Flash! City Girls See the Beatles (1966 Cincinnati)

Beatles fans in Cincinnati near the stadium in 1966 

 

Flash! City Girls See The Beatles

By Larry Smith

The Herald-Times (Indiana)

August 23, 1966

"We saw the Beatles. I mean, we really saw them!" Debbie Zimmerman, a 15-year-old Bloomington High School sophomore, not only saw the Beatles, but she got into their Cincinnati hotel room and out with a piece of lettuce, with French dressing on it and some hair that "just had to be Ringo's."

     Debbie, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Zimmerman, 2212 La Jacque Lane, and two friends, Kathy Yates and Donna Glasgow, both 15 and BHS sophomores, bought tickets last May for last Saturday's Beatles show in Cincinnati. 

    The girls arrived in Cincinnati Saturday morning around 10 a.m. to await the 8 p.m. show that night. Mr. Zimmerman and the three girls set out to find the Beatles' headquarters. A Cincinnati newspaper story said the Beatles were supposed to be staying in the Vernon Manor Hotel on the sixth floor.

     Mr. Zimmerman called the hotel and asked for room accommodations for the night. It just so happened there was a suite available on the fifth floor. The hotel lobby was full of waiting teenagers since the night before, all waiting to catch a glimpse of their idols, but Debbie and her two companions, with their hotel room key in hand had proof that they belonged there, started the long walk up to the sixth floor to really see the Beatles. 

    The policemen sent them back down the stairs, but all was not lost. Debbie, Kathy, and Donna would not give up until the Beatles were on their way out of town. The outdoor performance was rained out Saturday night, and the Beatles' manager, Ken Douglas, announced that travel arrangements would be changed and that a performance was set for "right after church" Sunday. 

    Kathy said that about 4o'clock Sunday morning, a noise woke her, but she didn't find out until later that it was the Beatles themselves, still up and partying on the floor above. The girls were up by 6:30 Sunday morning, still planning on seeing the Beatles. Shortly before noon, the luggage for the Beatles' entourage was brought to the ground floor lobby, and Kathy said, "I touched it. I ran my hands over John's suitcase, and I touched George's clothes." A guard finally chased them away. 

    Then, from out of nowhere, Debbie's father appeared and told her to follow him to the sixth floor. There were only about 15 people there, mostly hotel employees. Debbie and a hotel maid were the only two females. Then it happened. The door opened, and out came John Lennon. Debbie said, "He's my favorite, and I screamed 'hi' three times, and he walked by and said 'hi' back." George and Ringo and Paul followed. 

    By this time, Debbie was in a state of shock. After the Beatles had left the hotel, Kathy and Debbie talked the maid into letting them see the hotel where the Beatles stayed. That's when they found the piece of lettuce, and Debbie found a tuft of hair that "just had to be Ringo's", and Kathy found some shed hair in a bedroom, and it "just had to be John's." There were some burnt matchsticks too. Debbie said, "The Beatles look so different in person. Their hair is so long."