The Castle Cocktail Lounge: Rural Road Trippin'-St. Charles, MI
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Welcome back to the Castle Cocktail Lounge! This summer we’ve packed our bags and are ready to head out of the city on an epic road trip–and out to some of our more rural watering holes and venues in celebration of our millage partnership with the local museums in Bridgeport, Chesaning, Frankenmuth and St. Charles.
First stop…The Golden Glow Ballroom, circa 1971…
“The Glow” as it was affectionately known by the 70s, was (and is) located at 2950 S. Graham Road at the intersection of M-52 and Swan Creek Roads. Opened in 1925, The Golden Glow was originally a restaurant created by Bill & Lenora Golden with their son John and his wife Libby operating it. In 1929, a ballroom was added.
Initially, the ballroom was utilized mainly as a dance hall (and sometimes roller-skating rink). Featuring such well-known Saginaw bands as Nick and His Corn Huskers and Frankie
Yankovic, the Polka King, the ballroom featured regular nightly dances for a small admission fee, serving up sandwiches and soft drinks to the mostly teen crowd. Until 1932, Prohibition was in place across the country–and soft drinks were the best The Glow could do.
According to a feature from Review Magazine in 2008:
“After Prohibition the Glow was issued Saginaw County's 5th liquor license and added a massive dance floor & stage, setting the backdrop for its ascendancy as the most vital & innovative entertainment venue north of Detroit.”
Those readers who have transitioned to the Castle Cocktail Lounge with us every summer understand that alcohol brings with it a certain shift in the vibes for a place–here, the addition of a liquor license meant bigger and better acts to perform and more money to be made. For the Golden Glow, this brought with it several changes in ownership as the hall metamorphosized from a simple family restaurant to a full-blown concert venue.
The Main Act
Throughout the late 1960s and into the 70s, Michigan artists flocked to the Golden Glow Ballroom to crowds of screaming young people. According to Friend of the Castle and former reporter for the Saginaw News Scott Seeburger, "the beginning of the 1970s marked the end of teen clubs. Saginaw’s popular Daniel’s Den is the most notable ending in 1970." Under the management of Dan Kilbourn, owner of Head Promotions, The Glow was billed as “Dan Kilbourn’s Golden Glow.” It was under Kilbourn, beginning in 1971, that artists like Bob Seger, the Amboy Dukes (with Ted Nugent), and Alice Cooper, still largely unknown up-and-coming artists, began to make a name for themselves in rural St. Charles, Michigan.
Scott Seeburger notes:
Another interesting development beginning in 1974 was the rise of Dance DJ’s who brought turntable skills and disco music to the dance floors. In Saginaw, Hot Wax briefly became popular DJs, and throughout the decade, Midland’s popular SJS Deejays (I was the co-founder) known for their exciting sets and colorful light show presented at school dances. Saginaw’s pulsating teen scene was beautifully captured by Bo White with his recent book “When the Kids Stopped Dancing.”*
As The Glow made a name for itself as the premier venue north of Detroit, international artists also began to flock to the scene. Mostly unknown, artists such as Eric Clapton & Cream, Steve Marriott & Humble Pie, came from abroad to play the rural venue. While the 1970s seemed to be the heyday of The Golden Glow, it was also a time of turbulence.
Despite the increasing interest from the pop music scene, The Glow saw a high turnover of owners who pushed the venue more as a hall, than a performance place. This was mostly due to the fact that The Glow no longer had its own liquor license. Instead, renters and performers had to rely upon temporary permits if alcohol was to be served. While this worked fine for the underage crowd who was happy with a $1.50 ticket to see Alice Cooper–it made business tough. The rest of the days were filled with wedding receptions, holiday celebrations, and class reunions.
*Bo White passed away in 2025. His book may be available or for purchase at White's Bar in Saginaw.
Time for a Drink–The Slow Screw
“Somebody, somewhere, sometime during the 1970s took the popular Screwdriver cocktail and swapped out the vodka for sloe gin. Little did they know that they’d started a family of Slow Screw cocktails.”
- Difford’s Guide
The 1970s witnessed bell-bottoms, fondue, disco and the Disco Drinks – that lovely little genre of cocktails that enjoyed a good double entendre. While several liqueurs enjoyed popularity (including Galliano, the most popular liqueur in the U.S. in the 1970s), sloe gin’s appeal surged.
Slow Screw:
Serve in a Collins glass
1.5 oz. sloe gin
1 oz. dry gin
3.5 oz. orange juice
Pre-chill a Collins glass. Stir all ingredients with ice. Strain into ice-filled glass.
Garnish with an orange slice.
The drink’s name is a playful description of the ingredients. Slow = sloe gin; Screw = orange juice from the screwdriver. And this naming game continues with other variations, such as the Slow Comfortable Screw, which combines sloe gin, Southern Comfort, and orange juice.
Decoding the names in this family of drinks can be a fun challenge. Take the Slow Comfortable Screw Against the Wall. This one mixes vodka, Southern Comfort, sloe gin, orange juice and Galliano liquor. Galliano is where the “wall” comes from since it's a component in the Harvey Wallbanger. Galliano became a popular liquor in the 1970s and rumor has it that this makes for a tasty brunch drink on a hot, summer day.
Castle Cocktail Lounge Tasting Notes:
"Not bad at all."
Special thanks to Scott Seeburger & Adam Engel, Friends of the Castle Museum, for their additions to this entry of the Castle Cocktail Lounge.
For more St. Charles history, be sure to visit our museum partner, the St. Charles Area Museum.
