THE FABULOUS MORTICIANSGraceland College, Lamoni, Iowa |
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Dancing at Graceland was a long-held social prohibition until the
1960's. But then the 1960's was a time when many social inhibitions were
scrutinized and questioned by America's young generation. On April 12, 1965, the Council of House Presidents vetoed an amendment with regard to the policy on on the college's social activities that had stated “dancing with the exception of folk dancing should not be allowed in house social activities.” During the same month, a house was put on probation for hosting a dance. The college senate voted to sponsor a dance in the fall of 1967 but college president William T. “Bill” Higdon vetoed the event until the Alumni Council and the faculty could respond to the issue at hand. The Alumni Council opposed the event by 5-4 vote on February 3, 1968. However, the faculty voted 42-27 to remove the longtime dancing ban. At the April 27-28, 1968 meeting, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the faculty's recommendation that dancing be accepted as a part of normal student activities on campus. President Higdon made this announcement to the students on May 1, 1968. The first legal on-campus dance was scheduled for Friday night, May 17, 1968 at the Memorial Student Center. The Morticians, a popular band composed of primarily former Graceland students performed – the band members being John Hatton, Steve Gunlock, Fred Silvester, Jack Cave and Larry Pollard. The May 17, 1968 issue of the Graceland Tower quoted the Memorial Student Center director Doris Conklin, “I put up a poster for the Morticians and felt a little guilty after all these years of conditioning.” |
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| The Morticians formed in the fall of 1964 with original band members all residing in Gunsolley Hall – Steve Gunlock, Jack Cave, John Hatton, Fred Silvester and Ned Ashbaugh. Because dancing was forbidden on campus, the band played solely for roller skating parties, club functions or talent shows. The band began wearing matching apparel – black pants and black turtle-neck shirts. John Hatton, the bass player, commented that when dressed as such and gathered together they looked like a bunch of morticians. The name stuck and they were known as The Fabulous Morticians. A 1951 Cadillac hearse, dubbed “The Gray Ghost,” was purchased to transport the band and their gear all over southern Iowa and northern Missouri. The band dusted off their guitars and drums when Graceland announced in 2001 that the college would host a show featuring most of the musical groups that had come from “The Hill.” The Morticians appeared last on the bill. The Morticians were inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Music Association's Hall of Fame in September of 2002. The band cut an album in February of 2014 and performed on October 18, 2014 – The Mortician's 50th Anniversary Show during Graceland's homecoming. |
 (Steve Gunlock, center back row) |
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SOURCES: Goehner, David. “The Graceland College Book of Knowledge:
From A To Z.” p. 70. Herald House. Independence MO. 1997. thefabulousmorticians.com/index.php/history/ Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, February, 2017 These pages have been updated and reformatted by Conni McDaniel Hall, October 2019 |
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