousand persons, the beauty of the building excited the admiration of all who attended that opening and dance. In his notes, he simply wrote, “Open Pool & Dance Floor. Very Hot.”

The Dance Pavilion measured 96 feet wide by 152 feet long, and was 18 feet at the top of the huge curved ceiling. The floor is made of narrow strips of maple hardwood and is considered one of the finest Dance Floors in the world. After six years of successful operation and the growing interest in the Big Bands and Swing Music, the pavilion received a 24 foot addition, which was completed in less the one week. Work got underway on Saturday night, right after the band stopped playing and was done in time for the dancers to start up the following Saturday evening. The building was very well laid out as to afford the maximum amount of uninterrupted floor for the dancers to enjoy.

On that grand Memorial Day, when SunnyBrook first opened, the Dancers were entertained by “Joe LaFrance and his Bosch Radio Band, who was advertised as “one of the finest in the country”.

Many considered the period between 1935 and 1945, as the “Big Band Era”, a number were already getting started as early as 1930. Many Radio Broadcasts featured Big Bands and their popularity were truly starting to blossom. The first dance band to broadcast over the Radio was Paul Specht’s orchestra, which was broadcast over station WWM in Detroit in 1920. This band played at SunnyBrook in the fall of 1932.

Before the end of the first year of operation, the Famous “Casa Loma Orchestra” had played SunnyBrook three times. In 1932, the up and coming bands of Kay Kyser, Isham Jones, Horace Heidt, Jan Garber, Wayne King, Guy Lombardo, Ozzie Nelson (with Harriet Hilliard, later to become Mrs. Ozzie Nelson), Rudy Vallee, and Tom Weems, were among the many great bands to play SunnyBrook for the first time. With this record of attracting great bands to SunnyBrook, it is no wonder that Ray Hartenstine was quickly named “the dean of big band ballroom operators”.

SunnyBrook was also known for hosting many of the popular Black Bands; know as the Negro Bands in those days. In 1932, SunnyBrook saw Blanche Calloway, Cab Calloway’s sister. In the early years of the 1930’s, other great Black bands in the form of Cab Calloway, the “Prince of Heigh-de-ho”; Fletcher Henderson who later went on to be Benny Goodman’s arranger; Noble Sissle, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Claude Hopkins, Don Redman, Luis Russell, and Jimmie Lunceford. With in a few years, greats like Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton would grace the hallowed halls of SunnyBrook.

During 1933, the following made their debut at SunnyBrook; Ben Bernie and All the Lads, Vincent Lopez, George Olsen, Eddy Duchin, Fred Waring, Mal Hallett; and the “King of Jazz” himself at the time, Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. Hal Kemp and Freddy Martin made their debuts at SunnyBrook in 1934. This was all before the start of the so-called “Big Band Era”!! SunnyBrook was truly a starting point for this great era in musical history. This was the time when couples fell in love with each other to the greatest songs and dance music was ever written; the time when some of the finest voices to ever sing, were introduced. This was also the time of “The Great Depression” people were looking for ways to forget their daily problems, this great music helped to lift their spirits.

While a select few of the Bands were paid a flat fee to perform, most of them worked on a guarantee fee plus commission based on the ticket sales, while others, just worked on a percentage of the gate fee. In his famous notebook, Hartenstine noted entries of payments to the various bands that played SunnyBrook. For instance, the 1932 New Years Eve Dance Band was Ozzie Nelson, featuring Harriet Hilliard, they were paid 60% of the gate fee, with no guarantee. That very cold evening in December, 1258 people attended the gala; the ticket price was 75 cents per person. The Nelson’s received $575.25 for their work that evening. Within fifteen months, Nelson’s band had grown to such great popularity, that they were paid a flat fee of $1000.00 in March of 1934. The pay arrangements, many times, had special stipulations added into the contracts, for example, Noble Sissle played in January 1933, he was paid $400.00, but if the gross receipts did not exceed $450.00, $40.00 would be deducted. Ted Weems played two months later in March and received $600.00 or 60% which ever was greater. One band showed up late, drunk and disorderly, Hartenstine notes, “drunk and disorderly”, they only received one half the contracted rate.

LeRoy Wilson’s Band started to play every Wednesday evening, during the summer months. He would also fill in on Saturday evenings, when one of the big name bands could not be booked.

The Dorsey Brothers appeared twice in early 1935, this was before their classic breakup in the spring of that year. They reconciled their differences some 18 years later and came back as “The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra”, featuring Jimmy Dorsey, they played three more times at SunnyBrook. The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra appeared at SunnyBrook twenty-four times during the period of their breakup. Each time he set new attendance records. Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra, appeared eleven times during this same period.

