What were the Fairview Follies?

The mists of time have obscured the origin of the Fairview Follies. Photos in the 1957 yearbook, the Firefly, show young men dressed in wigs and dresses cavorting about on the stage in the Old Gym.  However, the Follies likely got started in the community before that. 

Just after WWII, Fairview had a number of rascals who loved to put on shows to raise money or to just blow off creative energy. These productions featured businessmen like Kay Anseth and Lloyd Larson in minstrel shows complete with black face. 

To my knowledge, the last one of these politically incorrect but hilarious shows was done in 1965. In that show, I remember Dorothy Arpin appearing every so often on stage out of the blue to interrupt whatever skit was going. Her role was to just giggle "Tee hee" several times as she sauntered across the stage dressed in a black leotard and grass skirt. She would then leave the stage and whatever was going on would proceed.

The third time she appears, John Cayko enters pushing an old reel lawnmower  as Dorothy is midstroll across the stage. When he sees Dorothy, he stops, aims the mower at her, and chases her off the stage. They exit and screams are heard coming from the wings.  The screams stop suddenly and then, after a pause,  a basket of grass clippings is thrown out from the wings. How can you beat that for wacky?

In a similar way, the Fairview Follies became the high school's variety show that featured various clubs and groups performing music, presenting skits, and telling jokes. Some of the skits were borderline blue and probably would have been censored if the teachers had not turned a blind eye. The Follies were not done every year which was too bad because they were hilarious.

 

My favorite Follies was the 1963 production where the highlight of the show was the Senior class skit entitled Smilin' Smitty's Novelty Night (SSNN). SSNN was a show within a show and it featured Tom Smith as a goofball emcee who told jokes between acts. SSNN's highlight came when the Senior girls did a Can-Can and threw their garters into the audience.

The best joke I recall was Smitty's story of two little boys sucking on Popsicles outside of the Valley Cash on a hot, summer afternoon. As they sit there, a good looking older girl walks past. This girl has obviously been out in the yard working because her face and clothes are dusty and dirty. One little boy looks at the other and says, "Her neck dirty." The other little boy looks up with nasty grin and blurts out, "Her does?"

The last photo record I have of the Follies was from the spring of 1966. The photo here is of two of our classmates in costume. Can you believe that both of these clowns became members of the Washington State Bar.