The Soc Hop

The problems of raising children lead inevitably to the problems of raising teenagers. Forty years ago, Johnson County teenagers were looking for a place to have fun, and some of them found it at the Soc Hop. The teen-age dance club, located at 8940 Quivira, was mentioned in a September, 1962, Time Magazine story about the nationwide boom in clubs catering to the teen set. The story noted that “Parents and police are thoroughly aware of the important role the teen-age club plays in keeping the youngsters off the streets and out of mischief.” The Johnson County club was noted as being especially well supervised, as it was owned by a sheriff’s detective and was well staffed with off-duty law-enforcement personnel.

The Soc Hop started out around 1960 in a converted dairy barn at 95^th and Conser in Overland Park. In the spring of 1962, the club was moved to a property just west of I-35 at 90^th, formerly known as the Silver Spur County Club. The renovated property opened that summer with two swimming pools, a snack bar, a clubroom, a 600-couple dance floor and a 500-car parking lot. On Friday and Saturday nights, the club was billed as a “dance haven for teenagers.” Several hundred youths showed up every week to enjoy a live band.

Although newspaper stories referred to the club as a wholesome hangout, evidence of trouble soon surfaced. At the end of May, 1963, there were reports of a midnight fight at the club involving up to 100 teenagers and several sheriff’s officers. Police were said to have threatened the crowd with tear gas before finally breaking up the brouhaha. Although later reports stated that only 10 or 20 youths were involved, the incident led to an investigation. Allegations flew that the club had always been a trouble spot, but that the law had been lenient because one of the owners was a sheriff’s department employee. A story in the Kansas City Star reported long-term trouble with smuggled alcohol at the former location in Overland Park. The story implied that the club might have moved to its new location because police surveillance would not be as strong there. At the time, the Lenexa police department consisted of two part-time officers, the Star reported, but the city council had bought the department a tear gas gun for the express purpose of use at the Soc Hop.

In the wake of the disturbance in 1963, the club underwent a reorganization as the Johnson County Country Club. Membership requirements for teenagers attending dances were tightened, and the club owner was quoted as saying that “free-lance juveniles will be barred.” Within a year, the owners filed for bankruptcy, and plans were made to lease the property to the Fraternal Order of Eagles for a lodge hall.

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