In June 1935, Benny Goodman, the future “King of Swing” played his first of thirteen performances at SunnyBrook. Two months later, he would play his historic opening at the Palomar in California, this was the great event that permanently made him the “King of Swing. Goodman and his band were paid $250.00 for this first one-night stand. George Simon, in his book, “The Big Bands”, recalls that two years later at SunnyBrook, Goodman was in his prime, he had just hired a new vocalist, Martha Tilton. He proceeded to introduce her as “The singer from Hollywood that is really going places”. When Martha missed her cue, he stated, “She’s not going places; she’s already gone!” On another occasion, Goodman, arrived a couple of hours late, due to the traffic jam caused by his own concert. His band arrived on time, as they came in on the bands bus, Goodman usually traveled by automobile.

During the mid-30’s many other up and coming bands came to SunnyBrook for the first time, which included Sammy Kaye, Bob Crosby, Russ Morgan, Shep Fields, Woody Herman, Ray Noble (whose band was set up by Glenn Miller), Artie Shaw, Bunny Berigan, and a soon to become nationally recognized, Philadelphia band, Jan Savitt and the Tophatters.

In the summer of 1935, SunnyBrook received national recognition, when Hal Kemp played there in June, The series, “Life Goes to a Party” from Life Magazine was on hand to cover the event, and this article appeared about two weeks later in a three-page article. The article reported, “Saturday nights at SunnyBrook Park Ballroom near Pottstown, Pa.,” It also went on to tell how “2,000 to 3,000 boys and girls come from 40 miles around and gladly pay $1.00 (plus 14 cents tax) to listen to the music of ‘Big Name’ bands… This particular evening found Hal Kemp and his band at SunnyBrook Park – a typical stop on the itinerary of a crack band which in this case had played in Manhattan Beach earlier in the day and was due in Columbus, Ohio < going by train from Paoli at 2:30 AM> Sunday night.”

With in the next two years more great bands came to SunnyBrook for the first of many visits, they were Larry Clinton, Harry James, Charlie Barnet, Will Bradley, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller, Charlie Spivak, Vaughn Monroe, Tony Pastor and Claude Thornhill.

The payment plan of ‘guarantee plus a percentage of admissions was still the rule in the late 30’s and early 40’s. Some of the well-known bands would receive guarantees of up to $1000, but most of the bands came in at the $450 to $ 750 range. The better bands would make up the difference with the percentage of the admission, the more people that came; the more money they made.

Hartenstine build a long lasting friendship with many of the band leaders, they would tell their agents to make sure to include SunnyBrook in their schedule, when they went on the road. SunnyBrook was a great place for a one-night stand, since it was conveniently located to New York City. Ray Hartenstine Jr., tells of how the band managers, after the evening show a SunnyBrook, would call a few hotels in New York City, upon finding one that had room, the band would be off to the City; arriving at 4:00 or 4:30 AM, they would book into the hotel for Sunday night, and get two nights for the price of one.

SunnyBrook’s size was a great attraction to the best bands; they knew that if they were good, they could expect a great audience, therefore, under the percentage basis, they would have a bigger check at the end of the night. The record attendance was in February of 1942; Glenn Miller was on his final tour before disbanding his orchestra to join the Army Air Corp in September. The place was packed, with no dancing room, and with over 7300 people attending. With Miller’s popularity, it is surprising that his band only played SunnyBrook three times in its eight years of existence. After the war, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, under the direction of Tex Beneke played seventeen times, and a decade later, while under the direction of Ray McKinley, they made nineteen appearances at SunnyBrook.

Prior the Miller record, Tommy Dorsey’s organization would draw the largest crowds, at over 6,000 on many occasions. Ray Hartenstine Jr. reported that if they wanted to get some “fast money” for a project at SunnyBrook, all they had to do was call Dorsey’s manager.

Many factors controlled how well a band would do, the weather was of course a major factor, but just because they were popular in one area, did not mean that you would be a hit in another. If the band had a hit record, the band was almost guaranteed a good following. In the late 1930’s, jukeboxes became a very large factor in the band’s popularity. Leo Walker, in his book The Era Of The Great Dance Bands, reveals, “almost every band leader that rose to the top during the 30’s, got there as a result of one or more hit records.” He also points out that “the jukebox was the best friend the band leader had”. (Of the top ten selling record in June of 1940, three were recorded by Glenn Miller and two by Tommy Dorsey.)

