In 1985 I was serving as Muscular Dystrophy chairperson for Muscatine, which put me in charge of fund raising for the Labor Day Telethons. I was working on a fundraiser for the 1986 Telethon - a celebrity auction, which included a quilt with squares of material, autographed by celebrities. It would take a year to contact all the celebrities we hoped would contribute and put the quilt together. I found an amazing little book called How To Reach Anybody Who's Anybody. As I was flipping through the pages deciding whom we would contact I found addresses for Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz and quickly put them on the list. Sadly, a few weeks after I sent the letters of inquiry to them, they were returned, stamped no forwarding address. Oh well, it was worth a try.

One night in January 1986, a dozen of my friends and I were sitting at an oldies dance when one of the guys announced that MTV was hosting a Monkees Marathon that night starting in a few hours. My ears perked up. I sat there a little longer and couldn't stand it any more. I made my apologies and went home, stopping at the store long enough to pick up some videotapes. Things have not been the same since.

The 20th Anniversary Tour began On Memorial Day Weekend 1986. One of the first stops on the tour was Burlington Steamboat Days on June 21st. This was my chance, I thought, to get the autographs for our quilt so I made my plans. I was so excited.

Things did not go quite as I planned in Burlington. The Monkees tour had exploded into much more than anyone had expected. A record crowd of people showed up on the Mississippi river front to see the show. We had gone early in the morning in hopes of acquiring a spot somewhere near the stage. A small area right in front of the stage had been roped off for VIP seats but the seats were not being used for the afternoon show. Someone from the committee decided they would give the seats away and we were offered seats because we had been there for so long. However, my request to be able to send things back stage to be autographed were turned down. No one was allowed to go back stage.

Discouraged but not about to give up, I wrote a note explaining the situation and asking if I could send some things backstage to be autographed. As Peter performed Auntie Grizelda I went to the stage to take a photo and in a brave moment toss the note on stage. I immediately felt silly and went back to my seat without looking back. As I sat down a young girl in the seat in front of me, grabbed me and screamed, "He picked up your note!" I looked up in time to see Peter drop the note down the front of his pink tank top. When the song was over, he walked to the side of the stage, read the note, and said something to another man standing there. Between shows the man, who turned out to be the tour manager, came out and took me back stage where I met the guys and got autographs for the quilt and also on a tee shirt for myself and one that was auctioned off for $100. By the way the quilt raised $1500! The crowd was so immense for the second show that there was literally no room to go back out so I watched the second show from back stage with Micky's nanny.

I could barely wait until the next show and in November The Monkees returned to Iowa at the Five Seasons Center in Cedar Rapids It was at this concert that I took the photo of David looking right at the camera. (Photo of David in Cedar Rapids 1986). (Also photos of Peter, and all three.)

 

NEXT CHAPTER!

FIRST PAGE

BACK TO THE WORSHIP SITE