Don Young has a lot of fond memories attached to the
Temple Gardens Dance Hall when he lived in Moose Jaw from 1953 to 1958.
“I used to ride down North Hill on my bike and in the summer,
the windows (of the hall) were open. They didn’t have air conditioning and I
could hear the bands playing and it just fascinated me. I did play in the Moose
Jaw Lions Band here. Little did I realize that in five years, I would be
playing in Temple Gardens.”
From 1963 to 1970, Young played at the hall with a bunch of
different groups including The Chevrons, Andantes, double bandstands and Battle
of the Bands with bands such as Moose Jaw rock band Mozart and the Wolfgang,
which was the house band from September of 1965 to May of 1967.
“It was probably one of the best places that I played,” said
Garry Brown, who was commonly known as Mister Brown and was the lead vocalist
of the band Mozart and the Wolfgang. “We had a lot of fun.”
Heather Hodgson and Gord McCaw, who grew up in Moose Jaw, are
putting together a book about the legacy of the dance hall from its inception
until it was torn down in 1979. The hall was located on Langdon Crescent at the
corner beside the old Grant Hall where a parking lot now resides.
Hodgson, the major writer of the project, said she is looking for any memories and photos of the hall, especially regarding the different bands that played there. People can either join the Facebook group called Temple Gardens Dance Hall or email Hodgson at heatherghodgson@gmail.com. The Facebook group has more than 100 members.