The early 1940’s was the true hay day of SunnyBrook. The bands that played the ballroom in early 1942 were a “Who’s Who of the Big Band Era”. The first five months saw playing on successive Saturday nights the likes of Will Osborne, Will Bradley, Sonny Dunham, Harry James, Sammy Kaye, Claude Thornhill, Eddy Duchin, Glenn Miller, Tommy Tucker, Tommy Reynolds, Bob Chester, Charlie Barnet, Alvino Rey, Tony Pastor, Casa Loma, Vaughn Monroe, Tommy Dorsey, Dick Rogers, Ray McKinley, Benny Goodman, and Bunny Berigan!

July 18th, 1942, marked the end of dances for the duration of the war. Gas Rationing had caused the crowd to dwindle to a meager few, not to mention that the Draft was taking the male dance partners away. The bands also were affected by the draft, as their members were being placed into Military service as well. Many of the band leaders and their musicians formed bands in the service, such as the band headed by Glenn Miller. Those that were not drafted into the military ended up playing all over the world in U.S.O. Shows, entertaining the troops.

On September 8th, 1945, with Vaughn Monroe and his orchestra, re-opened SunnyBrook. By year’s end, many of the old favorites had already made an appearance at SunnyBrook. These included Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Charlie Spivak, Charlie Barnet and Tommy Dorsey. There were also some newcomers to the scene, such as Randy Brooks, Buddy Morrow, and Elliot Lawrence.

Within the next few weeks many of the older bands, whom never played at SunnyBrook, made their appearance. These were Les Brown, Dick Jurgens, and Lawrence Welk. There were still more new bands coming down the pike like, Stan Kenton, Bobby Sherwood, Ralph Flanagan, Ray Anthony, Les Elgart, and Hal McIntyre.

With the end of the War, the better known bands started to require larger guarantees, so at this point the price of a ticket in the fall of 1945, had risen to $2.00 plus 40 cents tax, for the big name bands.

SunnyBrook was always run as a class Ballroom, “it was considered a privilege to come to SunnyBrook”, as Ray Hartenstine Jr. put it. There was always an air of respect for both the bands and the audience, if anyone violated this trust, they were quickly asked to leave.

Handling a large crowd, such as 2,000 people, a small Army of people were required, six to sell and collect tickets, four hat check girls (this might go to six in the winter); six to man the soda fountain (only soft drinks were served); and three or four in the parking lot.

SunnyBrook had the honor of having many live remote broadcasts, both before and after the War, over the local and national radio services. WCAU Radio in Philadelphia was one of the local stations that regularly broadcast from SunnyBrook.

The ten-year span of the 1950’s proved to be declining years for the big bands. Many of the leaders were dying off or just plain down got tired of the constant hassle of being on the road for months at a time, not to mention the cost of traveling. By 1955, none of the top 35 records were from big bands. Television was replacing radio as the evening entertainment.

Even with the decline of the big bands in the 50’s, there were still some new groups and performers coming along, and they all played at SunnyBrook. Some of these were Billy May, the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra; Ralph Marterie, Larry Elgart, Buddy Rich, Neal Hefti, Maynard Ferguson, Si Zentner, and eventually Frank Sinatra.

Ted Heath and his orchestra came over form England in 1958 to play at SunnyBrook, but when the fans wanted to dance, union rules required a local band to play. There were also some of the old names that hung on, but under new leaders like, Tommy Dorsey, conducted by Warren Covington; Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, conducted by Lee Castle; and the Glenn Miller Orchestra, conducted by Ray McKinley.

Many of the new and old bands, by this time, were loosing their direction, they were no longer playing dance music, but instead more concert types of Jazz. As the bands started to play for themselves, the audiences and the interest in dancing and the ballrooms started to fall off.

As the number of traveling bands started to dwindle, the need to fill the Saturday evening dances were often played by some truly great local big bands like; Al Raymond, Bob Harry, Eddie Grady, Buddy Williams, George Sommers, and Arlen Saylor, who’s band was to be later known as the SunnyBrook Orchestra. Due to the lack of air conditioning, the Ballroom was closed during the summer months.

During the summer of 1963, the Hartenstine’s realized that for SunnyBrook to continue, changes were needed in their philosophy. They reluctantly added the Colonial Inn and Tavern, and a liquor license was also obtained at this time. In May of 1964, SunnyBrook re-opened on a daily basis; it featured small combos or local bands to provide music for dancing on Saturday nights. The ballroom was now used for various functions from, wedding receptions and proms to gun shows and homebuilder’s shows. It was also used for political rallies and dinners. A three-day polka fest was held there every fall.

