In celebration of the 60th anniversary since the Beatles performed in Indianapolis on September 3, 1964, I will share some stories that I found published in the Indianapolis Star newspaper on September 2, 1984 (to celebrate the 20th anniversary).
We Loved Them Yeah Yeah Yeah (part 1)
Written by Bonnie Britton
"Was it really 20 years ago?" Elaine May Conley, now 35, wondered recently in her northside home. A matted, framed black-and-white photograph in the living room shows her poised and smiling, seated among four dark-haired young men with large microphones positioned to catch every word.
The picture was taken at a press conference in the communications building at the State Fair on September 3, 1964, minutes before the start of the two nearly obliterated by screaming fans Beatles shows at the Colosseum and the Grandstand.
An admirer as far back as "I Want to Hold Your Hand," Elaine was desperate (her words) to see the Beatles up close, so she labored over an entry in an "I want to meet The Beatles because..." contest sponsored by the Indianapolis News. "I knew there had to be a way." Without telling her mother, she mailed the letter with three words less than the 50-word limit.
"I want to meet the Beatles because they have a special magic when they perform. The oppressing world crises and other problems can be temporarily forgotten. I'd love to meet the four young men who can make everything seem a little brighter."
When hers was chosen from more than 3000 entries, it was like Bye Bye Birdie (in the movie Anne Margaret swoons when she wins a visit from an Elvis esque character) . However, she wasn't allowed to tell anyone until the next day, when she was declared the winner in print. "That was the hardest thing in the world."
Once her friends knew, her home became a madhouse and the telephone receiver hardly touched the cradle. She chose a black crepe dress for the press conference. (John's favorite color), and remembers it as a very formal affair, not allowed to take photographs of the Beatles or ask for autographs.
She nevertheless stated, "What can you say about euphoria? They were as good-looking as I thought they would be; they were polite and very satirical. They offered biting comments. I shook hands with each one. How long did it last? Somewhere between half a second and 20 years. Maybe five minutes altogether."
After delivering an original editorial cartoon to The Beatles and exchanging a few words with them, she stood to the side during the rest of the press conference. Escorted from the building in a daze, she plummeted with questions from reporters who couldn't cram into the room. "For a long time after, I was touched a lot," she said, laughing. Rings worn while shaking hands with John, Paul, George, and Ringo became holy relics bestowed on lucky friends at Thomas Carr Howe High School. She devoted herself to acting and earned the lead in Beauty and the Beast. A newspaper headline proclaimed, "From Beatles to Beauty."
Though dry-cleaned after the press conference, the black crepe dress still possessed mystical powers. A year later, she wore it to the bus station to send off a friend and met Michael Conley, then a University of Cincinnati student, whom she later married during her freshman year at Indiana University.
Things were cooking politically. The drug scene was beginning to get going. "The Beatles went way overboard, and I didn't have time for them any longer. I was a little embarrassed by it all."
With her Mementos stored away, Elaine mentally mothballed the whole Beatles experience. "Then, on December 8, 1980, I was watching Monday Night Football when the network flashed news of John Lennon's murder to viewers. I cried. They were so much a part of my life growing up, and they would never have a chance to be together again. People don't realize how much of your life you invest..."
Two decades later, their influence still lingers. "Although I'm embarrassed to admit I've missed every Beatles question in Trivial Pursuit."
A part-time elementary school teacher and mother of an 11-year-old son who breakdances and an eight-year-old daughter crazy about Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton, Elaine thinks she's more tolerant of today's fads than perhaps parents of the 1960s were of popular music, idols, and crazes. She marvels at her daughter's Olympic heroine, who is a dedicated athlete, some of whom are just 16 years old. "At that age, we were really in dreamland."
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