Enjoy a fun-filled weekend of activities--

Members of the Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Fifties in February planning committee and the community of Clear Lake, welcome fans to the 2008 Fifties in February celebration. Inside this edition of the Mirror-Reporter you’ll find stories, as well as a keepsake booklet featuring the many happenings which make this event so popular. As of Tuesday afternoon, a limited number of tickets remained for the three-day 50s in February. Contact the Chamber of Commerce for further information, 357-2159.

CL Vision will air live broadcasts from Surf Ballroom
Clear Lake and Ventura’s local digital cable TV service, CLvision, will be carrying live broadcasts of the 50’s in February Event from the Surf Ballroom this weekend.
“With the upcoming weekend and all the exciting things happening at the Surf Ballroom, we have utilized fiber optic technology to help the Surf share this event with area residents” said General Manager Tom Lovell. “This is a great blend of the past and the present, combining innovative technology with 1950’s fun.”
The main attraction of the coverage will be the “Red Carpet” event prior to the performances on Saturday night. Entertainers, fans and other special guests will be interviewed as they arrive at the Surf Ballroom.
The 50’s In February coverage can be viewed on CLvision channel 1. The following is the coverage schedule as of press time. Please stay tuned to CLvision channel 1 for additional coverage schedules.
•Friday, Feb. 1, 6-7:30 p.m. Fan interviews on the red carpet
•Saturday, Feb. 2, 10 a.m. to noon Dance Lessons; 1-3 p.m. Fanfare; 6-7:30 p.m. “Red Carpet” Event; 8:30 p.m. the performance of the local group “The Calendar Girls,” followed by the Costume Contest and the Dance Contest
CLvision will also have intermittent coverage throughout the performances on Friday and Saturday night.

Photographer recalls time spent with Buddy Holly
A picture isn’t just worth a thousand words for Dick Cole. It’s memories by the truckload.
It was Cole who captured an iconic image of Buddy Holly tuning his guitar at the Electric Park Ballroom in Waterloo July 8, 1958. The casual image of Holly became a favorite of his widow, Maria, after a plane crash north of Clear Lake killed the popular singer and three others less than a year later.
Cole was in high school and working for the Waterloo Courier when Holly and others were slated to appear at the Electric Park Ballroom.
“My friend and I saw their vehicle at the ballroom and helped them haul equipment in. That’s how we got in,” recalled Cole. “We were 17 or 18 at the time and Buddy was 22, so it was easy to talk to him. We must have talked about a half-hour. Buddy went in the kitchen to kill some time and that’s when I took the picture of him sitting on a freezer tuning his guitar.”
Cole, like the rest of the nation, heard about the fateful plane crash on the radio. He often thinks about what might have happened if he had driven to the Surf Ballroom to hear Holly’s final concert.
“Over several days he spent in Waterloo, we got to know him pretty good. They planned to come back and spend some time here in the summer (1959), so we didn’t go to Clear Lake because we knew they were coming back here,” said Cole. “Had I gone, my life would have probably been different. I would have been backstage, taking pictures of Buddy and others. But I feel real fortunate for the time I had with him.”
Cole’s autographed photo of Holly continues to be reproduced and sold around the world, with a share of proceeds going to Maria Elena Holly.
“She said it was a favorite photo because he just looked like a natural person-- not dressed up for the stage-- just a good ‘ol boy from Lubbock, Texas. Just a kid.”
In addition to Maria Holly, others also consider the photo a favorite and have even hired Cole to take their photo at the same ballroom. Young musician Richie Lee, who fashions himself after Buddy Holly, is among those to re-create the image.
However, the first time Cole revisited the photo setting was with John Mueller, cast to portray Buddy Holly in a musical by the same name. Cole sought out Mueller for the photo and once contacted, the singer was thrilled to be photographed.
Cole plans to attend this year’s Fifties in February event and will unveil a new 18 x 24 inch Buddy Holly poster at Saturday’s record show at the Surf. The poster features another autographed image of Holly which Cole had snapped at another Waterloo event.

Arts Center exhibit
features 50s photos
The Clear Arts Center’s Hanson Gallery has a new exhibit entitled ‘Rave On!’ This exhibit shows various artists’ take on life in the 50’s Pop Culture. A former Des Monies Register newspaper journalist, Bob Modersohn, has photographs displayed in the gallery. The pictures show personal items retrieved from the crash site-- reminders of the huge holes left in rock’n’ roll since that fateful winter night in 1959.
Modersohn was with the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department in 1980 when he discovered the personal effects in a courthouse basement file. The envelope containing the items was filed not according to the Feb. 3 accident date, but rather on April 7, the date the items were submitted. Two decades later, in the fall of 1980, an envelope with hand-written abbreviated labeling — “Pers Prop — Plane accident — Recd 7 April ‘59 (underlined),” and the full names of musicians Charles Hardin Holley #2656, Richard Valenzuela #2658, pilot Roger A. Peterson #2655, and Jiles P. Richardson #2657 was discovered. When it was opened, out poured Holly’s signature eyeglasses frames (scuffed, one arm broken and without lenses), his watch but without a band (given to Holly as an early Christmas present in early December 1958 by Maria Elena Holly), a watch band without a watch, an inscribed watch back plate that belonged to Big Bopper, a classic Zippo lighter, and four dice.
The empty frames and watch wound up in the hands of Maria Elena Holly where they remained until she sold the watch to non-profit Civic Lubbock Inc. for $80,000. They eventually were donated to the singer’s hometown Buddy Holly exhibit in 1998 by the non-profit corporation.
Hours for the CLAC this week Tuesday through Thursday 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Friday and Saturday we be open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free.