During its first three decades, SunnyBrook hosted more then 345 name bands, few facilities can match that record. Odds are that your favorite band of this era played at SunnyBrook at least once.

Ray Hartenstine Sr. passed away in 1972, his twin sons Robert and Ray Jr. and their sister, Doris Drumheller, became partners in running SunnyBrook Enterprises. They continued to operate this “Grand Ballroom” for many years. They would try and have a few of the remaining big bands appeared through out the year and on New Years Eve.

In 1981, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the SunnyBrook Ballroom, a beautifully restored U.S. Theater Pipe Organ was donated to the facility. This organ originally played in the Lansdale Theater and was removed in 1942. It was installed at SunnyBrook, minus all the whimsical features, which were stored for 30 years in a garage, in a church.

Roger and Dorothy Bloom of Downingtown did the painstaking restoration and put it back to its original brilliance. The organ was played during certain events in the Ballroom and had entertained Sunday Brunch guests till the closing in July of 2004. (This is one of the few things that were not stolen or sold of after the closing).

In the recent years, SunnyBrook has transferred hands several times via banks and financial institutions. In 2001, Erwin Wenner, a banker, purchased SunnyBrook from the Hartenstine family. His aim was to build a brewpub on premises and target the up and coming crowd of youthful dinners. Of course, the local community was stunned. Within a year and a half, the new venture was losing money, as people were more interested in the dances and festivities of the ballroom, rather than having a micro-brewery.

Less than two years after taking over SunnyBrook, the new brewery went bankrupt and the business and property were seized. For a short time, while in bankruptcy, the bank itself hired a food service management company to run the facility. They believed they would have a better time trying to re-sell the business if it was operating. In time, the business, under Progress Bank went up for sale again, with a price tag of over three million dollars.

During the period, The SunnyBrook Preservation Foundation, led by local businessman Thomas Sephakis, bid against Henry Ortlieb, a brewpub owner from Philadelphia, for the business and property. Henry was interested in reopening the brewpub, while The SunnyBrook Preservation Foundation was interested in saving SunnyBrook from further demise.

In October 2003, Henry Ortlieb became the facility’s third owner in three years. Somehow he opened a second brewpub, which he named Ortlieb’s Grille at Sunnybrook, in the old Ballroom in Pottstown. Henry continued in his pursuit until his untimely death in July of 2004 while vacationing. Sunnybrook closed shortly thereafter.

Within a few months, the previous bank sold its note on SunnyBrook to CapFinancial Group/Prinsburg Bank in a packaged mortgage transaction to cover their costs associated with the finalization of the estate of the previous owner. The lender provided sufficient time for the family to sell the property on their own, however, they were unable to do so in the timeframe allotted. Therefore, SunnyBrook was sent to a Sheriff’s Sale Auction in 2005.

In conjunction with a local developer, Gambone Development, The SunnyBrook Foundation formulated plans to purchase the property together in order to redevelop and save the site. At auction, the developer purchased the property for $1.1 million. Over the past year, Joseph Gambone was working with the foundation to secure rights and conduct possible development.

The SunnyBrook Foundation is in a race against time to raise community awareness and save SunnyBrook from further dilapidation and possible destruction. Last year, The SunnyBrook Foundation, with the aid of local representatives and historical groups, completed initial applications with the State of Pennsylvania to have SunnyBrook declared a state historic landmark.

On August 11,2005, SunnyBrook was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has gained status as a state landmark. The National Register recognizes the historical, architectural, and cultural merits of certain properties. Such properties listed in the register receive consideration when state or federal projects are being planned, and may qualify for federal historic preservation credits and grants when available.

Now that The SunnyBrook Foundation has taken possession, they shall focus upon the renovation of SunnyBrook. The Foundation is looking to move quickly to apply for other grants and begin the renovations to preserve SunnyBrook. Our intent is to be able to begin to utilize the ballroom within at least three to four months after acquisition. The Foundation will utilize catering services by outside companies until the ballroom kitchen is up and running, which would take approximately another six to nine months.

The Foundation is hoping to re-open the ballroom for fundraising events and begin their capital campaign to target the renovation and restoration of the restaurant facilities, as well as the exterior grounds and
beautification of the SunnyBrook premises.

Our hope is that SunnyBrook will once again bring people from New Jersey, Philadelphia, Lancaster, Allentown, Reading, and other areas from around the state to enjoy its allure. Our focus is to establish SunnyBrook as a premier facility and provide charity work for the performing arts to the local community through our Foundation’s fundraisers and gifts of giving.