Under the leadership of Gaylord “Mattie” Mattison, a new band was organized from the remnants of the former “Peerless Orchestra” and an experiment with “Friday Night Club” dances was started. The band seized upon a name suggested by trombonist “Sy” Sypher and took on the name “Mattie and all the Lads”. In a short time, this new Willimantic group caught on and became so popular that, even with all the members holding day jobs, it would still play at four or five engagements per week. One of the band’s first jobs was to play at the opening of Lebanon’s Beaumont Highway in July, 1935. In those days, Saturday night was the only night for dances and activities. But in Willimantic, the new Friday night dance idea proved to be extremely popular. In 1932, the premier Willimantic “dance spot” was the “Al-Pierre Tabarin” on Valley Street. It was owned by Pierre Laramee and Al Piche and had been the logtime home for the old Peerless Orchestra. For years, the “Tab” had been highly profitable for the musicians but during Depression times, the music industry had been hard hit. Still, the ”Tab” and the Peerless struggled as crowds thinned out. Finally, however, the Peerless folded and the “Tab” closed.  But now the new band, “Mattie and all the Lads” came up with an idea. They needed a rehearsal space and decided that it would be the soon-to-reopen “Tab”. Orchestra and Band rehearsals normally attracted a good number of people and so band members hit upon an idea. Onlookers would be charged a small admission fee. This idea caught on and attendance increased to a degree that greatly exceeded the band’s expectations and “The Friday Night Club” was born. The band and the club appealed strongly to a new generation of Willimantic and Eastern Connecticut area folks. Week after week, the “Tab” was filled to capacity. Crowds were so large that eventually three policemen were necessary to manage the crowds and traffic flow on narrow Valley Street. (Of course there were a few troublemakers here and there but they were quickly weeded out.) The “Friday Night Dance Club” had earned a sterling reputation and people flocked there. Now, other local musicians asked to be allowed to “sit in” and so the audience often had the opportunity to hear the musical talents of several different musicians. Interestingly, high school age children would attend earlier in the evening. It was said that they were, “full of fun and the enthusiasm of youth… their loyalty is a factor in the band’s popularity.

The band then recruited singer Lester Foster whom many people today will remember from the days when he worked for his father who ran the M. Foster and Sons Fruit and Produce business. It was said of “Les” that, “he puts a lot of feeling into a smooth number, lots of pep into a swing tune”. Other Willimantic talent in the Mattie and the Lads included Jimmie Day, bass; Roderick Cote, sax; Ray Beller, sax; Thomas Gordon, sax; Del Dion, guitar; Ray Sypher, trombone; Ralph Williams, trumpet; Eddie Brown, trombone; Leo Dion, drums; Jasper Woodward and “Brownie” Sledjeski. Except for “Mattie” Mattison who was from Columbia, all the band members were from Willimantic and had day jobs in town. And because of all the local contacts, the band played at almost all local civic and social functions. It also played regularly at the Lakeside Casino in Coventry, Wildwood Park in Danielson and the Hilltop Casino in Norwich. As mentioned last week, the band was so popular it would sometimes be booked four or five days a week. This had a downside. Oftentimes the band had bookings in other venues on Friday nights and so other bands would have to fill in at the “Tab”. But most people wanted the Mattison band and attendance dropped. Then the ’38 hurricane ripped the “Tab’s” roof off and the band had to establish a temporary location at the Polish National Home. In 1939, attendance at the band’s home spot, the “Tab”, continued to drop off very quickly. Weekly crowds of 400-500 dwindled to 200. It was probably due to changing times and the fact that many more activities were being offered to area folks on Friday nights. Dancing had also lost popularity among the younger crowd that used to frequent the dances. And so, by 1940, the Mattison Orchestra was no longer playing at the “Tab”. Other bands stepped in for a while but the Friday Night dances at the “Tab” were not the same and soon came to an end.